Ron L

Well I guess I should have included it in my post anyway: http://public.fotki.com/lauron/rons/person...stang_fastback/

Toothpick method works "good enough" especially if the car has a roof. A bunch of random blobs and dots is all it takes to make it seem more detailed than it really is. Don't forget to add red to the over-rev portion of the tach, heater buttons, fuel gauge, etc. This dash had no engraving on the main gauges, I just guesstimated the placement of the gauge numbers using a toothpick. Blunt the end of the toothpick so it will hold a very small drop of paint at the tip, then transfer the dot onto the gauge. You aren't painting with the toothpick, but rather dabbing on the paint.

My daily driver. Not my pic, but you get the idea. 1989 Mercury, 194k miles, manual everything. Mom bought it brand new and took good care of it and gave it to me at 190k when she bought a new car. Drives and (almost) looks like the day she bought it. Back-up daily driver, 1989 LSC. All stock except for big tube headers installed by a previous owner, and obviously the 1996 Cobra wheels. Ongoing project car, since 1989. Currently a 289, 5-speed, 4wheel disc, fuel cell, etc. Wife drives a 2004 Mazda Protege, stock except for the optional alloy wheels and 55-series tires. So much fun on twisty roads, even for an automatic. I'm surprised how well-tuned that suspension is from the factory.

I was so busy shopping, taking pictures, and watching my kids so I didn't really get to meet anyone except Albert W. because I knew what he looked like. Chatted a bit with Steve H. who I haven't seen in 3 years, his daughters are probably a foot taller since I saw them last. Saw many familiar faces, people that I spoke with at previous shows, but it's so hectic you can't really find anyone standing still. What a fun day, can't wait until next year.

Buy a tripod, set the camera on auto but with the flash off, make sure the room is well lit, and already your pictures will be better than what most people post.

I don't know, it's grandma's job to buy useless stuff for the kids. It wasn't even an egg, but more of a bunny head shape. An egg with ears I suppose. Plus it was split length-wise unlike most plastic eggs. Here's something you can try:

Heh, I don't think Testors enamel ever cures. Urethane is as thick as you want to apply it. Out of the can it's very thick because it's made to resists shopping carts, bird poop, the sun, etc. but I thin it about 50% with lacquer thinner. I also scribe all my body lines before paint, regardless of what I'm painting it with. I imagine die casts can't be too easy to scribe, however. I've pretty much given up on urethane though. Too stinky and messy. I'll use it again for a big super-detailed project but not for another typical shelf model.

Actually I think I've got an idea for a single ball. Easter eggs I've got millions of - I put a clear one away to use as a canopy at one point. Their "streamlined" shape has all sorts of possibilities.

Dude1: What's 2+2? Dude2: 4, according to a website I found. Dude3: Dude2, what's your point?

"Ideal for all around play" So are we limited to one? The whole pack?

I've had one on my desk forever, maybe I can "use" it now.

http://public.fotki.com/lauron/rons/scale-.../nnl-west-2008/ Thanks to Steve H. and the gang for putting on the show. The kids had a good time and made friends with the daughter of whoever it was that organized the kid table. Sorry, I forgot her name!

Urethane is a 2-part curing paint so no, there isn't a can version. It should work over anything - the stuff is rock-hard when cured.

Obviously these were cast from something. In the case of the STS, it's a new enough car that perhaps the diecast/toy/promo it was copied from still exists? Couldn't you just start from one of those?

The beauty of urethane is removing the need for tedious sanding and polishing. Using the polishing systems from Novus, etc. will actually make urethane duller. If you want good results from any clearcoat, skip the overpriced "systems" and buy a sheet of 1500 or 2000 wet/dry sandpaper and a bottle of fine rubbing compound. Urethane is where it's at, but when you want something quick even cheap Testors clear gets good results. Just hit it with 1500 wet/dry and 3M rubbing compound after:

I look at the scrapbook nights my wife goes to and tried to imagine what a car model equivalent would be. She spends about 6 hours there. Some people get 20 pages done, some just come to chit chat. What would us car modelers get done in 6 hours? Heck I spend that much just scribing body lines. Project updates? I get maybe 2 cars done a year. To me the best local club we have is the annual NNL West. One year seems like a long time, but when I get there we greet each other like we just had a meeting the previous day. Years ago I've thought about the lack of car model groups around the bay area, but then I figured why bother? We've got our club right here plus other numerous forums, and with more members than you can ever imagine.

Here is mine. Or was mine, until I took the shelves down. http://www.scalespeedworks.com/2006/06/picbooth/

Not very functional, which is what he is after. The O-ring method does look the best, though. What scale is this for? You're looking for a functional compressor to fit inside a model?

If you don't have a local source for bonsai wire it's pretty cheap online. eBay, Amazon, etc. You might have a hard time finding bare aluminum; they usually anodize bonsai wire to blend in with the plants. Not a big deal as the anodizing comes off easily with CSC.

Way to kill a thread, guys.

Bonsai wire is the same stuff as armature wire, sold in different packages. The smallest diameter armature wire I found at Michael's was the one you posted and only came in steel, so it may depend on your store.

Does she know you posted her age? You're in big trouble, now!

The kids are 7 and 9. I have been to the event twice, during the first two "comeback" years when it was every other year. Nice to see it go yearly as there isn't much else going on around this area.

You want "bonsai wire" in aluminum. They come in sizes ranging from 1mm to about 8mm. A 2 or 2.5 mm wire works out nicely for exhaust systems. Very easy to bend, cut, and polished to a mirror finish. Sold by weight, a 100-gram roll of 2.5mm yields about 50 feet. That's a lot of exhaust systems. 2.5mm, soaked in CSC to give it a matte texture:

The "tuner" sprue includes the Nissan engine, seats, and brake/caliper units. The kit's RB26DETT is a joke. Yes, it's the only one in 1/25 scale, but you might as well whittle one out of Play Doh. AMT's version of it is just as embarrassing as the engine in their Eclipse. The "intake" sweeps back towards the rear of the car, miraculously becoming exhaust headers. The exhaust side consists of random pipes with no logic to them. Mine's still sealed in the bags so I haven't mocked it up yet, but the instructions don't show a way to hook the turbo engine to an exhaust system. I'm guessing their research consisted of a guy with a notepad in a dark movie theater, quickly scribbling the engine as he saw it on-screen.