ColonelKrypton

It's been a since the last update to this community build and I figured it was about time I posted something on my build. Plans are to build a 29 Ford Model A roadster based on Revell's kit but with a flathead for power. As usual I just can't leave well enough alone and I start down many paths kitbashing. This build will, at least for the moment include some parts from the Revell 29 Ford Roadster, Revell 37 Ford pickup, and the AMT 34 Ford pickup. I wanted my build to be something more long the lines that a backyard builder in the 60's might have built and would have been used for a nice weather daily driver errand runner. Flathead for power would match up nicely with quick change rear end but not having one handy and likely that backyard Bob didn't have the cash for one then a banjo rear end would do. The banjo rear ends from the 37 pickup where OK but I settle on the banjo rear end from the 34 pickup as a better fit but it suffered from warpage and mold mis-alignment when it was made. This necessitated a bit of scratch building to sort out. The torque tube was replaced with a piece of Evergreen poly styrene tube with a piece of brass tubing and sanded to shape. The wishbone was replaced with brass tubing squished to an oval shape, filed and sanded to shape. Once the read end was sorted I decided that I would make the front end posable and went to work making spindles from brass. I am still working on the front end. It has taken quite a bit of time fussing with small bits of brass but I have gotten close. Still, I am considering digging out another front axle from another kit and just assembling as the kit intended just so I can get on with the build. The posable front end would be set aside for another build however. I won't describe all the wee details of how these pieces were made unless someone wants some details; it takes longer to write about those details than it does to just do it. I do like fussing over small details and quite enjoy using brass for these small details. However, with age and arthritis rearing it's head I struggle a bit some days hence the thought of digging out another axle from another kit and just getting on with the build. I have what looks like a really nice flathead V8 from VCG resins on the way which will find a home in this build. cheers, Graham

You can selectively anneal small sections or the whole piece. I use K&S brass tubing exclusively. I don't use a mandrel, just my fingers or section of wood dowel or whatever is handy and the near the correct size and shape. Annealed K&S brass tubing can be very soft, easy to bend, but also easy to squish if not careful. Sometimes I don't even anneal the tubing. No, I don't put anything inside the tubing to keep from collapsing. Gentle curves and bends, annealing, slow careful work and I have never had much of problem. However, in those cases were a really sharp bend is needed and tubing might kink I have resorted to using rod. K&S does sell a bendable brass rod as part of their lineup. cheers, Graham

I wonder if that Plas-T-Rod was ABS plastic? I don't recall ever encountering this particular product before but I do recall that many years ago Plastruct products were primarily ABS and their styrene products were a more recent addition to their line. ABS plastic does require a different cement than what is typically used for poly styrene. I have used a variety of materials and techniques for making things like roll cages and chassis bits, mostly poly styrene and in particular model kit sprues when I had or couldn't find anything else. Now however, I tend to use brass tubing and rod along with some poly styrene. It is easily bent and formed particularly if you anneal it first ( heat to near red hot and let air cool ). It really doesn't matte what you use as long as it something you are comfortable working with and the end results are what you want. cheers, Graham

Not always. I have tried many different products ( i.e. Easy Off, Zep Grill Cleaner, Zep Industrial cleaner, Purple Power, and a couple of others whose names don't come to mind ) and in all cases I was never able to remove both the "chrome" and the underlying enamel/lacquer coating. They all removed the "chrome" but didn't to much of anything to the underlying enamel/lacquer. There are caustic soda ( i.e. lye also known as sodium hydroxide ) paint strippers but they are typically much stronger than common household cleaners. cheers, Graham

