Helipilot16

After using Novus for months, I recently decided to try something different. My new method is to first sand with 1500 grit wet sandpaper. I then use Turtle Wax polishing compound. I follow with Turtle Wax Super Hard Shell Car Wax. The result on any paint job is sheen just short of that achieved with urethane clear. In my opinion it looks more realistic. It is vastly superior to Novus. The best part of the polish is it can be used over Reynolds Wrap foil. The wax will last in the bottle for years, so one bottle should be all I need for life . It's also true of the polishing compound. How do I know this? It's because I pulled mine out of my garage where it had been for several years.

I spent 21 years in the Army. Upon retiring, I went back to building hot rods and commercial buildings ( I was a concrete contractor). I am fully retired now and spend 8 hours a day building models. I am a life long atheist and secular humanist. We all have within us the means to do some pretty astounding things if we apply ourselves. I am still exploring the limits of my own abilities.

This really brings back fond memories for me. In 1963 I worked for Graves-Anderson Buick Pontiac GMC in Walla Walla, Washington. I used to detail and prep these monsters right off the truck. I got to drive them for a couple of miles as part of the process. What a car!

The '32 roadster has a dip above the wheel arch, making it different from the coupe and sedan bodies. A coupe side would probably be more correct. I'm really looking forward to the completion of this build

Here is my setup. I used a valve out of the compressor then a quick disconnect into a short 1/4"hose, which is adapted to the Paasche hose. I can leave the gun connected with this system without it leaking at the gun. It will be easy to add a manifold with this system.

Absolutely awesome!!!

Here are two of mine. The first is my 70 Cutlass street/strip car. Its best ET at 4200 feet elevation is 12.54. The second is Nancy's race car. It is a 79 Cutlass with the engine shown. It runs low tens on the motor, with no adders. My 70 had a dash fire which burned out the interior. It is currently being rebuilt.

My favorite hobby shop has found the formula for success. H C & M Hobbies in Sparks, Nevada is mostly an outlet for remote control cars and planes. On any given day, it is full of guys working on their powered models. As an adjunct to his business, he is willing to order anything available from his distributor; Great Planes, which is warehoused in Reno. He has gotten me several models with only a one or two day wait. If it's available to Great Planes, it's available to me. Marc, the owner, is willing to ship anywhere. give him a call at 775-355-7744. Tell him I sent you. He's a great guy.

My Paasche VL airbrush just quit working. I have stripped and cleaned it twice. I have adjusted the needle in and out. Air comes out just very lightly and no paint comes out at all. Any suggestions?

I have been able to find nothing else that works.

There is no "right" answer when it comes to paint to use. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. I will list a few of them 1. Enamel. This is the paint that comes in those little Testors bottles. It has components which enable a gloss shine with little polishing necessary. It lays down nicely with little skill needed to use. Its disadvantages stem from the oil based solvents used. Their low flash point means they take a long time to dry. In high humidity areas it can take weeks to cure. 2. Lacquer. Comes in various forms from acrylic to natural and synthetic bases. It is more forgiving than enamel in at least one way; It can be readily sanded and polished. It is usually fast drying due to the chemicals used as solvents. 3. Acrylic. Generally when we talk about acrylic, we are talking about water based paints, although all the major types of paint come in acrylic forms. This is the wave of the future. It will be all we can buy before too long. Like lacquer, it usually requires final sanding and polishing. 4. Two part urethanes. Here is where the controversy lies. What it is is a resin based paint that requires a catalyst be added to cure. The problem is the isocyanates that are produced by the curing process. They are very dangerous. If you are going to use this type of paint, it's imperative that you use personal protection from the fumes. Their advantage is the mirror like finish they give. 5. Hybrid enamel/lacquer. The once readily available Kustom Kolor paint (mfd by valspar) was excellent, with characteristics of both types of paint. Unfortunately, they have been discontinued. I have bought all of it I could find, so I plan on using it for the foreseeable future. By all means get an airbrush. A simple cheap single action will suffice at first, but if you can afford it, get a high end Iwata or Paasche dual action. You'll never regret it. Hope this helps.

