Chillyb1

Every time I see one of these built it makes me want to build one. But when I see one built this well I give up all hope. Very nicely done. Everything is just so sharp, so crisp, so clean. Well, except for that stupid windshield wiper.

I did the same thing for the same reason with this Peugeot: I like weathering rally cars so this wasn't a desperate measure. But I did have to do more than I would normally. The decals were just terrible and fell apart all over the place.

I used the Hasegawa wire wheel set when I built this kit before. That set had the rims and hubs (seen in the photo below), which are plastic. Some detail sets (from KA Models and the deluxe version of this Hobby Design set) have rims that are turned aluminum. I won't be going for a chrome look, so I'll probably shoot some metalizer when I get them finished.

I do recommend that you be very careful when using hot water.

Well, I have discovered that my method will work. Here are some photos of the process: First, I removed the spokes from the wheel using a sprue cutter. Then I used my handy-dandy Dremel Stylus with a sanding drum to remove the spoke ends in the wheel and carefully removed the rest of the spoke ends from the hub using the sprue cutters. Next, I chucked the hub piece into the Dremel and used several needle files to shape the hub, working as though it were a lathe. I got the shape I wanted and test fit the spokes. I also lathed away some of the rear of the hub so it would be the proper length to fit into the finished brake drums on the kit. In order to keep the rear spokes realistically angled, I created a spacer for from a leftover polycap. This rough job took less than an hour. With some cleanup, I think these are going to work just fine and look great.

My first, and last, stop is usually Strada Sports. Kevin has great stuff at great prices and I'm happy to send him my aftermarket dollars. Highly recommended.

I got another one of these:

I don't have the slightest idea what you are talking about....

If you can find something, i'll be eternally grateful.

All right, then. I guess I'll go with my original plan to modify the kit wheels to take the photoetch spokes. I'll let you know what happens.

I had a terrible experience with Hobby Search. I ordered, paid, waited, then my box arrived empty. It was photoetch stuff that fell out of the box when tape was broken during shipment. I complained and they refused to do anything. I lodged a complaint through PayPal then they refunded my money, but I canceled my account and vowed never again to shop with them. But that's just my experience, maybe only one bad one among millions of good ones. HLJ will forever be my favored vendor from Japan.

The biggest advantage versus "buying little bottles and thinning" is that it is less expensive. Also, some paints don't come in little jars anyway. I mostly use Tamiya TS paints. They go on beautifully and are very easy to work with. And you can mix them to suit your colorist fantasies. I like some Rustoleum lacquers (also unavailable in little jars) and they spray too heavily from the can for most applications. I only use black, white, and clear in this paint series. I use them for chassis and suspension parts (black), some racing interior stuff (white), and the clear is very nice and compatible with all other lacquer paints I've tried it over and safe with decals, too! Go to a local auto-parts place sometime and look at all the available Dupli-color paints in spray cans. You'll find a panoply of gorgeous paints to suit the palette of even the most demanding modeler.

Has anyone built these from this photoetch detail set?: The deluxe detail set from Hobby Design comes with rims and hubs, as well as instructions. This set provides the spokes you clearly see, but there are no rims or hubs. There are also NO INSTRUCTIONS! Anyway, are we supposed to despoke the kit wheels and use the rim and hub? IF SO, how? If you have built these, or can through other modeling experience provide a course of action I'll be eternally grateful. Bear in mind that I don't want to buy anything else, including tools to do the job. Surely there must be a way to do so with the basic tools and modeling skills of an advanced intermediate modeler.

I use a stirring stick (or suitable substitute) to see when the paint is finished gassing out. If you put the stick in the paint and it bubbles up, then you should wait longer. You can speed it up by stirring it with the aforementioned stirring stick. When the paint no longer bubbles, then you are ready to shoot paint. But be careful. Depending on how quickly you insert the stirring stick, how much gas is in the paint, and how vigorously you stir, the paint may create a volcano effect and, well, erupt. [i'm not taking any questions on how I found this out, nor about how many times it took before I the lesson finally sank in.]

