peteski

Yes, Testors in a round bottle is the same liquid cement that has been around for decades in square bottles. Tamiya cement has also been around for a very long time. There are actually couple versions of Tamiya cement (different viscosites and drying times).

Thanks Jeff. '79-'85 were the same body style. Many (including mine) had the infamous HT4100 EFI V8 engine, but mine is ok so far. Hopefully by 1985 most of the issues have been worked out. I also had a '84 Eldorado as a daily driver in the '90s for few years, and that one did have an engine problem. That was before I was aware of the known issues. It is a very elegant looking car, and the convertibles are very nice too (IIRC it was the car featured on the old "Hart to Hart" TV series).

Me too. This is my '80s (1985) Caddy. I like its classic long-hood, short-back profile, and the sharply creased fenders that look like tiny fins. While it is smaller than the previous whale-sized Eldorados, it still has that soft boat-like ride quality. The soft white leather seats just add to that experience. But with 4-wheel independent suspension, torsion-bar suspension on the front, and stabilizer bar on both ends, it corners surprisingly well. This one has a 60/40 split front bench seat.

Ah ok, this is not the yellowing 5-minute epoxy. This one takes long time to set, and will likely not yellow. Like I mentioned, 5-minute epoxy is the bad stuff for clear lenses.

Actually, there is an aftermarket company, MODELER'S in Japan, which made a set of lenses. Not sure if they still make them. I bought them several years ago. I just dug them out to take the photo. The cost was 600 Yen (about $6US nowadays). They feature both, smooth lenses and ones with striations (which are on the inside part of the lens).

You're welcome Charlie. Yes, the group has been around for few decades. Originally there were 2 Yahoo Alps groups, but when Yahoo killed the groups we created a single group on groups.io website. The link to the group is https://alps.groups.io/g/ALPS . It is an email group, but it can also be accessed through the web interface (very similar to this forum). That is how I participate in it. It is not very active nowadays, but there are still 2700 members, and the groups archives and Files section have lotos of useful info about the ALps printers and printing techniques.

Whatever floats your boat. Those businesses you mentioned (that do things the way approve) - do they all do it as a side business and have regular full time job?

Yes, the halftones Alps uses to create various colors are rather coarse, but there is a solution for most of them. I haven't seen your name on the Alps group I moderate, so you might not be aware of a company called Elephant's Rocket in Japan. They service Alps printers, and also offer a large selection of their own Alps color ribbons. So with some spot color printing you can come up with solid colors not achievable using standard CYMK inks. The ink cartridges are rather pricey, but to me worth it. You get a discount is you buy a complete set of colors (that's what I did). The website is rather cryptic and confusing (as it is created by a Japanese individual with not very good grasp of English), but the ink cartridges are a Godsend. The inks are listed at https://www.paoon.com/decal/aybhkdabq.html Colors like grays, browns, cream, light blue, and many others are now possible. I bought the enter set of 20.

Sniff, sniff.

Well ok, but it is much more fun mixing your own.

Well, even the, this thing is a size of a lentil, and there is an extra ridge on the inside of the outer ridge. I still think that even as smooth as you could make it, the resulting mirror will still be like a fun-house mirror. If one wants to go the paint route then make a template like I mentioned, then make a filler piece using some 0.010" or 0.015" flat styrene. Glue that in (using a non-solvent glue, like JB-Weld or other epoxy, so not to distort the thin styrene). then put a coat of chrome paint. But Mylar film will be more "mirrory". Yes, I do "sweat the small stuff" while modeling.

Maybe those adhesives are too expensive? EDIT: Since Ace found this post confusing, let me clarify: It was a joke based on the notion that many car modelers are a thrifty.

In order for the chrome paint to look like a mirror, the surface has to be mirror glass smooth. Surface or JB Weld is nowhere as smooth. Call me anal . . .

Exactly. This person does not have to make molds or cast resin (both messy and time consuming tasks). They have much more time to provide better communications. Plus eBay has the framework all set up to make selling and shipping easier.

True, and it seems that push-button transmission gear selectors are coming back in vogue. Except they are now electronic, not mechanical. That Caddy XLR is on the same platform as the Corvette, so you can say that is is a Corvette.

Yes, but on that one they don't tout the fact that it is "no clear needed" paper. It still needs a clear overspray to protect the ink from dissolving in water.

Well,if you fast forward far enough, a Caddy did become a Vette. The XLR does have a center console.

You think that's bad? You should see how she drives!

If the mirror side has a lip around it then take piece of the "invisible" matte Scotch tape and glue it on the mirror (but don't press it hard - let it just adhere to the lip. Then take an old fashioned pencil and gently rub it over the lip. Like making old-school rubbing on paper. That will produce an outline of the lip. You can then remove that tape, and stick it on a piece of paper. Then trim around the pencil line (trim it on the inside of the line). You can now use that as a template to cut your mirror (from whatever material you choose).

5-minute epoxy? Interesting. What brand did you use?

Well ok. I was of course talking about injection-molded lenses that are included in kits.

Here is a direct link to that paper's page. The description states that it is a real waterside paper. This is a great development for home-brewed decals. Yes, it is only white, but printing ink jet decal on clear only really works when they are applied over a white surface anyway

In the ideal world it would be nice to have the vendor give us all sorts of updates, but it is not mandatory. Hey, Norm from RMCoM announced that he no longer accepts credit cards. Personal checks and money orders via snail-mail only. Does that mean I'll stop buying his excellent castings? No! Yes, there are ways to automate a lot of the order processing and updates, but that all takes time and money. Some of those small manufacturers are just one guy making products in his spare time (still working a full time job, and taking care of the family). They rather be casting products than trying to figure out how to automate updates for customers. We are really spoiled. Remember when you had to request a catalog in the mail, rip out and fill the order form, send a check and money order, then hope the letter got there, and that they send your order (in 4-8 weeks)? Some mail order hobby vendors accepted C.O.D.s. Then you had to wait in your house for the UPS driver, so you could pay for your package? We are spoiled. EDIT: always, always remember to check your SPAM folder. You can thank all those Spammers out there for the overly aggressive automatic SPAM filtering.

Bill, regardless of whether the fluting is on the inside, outside or no fluting at all, a 2-part mold is required to make the lens. I'm not really sure why the fluting is often placed on the outside of the lens. It should be just as easy to engrave the other part of the mold to place the fluting on the inner surface. As far as yellowing 5-minute epoxy goes, it yellows even in dark environment. I used that epoxy to adhere some items in a sealed ligth-tight enclosure, and after several years, I fund that it yellowed. I suspect tit is a purely chemical change. But you are correct - there are resins out there unaffected by UV light (which often causes plastics and resin to yellow).

That looks great now, but in few years epoxy will turn amber/yellow. making the headlights look like footlights. I got burned by this more than once. I tried about half a dozen of 5-minute epoxy brands, and they all yellow in time. I finally learned my lesson and no longer use it when I was a clear part. This yellowing is pretty much exclusive to the 5-minute epoxy. Longer cure epoxies do not yellow (or yellow less drastically, and it likely takes longer time). I highly discourage anybody from using 5-minute epoxy for parts which are to remain colorless clear. BTW, I'm really surprised how realistic those parking lights look. I would never have guessed that it is just a thin coating of epoxy over an opaque chromed domed lens molding. The way lights reflects in them looks like there is concave reflector behind the lens.