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peteski

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Posts posted by peteski

  1. I tend to agree. I'd get it right on a 1/12 or 1/8 scale model, but probably wouldn't bother on anything smaller.

    Very helpful thread!

    I like to use the correct firing order, even in 1:43 scale. :D  I also scratch-build the ignition coil and made some spark plug boots (which aren't really visible on this engine).  But I have to fess up that I didn't wire up the primary side of the coil to the distributor or the 12V ignition lead from the firewall to the distributor - I couldn't find insulated wire thin enough to look in-scale for 1:43.

    EngineChassis04_zpsa01a77eb.jpg

    EngineCompRtRear01_zps98f0884a.jpg

     

  2. The propellant (butane or other gases) partially exists in a liquid state (mixed with the paint).  When decompressed rapidly as when punching the hole in the can and then removing the awl out of the hole, that will quickly decrease the pressure inside the can causing the propellant dissolved in the paint to start turning into gas (boiling). That will cause the paint to foam up and it will come out through the hole.  Think of what happens when you shake a can of Coca-Cola and then you open it up.

    This can be done, but make the hole as small as possible and after puncturing, keep the awl in the hole, using it to restrict and cotntrol the release of pressure. When done slowly, you won't lose too much paint. Also be sure to do this in some area which will not be messed up by paint splatter and wear face protection and old clothes (just in case).

  3. Some of the prices you are seeing is for multiple bottles. Otherwise, they are all the same product. For some inexplicable reason, the makers have changed the name and label several times.

    That's merchindising for you. Companies need to constantly change names and update the packages. It is happening with most of the products around us. I also think it sucks!  But the ad agencies hired by the producers need to earn their big bucks somehow, so they redesign packaging or change product names. Very silly (to me).

    Actually in this specific instance company mergers or brand reshuffling dictated some of the changes.

    Of course whenever someone mentions this magical liquid, I can't resist pointing them to  . . . http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

     

  4. The kid next door showed me his model cars and I liked them. So I decided I'd like to try that, too. But he wasn't trying to get me into model cars. They were just there, and I saw them, liked them, and decided to build my own.

    So you are saying that the kid next door exposed you (opened your eyes) to model cars?  So it is ok, for a kid to expose things to other kids, but not for an adult to expose a youth to a model car hobby?  Do I sense a contradiction here?

    If that kid didn't show you his models you might have never got into the hobby.  Do you see what I did there?

     

    Maybe we should just better define "exposing" vs. "cramming something down their throat".  :D  To me"exposing" is exactly what that kid did for you.   You could show some of your models or even your workshop to some kid without forcing them to try building a model.  That is what "exposing" is all about.

  5. I originally posted this question in the Drag Racing Models section, figuring that it might be the best audience for this question, but I had no replies.  Trying the Off-Topis section.

    What happened to magazine and their website?  Going to http://www.fuelcoupe.com shows "account suspended".   I did visit their Facebook page (I'm not on FB) but I don't see anything mentioned there regarding the website being down. Last post on FB is almost 2 months ago.

  6.  

     

    Here in PA, I believe that at least two cars can still make their left turn into the intersection even if the light has turned red for their end of traffic. There are certain intersections where I live when it's IMPOSSIBLE to make a left turn UNLESS you get your butt out there into the intersection and make the left turn.........red light notwithstanding! Otherwise as has been said, you can sit through four or five cycles before traffic clears before you can make your turn.

    Sometimes you just have to get a bit aggressive and make your move, lest you have traffic backing up for literally blocks due to someones timidity.

    While I don't know rules in PA, I find it hard to believe that traffic laws in any state would allow:

    1. Running a red light (in any direction)

    2. Encourage aggressive driving.

    But what I do hate is the timid drivers who come to a full stop when entering a divided highway from on on-ramp.   That really makes impossible to merge with the traffic (which even in the slow lane is going at least 55 MPH!).  Especially where there is no breakdown lane on the right. There were few instances where I almost rear-ended those individuals.  There is a Yield (not STOP) sign at the end of the on-ramp. I also used to see "Merging Traffic" signs, but I don't seem to see those much anymore.

  7. Didn't even realize it was still available.

    I haven't used it in years because I thought it was long gone.

    If I recall correctly, it did work pretty well.

     

    Steve

    Oh yeah, this stuff is still made (and probably will be for a long time). http://www.parafilm.com/products#laboratory This film's main application is as a seal in laboratories. But some enterprising modeler figured out a way to use it for a masking film.  This was way before Internet forums. IIRC< the first mention of Mariafil M in hobbies was in an article in FineScale Modeler Magazine.  I also have large roll I bought many years ago (not the small quantities repackaged by Testors) - this stuff doesn't seem to go bad.  Like others mentioned, there are many online sources.

    One word of caution. If you used that stuff in a stretched form, the solvent from hot lacquers can soften it or even permeate it. I once masked a windshield with Parafilm to airbrush the black surround. When I peeled the Parafilm off the "glass" it was slightly crazed.  But I lay the paint rather wet and that might be part of the problem.

  8. So I'm sitting in the left turn lane, with one car ahead of me... our light is green.

    What would a normal driver do? Pull out into the intersection about halfway, then wait for oncoming traffic to clear and make your left turn, or at the very least wait for the light to turn red and then make your left. And maybe the guy behind you can squeeze in his left too, right?

    Well, this genius just sat there at the crosswalk. Even when oncoming traffic was completely clear and you could have safely made the left turn walking, he still just sat there. Sat there until the light turned red. When the green arrow came on, thank God he had that figured out and he finally made the turn.

    :rolleyes:

    I don't have enough info here and I don't know the traffic laws in IL to see if what he did was correct.  For example, since there was a dedicated left-turn lane, was there a full set of left turn signals (red, yellow,  and green left turn arrows)?  Or just solid green for all the directions? If there is a red left turn arrow illuminated then I would not make a left turn until I had a green left turn arrow.  But if the only traffic signal lit up at that point was solid green with no directions indicated then I would have turned left if it was safe to do so.

  9. What diameter is the wire you  need?  Many computer ribbon cables (like  the ones used to hook up the IDE hard drives, CD-ROM drives or floppy drives to the motherboard) use 30 AWG (approx 0.010" diameter) tin-plated stranded copper wire. You just have to strip the insulation.  It looks just like the cable in Skip's picture.

  10. We have a place for motorcycles. It's called "All the Rest." Been there forever.

    Ah, just like the Professor and Mary-Ann in the first season of Gilligan's Island.  ;)

    I'm a fairly recent member but I suspect that there just isn't enough members who build bikes and post in a separate forum.  So they go in the All the Rest Bucket.

    I build bike models too - just not very many.

     

    obj121geo87pg9p9.jpg

    obj340geo198pg9p9.jpg

  11. From what I just found, the cigarettes consist of a celluloid rod wrapped in tissue paper:

    Smoking Monkey Cigarettes

    Ah, so I remembered it correctly.  Maybe I should pick some of those little cigarettes and relive my childhood . . .

    :)

     

    BTW, that Google book is an interesting find. It really is amazing how much information is out there and how instant the search results are. No more doing research at the local library - the world's knowledge is at our fingertips, without even having to leave out home (or even on those new-fangled smart-phones).

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