Stay away from that clear. It is very hot and you are only going to be disappointed. Put it away for use on a non-model project. Rustoleum does make a lacquer clear that is outstanding and that is compatible with hobby paints, even enamels if you must use them!

They are very easy to apply; well, in most cases they are. And your description is pretty good. They are usually shiny metal details like scripts and logos, or mirror faces. Their backs are adhesive and they are sandwiched between clear plastic and smooth paper. You peel them off of the paper and hold them by the clear plastic while positioning them on the model. Then burnish them down and bit and gently, very gently, pull the clear plastic off and, voila, perfect detail without having to glue anything in place. They can get tricky depending on the metal transfer and its location on the model.

I have a set of the pads that I'm retiring that never separated when used wet. And I have another set currently in use that is only about a year old, sold as a Revell product, and several of them started separating when wet. I guess I'll see how the new one work wet after they arrive. But good advice, nevertheless. It is probably imprudent to soak them.

What are you working on and what is the condition of the body right now? I wouldn't bother using those very high grit Micro-Mesh things on a bare plastic body. I build Tamiya kits almost exclusively and they usually require only very minor sanding on some mold lines. And those I normally attack with 400 or 600 grit sanding sticks. After that there isn't anything on the body that would be visible after shooting metalizer straight from the can, and just one coat. I know that a lot of modelers suggest roughing up the body all over with 600 grit or higher to give whatever primer one chooses some bite to hold fast to the body. I've not had a problem with that using metalizer as a primer; it goes on perfectly every time and does what I need it to do in a single coat. If everything looks nice and smooth to your eye, then go ahead and shoot a coat of metalizer and see if anything shows up that you missed on inspection. I think a lot of modelers overdo it with the primer, which can soften detail and fill in panel lines and the like. Metalizer has one great advantage over all other primers in that it goes on in extremely thin coats. Do you have an inexpensive practice kit or body to use? If so, you can get the hang of using metalizer as a primer without risking some major disaster that may occur if you are using a body that you really want to come out great. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

A friend of mine found one of these in a thrift shop and gave it to me to build. It started out like this: And this is how it turned out:

The biggest difference between using primer and using metalizer as a primer is that the metalizer is so thin it will reveal any and all minor imperfections in the body. Primers all, to varying degrees, fill in those minor imperfections left behind by some careless sanding or filing work. The expense issue is a false one, I think. I love shooting metalizer over those perfectly molded Tamiya bodies. It only takes one coat and you are done. Buy metalizers in a can from Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon and it is very cost effective. I really dislike the automotive primers that so many of our fellow modelers swear by because they go on way to heavily for my taste. But I don't do any body modifications or customizing or any of the other stuff that requires body fillers, puttys, or hours of sanding. My current line up for primers, which I find cost effective, is: Tamiya white or gray for bodies; metalizer for super smooth bodies; and Colorplace (Walmart) gray primer for all the other little parts.

Thanks for the confirmation, everybody. I've ordered a set each of the 2x2 and 3x4 pads from 1500 up to 12000, so I should be set for the foreseeable future.

I'm assuming that the Micro-Mesh pads and sheets do not last forever. But how can we tell when to get rid of them? I started building models about six or seven years ago and bought a Micro-Mesh set at that time. I was such a newbie at the time that I first tried using them dry on a not-quite-dry enamel paint job! Anyway, I've begun to think that the sheets I bought then are doing more harm than good. The sheets all have spidery little crack lines over the surface. Time to pitch them in the trash and get new ones? Do you prefer the pads to the sheets, especially for the higher grits?

I don't believe there is a necessary difference that pits airbrushes versus rattle cans. As already amply demonstrated it isn't a matter of which paint-delivery vector one uses, it is a matter of how well or poorly one wields his or her chosen method. The signal difference that leads me to use my airbrush much more frequently is how much paint can be so easily wasted shooting from a can. There are some control issues as well, especially when considering the meniscus effect around edges and panel lines that can spoil an otherwise splendid paint job. Perhaps even more importantly to me, I can mask a paint window surrounds, for example, with my airbrush when I would not even consider doing that with a spray can.

I call this one "Self Portrait with Enzo":

Here are a few I've built: