Dave G.

I notice that over in the FSM forums, the guys there are heavy into both armor and military aircraft.

My final polish to remove any haze or light scratches is with a dab of Johnson Formula 1 Scratch Out, using the softest old worn out cotton Tee Shirt I have. And you need very little pressure, really just enough to keep the T on the surface. Let the polish do the work. Let it dry Then buff it up lightly with a dry part of the cotton T.. Sometimes to that I add a polish with bees wax in it, and it's done. I use no hard wax at all. My clear gloss lately is one of two, both polish right up with ease. It's either Createx 4050 UVLS clear. That is waterborne clear with UV protection. Or the Rustoleum in the green can with a black chair on the can, which is a bit softer lacquer than the automotive stuff.. Both are crystal clear.

I like 23-26 psi working pressure, so with air flowing. Especially for the Createx lineup. I tend to use the #5 tip on the H, which likes air. Createx in general doesn't need to be thinned as far as some other paints, it flows and levels well when using the 4030 and 4021 combo. I've found 4030 and 4021 to be a great combo in most truly waterborne paints ( not the alcohol paints, never tried that).

Most of my models these days are painted in waterborne acrylic paint. A combo of craft paints and Createx, for the most part. Stynylrez is a fine waterborne primer. So is a quart of Zinsser 123, which sticks like glue to about anything, including plastic, but you have to know the thinning method well, as it's a thick primer. I haven't tried the 123 Plus yet on models, no need really. But with craft paints and with Createx you have a ton of options, including true candy finishing usin Createx Candy 2o.. I've found that Createx 4030 poly additive and their 4021 reducer work in all Createx and all craft paints. This brings better bond, better flow out and a much harder finish. 4021 to me causes acrylic paints to lay down in a similar way as spirit based enamel. I only use the Paasche H as the airbrush for acrylic paints, fwiw. I've run many tests on acrylic paints over a time of about 10 years now. From thinner formulas, to tape pull tests and scratch tests. Just my own home brew testing methods, nothing official. But in so doing I've come down to where I trust the methods I'm using and that the finishes will last. So at that point I started dropping spirit based paint more and more.

That's a valid point, assuming the airbrush someone owns has the needle stop feature. Not all DA airbrushes do. As I mentioned though, for me it's preference. I own a gravity feed dual action airbrush, with needle stop and mac valve. I own a suction feed dual action with the stop. I still prefer single action on car bodies. For that matter so did Donn Yost, in particular, he liked the Paasche H with #5 tip.

I saw that contributor cool hand is confused over this post. What are you confused about, Luke, maybe I can clarify it ?

I'm just not a fan of double action for car bodies, personally. I get my paint mixed to where it flows right through single action, airbrush setting to the flow I want and shoot the body. No inconconsistence due to varying trigger pull. I find double action convenient for T Shirt art, and maybe cammo military models ( though I've done military fine with the Badger 200 and .25 tip).

If you're shooting Tamiya LP lacquer, the single most effective means to a better finish is thinning 50:50 with Mr Leveling thinner. That's more important than what airbrush you use. In fact, my experience is you have to try to screw it up. It just melts on like butter in my experience. You just might have to back up from the surface a little in putting down metallics, but to me that's pretty typical anyway. I can't speak for 2K, I won't have the stuff in my house.

I keep Testors cement for clear parts on hand for this sort of thing. But Ideally drilling and pinning would be the way to go. Anyway, as with the canopy cement I suppose, this stuff sticks about anything to anything else, not just the clear parts to frame. But it's very stringy to apply. It goes on as kind of a milk or cream color and dries super clear. It comes in a white square plastic bottle with a metal wand ( or used to anyway, I haven't bought it in years, as I need very little). It doesnt bond by melting plastic to plastic, it's it's own bonder.

Several people here like Duplicolor primer to use under MCW lacquers. I don't know about Alclad.

The 330, 361 and 391 all look alike in terms of build. But they all in that regard look different in many ways to a 352- 390 car engine. For one thing, the front balancer is different, as the HD truck engines are externally balanced. Then the water pump, the dual belt pullies. The oil pan is a long deep sump pan. As I recall, the fuel pump is a dual chambered thing and has a filter on the bottom. The exhaust manifolds are very much HD. The oil filter is larger. The timing cover too.

MPC kits weren't particularly tricky to build, if that's what you're asking. I built mostly the classic era kits, like the 1928 Lincoln. Similar to Monogram at the time, only 1/25th rather than Monograms 1/24. This was before the Monogram/Revell merger. I did find the fine work, such as chrome door handles, spoked wheels, the hood ornaments to be of better scale than AMT by a little bit, in that era vehicle at least.

3 on the tree was great for getting worn, then not recognizing you needed to be very deliberate on the shifting pattern, you found yourself under the hood getting the linkage unstuck from between gears, while the tranny itself was still in first.. I had one so worn, you had to move the lever slightly towards reverse before letting it slip through the neutral gate. This is when I went and bought the Hurst shifter for three speeds. Seems to me that back in the day, that was around $30. Course you bought the car for $100 ! Sometimes $75. Hah, I just looked that shifter up. It was the Master Shifter, Summit racing still sells them, now in the upper $400 range.

Donny, do you use a 3m type cartridge respirator when you paint ? One that eats organic paint particles, you don't smell anything wearing it when tightly and properly fit. Keep it on for about the 10 minute flash time of lacquers. Or get out of the paint room and remove it then.

It's not an issue, Jerry. Along the way we all could have "this or that ". Like myself, I get carried away as my morning coffee kicks in, or ten dumb thumbs before it kicks in. I could just wait till everything settles down, but I enjoy coming in here before my day gets going, and after my morning Scripture time, after also being in the Christian forums. Next stop is here. As to your engine, with a little kit bash work you can stuff any engine in there. I'm not familiar enough with the kits involved to say how easy or difficult it might be. I once took a 32 Ford sedan, also a model A sedan, converted those to slot cars, maintaining the open side hoods with model engine exposed. So ya, it's just plastic.