peteski

Dirty thumbs-up!

AY-men!

It is your model Steve, so you can obviously do as you please. I was just pointing out what jumps right out at me (maybe I'm extra anal, but that's usually a good thing when building models). It just seems lately that I have seen not properly aligned lenses on several factory-stock models. If I was judging them I would deducts points for that.

The MV lenses have very realistic looking reflectors, but the smooth lenses don't look realistic. Headlamp lenses (used in the standard U.S. specs headlamps) have optical facets molded in the glass. Lack of that detail really kills the realism. I've scribed the facets into the MV lenses in the past but it is a tedious process which (since it is done freehand) is not perfect. Speaking of the headlight lens optics (facets), I see lots of modelers not paying attention to how those facets line up. In real cars the headlamp unit is keyed to only fit in the headlamp holder one way. That is because the headlamp optics produce asymmetrical beam of light. If not installed properly the headlight could blind incoming cars, or not illuminate the road properly. The general rule is that the majority of the lines (facets) in the lens need to be perpendicular to the road surface. If they are not the realism is lost again. The above model has the lines in the lenses not perpendicular to the road. It might look cool, but it is not realistic for a road vehicle. It doesn't take any extra time or effort to properly position the kit-supplied lenses, but it makes a big difference in realism.

Is Humbrol Varnish a true varnish (resin dissolved in alcohol), or is "varnish" just a generic British term for a clear lacquer or enamel?

Well yeah, that is a plastic-compatible paint specifically made for plastic (styrene) models.

Real - that was easy. For me the stitching on the back of the seats looks 1:1 scale. But if I'm wrong and it is a model, it will be large scale (1:8 or larger).

Same experience here. The paint dries but remains soft for years. When I contacted Jameston he sent me a bottle of hardener to mix with the paint. But since I din't need to paint anything at that time I just let the bottle of hardener sit. It ended up hardening in the bottle. So I guess the non-clearcoat paints are 2-part paints which need hardener (catalyst?) to set them hard. I prefer less hassle hobby-paints or automotive touch-up paints.

As a bit of a packrat I save various glass bottles from used up hobby paints like Testors and Floquil. Alos the glass Gloss and Dullcote bottles (those IIRC are 1.5 oz.). I have also bought empty Floquil bottles (from Micro-Mark). Another source of all sorts of glass bottles (and zillion other packaging items) is http://www.freundcontainer.com/ . I buy bottles, cans and jars from them. Surplus materials vendors also sometimes have all sorts of small bottles available. Check out https://www.sciplus.com/ .

I have a feeling that their reply will be to "use plastic-compatible paints". Honestly, we are playing Russian roulette every time we use hot automotive or general-purpose spray paints.

Not bad. Just make sure that the lighting and the angle of the shadows on your model matches the shadows in the backdrop photo. Otherwise human eye will subconsciously pick that up and the photo won't look "right". Of course the scale height of the camera needs to be similar to the camera's height in the 1:1 photo so the perspective is similar. As far as the base/driveway, you could simply cut off all the visible pavement in the photo then you won't have to worry about matching the base to the pavement in the photo.

Buffing will not polish out Metalizer chrome. It depends 100% on the glossiness of the black base coat and on a semi-dry application of Metalizer. Metalizer's metallic flakes need to lay flat on the glossy undercoat to produce a polished metallic finish. If the base coat is not very glossy then no matter how much Metalizer you apply, the "chromey" finish will not happen. If you apply the Metalizer too heavily or too wet then the metallic flakes will no flatten down on the glossy base - again, you won't get the "chromey" finish.

Keep in mind that acetone will also craze/melt polystyrene or ABS plastic (which is what most model kits are made of).

From my experience I can say that this is easier said than done.

I have a strong suspicion that the price is just a typo. I've seen similar typos in other eBay listings. Most likely a $20.00 item. Check his eBay store and you will see that his other items have "normal" prices. Bit inflated for my taste, but still more reasonable than two grand!

Congrats on winning those awards - well deserved! Next year's show will be at the same location, IIRC, October 8, 2017.

Another model of an oddball vintage vehicle from Harry - I love it!

I need to do a purge one of these days . . . but then again, I might need that stuff someday! And some of it is also nostalgic, but I can't take it to the grave with me.

This ended up being out best show yet! We had a record-breaking 400 model entries, and a large number of spectators. Because of that the judging took a bit longer than usual, but there were no SNAFUs during the awards ceremony. Thanks to all who attended the show! Hopefully we'll see you again next year.

I use a Nikon Cool Pix 8700 camera I bought back in 2005. This shot was done using 2 halogen shop lights. Since the camera's lens only stops down to f8, I took several frames ad gradually changing focused areas and combined them into a large-depth-of-field composite using Helicon Focus software. Original photo is 5Mp is size - this is a low-res copy for the Web.

Here you go. http://www.jbweld.com/

Find out what specific chemicals are in the paint or thinner which you used when you got sick, then look up the MSDS sheets for them to see what effect they can have on people. Is this the same paint/thinner you have used in the past without problems? Another possibility is that since you were already sick (probably had a cold or flu since you couldn't smell), maybe it wasn't the paint which made you sick but the combination of you being sick and inhaling fumes just made you sicker?

Gray background is good for most colors except for a car which is painted with gray pant similar to the background color. The chances of that are slim.

Email addresses are often spoofed in those pishing emails. Hackers use the first part of the email from a real email address and put some other domain name after the @ symbol. I get those often.