peteski

I built one of these - in my early teens - I still have the model but it is very dusty and slightly damaged.

The weathering is incredibly realistic! Awesome! I remember riding in these (as taxi cabs) in Poland in the 70s. I remember the very soft back seats and the smell of cigarette smoke.

Well, almost. The full history is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life-Like . Basically in 2005 the Styrofoam cooler division split out as Lifoam. Then Life-Like (the model trains company) was acquired by Wm. K. Walthers (a large model train distributor/manufacturer).

So this is a model, right?

There is a sure way to prevent bottle caps from getting stuck: thoroughly clean the bottle lip and the gasket inside the cap every time you close the bottle. Basically you are ending up with the bottle as it was when you first opened it. I've been doing that for years and never had a stuck cap. Yes, I know that I'm really anal, but it works for me. I always have a bunch of small squares of paper towel. I use those to to clean the lip and the gasket. If needed, I moisten the paper towel with some lacquer thinner.

Here are couple of useful threads:

i good magnifier is the answer. Optivisor is just such instrument (other cheaper ones aren't as good - you get what you paid for). My eyesight isn't what it used to be 20 years ago and without the Optivisor I would be lost (with models of any scale). But with the Optivisor I can build some really small models. But I do have to fess up that on that model I also used my stereo-microscope.

Real! He tried to confuse us with the very thick body at the front wheel openings.

Coil sits wherever the owner installed it (since it is not a factory stock setup). Some sit on the engine,next to the distributor, others on the firewall. You could mount it on the inner fender if you wish. There is no single correct location. But I would mount it reasonably close to where the distributor is located (to minimize the length of wire run). Now if this was a factory stock model then the coil would have to be mounted in a prototypical accurate location.

Like Art, I exclusively use the BSI accelerator (applied with micro-brush or a wooden toothpick - never sprayed). Most other accelerator brands are either very stinky, contain acetone or other solvents which attach styrene and paints, or they work too fast (bubbling up the CA glue as it sets). I use more than half a dozen of various adhesives - as far as just the CA goes, I use the extra thick, regular and super-thin. Usually BIS brand, but I have used others too. But I would really be lost without the super-thin CA!

Nice model! Only thing that looks a bit odd is all the brass bolt heads/nuts . Shouldn't those have steel color? Plating them would fix the problem. If I had that kit I would have dunked them all in a tin plating solution I use to tin-plate printed circuit board copper traces. I think that if this was done the model would be indistinguishable in photos from the 1:1 engine.

I have donated several instructions scans to Bob's repository. I have also donated some money to keep the site going. If you like the site and find it useful I would highly encourage you do try to donate some money to keep it going. If every user donated few bucks, that would make a huge difference. Just sayin' . . .

I would be lost without the extra-thin CA glue. But I have in my glue arsenal (and use) more than half a dozen of different adhesives.

...or one small model car...

Not only for measuring - you can use the pointy ends of the jaws to scribe measured distances directly onto a piece of styrene. Very handy! You can sometimes find the 6" model for as low as $10 at Harbor Freight or other similar dealers.

Be patient - you'll eventually find one. They do show up from time to time on eBay. I'm in USA and I got one from UK several years ago (on eBay). The shipping cost was a killer! I still have an automatic eBay search for these so I do see them show up on eBay from time to time. I seen about 3 or 4 of them listed in the last few months. UPDATE: I just got notified about 2 of these listed on eBay: look for items 252151788166 and 291604894209. Harry: that is going to be another awesome build!

I have over 50 nail polish colors for my model car builds. The info on the bottles doesn't give any clue as to what type of paint is inside (nitrocellulose, acrylics or whatever else is in the bottle). I go by smell! Seriously, I usually use an ordinary lacquer thinner from a hardware store (I use the SCL brand). Sometimes I use a medium temperature reducer from PPG. Either one works fine to think the nail polishes I have used so far. Here is my latest build using a nail polish.

I currently drive a "box" (aka "fridge", "toaster", "pregnant roller-skate") and my "pimpin' ride" (2006 Scion xB and 1985 Caddy Eldorado Biarritz).

Something like this? http://www.micromark.com/6-piece-high-speed-steel-saw-blade-set-with-mandrel,11549.html or https://www.walthers.com/exec/search?category=Tool&scale=&manu=gyros&item=&keywords=saw+blade&words=restrict&instock=Q&split=30&Submit=Search

I work 4x10 (4 days 8pm-6am). I sleep about 6 hours a day and usually squeeze in some daily time for my hobbies. Sometimes an hour or two, other times 30 minutes. I have 3-day weekends, so I can spend some hobby time during weekends. But either way, I'm nor a very prolific builder - I waste too much time online on various group websites.

Um, I wouldn't be so hard on them. As others have also repeatedly mentioned, majority of companies making injection-molded styrene model kits used raised details to represent panel lines in their kits (cars, armor, airplanes, etc). That was the de-facto way of doing things - not cutting corners. Just like with everything, manufacturing methods and techniques improve with time. Actually automotive models were probably the first type of models to break that mold . Aircraft models continued to have raised panel lines for many years after all car models converted to engraved panel lines. There are probably still some small manufacturers who still have raised panel lines on their models.

My methods would make most airbrush users cringe. I use organic solvent based (the smelly) paints. Either hobby or automotive, or even fingernail polishes. My secret is to apply the paint rather heavily. When it goes on wet, it will level to a nice and glossy finish. Mist coats partially dry before getting tot he model's surface creating a very rough surface finish or "orange peel". My method results in a paint job which I do not need to rub out or polish - it is contest-quality right out of the airbrush. The only thing I have to worry about is paint runs. But I have learned to apply wet coats which which are not quite wet enough to run. This 1:43 model was painted with Tamiya fine gray primer (decanted from a spray can), met. blue nail polish, and Testors Wet Look Clear (decanted from a spray can). The body is not polished or even waxed.

You can also use epoxy resins for casting clear parts. Just do not use glue-tyoe of epoxy (like the 5-minute epoxy) as those will eventually discolor and turn brown. Plus, those are usually too viscous to get good results. I have successfully used Envirotex (stocked by hobby and arts/craft stores) and also resin from http://www.unrealdetails.com/ . Both of those have overnight cure time. As mentioned earlier, make sure to have them cure at a temperature over 70 degrees F. I usually cure my clear-cast parts in the dehydrator at around 115 degrees F. And make sure to measure the A and B parts very accurately.

Citric Acid or Acetic Acid? I have worked with various decal setting solutions using Acetic Acid but I have never encountered one using Citric Acid. Microscale has a nice document describing the usage of their various products. http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/graphics/Instructions/MSISysteminstr.pdf

I never tried to use it just to coat the decal images. I simply brush-paint several coats over the entire decal sheet. When I am ready to apply the decals I just cut out each decal out of the sheet, trimming the paper as close to the image as possible.