ScottsGT

I wish I had that problem. Let’s just say that I survived anorexia in a big way.

The clay is kicking my butt. I’ve soaked the wood below pretty good, but I’m still getting some serious cracking and flakes lifting on the edges. I’m experimenting with mod podge and white glue to see if I can save it or if I need to get it all off and start over with a different technique. What really sucks is I have to try an area and let it dry a couple days to see the end result. This is going to take forever.

Oh, you know it! I just bought a quart of pre-thinned clear lacquer from the auto parts store for $35 and a dozen glass bottles off Amazon like the old MRP paints came in. Also bought Mr. Paint flattening agent. I’m going to sit down hopefully this week and experiment with ratios and bottle up some flat and semi-gloss clears and gloss in the bottles. This quart can should last me a lifetime. Edit to add: I bought soma MCW lacquers and recently used them. I was having flashbacks from 40 years ago spraying lacquers in the bodyshop. Each brand had its distinct fragrance from the big 3 paint companies back then. DuPont, Sherwin-Williams and PPG. NAPA Auto parts had a line we used as well, might even have been this one, but the odor really took me back to my youth when it was all about when I caught the fumes. Paint fumes, gas fumes working on cars and perfumes-chasing the girls. They say (who the hell is “they” anyway?) that the sense of smell is the strongest of all to give one a memory flashback. I couldn’t agree more. Just open up a new box of styrene or a tube of Testors cement and see where it takes you. And they (there “they” are again) said sniffing glue was bad for you… I was walking in to work from one of the lower parking lots about 25 years ago. Along the pathway was a line of live oaks that lined the sidewalk. I got a good strong whiff of the smell of the decaying oak leaves and acorns and and in my mind I instantly shot back to a day when I was probably 4 or 5 yo playing out in the yard and in the trunk of my grandparents old car under a huge oak tree. About 2 or 3 years ago I was somewhere and got a good whiff of a perfume a woman was wearing. Blam! Instant flashback to when I was around 20 yo driving my ‘65 Fairlane cruising the boulevard with a friends cousin I had a heavy crush on. Now talk about chasing the fumes! I had completely forgotten about that girl in my life until someone almost 40 years later walks past wearing it again. Oh well, enough off topic rambling….

So, quick question. Did you pull the data sheet on Mr. Color for this info? The reasons I ask is when I was a paint and bodyman in my past life, we had 4 different levels of lacquer thinner. A low grade clean up/primer thinner and hot or fast, medium and cold or slow that you would select based on your desired drying time and weather temps. Mr. Color is a slow dry that allows the paint to flow. I also pulled this off line: Lacquer thinner may include a combination of the following solvents: toluene. xylene. methyl ethyl ketone. acetone. butyl acetate. Now it obviously says “May” contain. I’m just wondering which chemical speeds up or slows down drying times, or is it a ratio difference?

Finally back to the build. Started laying out the clay for the sea bed on the base. I made the underwater cliff and high bed out of styrofoam insulation. You have to brush on a coat of white glue to the foam to get the clay to adhere. Just water on the plywood base. Shaping the clay is a pretty good arthritis workout for the hands!

Seriously? I have that one in the stash. Had no idea it was hard to find now.

I just found out a few weeks back the airbrush cleaner is the same as their cement.

Every day is a party around this place! Come on over, the beer is cold and the scotch is almost top shelf! Wait, now that I think about it, it was on the top shelf at the liquor store.

Back to building! I spent the past week or two of my free time (yea, hard to believe I’m retired and I have to look for free time) tackling a project that’s been on the books for over a year now. Cool thing is, it’s modeling/man cave related. Kind of why nothing has really been added to my Seaview thread in the group build. When we moved in and I was strategically placing my model and Diecast collection I was quite disappointed in the basement lighting. I did find a wall switch that did nothing. Stuck my head up in the dropped ceiling and found a wiring box with nothing connected but that switch. BINGO! I’ll use that circuit to turn on the man cave! Last year I bought some cool looking “studio lights” off Amazon. Has barn doors where I can control the lights. One problem. Wife hated them. So I compromised and painted them white. Yea, this is when I burned out my old Monokote heat gun and wasted a lot of good model paint. I know, looks like some kind of Star Wars robot. I installed one and hated it. Too much light blasting back in my eyes from the closed barn doors. So now I have probably $150 invested in these things. Switched over to recessed LED eyeballs. These were for my Diecast displays since they are tall and narrow. I also hung the neon light from the ceiling to make room for the Seaview diorama when it’s done. Along with my Bud Light spinner on the circuit, here’s my display case lit up now. And of course the Diecast collection. Well, part of them. Gotta build another display for the garage. That big green thing in the corner? That’s a real studio light from our old studio 1 at USC before it was dismantled for the new chemistry labs. That light has seen a few famous people that came through there in the 29 years I was there. I converted it to an LED accent lamp. Still need to find a good spot to hang it. Probably it the garage somewhere. Man, it feels great to finally get this one crossed off the list and back to model building.