The third gens are very popular out on the salt as they are the slipperyest (is that a word? ) of the lot. I have several friends who drag race them. They are also good handlers.

I am a big Lewis Hamilton fan. He is quite possibly the best F1 driver ever.

Yes, the Desoto bumpers are available, but the ones I was looking for are not the Desoto ones after all. These have fewer ribs. I found thim in a deuce kit, so I am assuming they are stock 32 Ford items, believe it or not. I haven't been able to ask Dick Graease to see what he actually used.

Dave; You're right on with this. I was once at Laguna Seca when quite a few GTOs were there. When they are parked side by side, you can really see the differences. There is no such thing as aftermarket body parts for them. The parts simply aren't interchangeable. At least two of them have been completely rebodied. I find the Drogo version gotesquely ugly. A red Drogo was for sale in monterey in 2007. I never did see if it was sold. My favorite Ferrari of all time is the ultrarare (only ten were ever built) 275 Spider NART. I have built one of the Revell/Protar NART models, but it didn't come out well, so I have purchased another one to build again.

It is either a Chevy or GMC truck cab (any of the series). It is probably a 68-72.

I just found two more rolls of foil in our pantry. One roll is Reynolds Wrap marked as "heavy duty". It is way too thick and stiff to use. Another roll I found is from Home Best (a generic store brand, I'm sure). It is identical to my dollar store Reynolds Wrap. I would imagine it is also made by Reynolds Aluminum. It is perfectly satisfactory. So, Harry, you are right; use the generic brand or regular (non heavy duty) Reynolds Wrap.

I have removed foil months after application and the adhesive is still "sticky". If air doesn't get to it, it should last indefinitely. The wax paper keeps it from evaporating. As to which foil to use; apparently Reynold Wrap makes different thicknesses of foil. Avoid anything labelled "heavy duty". Use the ordinary Reynolds Wrap found in dollar stores. The difference between this and generic brands is the quality (uniformity of thickness, primarily). Too thin and you lose the advantages of using Reynolds Wrap; I.E. it tears as easily as BMF. On the other forum I showed an example of a plastic spoon on which I had foiled over the trademark on the back of the spoon. It showed the writing clearly.

I just came up with a really nifty improvement to my process. I rolled out a one square foot piece of Reynolds Wrap shiny side down. I then applied the adhesive as usual. After letting it set up, I placed it adhesive side down on a piece of wax paper. I now have a one square foot piece of sticky foil for about 2 cents or so. It should last about forever.

I used the phrase you object to as the best way to describe my motivation for building model cars. If it doesn't fit your motivation, then so be it. I in no way implied that my motivation is superior to any other or mutually exclusive.

When I say I build for myself, here's what I mean. I have a certain car in mind that I'd like to see . Rather than build it 1:1 (which would be prohibitively expensive), I build it in a model. That's why I'm building the 47 Ford in my avatar. It's a car from my hometown built in my teenage years. I used to dream about owning such a car; now I can. I don't consider that a silly statement

Ben Franklin's has it as well as many large fabric stores. Any place that sells gold leaf will have it.

It's foil adhesive, usually used for applying gold leaf. It's mfd by Houston Art, Inc. Their web site is www.houstonart.com. The UPC # is 0010207. Nancy informs me that it was first mfd for use on fabrics.

First and foremost, I build for myself. Outside of publishing a few pictures on here, no one else will ever see most of my models. My critic of choice is Nancy, and she will ooh and aah over anything short of a glue bomb. As I build more, I will surely get better at it, and it's obvious that's badly needed . I might show a couple of models at NNL West this year. If I do, it will simply be a gesture toward feeling like I'm a part of things. I'm humbled by what others on here have built. I'll probably never be able to compete with most of them, but who cares? I'm having fun anyway. I'm wondering how the rest of you feel about your own building. Are you staisfied with it? Are you getting better as you go along? Do you feel pressure to compete? I'd like to hear what some of you have to say.

I have 2 each of the Gunze Sangyo, Revell/Protar and Testors/Italeri versions. Of the three, the Gunze is the best model, although all of them fall into the range of GTO variations as seen in the 33 examples of the 1:1 car.