Scale-Master

Decals are made to stick to paint, not plastic. As Mark Taylor said, tape - n - pull. You can use a little decal solvent or alcohol to remove the little chips that may hang on without damaging the plastic at all. I'd avoid any "paint" strippers.

I gotta ask why? I mean on a Hot Wheels or a full on custom, OK, but on something that is a believable model/streeter? I just don't get it. What am I missing? I've never seen blue lights, only blue dots, and not on headlights. Please elaborate.

For the most part decals. But then I can make my own... Some could be done with a combination of paint and decals like the Power Wagons, but for the best results, I say decals.

A quart is a near lifetime supply for a modeler. Be careful about two things besides the regular heath precautions: 1-It evaporates almost as fast as liquid cement. Keep the lid on tight. 2-It wants to run like a little girl. Use one or two dry passes. Wait a minute. If it needs more make one or two more passes. Be patient. If you make it look good and shiny while you are spraying, I guarantee it will run. Let it do its job. It may take 10 passes, it may take one. But never more than two between flash times.

Man there is a lot of clean stuff up today, and these are no exception! The white pearl is very clean...

My thoughts exactly.

Clean building, however I really like the dirt on the yellow Ram truck's tires.

Blender is a chemical painting product, (just like Reducer is a chemical painting product). You will likely have to go to an automotive paint supplier. It works on enamels, lacquers and urethanes. I prefer the Dupont brand, but the 4 digit code/part number escapes me at this moment and I am not at my shop. The info and description I provided is enough for a paint shop to identify the product for you. They’ll know what it is…

I don't know if this will help you or not, but it does explain how to blend the edges making a spot repair possible. I posted this mini how-to several months ago: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12193&st=0&p=94820&hl=Paint%20repair&fromsearch=1&#entry94820

Very interesting. Could it work? Probably. Will it work most of the time? Highly doubtful. As mentioned earlier, it can only work if ALL involved can be impartial. I could see it working with a small group of entrants who are all respectful and truly don't care if they win. But multiply that by the number of categories and the likelihood of ruffled feathers goes up exponentially. Great for a discussion, and thanks for offering it up. But I just don't see it working as planned in reality. And one other point, I know some great builders who have not a clue as to what is the reality of what they build. They may have the skill, but not the historical and mechanical knowledge. So to judge another's model would not work as planned by this scenario.

“I don't know NASCAR and refuse to judge it.†That’s why we have you judge the Lowrider class David… Easy boys, just funnin’

Very good discussion, thanks again David for starting it and everyone for sharing. One point (observation) regarding the general public and modelers voting on the contest versus a panel of judges: At the first of the Crusin' For A Cure model car contests we had a Peoples Choice award in addition to the formal judging. From the beginning it was apparent what would likely win that award. The biggest red car. While it was a decent build, it was not the best model at the show. But it was the largest and a bright red and caught the attention of anyone walking by. The next two years we tried Builders Choice instead of Peoples Choice in addition to the judging. One ballot per entrant, not entry. I figured those who built and entered would have a closer perspective to what makes a quality model, substance over flash if you will. Care to guess how that went? It probably is no surprise that we received ballots that created a 40 way tie, one vote each. The next year somebody apparently spent their vote on someone else's model, it won by a landslide, twice as many as any other entry, two votes. There is no builders choice award at that show now, all the judging is done by a panel I chose for their building skills, knowledge of the modeling and real automotive worlds and fearless accountability. (And David, it was a 1/12 scale F1 car...)

Pete’s comments are valid and descriptive of the way many shows go. But my point was more to accountability on the part of the promoters, organizers and judges. It can outwardly look really bad if a judge for example wins an award; especially in a close call and even if he honestly earned it. So rather than let it become a case of an entrant feeling slighted, it should be protocol to have as many of the judges on hand as possible after the awards have been announced to alleviate these situations. If it can be explained to the entrants, many if not most of them will understand. And certainly it goes a long way to cultivate a positive inclusive environment, not one of “us and them†between the judges and entrants. I have been to contests where the judges are anonymous and have been to shows that the judges are conspicuously absent after the awards presentation. When questions regarding the outcome were asked of the staff, no one would come forth that had any knowledge of that part of the contest. By those actions it appeared they did not want to deal with the aftermath. Were they not willing to stand up for their decisions publicly? Something done they would not want to be held accountable for? Yes, supposition, I know, but see how it looks? If the judges are true to their convictions of what they chose to be winners, why not stick around? Explain the reasoning? Why one was chosen over another… I’ve had entrants who entered two models in the same category in my shows want to know why the one they thought was better was judged less than the one we chose. It goes to show that the builder often does not use the same criteria the judges do for comparison. That is good info to impart to the contestants don’t you think? I think if there was more of that “clean-up†and “stand-up†by the judges after the awards, there would be less negativity among the entrants who feel slighted. And maybe a few improvements in everyone’s skills to boot… (Anyone who has attended one of my shows should know most if not all the judges hang around until the end for just those reasons.)

