peteski

In my experience pretty much every road tire out there has uneven tread pattern to prevent the whine or resonant oscillations. The variation might be small but if noticeable if you look carefully.

If it is the Can-Do wrecker, why not use the included "rope"? I used it on my build and to me it looks good. If you find it too fuzzy, ship model builders use a trick of running the thread through a block of beeswax or even candle wax. That will eliminate the fuzz and slightly stiffen it. I don't think the metal picture hanger wire will look realistic or in-scale. The twists are not as tight as what scale cable would have (although that could likely be tightened up) and the wire is too stiff to be able to form it into realistic shape. But I suppose it would be worth a try.

When I paint very small figures (1:160 scale) I just drill into the foot/leg and glue in a small diameter brass wire to pin them to some surface with a hole also drilled into it. I can't use any of the soft putty solutions because the foot area of those figures is too small and they would deflect as I was painting them. Putty should work with larger figures but they could still deflect a bit while they are getting painted. It seems like maybe painting the top and bottom half of the figure separately might also be something to consider? Paint it up to the belt line while holding it by upper body, wait for the paint to dry, then paint the top half while holding the bottom.

I suspect the reasons for all those curbside Japanese automotive kits are: 1. As mentioned, many early kits were made as motorized toys with accurate bodies/wheels/tires, but with no engines, and shallow interior to make space for the motor/battery. 2. Keep the cost down since it is expensive to produce tooling, engine and chassis details add significant cost to produce molds for fully detailed kit. 3. Even most contemporary Japanese modelers (who are the main target of those kits) aren't really all that interested in full engine detail. Why? who knows, but they seem to be happy with just accurately modeled exterior features. Sure there are exceptions, and some Japanese modelers very fastidiously build full detail models, often superior to what the U.S. modelers build, but there seems to be a low percentage of those modelers. Besides, that is why there is an aftermarket for making all those details not included in the curbside kits. If you notice in Tamiya kits for example, the full detail kits have well-made but simplified engines. Many engine parts which are separate in American model kits are molded with the engine block or combined other ways. Again, the Japanese manufacturers do not consider engine details as very important. Japan has a very different culture and customs compared to the Western countries, so they do things differently. Same goes for other hobbies, like model trains. For example Digital Command Control (DCC) is quite popular outside of Japan, but almost non-existent with Japanese model railroaders.

None of you guys seem to get the point. Regardless of what the solvent in WD40 is, the elephant in the room is that WD40 is a lubricant, and when its solvent evaporates, the greasy film of that said lubricant remains behind (which is why WD40 is useful as a lubricant. It *IS* a lubricant). If you use Naphtha (a solvent/thinner, not a lubricant), there is no greasy film to remove. Whatever . . .

Steve, my pants aren't bunched at all. I was just having some fun. Why do you think I used smileys?

Sure, why I didn't think of that Steve. Call me silly. My WD40 is actually downstairs in the basement (not lucky enough to have a garage). Let me go and lube up my model. But wait, I also have a quart can of VM&P Naphtha which is on a shelf in my hobby workshop, and also a gallon in the basement. Oh what a dilemma! Which to chose? A lubricant, or a solvent. Man out hobby can sometimes get complicated.

As I see it, in the current version of the forum software the compose window pretty much shows what the post will look like after it is posted.

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. Everybody's a clown. 😜

Well Mike, I never had any problems with Naphtha in Ronsonol leaving residue, but I guess it's possible. I also discovered the "other" Naphtha, and specifically mentioned it in this thread, just three posts above yours: The full name of that solvent is Varnish Maker's & Painter's Naphtha, and it is pure Naphtha.

What's that Luke? Something that gives you ability how the post you are composing will look after it is posted to the forum?

Donny, this thread seems to be asking very similar question you asked in Bottom line is to select the model you want (not based on brand name, but on the subject), then ask opinions about the kit, like its quality, how easy it is to assemble, how accurate it is, etc. Many subjects are are only covered by only single manufacturer anyway.

