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peteski

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Posts posted by peteski

  1. Another hint is not to use what looks like (pricey) Tamiya tape for all the masking.  I use it just for masking the areas close to the paint edges, then the remaining areas can be covered by less expensive Scotch blue painters tape or something similar.

  2. 23 hours ago, rattle can man said:

    Arnica seems to work good on my arthritic hands and feet.

    What irked me today is a stubborn bottle of paint I can't open.   I will try again tomorrow, when I can try bigger, better tools without supervision (My partner has been holding me to docs orders, but she will be out of town for a few hours tomorrow).

    Place the bottle upside down on your workbench, and using an eye dropper add few drops of lacquer thinner into the cap.  Wait about 30 minutes and then try opening it.  I used to use that trick until I got really anal and started cleaning all the paint off the bottle's lip and off the gasket/ and threads before I close the bottle.

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  3. 23 hours ago, David G. said:

    Good enough for me. No sense in doing the experiment then.

    -D-

    Okay. :)  If you want, a very simple and quick test would be to set your model on a flat surface and using your finger try to lift the model by the nose.  Then with your hand lift the model by the wingtips and compare the weight you feel to how much pressure it took to lift the nose.

  4. 8 hours ago, David G. said:

    Hmmm, you maybe correct Peter. I'm not sure I agree with you on all the weight being evenly distributed among the three wheels though.

    Maybe you misunderstood me. I never stated that the weight is evenly distributed on all the wheels in this specific instance of a tricycle gear. The main gear wheels support most of the weight of your model.  I am also not discussing the actual 1:1 aircraft - just your tail-heavy model.  In your model the nose wheel is now supporting very little weight.  You added weight at the front of the model to counteract the heaviness of the tail section (well everything behind the main gear).  You only added enough weight to bring the nose down, with the nose gear supporting very little of the total weight of the model. Many modelers seem to find this hard to visualize.

    None of this is related to weight distribution in cars.  In the 1:1 aircraft the air frame is relatively light, and most of the weight is in those 2 large hunks of metal: engines.  The are located ahead of the main gear which was placed in a location where it will bear the brunt of the total weight, with the nose gear supporting much less weight.  Cars don't have wheels in the middle of the chassis like this aircraft.

  5. On 10/13/2024 at 7:33 AM, David G. said:

    Taking the 2 ounces of lead shot needed to balance the plane and adding as much of it as I can to the nose cone, there is some left that won't fit. Even with this, the plane barely balances. Also, the nose is unsettlingly heavy. The plane will be part of a diorama so I don't plan on handling it much. but I have concerns over what effect that much weight may have on the front gear over the long term.

    It is a common misconception that the spindly nose gear supports the weight of the nose. In reality, the main gear is supporting all of the weight!  Think about it.  The plane is a tail-sitter. Without any added weight, the main gear and the tail sitting on the ground are supporting all the weight.  The nose gear is up in the air, not supporting any weight.

    Now you keep adding weight to the nose (or any part of the plane forward of the main gear). The entire plane is getting heavier and heavier, and all that weight is still supported by the main gear.  You keep adding weight to the point that the nose gear barely touches the ground.  Again, all the weight of the plane is supported by the main gear.  The nose gear is just sitting there looking pretty, barely touching the ground.  Think: teeter-totter with the main gear being the pivot point. So you add a gram or two more so the nose gear doesn't accidentally come off the ground just by some nearby air movement.  Now the plane sits solidly on the ground and the nose gear only supports couple of grams.  The main gear is still supporting 99% of the entire model's weight.  You can easily confirm that by placing your finger under the nose and gently lifting it off the ground. That shows you just how little the nose gear supports.  I hope that you can visualize what I'm describing.

  6. Excellent! I'm glad I mentioned it.

    Gimp is a quite advanced drawing program.  I use Corel PhotoPaint (a similar program). I however don't do freehand drawing. I mostly use for editing photos and some decal artwork design.

    You might also consider looking into getting a drawing tablet/pen to replace the mouse.  That allows you to draw just as if you were drawing on paper.

    Something like https://www.wacom.com/en-us/products/pen-tablets

     

  7. If the plastic is too fragile to use typical polystyrene solvent cements, then I would use CA glue and accelerator.  Specifically, the BSI brand accelerator as it does not attack plastic. Epoxy is fine, but to me it takes too long to set, plus it has to be mixed.  I do use epoxy in some specific applications, but otherwise I like my glue joints to be instant. :)

  8. Problem is that the type of industry (if we can cal small cottage-businesses "industries") covered in this 13-year-old thread is always in a state of flux.  Unlike large model companies (like Revell, or Tamiya), these resin producers are usually a 1-man operation, often in their homes.  Usually not their main source of income either. So things happen.  Sickness, death, people get old or get tired of their business taking up to much of their time, etc.  There are some exceptions, but even long standing companies like Modelhaus eventually fade away.  One of the exceptions is Replicas and Miniatures Co. of Maryland (RMCoM), but even they have trimmed their selection of available products.  Heck, even the large model companies go out of business or merge, and some of their product line disappears.

    Nothing lasts forever. To have an accurate up-to-date list of aftermarket resin (and now 3D-printed) model parts/kits would require someone with a lot of dedication and spare time to keep track of them all. Some of those small manufacturers only sell on eBay or Facebook No more websites. How do you keep track of them all?

  9. 1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

    My only point is that if the ratio is any where near similar to other genres, you would certainly think that you would see many more examples at shows with such a seemingly fast growing segment of the hobby.

    Not sure about that. I suspect that a majority of Gundam builders are under 30.  It might be that the generation which builds those models doesn't think attending contests is something they are interested in, since there are many other online ways to share their work. Younger generations seem to prefer remote interactions to in-person ones.

    • Like 1
  10. 2 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

    I suppose.

    But for a genre that proclaims to be growing by leaps and bounds, it certainly seams to be underrepresented on the show tables, at least as far as I’ve seen.

    I sometimes wonder how much of it is going to end up being just another passing fad.

    I know that statement will probably irritate some, but with all other genres there is some sort of historical reference.

    With Gundam there’s really none of that

    Steve

    It's big in Japan. :)

  11. 3 hours ago, stitchdup said:

    fingernail art tape. as thin as bmf and in hundreds of colours and styles for about 5-10 bucks for 50 assorted rolls. it can be bent around corners if you work slowly. 1mm wide and 5 metre long. If you do go for it, i suggest buying 2 packs to be sure you dont run out as buying single colours is more expensive. some of them have an engine turned effect on the chrome that is very effective when dull coated.

    To me, 1mm (0.040")is way too wide for realistic 1:25 scale pinstripe.  That in 1:1 would be 1" wide.  Something between 0.005" and 0.010" (~ 0.13 - 0.3mm)would be in scale.

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