ColonelKrypton

Great build, fabulous story. This is going to make you grin from ear to ear for a very long time. cheers, Graham

Very nicely done. The 62 to 65 Nova and Chevy II's are my favourite of these cars. The weathering is spot on. Makes it look very realistic as a well used back yard budget match racer. cheers, Graham

Really cool. Very nicely done, looks like what "just a simple little T bucket" should look like. cheers, Graham

Possibly. However, the MSDS I have states that it is for both the 40ml and 20ml product. i.e white cap 40ml, orange cap (non-limonene) 20ml It was I who posted the snippet from the Tamiya Cement ( white cap ) MSDS earlier in the post. MSDS are handy documents to have on hand. However in our digital world there are often far too many versions. Products and their composition do change from time to time so it necessary to pay close attention. The devil is in the details. cheers, Graham

Just to help clarify: Tamiya Cement, with white cap, white label, square 40ml bottle, Tamiya number 87003 is NOT D-Limonene based Tamiya Cement, with orange cap, orange label, hexagonal 20ml bottle, Tamiya number 87012 is NOT D-Limonene based According to their material safety data sheets ( MSDS ) these two cements are the same product only differing in their packaging. Tamiya Limonene Cement, with orange cap, orange label, square 40ml bottle, Tamiya number 87113 is as suggested by it's name D-Limonene based Tamiya Limonene Cement Extra Thin, with orange cap, light orange label, square 40ml bottle, Tamiya number 87134 is as suggested by it's name D-Limonene based Why Tamiya chose to use an orange cap and label on their Tamiya Cement hexagonal 20ml bottle is unknown but as we have seen, it can be confusing. cheers, Graham

It sounds like we are mixing up Tamiya white cap cement which is non D-Limonene based and works like many other non D-Limonene cements and has that same similar solvent smell as does Tamiya Extra Thin ( dark green cap ), Tamiya Extra Thin Quick dry ( light green cap ), and similar Testors and Tenax cements. But Tamiya White cap does have 11% dissolved styrene resins which makes it thicker ( more viscous ) and takes longer for the solvents to evaporate and is somewhat between the extra thin cements and tube cement. Tamiya orange cap with orange label https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87113limonene_cement/index.htm is D-Limonene based and smells nothing like the other cements noted above. To quote Tamiya's web page "...extracted from citrus fruits and is very safe to use and comes with no unpleasant smells" cheers, Graham

It does, but the largest is 1/35 scale: https://spruebrothers.com/csm35005-1-35-copper-state-models-italian-armoured-car-1zm/ currently out of stock but I am sure other online retailers can accomadate. CSM has a good selection of 1/35 Great War period armoured cars. https://spruebrothers.com/copper-state-models/ This one is particularly eye catching: https://spruebrothers.com/csm35002-1-35-copper-state-models-romfell-panzerwagen/ But all are 1/35 scale. These armoured cars where often built on truck chassis so are reasonably large. cheers, Graham

This is another recently completed build this time of the Copper State Models (CSM) 1/72 scale Lancia 1ZM Autoblinda which loosely translates to Lancia 1ZM Armoured Car. Designed during the Great War and built by Ansaldo on a Lancia truck chassis and saw service in the Great War, the interwar period and limited use during the Second World War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancia_1ZM The scale is 1/72, sometimes referred to as "Braille Scale" but I like to call military vehicles in this small scale "Wee Warriors". For an idea of size, the wooden disk the model is displayed on is 4 inches in diameter. "Lampo" translates to "Lightning" Cheers, Graham

Very nicely done. The weathering is perfect, not too much, not too little, which makes it look like a well used VW pickup. The Gulf colours make it quite eye catching. cheers, Graham

