Harry P.

I still have an old bottle of "real" Future, so no need to try the new stuff yet. As fas as I know, Future (or Pledge or Pledge Floor Care or whatever they call it now) is nothing more than liquid clear acrylic, so the new stuff should be pretty much the same thing it's always been. I mean, how different can one clear acrylic (the new stuff) be from another (the old stuff)?

Your photography?

It's not called Future anymore, it's now Pledge Floor Care... http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-11182-27oz-Pledge-Futureshine/dp/B000ARPH4C

The black BMF is junk. Doesn't stick. You're much better off using paint or black sharpies.

Yup. 3-D printing is going to be very user-friendly, very popular and very common in a few short years. The only reason why it's still not commonplace is that the technology is new enough that costs haven't dropped to consumer-friendly levels yet. But that will change soon enough... the prices will come down just like they do for all new technologies. When flat-screen TVs, VCRs, microwave ovens, camcorders, computers, etc., etc., were new, they were expensive... but as time went on the prices kept dropping until they weren't just toys for the rich, but common in most American homes. 3-D printing will follow the same path. I can see where a new "kit" would consist not of a bunch of injection-molded parts in a box, but as a piece of software that you buy via download (the way we download music or apps) and output the file at home, on your 3-D printer. Or you take the file to your local print center (think UPS store, OfficeMax, etc.) and output the file there if you don't own your own printer. Think of it: the entire model kit industry would change. No more giant, expensive injection-molding machines, no big factories to house them, no more cutting steel tooling, no more packaging, warehousing, distributing, etc. A new "kit" would come from the creator of the file to you completely electronically. If that sounds farfetched, think about this: Just a few short years ago, we would not have thought that one day we would buy music or books by downloading electronic files and playing music on an Ipod or reading a book on a Kindle or Nook. But today that's completely commonplace and "normal." 3-D printing is going to be the same. And that day is closer than many of you think.

The fourth figure had been started... the only part of this kit that had actually been touched at all before I bought it. As you can see, the paint job on this guy is "less than professional"... ... so once I glue his broken arms back on, I'll repaint him (and paint the rest of my little blue man group).

I assembled and painted the main body, and it's in the dehydrator. Photos to come. But in the meantime... The kit comes with a four man crew. Not little green men... ... but in this case little blue men. Here are three of them with their front and back halves glued together. I first clamped the halves together, then ran liquid cement all along the seams. Tip: Those little alligator clamps you see are perfect for clamping irregular parts like these. The sharp little teeth will grab tightly in places were regular spring clamps like the colored plastic ones you see here would slip right off. I found a pack of them in the electrical aisle of the local home center. I don't remember what the bagful of them cost, but they were literally pennies a piece... something like 10-12 cents each. You can never have too many clamps!

Here's how that part of the ladder carriage assembly I showed you in post #71 is looking. Not finished yet, but coming along nicely...

Love it! And love the mirror... A very nicely done period custom.

I've used his stuff as "Real or Model" subjects. He's the kind of guy that makes all the rest of us look like hacks!

The paint is Rustoleum "Gloss Protective Enamel" #7762 Sunrise Red. Got it at the local home center.

This week's car is a Bolwell Nagari Mk VIII, made between 1970-74. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolwell_Nagari Who got it right: Chris R MikeMc wisdonm trogdor Foxer Frank maltsr DonW badluck13 kennb

I want to publicly thank Dan Baker. My kit was missing a rear tire, and Dan saw my post in another area of the forum asking if anyone would be able to cast a copy for me. So what did Dan do? He PM'd me, asked me for my address, and sent me a tire from his own unbuilt kit... even though his own kit is now short a tire! Talk about "pay it forward!" Thanks, Dan. Sometimes I wonder what's wrong with people these days... and then someone like Dan comes along and makes my day.

Uh...no!

I can dig it.

I once had one of those hand-held shower heads... the kind that's attached to the pipe with a flexible hose so you can hold it in your hand when you shower. It was chrome-plated plastic. The water flow seemed restricted... I figured it had to be mineral deposits built up in the spray head holes, so I soaked the thing overnight in a bucket of water with a little bleach. Next morning it wasn't chrome plated anymore.

Keep trying! Think of it this way... even if you can't find the answer, just by searching for the answer you'll probably learn something!

It shore is purdy...

I agree with everyone else. Great job!

Very creative! Great imagination, and nice execution (no pun intended!)...

Thanks, Scott!

Did you read the PM I sent you earlier today?

I like it. And nice work on the side trim.

Here is another component of the ladder carriage. On the left is the badly warped kit piece. Since it's nothing more than a series of square rails, I figured it would be easier to scratch a new one out of styrene stock than somehow try to heat and straighten the kit part (the kit part was warped both front to back and left to right, plus it was twisted). I used a razor saw to remove the molded-in bolt details on the kit piece and glued them onto my replacement piece. The kit piece then went to its new home in my garbage can...

And Frank Zappa.