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Tom ... (tom...)
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This and That

Album image #1
Getting serious! 
 

Album image #2
Excited to get into these two. Looks fun. 
 

Album image #3
New task light. Very very bright. Very happy with it. 
 

Album image #4
Finally got the spray booth vented to the outside and new 5000K LED tube lights.  
 

Album image #5
My office/den/hobby room 
 

Album image #6
Huston, we have a problem.... 
 

Album image #7
Leakage 
 

Album image #8
Bath night at the hobby house! 
 

Album image #9
Friend gave this to me to build. Should be interesting. 
 

Album image #10
It's been five months since I was last at the LHS so I guess it's okay!  
 

Album image #11
Oh dear. Another hobby purchase... have a mini table saw and sander on order too. I might need help. 
 

Album image #12
Album image #13
What is this pitting with Tamiya acrylics? 
 

Album image #14
107 year old hi tech curing box 
 

Album image #15
Upgraded compressor to a 1 gallon 1.6 CFM @ 40 PSI. Added a water-trap regulator at bench level which I really like. Noise level slightly louder than old mini compressor but duty cycle is much less. 
 

Comments

11 31 October 2019, 04:51
Tom ...
Not messing around anymore!
31 October 2019, 04:53
Bob Hall
What? No 55 gallon drum !
31 October 2019, 05:19
Bob Hall
[img1]?c=2
 
31 October 2019, 05:21
Tom ...
Look what arrived in the mail. Looking forward to getting to these guys.

This and That | Album by tom... (1:24)
6 November 2019, 18:56
Tom ...
Replaced my old task light with a new 2200 lumens lamp. Very happy with it.
17 November 2019, 04:52
Chris Greathouse
Wow, bright. Looks good 🙂
17 November 2019, 07:59
Tom ...
Finally got my spray booth set up fully in the basement. Made a hole to the outside and ran some ducting so now I can go full solvents and not stink the house out completely.

Replaced all the old florescent lighting with 5000K LED tubes. So much brighter and cleaner light for painting.

Also did a clean up and re-org of the room.... if only it would stay this way...

This and That | Album by tom... (1:24)
18 November 2019, 04:30
Bob Hall
Sweet Setup !
18 November 2019, 05:32
Bill Newcomer
I am jealous. I don't have a basement. I am stuck not painting until spring 🙁
18 November 2019, 08:13
Tom ...
Sorry to hear that Bill. Winter is when I have "project time" so not being able to paint would be depressing! In fact I'm expecting to be much more productive in the next few months and looking forward to it.
18 November 2019, 22:57
Olivier
It's not only a question of smell but also of toxicity. I like your set up. A dream for me for the time being.
18 November 2019, 23:05
Chaz Gordon
Nice to have a basement, although I think I'd mostly use one for storage of the stash, I love that I have a nice big window in my Office / build room / mancave
18 November 2019, 23:40
Tom ...
Yup, it's mostly for storage. I've posted a pic of my office/den. I work from home so this is where I spend most of my time. #5: This and That | Album by tom... (1:24)
19 November 2019, 00:38
Chris Greathouse
DUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!!!! Stop showing pictures, there only so much drool I can clean up 😛
19 November 2019, 03:59
Chris Greathouse
but I'd think I'd steal your planes 🙂
19 November 2019, 04:02
Tom ...
It is my happy place 🙂
19 November 2019, 04:27
Tom ...
When I started a year ago I would chuckle (and still do) at peoples' stashes: "How can someone have so many kits?", I wondered an amazement... Eh Huston, we have a problem: This and That | Album by tom... (1:24)

I know I only have about 40 but that's 20 more than I ever thought I would... and I'm sure it's going to keep growing if I don't build more quickly... sheesh!
19 November 2019, 04:40
Chris Greathouse
I know that feeling... *me, noobie a year ago* why would anyone what so many, I'll only have XX number"... Now sitting on 17 and waiting on 2 special arrivals and every neato kit I see online is now is like mmm, yessir I'll take one! Tom looks I've got some catching up to do. 😛 [img1]
 
19 November 2019, 05:14
Chris Greathouse
And next project 110% must be that cool looking Euro Tramcar. 😄
19 November 2019, 05:19
Tom ...
Ha, I'm the one who needs to catch up. You might have half a many in the stash as me at present but you've built like 20 this year... I've managed only 5... We'll see how the winter goes... maybe I'll get another 5 in...
19 November 2019, 05:23
Chris Greathouse
27 so far this year starting off with the FXX K, but who's counting 😛
19 November 2019, 05:34
Chris Greathouse
but yours look absolutely pro... I just slap some paint in and go 😛
19 November 2019, 05:38
Chaz Gordon
According to Scalemates, I'm now at 179, two years after returning to modelling. To be fair, the stash was at around 30 in the loft for 17 years, With 43 inb the completed pile, only 9 of which are not teenage builds in need of restoration. In the last 2 years, I have completed 7 kits and another 15 or so are in progress.

And a good number of those are high complexity kits (1/12 tamiya race cars and 1/16 classics) but I have focussed on aquiring almost every out of production kit that I previously told myself "One day, I'll buy one of those and make it", only to find they had for one reason or another stopped making them, MPC/AMt dropped the Star Wars licence, and though the quality leaves something to be desired, they are the most impressive when the effort is put in, then I recently found out (thanks james) that Revell no longer produced their original range of high detail trucks, only the monogram snap fits.

