peteski

I'm puzzled by the way the color shows some fine texture pattern. It almost looks like hammered-metal paint. It is almost like the various paints don't want to be mixed together and they stay separate, creating areas of silver dots with blue halos. At least how I see it on the glossier spoon in the last photo.

And because I'm anal, I just want to mention that the "chrome" on plastic parts is actually vacuum-deposited aluminum. It is applied over glossy clear coat and it is only few atoms thick, so it looks like highly polished aluminum (which is a good substitute for chrome). But also because it is so thin (especially if it is not coated with a layer clear lacquer during manufacturing) it is very fragile, so by rubbing abrasive on it you are risking removing the thin layer of metal, exposing the plastic. I have used Testors Dullcote for dulling the look of "chrome" and I have never experienced any bad effects. But there are also water-based satin or flat clears which should be very safe over the "chrome".

Of course the aftermarket guys buy the stuff in bulk from wire manufacturers or distributors. They often do not deal with individuals. Also remember that if you have the wire diameter, that is not the outside dimension of the insulation.

Can you? Sure! You can do anything you can think of. Anything customizers do to 1:1 cars can be done to models. But (just like it does with the 1:1 customizers) it takes knowledge and practice to get good at it.

As an Alps MicroDry printer owner and a member of couple of Alps groups online I have been aware of DecalProFX system for several years. Alps owners have been looking for something to replace our aging Alps printers. From what we determined This system is quite cumbersome to set up and nowhere near the capabilities of Alps. Not something we found as a viable replacement for Alps printers. But I guess if someone starts fresh, it might be a viable option. Their website is a pain in the butt to navigate, but watch all the related tutorial and videos to see if this is something you want to use. Yes, dry transfers have been around for decades and used for hobby markings. I have used them myself too. I have also applied dry transfers to clear decal film and than applied them to the model as a decal. It is often easier to do that then trying to rub the try transfer directly on a uneven surface of a model.

Not only another fun history lesson from Art - he also taught me that POS doesn't just mean "Piece Of $hit"!

We have discussed this on another thread in this forum not too long ago. These are scams and I report the listing like those to eBay. They usually pull them in less than a day.

I wonder if Tom means "cut-offs"? I used to have a plastics distributor with a small store on the side of the building where they sold cut-offs priced per pound (and very cheap). Some of the pieces were quite large. Unfortunately that place is gone now.

Jeroen PM'd me the link to that Revell stripper. Thanks Jeroen! https://www.revell.de/en/products/colors-glue-co/other-accessories/id/39617.html The active ingredient is 1-Methoxy-2-propanol which I believe is a chemical similar to what is used in the Testors Easy Lift-Off (ELO) paint remover: Dipropylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether, Isobutanol. Still, too bad it is not available in USA so I could try to see how it works.

So, what was the solution. It might be helpful to tothers (more so than just "problem solved"). Funny thing is that I have just been reading the forum for a while (problem-free) until I just into the same issue in http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/127199-big-scale-e100-pickup/?do=findComment&comment=1845300 This is what I see in that post:

Chrome is simply a spyware app for Google that lets you browse the Internet.

Anything Juha builds is inspiring!

Still runs ok - it is not my main PC - I only use it because my Alps printer (about the same vintage as the OS) is very happy and reliable with that OS.

I scratch-built the AUTOLITE battery (and its tray)for my model of 298 AC Cobra. Keep in mind that it is 1:43 scale. I simply drilled through the posts and inserted the cables. It would be tough to make the clamps in 1:43 scale, and besides, once the body is installed the battery is mostly hidden from view.

No, Win98SE will not do anymore. Basically none of the browser versions which will install on Win98SE will properly render most of the contemporary websites. Time marches on and web designers keep updating things just for the sake of doing it without backward compatibility. How do I know? I still run Win98SE on a PC that runs my Alps printer. I have the latest version if SeaMonkey (that supports Win98) installed and it has issues dealing with most web pages. But I still suggest taking the SeaMonkey browser for a test drive - the name is funny, but the browser is very good. https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

Good point about weathering. Here are few examples of it done right (not my models but I took the photos):

Orange peel is cause by the solvent evaporating too quickly not giving the paint chance to flow and level out on the painted surface. I'm surprised that acetone works well for you. Not only it is a "hot" solvent which will attach styrene, it also evaporates very quickly. That is a recipe for orange peel. The solvents designed for specific enamels or lacquers are a blend of solvents which have slower evaporation rate. That is doen to prevent orange peel and to allow the paint to level out. In the 1:1 car world, thinners are called "reducers". They can actually be purchased in different temperature grades: Hot, medium, or cold. Those designate in which ambient temperature they are to be used. Each has a different blend of various solvents which determine the evaporation rate. The hot solvent has the slowest evaporation rate. It is used when the ambient temperature is hot. Cold reducer is for use in cold ambient temperatures and it evaporates fast. The combination of the ambient temperature and the appropriate solvent results in optimal results.

What color is the plastic? If it is blue and the yellow paint is translucent then you would and up with it looking green (blue and yellow = green). If you want the yellow to show the true color, it has to be painted over white surface.

I don't recall seeing it in USA. I wonder if it is similar to the Testors/Floquil/Poly-Scale Easy Lift-Off paint remover. Are its ingredients listed on the bottle/can?

I mostly use the mill in my model RR hobby to mill out the loco frames to install a DCC decoder. But we are gettiing way OT. Sorry!

I'm pleasantly surprised to see another SeaMonkey fan. I thought I was alone in liking that browser. I have used it since version 1 (on my Win98SE machine). I never liked the Firefox user interface and SeaMonkey was more like Mozilla (which was my favorite browser). I also thing that Chrome is way too over-bloated and it spies on you. Not for me. BTW, both SeaMonkey and Firefox are based on the Mozilla Engine under their GUI hood. You can see that when you look at the "about" info: User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:36.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/36.0 SeaMonkey/2.33.1 But I would not put too much into the fact that SeaMonkey is only up to version 2 while Firefox is at 65. SeaMonkey releases are just as numerous (they just use different revision numbering). Still, SeaMonkey is the one for me.

But it still seems like we are on a downward spiral as far as the Testors paints go.

LOL! Isn't that always the way! No I don't belong to any of the blogs and don't get the newsletter. It is probably better than I don't know about all the goodies they keep introducing. I do very little machining lately (or even model car building in general). I'm mostly an armchair (or Internet) car modeler at this point. I've been more into model trains for a while. I have too many hobbies! I know, that is a common ailment amongst modelers.

Speaking of the gas prices, they spiked after the huricanes hit Texas (and affected the refineries there), but they still haven't really gone down to pre-hurricane prices. Funny how that works . . . I bet the next excuse will be that they are switching to the more expensive "winter blend". Um, but wait, isn't the "summer blend" the more expensive blend in the Spring?

Thanks Pete! I never ran into these on Sherline's website (but I don't visit there often since I have most of the accessories I need already). But I should go there more often because they always add more useful and innovative accessories.