peteski

Not a bad deal at all!

Not all the water-based acrylic paints are compatible. There are several different formulas and they are incompatible. Maybe the brand you use is not compatible with Future floor finish?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Looks like I'm not the only one using Parafilm - that stuff is great!

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.

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.

In situations like that I use thin strips of masking tape placed along the edges of the molding. Then I apply BMF burnishing it well onto the molding (which is between the strips of tape). When I use the knife to trim, it easily follows the masking tape edge. Last I peel off the masking tape with the leftover BMF.

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).

This is probably not the proper forum for this question but I think that I'll have best chances of getting some answers here. 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.

I used to have one of those figures with smoke-ring blowing cigarettes when I was growing up in Poland in the '70s. It wasn't just rolled up paper - the smoke smelled funny (like a burning table-tennis ball). I think that the stuff in them was celluloid.

180 degrees F seems way too hot! That will most likely soften and possibly distort resin and styrene parts! I agree that warm stripping solution is more aggressive than cold, but I would never go over 90-100 degrees F. If you work in a cold workshop (Like I do in the winter) where the ambient temps are in 50-60 range then the stripping solution is not every effective. Warming it up to 90 degrees F makes it work much faster. But not 180!

On he upper right corner of each post there is an icon which is 3 dots connected by lines (shaped like a "<" sign). You click on that and it gives you the URL pointing directly to that post. Here is the URL I got for your post: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/104078-new-siteforum-look/?do=findComment&comment=1637001 If you don't like the look of that long URL, you can just change the link text when you insert it in the post. Like click here to go to the post. That should be no different than pointing someone to a numerical value.

Sweet! Just what I needed to make that model look right.

THANKS!

Are you sure that this is rosin core and not acid core? Rosin is usually amber color and inert. That looks like acid residue. If it is rosin, it can easily be cleaned off with some 91% rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol. If it is acid, then you are probably SOL.

If you are talking about the factory chrome (vacuum-deposited aluminum), and not the Alclad II chrome, then it should be safe to clear coat it with Future or even regular enamel clear. Many kits with factory chrome parts already have clear coat applied over the metal layer (to protect it from oxidizing and fading away). The metal layer is so thin that if left unprotected even the moist sweat (salty water) from your hands left on it would eat away the thin metal layer after a while. There is also another factory "chrome:" out there: It is used in Trumpeter kits and many of the factory-build diecast models. Those plastic parts are electroplated with copper and with real chromium. The metal layer is much thicker and chromium is very durable (just like on 1:1 cars). No protection is ever needed.

Excellent, excellent!

I'm a happy customer too. I have bought several tools and the pair of sprue cutters I received had poorly ground cutting surfaces. After couple of emails (with close-up photos of the problem area), a replacement sprue cutter was sent to me - no charge and no need to return the defective one.

I picked up one of these at NNL East (I couldn't resist the $16 price, and also the fact that I was in love with that car and wanted one like it as my first car - I ended up with a 1976 Camaro instead). But the shallow-dish mag wheels in the rear really bug me. Without going through 12 pages of this thread, does anybody know a source of the wheels which would have deeper dish for the rear wheels? The other thing which could have been done differently is the front parking/directional lights. But I can deal with that.

I started a Tamiya Mazda MX-5 Miata (modified to be the M-edition) for my girlfriend who used to own the real car. That was in 1997. I got as far as getting the Merlot Mica paint, BBS RG wheels and photoetchign the emblems. I'll finish that model someday . . .

What was old is new again. Funny how things seem to go around in circles. Whether it is fashion or gasoline blends. I remember seeing the first modern retractable-top on a concept car (in the '90s, IIRC it was a Nissan) touted as something new and I immediately thought that it has already been done in the '50s (Ford Skyliner).

If you attend NNL East, they have this problem solved. They have crew walking along the long line collecting admission charge and stamping your hand showing that you paid. They also give you a goodie bag with the raffle ticket and few other items. They also give you model registration forms so you can fill them out while waiting in line. Registration forms can also be downloaded from their website before the show and filled out at home. When the doors open, everybody just goes right in.