CAL

Literally... out of control with safty features. RX-8s have an inherent problem with their DSC. There has been dozens of similar accidents that have all come back to an over-reactive DSC if you are drive the vehicle aggressively with the DSC turned on.

okay, it might not have been that big but it worked to a degree. Maybe someone else has already tried this. I have always had trubble with Testors acrylics, and I don't know long term results yet. However, inital results have been outstanding. I just wasn't sure if the paint and Future was going to react okay together. 1. Was there going to seperation? 2. Was there going to be some undesirable reaction? 3. Was it going to spray poorly with strings and spiderwebs? 4. Was it going to seperate after sprayed. None of my fears came true, and there shouldn't be any gas out issue with acrylics. In any event, I used Future to thin some Testors acrylic and had intersting results at about a 50/50 paint future mixture. 1. The color coverage improved. 2. The finish greatly improved - high gloss without effort and in one coat. 3. Drying time decreased. 4. The paint didn't react like straight Future and it's typical little issues - texture, running, etc. 5. It wasn't overly thin like straight Future. 6. And It wasn't so thin like using ISO to thin acrylics there wasn't good coverage. 7. More depth So far the only draw back is... 1. It doesn't like to be wet sanded. Dry sanding is okay, but with the finish results I have been getting it should be that big of a problem and minor compared to the finish results. Experiements continue, but it didn't spray out like Testors acrylic or Future by itself. It was one of those weired nights. Saw the Space Shuttle fly over head at 20,000mph last night, a gang was busted up by the cops in our backyard, and though I'd give this a try.

Yeah, I found the whole trick because I haven't been able to polish it real well either is. Several coats. building up more and heavier coats with each session. The final coat should go on glossy clear and just don't do anything else to it. I dry sand with micro mess as needed between. I get that texture too, for the first couple of coats, or if I spray it too dry. I just keep going back and working it till I am happy with it.

Cool I'd post more but that's basically all I have done.

Test results are pending.

I agree, I know a guy that did amazing stuff with a Sherline. He was making 1/24-1/25 Hemis right down to the valves on a Sherline. Plus those others are almost as expensive as a Sherline, and they do not have all the attachments the Sherline does. Eventaully, you hit a limit with what you can do with a MICROLUX. Smithy doesn't have anything small enough, and Grizzly is the same money as Sherline.

Good thing I am all bailed up. The 1/2 sheet I am still using, three more still unopened, a Ultra, a gold and a black sheet. I looked at Testors, It sure doesn't look as shinny.

and it's blue! I am using some suck-A55 acrylic paint, which I have run out of now. I guess I will be going to the LHS tomorrow, so the color may change

Me too, pre 60s. Shot first coat of color. Don't worry I got a long way to go.

Sherline is the the RR of modeling tools. Unimat was good once upon a time. So if you can find an old used one it is probably okay I have used an old steel Unimat that worked very well. The new Unimat is mostly plastic and not very true or ridged enough to be neither a good tool for fine work, accurate for precision work, or built sturdy enough to last a long time. On top of that it has both motor problems and chuck problems. Sherline is the way to go, unless you find an old Unimat, otherwise there isn't anything else to look at. A mill and a lathe is pretty much all you need. And I think you can get into a Sherline milling machine and a Lathe for about $1000.00. Of course you could spend a lot more on a Sherline CNC. From there everything else is pretty much an add-on, like a helix cutter, rotary table, motor control drives and other very specailized tools. But then you can pretty much build anything. A machine shop is very handy to have around. I miss having access to one. One of these days I will get my own Sherline. I hear there is some cheap Chinese tools out there but I haven't seen a source for them or know if they are any good.

I don't know I am currently using a sheet I bought in 1998 and haven't had any trouble with it. It hasn't been refrigerated and it’s been two years in the humid Midwest climate and eight in the arid-planes or high-planes-desert. Still works.

###### sunshine, I don't even have my body prep-ed yet. I got to take care of some sink marks, but hopefully it will be at least in primer today.

