Vanishing Point Nova Wagon

[customline]

12 hours ago, ModelcarJR said:

Jim, you're really doing a lot of nice detail work on this one! Good work! ??

Thanks, JR.  I'm tryin' ?

[bobss396]

10 hours ago, customline said:

Bob, you don't think brass is much easier to work with? Stainless steel is quite hard (and corrosion resistance, I think ?, wouldn't be a consideration.) I won't even cut brass with my sprue cutter. I use a dedicated cutter for metal. Stainless needs a hardened blade to cut it. I kinda don't get why I  would use them when brass is more than adequate for the job. What am I missing? I now use .020 brass for 80% of pinning. 20% with .032. I love ALUMINUM. The tube. Soft. Eeeeeezeeeeeee to work with. Like styrene. Love it. ? Stainless? Naaah.?

BUT......I may find, in the future, a practical use for it so I'm not going to burn this bridge and dismiss it. Thanks for the tip, Bob, and I would like to know more on how you use them. 

I never ever cut the stainless pins, use them as is. I used to be able to get brass pins, but they no longer carry them. I use brass pins I cut from stock, I roll them using a hobby blade and snap them apart. I sharpen my blades with a Smith hard stone.

[customline]

1 hour ago, bobss396 said:

I never ever cut the stainless pins, use them as is. I used to be able to get brass pins, but they no longer carry them. I use brass pins I cut from stock, I roll them using a hobby blade and snap them apart. I sharpen my blades with a Smith hard stone.

K&S metal is fairly ubiquitous. I can find it locally at Hobbytown (my only local) or mainly I get it from Hobbylinc.com (where I get 75% of my supplies) or Ebay.  Hobby Lobby carries it too. Very often I will roughen the brass wire ("rod") with fine sandpaper to give the CA a good surface to hold on to. I snip it with "dykes" and sometimes file ends with a nail file. And it's cheap. K&S metal is great stuff, Bob. I got some 2mm square brass tube I will be playing with soon. I keep quite a lot of K&S metal and Evergreen styrene on hand for scratch-building and general building duty. 

Edited August 26, 2023 by customline
Added text

[bobss396]

22 hours ago, customline said:

K&S metal is fairly ubiquitous. I can find it locally at Hobbytown (my only local) or mainly I get it from Hobbylinc.com (where I get 75% of my supplies) or Ebay.  Hobby Lobby carries it too. Very often I will roughen the brass wire ("rod") with fine sandpaper to give the CA a good surface to hold on to. I snip it with "dykes" and sometimes file ends with a nail file. And it's cheap. K&S metal is great stuff, Bob. I got some 2mm square brass tube I will be playing with soon. I keep quite a lot of K&S metal and Evergreen styrene on hand for scratch-building and general building duty. 

I ordered some material from Hobbylinc on eBay recently... well... 1 piece shows up via AMAZON, the 3/64" thin wall tubing, and it looks like a pretzel. I have to check on the status of the other 6 things I ordered. I have some square tube in aluminum. Pretty bad when I have more stock on hand than most hobby shops. My latest count of Evergreen stuff is over 70 items.

[customline]

1 hour ago, bobss396 said:

I ordered some material from Hobbylinc on eBay recently... well... 1 piece shows up via AMAZON, the 3/64" thin wall tubing, and it looks like a pretzel. I have to check on the status of the other 6 things I ordered. I have some square tube in aluminum. Pretty bad when I have more stock on hand than most hobby shops. My latest count of Evergreen stuff is over 70 items.

I'm sorry you had a problem with Hobbylinc, Bob. I've been using them, almost monthly, for several years now and have never had a problem with anything. Their communication, shipping and packing has been on point every time without exception. I am very pleased with the inter-action with the website, especially when ordering. I can't imagine what went wrong for you. I have an account which allows me to post reviews and images to earn points that are used for discounting on my orders. They encourage feedback and it's just a great on-line experience. My only negative comment is that their search engine is a bit cumbersome but that's maybe just me ?.