Tamiiya white cap cement is more similar to Tamiya extra thin and contains solvents typically found in plastic cements but also contains a percentage of dissolved styrene which makes thicker ( i.e. more viscous ) Tamiya orange cap cement is made from limonene which is a solvent made from citrus. It is a safer to use cement and has less smell. https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87113limonene_cement/index.htm There are a few other makers of cement using limonene. For reference Tamiya White cap cement contains as listed in it's safety data sheet name cas no. Butyl Acetate 123-86-4 40.0 ％ Acetone 67-64-1 40.0 ％ Cyclohexane 110-82-7 7.0 ％ 3-Methoxy-3-Methylbutyl Acetate 103429-90-9 2.0 ％ Polystyrene Resin 9003-53-6 11.0 ％ And Tamiya orange cap cement contains as listed in it's safety data sheet D-Limonen CAS-Nr. 5989-27-5 95-98% alpha-Terpinen CAS-Nr. 99-86-5 1-2% alpha-Pinen CAS-Nr. 80-56-8 <1% A CAS Number is a numerical designation for chemicals that is maintained by the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) of the American Chemical Society. Each number assigned by the CAS is unique to one chemical substance whereas many chemical may have more than one common name. I have never tried a limonene based plastic cement so I cannot make any first hand observations of the Tamiya white cap vs orange cap. Perhaps it is time I pick up a bottle and give it a try. cheers, Graham

1/35 scale. In that scale it is about the same size as typical 1/24 scale car. cheers, Graham

I figured it was about time I posted one of my builds. This is my latest. During the Great War the US War department realized that they needed to standardize their materials. One such effort was to create a standardized truck. The requirements where put to various manufactures and in quick order they responded with their design for the Standardized Class B Truck which became nicknamed the Liberty truck. Powered by a 428 cu in four cylinder engine producing about 52HP, a wheelbase of 160 inches, capacity of 3 to 5 short tons, and a production run from various manufactures of 10,000 to 14,000. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_truck It is finished for the moment. I still fussing over how much weathering to add and what type and amount of cargo it will carry. For the time being it will take it's place on my display shelf as I live with for a bit and wait for it to tell me what it wants to finish off. cheers, Graham

Creative and engaging. An enjoyable read with some interesting plot twists. To be critical for a moment and offer some constructive criticism, some work on punctuation will help with the flow of the story cheers, Graham

Overall, very nicely done. cheers, Graham

Indeed, very cool. cheers, Graham

Very nice. I like the "weathering" - not too much and nicely balanced. cheers, Graham

Good question. I did some Google search's looking for interior picture of the Titan submersible and found these: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65960217 https://people.com/oceangate-titan-submersible-everything-to-know-7551180 It may be that the image found earlier in this topic might have been a "copy-paste" from the video in the first link. The video is supposed to be taken inside the Titan and it clearly shows at least two monitor brackets fixed to the walls - one on either side. It is not clear from any picture or data that I have seen whether this inner wall is part of the outer pressure hull or a secondary structure within the pressure. Without knowing you are only guessing. cheers, Graham

I tried that and can do the same. cheers,

Something for the more adventurous are UV cure resins. UV cure resins are widely used in the beauty industry for making pretty finger nails. Also used by miniaturists https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/apr/25/meet-the-miniaturist-whose-tiny-homes-are-a-delight to make tiny detail bits in molds and by those who make fishing lures ( and many other uses ). I have on occasion been using a product sold under the name of Solarez https://solarez.com/ They have resins which cure hard and in thin and thick viscosities as well as flexible types. You will find many varieties on Amazon aimed at the finger nail crowds. They are typically clear but can be tinted. The challenge is that in order to cure, the resin needs to be exposed to UV light. An application of the resin on the surface of a piece can be cured through but an application on an inner surface cannot be exposed to UV light will not cure on it's own. I have tried to use as a glue to fix pieces together but always run into that problem of not curing all the way through because of lack of UV exposure. Once cured, the hard resins cut and sand easily and I have found bond nicely to styrene. I have used to fill gaps and have also used to make clear head light lenses. A drop on piece of parchment paper exposed to UV light will often cure to a nice head light lens shape or a drop in a simple shallow round hole might also work depending on your wants. Not for everyone, not for every task, but some may find them useful. cheers, Graham

