smhardesty

OK. First, to Glenn. Thanks kindly. Now I know what they are and that looks to be a very reasonable price for one. I appreciate the link! Then, Steve. I had in mind like a couple of the guys mentioned, for dashboards, steering wheel spokes, horns, and other small parts where I might have trouble with the BMF. I have a slight loss of feeling in my fingers so real tiny, tedious work with BMF might be a problem for me. I just can't feel it. Holding a pen would be much easier for me. I don't have any problems with shaking or anything like that so the pen might be easier in those tedious places. I fully intend to use BMF everywhere I can, but I like the idea of having something like the pens as an alternative. I like having lots of tools and techniques available to me.

OK. I've missed something. I could be wrong, but I don't remember ever seeing anything about using a pen for chrome. What is a Molotov pen, and where can I find one, or more, at a really good price? This might be something I'm interested in. I'm just almost being overloaded with great ideas for every aspect of kit building. Soooo much has changed since I was a kid.

Had an opportunity to use BMF for the first time today. Too bad it wasn't on a build. We had purchased a new wall clock for the new house a couple weeks ago. We didn't notice, or pay attention to the fact, that the center of the clock face was a darker color than the area of the face around the numerals. The hands on the clock were black, so during the evening hours and early morning it was extremely difficult to see that hands. I ordered in some gold BMF and it got here yesterday. Took the clock apart, pulled the hands off, and covered them with BMF. I took me 2 attempts on the first hand I did, but finally got both hands covered and they look mighty fine. I see now why all you guys say it can take multiple attempts when applying to a model. I had basically a larger, flat surface to work with and cut the foil so I had just enough to wrap around the edges of the hands. At least I now know how delicate BMF is. It'll take me lots more than just a couple attempts to do my first build.

Great looking truck, Bruce. I really like the wheels & tires you put on it. You mentioned thinning the acrylic. I'm gonna assume you were referring to thinning for spraying. Super job!

Yep. I got my #203 in the mail today. Haven't taken the time to actually read anything, but I did a quick glance through it. Looks good! I see articles I'm really going to want to read thoroughly. Great job, Gregg!

I'm pretty sure I'm going to at least try picking up some of the basic colors to use for brushing small parts. It sure is convenient and at 50 cents a bottle a guy can't go too far wrong.

Yep. Well said, guys. And speaking of the kit manufacturers, imagine being in the R&D department trying to come up with new kits based on the offerings of 1:1 cars of today. Not a whole lot to choose from.

It's up to us to introduce the youngsters to the hobby. I posted a reply on another forum about what I think is the reason kids don't jump into the hobby like us old farts did. Besides the obvious of all the electronic, digital BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH, when you think about it, the problem is that there are so few automobiles that grab attention. When we were young the big three, and each of their brands, were producing some fantastic machines that grabbed your attention. They were extremely distinguishable as to what they were. None of us had a problem identifying a Camaro, Charger, Mustang, or GTO. We knew immediately what they were. Heck, some of us could even tell what was coming down the street just from the SOUND. You all know what I mean. Today, nearly everything is the same, boring, "squashed VW" shape, with four doors and about as much personality as a cardboard box. There are a few exceptions with the reintroduction of the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, and Charger (kinda). But all in all there just aren't many cars that grab a kid's attention. I kind of asked a few seemingly innocent questions when my grandson and I were together before I bought the first kit. The "monster trucks" were of interest to him, and for whatever reason so were semis. That worked for me! At least there were kits available that met his interest. So I guess we need to try and find out what impresses each of our youngsters and buy accordingly.

Hey, Peter. It sounds like this ain't your first turkey shoot when it comes to photography. You obviously have the skill and knowledge to obtain great shots. I was kind of tailoring my tip for guys that maybe weren't as skilled as some of us are. Most of the basic digital cameras will have at least some telephoto capability and those rigs would probably benefit from pulling back from the model and using a little zoom. The other thing that pulling back accomplishes is allowing more light to reach the subject. Sometimes getting too close cuts the available light and definitely cuts the effect of built in flashes. It's a matter of what works best for you. Using "macro" mode changes things considerably. Not many basic, digital, "point and shoot" cameras will have a "macro" mode on them. I possibly assumed incorrectly that not many of the guys on this forum would have a DSLR with multiple lenses. Maybe I should have assumed the opposite. Many factors come into play when finding the best mode, distance, flash, ISO, etc, etc. I also mistakenly assumed everybody would want to capture their builds as realistically as possible. I've never experienced any problem with my subject material looking flattened or stubby. Maybe I've spent too much time with my lenses zoomed and have just gotten used to adjusting the camera and lens to prevent that. I was just offering a tip for guys with basic digital cameras and basic photography skills to get a better quality photo without too much effort or too much of a learning curve. I have tried using multiple images to obtain the best overall depth of field, the best tone mapping, and then all out HDR images. Those are really great methods of achieving the best photo, but are a little more work than I'm willing to put in for photos of my models, and I'm certain it's more work than the average builder on here wants to put out. I think maybe if I ever manage to get a build that I'm super pleased with for whatever reason I'll probably consider the extra effort to get show quality images. Right now I don't expect to even photograph my first couple of builds. No reason to post photos of something that's not really my best work. I happen to be in the process of selecting, framing, and preparing 3 of my photos for an upcoming show in the town I just moved into. It's been 3 years since I entered any contests or shows. I've been having some medical problems that have kind of dampened my shooting mood. I had a show of my own 3 years ago and had a show with a fellow photog 4 years ago. Both were "mild" successes. I took my website down a couple years ago and haven't decided if I'm going to put a new site up, just post them on one of the photography sales sites, or do nothing.

