peteski

Funny, I use a Badger 200, which is a siphon-feed airbrush. I do have a metal-cup adapter, but I almost never use it. I like the fact that I don't have to worry about spilling paint from an open-top cup. For air pressures I use anywhere from 10-30psi. No problem with the siphon picking up the paint (airbrush-consistency paint is pretty thin).

Hmm . . . that's odd. As I understand, those are the most popular size for vibrators, um "personal massagers".

This is like deja-vou all over again Art. Your post is pretty much identical to one you posted some time ago and I then chimed in that from what I understand about the waterslide decals, the sticky coating on the decal paper is dextrose (sugar), and not gelatin. But either stuff is water soluble.

You need to actually talk to them and tell them that they are calling you by mistake because you . . . don't own a computer!! I did that few times and I haven't had one of those calls for few years now. But I'm getting lots of other Spam from "electric company", and lots of health plans.

Wow! Those are some really early 1:20 scale Tamiya kits! I have never seen those in person (and I don't recall anybody mentioning these to me before you just did). Nice! But as you said, these do not have any opening doors or trunk (bonnet for the "true" English speakers). I'm still curious what kit Craig has.

Also didn't watch the video. Looks like they got the rear wheels wrong (just like Revell did). The rear wheels are supposed to have deep dish mags and fatter tires. But it looks like they used the same wheels and tires all around. To me that is a huge flaw, as those wheels are one of the signature things about this car.

I guess you've missed the ongoing discussion about this, in this section, about 10 posts down from yours. Imageshack did the same thing to me few years back.

While I agree that it is not magic, I strongly disagree that just knowing how to scratchbuild items from physical raw materials gives you most of the skills needed for 3D modeling. Being proficient at designing in a virtual 3-dimansional space on a computer is a whole different skill set which must be learned from scratch. Some of it might be intuitive (especially when you are familiar with 2D drafting), but taking it to a 3rd dimension is a large leap. Designing simple objects is fairly easy, but it takes lots of know-how do design more complex objects, especially with complex surfaces. The degree of the learning curve also depends on the CAD software being used.

LOL Guido! I Never ran my Dremel for 60 continuous hours. But seriously, I had my oldest Dremel for probably 30 years and the brushes barely show any wear. I suppose it is because I almost never run mine at full speed. Actually, I mostly use it at very slow speeds (so I'm sure there is much less wear on the brushes). I'm also surprised that fiatboy's Dremel has worn out chuck on the motor shaft. I don't have the cordless model but I assume that the motor shaft is steel. How the heck did it wear out?! On my Dremel, the Chuck is aluminum and the collets are either aluminum or steel (depending on the size). Pretty solid stuff - mine shows no signs of wear. I tried the keyless chuck but it didn't run true enough for me (especially with small drill bits and dental burrs).

Craig, I'm curious about that Fiat 131 kit. Is is plastic, or simply an unassembled die-cast (metal-body) model? Not many plastic model kits are made with opening doors, hoods, and trunks without also having a full engine and detailed interior. Actually not many plastic kits period, come with opening doors/hood/trunk. What is the manufacturer of that hit? What scale it it?

Think about it: Maybe not so moronic? Jet fuel is not very volatile and it is well contained within the fuel tank and fuel system of the airplane. The aircraft is designed to safely hold that flammable liquid. I think the worry is that a flammable material in the cargo or baggage hold of the aircraft might catch on fire, and do enough damage to take down the aircraft. Same with the Lithium Ion batteries (which can catch on fire).

I doubt it would be different plastic. It is likely just regular Polystyrene with different dyes/additives. Virgin Polystyrene is transparent and colorless.

Beautiful build! Looks like it will be a nice kit. Since these are not decals, how did you mask the tailgate letters so nicely? One thing that bugs me is how chunky/clunky the wipers are. Very toy-like. Not that this is the first model with chunky wipers, but Tamiya can mold them much thinner, and more realistic looking. But I guess Moebius is not Tamiya.

