Heres a decent site..weathering ..painting ..ever wonder how to tint your operator's cab glass..,get the sctraches out..guess what ..grab some Future Floor wax...
Theres a lot here..

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Tools.html


Maybe the mods would consider a sticky in the Model Care ..with hints and links ..

To keep it informative just post links and hints ..general chat and questions could be asked on the Model Care chapter...

Maybe even a " For what its worth!!" thread ..for cheap everyday things ..like the traffic cone idea ..using dowels..again just set the question's and chat in the model care area ..

For what its worth! ...good hint,links,and cheap ideas arent really worth a whole lot if they just slowly get moved down the line..and lost



hopefully the Mods and Admin see it the same way...

Cheers "clink"

---

Q-Ball a wolf in Jesus skin ---the sorcerer of reasonable commentary





I smile & wave

Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo,
The trick is to ride and make it to the bell.

There have been TONS of "tips and tricks" lost over the years on the forum. IT SHOULD be a sticky thread. I researched, dug, tried, you name it and finely found MUSKEY MASTER line in a couple different # lines to work on different sized crane models only to get lost in siber space,along with other things (including OTHER peoples discoveries and ideas), cause' the search function "sucks". Had any rubber tires "melt" yet because of what they are sitting on ? Lowboys sag under weight ?

Good stuff here. A sticky would be a good idea-let me see what I can do.

---

Bob
Bobs Cranes

Come Over To The Lift Side . . . . . . . We Have Cookies!!!!

And a paint tip..
Acrylic hobby paints can be thinned with water we all know this.there is an alternative to water.
Blue Windshield wash..It has water,some alcohol,most importantly it contains a mild detergent,otherwise known as a surfactant.
What this does is prevent the water from pulling up in a bead,it allows the paint to flow out.

Anybody that has ,and uses an airbrush has probably seen the Badger paint thinner,essentially its just Blue Windshield wash ,the difference is a gallon of windshield wash is only $3

I shot Behr Exterior on a model of mine ,thinned with windshield wash..using a Paasche H single action ,on a #5 tip/nozzle ..running the gun at 60 PSI..
It works ,with no ill effect to color,of course lighter colors will require more water less wash.

---

Q-Ball a wolf in Jesus skin ---the sorcerer of reasonable commentary





I smile & wave

Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo,
The trick is to ride and make it to the bell.

Need Screws ,or other fasteners on a small scale ?

http://www.microfasteners.com/

http://rtlfasteners.com/

http://www.scalehardware.com/

http://www.jimorrisco.com/

---

Q-Ball a wolf in Jesus skin ---the sorcerer of reasonable commentary





I smile & wave

Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo,
The trick is to ride and make it to the bell.

For painting ive also found that some hobby paints can be thinned down with windex which just about everyone has around there house and is cheap and easy to come by.

UPDATE
Scale CB Antennas

First I'll start off by saying that I have/had used fine musical wire (guitar string) for antennas.
These I found to be too stiff and even pierced my finger on one when picking up a truck I had used this on.

I've also used very fine styrene 'rod' for antennas and found them to be great. However, even though the styrene is flexible it can actually snap in two easily, so it's also not a great solution.

Here's a truck (not finished and posted before) that has the styrene antennas in place.
They look just fine but as I said are capable of breaking.

"/>

And here is the solution.........common enough and usually annoying, now they have more of a purpose than just poking you because you forgot to remove it from your shirt!
.......the T-tie or T-tag or whatever.

"/>

These have all the flexibility and durability to do the trick whether it's detail your rig or a piece of machinery and these are fairly easy to come by.

........and you can order them in colors.....found some on the 'bay' in various colors

Note: some of these may have a curl in them.
A good way to straighten them out would be to draw the 'tie' through your thumb and index fingernails a few times.

Hope some of you find this useful.

Chris

Need touch up paint for the pins after you've spray painted a model? Take the lid off the can, drape a little aluminum foil over the hollow side of the lid to form a shallow bowl, and spray into it. 1-2 seconds is usually enough. let it dry 5-10 minutes and you have a thicker paint perfect for touching up with the exact color. for touchup work, I use toothpicks, fine detail, and no cleanup, just toss it away.

---

Eric W. Pioszak, Operating Engineers Local 701, Portland, Oregon

METAL TRACKS AVAILABLE AGAIN!
Cab guards Available again!
Grapples Available again!
Industrialscalemodels[at symbol]Gmail.com

MAKING PENDANT FINALITIES A LITTLE NEATER

If you are re rigging your Manitowoc pendant lines and want to make the screws a little less intrusive, try doing this.
Notice how far out the screw protrudes?


take a drill that is slightly lager than the head of the screw



and slightly countersink one side of the finality to the depth of the screw head.





when you screw the screw back in it will be nice and flush.
This is a before and after photo.



It will make for a much more finished appearance.

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__________________________________________________________________
Tom
It's pretty sad when the only modeling tool you own is a box cutter.

If the only tool you have is a hammer, you start to see every problem as a nail. Abraham Maslow

Does anyone have any recomendations on getting started with airbrush equipment? Perhaps a started kit? Beginer's air brush tool?

Thanks,

Ed