peteski

Awesome! This model really belongs in the Under Glass -> All the Rest section. It is a model. Imaginative concept, and very well executed.

Yes, I use about half a dozen of different adhesives - each best suited for some specific task. Doing that results in best quality of model assembly (and best quality models).

I have been using the straw-in-the-nozzle method of decanting paint for years. In fact that is the only method I use (I never puncture cans). This is my stash of nozzles and straws. I have accumulated it over the years. As I throw away empty cans (including household sprays) I usually keep the nozzles. That gives me several sizes and types of nozzles. They will fit a wide variety of spray valves. For Tamiya nozzles, I have 2 versions shown in the above photo: For one of them I drilled a small hole in the blue orifice plug to press fit a small clear tube, while for the other one, I removed the blue orifice plug and found a larger tube which snugly fits into the opening. The only problem with this is that when the paint comes out of the tube, the propellant gas dissolved in the paint expands back into gas. That causes foaming, and also cools down the liquid. Since I know it will foam up, I decant the paint into a larger container, so that is not a problem. But the cooling effect will cause moisture in the ambient air to condense as water on the container during humid summer months. Fortunately this is mostly on the outside of the container (as the inside is mostly filled with the expanded dry propellant gas). As with other decanting methods, not all the propellant dissolved in the pain escapes right away (especially if the decanted liquid is really cool). So, I leave the lid of the decanted paint jar paint not fully tight, so the gas can escape. After about a day in that state, the lid can be tightened, but even then if I don't use the paint right away, when I shake the jar to mix the paint after few months, some pressure still builds up, so I open the sealed jar carefully, not to have the paint make a mess. You will also notice a pipette in my stash. By luck I found a nylon (not glass) pipette where its tip can snugly fit into Tamiya nozzle's valve stem opening, and for the nozzles with a stem, it snugly slides onto the nozzle's stem. It is perfect for cleaning out the nozzles. I pour some lacquer thinner into a small container (a shot glass) then install the pipette onto the nozzle. and put the end of the decanting tube into the lacquer thinner. Then I repeatedly pump the pipette's bulb to flush the remaining fresh paint leftover from the decanting nozzle./tube. That way I have the setup perfectly clean ready for next decanting.

Now that is a chemical name I have not heard in years. I thought it was banned worldwide long time ago. The "safer" replacement for it is I believe Dichloromethane.

Hmm, it is the same "RJ" type design, and should be made form the same material. The only difference is the number of contacts (thus their physical size). The telephone ones 4 or 6 positions (usually with 2 or 4 contacts), and the Ethernet ones are larger, usually with 8 positions and 8 contacts. I suppose different manufacturers use slightly different (cheaper, crappier) quality plastic to make them. Not sure why Ethernet RJ connectors would not be as robust.

