Ace-Garageguy

Exactly. I focus on and enjoy the journey, not worry about and rush to the destination.

I really like the final shape you've come up with and the black looks great. Nice vision and follow-through, and nice job saving it after the paint problems. Well done.

Do a little research and I believe you'll find that Elmer's, Micro Krystal klear, Pacer Formula 560 and many others are all PVA (polyvinyl acetate) glues. They are water soluble wen wet, but dry to be water resistant. They also dry clear, and do NOT attack plastic like cement for styrene, or fog it like some CA glues do. Trivia: Elmer's was originally a casein glue, made from milk proteins. That's why there's a picture of a cow on the bottle. Casein has been widely replaced by PVA for most applications. Because PVA glues are NOT solvent based, you can remove them from non-porous materials after they are completely dry by gently, carefully peeling. The downside to using them is that they have zero strength when wet, so parts need to be held in place while drying.

Clean, precise cuts = razor saw. I build a LOT of heavily modded cars. I use RC model airplane fiberglass cloth and decent epoxy (NOT the 5-minute garbage) to reinforce all of my major joints. It never cracks and is plenty strong enough to do heavy bodywork and panel blending. Two examples: See post #51 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=66935&page=3 See posts 22-25 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=65965&page=2

"Is there any spesific sort of glue/cement intended for glass and clear parts? " Yes. http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MI-9

Yes, beautiful paint indeed...especially for Rustoleum. What kind of primer is under it, and how long did you let it dry before (I assume) color-sanding and polishing?

No.

I wouldn't worry too much about the toluene. Not all plastics are attacked by toluene, and IF the vehicle designers and engineers chose the CORRECT plastics for fuel-soaked applications, you should be just fine.

Did you actually get the money? I'm sitting on many thousands of dollars worth of useless judgements that are unenforceable, because the clients are either bankrupt themselves, have disappeared, or managed to die before paying me...and I don't have the resources to go after them or their estates.

That's good. Real shops, mechanical or body / paint, usually have a formula they apply to the number of estimated labor hours that helps come up with a reasonable addition for these materials. Making sure you get paid fairly for everything you do takes a little more time, but you might be amazed at the amount of money you find in your pocket if you get every bit of what you deserve. In 2004, I went in to manage a small body shop that did pretty good work but had never shown a profit. The owner, who was not a car guy, was about ready to call it quits, and brought me in as a last resort. Without increasing the number of personnel, or without doing any more cars, I was able to raise the monthly gross by 60%...yes, 60%...simply by making sure every estimate was COMPLETE, and that we got paid for EVERYTHING we did, and EVERYTHING we spent to do it.

That's good advice, but again, CHECK YOUR STATE LAWS as to what you can do as far as holding something or putting a lien on something for payment for work. You have to follow the law exactly to effectively cover your backside without risking getting in trouble yourself. Here ya go...http://thompsonhall.com/mechanics-lien-law/ And... http://www.mulliganbjornnes.com/assets/files/MechLienBrochure.pdf

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=66935&page=3 See post 51 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=65965&page=3 See posts 22-46 or so. This really works very well, every time. PS. 5-minute epoxy, or cheap hardware store epoxy that's been sitting on the shelf for 5 years won't work here. The minimum quality you should use is the 30-minute epoxy sold in hobby shops for RC model airplanes.

Stunning, superb, absolutely first rate. Wow.

Great conversion of a classic kit. My sincere compliments on your choice of subject and the way you built it.

Correct diameter for spark plug wire in 1/25 scale is around .013". Measure the real wire or hose, divide the measurement by the denominator of the scale you're working in, and then compare that number to Art's AWG table...or just buy the decimal size, like .013".

To permanently change the shape of something made from a polymer like polystyrene or 'resin', you have to take it past its "glass transition temperature", or Tg. It is somewhere around 100C to 107C depending on the molecular weight of the particular plastic. The values of Tg are different for resin. If you DON'T get it hotter than its Tg, it will ALWAYS spring back to the warped condition as it cools.

I do a LOT of radical custom bodywork, and I really HATE to have a seam crack while I'm polishing paint. I've developed a 100% fix by reinforcing the backsides of all my joints with structural epoxy (NOT the worthless 5 minute garbage) and very fine fiberglass cloth (made for RC aircraft work). If you're interested, I'll post links to some of my build threads that show the procedure.

Do what the smart guys say and get a decent SIMPLE contract written by a competent lawyer. Then CHECK YOUR STATE LAWS regarding theft of services, workman's liens, etc. Cover your backside as thoroughly as possible, but remember the other wise advice above...winning in court is NO assurance you'll ever see a cent, but if your state has decent workman's lien laws, you MAY be able to keep the vehicle or whatever, but you HAVE TO SELL IT to recover your money, and give the balance to the customer. You CAN NOT just keep a vehicle when the work isn't paid for without doing the legal work. If you try to, you run the risk of being sued yourself, or worse, charged with theft. Depending on your state laws, you MAY also be able to place a lien on the vehicle even after you return it to the owner...say, like if the check bounces... and then if it's sold, computer alarm bells will go off and you just MIGHT get your money at some later date. A contract keeps honest people honest, and gives you at least a fighting chance against the dishonest. I also strongly advise you to get at least 50% of your labor estimate in advance, and get reimbursed immediately for any specialty parts or materials you have to purchase out of pocket. One of the best ways I've found to get folks to pay on time is to photograph the work as it progresses, and send out a bill for the actual time you have in any project WEEKLY. State in your contract that this is how you work, and that no pay=no more work. I speak from experience, having once been driven into bankruptcy due to a string of back-to-back no-pay deadbeats.

Looking great all over. Very nice.

She's got a great look. Very nice indeed.

Vary nice. Looks like the real deal.

One of the most technically important F1 cars ever built, and one that will always define the golden age of F1 racing to me. Great looking model.

Outstanding clean work. Beautiful model.

Cooler than cool. Waaaaaaaaaay cool.

Super sweet, super slick. Quality all the way.