peteski

I'm doing research and gathering parts/materials to build the Revell Billy Carter's Redneck Truck (GMC Scottsdale 10) pickup. That model comes with the appropriate tires (matching the box art photo of the real truck), but the tires are molded using that hard and slippery plastic (polyethylene?) model companies used for a while. Plus, the molding quality is terrible. I don't know if the molds were too cool when they injected the plastic or whatever the problem was, the tires have all sorts of swirl and flow lines on the sidewalls. Not usable. I did some research to find out if those tires were used on other kits and it appears that this is the case. Among the online info I found was an excellent thread here: Revell Squarebody Pickups While the tires of the models in that thread are not described in that much detail, the box art seems to show that several kits used the same tires: The Ice Patrol, Big Red, Sneaky Pete, Midnight Cowboy, and Alley Rat might be using the same tires. Can someone confirm that? Also, are the tires in those kits molded in that nasty hard plastic, or are they soft vinyl? Are there any other kits that I missed which had those tires in them? Of course if someone has a spare set of those tires (hopefully molded in vinyl, or molded better than mine), I would be interested. I'm also redrawing the decals to be correct (the kit decals aren't quite right).

While no doubt the kits and dioramas are old and dusty, I don't think the glue has just yellowed. Going by the copious amounts and the stringing on the engine, I think it is a brown rubbery contact cement.

Nice to see progress. Hey, if you have to build one just for the learning experience, so be it. It is great to see someone buiilding this tiny kit! That looks like a bottom part of a Testors liquid cement bottle it is resting against (good size reference).

Yes, the propellant cans are similar to the ones which came with airbrushes years ago. To add to what has been said, you have no control over the air pressure (and that is a very important factor when airbrushing). When the can is warm the pressure is high. As it cools down during use, the pressure drops.

Yes, I also use BSI (Bob Smith Industries) adhesives. I especially like their CA accelerator. It is almost odorless, and does not attack styrene like some other accelerators do. Which adhesives to get? Whenever will suit the job at hand. I have thin, thick and gap filling versions (for various tasks). I also often use the odorless CA for gluing clear parts (it does not fog them as regular CA does).

Don't know exactly, but he was in his 60s.

That was a very sad and surprising news (I'm a member of the Classic Plastic Model Club) and I just saw Del at the meeting we had week ago. He conducted the meeting as usual and even presented a lengthy show-n-tell about his latest model. We knew about his illness but he seemed to be doing ok. Now he is gone! When we elected him the club president, we jokingly made him president for life. He lived up to that bargain. He was by far the best club president (and a friend) we had, and he sure lived his life to the fullest! And as as you guys know, he was a great modeler. He will be dearly missed by all of us. R.I.P. Del! I hope that where you are now there are lots of fast cars and lots of model kits.

Fine leather might work for larger scale models, but is way too thick for the 1:24/25 or smaller scale. Painted masking tape could be used. I also have some antistatic bags for electronic circuit boards. Those are made from rubbery black plastic which can be cut into strips which has the "leather look". Electrical (vinyl) tape should also work. You should be also able to find it in brown color if needed. Just remove the adhesive (Naphtha works well for that), and you have thin flexible strip which can be cut into scale straps and belts.

I have learned to use all sorts of ways to hold my parts or painting. I sue masking tape, double-sided tape, pieces of wire insulation or heat shrink tubing, and often I drill and glue brass wire to the parts, then attach them to a handle for painting. Here is a sample of a tiny fire engine mounted for painting. It is a photo-etched brass kit but I do the same with plastic parts. For full resolution see http://micronart.com/Wisniewski_images/Paint-prep.jpg

While I do use an airbrush, I do not sand, polish, or wax my models. This one was painted with Tamiya Fine White primer, and few coats of nail polish. Stripes are painted using AccuPaint (model railroad paint similar to Tru-Color paint), and there are few coats of Testors Wet Look clear. All airbrushed with a Badger 200 airbrush. I have spot sanded/polished boogers on few of my models, but that is rare. Never the entire body.

Problem is with the vague terminology used by modelers. Like "lacquer" and "acrylic". You can have acrylic enamel and acrylic lacquer. The chemistries of various paints can differ, and and solvents can be hot or cold. Paint compatibility is d difficult subject. Unfortunately without knowing more details about the paint chemistry (it would take some digging, and some info is trade secrets), there is no sure way to know the compatibility of any 2 paints, especially when they are by different manufacturers or from different paint lines of the same manufacturer. The type of question asked here pops up regularly in online forums, and there is no sure fire answer. The best answer is to test the compatibility on some disposable surface (like a plastic spoon). But even that is not guaranteed since the kit's plastic has a different composition from the spoon, and even thought the test is between the paint layer and the clear coat, the paint's substrate can make a difference.

I think this is the first time I encountered "vtg".

The shop looks good, but I have to ask: Are the air lines plumbed using standard water/sewer PVC piping? If yes, You might want to rethink that. Please see https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/resource-center/using-pvc-pipe-for-compressed-air/ and other online warnings about not doing that. Friend of mine used such pipes for compressed air and we had one burst after coupe of months. Fortunately it did not injure anybody, but I would never do that again.

Perfection! Improperly installed lenses are a peeve of mine and they are also one of the things that make or break the model's realism.

My precision CA applicator is a large sewing needle with half if its eye cut off. It is basically a tiny fork. The other end is then mounted in an acrylic rod handle, but a dowel would work too. I take a piece of aluminum foil and put a drop of CA on it. Then I dip my applicator in it and transfer the glue to the area which needs the glue. Works very well.

We are inching towards self-driving cars. In those vehicles there will be no need for a typical car dashboard and controls. The car will take care of the mundane task of driving and monitoring all of its systems. I suspect that most of its functions will be voice-controlled. It will also be prone to being hacked or hijacked, but that is a subject for another conversation. In those cars a large touch screen will be perfect for its occupants to enjoy their social media banter and other entertainment. There will be no driver to speak of. Heck, we will probably have implants which will allow our brains directly to interact with our computing and communication devices (which are basically one and the same already). I'm not ready of all this, but many are.

So you are located in Europe (Sweden) and Revel AG will not help you either? And like you said, it is a originally Revell AG (not Revell USA) kit. Looks like this Revell thing is a mess.

I bought some of his wire wheels on eBay. He probably still sells them there too. He doesn't use photo-etched spokes. He hand-laces the wheels using wire (which has a round cross-section. just like real spokes).

Sweet! Looks like it is ready to be driven away! But can you fix that single rotated lens in the backup lights? Close-up photos are very unforgiving.

Nice close-up photo! And the tires themselves are made from 2 or 3 plastic "slices", correct?

Great model! Legos sure have come a long way from the simple blocks I played with as a kid!

If you want different wheels then there are some options. There are both model kits companies, and aftermarket companies making wheel and tire sets. For example Aoshima and Fujimi (Japanese kit manufacturers) sell wheel and tire sets. Easiest to get them is on eBay (or possibly on Amazon). Aoshima has the widest range available. Go to eBay and in the Models and Kits section search for "Aoshima wheels" or Fujumi wheels". You'll see plenty to choose from.

I just did - thanks! Good to know that he is alive and modeling.

Good to know he is still alive and modeling. Thanks!

Naphtha (Ronsonol lighter fluid, or VM&P Naphtha from a hardware store) usually work well for this.