peteski

That is the dilemma nowadays. We experience some really poor service from an individual on whom we depend on, but we are afraid to report it worrying about possible repercussions.

What's the price shown on the cap?

40 cent Testors paints are likely from the late '80s. I bought paints in the early '80s for 30 cents. Here are some from my collection (the 15 cent ones were given to me by a friend). Funny how the logo looks similar to Tesla car logo.

Thinning kit's entire windshield (or any "glass") is pretty much impossible because you woudl have to be able to reduce the thickness of the inner surface by exactly even amount. I just don't see that being possible (especially on a windshield with complex curves). If you don't have it done evenly, it will cause optical distortion. Plus all the smoothing and polishing would take a lot of time. Also, even if very thin, the kit's windshields are out-of-scale thick anyway. Best solution is to use the windshield as a buck for forming a new windshield from thin clear material (such as PET). Vacu-forming or similar heat-forming method should produce a scale-thin clear windshield.

Yes, that looks quite useful. But laser pointers or cat toys emit a single narrow laser beam which results in a point of light. It seems that what you are using is one of the lasers which projects a line (like a laser level).

Sure, I understand. But for the relatively small items we cast (even as large as a full 1:25 scale car body), I don't believe that runaway reaction is even something that could happen. I know that with all the small parts I cast, I never had the molds get more than lukewarm using urethane, and even less so using epoxy. You are looking at this through the eyes of someone who has done casting on a very large scale. I actually have more of this issue with CA glue and accelerator (which also sets through an exothermic reaction). I have had it get hot and even bubble up.

Since we have learned that it is just unpainted blue plastic, I doubt the manufacturer mixed the color to match any specific hobby paint.

Most resins used for casting are usually polyurethane-based. But both 2-part Urethane and Epoxy generate heat when they are curing (the exothermic reaction). Also, since (2-part) polyester resin was mentioned, that also cures by an exothermic reaction. AFAIK, all 2-part chemically-cured resins are exothermic (they generate heat while curing).

Regardless of where we live, what I stated is accurate. Northeast USA (New England) is Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. I was just making a point that spraying paint cools it down. If this is done in a hot and humid environment, that cooling spray effect will condense water from the air onto the object being painted, ruining the paint job. If the ambient air is cool and much drier, there is not enough moisture in the air to condense, so no damage is done. I have experienced this enough so I know not to spray paint during hot and humid days. Reviewing this discussion now, this specific problem could be humidity related after all. 85% RH seems quite high, but we also don't know the air temperature of when the painting took place.

Some browsers automatically translate text on web-pages (It might be Chrome). My browser doesn't.

We had few of them back when they were popular. They communicate with each-other through IR communication (like a TV remote control), so they can have conversion and learn things. There was even an app for PalmPilot (remember those personal assistants before smart phones took over?) which allowed you to control and communicate with the Furbies. We still have couple stashed away (for when they become prized collectibles). Then the same company came out with a Shelby - similar toy but it looked like an oyster. It was slightly more advanced, and they also communicated using IR, but the silly thing was that the communication protocol was not compatible with Furby! Go figure.

I live in the Northeast USA and we are currently entering the winter months. The cold air is much more drier and holds much less moisture than warm summer humid air. Easy way to observe that (other than looking at the hygrometer) is getting static electric zaps everywhere I touch. That is because dry air does not allow the static electricity to dissipate. That is why I prefer casting and painting in the cooler months. No worries about moisture absorbed into urethane resin causing bubbles, or paint blushing due to ambient moisture condensation. But colder ambient temperature does usually increase the viscosity of liquids (like paint), so the temperature alone could be contributing to this paint issue.

This is an easy one! It is Pocher 1:8 scale 1934 Mercedes 500 K built over 30 years ago. With over 1,000 ill fitting parts and its large size, it was a very difficult build.

Decals are not all made the same. Different brands might use different decal film chemistries, and different types of inks. Different brands/types of clears will affect different types/brands of decals. Only safe clear to use on all decals would be water-based acrylic clears.

Isn't Tyvek rather slippery plastic? Will paint stick to it well. or will it rub off during handling?

We sure live in some strange times. This is a 3rd decade of the 21st Century and the amount of censorship or being offended is so much more prevalent than in the past 5 or 6 decades.

While at first I didn't think I have heard of that make, I now realize that I have. 1924 model was featured in one of the original episodes of the Twilight Zone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Bevis

One features impossible to do with photoetched spokes is accurately model the interlaced spokes. 3-D printing is capable of that, which dramatically improves the realism of those wheels. The tires are also superbly rendered, and they have asymmetrical shape sidewalls - a feature I was not aware of until Jason designed those. Even the tread pattern is rendered correctly. We live in some exciting times for modeling.

Pierre, the model and its new wheels look really good! You are doing an excellent job on this kit.

Glad to offer ideas. If you can nickel plate it, that sounds like an excellent solution.

So it is bare plastic? Well then you will either have to some custom mixing of paints, or find one that is close in color (like some of the ones mentioned above). Since the painted wheels are separated from the body, a slight color mismatch will not be very apparent. If you were to paint the cab, then you would have to come up with almost perfect match for things to look good (since the cab touches the fenders, and color mismatch would be very noticeable).

Another alternative would be to simply tin the brass tube. Solder tin/lead alloy has silver color and can be polished. I would take a length of brass tube plug up one end (so the solder does nto get into it., then generously coat it with flux (paste), and pull it almost vertically through a blob of melted solder on a large tip of a soldering iron. The flux should assure good coverage and that only thin layer of solder remains on the tube. As far as soldering hypodermic (stainless) tubing, I have done it in the past. It is not as easy as soldering brass, but with some acid-based flux should be possible. I seem to recall that I dialed the iron's temperature down form the usual 700 deg .F I normally use.

I get my adhesive vinyl material (scraps) from a local sign shop.

Good job Mike! It is always nice to see smaller scale models featured on the forum.

Couldn't you use hypodermic tubing for the hinges, instead of brass? Tubing is stainless steel and it is nice and shiny. It can also be easily polished to give it more chrome-like look. It is available in a wide range of ODs and wall thickness. I used to get mine from Small Parts Inc. but since amazon absorbed them I have been using http://www.componentsupplycompany.com/ .