Ddms

I do the same soap and water brushing, plus I put a screen over the drain, just in case something falls off. I haven't found a perfect screen yet, so I've been using a sifter screen and bending it to more-or-less fit. It has managed to save a part or two, but I'd like to find something that fits securely around the drainhole.

I use 1/8" stainless ball bearings. One problem though: I put one in an Alclad bottle and broke it by shaking it too hard. What a mess! It was my fault but I'll blame it on Alclad anyway - their paint is thin and so are their bottles. But the BBs work fine with smaller bottles and gentler shaking.

Nice job, Aaron. Great subject! I've always loved those old Ford pickups. On the subject of blacks, I've tried quite a few, and some blacks aren't all that black. I've settled on Rustoleum "Flat Protective Enamel" in a spray can. It's very flat and very black, much darker than Tamiya and some of the other rattle can blacks.

One more thing: If you use the Future method, you don't need to wipe it off after dipping or spraying. When it dries, it leaves a very thin coating that's not the least bit visible. The acrylic ink I used is COM-ART transparent smoke. Only a few drops are needed to darken a good quantity of Future, so it should last for years. Actually, any water-soluble ink ought to work. Okay, yet another thing. Mixing ink with Future has some interesting possibilities. With Tamiya clear and other transparent acrylics being so expensive, it might be worthwhile to experiment. But if something doesn't work out, a toothbrush soaked with household ammonia will remove it without damage, at least to styrene.

I've gotten lots of advice from really good modelers about how to use BMF and stick-on chrome, but mine always turns out uneven and sort of lumpy. I can't seem to master Alclad either. I just started a Moebius Hudson, and tried mixing a little black acrylic ink (from an art store) with Future Premium Floor Finish and spraying the kit chrome with it. (Future is an acrylic.With the ink mixed in, it's sort of like Tamiya Smoke, except thinner and a lot cheaper.) It knocks down the toyish brightness, but keeps the gloss and smoothness. It also seems to add depth and brings out the detail. The first time I tried it I added too much ink to the Future and it looked too dark in the crevices, so I used a toothbrush to clean it off with household ammonia. The ammonia didn't hurt the chorme a bit.

I got some K&S clear plastic sheet a few years ago. It's PETg, or something like that. It's clearer, glossier and more scratch resistant than ordinary acetate or clear styrene - side by side, you can really tell the difference. Aircraft modelers use PETg for thermo-forming canopies.

Nah. The guy and his machine are probably back in 2001, buying up muscle cars and short-selling Enron stock like crazy. Sounds like you missed out on a good deal. Or, more likely, a fatal dose of high voltage electricity.

Ammonia smells awful, but it's super cheap, available at any supermarket and it won't hurt lacquer-type paint or styrene plastic. If your Windex contains ammonia, it should do the job just fine. And it also dissolves tape residue and similar goo. (Check the label. Because everyone hates the smell, some of the new window cleaners don't contain ammonia.) IMPORTANT: Anything that contains ammonia can ruin water-based paints like Tamiya acrylics. Everybody knows this, but it can't be said too often: Always test a new chemical on an identical surface before putting it on your model.

I'd like to use Aleen's Tacky Glue and Tamiya Clear Acrylic for various things. But I'm worried they won't be permanent. Will these glues last, or will they get weak and brittle over time?

You can do the same thing by using wide (5/8" or more) masking tape, and folding about one-third of it over on itself. When you attach the tape, the folded side goes toward the area you need to paint. Attach it so the folded edge is about 1/8" above the surface. That way, when you spray, there will be a soft edge between the old and newly sprayed areas. For this, I'd use Scotch 3M "Painter's Tape for Delicate Surfaces." You'd need four strips to make a "hole"; make sure there's a gap between all the inner tape edges and the actual surface. After a little sanding and polishing, the boundary will be invisible. Good luck!

Wow, that's a great looking Chevy! Beautiful work.

Different paints require different strippers, so you may need to try a few things - for a few days each. Standard strippers are EZ Off oven cleaner from your grocery store (I've had no luck with the lemon-scented stuff), 91 or 99 percent isopropyl alcohol (from your drugstore), Purple Power/Cleaner (home store or auto supply) and DOT 3 brake fluid (auto supply store). You can also try mixing the Purple Cleaner with some alcohol. None of those will hurt a styrene plastic model. Don't use lacquer thinner or acetone! Those chemicals will ruin plastic, big time. So will (duh) heat. The other day I was trying to strip some Testors Vinyl Top Texture stuff. I tried all four standard strippers, with no results at all. Actually, the brake fluid seemed to make the stuff harder! Luckily, the junk was on a couple of small parts, so I finally sanded it off and painted over the residue. The whole process took about ten days. Arrrgh.

Yesterday I went to my local Tru-Value hardware store to get some ordinary lacquer thinner. The old Sunnyside quarts had disappeared. They only had newly labeled "VOC Compliant" quarts at $12 each. That is not a typo: yes, TWELVE DOLLARS A QUART. The label consisted entirely of fine print, so it looked like they hadn't planned for the change. "VOC," by the way, means "volatile organic compound." With troubled conscience, I wasted some precious gasoline and trekked out to Orchard Supply, where I found gallon cans of the old stuff for $16. Not that I'd buy any of that terrible high-VOC stuff, of course, but... it will probably last me six to eight months. Can't say for sure whether the new high-priced stuff will become the rule everywhere, but it looks likely. California always leads the nation in this sort of thing.

