peteski

To me this is much ado about nothing. Like I mentioned in my previous post, the discounting will still go on, but the discounted price cannot be advertised. That's all. I'm used to that with Kato (model trains).

You're an anomaly - go back to Facebook! Just kidding - it is good to see you here on this forum. I hope that you keep hanging around.

I think you should have broken up the 50 or older selection into few more ranges. That would be more interesting.

I find it funny that a company called "Military Wheels" makes a model of an automobile which has no wheels.

Copying what I posted in the parallel thread about this: Kato (model train manufacturer) has been doing that for years. But the retailers still sell the products at a discount. The only difference is that they cannot show the discounted price until you add the item to the shopping cart. Here is an example (the price shown is the MAP price). https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/trains/locomotives/#filter:brand:Kato More info: https://www.pricewaiter.com/2017/02/minimum-advertised-price-map-vs-manufacturer-suggested-retail-price-msrp/

Kato (model train manufacturer) has been doing that for years. But the retailers still sell the products at a discount. The only difference is that they cannot show the discounted price until you add the item to the shopping cart. Here is an example (the price shown is the MAP price). https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/trains/locomotives/#filter:brand:Kato More info: https://www.pricewaiter.com/2017/02/minimum-advertised-price-map-vs-manufacturer-suggested-retail-price-msrp/

Why is the nozzle size that important? There isn't all that much difference between 0.5 and 0.8 mm and since the needle is adjustable you should be able to get the paint flow you desire from either nozzle.

I'm speculating here (I own Badger airbrushes) but I think that those are probably identical needles. Since needles have a taper from a point to their full diameter, they can fit few different diameter nozzles (as long as the diameter of the nozzle opening is not larger than the largest diameter of the needle).

Doesn't Revell DE already have a whole load of instructions in PDF format available for downloads on their website?

Why do you think that? The items he sells are clearly shown in photographs and described accurately - he is not hiding anything. It seems that some buyers just go for "his" type of models.There are a lot of strange people in this world (even including us). Too bad that eBay no longer allows members to view other member's profiles. We could look at his buyer's profiles to see what kind of things they buy besides junky models.

Art? It is more like f-art!

That is so cool! Very creative! All it needs now (for that true Frankenstein feel) is a Jacob's Ladder in the back of it. One thing that looks a bit off to me is the clock housing. The clock face is perfect, but that square housing looks too modern and too pristine to me. Some sort of antique round housing would fit the design better. Still, I like the entire concept.

Vacu-forming does not need high vacuum, but it needs a vacuum pump with fairly high cfm rating. When the hot softened plastic hits the mold, it needs to be sucked down over the mold in less than 1 second. That is because the thin plastic sheet cools down and hardens very rapidly. Typical vacuum pumps will not be able to evacuate all the air trapped under the sheet of plastic in such a short time. Most small vacu-formers use a vacuum cleaner type of motor/impeller to get the air evacuated fast.

There are many modelers out there and we all have different standards. What passes for a braided hose for one modeler will not be satisfactory to another modeler. I agree that the material shown in the beginning of this thread looks nothing like braided hose. It looks like hose someone wrapped in aluminum foil. There is no braid pattern on it. That is my opinion. In my experience the Pro-Tech braided scale hoses are the best representation of the real thing. And I'm lucky enough to over the years have accumulated a large range of detailing parts (not to mention a good stash of plastic kits), so when I need some item for the car I'm building I usually have it in my workshop, so no ordering and and then waiting for the item to arrive. And even if I do not have some item, I don't mind waiting few days (nowadays we no longer have to wait 4-6 weeks for mail order delivery). It is not like I'm engaged in a speed-building competition.

Unless most paints types are not fully cured, their surface might be affected by high strength alcohols. As an alternative you might want to try Naphtha (Ronsonol Lighter Fluid or VM&P Naphtha from a hardware store). It works really well for removing the BMF type of adhesive.

There are no instant-epoxies (that is why I love using CA glues). But your well-stocked hardware store should carry 2-minute epoxy. That is the fastest-setting epoxy I have ever encountered.

Thanks Greg! As far as the documentation of this process goes, I suspect that very few model builders venture into resin casting. I have found a book about casting at Micro-Mark, but it doesn't have as detailed process documentation that you provided. Plus, every caster seems to have slightly different technique. Basics are the same, but they do some things differently. I'm also a curious individual who never stops learning about stuff - you just never know when you'll need certain skill or technique. I also love to watch "How's it Made" TV show. As far as mold release on the master, why not? It is like resin casting in reverse. You start with the item (master body) and you pour (and later pull off) the RTV rubber around it.

Greg, I love the way you are documenting and explaining the process. Going back to where you were making the 1st part of the body mold, you said that the RTV will have a death grip on the master. Why couldn't you spray mold release of the master? I assume that the body molds will only produce a limited number of good castings. Do you reuse the original body master (the one which got damaged when demolding) and make another RTV mold, or do you use the 1st generation castings as masters for making additional molds (for a larger production run)?

Which forum? Can you post a link to it? Sounds like April Fool's joke.

Um, I think this needs to be clarified. In USA, Tamiya Spray cans (TS) are lacquers which use mild (usually styrene-safe) organic solvent (they have very strong odor). Then there are Tamiya brushable paints which come in small glass jars. Those are what hobbyists call "acrylics" - they are much thicker than the spray paint and they seem to use isopropyl alcohol as solvent. Those are designed to be brushed out-of-the-bottle, and should be thinned for airbrushing. The glass bottle paints are totally different than the spray can paints.

I would prime it and then once all the flaws are gone, polish the primer. I say that because whenever you join pieces of plastic (especially pieces of different plastic, and then a layer of glue), even if you polish out the joint, there will likely be some sort of flaw at the joint line. Primer will fill that flaw and also will create a uniform surface for plating. If primer brings out the flaws, sand and re-prime until flaws are gone, the polish.

I had the set with a figure-eigth track (and a single-lane bridge at the crossing to avoid a collision). My experience was the same as yours, but it was still fun. Friend of mine got the track which came trucks and an obstacle car and we joined both tracks together. I think his track had either a gauntlet or a 180 degree curve where each lane had a different length. We had a blast.

How about Gunze kit? https://www.scalemates.com/kits/324080-gunze-sangyo-g-198-citroen-2cv-charleston

But "real" plating of plastic parts is very modeler unfriendly. The plated layer of metal can't be easily scraped for good glue joints (much less fully removed). Trumpeter issued a kit or two with that kind of plated parts and everybody hated it. Electroplating also uses all sorts of nasty chemicals (which are dangerous and hard to dispose of). Professional resin casters (like Modelhaus and others) send their resin parts out to be vacuum metalized. It doesn't seem to be a big problem. And it is much friendlier to the modelers (and it looks good too).

Good for you! But this is not about tools - it is about preventing the small parts falling down into the "floor abyss" or being eaten by the "carpet monster". You know, those tiny parts you accidental drop on the floor, never to be found again.