Many good points brought up here. Some of the things that I would like to see more often have been touched on, better quality of judges, and consistency of judging through out the show, ethics. As for things I’d like to see more of or changed in some cases… How about judges who don’t vanish once the judging is done and the awards are presented? Many builders want to know why they placed where they did. (How often have we heard the chatter of builders thinking their model was better than the one that won?) Wouldn’t it be nice if they could be provided with the thought process that rendered the outcome from the actual judges who made the call? If the model was not as good as the competition, maybe the builder would like to know what to improve? I know of many builders who use contests to learn from the competition, and the judges. It would make for a much better event if the entrants were able to find out why, from the judges who made the decisions, why they were awarded (or maybe not) what they got. When the judges are not available for questions after the show, it raises some accountability issues. Especially if it looks like a “Good Ole Boy Deal†had been played out. I have no problem with the club members or show promoters entering in a show, in fact it would benefit the show to tap into as much expertise as possible. But no one should EVER judge a class or even offer opinions when they have a model in the category. Also, if the judging room is to be closed during the judging, try to not have it be closed for too long, especially where the venue does not offer much in the way of entertainment. Yes, the vendor room is a great time to burn time and money, but after a few passes though it looses its entertainment factor. As far as NNL’s having awards, to me it seems counter to the original idea. Once an awards system is introduced to an ostensibly non-competitive arena, it becomes a contest, not an NNL. To address Junior classes with too nicely finished models by 6 year old kids who don’t know anything about the subject, kit, techniques, (“Daddy, what color did you paint this…?†“What kind of car is this?â€). Note to these parents: You building a model for the kid does not earn either one of you a legitimate award, but it does steal one away from a kid who did their own work. Well done cheaters, great lesson and ethics to instill in your kids. Shame on you! Is an ill gotten little plastic trophy worth all the deception? And the Hooter’s girls…, I prefer my models made of plastic and aluminum, so they should fit right in… to some degree. But I would not be allowed to bring one home even if I won her fair and square.

Today I saw on the road (near JWA) a GMC panel of what sure appeared to be a brother to this. I know I'm off topic a bit considering the direction of the thread, but I thought it was very ironic due to the timing, hopefully it will be considered worth sharing. One thing that struck me was how small it seemed in relation to the size the kit gives me of what it would be like. Not a scale issue, just my perception, then again I was in a big Sprinter van... This one even had a few speed equipment stickers on the rear windows and was running the stock appearing wheels/tires. Very vinage looking. Of course I did not take pictures, again ironic since I was testing a camera system in the van... Hmmm something to check for tomorrow... And hey Jairus, nice decal work!

Little by little I am making progress on this project. Many parts and pieces are being worked on, but these are the first (only) completed sub-assemblies I have been able to get done since the last time I posted anything on this. I still maintain it is a nice kit, I really wish I could dedicate more time to it, as it is an enjoyable kit. Just OOB, a little shadowing with washes and dry brushing of parts that will be mostly out of sight once the car is completed. Colors are Tamiya, both lacquers and acrylics. The calipers and rotor faces were sprayed, the hubs and details brush painted (didn't feel like masking...) More when it happens...

Oven cleaner is my first choice. It is the most economical and removes everything down to the plastic. Only use the “nasty†stuff, the low odor brands do not work well, and do use plenty of ventilation, and the aforementioned gloves…

Hey, that site at the link to the Deekshoonaree mis-spelled Deekshoonaree!

Yeah! What he said! Harrumph!

Sorry, just another unrestrained sporadic repercussion from my existence of yesteryear as an oversized garrulous school marm…(?) Ironic original title of this thread considering its current tangent, is it not?

I don’t have that exact set, but I have made several different companies offerings. One thing most have in common is the general order of “stacking†the parts as follows: The “bottom†or inside rim (the one that faces the wheel well) receives the heavier of the PE spoke set, (the one with the most spokes). A spacer or spindle goes in the center of that. Make note that the part of that spindle that will receive the knock-off must be pointing upward (outward). The finer PE spoke set goes on top of that. Many sets have “keys†or slots or some other device to help orient the two PE spoke sets to each other. You need to pay attention so all the wheel’s spokes are aligned the same or they won’t share the look. The outer rim goes on top of all the previously stacked parts to make a sandwich. The knock-off is the final touch, but I prefer to install that part after assembling the tire and rim together. Hope that helps…

Contadictively?

Why thank you Harry, very kind of you to say. I like your articulate style and I accept the compliment for the most part. But I’m not 100% sure “effusive†is correct in this case, certainly not the esoteric interpretation of “a large gushing femaleâ€. I’ve been called worse, but at least never an antitermilogicalexactatudinarian.

I'll try to keep this short for those of you who have thus wise attention spans. One point I left out but was touched on subsequently is the dry time of decals before clear coating. 24 hours is usually suitable, but a minimum of 3-4 days is preferred. Why? Sometimes what appear to be fully dry decals can have moisture trapped under the decal. These areas may not manifest themselves as bubbles, but the lack of adhesion can allow the decals to be "attacked" by the clear since there is no support under those spots. What you get is seemingly random damage. By letting them dry longer, the moisture has a better chance of evaporating out. So, it would seem even with more than a few sentences earlier, I did not provide all the pertinent info to the query. Do we really want to pare down the info requested by one for a few others who probably won't read or use it? No, I don't think so. Maybe if we took the time to read and learn and applied that philosophy to our building there would be a few more improved models and satisfied modelers? That should be a sufficiently long enough post to deter the non-interested viewers… Yes, there is some sarcasm in there too… Enjoy!

Are you asking or stating a fact Nick…? Usually I do this with paint and my fine airbrush; a very light “splatteringâ€. If you want to also put the build up of rubber into the wheel wells, it is a bit coarser and chunky and can be made by blotting thick paint into the wheel well with an old brush or piece of open cell foam. SMS Faux Fabrix is a great product for this as it has a bit more body or texture than regular paint (which can also be used). It can be sprayed into your airbrush cup, (or bottle) and if need be thinned with a little lacquer thinner. You can also tint it with a bit of brown & gray (enamel or lacquer, not acrylic) paint to look more like rubber.