Typical issue with Google Photos not showing up attached when linked to posts. I can't see it either, even thought I'm logged into Google. There are ways to get this to work, but I don't know it. Best to directly upload to the forum. Here is the link to Steve's photo extracted from his post (a bit weird, eh?): https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fife/APg5EOabsErMV3k7gKkun4RAh-mi2-a0r6rqN_iilBlY7HEC5DDbUSzrbIumMyx0MkiImvUUyezA-z6OU66Cx6Lu26patyEVJEmifQZm16ZQPVGIjRP1vQXHYTpJtN87nG--U2zBpEp-Cex50otHXa-jxheyYz21XuR9fMZFNXEzCpyutI9aRajHiFM0_VO6U-p7n9ECIy3aDEqbq56qkyV52lZG5iflpwTty1VI3HNNHPs3r3larPIL8y2azCXWhBOHv3zgTMJr_jf_eJ5fw125O7Nx8rVxbO14ipL19upmp6Y-p0fmybWusbGfU_w_zF-kJH49YQIncZeMOdTXaCCG7K_8oxIMXR7LvgV6uuD95304coYFOAy0eRu3C5DnzNiqVveuv1y0xnUxTw8bg0zC5z0bQXG7gzNEds42r4KvFqRLWqfiGU7QxYF-qKkixBb0MJZIxYp86Tx06zylZRX9KqhPe0e8njO-JIB_a71_AhhnG3S_fnZT7N3s4ejFgqmX2OjrB_rYB7XGx5Qa_GsBwC9uMazreevk2c7ZnPn6__lbhNEdDOB-XSa8rOO7sjIBuz6RzaduvcXUrDGDVNQWQy1bfblSgKPmWUiDuw7jspvhYqgltTZMFa06I7w7UFTDsQGhLmvL_mXGL1ImjE3dW5FQcZtt_zX8Xlmdw2zZD7lzGSicRDdebtkNzie1PsvxayJPUz4HQIi5x2dThn0rG7ZBis5NpUBs1s8lGc6iKKmN6TbqF4oTTjozsvBwD1h5mTkAHFgg0umDGZOpaYTsKwEyn1QbNdB7fIZWojvcbMElMNxZXKu2dY8qWdQoQBDW_e1kNGgTOz_mVhW6s1OcTlaMSxkRvo-fC0WoF5TgYB9ckj0efS4ndwYFuYE3fe3xy6v70XtxYHqKVdAE-dxLDOS1jmltob_IsXeV42tv9KFLvloKhJfSa6LwG2KHfkbib_tNaHpNLPWXR8U4ocqhPvSsMstWTe_GVfMeMLefumiewrcdBQ0cXsIvQG1gXTuCB14fRn_G7ZJEG1w8yC0K2GxHSyIZ1aSGJKQ8JAikRU7wBbRD5cIW6uGAupcXjcY-E0JGHaRJuGUkrwXnQhwfTTwdugd791c0gSJ0kT8xok7fwR_LrcbXJ0SjiZWElYsafclcApb60K0uN_cvvdq6zmRTLZ4Ctxts1t1LLlO21EVYJBxRAj3RVA27M2VdaBvDhD0wpwLrZVYKEBR_oEfMfTD8-4FjxbA4QhoWh-ICjxeU1-52BH1VVpAf6yxJEuOU9MuVZs7sDwE4a6foxLOODudd3VMwWXrPCofaJLoZ6YOSkZh8_okdvXdBFzcjns0gvD8Zp3sbMCVRHOAc1sVy1-vdaxWi659eODpNxozEQqWeeeh73j7AMpJrLQnbm7uZU54fU7UjghmqZ40HRvx-z9Flev3EtGqkOTNrqyLQdhYJ4AY8EMUAcsLbkIFHnk9lL2PIhqjEOBifzNHCL1-wbOfy2FmlBt8ZB_1uYQ-VHwiNgIGL1J3Xqkss4aXfVj4Tx8CjTcdMneU8Qfhi14MRv1wRxNrhXYDzPoI=s1239-w1239-h929-s-no?authuser=0

Same kid that put them on all the telephone modular connectors.

Hans, look at the 11th post before yours in this thread. The answer, and even the model is mentioned.

Well done!

His profile shows that he visited the forum just 20 hours ago, but yes, the solution tot he quiz seems a bit late.

Thanks. My GF contacted him on FB, and I was able to deal with Duane directly. Super nice guy, and very responsive to emails (but keep in mind the timezone difference)! Takes PayPal. I got my transkit reserved for the pre-order price.

Maybe that is why eBay has moved towards becoming just like amazon when it comes to most of their the shopping experience. I miss the original eBay and its swap-meet/garage-sale/flea-market feel.

