robdebie

Gary, thanks for the kind words. I will admit that I always feel reluctant to point out these problems. Most modelers either don't see or don't mind shape problems, and I don't want to kill their joy. The good part is that the required modifications are not too difficult in this case - in other cases, a shape correction is near impossible. I'm quite happy with my modified K3 as it is now. Rob

There's always the Wayback Machine. Here's the site in 2020: http://web.archive.org/web/20200223131535/http://www.georgeklass.net/index.html Rob

Steve, I found the Beemax/Platz/NuNu Porsche 935K3 a big disappointment shape-wise. Not an uncommon problem with Chinese manufacturers I think. The body is far too tall, whereas the K3 was lower than the works 935-76 and -77. But I really wanted it on my shelf, so I tried to analyse where things went wrong, and made several corrections. Here's my partial report: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/kremer-k3.htm Rob

Ah! No window at all, that would (could) explain a sliding panel. 'Tim Ahlborn spotters guide' sounded familiar, and indeed I had bookmarked his site: http://www.timstrucks.com/PB1.html But I get a "Not Authorized to View This Page [CFN #0004]" message. Hurray for the Wayback Machine: http://web.archive.org/web/20200201070755/http://www.timstrucks.com/PB1.html. This page has a picture of the rear side of the pre-1960 351 cab, with a caption reading "This view shows the pre 1960 cab. Note the slider rear window, the drip rail that surrounds the roof of the cab." There's a month-old video of Tim Ahlborn on YouTube, so he's still active. Rob

Interesting question for sure! But I don't think I know of another area in everyday life than paint that uses such vague terminology. Like eteski's example: "paints which are not enamels" - sigh.. 'Enamel' itself is another vague description - why not use the technically correct name 'alkyd paint' since alkyd plus oils are the carrier? Many modelers in my club call enamels 'oil paints', because they are derived from crude oil. With that reasoning acylics are oil paints too. Another sigh.. One I haven't cracked yet are 'acrylic enamels'.. Rob

I'm 99% sure that the combined effect of isopropyl and an ultrasonic bath will solve your problem. Just look how clean my enamel painted IH cab is after a caustic soda / ultrasonic cleaning. It had several layers of 25+ old paint on it. All the nooks and crannies are clean, and there was zero brushing or tooth-picking action. More here: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/ultrasonic.htm Rob

My research roughly matches yours. I knew from the start it would be a lot of work to backdate the 359 to a 281. I may have showed it before, but here are the windshield gasket that were step one. I made a small mistake: the gaskets should touch in the middle. But they are glued in, too late now. Regarding the sliding panel in the rear window, do you (or anyone else) have an idea why it was made sliding? I cannot think of a good reason. Rob

Another question about the Duel truck. When the truck is down in the ravine, the back side of the cab can be clearly seen. I've drawn what I see in the righthand picture. It looks like a sliding panel rear window, different from the later window, like in the AMT kit. Some kind of mounting of the swamp cooler is also visible. I could find only very few Peterbilts with this rear window setup. Here's a screenshot from a YouTube video. My question: what is the part on the right side? Is it a sliding panel maybe? But why? Rob

A belated thanks for the information! Let the sanding begin.. Rob

Another question for my slow 'Duel' truck build: was the cabin of the Peterbilt 281 riveted like the AMT 359 kit, that I'm using? I guess the 281 had a spot welded steel cabin. Rob

If you enjoy that kind of stuff: I have an extensive research page, showing the evolution of Humbrol tins: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/humbrol.htm Since the design changed so often, it can also be used to establish the approximate age of your old tins. I'm often amazed how old the paint is. Like when I painted this 3D printed object: the tins are from (approximately) 1993, 2000 and 1979. I must have been in primary school when I bought the oldest tin. Rob

'Kit glass' is of a similar thickness. 0.1 mm is literally paper-thin. Rob

I used 1.0 mm PETG sheet for the side windows of my 'Blues Brothers' Pinto Wagon. It's normally used for vacuum forming, and comes with sticky foils on either side for protection. Rob

