peteski
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Posts posted by peteski
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This thread got me thinking about this oddball scale. I have built automotive model kits in 1:8, 1:12, 1:16, 1:24, 1:25, 1:32, 1:43, 1:87, and 1:160 scales, but I have stayed away from 1:20. Why in the world someone decided to produce plastic models in that scale?! What were they trying to accomplish? Which company was the first to produce 1:20 scale kits?
It seems to have never caught on because there are very few models made in that scale. Another oddball is 1:18, but that is, AFAIK only used for pre-reassembled diecast models.
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15 hours ago, stitchdup said:
try cutting one or two slice on the wheel where the axle goes in, it should relieve the pressure and let it come out easier.
Or heat the remaining axle with a soldering iron (or a torch if you are adventurous). That should soften the plastic surrounding the axle and you might be able to pull it out.
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The ends of the metal axles are usually knurled and press-fit in the wheel. I had some luck taking the tires off then twisting each wheel in opposite direction while pulling them apart at the same time. But at this point looks like you used "plan B".
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17 minutes ago, Classicgas said:
Each to their own opinion. I and many others like VW bugs.
I didn't say that I don't like those cute little buggers. But as cars go, they are unimpressive as compared to let's say a more impressive car like a Ferrari. One can like unimpressive vehicles. I for example like Henry J. , Nash Metropolitan, and many European Eastern Block vehicles (like Trabant, Syrena or Warszawa), even though they are all unimpressive vehicles. I like VWs too.
Unimpressive doesn't mean unlikable. We both know that Volkswagens (especially the vintage ones) have a huge following, even though they are cheap wheels. Remember, VolksWagen (people's car) was a a basic econo-boxes designed for the masses. It was Hitler before WWII who decided to make a car which pretty much every citizen could afford. He engaged Ferdinand Porsche for this task and the rest is history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen
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12 hours ago, curt raitz said:
Brad...the guy who did is photo-etch stuff passed away...so Norm will only have leftover photo-etch stock for sale.
So Norm was just buying the etched parts from an outside source, then casting the rims, tires and the assembly fixture?
Was the guy that passed away etching those himself or having them etched by some metal etching company? If it was a company then they still have the artwork to etch more sets of those etched frets (if we had some info about the company and the guy selling these to Norm). These are rhetorical questions.
That is one of the bad things about cottage industry like this - the production falls apart when one of the outside suppliers disappears. No "plan B".
Norm's wheels are/were very nice. I should call him up and see if I can get more info about this. Getting parts etched is is not that difficult nowadays. Maybe we can get Norm supplied with more etchings?
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Since we have now branched to non-automotive subjects, pretty much all the box-art from the now-defunct VEB Plasticart (kit manufacturer from East Germany in the '70s) had some beautiful artwork. Those were some of the first kits I built as a kid and the artwork still looks beautiful. Here is a bunch of examples.
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Yes, some brands of metallic model paints have totally out-of-scale size of metallic particles. Testors is one of the worse. Those paints look really bad on a model in photographs. Like others said, there are paints with much finer metallic particles, but it is also a bit of a compromise of what looks good and what would be properly scaled.
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5 hours ago, Junkman said:
I find it uninspiring, bleak and depressing.
Now what?
The "real" VW Beetle convertible is a very unimpressive car. So why should the model be any different. The only thing going for it is the fact that it is a convertible. To me the box-art looks perfectly fine and the model looks to be well built. It shows what is inside the box. Nothing depressing about it.
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9 hours ago, Brian Austin said:
And black vinyl for the most part looks like...black vinyl. :-)
Well, the rubber tires in Japanese kits have a correct look. But yes, vinyl tires don't look very realisitc. But little rubbing using scouring poweder or some Dullcote makes them look like rubber. And of course if one models a car at a show with shined-up tires, shiny vinyl works just fine.
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On 11/23/2017 at 6:35 AM, Classicgas said:
I sent magazines via media mail.
You're not the first nor last to do that. Other restricted items also get sent via Media Mail.
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26 minutes ago, Brian Austin said:
They could mold them in black styrene.
:-P
And they would look like they are made from black styrene. They are molded usually in neutral colors (like gray or beige) because that is what military modelers prefer and they are on the same tree as other parts. But even if molded in black , they would still need to be painted to properly represent the color and surface sheen of rubber tires.
