peteski

I have both kits (unbuilt) and yes, the AMT kit has the tires and wheels undersize,and the tires have too high of a profile. Revell tires look ok, but IIRC, there is some issue with the wheels too. I would have to dig out both kits and look at the again. I was thinking of using the Revell wheels with the AMT model, but again IIRC, there was some problem with that. I haven't looked at these kits for probably over 10 years.

I have tried the dissolved plastic, method but I find that it takes a very long time for the solvent to evaporate (days, weeks, or even longer, depending on how much solvent was in the mixture and how thick the filled area was), and the plastic never seems to get as hard as it was before it was dissolved. I rather use CA glue and if needed mix it it with either styrene shavings or talcum powder. It also use accelerator (BSI brand) to harden it. No shrinkage at all. I then work it (sand/feather it) within about 1 hour after hardening. the CA glue continues to harden, so it eventually becomes harder than the styrene, making it difficult to sand the filled area smooth. Some use baking soda as filler - I stay away from that method. Baking soda is water soluble and if some of it was left exposed to ambient air, it can absorb moisture from humid air, dissolve and start oozing out f the filled area.Besides, baking soda violently accelerates the cure of CA, often bubbling up and even smoking as the CA hardens. BSI accelerator provides gentler hardening action.

A good properly of India Ink is that when dry it is not affected by solvents in the paints we use for out model cars. Sharpie "black" and similar organic-solvent-based inks are often attacked by the solvents in hobby paints (when you clear-coat your model) and the ink can run, ruining your paint job.

So you had to do this to every link? Looks like your method made that task much easier. Is the original part molded improperly, or are you simulating cleat wear?

That tape is supposed to have the edge of the adhesive treated with some substance which absorbs water from latex paint and swells up, supposedly sealing up the edge perfectlyy. If used with organic-solvent-based paints (like hobby enamels or automotive paints), the frog tape will not give any advantage over standard masking tape. I bought some years ago (without understanding how it works) and tried it on a model, but I found it too stiff for masking models. For masking models, just like others have mentioned, I use the 3M Blue painters tape (for filling in larger areas), and Tamiya tape for fine masking. I also use Parafilm-M and liquid masking agents. It all depends what type of masking I'm doing.

LOL! No way! I quietly accepted his advice. If I was cheeky and talked back, he could have still failed me. I wanted my license!

Cale, if you know the rules of the road and you have done some driving with your learner's permit (and you survived so far), you'll do fine. After my test was over my instructor told me that I drove like a cowboy and that I should take it easy and go slower! I'll never forget that. I still passed it and got my license.

Well done! It has that metallic "steel" look. If you wanted to make it super-realistic you could also dull the areas which are not in contact with the brake pads. Maybe even make them look slightly rusty? I suck at weathering.

This can happen in the 3D-printing world we live in.

Wow, you did take a sharp left turn in Albuquerque! Very cool and creative! I like it!

Yeah, good story! We sure have some interesting participants on this forum!

But alcohol has less energy than gasoline, so the ethanol blends give you poorer gas mileage than a pure gasoline. I don't think that the lead additive had the same effect.

Thanks Bill. So there is really something to this Summer Blend stuff. I don't recall price of gas dropping when going back to the Winter Blend. Also, info from those websites seems to confuse things even more. One of the sites states: The difference between summer- and winter-blend gasoline involves the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) of the fuel. RVP is a measure of how easily the fuel evaporates at a given temperature. The more volatile a gasoline (higher RVP), the easier it evaporates. The other one states: In order to reduce pollution, summer-blend fuels use different oxygenates, or fuel additives. These blends, the EPA claims, burn cleaner and also help compensate for a limited oil supply. Which is it? Oxygenates or RVP? My car uses the lowest (87) octane gas with up to 10% Ethanol (alcohol) in it. That should be super-cheap! I also thought that the lead in gasoline (which was called "regular gas" after unleaded gas was introduced) was not to increase the octane rating but to lubricate engine's valve seals. That is why cars with older engines should run on today's unleaded gas with lead additive added.

Bill states that all these adhesives are chemically same as the Elmer's white glue. But doesn't' the Formula 500 glue adhere much better to smooth surfaces than Elmer's? Elmer's can easily be peeled off smooth surface. Elmer's when dry is not crystal clear. It has slightly milky look, while Formula 500 dries crystal clear and glossy?

You can also use cardboard boxes like the ones used to store promo models. Either get them from Spotlight Hobbies, or use ones meant to store baseball cards. Spotlight Hobby boxes: http://www.spotlighthobbies.com/one-dozen--12--spotlight-hobbies-model-car-boxes.html Baseball card boxes are available is different length. Here is one example: https://www.blowoutcards.com/supplies/550-count-cardboard-storage-box-50ct-bundle.html

Yes, it is a good idea to have very basic analog or even mechanical gauge backup system in an airplane. Unlike in a car, you can 't pull over to the side of the road in an airplane is some fancy digital readout dies on you. I hope that they always keep a mechanical fail-safe instrumentation on airplanes. Although is seems that they got rid of those fail-safes on some airliners with glass cockpits. This one still shows the blanked out circular openings where I suppose those analog gauges would reside.

Nice! So what is it? Bare Metal Foil?

That wasn't directed at you personally - you are not responsible for the Summer-blend gasoline production. It was a generic rant towards the big-oil companies.

Those are renderings of analog dials on a computer display. Virtual gauges. But yes, those are easier to read than digital ones. Funny that many cars have mechanical analog gauges but unlike in the old days, where the speedometer and some older tach were mechanically linked to the transmission and driveshaft, the pointer is actually rotated by electromagnets which are driven by the on-board computer (which is digital).

You brought up something that really irks me! In the Spring gas prices are going up because of the switch to the Summer Blend. In the Fall gas prices go up because they are switching to the Winter Blend! WTF! What exactly are they blending into gas (other than the 10% ethanol which is ruining gas already)? Do we really need all those custom blends? 40 years ago nobody ever heard of seasonal blends. Even if they were doing that already, the price fluctuations were not blamed on the blends. It is all just a bunch of malarkey if you ask me. Ethanol (alcohol) started getting added to gas I think in the '90s or early 2000s (when the oil prices went through the roof. But now with th eoil prices back to reasonable, they should stop adding ethanol to gas - make it pure gasoline again for better gas mileage. Yet another silly think is that with 10% of alcohol in gas nowadays why would anybody buy and add "gas dry" or "gasoline anrifreeze" additives, which are just alcohol too? The 10% ethanol gasoline is already pretty immune to freezing up due to water int he gas.

Cool, but now you will have to change batteries in it every so often. Good old analog is still the best in my book.

This is where this grade-school level math comes in handy. The stuff we didn't think we'll ever use.

Yeah, American chocolates don't compare to the European ones (where most have at least some alcohol). Fortunately there are many places in US where you can buy European chocolates. German Deli in Texas is one of them. They have online store. I always place a large order there around Christmas. Wake up your taste buds with these: https://www.germandeli.com/Sweets/All_Liquor_filled_Chocolates I also have a small local store with Polish goodies (including chocolates). Good stuff!

I like it!

Well then, it looks like age and taste in cars have nothing in common. Even the curretn Corvette was a bit too much for me, but it sort of grew on me (but only in certain color combos). What I found interesting is that it appears that the Swiss front license plates are made as a mirror image (so they can be easily read by the driver in the car in front of them)?