peteski

Thanks Daniel, that clarifies things. I thought you were placing flat piece of aluminum over the surface of the female die, then pressing it into the depression using the male part of the die. Kind of what you would when punching the metal in a regular punch/die set. That also answers my subsequent question about trimming the finished reflector out of the flat sheet - there is nothing to trim. Now it is all clear. Using this technique you are limited to the sizes available in a doming set. Do those provide proper sizes for headlights which would be replacing kit's solid headlights drilled out of the grille of many older kits (or promos) where the headlight was integral part of the grille? Judging by the photos you posted, the answer is yes, close enough.

We had a lengthy discussion about similar dilemma: what is considered scrachbuilding. 3-D printing came up in there too. Who cares what technology created a scale model? It's all good! The end result (the pleasure of building, and a finished scale model) is what counts.

It is actually a type of paint, not a dye. Dye basically gets absorbed into the material being dyed. Thinks of tie-dyed t-shirts. This stuff (like paint) remains on the surface. But it adheres to the painted surface really well, and it is flexible. I used the white color spray to paint whitewalls on vinyl tires of a Pocher 1:8 scale car. I use the SEM brand (bought at a body shop supplies store)

Duh, I just went back and read your initial post in this thread. You did choose to use Inkscape for artwork design. That is a good start!

Yes, designing artwork and then knowing how to get the most out of the Alps printer will take some learning. Did you read through the newbie info in the groups.io? https://alps.groups.io/g/ALPS/files/Newbie_Info In there I make a reference to Rob de Bie's Alps webpage. https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm He created an excellent primer on design and printing of decals and in understanding some of the printer's shortcomings. Rob is also a member of this forum. Like Rob, I highly recommend doing the artwork in a vector-based graphic program. Using that format allows to easily resize or change colors, and also make them accurately sized without experimenting. I use Corel Draw version 10 and 12. Those are very old versions, but even those have more features I'll even need for artwork design. There is also free vector-based software called Inkscape. But as I mentioned, there is a learning curve involved so don't expect becoming proficient in couple of days.

That's correct. And those laser printers cannot retain paper in the printed for multiple layers of inks like Alps can. That feature allows for effects not possible with laser printers. And yes, metallic and foils are another feature that is not available on laser printer. There is a process available for printing white and metallics decals using standard laser printers, but it is rather cumbersome. It is DecalProFx. Actually I just checked and it looks like they have scaled down their online presence, but the printing system still appears to be available: https://pulsarprofx.com/

True, but it is not the same. Some users reported that the paper is nothing like what TangoPapa used to sell. I personally don't use it so I didn't pay too much attention, but I do remember people not being happy about the change. Here is a thread about this from last December: https://alps.groups.io/g/ALPS/topic/decal_paper/103422747

Yes Alps is capable of printing white, and also metallic colors.

Thanks Tommy. Interesting. The rims and the mounting hardware look identical to mine, but mine came with hard resin, smaller and lower profile tires. These tires look useful. I'm also puzzled about the seller. Mine was in Ukraine, and had high number of feedbacks. This seller is in Germany with not many feedbacks. The listing also mentions that they might not ship to USA. I would have to contact the seller to find out. If the shipping cost is as high as what many other German sellers charge, plus the 20 Euro price for the wheels would make this rather expensive.

Thanks for the link. Few years ago I found 14" Mercedes Barock rims by ATS on eBay. Those wheels were sold by DiOlex Production in Ukraine. They look like resin castings of a 3-D printed master. The set also included resin tires, but those are unsuitable for this model. I'm still looking for suitable tires to fit those 14" rims.

Yes, it sure is!

I also belong to multiple groups on groups.io, but I selected no-email option. Instead emails, I exclusively access the groups through the Web interface. It is very similar to how an online forum like this is accessed. The messages can be grouped by threads, so you don't get lost in all those emails you your Inbox. And of course you have full access to the message archive (for searching it), and other features like Files and Photos section. Highly recommended.

When you get more advanced in your LED knowledge you will find out that you can operate multiple (any color) LEDs connected in parallel with the power source,. You just have to use series-connected resistor with each LED. You can also use those resistors to control brightness of the LEDs

That is a great tip. So the aluminum does not wrinkle during the doming process? How do you punch them out (or does the doming process already do that)?

