Tom T

In addition to having different sized bins to store and sort everything, I also spent twenty-odd bucks for a decent labelmaker. It's especally helpful to use one for my temporary bins which hold parts for upcoming projects. The one I use is a Dymo Letratag which you can find just about anywhere. http://www.google.co...ved=0CCEQ8gIwAg#

My Ebay just changed too. Coincidence or conspiracy???

Just checked out your site Jeff. Didn't even know one existed just for 4X4s. Very cool!

Waaaait a minute. The Bronco has a coil spring setup?? I didn't know that. I've got a spare I'll dig out and do a mock-up on. I've been trying to fit everything in my arsenal from Blazer frames to differentials but with leaf springs that came nowhere close to mating with the kits. Yeah, believe it or not The Revell Chevy van doesn't have four-wheel drive even though in other versions it's adorned with 4X4 decals.

I've wanted to build up these two for awhile now but I'm not sure what the best approach is to converting them to the 4X4's they're supposed to be (well, the Quicksand kit is supposed to be at least). Any ideas? TIA.

VERY COOL! I'm a big fan of both wagons and doing obscure Municipal kits. Keep `em coming! Tom

Here are a few builds of mine... A Phantom Massachusetts State Police Car (They actually drove two-door Fairlanes). BTW The photo makes the doors, roof, hood and trunk look more blue than the Pacific blue it really is. What I call my Montana Militia Moble complete with automatic weaponry for the discerning outdoorsman... A weathered VW Bus And finally, a project which turned into an infuriating nightmare, a `67 Comet wagon which I have since disassembled and stripped. Hope you like `em! Tom

Just got a new product from my FHS. They're sanding needles from Stevens International. They come in 150, 240 & 320 grits. I haven't tried them yet but I can definately see thier small size being a real benefit while doing close work. For anyone interested, you can check them out at, http://www.elmcityho...140&language=en

I'm not sure if you want to do that, Ricco. The glue that makes the page sticky might get residue on the clear cover sheet and when you lay it down on your decal damage might result. I could be wrong. I was going to do that myself and a bought a few pages but in the end I went out and got some acid-free photo album pages. Maybe use a sliver of two-sided masking tape on the underside edges of the decal to keep it from sliding around in the page. I know the stuff you're using makes things neat and orderly but I just wouldn't trust it with something so delicate. Tom

Hi Charlie, I'll do that. My FHS has been trying to get me to go to Masscar for awhile now and I look forward to stopping by. As far as the Delray is concerned, it doesn't show up in the photo but the green had a bizarre reaction to clearcoating. The paint cracked until it looked like a dry riverbed. I managed to polish/sand about 90% of the damage off (I'm sick of stripping) but it still shows if you look directly at it. Still, I liked the outcome so much that I'll probably build a twin of it in the future and maybe plumb it out. Tom

Just won a Dodge Ramcharger parts kit on Ebay. Got enough parts now to build a roofless Ramcharger & convert a Little Red Wagon to a `79 version.

That cork board is a great idea! One thing I like to do with my work bench (which is an old card table) is stack about a dozen pieces of large, white sheet paper on it. It brightens up the work area a great deal so you can see everything easily. Then, when I have finished a project, I simply take the top sheet I was working over and throw it out. TA DA! Now my bench looks fresh and new and just begging to get started on a new kit! Tom

Thanks gents. I'll look into both of your suggestions. You're right, I should find my groove before using it on a project but you know how it is with modelers. You get a paint station up and running and all you want to do is dive in. At the moment, my primary reason for using an airbrush is to mix specific color shades that aren't available in spray cans. Still, I have a bin full of rattlecans I really need to use up so I'll shelf my I'll-pull-it-off-this-time work ethic and make some sacrificial lambs out of a few boneyard bodies I have.

I'm new to the board so hello! After 30 years of modeling, I'm finally getting into airbrushing (or trying to). So far, I've painted about five projects using a double-action Aztek but each time I get the same result. Every paint job comes out with a very fine, grainy finish simular to a Tamiya primer. I've tried different nozzles, paint/thinner ratios, air pressure and so on with the same result. The only thing I can think of is that I've used only Tamiya paints so far. Any suggestions? Thanks. Tom