Fujimi often does 'optical corrections' to their models, so it's not totally surprising. But in this case it takes away the picture of a tiny cockpit with a giant engine behind it. I haven't finished my Heller 917K, nor the Profil24 1969 Langheck (prototype). Too busy moving from one project to another ? Here's the status of the Heller kit: Rob

Hi Allen, long time ago! I can answer your question: the Fujimi model is some 4 mm too wide, from the nose to the rear cockpit bulkhead. Put the Fujimi and Heller models next to each other, and you'll see how much wider the Fujimi kit is. Since the nose section is too wide, the rear half appears to be too narrow, but it's approximately correct. The resin sets 'correct' that by adding even more width. Sigh.. This shape problem is too big for me, so I prefer the old Heller kit. But most modelers don't care much about shapes, or 'see' them, so your mileage may vary. The Heller kit requires more than average attention though, it's a bit of a French diva. I measured the Heller kit extensively, and it's very close to the published dimensions. It has a rear deck for the widest wheels used on the 917, the 17" ones. I seem to remember that only Wyer/Gulf used those. I converted mine to the width for 15" rear wheels. I also added a 1 mm strip between the bottom and top halves, increasing the height a tad - that's the only shape problem that I see. Rob

If you're part of a model club, donate it to them. They know exactly what they are dealing with, can sell your stuff to members or at shows, and can even deal with partly-built kits. The monetary gain can go to your family, to the club, or a charity, in any ratio you like. We experienced the above in our club during 2023: two members passed away, and a third fell ill. We handled some 125 kits and 400 books, plus paint, tools and more. It wasn't always easy emotionally, but we found new homes to nearly everything, and that felt good. Rob

I believe that you can increase the effectiveness of any stripping medium by putting it in an ultrasonic bath. The vacuum bubble implosions have a hammering effect that actively removes the coatings. Here are my experiences: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/ultrasonic.htm Rob

A loigical experiment would be to skip the thin dust coats, and do a wet coat straight away. Or as a variation, do one dust coat and a wet coat immediately afterwards. Rob

Joe, great work! I was planning to have my redrawn decals custom printed as real decals, and work in the conventional way. Except that I think I see that the kit body is too fat, and I want to make a smaller one in plastic card. I also should note that redrawing the decals in vector graphics is a ton of work, I probably spent 10-15 hours so far. But you do learn more about all the parts suppliers ? In my first post I also forgot to mention that I have a list of Slixx top fuel decals on my webpage about building the Amato car. Rob

I don't think there are top fuel dragster aftermarket decals apart from the Slixx ones. I started redrawing the decal sheet of the Revell Joe Amato 1990 dragster, since they were badly yellowed, and did not look good. Here's a paper print of that, folded around the chassis. I found another kit since then, that has much better decals, so the redrawing sort of stopped. I would have had them custom printed. And I still might do so. Rob

I've got all issues of the AMT kit listed on the web page about my '49 Ford build: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/49ford.htm Rob

Hakan, I will make the wheels available, either as 3D parts, resin casts or the STL file. But I need to work on them a bit more, right now it's just a first 3D design. Thanks a lot for the details of the other wheels, I haven't started work on those. Baby steps ? Like you I'm gathering parts, but I only have the AMT Peterbilt 359 and the Lindberg Dodge L700 Tanker. Decals are promised by JBOT. As you can see, you're way ahead ? Rob

Noel, I had read that too. It's likely the American-LaFrance Custom Pumper / Ladder Chief / Aero Chief series of models. What I found showed five-hole wheels, but the holes were D-shaped, and I could not find the wheel size (20" or 22"). Looks like they are close, but no cigar. Rob

Thanks Steve! I will add them to the 3D model. That will also allow for a visual check of the nut size. Rob

Thanks Steve! No brakes on the front axle, I'm amazed.. Thanks too for explaining that difference between "service" and "parking" brakes. Now that's sorted, last question: what size wheel nuts would a wheel like that have? I'm asking because I'll either need to find suitable Grandt Line ones, or draw them and have them printed. Rob