The Facebook group is basically an offshoot of the groups.io group. The groups.io one has lots of reference material in the Files section and in the message archive. Facebook is not really suited for that type of archival storage. Don't ever use ink jet paper in Alps printers. It is not about the toner but about the special liquid-ink absorbing layer on the surface of Ink Jet paper. That can jam the head and break the ink ribbon. And yes, head damage is the main reason for those printers failing. You can get the printer to work with current versions of Windows, but you have to set up a virtual machine and run older version of Windows in it. It is a pain to do. I still have a dual-boot Windows98SE/XP PC dedicated to use with my printer. To me that is the most painless solution

There are always several Feeling43 resin kits listed on eBay for over $1000. with no takers. Granted (just like Scalekraft) Feelign43 is gone, and their kits are really well details, but those prices see a bit unrealistic too.

I just saw one of those errors. I waited about 10 seconds, clicked "Try again" - same error. Another 10 seconds or so, clicked 'Try again" and the forum came up. That does not look to be browser related - more host related. EDIT: same error showed up again just as I hit the "Submit reply" button to post this message. But the message went through.

Superb modeling! You have an eye for all the fine details which usually gets missed, like the creases on the exhaust pipe bends, or the oil change sticker on the door, and the striker mechanism to mention just few. I also enjoyed not seeing the seam line on the transmission. You must have put some serious time building these models! Fun time!

Thomas, your model came out great! Also, superb job on the BMF. I have couple of those kits to be built and I just hate the kit's tires. Their tread that looks like it belongs on a truck. The wheels scale out to only around 13" too. But they look pretty darn good in your photos.

That sure is an interesting model, but I'm confused about its designation. My mom owned a T3 VW 1600 TL fastback, and the "TL" designation was specifically used for a fastback. The T3 1600 Variant is the station wagon. I didn't think Variants also had the "TL" designation.

Those are not very good examples of realistic photoetched wipers. The goal is to bend the arm 90 degrees at the location it joins the blade structure. But those do not seem to be designed for that. Even if you can bend it, the base of the arm will still be too thin in the cross section to look realistic. I "rolled my own" wipers when I built my Peterbuilt wrecker, and also my '57 Chevy. These are made from cut off leads from 5mm LEDs. Those are 0.020" square cross section wire. On the arm I built up the thicker lower section using solder iron and solder,then filed it to the tapered shape. Then the blade is formed from pieces of the same wire soldered together. The Chevy has a simplified blade (it is 1:32 scale model). Lastly, I spray painted it silver to blend everything together. It is quite a bit of extra work, but the wipers look realistic to me.

I agree about the light, but I also used a much stronger UV flashlight, and stickiness remained. I was able to get rid of almost all of the stickiness after letting the resin sit in sunlight for some time. This was all just experiments to see how the stuff works. Maybe I have bad batch of Bondic?

Yes, I'm an Alps owner and I believe there are others here. I prefer using Bare-Metal Foil clear decal paper for laser printers. There are others, but BMF is the best for me. Pricey, but I don't print many decals and if you ask BMF, they offer quantity discounts. Since you you are already a member of Alps Groups.io, you can also ask your decal paper question there. There is lots of useful info on that group. Also, if you haven't visited https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm give it a read - lots of helpful info. EDIT: there was a recent related discussion on the Alps Group: https://alps.groups.io/g/ALPS/topic/decal_paper/103422747

Yes, it is a shame. I don't have any inside info, but judging by how long MV products were in business I suspect that the owner either retired or passed away. I doubt very much that he was young enough to still be deployed to the military. More and more older cottage industries are shutting down, usually due to the age of the owner and the fact that nobody wants to take over the business.

Those look good Gary, but why you are calling it "Bondic", when it is clearly another brand of UV-cured resin? As I mentioned when I tried actual Bondic, after curing it remained slightly rubbery and its surface was sticky. "Bondic" is just a trade name for a specific resin. Calling your resin "Bondic" does a disservice to modelers looking to replicate your success.