peteski

That was a nice looking car - sort of BMW-ish. Never heard of it until now.

Correct. See

I'm pretty sure that all nail polishes are lacquers. But that doesn't change the fact that both, lacquers and enamels (the organic-solvent based ones) can usually be thinned with a standard lacquer thinner, acetone or xylene.

Dryer sheets are impregnated with static-dissipative substance which they deposit on the clothes being dried. I suspect some of it is leftover on the used up sheet - that is why it works on models.

Not the baking soda again. we have discussed this here before and the consensus is to use the "real" accelerator. But feel free to use your home-brew solution.

Cheap to buy? Compared to what? The seem to cost in a range of mid $20k US. I just got a 2019 KIA Soul (MSRP $19k US) for $17k. A much more useful small car than Smart for Two. and I'm getting gas mileage in low 30MPG range. Diesel fuel is also much more expensive than gasoline (at least in U.S.). No sale!

They actually don't have *THAT* great of a gas mileage, but they sure make a statement (and I suspect that's what most owners are after). In Europe, in urban setting, this little cars actually make sense. But seeing one on an American interstate, sandwiched between several 18-wheelers, just doesn't seem right.

Sometimes, certain email addresses get tagged as "junk" and dumped in the recipient's SPAM folder. This can happen on either side of the email conversation. That would be one explanation for lack of response. If I want to really get in touch with someone through email, I try at least 3 times (and from 2 different email addresses). Be persistent, be tenacious!

Yes, those tires would be at home on a Jeep or some other vehicle meant to be taken off-road. But there are so many tire options out there that it should be fairly easy to replace these with some more correct-looking tires. Otherwise, the model looks great!

I agree 100%! The correct interleaving of the spokes cannot be done with photoetched spoke discs. That is something that the 3D printing handles well already. I think give it some time for the technology to improve and the printers will be able to print thinner (properly scaled) spokes. We're almost there!

Thanks for the very complete explanation. It is good to learn how life is on other countries. I have visited Japan (Tokyo and Shizuoka City) back in 2005 and I was very impressed with the neatness and organization everywhere.

While without a doubt the overall fidelity of these wheels is amazing, every time I look at them, there is something off about them. I think the spokes seem a bit too chunky when compared to photoetched or metal wire wheels.

Thanks for the explanation, but I'm still a bit confused. So basically you want to see the passenger side mirror while still paying attention to the road directly in front of you, or is is just impolite to turn your head to the passenger side? As far as the rides sharing (Uber, Lyft) go, isn't the liability covered by the companies themselves? And why there is no incentive? Is it because the public transportation is so well developed that it just as fast and convenient to take trolley, bus, or a train?

Interesting . . .

That is an odd one, including the suicide passenger door. I also don't get Japanese fascination for fender-mounted side mirrors. I rather have that mirror closer to my eyes than one mounted couple of feet away from me. It must be like peeking through a keyhole. I also wonder if Uber and Lyft will eventually kill off the "real" taxis in Japan.

Um, one of your friends doesn't appreciate gifts (returned the model you gave them), and now another stabs you in the back (or is it the same "friend")? Seems that you might benefit from a change of friends.

Interesting idea. I think that just squeezing the monofilament in a pair of small pliers (placing it closer to the joint for greater pressure) will flatten it nicely too - no vise needed. I do this to even flatten copper and brass wire.

Blending some VM&P Naphtha with the thinner will also slow down its evaporation.

Static electricity can be neutralized by a negative ion generator. Some hair dryers have one of those built in, or you can buy ones built into a small fan (used to neutralize static electricity on electronic rework benches). Placing the plastic body in the air stream full of negative ions should neutralized the static charge. Or wait until Summer when the humidity in the air naturally dissipates the static.

What a bunch of groaners! You guys just further prove that there is a "P - U" in every pun.

I think it is because there aren't *THAT* many North American cars which are hard to identify. Unless you are looking for some very small specific annual detail change (like the color of the directional signal lens, or some small script on a fender). But like Michael said, you are free to post your own quiz here (in parallel with his). Ads for the same people correctly answering those quizzes, I suspect that they would also be the same ones correctly guessing the American cars. To me they are just very knowledgeable individuals.

And you are one of the moderators here! LOL!

I use Corel Draw and Photo Paint - these are graphic editors which allow for very accurate scaling. Then there is this bitmaps vs. vector-based images thing. And printing is yet another subject. It takes lots of experimentation to get optimal results. Ink jet printouts are often too fuzzy for small images like 1:25 gauges. In your example, if you want to use a bitmap, first convert it to black/white (sometimes called line-art color space). No colors, no grayscale. The actual scale image should be at least 600 dpi (but 1200 or 2400 will be even better). When printing try to find a selection in your printer properties where it will only use black ink (sometimes it is called grayscale). Then you will need to mess around with the print quality and different paper types to get best results (with minimal ink blooming). Often using lower quality printing (like draft) will yield best results with small black/white images.

Well, if a leak develops in that area then the propellant will simply escape, and the paint won't spray.

It reminded me of a Polish Syrena car, but it was not quite that either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FSO_Syrena