How's the Hudson coming along, Dave?

Cool idea, wish I'd thought of it back when women wore pantyhose. (Hoses?) I am told by a reliable authority that they are despised things of the past. It's still a good idea, though. Just have to find some similar material.

Actually, Future makes a pretty good base for Spaz Stix. I've been using Alclad black basecoat until recently. I assume Future would work equally well under Alclad - and it's a lot cheaper and easier to apply than Alclad black basecoat. The thing is, it has a very high gloss, and I'm starting to realize that that's the key to nice looking sprayed-on chrome - IF the chrome will stick to it, which is not the case with a polished/compounded finish.

It had been hanging around with model builders and was led astray. Who knows what the kid holds for this poor Future?

Yessiree! Like to see how to do it off the car AND on the car.

Staticmaster brushes cost $90 and up. The polonium will lose its effect over time, so it's necessary to replace the cartridge every year or so. I regret that I sold mine when I sold my vinyl record collection. (A few years ago, the FSB - formerly known as the KGB - used polonium to assassinate a former agent. They were feeding the guy the stuff. So... eating your Staticmaster is not a good idea.) At a local camera store, I found a substitute anti-static brush that works pretty well. I think it cost about $12. It's about 2" long and 3/4" wide. It doesn't have a brand name, but "SW-020" is imprinted on the end of the black handle. When I'm spray painting something, I try to remember to brush it first. That will reduce the number of dust specks that land on the part before the paint does. Unfortunately, that's a step I often forget.

Great tip! What about other stuff? I work in a carpeted area, and when a little piece of PE hits the ground, it's usually history. I started some 1/43 projects, but spent too much time crawling around under my worktable. Nothing works like tweezers for propelling little parts into the stratosphere! Since then I've learned to pick up stuff with a little Poster Tak turd on a toothpick. But dropping tiny parts is still a problem. Any more suggestions?

I build all three popular scales: 1/24; 1/20 and 1/43. I'm about to start on a simple, all-metal 1/43 model of the FWD Ferguson F1 car that was driven by Stirling Moss. I especially like resin and metal models of older British, Italian and French race cars. They look like little jewels on the shelf, and some are amazingly detailed with metal castings and PE. Some of the best ones are also truly unaffordable - like $350! On the whole, I think car modeling is more popular in Europe than it is here. Despite 1/43's small size, or maybe because of it, it's the preferred scale in Europe. European homes and apartments are generally smaller than those in the U.S., so display space could be a factor. There's also a HUGE range of cars and liveries available in 1/43 resin, far more than you can get in 1/24 plastic. To see a few zillion 1/43 kits, try this search on French eBay: http://jouets-figurine.shop.ebay.fr/i.html?_nkw=&_sacat=17037&Mati%C3%A8re=Plastique%7CR%C3%A9sine&defsort=12&Sous%252DType=F1%252C%2520F3000%7CLe%2520Mans%7CPassager%7CRallye&Caract%C3%A9ristiques=Emballage%2520d%2527Origine&Echelle=1%252F43%7C1%252F25%7C1%252F24%7C1%252F20&Type=Voitures%7CV%C3%A9hicules%2520du%2520Tour%2520de%2520France%7CVoiture%253A%2520F1%252C%2520F3000%7CVoiture%253A%2520LeMans%7CVoiture%253A%2520passager%7CVoiture%253A%2520rallye%7C!&_dmpt=FR_YO_Jeux_VehiculesMiniaturesCircuits_VehiculesMiniatures&_odkw=&_osacat=17037&LH_ClassifyToggle=0&_trksid=m194&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSRCHX:SRCH Much as I enjoy the big scales and the AF, MCM and SMC forums, I'd also like to find a forum that focuses on Euro racers and/or 1/43 kits. Any suggestions?

For spraying the car body and most interior and chassis parts: Tamiya TS series spray-can synthetic lacquer. Tamiya TS, compared to spray-can enamel, dries faster (minutes vs. days), covers better, goes on thinner, and is less likely to have severe orange peel. It looks great, even without clear-coating or sanding and compounding. For touch-up, repairs, and small parts that you want to brush paint: Testors enamel. Definitely prime the body. Primer is easy to sand and it will reveal any mold lines or other "issues" that need to be handled before applying the color coat.

I think you're right about Microsol. If you're applying brittle old decals, seems like they should be strengthened before they're applied. Microsol actually softens and weakens the film. There is some stuff called "Badger MODELflex Liquid Decal Film." It's supposed to be good for sealing DIY decals. According to the Hobbylinc webpage, it also "allows you to save old decals when brushed over an old decal." I haven't tried it, but Badger is a good brand, and it costs less than $2, not including shipping, of course. The Hobbylinc site is at http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/bad/bad16-803.htm.

Lovely. I owned a real one years ago; it was the same cream color with a red interior and a removable hardtop. I put wide Corvair rims on the back. Sure miss that little dude.

The only debonder I know of is "UnCure." If memory serves, it dissolves paint even better than it dissolves CA (superglue). Test before using.