In replying to another thread I had noted that the web site to which I had posted indicated that it was "Not secure" i.e. NOT HTTPS even though it was the website of good legitimate US company, in this case it was https://www.westsystem.com/product-categories/filler/ BUT curiously now it does appear to be "secure" i.e. HTTPS. That aside, just now my web browser ( Chrome ) is indicating that modelcarsmag.com is "Not secure" i.e NOT HTTPS. Is this normal for modelcarsmag.com? Is there some issue with some SSL certificate server that is intermittently effecting some web sites? Just one of those curious things you notice when you actually pay attention cheers, Graham

I have always Green Stuff World epoxy putty to be a bit flexible and soft when cured. The Tamiya epoxy putties cure to a much harder finish. Some have found that they prefer to mix Green Stuff epoxy putty with Tamiya epoxy putty and get the best of both - something that cures hard but not quite as hard as Tamiya alone nor as flexible as Green Stuff alone. I have tried it but am not fully sold on it at the moment. One of the issues I have with any of these epoxy putties ( and even catalyzed Bondo ) is that for thick applications on largish areas of styrene or areas subject to flexing, is that these putties to do not really bond that well to the styrene even when well prepared by sanding to leave a rough surface with some tooth for putties to bond to. Give the styrene a bit of flex and the putties will pop right off. I have found however, and am still experimenting, that if you first cover the area where you are applying the epoxy putting with a bit of CA ( I use a medium CA ) before applying the putty that the putty will bond much better to the styrene ( actually, the putty is bonding to the CA and CA is bonding to the styrene ). May not be the right choice for all applications but has worked for me when just applying the epoxy putty to bare styrene has not. cheers, Graham

I would not recommend any of the 5 minute/ 10 minute/ 20 minute / 30 minute ( whatever ) quick cure epoxies. These all tend to be relatively flexible and softer when cured compared to other epoxies. There are exceptions, for example JB Weld original and JB Weld quick cure both cure to a hard finish that can be cut, filed, sanded (etc) and come to think of it, I must stop at the local store later today and pick up some to try on current project as catalyzed Bondo just isn't doing it for me at the moment. cheers, Graham

West Systems has a large selection of fillers, each with it's own characteristics and application: https://www.westsystem.com/product-categories/filler/ ** note: the westsystem web page is NOT HTTPS compliant and your browser may complain an extensive user guide here: https://www.westsystem.com/app/uploads/2022/10/User-Manual-2015.pdf I have used West System epoxies and fillers for many years and it is a very good product. As an alternative to the large and expensive sizes of West System products you might consider Zap Z-Poxy surfacing resin https://robart.com/products/4-oz-118ml-z-poxy-finishing-resin available in much smaller sizes 4oz and 8oz Micro balloons can be found at hobby stores which cater the RC airplane and boat crowd, for example: https://www.horizonhobby.com/product/microballoons-filler--250cc/DLMBD15.html Micro balloons can be either teeny tiny wee glass balloons usually white in colour or phenolic ( plastic ) usually a redish brown but there may also be other plastic types that I have not encountered. The tiny balloons are very light weight and very small. Be careful, use at least a dust mask of some sort and mix carefully least you fill the air with particulate matter you do not want to breath in or be dusting off all work surfaces for a long time. I have found the Z-poxy surfacing resin to be a better choice for mixing with a filler ( i.e. micro balloons ). It seems to cure to a harder consistency and is easier to sand. cheers, Graham

CA and acrylic nail powder. Paul Budzik, a dentist, promoted the use of CA with dental acrylic powder Acrylic dental powder is not easily available but common acrylic nail powder is easily sourced from sources like eBay or Amazon. I use medium CA and mix to a "whipped cream" texture. Works for me. cheers, Graham

Maybe not the first model car kit that I built but the first one I remember was the Aurora 1/32 scale Ram Rod from the early 60's https://www.scalemates.com/kits/aurora-509-ram-rod--1141790 cheers, Graham