ColonelKrypton

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

Very nice. It is a simple kit and I have been tempted; every time I poke around the local hobby store and see one on the shelf in fact. I may just have to grab one for a quick build. cheers, Graham

I will second that. seeing that your '34 Ford is powered by a six, you might consider including it in "the straight six community build rides again" community / group build. https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/187050-the-straight-six-community-build-rides-again/ Backing up thin stock with a thicker piece in order to drill holes is one way. However, I use small four flute end cutting end mills ( amazon or eBay ) that can cut the hole directly on the thin stock without needing to be back up with thicker stock. I have a few select sizes that cover my needs. Available in metric as well as imperial sizes and various shank sizes. This is a link to an example on Amazon.com to show to what I am referring: https://www.amazon.com/1pc-Flutes-Carbide-Square-Mill/dp/B09VFFQWP9/?th=1 I am really liking this build. cheers, Graham

nicely done. cheers, Graham

Indeed. And all in part or in whole painted in primer gray. cheers, Graham

Very nice. I watched your youtube video on this build the other day. Sure is tiny and the build looked like it took a delicate touch. Very nicely done. There is something about tiny builds that is appealing. I had a go at 1/72 scale Great War aeroplanes and vehicles. In my younger years I managed just fine but lately with age and the usual age related ailments like arthritis and losing some of that delicate touch and dexterity, I find that the smaller scales are no longer for me. There is a gentleman from Australia who scratchbuild Great War aeroplanes ( among other subjects ) in 1/144 scale which are real jewels. This is a link to his latest postings on making wire wheels in 1/144 scale that you might find interesting: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235134957-spoked-wheels-for-an-early-bird/ and one more of completed aeroplane just for interest sake: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235130624-over-the-adriatic-with-a-wet-bottom-v1-models-macchi-m5/ He is writing a book that will be available sometime this year. cheers, Graham

Indeed. cheers, Graham

That is typically true. However, it is easy to get caught up in the endless search for reference material sometimes referred to as "analysis paralysis" when you end up down a bunny hole spending more time researching than building. Like everything else in life there is a fine line between too much and too little. Still, I find the search for good references a pleasant chore even if I sometimes find it frustrating not finding what I want. Good work on the wheel well inners. Out of curiosity I did a quick search, found much, and am now more confused than when I started. Good original reference photos are not always easy to find. Nearly all of the photos I found showing 32 Ford inner wheel wells where of replacement parts, restorations, rebuilds, (etc) and not of an original. Do your research, pick a point, and aim for it. It is a hot rod after all and every builder builds their own way and unless your are trying to reproduce a specific car then there is leeway to make it your way as you like. I like to aim for period correct ( i.e. a 50's or early 60's build ) and it looks like you are spot on. cheers, Graham ( in cold 0 F Eastern Ontario Canada ).

Very nice. Well done. cheers, Graham

I noticed the same thing - nothing in Walmart here for quite some time. In fact, many years ago, the local big box stores in all the malls had good selection of model kits and building supplies but that is long gone. Toy's R Us used to have kits too but that was long ago as well. Amazon.ca has some selection. I am lucky that there are a number of decent hobby stores in the area ( Ottawa, Ontario, Canada ) with good choice. Also a number of Gundam/Gunpla/warhammer/fantasy focused stores. No interest in the kits but lots of interesting other bits, pieces, paints, and supplies. It always pays to support your local stores even if it costs a bit more. I do look deals at Michaels ( etc ) Gotta be frugal too. Times change. Nothing you can do about except change with them. cheers, Graham

Some (maybe all) of the issues with enamels and their availability in recent years may likely be related to regulations which changed in early 2022 with respect to the use of a chemical called (Methyl Ethyl Ketoxime, also known as MEKO or butanone oxime CAS no. 96-29-7. It became unlawful to sell paint containing more than 0.1% concentration of MEKO afterwards. This change may have been one of the driving forces behind the demise of the Testors Model Master enamels - write them off rather than expend the effort to change. https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/blogs/news/methyl-ethyl-ketoxime-meko-and-your-health MEKO is used as an anti-skinning agent in paints and lacquers: https://www.eximcan.com/product/methyl-ethyl-ketoxime-meko/ Humbrol apparently did some reformulating of their products and is still available. Tamiya markets a very nice enamel with a similar colour range to their acrylics and is sold in small square bottles similar in size to the common Testors enamels. Revell has a line of enamel paints that I have not seen in Canada and as far as I know is only available in Europe. Changing regulations and manufactures efforts to change with them is a fact of life. A quick search using Goggle and searching for MEKO Methyl Ethyl Ketoxime model hobby enamel paints ( or some such search terms ) will find many results with much discussion on the subject. cheers, Graham