Sounds like you're starting him out right. Getting him to follow instructions, operate the train with care, and improve his dexterity, all while having a whole lot of fun. It doesn't get much better than that!

Believe it or not, I have a few of those kits on my ebay "Watch List" right now. I wasn't paying a lot of attention to detail as I added them, but when I went back and checked them a bit more closely I realized there are a few different kits. That I know of for sure, there are 3 different red colored trucks and one yellow. You have to look closely at the red ones to see the differences. Since my grandson isn't going to be paying a lot of attention to which one he gets, I'm just watching for the best deal as each one comes close to the end of bidding. I'm sure he'll like whichever one I end up with.

Thanks. I might pick up one or two of those. Good fit and positive snap are what I really look for. That's one of the glitches we ran into on the GraveDigger. The parts just didn't snap together real tight and kept falling off while he was trying to put the next part on. It was frustrating him.

Hey, Dan. What is the quality of those kits like? I've seen them on a couple sites I buy from and wondered about them. Since my grandson is a couple years behind your daughter, he'll probably need a few more snap kits before we get to glue and paint. The Mustang and Camaro are 2 I looked at for him.

Sounds like they will work. That's a great looking 40 Ford. I think I'll pick up at least some of the basic colors and see how I get along brushing smaller parts with them. Thanks for the feedback guys. I appreciate it as usual!

Yep, more great tips, for sure. I didn't want to get into too much camera jargon on a model building site. Håkan, if I may, I'll clarify one of your comments. You stated to, "use as small shutter as possible for a good depth of field". For non-camera geeks, "depth of field" simply means how well things are in focus from items closest to the camera to items furthest away. When shooting a model, it means getting the whole car in focus. Most digital cameras of today have the ability to shoot fully automatic and them some additional settings. Check your camera's manual to see what modes are available to you. If "Aperture" mode is an option, when shooting the model select that mode then set the number to the highest possible setting, which is using the smallest, or narrowest, aperture. That will get as much of the model in focus as possible. If your camera only has settings like, "Portrait", "Landscape", "Beach", etc, etc, try using "Landscape". Ron, I should be slapped for not remembering to mention a tripod. I'm the guy that needs one the most. I have trouble holding a camera (or anything else) steady enough. That's part of the reason I had to quit hunting and doing woodworking. If you can't hold the gun or saw steady, it's best not to use one. For that reason I went all out when I bought my last tripod. And I have a wireless remote for one of my rigs. On the other one I use the timer. Makes a big difference in photo quality. That and trying to use a faster shutter speed.

I'm one of those old farts that think our kids and grandkids spend way too much time with their noses planted firmly in front of one electronic device or another. I spent over 30 years working on computers in some capacity. I just don't think it's healthy for young, impressionable kids to spend that much time on a tablet, phone, computer, etc. That, along with the fact I'm just getting back into the hobby, gave me the idea to buy my grandson the GraveDigger kit. When he opened it he was extremely happy. When we opened the kit and I explained that we'd have to put the thing together, he seemed even MORE pleased and happy. It's a shame that kit turned out to be a bit too much for him at this point, but it's in the stash supply in the closet. His birthday was just about a month ago and I ordered something entirely different for him. It was a "Lego Crazy Action Contraptions Kit". It has instructions for how to build 16 different contraptions. It includes wheels and rubber bands for building rigs you "wind up" and let go across the floor, as well as a catapult type device, a high wire balancing device that runs on string stretched across the room, and more. When he hit the door this past Friday night, he shucked his coat and shoes and made a bee line to the back bedroom for that set of Legos. He spent about 10 - 15 minutes building something with it, then came to me and asked if we could work on his model. It just tickles me to death that he wants to spend time building models and playing with Legos. He is developing skills that most other kids his age don't even know about. To me it's worth every dime I spend on kits and Legos. Besides, I get to spend some real quality time with my grandson. How can you beat THAT? Forgot to add. I'll be sure and post some photos of the finished rig whenever we get it done. It's not a really detailed kit, but what he has done so far looks pretty good for his first ever.

