Dave Ambrose

I see this is trying to get out of hand. Rule number one around here is be polite. Please remember, and act on it. Mark, I suggest you rethink your business/website idea. Here's why. You generally want to go after expanding markets of sufficient size. Model cars are fun, but the consensus here is that while there is money to be made, the market is is not large, and it's shrinking, at least in the USA.The era of portals, and online magazines has mostly gone away. Google and Bing searches are very good. A bit of digging, and you generally find what you're looking for. There's still a place for pulling content online, but you need to be an effective curator of that content.Good content is more than just having good writers. The writing in Scale Auto magazine is generally very good because everything goes through a professional copywriter, and they have good production standards. But, it's got no soul, nor does it have any personality. You need those if you're going to be fun to read.You need to be authentic. Your candor regarding your interests is commendable, but coming in here with a name like ModelKitBuilder, then saying you have no interest in model cars is impolitic. Then you ask for free market research without establishing any common interests with those who're providing it. As you've seen, not being an authentically interested party can provoke hostile reactions.In our current-day Internet content, it's your own passion for the subject matter that really makes something worth reading or watching.While ad filled articles, (un)popularly known as clickbait are common, they are not well regarded, and will probably fall victim to improved ad blocking in the near future. This not to say you can't generate ad revenue. We use ad revenue to defray our operating costs. But, it's a lot harder now, and you need an active, committed community. That requires authenticity. (see above)At this point, you should pick something you're interested in, and pursue that. You'll find it much more satisfying. To everyone else, let's keep this civil. We're here to have fun, not get mad.

Please try it again. I made some setting changes.

Paint drama is the bane of my model building. There always seems to be some kind of problem. I'll get it figured out about the time I'm too old to build.

The figure I've heard is 10,000 hours. That probably varies with the field of expertise, but it seems right for anything of moderate complexity. That's 5 years of working full time. That's a lot of modeling time. I know I don't have that much into it.

Thanks for the update. Lots of best wishes from back here in the server room.

Glad to hear that the surgery went well. Keep asking questions, but your recovery sounds pretty normal.

I'm assuming it came in one of the usual rectangular metal cans. One other thing that will help is to tip the can with the cap is on top instead of the bottom. That means you have to tip the can further before it actually starts dispensing liquid. It will spill much less, especially after you remove some of the solvent from the can.

Welcome home.

This looks like a fun project. That Harrier engine is an odd one. You'll need the side vents to direct the bypass outlets to the rear. I'd also move the engine to the rear so you have plenty of air intake space. Most of the ground-based turbines I've seen also have screen domes over the intakes to exclude debris.

What a great idea with that Hudson, and beautifully done too. How did you mask and paint the roof?

Congratulations, Jim! I lost my dad to cigarettes. We might have been able to save him, but he couldn't stop smoking when he absolutely had to. Stay with it, you're going to feel better for it.

Welcome to the forum. It's good that you're building things with your son. Even if he doesn't get the bug, it will be good times. Take a look at the science fiction subject too. My kids don't build cars, but they do build Gundams, Main thing seems to be that the subject is interesting to them.

I don't know if this is the problem, but it's definitely a problem. I've been experiencing intermittent slowdowns for a while. They didn't seem to correlate to anything happening on this site, and a few other sites were affected too. But, as I discovered last night, having a Facebook tab caused my Firefox browser to consume memory like there's no tomorrow. It eventually fills its memory and things slow to a crawl. I started closing my Facebook tab, and things have been working much better. I don't know if this is affecting anyone else, but I put it out there as something to try.

Very neat project. My son just got a 3D printer, and we're looking at what we can do with it. What program you're using for your 3D models?

The real car used a Corvair engine. The fan would have been belt driven, but that detail has been left off. The turbos are freelanced on this one, but there were some turbocharged engines, so it's not completely outside the realm of possibility.

This was my workbench a few months ago, followed by its current state.

Sure. But post it over in All the Rest.

My local hobby shop sells most new kits for around $26, depending on the kit. Some are more. My daughter and I were discussing this a few days ago. (she builds Gundams) We're both very satisfied with the state of our unbuilt kit collections, and don't feel any compelling need to get more. I started buying most of my kits at swap meets. They're generally cheaper there anyway, and if it's too expensive, I can skip it. Plenty of cool stuff to build in my stash. That said, if there's something I really like, or can go into a specific project, I get it. Most beginners are buying snap kits anyway, and those prices seem to be pretty reasonable. But, I do think the popularity of model cars is declining. The real growth is in Gundam and other science fiction subjects. Our model car club has about 50 members and is growing slowly. The local Gundam club has 300 members, and is only a few years old.

That sure ain't yo daddy's Caddy. When do we get a street version?

Welcome. Sounds like you have a nice collection of kits. I don't know how it goes in Australia, but it seems that many of us have more kits than we'll ever build. I'm leaving mine to my kids and grandson.

Glad you're here. Tamiya kits are great. You should have a lot of fun with that one.

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What Pete Johnson said.... I hope you can see that you've paid your your fair share, and now that you need them, it's time to draw on your benefits. That's why they exist. You have a long road before you. But, if you can have a bit of faith, you'll find good things in the oddest places. I know your pain on lifestyle changes. I was getting ready to give up SCUBA diving, and an long list of other activities. Ironically, I got more extensive treatment because I didn't respond to the standard treatment protocol. Now it looks like I'll be back to diving in a year or so, and everything else as soon as I get myself into better physical condition. You just never know. Even apparent setbacks can be steps forward.

I have to try this. I like the idea that you're spreading the cutting action over a larger part of the blade.

I like the #16 blade. This used to be called a stencil blade, and now they call it a scoring blade. But the blade tip is a little above the handle, so it follows the groove better.