Dave Ambrose

These days, I hear the Taj Mahal version of Take a Giant Step far more than I hear the original version by the Monkees.

My first airbrush was Paasche VL set. It was great. You could tackle just about anything with it. We were doing model railroad and the occasional aircraft. When the friend who loaned it to me needed it back, I replaced it with an Iwata Eclipse BC. It worked, but I could never get a nozzle large enough to work well with hobby paint. It was awesome for ink tho. When I got back into cars, I got another VL and have been using it ever since. I mostly use enamels and lacquers.

A right-hand drive MG-TC. That made my day.

I started mine too. It's a fun build. The fit is excellent. I'm at the fill, file, sand, and repeat too many times phase. I'm using Tamiya masking tape on the windows and it seems to be working.

I brought several kits back from Canada, and never had a problem with US Customs, or the TSA. One customs agent asked about a couple of Gundam kits I was bringing back for my daughter. She smiled and said, "Lucky kid." Tools and acrylic paints had to ride in my checked baggage.

If you haven't already tried this, get a set of close-up lenses that fit your current lens. These allow the camera lens to focus closer. I'm shooting a Canon EOS 60D, with an 18-135mm lens. I normally use a +1 or +2 closeup lens for shooting models. For really small stuff, I might need a +4. You can get them in sets for a reasonable price on Amazon. If you decide you need a new lens, you'll have to get a macro lens. Be prepared for sticker shock.

It's not a car, but I still think it's cool:

Thanks for the heads-up. I saw one of these close up in the rail museum in Scranton, PA. They are massive in a way that does not come across in the photographs. I think it's going to be awesome to see this running under its own power again.

I was in the same boat. I've discovered two things: The cleanup gets faster with practice. I now clean the inside of the airbrush by spraying lacquer thinner, then cleaning the inside using a cotton pipe cleaner dipped in lacquer thinner. The gravity fed airbrushes clean up very quickly with just a spray-through of thinner, and a bit of swabbing with a Q-tip. I'm totally sold on this type now.

The 20,000 Leagues Nautilus is perpetually a favorite subject. There are very few kits around and those that exist are expensive, probably due to licensing. I thought it was interesting to see high popularity on anything from Firefly and 2001, a Space Odyssey. I confess, I added my votes there too.

This shouldn't be a problem. Aluminum is soft and drills quite easily. To add to the above: You should use a drop of oil to lubricate the drill bit. They type isn't terribly important. 3-in-1 should work just fine. Also stop periodically, and clear the cuttings from the drill bit. It also helps to turn the drill counter clockwise when you withdraw it. You should avoid flexing the drill bit while drilling. You can't correct the direction by tilting it, so start as accurately as you can.

Thanks, everyone. I'm getting happier by the day. I don't actually care whether it's a boy or girl. It's gonna be awesome.

My daughter called, and asked whether I preferred Papa, Grand-dad, or Grandpa. I went for Grandpa. Baby's due November 10th. Well off any holidays, and out of our family's "birthday season"; a three week period where half the family has their birthdays. I don't know whether it's a boy or girl yet, I don't care. We're gonna have fun. Building models will likely be part of it, regardless of their gender. This whole grandparent thing is growing on me. I might just get to like it.

I like fluorescent tubes for over workbench lighting. They give you nice even lighting, without shadows. Now days, a magnifier light is a must for fine work. Between the two, I seem to do well.

Being able to get close is a valuable attribute for some applications, like underwater photography. Last time I did some actual tests, the Canon optics were better than Nikon's for close-up work. That doesn't prevent you from putting a weak magnifying lens to improve close-up performance.

Several of my highschool classmates served in that war. Viet Nam was terrible in so many ways. Everyone who went gave more than we should have asked for. So, my deepest thanks to all who went. I appreciate your sacrifice more than I can say. Hopefully, the life I've lived will be worth protecting.

There are also some suitable disks in the AMT '29 Double T kit. You can strip off the chrome and paint them with Alclad aluminum. The parts by Parks disks are better though.

Looks great. My daughter has this kit. Thanks for all the info!

That's awesome. They'll need your love, and just think, in a few years, you should get a new modeling building buddy.

Showed up here last week.

I had two reactions to being diagnosed with Presbyopia at 45: What the heck does Presbyterianism have to do with my eyesight? And I'm way too young for bifocals. But, bifocals it is, and I have a special pair of "office glasses" for computer use. This makes for 3 pairs of glasses I get to schlep around. Don't fight it. Get your eyes checked by a good optometrist and get the glasses you need. I have a magnifying light on my modeling bench and my general work bench. They help a lot. I find them more convenient than the tilt-down magnifiers, but for really fine work the tilt-downs can't be beat. I also have a lot of light available.

LOL - I had a '62 MGA when I was in college. Never shoulda sold that car.

I'm one of the people who keep the servers and forum software fed and watered. Like many here, I started building models when I was a kid. Put them away when I discovered that girls were interesting after all. Then picked them up again later in life. In my case, I started up again when my daughter was born. One of my daughters also builds models, but she's mostly into making Gundam dioramas. She does build the occasional car. Now days, I build mostly cars, but have some sci-fi subjects in the queue for this year too. I'm happy to be a member of the San Diego Model Car Club. I don't post very much here because I promised myself I'd spend more time building, and less time poking around the forums.

Amazing. There is actually an emoticon limit. I bumped it to four. just don't get all emotional on me.

One of the few regrets in my life was selling my 1962 MGA, Mk II. Loved that car. Haven't seen another one I could afford.