Mr hobby thinner might work BUT Mr Hobby levelling thinner contains an ingredient that will attack the poly styrene plastic. I have also tried AK Interactive Real Color High Compatibility thinner and it too also contains an ingredient that will attack the poly styrene plastic. I have been using Tamiya Paint remover product number 87183 in the 250ml bottle or Tamiya Lacquer thinner product number 87077 in the 250ml bottle with the yellow cap. I have not yet tried the Tamiya Lacquer Thinner retarder type product number 87194 with the orange cap. Neither of these products will attack the poly styrene plastic. I have left parts soaking in these products for many days with no ill effects. In fact, both the Tamiya Paint Remover and Tamiya Lacquer Thinner ( 87077 yellow cap ) work about equally as well as the other but I found that a 50:50 mix of both seemed to work a bit better. Unlike the cleanser products which contain (typically) lye ( sodium hydroxide ) which reacts with the "chrome" plating effectively dissolving the "chrome", the Tamiya Paint Remover and/or Lacquer thinner do not dissolve the "chrome" rather they will soften then dissolve the underlying enamel/lacquer resulting in the "chrome" being removed in small flakes. Keep in mind that even though these products are a bit more expensive than the usual Easy Off, Purple Power, ( etc); these products and be reused many times. I have a jar with my 50:50 mix that I have been using and reusing for over a year. Lacquer thinner is a generic term. Different brands of lacquer thinners will vary in their chemical make up. Some contain acetone and other will contain MEK and others toluene and others still a wide variety of various solvents. I have never been able to get Easy Off or Purple Power, or similar to remove both the "chrome" and the underlying coating but others seem to have success with this method. cheers, Graham

I hear ya, too easy to get lost fussing over little things and before you know it the day is gone like today - mid afternoon already and most of the day spent being distracted online cheers, Graham

Very nice, well done. cheers, Graham

I think so too - clear blue over silver leaf, once you sort out the painting, should look really sharp. I have started to play around with similar techniques, just starting mind you and I tend to use spray cans these days rather than an airbrush. I wonder what the clear blue would like over TS-75 Champagne Gold or TS-87 Titanium Gold, perhaps a bit darker that over the silver leaf. Something I will have to try. I seem to recall that you decant the spray cans and use an airbrush. Do you add a retarder when you spray? Tamiya has retarders for both their lacquer and acrylic paints as I am sure you are aware. Now, I have been looking, nay staring, at your '41 Willys sitting in the tub getting it's paint removed. The first picture is the most intriguing not for the obvious reason of your paint stripping effort but rather the subtle or not so subtle image I see beyond the paint stripping. I see a somewhat mottled iridescent blue-gray water drop effect paint scheme and think how cool that would look after a gloss clear coat? Time to gather some paint and test body of some sort and experiment. I am sure you will get the paint sorted and your '41 Willys will shine. cheers, Graham

Very cool. Nicely done. cheers, Graham

Very cool indeed. I built one around 1970 when I was a young teen. I have very fond memories of building this kit back then. Might be tempted again if I spot one on the shelf at the local hobby emporium. cheers, Graham

An interesting comment and observation. I do not currently have and use a dehydrator but I have been reading what I can on the subject. I am wondering how being in the dehydrator "smoothed" or "shrunk" the paint up. I am assuming Tamiya acrylics ( acrylic lacquer actually ) thinned with what? Mr Color leveling thinner or ? If left long enough would the Tamiya silver leaf have continued to gas off and levelled out on it's own? Did the dehydrator used with a warmer temperature and fan do the work or did is just speed up the off gassing? That era of Willys has always been a favourite of mine. cheers Graham

Very nicely done. I really like the posters on the wall. Different and very creative. cheers, Graham

That is pretty cool. I had never seen that particular photo before. There were a lot of Model T variations other than common road cars. Here is one ( of many ) with caterpillar tracks https://fordimages.com/en-ca/products/1926-ford-model-t-with-caterpillar-tracks-and-sled-runners-neg-45926-jpg Many interesting variations of armoured cars used in the Great War, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_FT-B There are a number of 1/35 scale Model T armoured car kits too. A quick search using Google will find many variations and pictures. cheers, Graham

Very nicely done. cheers, Graham

There seem to an ever increasing number of options. At the moment I have been looking something that can be brushed for adding small painted details. I have heard good things about the Green Stuff product and the Vallejo one as well. I wonder if the Green Stuff and Vallejo products are the same thing seeing as the Green Stuff bottle and Vallejo bottle size/shape are similar. I look forward to your report on how well this product works. cheers, Graham

I have one of those. It works quite well. cheers, Graham

I checked the Michaels web site for a contact email so that I could ask about their restocking plans. No such luck, couldn't find an email address but I could chat with a representative which I did. I aske when Michaels would be restocking model kits and their (probably canned) reply was "restocking is planned and has an 8 to 10 week cycle" or something like. So, a definite maybe - maybe? supply issues? The hobby stores don't seem to have any problem getting kits. Perhaps something to do with Testors either directly or through some other distributor handling Testors products is part of the issue with Michaels. It is clear that model kits where never a big selling item for Michaels and having to put any effort into dealing with supply issues is likely to see them not bother. For what it's worth, all of the Michaels stores in the Ottawa area ( 4 in total ) have sold out of all but a very few of the kits they did have on the shelves since last fall. We are lucky here in that we have a rather decent local hobby store ( The Hobby Center ), another almost as good ( Great Hobbies - for plastic model stuff ), a couple of other smaller stores and a handful of Gundam/Gunpla oriented stores. Still, it is always nice having choices and Michaels with typically lower prices for kits plus their usual 30% discount on one item coupons, they were always worth checking out for a deal. cheers, Graham