Hadn't heard that but the local Michaels ( 4 stores in total ) in Ottawa have had very little in the way of model kits. I will ask the next time I am in one of the stores. A pity if they stop altogether. cheers, Graham

That will help as will warming the stripping medium. Chemical reactions increase with temperature and most if not all ultrasonic cleaners also have built in heaters/warmers. cheers, Graham

Good evening all. I posted this elsewhere when the topic of model "chrome" stripper came up. I did a lot of searching online and found many suggestions and in turn tried most. After a lot of testing I came up with method that works reliably for me every time. "chrome" plating on plastic model parts is actually a very thin vapour deposited aluminum. A cleaner which contains sodium hydroxide removes the "chrome" by actually reacting with the aluminum producing a tiny bit of hydrogen as a by product ( the tiny bubbles you may see. The remaining yellow or whatever coating that remains is ( as far as I can find out ) a conductive lacquer. the best thing I have found to remove not only the "chrome" and the underlying lacquer is Tamiya lacquer thinner ( which is mostly isopropyl alcohol ) or Tamiya paint remover either each alone or what I find even better is a 50:50 mix of the two. In fact, if you read the label on Tamiya Paint Remover it also states that it can be used to remove metallic coatings ( i.e. model "chrome" ) These products remove the "chrome" by dissolving the underlaying lacquer layer and the "chrome" comes off as little bits. A typical part will can be stripped of "chrome" and lacquer in about a half hour or so. Some "chrome" can be a bit stubborn so I generally let parts soak overnight. I have left parts in my 50:50 mix for many days with no ill effects on the plastic. A toothbrush will remove any stubborn bits and not damage the plastic. Follow up with a wash in warm soapy water. The Tamiya products are not as inexpensive as household cleaners but can be reused many many times. I have a jar of my 50:50 mix that I have been using for over a year and has been used to de-chrome many parts. Be careful with general lacquer thinners. Lacquer thinner is a generic term and not all lacquer thinners are the same. Hardware store lacquer thinner is more likely closer in composition to model plastic cement and often contains acetone and MEK. For example, Mr Color levelling thinner contains something which will attack polystyrene plastic as does AK Real Colors High Compatibility Thinner. Solveable brand Lacquer which I buy locally contains toluene, acetone, and methyl ethyl ketone which is definitely not polystyrene friendly other than being useful as a plastic cement but is nevertheless sold as "lacquer thinner". Strippers, and household and industrial cleansers may all contain many similar chemicals each having a different purpose. In general they all contain an active ingredient ( i.e. sodium hydroxide or some sort of solvent ), surfactants which enhances their wetting and spreading properties ( better "sticks" and coats the object being cleaned or stripped ), emulsifiers which help keep everything mixed, and likely some form of stabilizer and ph adjuster to optimize the products performance. Do Test Test Test anything new you use. Experiment with other brands and products at your discretion but I have not yet found anything that works better than the two Tamiya products I noted above. Tamiya product numbers: Tamiya Lacquer Thinner 250 ml 87077 ( yellow cap ) Tamiya Paint Remover 250ml 87183 From their safety data sheets, Tamiya lacquer thinner yellow cap product number 87077 contains Propan-2-ol CAS no. 67-63-0 also known as isopropyl alcohol content > 50% 4-methylpentan-2-one CAS no. 108-10-1 also known as isobutyl methyl ketone (not MEK) < 30% 2-butoxyethanol CAS no. 111-76-2 content 5 - <10% CAS - Chemical Abstracts Service assigns a unique registry number to specific chemicals. Many chemicals have numerous names but regardless of name will have the same CAS number. Tamiya Paint Remover product number 87183 contains: Benzylalkohol CAS-Nr. 100-51-6 70 - < 80 % Butyl diglykol CAS-Nr. 112-34-5 10 - < 15 % Dipropylene Glycol Methyl Ether CAS-Nr. 34590-94-8 5 - < 10 % cheers, Graham

very nice. cheers, Graham