WD40 is a low viscosity penetrating lubricant. It appears to consist of some heavier lubricant dissolved in slow evaporation rate solvent, probably similar to mineral spirits. If you squirt some WD40 out into a small open container and let it sit for several days the solvent evaporates leaving the thick yellow lubricant behind. When used on a model, even if WD40 is wiped of, some of the lubricant likely remains. Water and a dishwashing detergent removes it. Using a mild and quick evaporating solvent like Naphtha will not require the extra step of washing the model since it evaporates with no residue. If there is some residue left behind it is some of the BMF adhesive which was not completely wiped off. Then just repeat the cleaning and that should leave the model adhesive-free with no oily residue.

I would skip WD-40 (a lubricant) and just use Naphtha (aka Ronsonol Lighter Fluid). It is a mild solvent which leaves no residue when it evaporates. But don't let Naphtha sit on the painted surface too long (especially if the body is painted with solvent based enamels). Just a quick wipe or two should remove all the BMF adhesive residue. Ronsonol is fairly pricey (sold in small quantities). I buy Naphtha in the hardware store's paint thinners section as VM&P Naphtha. I can get it in quart or gallon size cans. I use it for many tasks (like cleaning and degreasing N scale locomotive mechanisms.

Thanks! My basement is working out just fine, although as my collection expanded I had to find bunch of nooks and put shelving there to hold more kits.

DJ, if you are unable to reset your password on the original account, contact @Dave Ambrose and he will reset anything that needs to be reset and also merge your old and new account. This should be easy and painless for you. Admins do not like members having multiple accounts. In the Forum rules you'll find the following statement: Only one account per user/IP is allowed. Any attempt to create additional accounts, for any reason whatsoever, will result in the banning of the IP, deletion of the account(s), and all topics and/or posts that were submitted to the forum.

Wow! I thought Air Trax resin moldings were better quality. That body was rather rough, but you sure did an excellent job smoothing it out. I'm curious how you will deal with the panel lines on the doors, etc. They look like they have been haphazardly chiseled with a hobby knife. Personally I don't see myself spending this kind of money on a kit which needs so much work to make it presentable. But we all have different skill sets and are willing to accept different types of challenges. My comfort zone is more with something like the kits Paul Hettick makes. While they are also resin cast from a hand-built master pattern, they are close in quality to what an injection molded kit would look like.

One hundred fifty? You're just a junior addict. A small fry. I have probably triple that (I stopped counting around 250), and there are quite a few here who have stashes of several thousands. It can get scary!

So you want this forum to become Facebook?!

If the decals were printed on an Alps printer which uses a waxy waterproof ink (which is likely since they have metallic silver color), solvents like alcohol (Microscale stuff is alcohol based) can dissolve the ink. I'm curious why were you applying the liquid decal film to that decal? Was the original clear film cracking? The liquid decal film will not attack any commercially made decals (printed using silk-screen or offset printing methods).

I guess I use different painting technique. When a procedure calls for a "solid black" color I apply enough paint to achieve that. Maybe to me that is just common sense. I also prefer heavier coats of paint to achieve orange-peel-free coats.

Black is black. Black is opaque. Why would someone recommend 2 coats when a single coat results is a solid black coverage? All that will do is build up the total paint thickness (which is not desirable on scale models).

I have to agree with you.

Sorry, I'm confused. With your statement "its 2" wide and how tamiya used to be but unfortunatelly it has no branding" are you are implying that the formulation of currently available Tamiya (Washi) tape has changed recently? Also, the frog tape is basically a standard (and fairly thick) masking tape with its very edge treated with some substance that absorbs water from water-based paints swelling it to produce a tight seal so the paint doesn't get under the tape. At least that was the special property of the Frog tape I tried.

I guess I'm dumb and have some sort of undiagnosed mental deficiency. What can I say? It makes sense now, but it didn't when I first read it.