You are absolutely correct. However, my quick search returned some interesting links to products which are being spelt as "Pail Ale" presumably make their product stand out a bit more in the crowd. Also, Pail, alphabetically comes before Pale. It's all about marketing https://kamiljuices.com/products/brewing-class-recipe-1-the-pail-ale https://untappd.com/b/shiny-brewery-pail/960049 among others. cheers, Graham

Upon re-reading my earlier post I realized I may have misspoken so I went to check on the material safety data sheets to verify. In fact I had misspoken, it is Tamiya Lacquer thinner ( yellow cap - not the orange cap Lacquer thinner retarder type ) that is mostly isopropyl alcohol. For full disclosure, form the Tamiya Paint Remover safety data sheet: Furthermore, the Tamiya Lacquer thinner (yellow cap) from the Tamiya products safety data sheets - Note there are in fact two slightly different formulations from two different safety data sheets that I have found. I found the second more recent sds this morning. Which brings me to add that Tamiya Lacquer Thinner ( yellow cap ) product 87077 also works quite well as a paint remover as well as for removing "chrome" plating from plastic model parts. In fact, I find a 50:50 mix of Tamiya Lacquer Thinner and Tamiya Paint Remover works a bit better than either alone. Neither of these products will attack polystyrene. I have left parts in these products for many days with no ill effects. In the art conservation world, cleaning old objects and paintings is a never ending task. Conservators always start with the mildest solvent and work they way through harsher solvents as needed to remove whatever contaminants they are faced with. In a similar vein as to what @Mark suggested, they never "soak" and item instead use cotton buds or similar to "wipe on and wipe off". As commented by @peteski and @Mark tread lightly, don't soak for long periods if it can be helped, tread lightly when trying anything new or different and test, test, and test some more before committing. My apologizes for mis-speaking and for being a bit long winded. cheers, Graham

I have never heard of Pail before so I did a quick search. Found a number of alcoholic beverages using that name but it seems that Pail ale and Pale ale are pretty much the same thing just with different spellings to different I suppose. India Pale Ale is just a variety of Pale or Pail Ales. Good advise on being careful stripping paint from resin. Always test, test, and test some more before committing especially if trying new or different. cheers, Graham

What a great idea. I will have to give that a try. I dabble a bit with water colours and other mediums; doesn't have to be water colours, will also try some inks and markers. cheers, Graham

So far, just over three weeks into January, we have had November weather, December weather, January weather, February weather, and March weather this month. Mix of snow, sun, cloud, cold and comfortably warm ( for winter ) temperatures; last night freezing rain with a bit more than 1/4" of ice accretion on everything. Not quite a week to go and we might see some April weather this month. Still, could always be worse I swear, I just looked out the front door and then the back, the weather was different in both places cheers, Graham

Tamiya paint remover should work quite well. Formulated to work with Tamiya products and reusable - let any sludge and bits settle after use, filter, then store in original bottle. Works great for removing "chrome" plating AND the underlying lacquer/enamel from model "chromed" plated parts. I have a bottle I have been using for about a year that has seen a lot of use. Mostly isopropyl alcohol but it is the other glycol components which help the alcohol better cling to the surface helping to break down the paint and it's bond to the painted surface making it more effective than isopropyl alcohol alone. I have to laugh a bit whenever someone suggests using India Pail Ale ( i.e. IPA ) for removing paint https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_pale_ale cheers, Graham

Turned out very nice indeed. cheers, Graham

If you like Tamiya extra thin cement, you can always buy the Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner in the 250mL container. It is the same thing as Tamiya extra thin cement going by their safety data sheets each are approx 50% butyl acetate and 50% acetone. one bottle of Tamiya extra thin cement of 40ml is typically around $7.50 Canadian whereas the Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner of 250ml is typically around $14.00 cheers, Graham