robdebie

Just a few random photos of yesterday's Saturday Night Cruise in The Hague, The Netherlands. The weather was great, so there was a big turnout in cars and people. Rob

Here are a few photos. Shown below are the two main ingredients: sodium hydroxide (NaOH, lye and caustic soda in the US) and an ultrasonic cleaner. I used a drain opener that is a solution of approximately 10% NaOH in water and probably nothing else. I diluted it further down by adding water, to maybe 5%. From what I read, stainless steel is not attacked by NaOH below 65C, but still I put the NaOH solution a separate plastic container, suspended in the metal wire basket that comes with the ultrasonic cleaner. There are no liquids in the photo, I did not want to get my photo set-up wet! I think the wire basket can be left out, with the plastic container with NaOH solution directly in the water of the ultrasonic cleaner. There's not much to tell about it... Try it! And be careful with the NaOH: your eyes at risk, use safety glasses. Rob

I used a 10% NaOH drain opener. It's a Dutch brand, so you'll have to look for a local equivalent. Please note that my model was painted with enamels (Humbrol), and I don't know how effective the method is for other paint types. Rob

Last week I wanted to strip a ~35 year old Tamiya M23, and I found a new (?) way to do that. First I tried sodium hydroxide (NaOH) oven cleaner / drain opener, my classic method, that worked well but slow. I tried my ultrasonic bath, but that had hardly any effect. Out of curiosity I tried the combination too, with the sodium hydroxide in a separate container suspended in the ultrasonic cleaner. And that worked very well: all paint and decals were removed in 10-20 minutes, without the need for scrubbing. Everything was completely clean without any effort. Interestingly all glue joints also broke down during the paint stripping, a unexpected but nice benefit. Rob

Here's another tutorial: http://www.ratomodeling.com/articles/pe_home2/ My choice would be to draw the artwork myself, and then outsource the etching to a specialist. One example: http://www.graingeandhodder.co.uk/ Rob

The old Heller kit (also issued by Union, Testors and Wave) is a quite accurate kit, the Fujimi kit is 4 mm too wide, which creates a far-too-wide windscreen among others. THis width error is impossible to correct, therefore I went back to the Heller kit. I decided to try to build it as accurately as possible. Some building experiences: I glued the tail to the center section, and added 1 mm plastic strip to increase the height a tad. This might also solve a common problem of this kit: the engine cover will not fit with the engine installed. I cut up the floor plate, so I could glue the sponsons (lower center body fuel tanks) to the top side, and made a cut at the front so I could glue the nose section to the main body. The latter cut is a bit difficult to see Another thing that I changed is the headlight cover shape. Right is original, left is modified. There's a lot more, but maybe this gives you an idea what can be done. Rob

Freezing the parts will probably help, you should be able to snap the glue joint, while cold of course. I've also been told that brushing Tamiya Ultra Thin over the joint will soften it, so you can break it. But I never tried that. Rob

No problem, I'm an irregular poster here. It's a great forum! Regarding your review, I think I just found it: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/118409-73-mustang-kit-review/?tab=comments#comment-1715987 I will review it carefully and update my webpage where necessary, and add a link to it of course. Thanks! Rob

I reread my web page, but I cannot find the reference to the AMT kit having the vent slots. I called them 'louvers' in the original version, but changed that to 'vent slots' in the updated one. BTW, I wonder whether some Ford prototypes had the vent slots after all. I checked my '1964 1/2 thru 1973 Mustang recognition guide', and on page 187 I think I see a car with the vent slots! Rob

I recently made some vacformed gearbox tunnel parts, using our club-owned vacform machine. That worked pretty well. It's quite a bit of work to make the master though. Rob

Thanks for the check, it's corrected now! Rob

It looks great, amazing for a kit built with kit decals! Since you mention the track looks too wide: I'm working on a narrowed T-bird, with a longer nose too. Track went from ~62" to ~58" (front and rear), although I'm not sure that 58" was the real value. There still a ton of things to change, it won't be ready soon. Rob

One slide scanning tip: let your software do an 'auto color correction'. I was amazed when I first tried it Rob

As promised: I went a little overboard with the 'liquid mud' but you're allowed to do that when you're 15-16 :-) Rob

I just found the old model in the attic, and I will shoot a few photos of it, warts and all :-) Rob

Small correction: the hood/bonnet and trunk/boot do open on the Tamiya kits, the doors don't. The engine bay is fully detailed, the trunk/boot too, with a fuel cell. The underside is also completely detailed. Very nice kits! Rob

Tamiya had a Fiat 131 in rallye version, that would fit the desciption. Although the doors did not open. I built the white and blue version when I was young. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/122774-tamiya-20015-fiat-131-abarth-rally https://www.scalemates.com/kits/122772-tamiya-20013-fiat-131-abarth-rally Rob

No, the chassis was intended as a stand-alone model. I never planned to add the engine, suspension, bodywork, etcetera. The reason is that I've studying these 'Chapman' type of chassis for ages, trying to figure out the design philosophy. Building one in scale was very helpful. I started a similar-scaled Fokker Dr1 Dreidecker, but that one is stalled. Too many projects :-) Rob

I scratchbuilt a similar chassis: 1/10 scale Locost chassis. It was a lot of fun, and less difficult than I expected. Unfortunately I made a painting mistake: most panels should be aluminum instead of steel color. Have fun with yours! Rob

While searching for more information I made an amazing discovery: the photo that inspired the box art! I found it in the 4th 1976 issue of 'Autozeitung' on Ebay. AFAIK the car was not raced in this set of markings. Rob

The roof modification could be tricky indeed. Especially since the rear window and rear 3/4 windows will not fit anymore. Here's a summary of what is not correct. I can add that the wheel openings are too circular, and the trim line should be removed. Maybe my 'problem' is that I like to tweak a model, to make it really mine :-) For example, I've been fiddling for years with a Monogram 83-85 T-bird to make a speedway version with reduced wheel track. The front model is the original, the rear one my modified body. It's still not ready, there's more to change :-) Rob

Thanks for the photo comparison! I still haven't figured out how many body styles there were. The green one is a 1976 version I think, with a different air dam, rear wing and louvers in the rear fender. But the doors should be identical as you suggest. Rob

Yep, it looks strange. I will try to find a better photo. Rob

Thanks for your interesting comment on the tilted roofline! But could it be the C-pillar is too short instead? That's what I see when I compare the following two photos. Rob

This model was handed down to me via two fellow modelers many years ago. The chassis was mostly built, but the body and glass were mostly untouched. There was no box, and not all decals were there. I worked a bit on the body, and noticed that it started to look really nice. However, older Japanese car models can be hit and miss accuracy-wise. Therefore I made the following six photos of the body. If there's anyone with a good eye for BMWs, can you please comment on the body's shape and accuracy? Many thanks in advance! Rob