ismaelg

Hello, Just got this delivered today. Stay tuned for more details soon. Thanks, Ismael

Hi, Thank you all for your comments. I think I went too poetic in the first post and the conversation is going in a different direction. I totally agree with all of you. Subject IS the main criteria. Actually got a chuckle with the Volvo wagon comment When you are limited in choices there is really no question. If you want it, suck it up and do whatever it takes. That's the story of my modeling life: '12 Grand Sport Corvette, Talbot Lago, C8 Corvette, C7 ZR1 Corvette, '17 Viper, etc. to name a few. My question was more on the lines of "has their overall manufacturing quality improved?" I know each kit is different. I'm not talking accuracy or ease of build. But as Jeremy pointed out, there is a difference between filling a sink mark or sanding some flash vs an unusable steering wheel. Recent subjects from AMT I may be interested are the 50th Anniv Camaro, the 2016 Camaro SS, the '21 Charger, and so on. When the time comes, I'll ask and research those kits specifically. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, I have been recently in an airbrush kick if you will. My one and only airbrush for 30 years is a humble tool that keeps on trucking. I have posted elsewhere the details about the story so I won't repeat all here. In short, my first experience with an airbrush was in college (1993) with a Badger 150. Fell in love with airbrushing. Could not afford a 150 at the time so I bought a Korean made knockoff sold by Harbor Freight for about $20. Lo and behold, to this date, 30 years later, it is still my one and only airbrush performing flawlessly and well beyond my expectations. Since there are no spare parts, I've always been casually on the lookout for another one just in case. A few years ago, a friend of mine who bought the same one shortly after me, gave it to me. He moved to more expensive ones and had "issues" with this. Long story short, I just refurbished/restored it to like new condition a few days ago. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/180589-restoring-an-airbrush/ So I have my spares covered. But then, browsing online (always a bad idea) I found a "new" one (New old Stock) and I got it for about the same price I did 30 years ago! I just got it and immediately checked on it. Is it really the same? Let's find out. Same box I remember, but from the start I noticed something different: this one says Made in Taiwan. Mine was Korea. Then I noticed both the paperwork and the yellow safety label are dated 2003. A decade after I bought mine. So it seems they moved production from Korea to Taiwan. Not uncommon in manufacturing. Keep in mind Harbor Freight is not a manufacturer. Just a retailer. I wouldn't be surprised if these were sold under other brands. Except for the foam insert color, which I think was black, this is what I remember mine looked like back 30 years ago. Immediately noticed something odd: The trigger adjusting screw is not aligned. Not a big deal, but speaks about quality control. New one (2003) on top, the original I just restored (1993) at the bottom. Noticeable differences: Plastic handle has a brass insert for the threads vs all plastic. Definitely an improvement. Needle Stop Screw, spring assembly and air Valve cosmetically different but essentially same design. Stop screw a bit more ergonomic so another little improvement. Trigger head slightly smaller diameter. May go un-noticed unless comparing side by side. Nozzle and tip are also different. I tried and you can swap the whole assembly between bodies, but can not mix them. Each tip only works with its own nozzle. Overall, same design with some subtle changes. Next I need to get some time to test it. For 30 years I had my one and only airbrush. All of a sudden, in a week's timeframe I now have 3 of the same. Go figure! Thanks, Ismael

Hello, I just got a brand new old stock airbrush. You may have seen my other threads on airbrushes. Long story short, my first and only airbrush for 30 years has been my trusty Central Pneumatic 1500. Couldn't resist when I found a "new" one, thinking about spares. I'll create a new thread with details and comparisons. Thanks, Ismael

Hi Bill, Essentially yes. Keep in mind I've been restoring and refurbishing vintage cameras for years where there are no spares. In the case of the airbrush I just restored, the needle was carefully sanded and some of the bent parts were re-aligned enough to work properly. Well, the truth is I'm an engineer with a bad habit of disassembling things. ? Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Resurrecting this old thread, I just restored the old Central Pneumatic 1500 airbrush I got from a friend and I mention in the original post. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/180589-restoring-an-airbrush/ Now my 30 years old airbrush has an identical twin. Thanks, Ismael

