-
Posts
8,929 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Everything posted by peteski
-
Lacquer Thinner for Bob's Paints?
peteski replied to crowe-t's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
What is a "medium grade lacquer thinner". I don't ever recall seeing that in a hardware store. Usually the container just states the name of the company making it and then "lacquer thinner". Now if you go to a body shop supply store, they have reducers (thinners) which can be hot, medium, or cool (made for spray-painting 1:1 vehicles at different ambient temperatures). -
In Box: Revell 1:16 Porsche 356C Cabriolet 07043
peteski replied to The Creative Explorer's topic in Car Kit News & Reviews
Body molded in black? I wonder if they are trying to cater to the modelers who do not wish to paint their Porsche (or paint it black)? Perfect task for 3D printing. -
I also love trees but these were huge pines (over 120' tall) and very close to my house. The New England winter weather is getting weirder and weirder every year. We are getting more and more of that "wintery-mix" precipitation where we get pasty snow first, then some rain to soak into the snow, then cap it it off with some freezing rain. The snow is more like wet cement than nice fluffy snow. It sticks to the pines (since they keep their foliage) and since pines are very fragile, branches start snapping. Last winter couple or very large branches came down and damaged my fence and shed. Since some branches were directly over my house, I lucked out that one didn't come down on the roof. And of course this ever-worsening climate also produces more and more super-storms with fast winds, and pines have very shallow root system. Those 2 just had to go. Like I said, I like trees, they produce oxygen, provide shade and acts as sound barriers. I'll miss the shade my pines provided, but I was not taking any more chances. I still have several oaks in my yard, and I own a mini forest across the street with pines, oaks and maples. As for my lawn, it is 100% natural. I do not water or fertilize it - whatever grows, grows. I only mow it to keep it somewhat neat and rake the leaves in the Fall. I know exactly what you mean about those perfect lawns. House in the middle of the lawn, and no trees anywhere. I couldn't live like that - it is too bare - I would feel too exposed.
-
That was what Shapeways was offering. But I still rather have all the pieces of the puzzle at home. That way I can experiment without leaving home. Going by the results I'm seeing in that Railwire thread I mentioned earlier, the results are pretty spectacular, and you don't have to leave your house. And if course this technology is progressing very fast - who knows what will be available in a year or two . . .
-
TruWire motorcycle style wire wheels
peteski replied to Bernard Kron's topic in Car Aftermarket / Resin / 3D Printed
I see. It must be in the eyes of the beholder because as soon as I laid my eyes on the photos of those wire wheels I thought to myself "those spokes look too thick". Not trying to troll - just giving my opinion. I wonder is 0.007" wire would be a good compromise? As far as the spark plug wires go, there are more than one diameter in the 1:1 world. There are standard factory wires and extra chunky high performance aftermarket wires. If' I'm building a pedestrian factory stock car I use the thinner wires, and for hot-rods I use the thicker stuff. -
I bought a food dehydrator in the late '80s (when they started to get popular). Probably paid less than $20. I cut out some trays inside to get enough vertical clearance to use it for car bodies. It is really bare-bones unit. It has a 40W heating element on the bottom and it stays always on. There are adjustable shutters on the top and bottom which can somewhat control the internal temperature. For years I was just using it without any temperature readings, but I eventually got a cooking thermometer and stuck it in the lid. The temperature stays between 115-120 F and in the 30+ years I have used, I have never melted, damaged or warped any plastic or resin parts I put in it. The Micro Mark thingie seems like a way overkill, but you have the money, go for it.
-
Really? Whatever oak leaves are left on my lawn in the Fall are still there in the Spring. Except at that time they are all nasty, wet and clumped together (being packed down by the snow). If I don't pick them up, they block the sunlight to the grass underneath them and that kills the grass. And lets not even talk about pine needles! I just had 2 huge pine trees cut down - at least the pine needles won't be much problem anymore.
-
That thread has multiple pages - you really need to go few pages further to see some pretty incredible printouts (coming from a low end machine). The first guy who started that thread had no problems with the machine. I'm still amazed that even with a cheap machine like that (and I would not mind tinkering with it to keep in going) you can get some pretty good quality parts. Design something during the day, feed the data to the printer and it "prints" your part overnight. Hard to beat that (especially with Shapeways pricing structure getting really crazy). In the early days of 3D printers, they used to be called "Santa Claus machines" - a name that I think was very fitting. One of the machine owners in that thread sent me a sampling of failed printouts and I'm very impressed with what I see (the correctly printed areas). Sure, for thousands of dollars you can get a "real" 3D printer, but most hobbyists cannot afford that.
-
Looking for a photo etch source.
peteski replied to Paul Hettick's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
Yes, try https://ppdltd.com/ . Yes, they are in Scotland, but that should not dissuade you from considering them. I know many model railroaders in USA who use their services and are very satisfied with them. One of theses days (when I get to those projects) I'll be using them myself. As an alternative, you could try asking some of our local cottage manufacturers (like Model Car Garage, or Detail Master) where they get their photoetch parts done. -
TruWire motorcycle style wire wheels
peteski replied to Bernard Kron's topic in Car Aftermarket / Resin / 3D Printed
That scales out to 1/4" diameter in 1:1 scale. A bit thick for spokes in motorcycle wheels. I don't' know the exact diameter, but I suspect they will be closer to 1/8" diameter. So 0.005" wire would be more realistic. I just figured that if one goes through the trouble of making wire wheels (instead of using wheels with plastic spokes, or photo-etched spokes), might as well go all the way and make them in-scale. -
I belong to a model railroad forum. Due to all the Shapeways shenanigans several members decided to buy their own DLP printed (Anycubic Photon) and print on their own. That printer is actually perfect for printing small parts.The results are pretty amazing. If you are interested, scan through that thread: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=45736.0
-
Aoshima wheels, but no tires?