All we got was about a 3 to 5 min down pour of rain. Very little wind, no thunder or lightning. But thankfully enough to kill off the pollen smog for today. Came around a corner yesterday and it was a heavy yellow fog bank. Funny thing is, I was heading to my oral surgeon for a follow up as well.

I know what you mean about the brakes. First “heavy” load I ever hauled was a yard of soil. I was shocked at the lack of responsiveness and gave myself a lot of stopping distance and watched my speed carefully approaching intersections. My rear anti locks don’t work and I think it’s due to the old trailer brake system installed by the original owner. Came in handy last week when I almost missed my turn, stomped the brakes and the back end swung out so I could pull straight into the auto parts store. 🤣

Peter, looking at radar, you’re in for a good one! Stay safe and good luck.

I think the very bottom tip of that same front is about to make things spicy here in a couple of hours. Looks like we won’t be getting much, but with all the pollen smog we’ve had the past 4-5 days, we need the rain. I like those wheels on your truck. I need a set like that for my ‘90 F-250. I have the old hubcaps and steel wheels. Hubcaps are all broken and wheels look like crap and need painting.

Way to go! I love seeing these built. But I’m not the type for patients for all that rigging. I’d lose my ever loving mind.

WooHoo! I still haven’t decided if I’m going to get one or not. I guess reviews and my building mood will have to come together on that decision. I just have so many “I want to build’s” already in the stash.

Ahhhhh…. I’m in a better place now. Same old gun with an upgraded toggle type switch. She’ll be here next week via Amazon.

Oh the horror of it all!!!!!

Last night it died. Been with me at least 35 years. For the past 3-4 years the trigger was acting up, but last night she finally said goodbye. It was my old Monokote heat gun I bought when I got into flying RC. For the past 24 years it was only used to help accelerate paint drying. Cord simply broke in half. If the switch wasn’t so wonky, I’d put a new cord in it. I think it’s time to say “Goodnight Irene”. We had a good run. Not sure if I should replace her with a sexy new hair dryer or another old Monokote heat gun. Standard heat gun is out of the question. Not enough airflow and gets too hot. Already have one of those.

I’ll just add that mine was bought for me 30 years ago when I started my job I just retired from. They were going through and tossing things out no longer used due to no longer doing bench tech work. I tossed it for them. 😇

Hey Peter, this might be of some interest for you. My old circular magnifier that had one of the round florescent lights died about the time I got my bench set up. Amazon has an LED replacement “bulb” that works fantastically. It’s also a 6k lamp. Amazon link But if you run across one of the old work lamps, it’s worth the effort to upgrade it. You can see it here in my pic I took when I finished the new bench. As you can see, I built the bench to hold this specific lamp I had, so I had some motivation to keep it working!

Co-Pilot fall asleep or is it just cuddle time?

The truck? 351 Windsor. 5.8

So the old F-250 has been acting up since it came back from the transmission shop. It actually started before then, just not quite as bad as it got two weeks ago. Every time I tried accelerating up a hill, it would just fall flat on its face. More throttle I gave it, the slower it would go. I started thinking fuel filter. Nope. Probably that rattling old catalytic converter that sounds like it’s full of marbles every time I hit a bump. Ordered a manifold flange off evilbay for $40 and my local muffler shop set me up with a piece of 2.5” pipe expanded to 3” Few hours out in the driveway with some impacts, sawzall and a few choice words, it now runs like a scalded dog! Man, I love living in a no inspection state.

I usually start with a 1 part paint to 3 parts thinner and do a test spray. Really depends on what your airbrush likes. If you’re a little heavy on thinner, just be careful not to pile it on. It will evaporate anyway. Little too thick and you’ll have scale undercoating! Yea, I’ve been reading about New Orleans post covid. Not a place I want to visit anytime soon again. Been twice, was ok. But I’m not a night person, so when all the fun starts I’m usually in my hotel room.

Oh, and want to hear something really hilarious? It just dawned on me the other day that my Otter Box phone case is Sky and Dark Gray.