I have quite an inventory of styrene too. It makes me feel safe ?. Every time I buy Tamiya fine surface primer from  Hobbylinc I'm saving about 4 bucks each over what I would pay locally (Hobbytown).  I would suggest you go to the website, establish an account and give them another shot. Unless you have an LHS you want to prop up, this may be a good alternative for most of your raw materials purchases. Kit prices are pretty decent too as Hobby Lobby is pretty limited these days. I have to travel to VA Beach (at least an hour if the tunnel isn't blocked) or drive 90 minutes to Richmond (and 90 minutes back)....for a 40% off a kit I don't really want.  

 I dunno, Bob. I wish it was a little easier but it is what it is. ?

[bobss396]

20 hours ago, customline said:

I'm sorry you had a problem with Hobbylinc, Bob. I've been using them, almost monthly, for several years now and have never had a problem with anything. Their communication, shipping and packing has been on point every time without exception. I am very pleased with the inter-action with the website, especially when ordering. I can't imagine what went wrong for you. I have an account which allows me to post reviews and images to earn points that are used for discounting on my orders. They encourage feedback and it's just a great on-line experience. My only negative comment is that their search engine is a bit cumbersome but that's maybe just me ?.

I have quite an inventory of styrene too. It makes me feel safe ?. Every time I buy Tamiya fine surface primer from  Hobbylinc I'm saving about 4 bucks each over what I would pay locally (Hobbytown).  I would suggest you go to the website, establish an account and give them another shot. Unless you have an LHS you want to prop up, this may be a good alternative for most of your raw materials purchases. Kit prices are pretty decent too as Hobby Lobby is pretty limited these days. I have to travel to VA Beach (at least an hour if the tunnel isn't blocked) or drive 90 minutes to Richmond (and 90 minutes back)....for a 40% off a kit I don't really want.  

 I dunno, Bob. I wish it was a little easier but it is what it is. ?

Thanks. Real odd that they would do a partial ship of a fairly large order. I'm not happy about losing the 3/64" tubing. Maybe I will set up an account. I buy from Mega Hobby and of course eBay, quite a bit. My local hobby shop has zero aftermarket stuff, has some scratch building stuff. The other 2 big shops are 25 miles each was and the pickings are slim. I used to make up a shopping list for the NNL East each year, but this last year many vendors that I knew were not there.

[customline]

3 hours ago, bobss396 said:

Thanks. Real odd that they would do a partial ship of a fairly large order. I'm not happy about losing the 3/64" tubing. Maybe I will set up an account. I buy from Mega Hobby and of course eBay, quite a bit. My local hobby shop has zero aftermarket stuff, has some scratch building stuff. The other 2 big shops are 25 miles each was and the pickings are slim. I used to make up a shopping list for the NNL East each year, but this last year many vendors that I knew were not there.

I've looked at Mega Hobby and, probably, because I didn't find what I was looking for, looked elsewhere but I may spend some time and explore it again. The shipping rates are a consideration so I usually try to take advantage of getting over the minimum by adding stuff that doesn't add a lot more in shipping charges. When I do, I always get a couple of cans of fine surface primer. I refuse to pay $12+ per at HT.

The last LHS around here went away a few years ago so now all I have here is HT and they pretty much have everything but their prices suck.  They have a good selection but get MSRP for kits. Actually, I have enough kits to last me to the bitter end so I need to go there,only in an emergency, for paint. I would love to go to the NNL East but it would be quite a drive.  When and where is the next one? Is it in New Jersey? 

 

[Vettegasser]

What size tubing did you use for the axle. What did you use for spindles  Thanks 

[customline]

3 hours ago, Vettegasser said:

What size tubing did you use for the axle. What did you use for spindles  Thanks 

Jim, this axle was made from 3/32" evergreen tube for the axle and the axle ends. The spindles are 3/16" evergreen  square tube cut off and then sliced to form a U. The axle ends are fitted to the inside of the U. The actual spindle in this case is K&S brass rod, 3/64". I cut up some stuff to show you. The pics show the raw pieces which need to be shaped and fitted. Your wheel choice will determine what rod or tube you use for the actual spindle. It ain't  great but it's OK for a gasser. The thing to be careful with is drilling for the rod insertion on the ends. I'm sure you can figure that out. Then you need steering arms and a tie rod. It's all just evergreen and brass.