That is why it pays to be a sniper yourself. And I'll repeat again, even if you snipe, if you're not willing to spend more money than another bidder, you will not get the item. And as it was mentioned, there are sniping apps available, (which I do not use), so you don't have to live through those tense moments in front of your computer at the last few seconds. Also, there is nothing wrong with using BYN. I buy some things that way too. But the unique or hard to find items are pretty much guaranteed to be listed as auctions, so if you hope to get it, you have do the bidding (or sniping). It's as simple as that. If you think about it, even if some mundane easily obtainable item is listed auction style, there won't any snipping for that type of an item (as everybody can easily get it elsewhere). Unless someone is really silly (and yes, there are plenty of fools bidding on eBay). Makes sense?

We all know the "reliability" of emails nowadays. Spam filtering is out of control! Unlike snail mail (which is usually reliable) we can't depend on emails reliably getting to the recipients. Have you checked your Spam folder? It is also possible that your email to him ended up in his Spam folder, and he didn't check there. While it is a pain, if you have another email address (most of us have at least 2 at different providers), maybe send an email from your alternate email address.

I see. So you basically use eBay like you would amazon, or any retailer (both online and brick & mortar). Before eBay became an amazon wannabee, they only had auction listings, so since I've been bidding on eBay since 1999, I guess I'm used to auction style listings.

IIRC, Microscale sells sheets of decal stripes of various widths and colors.

Hmm, thought this saying was about how to make fortune owning a hobby shop, or in model kit manufacturing.

I wouldn't call it a "feature", as it is not really promoted or advertised by anybody. It is just how the eBay bidding works (since the beginning). I can see one dislike it as a seller, but not sure why someone would be against it as a buyer. After all, it is still what the maximum amount a buyer is willing to spend on an item (it is irrelevant whether the bid is placed days earlier or in the last 5 seconds). Or you enjoy the nickel-and-dime bidding?

Here's a more advanced LED installation - pretty much every light on this wrecker is illuminated. I built it about 25 years ago. Back then white LEDs were just starting to become available (but not in small packages, just standard 5mm size), and they were very expensive (I remember buying single one for $9 to experiment with). So in this model , the white lights are small 1.5V light bulbs, but red and amber are LEDs. Because of this, and because I also wanted a light bar which flashed, I build a custom power supply/flasher which is in the wrecker's bed. The whole rig needs 12V at close to 1A. I first thought of hiding 8 AA cells in the sleeper, but the frame would bow under that weight, so I run the lights from external 12V gel battery (like the ones used in emergency building lights).

Exactly, that is why I asked the question. These require fairly high (50V or higher) AC voltage.

Does the battery connect directly to the rope, or is there a small module in between? Or maybe there are some electronics inside of the battery case?

While MEK and Methylene Chloride are both solvents for polystyrene, Methylene Chloride is a much more aggressive solvent and it also evaporates much faster. MEK is mild and slower. Both have their own specific uses for some modelers. To me there is no reason to buy either in gallon size - I don't build that many models, and I also use other adhesives.

Well, I have never encountered any aluminum alloy (inducing Zamak, aka. "white metal" of"pot metal") which would melt at such low temperature. I have no idea what the BMF Chrome foil alloy consists of as I don't have any way to analyze its chemical composition. Due to BMF's foil low melting temperature I speculate that there is some tin or maybe other low-melt temperature metals. Pewter itself is a alloy. Silver and gold are not only too expensive, but they have rather high melting temperature. I doubt there is any silver in it either. Lead would be a good candidate as it is very soft, malleable and has a low melting temperature, but in today's world (where lead is one of those bad 4-letter words), if there was lead in BMF, I would expect all sorts of warnings on the package. It would be really interesting if some member here has access to spectroscopy equipment to find out what the foil is made of. Of course if one wants plain (but thin) aluminum foil, BMF makes that Ultra Bright Chrome, which seems to be just aluminum foil.

Ah, electroluminescent "rope" Sweet! Don't see those used often, as they need higher voltage power supply than just plain batteries (usually included in the purchase). I've been known be guess wrong from time to time. I'm just so used to this proliferation of LEDs into every part of our life, not seeing other types of light emitting devices being used often.

Thanks for the info guys!