Ace-Garageguy

Looks REALLY good. I need to get one out and start it..so I can put it away for 5 more years unfinished.

As I mentioned, there ARE ways to get the paint out of the can even if the valve or dip tube are clogged. The problem is that they CAN be a little dangerous...not really, and I'm used to doing it, but it's not a procedure I'd explain because of the possibility of something going wrong. 'Bout the worst you can have happen is to get startled and drop the can, which could let paint kinda spray all over everything...which kinda sucks. I've done it. Anyway, freezing the can won't "damage" the paint. Jus' 'bout the only thing that WILL damage it is exposure to air. But like Harry said, "Hey, you're getting a free can of paint! Winning! "

Umm...well...you know...

No sanding of the Duplicolor green. Actually, I got the green to slick out almost that good, but it didn't have that level of gloss. Being a metallic / pearl, I didn't sand or polish at all pre-clear for fear of getting blotchy. Just gave it about ah hour or so and shot the clear. There WAS some very minor blushing of the green, as I shot it on a quite humid day. I didn't do anything to correct it, as I learned long ago it would disappear on lacquer when cleared. I just pulled the Olds build out and looked at the hood...there's been absolutely zero gloss dieback or shrinkage in, I think, over a year. After that photo was taken, I DID sand and polish to see how it would look, and it's like glass. Still. I''m impressed with that combination of materials.

Ummm...no. It's entirely possible for the "dip tube" or the valve to get clogged and be impossible to clear. Happens all the time. Solids precipitate out of suspension, form a hard deposit on the bottom, and clog up into the tube. Propellant is still there, blocked pickup tube keeps it from spraying. OR, the can will spray OK for a second or three, but the deposits on the bottom will get pushed up the tube and clog the valve. Most often happens to cans that have been on the shelf a LONG time...which is why it's important to shake the holy snot out of it prior to decanting.

Hey, gotta give 'em credit for getting the part that doesn't show right anyway, huh?

So...I guess that means he's still dead?

The new magazine, tentatively called "Philosophical, Sociological and Psychological Rants Inspired by the Model Car Hobby" will hit the stands just about a year after I find someone with a lot more money than brains to back it. PSPRIMCH for short.

Well, one or both of us read something into that line that really isn't there. I interpreted it to be about bringing kids into the hobby in order to broaden the market, make more money for the model companies, so they might be able to more easily afford to tool up a '51 Studebaker or something equally ancient that would make the old-fart market happy. We're a long long way from all being dead. I just re-read the entire thread and I don't find ONE person saying it's his "duty" to bring kids into the hobby. What I DO see is some folks saying it's their duty to EXPOSE kids to a wide variety of experiences and interests...so they don't think that EVERYTHING in life is texting and Bieber and going to the mall.

And I've never understood why a thread about the fairly immediate future of the hobby is interpreted to be about forcing kids to take it on into future generations. I don't personally get the logical progression from one idea to the other. Getting a wider audience / market for the offerings of the kit manufacturers NOW (kids) will theoretically be good for the prospect of the same manufacturers making more kits we old farts want. Anyhow, that's the way I see it. I don't much give a rat's buttocks what happens after I'm gone...but I'd like to think I made a positive contribution to the future while I'm here, rather than just take take take die. But that's a totally different issue.

There are ways to decant pant other than spraying it through the nozzle. Shooting the can with a pellet gun isn't among the recommended ones. lowering the temperature, as in the freezer as you mention, WILL lower the internal pressure significantly.

Yeah, ask for specific kits. A goodly number of kits were apparently scaled by number-challenged folks, and the scales can be all over the board. It SHOULD be relatively easy to measure a known 15" wheel, for example, and multiply up from the measurement of the scale part to get the full scale dimension. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. There are some kits labeled 1/24 that are very close to 1/25, and some that are closer to 1/22. Kits also frequently mix and match scales of various parts. The Buick nailhead engine in the 1/24 Orange Hauler kit, for example, is exactly the same size in many dimensions as the Revell 1/25 parts pack nailhead. this should not be, but it do be. Do be do be do be.

The Cox slotcars are often bringing more money than the full-detail HRM kits.

Ditto, though most of the models I build bear little resemblance to what came in the boxes or what's on the instructions. If I have multiples of a kit, I'll often try to consolidate them into one or two like boxes, and use the empties for other long-term builds that are 'resting' or waiting for parts or research. I even use the plastic bags for masking materials before trashing them.

True, the average US car modeler is going to think these prices are outrageous. But it's not the "average" modeler who's been keeping Replicas and Miniatures and Modelhaus in business. Their stuff ain't cheap. And remember, we're only seeing the very beginning of these 3D parts trickle into the market. Just like ALL new technology-driven products, the prices WILL come down.

Here's a pricing page from the company making these. Not too bad considering the quality. http://reedoak.com/#!/new-product-additions-Jan-Feb-2016/c/16103117/offset=0&sort=normal

If the slow-to-print parts are used as masters for resin-casting in the near term, it's not an issue. Then, when desktop 3D printing becomes mainstream, you just buy the license to print to print the file once, let's say, a whole body, load it, and go about your business. When it dings, you remove the part, body, whatever and load the next file to print a complete sprue. And so forth.

Absolutely. Or where CAD files already exist for familiar engines and chassis, and the only variation is a different body, you're in like Flint. Convert the existing CAD files to STL (or whatever the industry standard will be) and you're golden.

Looks GOOD.

Only little insect in the ointment is the fact that for a full-detail kit, the chassis, engine, and suspension bits would need to be scanned with the body off, or the engine/trans removed...or something along those lines. The tech doesn't exist quite yet to cost-effectively scan ALL the parts individually with a vehicle assembled. Laser-scanning is a line-of-sight process, so keep that in mind.

Yup, it's here.

Whoa.That's hot. First time I was out there I didn't realize how important it is to keep drinking water to stay hydrated if you're outside all day. I just thought it was so cool to not be clammy all the time. It's miserable here in the South at anything much above 80 F, with the humidity in the 60 to 100% range.

Ah ha...I stupidly assumed the spindles were the same on the other Lindberg Mopars, which I have, as the ones in the Petty car, which I don't. Sorry. I should know better than to assume anything at this point in life. Scratching some should be very easy, using telescoping tubing...the little tube sized to slot into the control arms. Then just drill in a stub-axle hole wherever you need it to get the ride height you're after.

I just checked out that specific kit. All you have to do is install the spindles upside down. The spindles are shown with the stub axles / backing plates at the TOP position, closer to the upper control arm (it's shown bottom-side up in the instructions). If you simply install the spindles with the stub-axle in the lower position (just turn them over), the stub axle will come DOWN relative to the frame, which RAISES the front of the vehicle.

Pretty spectacular. But I'm not understanding WHY the whole 3D thing is seen as the province of specialists and only younger people. A guy in my club who's 70+ has been building his own 3D printers and constantly refining them for years. He taught himself the techniques involved with going from a photograph, drawing, or even in one case, images captured from a video game, to code that's understood by printers. His 1/24 scale output now is on a par with injection-molded parts...period. It's HERE. And just like it takes the expenditure of time and effort to get to the point where you can do consistently good paint, all it takes to make 3D printing accessible to anyone now is effort.