 

This one isn't done yet, gotta dress it up more. Easy peasy.

[Vettegasser]

Thanks 

[Straightliner59]

On 8/27/2023 at 5:57 AM, bobss396 said:

I ordered some material from Hobbylinc on eBay recently... well... 1 piece shows up via AMAZON, the 3/64" thin wall tubing, and it looks like a pretzel. I have to check on the status of the other 6 things I ordered. I have some square tube in aluminum. Pretty bad when I have more stock on hand than most hobby shops. My latest count of Evergreen stuff is over 70 items.

I don't think that's bad, at all! Evergreen! Plastruct! K&S! Random stock, bought here and there, off the interwebs--you can never have too much, or too many scratchbuilding supplies. This was two years ago. It's gotten fuller, since.?

[bobss396]

I have a plastic storage box that sits on one of my dining room chairs with all the plastic stock in it. That is largely in an Evergreen bag. I have to often sift through a bunch to find what I need. I'd like to separate it out into cardboard tubes, round stock, flat and angle and other odd shapes. 

Metals are in a smaller photo-album box, I keep the unopened stuff separate. The box you have looks pretty neat, something like that might help me.

[bobss396]

18 hours ago, customline said:

I've looked at Mega Hobby and, probably, because I didn't find what I was looking for, looked elsewhere but I may spend some time and explore it again. The shipping rates are a consideration so I usually try to take advantage of getting over the minimum by adding stuff that doesn't add a lot more in shipping charges. When I do, I always get a couple of cans of fine surface primer. I refuse to pay $12+ per at HT.

The last LHS around here went away a few years ago so now all I have here is HT and they pretty much have everything but their prices suck.  They have a good selection but get MSRP for kits. Actually, I have enough kits to last me to the bitter end so I need to go there,only in an emergency, for paint. I would love to go to the NNL East but it would be quite a drive.  When and where is the next one? Is it in New Jersey? 

 

I place an order with Mega maybe 2x a year. They have some Detail Master stuff like sanding cloths, I try to fluff the orders up to offset the shipping. There was a site, Scale Dreams, but it has seemed to go POOF... gone. When I have a decent order of Evergreen, I buy from them directly.

I buy a lot on eBay and have some saved sellers I use over and over. I buy touch up paint from Quirk Auto Parts, free shipping but the paint is not cheap. I use a lot of Mopar colors, the cans spray nicely. I have a hardware store not too far that has a good K&S line of materials. 

The NNL East is in April, Wayne NJ. Not a bad ride for me, over a couple of Bridges and I'm there in well under 2 hours. The ride home is like 3 hours. Many vendors I had expected were not at the last one. One guy I like was there this year, Model Empire. He sells on eBay too.

[customline]

3 hours ago, bobss396 said:

I place an order with Mega maybe 2x a year. They have some Detail Master stuff like sanding cloths, I try to fluff the orders up to offset the shipping. There was a site, Scale Dreams, but it has seemed to go POOF... gone. When I have a decent order of Evergreen, I buy from them directly.

I buy a lot on eBay and have some saved sellers I use over and over. I buy touch up paint from Quirk Auto Parts, free shipping but the paint is not cheap. I use a lot of Mopar colors, the cans spray nicely. I have a hardware store not too far that has a good K&S line of materials. 

The NNL East is in April, Wayne NJ. Not a bad ride for me, over a couple of Bridges and I'm there in well under 2 hours. The ride home is like 3 hours. Many vendors I had expected were not at the last one. One guy I like was there this year, Model Empire. He sells on eBay too.

Wayne, NJ is a bridge too far for me these days. The only thing around here is an annual show/contest in Richmond and I discovered it a couple of days too late. I gotta stay on top of that. What you said about "fluffing the order up" is what I was trying to say but you nailed it exactly. I'm averaging around $50/mo. at Hobbylinc.

Hey, Bob, the Magnum project? I scored an '05 Charger last night on Ebay. So much for OOB on that one. 

