astroracer

I graduated to laquers many years ago. Other then needing a primer resistant to the hot thinners it is much easier and MUCH faster then enamels. Especially when shot thru an airbrush. I did this paint job on the Pro Street Buick in a day. Other then primer, shooting the base color, strips and clear top coat. You can't do that with enamel. The other thing about laquer is 99% of the nail polish out there is laquer based. Nail polish comes in so many wild colors it is crazy. Getting it at the dollar Store or Big lots will set you back 5 or 6 bucks for enough "paint" to do a couple of cars. It mixes and sprays just like laquer. Mark

What I see in your close up pic is the edges of color are breaking down into your pinstripe. Leaving the tape on to long is the problem. Remove the pinstriping tape after you get the first color down then back mask over the stripe AND the first color. This will eliminate the buildup of paint and also allow you to remove the tape in a timely manner so you don't get sharp edges from the covering colors drying to long. Also, wet sanding between coats with 600 or 800 grit will knock the edges down to eliminate the build up. And, like you said light coat,s with just enough paint to cover, will keep build up to a minimum. Mark

The GrabCad site allows you to download PDF's, IGES and X_T (parasolid) files IF the files exist for that model. Having NX6 here at home I can download and convert any 3D file as long as it is in an IGES or X_T format. If any of you were watching my Pro-Touring tire and wheel thread ( http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/101196-124th-scale-pro-touring-tires-and-wheels-gauging-interest/ ) you will see what can be done with a good 3D design program and a high end 3D Printer. Mark

They will sell a few but, part of the job of marketing these, is letting the customer know what tires the wheels will work with. When I developed this style of aftermarket rim (Turned aluminum rings with photo-etched centers) back in '94 I made the trim rings to fit the readily available kit tires. If any of you have one of my old catalogs you know there is a chart listing the rim sizes and tires they fit. This is part of the job when designing and manufacturing these parts. If you guys want to see the tires that work you should holler at the guys who make the rims... Have them include the sizes in their ad. As they should be. Mark (Machined Aluminum Specialties) I also developed a couple of 3D printed wheel AND tire designs (the thread is on the site) but never went any farther because I knew the price would not be in line with the "free or darn close to it" price most modelers want to pay... Sorry but that's the truth and most of you know it...

An additional garage is a thought. OR.... Add onto the existing garage. A 12' lean to the length of the garage would work. You will have to make the decision as far as what can be done. Depends on how much room you have and what the codes are for your area. Mark

Just to reiterate the other comments. 1). Wood working and modeling in the same shop will not be good. You know the mess cutting wood makes. 2). A 10' x 10' shed is dimensioned to the outside so, it will be significantly smaller on the inside, depending on your building materials. 2 x 4 with an inch or so of sheathing and you are looking at about 9' x 9' on the inside. That WILL be tight. I think 12' x 16' would be a good manageable size. 3). Going tall, if you can, is a good suggestion. Build a storage loft into the attic. Lumber storage for the wood working shop and kit storage for the modeling shop.

Be very careful of the CA glue it will fog the aluminum. I have found that using some aluminum polish like Blue Magic or White Diamond will protect the the aluminum from the vapors. To a point, so go easy with it. Mark

Yup, Dave has it right. To get some inspiration go to the Speedway Motors site and look thru their catalog. Moser, Chris Alston, Chassis Engineering. Look at the real world stuff and break the parts down into smaller pieces. Mark

This^^^. I've been doing this for years. Any bleed thru will be invisible and will go away when the rest of the car is cleared. You should be setting your airbrush with a spray pattern of about a half inch in diameter. Very light coats, don't hose the paint on. An airbrush is VERY adjustable so to thick of a coat should not be a problem. Mark

Ohh let me tell you how much easier it would be to get back into the scale builds. I am to the point where I have a couple of builds to finish then I might just do that... Mark

This is my Pickup. I wet sanded all of the numbers and lettering off the tails, painted the "blacked out" edge white and then clear coated. They are crystal clear. Actually better then before because I sanded out all of the "warbles" in the molded plastic. This WILL work great, believe me. Done it many times just to smooth out the plastic window to make it look more like glass... Mark I found a better pic. These were painted in '01. Haven't been touched since other then to polish a bit.

Nice work for an 11 year old and the C3 is beautiful! I have to mention your "models to real" comment. I did the same thing. Started building as a kid and simply migrated to the big stuff when the drivers license appeared. I haven't built a model since the early 90's but I have some nice 1:1's I can put my name on... Mark

Yup, sand it with a foam block and 800 or 1000 grit wet paper. Put a bit of dish soap in the water. Sand it until all of the paint is gone THEN re-clear it or keep sanding with finer grits until it can be polished with Novus. Sanding and clearing works just as well and is a lot quicker. Mark

Check at any nail or beauty salon, they will have similar stuff. I have a ton of those 100 grit long sanding boards I bought in quantity at a local Sally's.

Kurt, it does work very well. I make patterns out of thin card stock. To attach the panels use any good 2 part epoxy. Don't use superglue as it will tend to fog the aluminum panels. If you want to give the panels a nicer finish just scrub them with a piece of ScotchBrite and a bit of WD40. The WD40 is a good lubricant. Scrub only in one direction to achieve a nice even brushed surface. Polished is a bit more work but do-able. Mark

Look at MicroMark also. They carry TIX solder which is very nice to use. One thing you can do is take some of your modeling ideas into a jewelry shop. Talk to them about what and how to do some of this stuff. I did that when I was soldering up a brass suspension years ago and the gentleman I talked with was very informative. Mark

^^^ Right^^^

Mike is close. Pick up some of those cheap foil baking pans at the dollar store. Look for ones that have minimal "designs" in the bottom. Cut them up into usable sizes. I made aluminum door panels for my Pro-Street Buick out of that stuff in 1989. Used a ball point pen to "roll" the beads. I can get pics if you want. Mark

I've been wanting to build one of my 1:1 also. Just don't have the time. Mark

Another option is to sand it out to 800 or a 1000 grit and hit it with clear paint. I do this a lot on old headlights. The plastic will go completely clear once you paint it.

Head to the sports department at Meijers or walmart. Look at the fishing line. Braided fishing line for leaders and fly fishing offer some good looks for replicating a wiring harness. Small pieces of plastic, cut in the right shapes can replicate the connectors. Mark

I wouldn't even cut the roof off. Just add the soft top "shapes" to the hard top roof, trim at the bottom to suit and paint it white. Done. Mark

Yea, humidity makes it tough. Heating the model was a good idea. Just be careful blowing that hot air on the fresh paint as it can pick up junk from the (dust) and blow right onto your wet paint. If you are using rattlecans for paint heat them in hot water before spraying also. 10 minutes will do it and, doing that really helps the paint flow. Another thing you can do to warm up the model is to make a hot box out of a big cardboard box. Set the box so it is stable and use one of those silver clamp lights with a flood light bulb in it to heat the box. The heat will drive out the moisture and makes for a nice dry spot for the paint to cure. Mark

A black wash will work well for the slots. Mix flat black about 25% with thinner and then just put a drop in the slot. It will flow out to fill it. May take a couple tries to get the color dark enough. If you are doing a stock build the actual wheel itself should be "Argent" colored. The stock rally's were never chromed. Testors regular silver paint is a good one to replicate that color. Mark

If you mix a bit of red food coloring into the glue you can make the "rags" red. Use different mixes, NON of these rags are the same shade. Blue is also a popular color, I have both in my collection. Mark