bobss396

Any takers on the action that the car is full of drowned earth worms and muck?

I've turned parts on my Bridgeport milling machine. I hold the stock in a collet or drill chuck, lock a tool bit in the vise. After some practice, I could face and turn parts accurately. But the cordless drill and Dremel I've seen used before, neat trick, the parts look great. Bob

I try to support my LHS when I can. He has a good amount of kits and supplies plus a full military line. Also he does RC cars, trains, slot cars. The problem is that he always has NEW inventory blocking up the OLD inventory. It was so bad at one point that I wouldn't bring my kids into the place in case something fell on them. Otherwise the place is clean and well stocked.. but try to FIND something. The owner's attitude is a bit on the blase side, he's not one to special order you something unless you really break his chops. He carries an inventory of high-end die cast drag cars and other items that do not move that well. I don't know what his terms with his suppliers are, but he does carry a lot of inventory that is stagnant and invisible. I offered a couple of times to sort out his aftermarket parts and decal supplies, which are in small boxes on the counter. Re-order is done by him jotting down each sale on a legal pad, no computer. I don't see how he makes it, but glad he's around. Bob

Primer is essential under yellow paint, I know some people don't use primer on their bodies. I find that a flat white primer works well, a tint added to it would help I'm sure and will have to try that. I also agree with airbrushing which gives you more control and you can put the paint where you want it. Personally, when I airbrush anything, I go around and hit all the edges, panel seams, hinges, recesses, etc with the first pass. Bob

The thing with ABS plastic is that you can't bond it to polystyrene unless you use epoxy, CA glue or the Plastruct ABS to styrene bonder. They make two solvents, most hobby shops should have them. Bob

My local Big Lots store has not had any model kits for a few years. I've been scoring a few at my local Kay Bee outlet, they had a bunch of the Polar Lights '64 GTO and '65 Coronet kits. Bob

Even a brand new range hood is cheap enough, no grease to deal with and it will work for years. Bob

The same goes with women, turn out the lights and they all look the same!

Welcome! This is a pretty decent place to hang out. Very little friction and lots of good tips and information. Bob

Hey, a stolen photo to go with the stolen car! Keep it in the vein, I like it. Two wrongs don't make a right, but two Wrights make an airplane! Bob

Here's an idea. Have the model image made into a t-shirt transfer and wear them to model events and 1:1 car shows in the area. Also make up some bumper stickers with the image and a web address on them. Bob

I'm 52 and in good shape, hack.. cough. I got back into the hobby at age 40. I'm not that concerned about who will pick up where I leave off. My kids know the value of my stash so hopefully they can make a few bucks off them. The biggest laugh I have is, what will someone think when they dig us up in 5000 years and find all these plastic model kits. Will they even have an inkling what a car is by then? Will it be like us digging up the old Egyptians and basically saying WTF until they get a handle on what we were all about? Bob

I got a model for xmas of 1961, it was the Monogram Black Widow. When I see one built, I get a flashback to when I built mine. I also did the Green Hornet after that and kept getting models for xmas and mainly my birthday. I would LOOK for that certain size box wrapped up. I built all the Trophy Series (great box art) kits, some many times over. I would build with my brothers, the kids next door and my buddy up the street. He's the guy that turned me onto the AMT spray paints. I built up to 1973, got my first car and started working and attending college. I dragged around about 10 unbuilt kits whenever I moved. Never cracked one open, just stacked them in the closet. I got back into it in 1993, built a couple of kits that turned out so-so. Built more in 1995 into 1997 and started finding better paints, better hobby shops. By 1998 I had joined a model club, discovered after market parts, entered my first show. Since then I've had as many as 400 kits in my stash, amassed a small forune in parts and paints. I'm having fun with it only wish I had goten back into it sooner. Bob

Join the club, I have many a stalled project. Some are even in the 90% completion state. And some things are really simple to fix or come up with a solution. I have a Revell '40 Ford and I'm stuck on painting the black trim around the windshield. It looks like ###### no matter what I try. Black foil, chrome foil, black acrylic paint, Sharpies... nothin' looks good enough on it.

$64k question: Where are the Wal Marts that are peddling so many kits? I have several by me, I stopped in 2 while upstate NY this past weekend. I think that between the 5 stores that I have observed that there is a total of 100 model car kits between them. I saw no checkerboard kits (usually a lot cheaper than regular kits), a few Good Guys kits and some other AMT and Revell kits making up the bulk of the rest. There was no abundance of open shelf space so there's no evidence that they are having trouble keeping them in stock. I see more kits in KB Toys outlets than I see in any Wal Mart that I have ever been in.

This should be of help. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Straight-6_engine

This should be of help. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Straight-6_engine

I don't know, maybe I'm the only one not having problems with the crazing Revell plastic. I tend to go easy on the primer for at least the first coat. I use Duplicolor, Plastikote (found at Michaels Crafts in white and gray). Mainly Plastikote for the first coats while doing sanding, etc. I save the Duplicolor for the last coats prior to paint and it plays well with the Plastikote.

I agree that this is my "default" primer as well. ANYTHING is compatible with it, it dries very smooth, is tolerant of a heavy hand. Places like Auto Zone have the big cans of it for under $5 so the economics are good too. Bob

What do you need to know about it? I have a kit here, not complete but I keep it around for the box itself. The box is the larger one with all the different 'Birds on it, deffo the original issue. The '57 was also released later in the '60s with tinted glass and a can of paint in it. Bob

I like to use flat enamel paint (finally found a use for Testors products!) under the flock. I try to get a color as close to the flocking as possible. I work in small areas with a good wet coat of paint, sprinkle the flocking out of a small kitchen strainer. It will look like it was snowed on. Then I press down (not too hard) on the flocking, wait a minute and dump the excess onto a paper plate for re-use. Always have the strainer on the paper plate, ready to go as soon as you drop the paint brush. Bob

For newer cars, try a model railroad "grain of wheat" bulb in place of the straight pin. They can be painted with clear acrylics if you want different effects. Bob

I keep it in the family whenever possible. Duplicolor primer with Duplicolor paint, Tamiya primer with Tamiya paint and so on. I totally gave up on Testors products some years back. My default primers are Plastikote for general use but use mainly Duplicolor, Tamiya, Sanyo Gunze's Mr. Surfacer for all my body and fender work. Bob

When I was selling on evilBay, I used to try to get my auctions to end on Friday or Saturday early evenings, 10pm on the east coast, 7pm on the west. This has always worked for me. Agreed that if you have something good up for bid, the time is inconsequential. Best time to get a good deal have always been on weekdays anywhere from late morning to late afternoons. Bob