 

[Straightliner59]

20 hours ago, bobss396 said:

I have a plastic storage box that sits on one of my dining room chairs with all the plastic stock in it. That is largely in an Evergreen bag. I have to often sift through a bunch to find what I need. I'd like to separate it out into cardboard tubes, round stock, flat and angle and other odd shapes. 

Metals are in a smaller photo-album box, I keep the unopened stuff separate. The box you have looks pretty neat, something like that might help me.

I keep my Evergreen, Plastruct and K&S stock in that bin. I got it, when I was working in a hobby shop. It's just made from .080" styrene sheet (likely manufactured by Evergreen, since it's one of their bins.). I have a pair of old steel 8-drawer cabinets that I keep wire and lathe and mill stock in. I might be something of a scratchbuilding materials hoarder!? And tools. I seem to have accumulated a lot of those, over the years, too. I think I have a dozen different pin vises. I should probably have therapy!?

[bobss396]

20 hours ago, customline said:

Wayne, NJ is a bridge too far for me these days. The only thing around here is an annual show/contest in Richmond and I discovered it a couple of days too late. I gotta stay on top of that. What you said about "fluffing the order up" is what I was trying to say but you nailed it exactly. I'm averaging around $50/mo. at Hobbylinc.

Hey, Bob, the Magnum project? I scored an '05 Charger last night on Ebay. So much for OOB on that one. 

 

Richmond VA? There are some shows down your way, a couple of clubs too. One of out members moved down to NC some years ago. I don't venture out too much lately, I'll go to New Hampshire, the old MASSCAR club used to put on a good show. There is one upstate NY in October I would like to attend. Maybe stay over night.

[bobss396]

4 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

I keep my Evergreen, Plastruct and K&S stock in that bin. I got it, when I was working in a hobby shop. It's just made from .080" styrene sheet (likely manufactured by Evergreen, since it's one of their bins.). I have a pair of old steel 8-drawer cabinets that I keep wire and lathe and mill stock in. I might be something of a scratchbuilding materials hoarder!? And tools. I seem to have accumulated a lot of those, over the years, too. I think I have a dozen different pin vises. I should probably have therapy!?

I tend to save EVERYTHING. I have a full size Bridgeport mill I use now and then for model stuff, mainly making fixtures. I just did some flat plates to mock-up early modified roll cages.

I have about 4 or 5 pin vises. One is set up with a #63 (.037) drill, clearance for .031 diameter pins. Another with a .026-ish drill to make spark plug wire holes and put holes in so I can hold parts for painting. One other I use one collet, one side for .040 to .062 drills, the other side is .065 to .110 diameters.

My dining room table is quite the mess right now. I have to clear it off and sort things out. I have 4 projects going at this time. I picked up some inexpensive plastic storage boxes at Hobby Lobby that will help.

[customline]

24 minutes ago, bobss396 said:

Richmond VA? There are some shows down your way, a couple of clubs too. One of out members moved down to NC some years ago. I don't venture out too much lately, I'll go to New Hampshire, the old MASSCAR club used to put on a good show. There is one upstate NY in October I would like to attend. Maybe stay over night.

I never think to look at the upcoming show section on the forum but I did last night, Bob. And whattayaknow.....there's a show in Norfolk, the TAMS show is in October and it's less than an hour drive. I've never been to a model show/contest/flea market so I'm planning to go to that one to see what I've been missing. ?

[customline]

1 hour ago, bobss396 said:

I tend to save EVERYTHING. I have a full size Bridgeport mill I use now and then for model stuff, mainly making fixtures. I just did some flat plates to mock-up early modified roll cages.

I have about 4 or 5 pin vises. One is set up with a #63 (.037) drill, clearance for .031 diameter pins. Another with a .026-ish drill to make spark plug wire holes and put holes in so I can hold parts for painting. One other I use one collet, one side for .040 to .062 drills, the other side is .065 to .110 diameters.

My dining room table is quite the mess right now. I have to clear it off and sort things out. I have 4 projects going at this time. I picked up some inexpensive plastic storage boxes at Hobby Lobby that will help.