more truths... Most Hybrids use Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. They can explode or catch fire if they are shorted overcharged or the case is damaged. Honda themself said that a battery fire or explosion is about the same risk as a gasoline car. We have 3-5 car fires a day during rush hour. So the potential is there. There is a potentially deadly high voltage line that is live if the car is on. i.e. the key turned on but not necessarily running. Chances are low that a firefighter would be electrocuted cutting someone out of a Hybrid car. The main cable is highly visible in an Orange case and now where near the pillars, roof or doors. They usually run along the underside of the car. The only real way to be sure you're not going to get zapped is pulling the main fuse or disconnecting the main lead. There is a life span of unknown length for a NiMH, but estimated life if 5-6 years, and $6000.00 to replace. Some of the newer vehicles carry 10 year warr on those systems. There will probably be some sort of disposal fee, nevertheless. And battery manufacturing creates more toxic waste than just about any industry around. Not to mention already dumping 40,000-70,000 metric tons of lead alone in landfills. Nobody knows the true cost of ownership of these cars yet because they haven't been around long enough for things to start failing on them. At the rate peolpe take car of cars generally (they dont), there may be a bunch of rolling bombs driving around in 10-15 years. What we do know is you have to drive it for 11 years and 120,000 (which is proably longer now because in most cases the Hybrid owners are not getting the mileage that was promised or if it is financed - that just makes even less finacial sense) miles or so to pay for the difference in original cost of the vehicle compared to a similar non-Hybrid, which only like less then 1% of all people keep cars for that long. If you don't keep it that long you loose. You loose on the depreciation on a vehicle about 30% more expensive so it actually costed more than an like non-Hybrid. I think the jury is still out on Hybrids and time will tell if it was such a good idea or not in about ten years or so. What I do know for a fact is it just doesn't make sense to purchase a new Hybrid unless you pay cash for it and drive the ###### out of it for a long long time. And that is just the math. Plus, I drove a Prius, the are not very fun to drive. LiPO Lithium Ion Polymer batteries are probably in the future for Hybrids. They can weigh a lot less than NiMH, and deliver a lot more power in a smaller space, however, they are not stable and are VERY explosive when overcharged.

yeah, okay I am probably in. I need a new build and been toying with 5 or 6 different kits and ideas. This might help narrow it down, but what I have in mind isn't any of the 5 or 6. I start now okay? It might take me twenty minutes or so to dig it out of the stack.

Just take care of these rocker seams and we can call this one done. Of course the hardest part is the last part on this model.

I use white, mainly because it's a neutrual color. White box with black lettering. I have used yellow before, which I think is standard grain, and white is fine. Yeah, I hear ya. I have been at the LHS and was like now what did he say? Nobody ever learned a goddamn thing from success. Oscar Wilde.

Ten years ago or so when I first walked in Colpar Hobbies in Denver. Packed with updates, resin bits, and kits from around the world. Stuff I have never seen before or only in magazines was there on the shelves. They still carry the most extensive collection of kits and add-ons I have ever seen. It is one of the top five hobby stores in the country.

I am sure it's good stuff, it is 20% styrene. I think the killer is the high levels of Toulene.

That has been my experience with Squadron Green. It is very aggressive and will attack plastic. It does shrink a lot. It doesn't dry fast. It is very hard to sand. It is hard to work with, and tends to glob up because it melts the plastic and then rolls up off whatever you are working with and makes one big gerneral mess of things. And it's doesn't paint well. That is it sucks up more panit than the plastic surround it so you get a finish differential. It's been many years since I tossed my Squadron Green out and I probably have forgotten other problems it had. It's just bad news stuff.

BTW never every under any circumstances use Squadron Green or White for that matter, but the green is particularly aggressive. I know someone who used it to counterweight a beautiful P38 Lightening, and the nose melted off. I tried playing with the stuff and never had much luck. Testors Pro Red is the best I have come across, which in fact is some sort of automotive glaze. I heard about this Dynatron and everywhere I have gone looking has either sold out and isn't restocking it or pulled it from the shelf. Apparently the stuff is so nasty they wont sell it to the general public any more and the only way to get it is through wholesale.

I was just giving you a hard time I know it got shot down but they keep pushing it and eventually maybe sanity will prevail. I understand what you are saying and I agree. However, I still think the banking industry particularly CC companies are evil and ruthless, at least a lot of them. Some are set up so you do get screwed even when you are trying to do the right thing, and I know of one in particular that has lost 5 (five!) class action suits and are still in business and worse yet are doing the same ole thing.

IIRC Curbside did a white metal frame for that body. I would venture a guess that it was part of a kit at one time, too.

You can, but .... the hot coffee case IIRC was later overturned. One of those big high profile cases was overturned and the plaintiff lost in the end. I am not sure you can sue the dead. Since Enzo and Ferry are no longer with us I don't thing you're going to sue either one of them. And they are introducing legislature to make in harder and more costly for the plaintiff to start frivolous lawsuits that are choking the courts. How much more plan can it be that our society wants to blame everyone one else for there stupidity. Nobody wants to take responsibility for themselves, and there is a growing trend towards socialism where they expect the government to take care of them becuase too many haven't a clue how to do it themself.

I wonder how they'd feel if some parked a Porsche 911 Turbo there. which is one of the MOST efficient cars on the road. Of course it doesn't have the best fuel mileage, but it has the best fuel management systems and has one of the lowest emissions.

I agree. There is one running around town here with a buckskin interior. It's always been one of my favorite colors.