Because it makes a statement about the wearer's mental state. How quickly we forgot about Lady Gaga's meat dress. That was real raw beef, not just print on fabric.

Sounds tasty!

I put my kit's decals in standard cheap polyethylene zipper bags. That protects them and the bag material should not affect the decals. I would stay away from waxed paper. Some of the Revell Germany decals which use thick clear film had waxed paper sheet to protect them. The wax paper left marks (impressions) in the shiny clear decal film.

I'll have what you're having! I really like pickled beets: the texture, the flavor, the color . . . I can eat them by themselves. Speaking of likable textures - I like water chestnuts for their unusual crinkly crunchiness.

LOL! Well, at least you can be fairly certain that it is not any of the parts you already replaced. Yeah, I know that this is very frustrating. No trouble codes are even set in the PCM? You mention that the problem is intermittent and that you checked all the wires. But how about the electrical connectors? Maybe one of those causes intermittant connection? Assuming that the PCM is in the passenger compartment, did you check the wires from the firewall connector to the PCM? When the car is working properly, can you simulate the problem by pulling off one of the connectors on on one of the sensors? Do you have the service manual which explains which components are responsible for controlling the idle speed?

This one is a piece of cake for me!

LOL, that will forever remain my secret! Just kidding. I saw the telltale broken circle reflection in several of your photos (on the shiny hemispherical engine intakes, or whatever those are called). I also often use my circular fluorescent magnifier lamp for illuminating my photo subjects, so I'm quite familiar with what its reflection looks like. I can also tell that it took some time to set up those photos. Like I said, job well done!

Nice build! The only thing that bugs me is the shallow-dish mags in the rear, but that is not your fault: The kit was not made correctly.

Simply stunning! You also asked for critiques. If the 1:1 bell housing and transmission were unpainted aluminum castings, and yours are finished, then I would say they look too shiny. Aluminum castings are dull (flat) silver. I quick coat of flat clear should take care of that.

Great looking model and very good photography! Do you use a circular fluorescent lamp when taking photos?

I got my kits and I have to agree that these are of Modelhaus quality. The body is nice and thin, and bubble and pinhole free. The interior tub floor has a thin patched area, but it should look fine. The undercarriage has an area of missing resin around the rear end, but I suppose it is not too visible. The tires look awesome but the mold half (at the sidewall) is misaligned so the sidewall sticks proud from the thread slightly. I'm not complaining - just mentioning my findings. The overall shape of the body and the surface quality is really good. Hard to believe that it was all sculpted by hand without any CAD aid. The thin vacuu-formed "glass" will look really good too. The separate hood provides a nice choice for a full engine build. And the transparent headlight and taillight lenses are nice bonus too. There are more goodies too. Awesome job guys! A great model of a 4-door sedan which would otherwise probably never been produced. I will not be building it anytime soon, but I'll have it when the time comes.

I often see that when I drive to work. It is not electrical gremlins - it is inattention of the drivers. Like Rob says, what you see is the DRLs, not headlights. The problem with modern cars which have DRLs but not automatic headlights is that often the gauges on the dash are illuminated at all times (not just at night). So, unlike in the old days, when you couldn't see your gauges when the ambient light got darker, today;'s drivers see a fully illuminated dashboard and also the DRLs casting reduced-intensity light onto the pavement, so they don't have any clues that their regular headlights (and taillights) are not on. Another thing that irks me is that drivers do not turn on their headlights when it is raining. We have a law that when the wipers are on, the headlights need to be on too, but many drivers drive with no lights. This is really dangerous during overcast days with heavy rain. If someone drives a gray or black car with no headlights, they are pretty much totally invisible (especially when they are coming from behind, and the water drops on the side windows and the water spray from the tires make things really blurry). And of course they drive fast! I had few close calls when I was about to change lanes not seeing any cars, but the dark asphalt-colored car suddenly showed up next to me. I couldn't see them.