Thank you Jim! The trigger was carefully reshaped with some long nose pliers. To clean, I started with a wire brush in the Dremel for the heavier stuff. Then I used mostly lacquer thinner to remove dried paint, then polish the body and brass parts with Brasso. I create my very own mini swabs to get into small places like the nozzle. This one took tons of mini swabs; probably over 2 or 3 dozens as it was very dirty inside. The back handle was wrapped in masking tape. I was expecting a broken handle, but to my surprise it was fine. The sticky residue was nasty and I had to go full aggression with "Bencina", a dangerous chemical. The air valve has a very small and tight O-ring. After cleaning, I applied a pin head size dab of lithium grease to the shaft All of these are tools and materials I use to restore cameras and other things. I'm out of town for Easter holiday but I can take some pictures during the week to better illustrate these. Thanks for the interest and the inspiration! Now, Paasche H Huh? Hmmm.... Regards, Ismael

Hello, In the late 90's (at the end of the last century) the quality of domestic scale models in general was suffering. The pressure for profits had model companies merge or disappear, moving molds overseas, using inferior materials and speeding up processes. The result was that the overall quality started to suffer when compared to previous decades while at the same time japanese companies like Tamiya, Aoshima and Hasegawa were known for far superior products in terms of quality and kit engineering. By the 2000s, AMT was among the worst. To the point that around 2006-2008 or so, I was so frustrated with AMT I hated the company. Mis-molded parts, ill fitting kits, sink marks, mis-aligned molds and excessive flash among other issues. Those of you who were here around that time may remember the controversy over the Concept Camaro and the unusable mis-molded wheels. At that point I had it with AMT. I haven't purchased a new AMT kit in over 15 years. Time has passed and there have been many changes in the hobby. Companies were bought and sold and today's landscape is different. A key factor for us modelers is of course subject. Modern Corvette Pace Cars, Camaros, Chargers and reissues of cool older subjects have been released. Yet I never go past seeing the AMT logo and reject it. I don't have a local HS where I can touch and see. I rely on mail order. And yes, with the proper effort anything can be fixed. But having a good starting point is a good thing. The question is, and trying to keep it objective (it is OK to disagree); How do these kits compare today? Thanks, Ismael

Hello my friends, This is Jim's ( @DPNM ) fault! Because of him I'm getting into this rabbit hole. Thank you Jim! This is a X-post from my original thread in the Pentax Forums, hence the photography vibe to it. Bear with me for a second and hopefully this will make sense. You know you are halfway nuts when you start restoring restoration tools... The airbrush is a staple in the art world (us modelers included) and has been around for a long time. The earliest patents date back to 1876, awarded to Francis Stanley. What was the first use? He used it to retouch photographs! He was a photographer and painter himself. By the way, along with his brother, they would later create the Stanley Dry Plate company which was sold to Kodak eventually. Then they created the Stanley Steamer car. I would have loved to meet and be friends with these guys. The airbrush is one of my favorite tools. I don't use it for retouching photographs, but to paint scale models, retouch restored items and custom paint things like the custom cameras I've done in the past. My very own story with airbrushes is also convoluted and interesting (at least to me). Back in 1993 as a just graduated college student, my good friend Carlos, who at the time was a graphic artist at the University, now happily retired, showed me how to use it and even let me borrow one to take home for a few days. That airbrush was a Badger 150. I fell in love with it and today, airbrushing is still a therapy for me. I wanted one badly. But I was just graduated, looking for a job. Looking into mail order catalogs, I found a Korean-made knock off of the Badger 150 been sold by Harbor Freight Tools for around $20. Discussed with him and other fellow modelers and concluded "I'll get this one for now while I can afford an expensive one". Thinking it was fragile, I took good care of it from day one. Guess what, 30 years later it is still my one and only airbrush! The secret is my maniac and almost religious ritual of fully disassemble it after each and every use, clean it and store it ready for the next job. About a year or so later, a friend of mine asked me to get him one of these as well as he liked what I was doing with mine. He used it for a while but eventually kept getting better and more expensive ones. A few years ago, he gave me his as it was no longer been used and had some "issues with it". Since there are no replacement parts available and since it is the exact same model as mine, I just put it away for spares if needed. I basically forgot about it but found it recently. *EDIT* Jim's amazing vintage airbrush posts here made me remember it. Hmm, How about a quick "just a couple hours" restoration project of something? Anything! And here we are: Despite been low mileage, it has seen far better days. I have other hoses and jars so I won't concentrate on those for now. This is borderline criminal abandonment. Evidence suggests this airbrush was dropped to the floor, probably more than once. The back is no longer round making unscrewing the needle spring assembly almost impossible. Front tip is also slightly damaged plus the body shows scrapes on the side as if been dragged on the ground. CRIMINAL ABUSE! Trigger is bent, needle slightly bent at the back reinforcing the floor drop theory, minor corrosion in the needle suggesting storage while dirty and the air valve was last cleaned at the factory in Korea back in the late 80's - early 90's Dry paint inside. It is like never changing the oil in your car and then complaining it runs rough. This was supposed to be a quick job last night, but it was already 2AM today and I couldn't stop. After every part was serviced and restored, it started to go back together the next day. Getting the polished brass needle spring assembly back in was a royal pain. And this is how it looks now: Can you tell I was off work yesterday? Here is a quick test video. Cheap airbrushes also need love! Hope you like it. My very own airbrush asked me: "Hey, how come that one now looks better than me?" I replied "You have history and patina. He only had abuse..." It said "OK" It is not bad when you talk to your tools. It is bad when they answer back ? Thanks, Ismael

