Ace-Garageguy

In all seriousness, this sounds fine as far as it goes. But the real overarching question I'd ask if I ran Revell would be "what percentages of what age groups have any interest in building ANYTHING that requires manual skills and effort?" Trying to create a market for something that your target demographic has no general interest in is an exercise in futility unless you have the strongest marketing imaginable...and car model companies seem to have about the worst. Most people outside the hobby have no idea it even exists. A lot has been written about younger people having much less interest in cars overall, seeing them as nothing but transportation appliances, and wholly lacking the sense of romance and freedom we old geezers attach to them. When I was a kid, I would have had very little interest in building models of refrigerators and washers, and if that's really the way cars are perceived by most of an entire generation, then significant downsizing might be the smart order of business for any model car company (before the market evaporates completely, as it did while GM and others were snoozing)...or at least focus primarily on the group immediately following the rapidly dying-off "boomers". I'm not being negative, or bashing young people. What I AM saying is that hard, cold reality needs to be the central pillar of any business plan...not a warped perception of it, or wishful thinking.

The latter, naturally.

Need to make all the assembly pins spaced so they only go in one way, fit kinda loosely, and are magnetized to match magnetic holes. Literally the proverbial "shake the box" kit. Zero skill, thought, or attention span required

That's what I assume, but I don't see any belt. Reloading on the fly could be exciting. Looks like there might be a gas tank behind the pilot too. Maybe has a little one-lunger for extra speed? I'm also guessing that "x-ray vision" may be one of the prerequisites for anybody assigned to train on it. Might help to be able to aim through the armor plate. And you gotta love a guy who wears a bowler to a zombie encounter.

Hey Snake...GM needs some help too. They pay good, about $22 million a year to drive the company into the toilet. Imagine what they'd pay for somebody actually competent to run it.

Chill, man. There's some good stuff here. I'll flag this one for myself for future reference. And vacuum forming will ALWAYS be a useful technique to have access to. The whizzbangy 3D stuff doesn't need to be employed for everything, just as carbon fiber will never replace steel in some applications.

You could certainly present it believably as a "crate engine", but in reality, it can represent any hot-rodded 221-260-289-302-351W (and larger custom displacement) engine from the Windsor family. The valve covers are available separately, and all the aftermarket equipment can be installed on anything in the range, obviously. Even the serpentine drive setup can be installed on an early junkyard engine, and a factory-serpentine-equipped engine can be backdated to V-belts just as easily. Hope you had a good Christmas too. Thanks.

Same problems here. Pretty much garbage now. EDIT: There's also the possibility the "dip-tube" will clog down in the can. This is particularly likely if the product has sat on the shelf for a long time. Solids settle out, and a lump of the stuff can get inside the bottom of the tube. Sometimes VERY vigorous shaking and striking the can bottom on a hard surface will clear it. Other times you're SOL, so the video option is your only salvation if you want to save the material.

Ho. (A one out of a possible 3)

Very similar to the technique shown in the video above.

In that case, I've done something very similar to what's described in the video below on several occasions. Pay close attention to everything he says. DISCLAIMER: I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF THIS METHOD. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. WEAR GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION. A FULL FACE SHIELD IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

I've got a pretty fair collection of old Hot Rod mags for the vintage tech stuff, but not a whole lot that's really aimed at customs and models. This came up, and as I'm fascinated by the cover car AND have the models featured thereon, I had to have it. Hmmmmmm. Maybe I need more.

Boy, do I know how that is.

Try searching the site for "decanting". I know it's been addressed. Try this method:

Several threads on this already...

Well jell. Make up for it by getting them both Star Trek toys next year. You never know...one just might become another Miguel Alcubierre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive

Following tight and complex compound curves is, as you suspect, not one of the dry transfer's strong points. HOWEVER...the slightly compound-curved surface of your boat hull should be no problem whatsoever. Most lettering is usually done on relatively flat surfaces anyway, and a curve in only one dimension is no problem at all. Slightly compound surfaces are easy too. The example below is taken directly from the above-linked site. Far as having to shoot clear gloss prior to application goes, the answer is NO if the material you're using is relatively fresh. That can, of course, be a problem if you buy stock that's been sitting on the shelf for a long time...but I've had old Letraset sheets still working fine 20 years after they were made. A lot also depends on how the stuff has been stored. Dry transfers are routinely used by model train guys directly on grainy wood, or wood that's painted with the grain still very much evident (but when working on soft woods, care must be taken to rub just hard enough to transfer the image, and not dent the surface in the process). Have a look at this page for other surfaces: https://decalprofx.com/Vertical/2_EXAMPLES/2a_Unique_Surfaces/Surfaces.html For that matter, read through the entire site. It will give you a much better understanding of and feel for dry-transfers than I ever possibly could.

While we're at it, you have several options for non-chrome "bare metal" as well. I highly recommend Testors "buffing metalizers". Depending on application technique and post-processing, you can achieve a range of effects from rough-cast to polished metal, and it's available in several colors. This cowling is their "aluminum", shot wet and polished after drying a couple of hours (the cockpit cover has not yet been polished here). I developed this technique (below) for representing aluminum body panels straight from the metal-shaping shop, using several materials. There are other guys on here who have also developed some other very realistic bare-metal finishes.

Bare Metal Foil (BMF) is great for chrome spears and window trim, and with the right technique, scripts and emblems...though it takes a very steady hand, sharp eyes, good lighting, VERY sharp blades, and practice to get it really right. It has one very serious limitation however: it can NOT follow complex compound surfaces like bumpers, some grilles, wheels, etc. In that case you have several options. 1) Do what I believe Mr. Guthmiller does, and send your parts out to be plated professionally when necessary. 2) Try the expensive stuff Pete J. suggests. The beauty of that material is that it is tough enough for real car interior plastic parts, and can be handled carefully with no adverse effects. It can also be topcoated with automotive urethane clear, to provide more protection (with no degradation of the chrome effect). I'm currently doing some custom interior parts for a high-dollar custom (real) '66 Chevelle. It saved me countless hours that would have been required otherwise milling some very intricate parts from aluminum, and polishing them. 3) Try the old standard airbrushable Alclad. It produces a pretty decent "chrome" effect, but turns to muddy silver if cleared. It also doesn't really like to be handled. 4) Get a Molotow REFILL, and airbrush that material. It looks a little better than Alclad, and can be handled more than Alclad as well. It can also be clearcoated for protection with the RIGHT topcoat, without ruining the chrome effect.

Looking good, Oliver. Cleaner is better. I just bought the two kits to do exactly that, but somebody on here has combined the two already, and I believe is offering the result in resin. EDIT: Yup.

For some strange reason, that repeating video loop reminds me of being a much younger man...

I know almost nothing about acrylic paints for modeling. I'll be much interested to see what the folks who've used them extensively have to say too.

I would also respectfully suggest that when you buy tools, buy the best you can afford (this goes for real-world tools as well). There are cheap drill bits out there that will barely make a hole in plastic, and at best, are dull after 3 or 4. There are files that are too soft to cut brass, and aren't much better on hard plastic. Knife blades that won't hold an edge. Blade handles with soft polyethylene collets that strip out almost immediately. Squares that aren't. Pin-vises that jam because the threads are soft and poorly machined. Airbrushes that work once before the seals dissolve. Electric rotary tools that are smoking slag in a week. Saw blades that are bendy and almost uncontrollable. I've even seen Chinese-made measuring rules that were marked incorrectly. And on and on. You don't necessarily need to always buy top-line stuff, but shopping price-only is a sure fire way to become disappointed with the process, and to turn out work that's less than you're really capable of.

Works for me.