Tommy Isbister

I bought a big bag of assorted O rings at my local advance auto parts when I needed to replace the O ring on the tip of my old gun. Harbor Freight also has vo ring assortments but I don't know if any are small enough. For the time being you could cut a gasket out of a piece of gasket sheet or heavy card stock to get you by.

Here's the one I use that's currently on the shelves "if" you can find it. This stuff is getting super hard to find in stores. If your lucky you can stumble onto a bottle or two at Walmart, Walgreen's or Kmart. Ive had my wife on Pledge alert for months so when she's shopping if she sees it she just buys them out because I use so much of the stuff. Second pic shows the old label with the boots on front. They're both the same stuff. If you can find it in stores its $6.00 I saw home depot is advertising it online now for $42.00 a bottle so somethings up.

I usually mist a few coats of straight Pledge to get a glassy gloss. Then I might buff it with a used dryer sheet after its cured a few days. If I'm building armor or an old barn find car I'll use Micro-Scale flat clear in my air brush.

The pledge thins it down to get the flow you need to spray smooth then once sprayed on the surface the Pledge helps the paint to self level and blend smooth across the surface uniformly.

I would replace the O ring first before going any further. I've used a lot of airbrushes and Paasche Talon is by far the best I've ever used. I average building 40 to 60 models a year and I spray a lot of paint and the Talon gets it done.

Does your hose look like this? This is the hose that came with my Talon. If your threads are good and it screws on straight and tight then I could only see two things that could cause it to leak. Either the threaded collar is cracked and the crack opens up when you screw it on or the O ring isn't sealing even though the O ring looks good. When I screw my hose on about the last turn I can feel the O ring compress when it seals.

This is metallic blue craft paint from Walmart sprayed straight onto clean white plastic and it hasn't been clear coated yet. The paint was mixed 50/50 with Pledge floor finish. Spraying craft paint is like the perfect storm. To get great result's everything has to be right. A properly working air brush, proper air pressure, proper spray distance and proper paint mixture. Not all craft paints are the same so mixture ratio may vary. I test spray each new batch I mix on a white plastic spoon to check for color, coverage and flow ability. Craft paint also sprays better where the air is humid because the paint tends to dry fast humid air gives it a little more flow time.

I spray metallic paints straight on the plastic most times with excellent results. I only use a primer coat if I have a dark colored body that I'm wanting to paint a light color like white then I will prime the body with a light color like light grey. If you want to test your paint you can buy a box of white plastic spoons and spray them to see what kind of results your going to get from that paint or mixture. I don't usually put anything under my paint because it tends to diminish fine details and I found less is more.

Truck is original vintage Cat yellow Ace Hardware brand decanted and airbrushed. Peerless log trailer was scratch built.

Loader is a 1/25 First Gear. Excavator is made in Mexico scaled down copy of the Bruder 1/16 version. A guy had four of them and I bought them all. All the box said was 1/24 Digger - made in Mexico. No other writing was on the box anywhere. They weren't much to look at to start with. I stripped this one down, painted and decaled it, glassed the cab, added hydraulic lines, brass grabs and rails then finished it off with a polished exhaust.

I've threatened to by the five pack of these on more than one occasion. This may just push me over the edge to do it. Good job on the paint.

I usually order from ebay or amazon which ever I find with the best price at the time.

I noticed that a few days ago and I hooked a curved pick under the lip of the tires and pulled them out. Dont know how they ended up that way. It was only the driver side tires but both the inner and outer tires were collapsed on the wheel??? Somebody may have squeezed the charmin while I wasn't looking.

I went in my local grocery last week to pick up a bottle of Pledge as usual but they were out. I asked the owner if he could restock the shelf and he said he would. A few days later I spoke to him and he said when he contacted his wholesaler to reorder more they told him SC Johnson was disconitueing the Pledge floor care. I put my wife on full Pledge alert and she brought home 6 bottles yesterday and seven more bottles today. Walmart and Kmart say they have it but when you visit the store they don't have it and don't know what your asking for. Home depot has it online for $42.00 a bottle.

If I need a super flat finish I use micro-scale flat. Less than $4.00 a bottle.

It looks like the old Davey tree trucks that I use to see here in Georgia. Davey tree trimmed and cleared power line right of ways and always had green Ford F700 4x4's. Excellent scratch building job.

All the small details like the leaky fuel cap and hanging chain really makes this model stand out. Great job!

Mayberry Galaxie. I don't think it's a good idea that Barney's got the hood off looking at the engine. This may not turn out well.

This one is done except for the window trim but close enough for now.

Thank you all for the kind words. Heavy equipment builds are my favorite.

The best I've had yet is this one I bought on eBay. They're pricey at $165.00 but the best I've used yet. Adjustable temp with timer that goes up to 40 hours. Cabinet is all stainless steel and comes with eight removable racks for plenty of room. I average building 40 to 60 models a year so I need something that can handle my demands and this one does a fine job.

This one turned out pretty good.

Ready for the woods.

I use mainly cheap craft paint since theyve added so many great colors lately but I also use other acrylics like vallego, model master and testors but they are usually much thinner From the factory and require less Pledge to thin down. If I need a super gloss shine I usually spray a few light coats of Pledge and after it cures good I buff it with a used dryer sheet " not a new sheet" A new sheet is to rough to buff with. If you dont feel comfortable mixing your own paint you can buy testors pre thinned acrylic. There's a guy on eBay selling (24) quarter ounce assorted bottles of the factory pre thinned for $18.00