How did I miss this? Love this project. My first new car was Medium Quasar Blue Metallic '93 Chevy so I'm partial to that color. I recently did the 1/32 Trans Am. I'm looking for one of these 1/32 Corvettes to accompany it. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Adding texture to a smooth plastic part: 1. "Paint" the area with diluted white glue and cover the part with a Kleenex or similar tissue 2. Wait overnight and trim Paint it! But how about the boot cover when the top is down? It is also solid smooth plastic. Same thing: Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Hope this is comfortable. Not sure if you can notice but there is slightly more wear on the driver's side. Thanks, Ismael

? Hmmm I.... thought.... this was.... therapy? Do you mean therapy for the therapy? ? Here is the finished steering wheel. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Scratchbuilding is a very hard habit to break. To the point of overwhelming common sense. From left to right: Clutch-Low-Hi gear, Reverse, Brake Parts highlighted in red will replace the kit's steering column, highlighted in yellow. Note: Model T steering columns are NOT round. They house not only the steering rod but also the spark advance and throttle rods as well. Thanks, Ismael

Thanks, Ismael

Hello, According to my research, all 1915 Model T Coupelets (I've found like 5 examples online) had very small oval windows on the sides of the top. The top in the model does not have these. I suspect that since Pyro had a reputation of modeling very specific cars they had access to, most likely the 50 years old car they used had a replacement or refurbished top at the time without those. Anyways, I'll try to add them. After that I tried to add some texture. The part is way too smooth on the sides. Looks like a body panel instead of a soft top. Thanks, Ismael

Amen brother! Truer words never been spoken!

Hello, I thought of fluorescent green with sky blue to purple color shift... After a spectometrical evaluation I found that Corvette Torch Red is over 99% genetically compatible at the molecular level to Ferrari Rosso Corsa in the CMYK color spectrum of visible light under the Hue saturation and brightness characteristics. Translation: I'm saving my Rosso Corsa for an upcoming Ferrari race car project and Corvette Torch Red is the closest I had. ? Let it dry a day or two before deciding if another coat is needed or go straight to masking and painting the yellow nose. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Added plug wires. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Slowly but surely, the 1/32 chassis is progressing. Some models are way too realistic: The muffler and exhaust were a bear to fit interfering with the suspension and chassis. Just like a 1:1 project. ? Too bad pretty much everything is some shade of black here. Thanks, Ismael

Mark! Long time my friend! But this doesn't look like a Lotus 7 ? What can I say? Just pure perfection. I bow to the master! Thanks, Ismael

Very cool looking brass era car!

Very Nice! Love brass era cars.

Thanks Victor! Weird. The earliest posts don't show pictures for me either. Here is another link for the same project on another forum: https://race-car-models.proboards.com/thread/1857/finished-2012-corvette-grand-sport I used a Z06 body with wider fenders, not the base coupe. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Noel, I have no idea what happened to their tooling. Will be interesting to find out. With the intention of displaying the hood with one side open, I thinned the parts for a better scale appearance. You can compare to the untouched part on the right. The kit's muffler (on the left) was removed and replaced. Don't worry, the tiny gap between the tubes will be addressed. Finally, added head bolts to the engine. A tiny drop of white glue and a touch of brown paint. It will eventually be blended and become a bit darker. Thanks, Ismael