I did a bit of shopping at Walmart yesterday. I found some of the Sharpie pens that guys suggested, both for small parts and for painting the RWLs. I didn't find any of the gel pens, but maybe I didn't look in the right place. I realized when I got home that I didn't go to the office or school supplies section. They might have gel pens there. I only looked in the craft area. I did, however, find a huge selection of "Apple Barrel" acrylic paints, and in 2 different sized bottles. At this point I have to confess that I know NOTHING about acrylic paints. Never had such things when I was a kid and I've never had a reason to explore them for any other project I've done. What I'd like to know is if these "Apple Barrel" paints are OK to use on models. Walmart had a really huge selection, most of which would be pretty much useless for a model car. I just can't see any possible need for the unreal selection of pastels, but I guess you never know. I noticed they had all the basic colors which I know could be useful on a model. The 2 oz bottle size is priced at 50 cents. Factor in that I wouldn't have to pay shipping and that makes the paints very attractive to me. Link below to the 2 oz bottle size on a different website than Walmart. So, anybody know anything about this brand? Or can anybody say for sure if the paint would be OK for model work? https://plaidonline.com/apple-barrel-colors-2-oz/5/product.htm

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } I bought one of the Revell 1/25 GraveDigger SnapTite kits for my Grandson for Christmas. He was really thrilled to get the kit. He and I decided that the kit would stay here and we’d work on it together, then once it was built he could take it home and display it in his room. Last night we were working on it for the third time. Things weren’t going very well. The kit has some fit issues and to be completely truthful I was even having some trouble trying to get the tubular frame to fit right. I could see that he was getting more than a little frustrated so I made a decision to halt the work on this kit. I had purchased the Revell 1/32 Peterbilt SnapTite kit this past Tuesday. I had put it away in a little stash I have started for him. I wasn’t going to let him know I had a stash for him, but with the trouble on the GraveDigger I decided to break out the Peterbilt. I am so glad I did. If anybody is looking for a kit for a grandchild to build as his/her very first kit, stay away from GraveDigger and take a really hard look at the 1/32 Peterbilt. There is just a ton of difference between these 2 kits for a kid. My grandson was able to get the entire chassis put together last night. There is a little flash on the Peterbilt, but I kind of think that is a good deal. He is getting familiar with how to clean parts up before assembling. The Peterbilt is so much more sturdy that the GraveDigger. I see a couple things with the Peterbilt that aren’t what I would call real high quality, but then again it’s a SnapTite kit that a kid can assemble himself. And I do mean that my grandson did the work himself. The only time I really went hands on was figuring out the steps for the rear wheels and tires. Following the steps in the instructions will get you nowhere. You actually have to do things a little differently than what the instructions indicate. Once we got things figured out, he did the other 3 sets of duals and did the front wheel/tires himself. I’ll be looking for another 1/32 SnapTite for him for sure.

I've just gotta get me some of these pens you guys keep mentioning. I'm headed to Wally World later today. I think I'll just make a point of going through the hobby and craft area to see what they have.

There is a whole bunch of truth right there, Bill. Not sure exactly where you live, but until about 3 months ago I lived way out in the sticks in a very rural and sparsely populated area of Southern Illinois. Fast Internet didn't exist for me. I now have 100Mbps speeds and I'm loving it. That could very well be why I'm not seeing any slow page loads. Maybe the slight hesitation I'm seeing is the problem and I just don't realize it. Everything I do online now is about, oh say, 50 or more times faster than what I'm used to. Sounds like the problem is going to be addressed very soon, from what Dave posted. Hopefully that will cure whatever glitch there is.

Cool. I'll be adding that method to my list of things to try. A fella can never have too many tools and techniques at his disposal.

Just a tip I thought I'd offer up. When taking photos of something like a model, to get good closeups try staying back from the car and using your zoom to get in tight. You'll find that produces a better image than if you physically move yourself and the camera closer to the car. Also, make sure you have plenty of light. Today's digital cameras have the ability to change to a very high ISO, which is fine for some things, but not for others. Higher ISOs give results that are grainier. Just a tip.

From what you guys continue to say I would lean really hard towards there being a definite glitch between the forum website and either your ISP or DNS provider. There is just too much evidence that's the problem to ignore it. You don't stand much of a chance of getting any ISP or DNS provider to make major changes in their setups over one or two websites loading slowly for a small number of their customers. The real kicker to this is that the guys may not be able to determine what it is on the forum site causing the glitch. Not everyone is experiencing the problem to the same degree. I see a very slight hesitation, but I would never have complained about it since it is such a small hiccup for me. That doesn't mean some of you aren't seeing really slow page loads. It just means we seem to be suffering varying degrees of trouble. As an old, retired tech, I can tell you that this type problem/complaint is the hardest to diagnose. I'll keep running things through my head to see if I can think of other possible causes. I think the best thing you guys having the bigger problems should do is continue to report what you're experiencing. Try and be as complete and thorough as you can to help out whoever is working on the problem. He (they) is gonna need it.

Hey, Rich. I didn't mean to hijack your thread quite this much. Maybe something the guys posted to my question helped you a little. Sorry. I should have just started a new thread.

Bill, I can see it well enough to see that it seems very smooth and reflects light/color a bit. Did you have to polish it at all, or is that truly "straight out of the can"?