peteski

HEI type of ignition by default indicates an electronic sensor for generating spark signal. I guess we could argue what consistences "electronics". To me points and condenser are "non-electronic" circuit.

With a stock engine? Like Bill mentioned GM was using HEI ignition (the large distributor cap with integrated coil), which also had some electronics replacing mechanical points.

The other thing I mentioned in my original post was that pain adhesion. even if you can get the part to stick. what good is it of the paint will not adhere well? As far as I understand adhesion promoters, those are designed for using automotive paints on polyurethane (urethane) parts, not polypropylene or polyethylene. But I would be happily proven wrong.

Interesting . . .

Now that was silly too, wasn't it?

If it is one of those slippery plastics, no glue will produce strong bond. By slippery plastics I mean something like the waxy plastics used for Tupperware. Polypropylene or Polyethylene. Also, if the plastic is difficult to glue, paint will likely not stick to it.

In my browser under the "Go" menu I have an option to "restore previous session" which would bring all those tabs back if for some reason the browser comes back empty. I also have an option to "bookmark this group of tabs" which saves all the current tabs as a bookmark and will restore back to the original layout if I so choose.

How about a lunar eclipse? No special glasses needed. We had one in Jan. 2019. It was a full eclipse, but it looks boring. It looks more interesting just before or past the full eclipse. The brownish/orange glow looks really odd.

Doesn't exist. Moisture in the air causes it to slowly start setting. The thinner the CA is, the faster it will thicken. Some people put it in refrigerator to extend the life (because air is dry in there), but I have a way to extend its life, but it takes work. When I buy a new bottle I don't cut off the tip of the spout. I have another older empty clean bottle where the tip is opened. I pour just enough of the glue in that empty bottle to last me for a month or two. Then I make sure the seal of the original bottle is clean and I reseal it quickly. I also plug up the tip of the in-use bottle with a piece of wire tightly sitting in the hole. When needed I dispense the CA from the 2nd bottle into a small depression in a dental mixing cup and reseal the 2nd bottle. I then apply the glue using a forked needle applicator. No, I don't use large quantities and what I do to extend its life I suspect is way too much bother for most modelers, but it works for me. Using this system I often get few years of usable CA glue from the single bottle. As you can see, I also put a date code on my bottles so I know how old it is. Yes, I'm "different". But it eventually every CA thickens up. It is best to buy smaller bottles, even if they cost more per ounce than larger bottles. If you buy larger bottle, you'll end up tossing half of the glue you paid for anyway. Also, no glue remains usable forever. I have some really tightly capped old Testors orange tube cement and the tubes are hard as a rock. I need to toss them.

Are those past the testing stage and being used over the road?

Yes, but not in "Amurica". I'm sure that you know that the American railroad network is nothing like European or Asian network, but also there are very little electrified part of the railroad. Diesel locomotives are what is used. They still belch stinky exhaust. And those Diesel-powered trains do transport lots of new cars to various destinations in cars likely much larger than the European counterparts.

It is nice to see such a lively discussion about this subject. If this tread was shunned then that would indicate no interest or future in electric cars. But there is plenty interest (bot positive and negative views). Carry on!

While I see the irony, there currently aren't any viable fully electric tractors for this type of hauling. Baby steps . . .

While the current prices for those trucks appear to be crazy, have you compared price of an average house today to what it was back in the '80s? Or the price of groceries? I think you know where I'm going here. Inflation. And today's trucks are appointed like luxury vehicles, not the basic workhorse trucks from the '80s (with manual windows, no GPS or fancy entertainment systems, bench seat, etc. etc.). You need to compare apples to apples.

When I (in USA) had to use money orders, I got them from the Post Office (not a bank). Not sure how different that is from any other money order issued in US Dollars. I would imagine that if they are issued in US Dollars, they would be ok to use, but I would confirm that with Norm.

As I mentioned there are several brands of CA accelerator. When I first started, Zip-Kicker was the only one available. That one is very aggressive, and IIRC, it is acetone-based so it will attack paint and plastic. Then at work I found some other industrial use accelerators from Loctite. Those smelled different from Zip-Kicker, did not attack plastic, and were not as aggressive in setting the glue. But that was couple of decades ago. Then I found Bob Smith Industries (BSI) brand line of CA and accelerators. This accelerator has very low odor and will not instantly attack paint or plastic. It is also not as aggressive as Zip Kicker (which I ditched). Now it's the only one I use. But remember that the thinner the CA glue is, the faster it will react to the accelerator.

Sorry, I don't. But even some 1:1 touch-up paints in aerosol cans have finer metallic flakes. But there is no good way to tell unless you spray it out of the can.

It is a nice color, but to me the metal flakes in that paint look out of scale, unless you are specifically going for that metal-flake effect. Looks like glitter. And I realize that it doesn't look so obvious when viewed directly, but it really pops out in photos. I take the contest photos for my model club and I often see this exaggerated size metal flake. When I look at the model I photograph it looks ok, but then when I look at the photo it looks like something you would see on a bass boat or a dune buggy. I think the vendors who specifically mix automotive pains for the model market use smaller metallic particles to make the paint look more in-scale. Of course the vendors who just mix paints to be used on 1:1 cars don't know to do that. But then the line of Testors One Coat Lacquers also had that problem. Whoever came up with their paint formulas did not consider the flake size to be a factor.

As I see it it is a fad done for looks. It often goes alone with narrower low-profile tires stretched unrealistically onto wide rims. It's a "bad boy" image. It wrecks the tire and ride qualities. The handling is likely not very good either. I don't shake my fists or yell at those - just roll my eyes. But whatever . . . if it makes those guys think they are cool, so be it.

DO you know the actual diameter of the 1:1 wires? Once you know that just divide it by either 24 or 25 and you will have the scale wire diameter. Then find the wire that close enough. There is a range of "scale" ignition wires available out there. One will be close to what you need.

I used it couple of times (on non-model items). Smells like CA glue, and when hit with the UV light it sets very fast (like if it was hit with standard CA accelerator). When I was looking for it (on recommendation from a friend), none of the hardware stores seem to carry it. I ended up buying it on eBay. But I have seen it recently in Lowe's in the adhesives section (in USA).

Greg, this is actually UV curable CA glue, so it should stick to those surfaces as well as any standard CA glue.

I do my own etching (both parts and electronic circuit boards). You still have to first design the parts (produce the artwork) to be accurate and look good.

That's good. For me it is "why tempt faith?" After I spend 3 months building a model I don't want the glue joints start oozing after few years. Accelerators are not very expensive and a bottle last for a very long time.

Norm is an awesome guy! One of the nicest people I have ever dealt with. Years back he did offer full detail engine kits for Ferrrari 250s. Awesome mutimedia kits (he included fuel lines an ignition wire. I was bummed out when he stopped offering them, but I can see why as those looked to be very time-intensive to produce. He also sold excellent sports cars steering wheels. Real wood rim and photoetched center. Perfect for Ferraris. Too bad those are no longer offered, but again, I can see how they would have been difficult to make. Then there are the photoetched "wizard Os" and Ferrari scripts. Also not listed in the current catalog. As for shipping, have you tried to send anything through the Post Office lately? If you haven't check the limited choices of services and prices. $12 to me is totally reasonable! Some of you guys still live in the '80s, or use amazon prime! Not a fair comparison!