Hey Bob, does your dining room table look anything like this?

or this?

As you can see, there's some unfairness evident here. We need to do something about this ?

[customline]

I'm trying to move two projects along with extreme prejudice so I swung by Hobby Town to get a 1/4 oz. Testors gloss yellow and another can of Tamiya white pearl spray. I am so done with that place.  They don't carry Testors any more and the only enamel is this Brit stuff. The Tamiya is outrageous.

Edited August 30, 2023 by customline

[ColonelKrypton]

6 hours ago, customline said:

Hey Bob, does your dining room table look anything like this?

 

That's what my workbench after I tidy it up.  And, it doesn't stay that way for very long.

cheers, Graham

 

[Straightliner59]

16 hours ago, bobss396 said:

I have a full size Bridgeport mill I use now and then for model stuff, mainly making fixtures.

Thankfully, both of my machines are Sherline! I'd never have room for a Bridgeport! I have gotten to where I keep a line of the tools I use most frequently, lying out on the bench. The pin vise, there has a 1/8" collet, that I use for the carbide bits--I have a ton of those, as well, both carbide and regular carbon-steel bits. I started accumulating tools, mostly because I just wanted to try something out. Oh, well. I love this hobby, and there's nothing wrong with feeding your passion, because it's good for your spirit!

[bobss396]

6 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

Thankfully, both of my machines are Sherline! I'd never have room for a Bridgeport! I have gotten to where I keep a line of the tools I use most frequently, lying out on the bench. The pin vise, there has a 1/8" collet, that I use for the carbide bits--I have a ton of those, as well, both carbide and regular carbon-steel bits. I started accumulating tools, mostly because I just wanted to try something out. Oh, well. I love this hobby, and there's nothing wrong with feeding your passion, because it's good for your spirit!

I have a big Clausing engine lathe, not running since I got it, was supposed to have some help with it, I may as well sell it for penny weight. I was around at work when the machine shop was going adios. I walked away with boxes of end mills, drills galore. I have a large assortment of carbide micro drills used on PC boards.

Some guys in my club, they have nothing as far as tools go. No files, pin vise or drills. Of course no micrometer or dial caliper. I'm really the Lone Ranger when it comes to scratch building anything.

My brother drifts by the meetings now and then, he does a lot of stuff like I do. BUT, he works to a shop and has access to lots of equipment. Before they deep-sixed the shop where I was, I had a little box with all my homegrown tools for the Hardinge lathe. I could come in and make wheels, details for coilovers, shocks, mufflers, etc.

I had one boring bar in a holder that fit an Aloris tool post, that could face, turn and part-off stuff. All I needed to do was face off the stock, hit the zero on the DRO and hit my numbers.

[bobss396]

21 hours ago, customline said:

Hey Bob, does your dining room table look anything like this?

or this?

As you can see, there's some unfairness evident here. We need to do something about this ?

I gots to take some shots... not too far off from yours. I sorted it out yesterday and I can work easier. I have boxes of kits, projects, parts, etc. next to where I work. 

I use those plastic shoe boxes from craft stores to put projects and parts in. My stock car tires and wheels takes up a big one, so does my street rod parts. 

[bobss396]

23 hours ago, customline said:

I never think to look at the upcoming show section on the forum but I did last night, Bob. And whattayaknow.....there's a show in Norfolk, the TAMS show is in October and it's less than an hour drive. I've never been to a model show/contest/flea market so I'm planning to go to that one to see what I've been missing. ?

I used to hit a lot of shows years back. The Gilbertsville PA show was 180 miles each way, a good show but a NNL format, so I pass on that now. Staten Island had a couple of small shows, gone now. The club did well there. 

I was up at MASSCAR in 2011 with my brother, we walked out with 13 awards between us. We took the Orient Point ferry both ways. Same year I did Classic Plastic in NH, did okay there. Also a ferry ride. I was planning another trip to NH, but my girlfriend has a family member battling cancer. There is a show in Poughkeepsie NY I want to attend if I can find someone to ride shotgun. This is in late October. 

In Norfolk, look for a guy, Tom Valenta. A great builder and a former club member where I am.