peteski replied to fiatboy's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
Get some tires for those wheels. -
Styrene casting test, not a complete failure
peteski replied to Oldmopars's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
Super glue (CA glue) also hardens (sets) by a chemical reaction, not by solvent evaporation. -
Styrene casting test, not a complete failure
peteski replied to Oldmopars's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
Sure, your methods will yield acceptable results. Your parts are molded use materials which set (harden) by a chemical reaction, not by solvent evaporation. -
Styrene casting test, not a complete failure
peteski replied to Oldmopars's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
Like Bill said, the solvent which makes styrene liquid has to evaporate in order for the styrene to solidify again. Regardless of how small the part being cast is, there will be shrinkage, pinholes, etc. Not really work the effort (unless mediocre-quality parts are what you are after). -
Yes, some (or maybe all) of Trumpeter automotive kits use different type of chrome. "Chrome" in most kits is not actually chromium, but simple a very thin layer of aluminum vacuum-deposited over a clear glossy lacquer. Sometimes there is a top coat of glossy clear over the metalization. But in either case, clear coatings and few-atoms-thick aluminum are easily stripped with any strong Lye-based solution. Trumpeter electroplates their kit parts using a much thicker layer of some metal (not sure if it is chromium) but it is some shiny silver metal. You can see the difference in thickness when you try to scrape the "chrome" off. It will not come off unless you really dig into the metal. That is why it's very difficult (if not impossible) to chemically strip the Trumpeter "chrome" using household chemicals..
-
Modelhaus Offical Update/SA
peteski replied to Mike 1017's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
And how exactly does this A$$clown know that the Holthouses didn't offer the business for sale? And how does he know that the molds were lost? Did he hear that directly from them? That is such bull! I agree that this letter should have never been published (at least not without verifying his claims). -
Clear Over Alclad?
peteski replied to StevenGuthmiller's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
Yes, the smoother (glossier) and darker the undercoat is, the more chrome-like will the Alcad and MLQ look like. Since like I said, the MLQ seems to contain a thicker clear lacquer, it is not as dependent as Alclad on the glossy undercoat.But both Alclad and MLQ rely on the metallic flakes lining up on the surface of the paint to achieve that mirror-like finish. -
Splash Paints Ford GTLM 2016 and 2018 Colors
peteski replied to Samuel S's topic in Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials
Thanks Samuel. -
Splash Paints Ford GTLM 2016 and 2018 Colors
peteski replied to Samuel S's topic in Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials
Thanks, but I'm curious what the lighting unit looks like. Is it like a cube with strips of LEDs mounted on top (and of course the backdrop in the back and on the bottom)? -
Clear Over Alclad?
peteski replied to StevenGuthmiller's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
Well, not quite accurate. If you examine both MLQ and Alclad II Chrome liquid paints under magnification, they both contain very small thin metallic flakes. I do not know if either one is actually Chromium (I doubt it). But the metallic particles of each paint have different size the MLQ's vehicle (the clear liquid) seems to have more body and be slightly more viscous than Alclad's vehicle (which is mostly solvent that evaporates as the paint dries). When in a liquid form, the Alclad particles swirl in the liquid vehicle, scattering the light which hits them - that is why it looks just like shimmering silver paint (not shiny chrome). When it is sprayed onto a smooth (smooth=glossy) base coat, as the solvent dries, the scattered metallic flakes settle down and all align and lay down flat, creating a continuous smooth Chrome-like "mirror". Unlike Alclad, I suspect because of its more viscous vehicle, in a liquid state many of MLQ's metallic particles float on the surface. Since the liquid's surface is smooth, all the floating particles align themselves into a continuous chrome-like mirror, even when the paint is in its liquid form. You can observe similar phenomenon on the liquid surface of the old Testors Chrome paint. But Testors chrome uses duller looking metallic particles. When the MLQ is applied to a surface, the metal flakes stay on the surface of the vehicle while the solvent evaporates. The vehicle (almost like a clear coat) creates that smooth surface for those metallic flakes to settle on, so very important for the shiny-chrome look. So, that is why MLQ applied to a non-shiny base will look shinier than Alclad. But both Alclad and MLQ benefit from glossy undercoat. If you don't believe me, try applying MLQ over a coat of (semi-gloss) primer, and over glossy paint and see the difference in the chrome effect. The dark colored undercoat is desired (especially for Alclad) because there are some microscopic gaps between some of the metal flakes. If the the undercoat is not black its color will show slightly through those tiny gaps, lessening the chrome-effect. But if the undercoat is black, the light which gets throught those tiny gaps between metallic flakes will be absorbed (black paint absorbs light), not affecting the chrome-effect. Getting back to the subject of this thread, applying a clear coat (especially solvent-based) will soften the Alclad's and MLQ's vehicle and disturb the alignment of all those flat metallic particles which make that continuous "mirror", destroying the chrome effect. Water-based clear (like Future) will not disturb the particles much, but it will still (possibly due to changing optical properties of the metallic flakes) slightly degrade the chrome-effect. -
Modelhaus Offical Update/SA
peteski replied to Mike 1017's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
3D printing is still in a teething stage, and there are several 3D printing technologies out there. Shapeways is nowhere near state-of-the-art when it comes to printing resolution or surface finish. Give it few more years and 3D printed parts will be indistinguishable from hand-made masters and resin cast parts (or even injection-molded parts). Even now, many resin-casters use 3D printed masters for casting their resin parts. Fireball Modelworks is one such company. Those wonderful resin-cast parts are copies of a 3D printed master.