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The pressure question is not a one-size-fits all. It depends on many factors. What type of paint, how viscous it is, what type of surface you are painting and how large it is, and what size nozzle is being used are just some variables. You will find yourself changing the pressure, paint flow and distance to the object being painted depending on the specific scenario.
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They do have a minimum order (250 sheets), and will be quite pricey (especially if multiple colors are needed). Providing a print-ready artwork (in vector format) makes it less expensive but still pricey.
See http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=Custom for more info.
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The plasticizer (chemical which makes the vinyl tires soft) has leached out of them and got absorbed into the polystyrene fenders, making them soft. I don't believe it will ever harden. Like Don said, the only good way to deal with the problem is to remove (grind away) the softened plastic and repair the damage using new styrene or putty, or both. Just like a dentist cleaning out a cavity before applying the filling material.
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What printing process is the printing company using? Silk screening, UV-curable ink-jet, or some other method?
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Actually, all the Japanese-made model car kits I have (Tamiya, Aoshima, Fujimi, Otaki, etc.) have tires made from rubber. Satco tires were also rubber (Japanese-made). They even smell like rubber! But just like real rubber, after about a decade of being exposed to air, the surface starts to deteriorate and it hardens a bit too.
Why are tires molded using soft materials? I suspect that has something to do with being able to demold them from the mold cavities with all the sidewall details, tread and sometimes hollow center on a single-piece tire. If they were hard plastic they would never come out of the mold. There are companies (mostly 1:35 military vehicles) that make tires out styrene. But to get the same level of detail as the soft tires, those hard plastic tires are made up from a sandwich of several pieces. Usually each sidewall is a separate piece and then there are several rings with the tread detail stacked between the sidewalls. And they have to be painted to look like tires.
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Excellent photos!
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I posted a link which goes to USPS where the restrictions are clearly stated. My statement about the slowness is also factual. If someone wants to use Media Mail for other items, it is their choice (not mine).
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How about Replicas & Miniatures Company of Maryland? Norm sells couple of different types of motorcycle wheels with etched spokes, resin rims and tires.
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Of course, the biggest clue was parked right beside it!
Well, you can't always depend on that. But it wasn't even needed: The heritage of the car in question was obvious.
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Media Mail is the "slow boat" mail - the cheapest and slowest. Probably send via a yak! You get what you paid for.
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Speaking of TV programing, I sometimes have to watch reruns of some of the programs on Velocity and Kin Dig It especially they seem to play this "back ground music" that is actually at the same volume as the people talking in the show. I don't remember it being their if I watch at the normal programing time only when it is a rerun. I don't know if Velocity is thinking this will enhance my viewing experience or if someone in their audio staff is trying to justify their existence.
Yeah! I noticed in many recent programs that background music has become foreground music, and you can barely hear what is being discussed. It is very silly and I don't know who and why they decided to start doing it. Must be them new Millennial sound engineers.
They are so used to multitasking that their brains must somehow find a way to separate the music from the speech. Or maybe simply nobody is simply watching the program to verify that everything is ok. -
I've been away from the hobby for quite some time, i had no idea they tried to pull that BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH. Thats insane. Even so, the missing pictures thing was happening way before that. But now that I understand PB are run by worshipers of the Money God. To hell with them.
Did people turn to an alternative? Is there even an alternative?
Yes there is - you can upload photos to your threads here. Admins generously lifted the upload limits so all your photos for the posts in this forum can also be hosted here. This means that the photos will be visible for as long as this forum is online. No more broken photo links!
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Here are the various shipping options explained (including Media Mail). https://www.usps.com/ship/mail-shipping-services.htm
There is a link for "show detail" about each. Click on "show detail" in the Media Mail section for . . . more details and restrictions.
Crafting up decal sheets(for mostly late 70s, 80s & 90s models so far)(Updated: Feb 1st)
in Car Aftermarket / Resin / 3D Printed
Posted
These do look very nice (especially with the metallic silver and gold).
Funny - going by the sheen of the inks (and by the faint line across the pair of black license plates with the Oldsmobile logo) to my eyes they look like they are printed on Alps MicroDry printer.
This photo doesn't show the corners of the sheet but if there are alignment marks (usually thin crosses) for all the ink layers than that would be a good indication that they were silk-screened. I do see a small color swatches on each set of decals. If you look at the swatches under a strong magnifier, is the color made up of individual dots (like what you would expect on an ink-jet or color laser printout) or is each color perfectly solid with no dots at all?