What is most meaningful though is the Tamiyas, I have obtained 6 F1s, both Le Mans cars and the Datsun Safari, all of which my Dad built back in the 70's when they first came out, and was crazy enough to hand to 5 year old me. Over time, they shed parts bit by bit until they were just a pile of parts, which somehow got lost in one of the many moves we went through over the years. I returned to model making a month after my dad passed away in January 2017. I started looking on ebay for those kits I remembered, but couldn't find them easily. It has taken me 2 years and a very understanduing wife to get to where I am on the wish list, I have only a couple left to get - The JPS lotus 72, The Tyrell Ford, and the lotus 49 (just got the 49B). I guess I'll just have to fill in the gaps with the Honda, the Matra and the Ferrari 312.

I do have a few multi builds in that stash though, I have a pile of RAF ground vehicles to accessorise my aircraft, and a full squadron of MPC X-wings.

But, for now, the Stash building has dropped off, and I'm looking forward to the builds I've been waiting 30+ years to do, but first, must finish the hand painted christmas decs I've been working on all year.

19 November 2019, 17:49
Tom ...
Chaz, I am very similar though for different reasons. Definitely have the "kits and things of my youth" compulsion. After that it's all about ones that are iconic, old, different, unique, and/or industrial. Thankfully I have very little interest in planes or military stuff (unless they meet the above criteria) so I can't go crazy there.

I think I can manage to store 80 kits tops but realistically that would be at least 15 years of building so at some point I will need to be able to "just say no".
19 November 2019, 21:38
Chris Greathouse
Careful there buddy... That's a slippery slope... Twenty turns to forty, which turns to 80, which turns to finding a perfect place for more stash, which turns to 100+
19 November 2019, 21:51
Bob Hall
[img1]
you mean something like this now multiplied by 10 ?
 
19 November 2019, 21:54
Martin Oostrom
I had a couple of those 'memory lane' builds. But the modern kits are so much more enjoyable. I still have a couple of oldies in the stash, but I probably won't be adding any more. I think a stash is an organic creature; it just grows by itself, even without water or sunlight…..
19 November 2019, 21:54
Chris Greathouse
@Bob precisely lol

@Martin that is absolutely the best description for a stash.
I think a stash is an organic creature; it just grows by itself, even without water or sunlight…..
19 November 2019, 21:57
Tom ...
Chris, 27! Jeez, I'm gobsmacked! Clearly you love this hobby and are having fun building. Very cool, sir!. I like the slow meticulous approach but it's all about enjoying our time at the bench. Also like seeing all the models you build coz it give me ideas, like the Sambar Fire Engine that I would not have known about if you hadn't built it. However, trying really hard not to get sucked into trucks so there is a dark side too...

As for the tram... Will probably attempt it in a few years once I have decent enough painting skills to do it justice. Likewise put the Isetta on hold as I have a certain look I want it to have but don't know how to execute it yet. Have a feeling I'll need to do a few iterations of each model before I am truly happy. In the meantime going to be doing a bunch of figures to better focus on building painting skills and confidence.
19 November 2019, 22:00
Tom ...
@Bod We're going to need a bigger glue pot...
19 November 2019, 22:03
Tom ...
@Martin (fingers in ears) Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah... I'm not listening..... (What's that movement in the closet...?)
19 November 2019, 22:04
Derek Huggett
Something I saw on TV recently referred to 'SABLE' - Stash Available Beyond Life Expectancy - if the hat fits.....? 🙂
19 November 2019, 22:21
Tom ...
I should start going to estate sales...
19 November 2019, 22:27
Bill Newcomer
I have the stash growing faster than I can build them problem too. I had about 10 kits I moved from house to house for years. Around 2004 I finally got some disposable income. The economy was bad so I snagged a bunch from ebay before the shipping prices got so high. It has taken about 15 years to actually build around 30-35. Somehow, I have acquired 178 kits with very few duplicates. Fortunately I have 98% of what I want. The rest are a $100+ original issues. I really do enjoy building but seeing the quality of some peoples builds is driving into perfectionist mode. The problem is that doing so is very time consuming. I am going to try to back off and find a happy medium. On the way home I had to FORCE myself to NOT swing by Hobby Lobby to pick up another kit. I need to focus on solving how to paint in the house without upsetting the wife with the fumes. I have the skills to build a ventilated paint booth. I just need to research the size/airflow requirements.
20 November 2019, 00:59
Tom ...
Ha, Bill! I'm always looking for a reason to drive by the LHS. We should start a support group... 🙂
20 November 2019, 08:24
Tom ...
Also, tonight I did some Alclad priming and with the new ventilation there were no fumes in the house. Very happy with that. I may even default to using (decanted) Tamiya Surface Primer for all my priming now, even though Badger's Stynylrez is super good. Maybe use Tamiya for the initial coat and then Stynylrez for second and third...
20 November 2019, 08:32
Chris Greathouse
Tom!!?!? You got rid of the flumes?! That's the best part of the whole hobby 😛
20 November 2019, 11:17
Tom ...
Eh, don't store Super Clean on its side. It managed to eat through the materials in the cap. Lesson learnt.
15 January 2020, 17:37
Chris Greathouse
Yikes!! At least the cap wasn't at the bottom. You might have had a bigger problem. I'll remember that when I buy more (gallon) of Super Clean. At least it doesn't look like a terrible mess to clean up.
15 January 2020, 17:45
Tom ...
I was thinking the same thing about the cap being up top. Thankfully I seem to have enough super clean left to handle the Italeri Australian Truck 🙂 Man that is a lot of chrome!
15 January 2020, 17:55
Chris Greathouse
I've used the same pint (I store in a pint container) of super clean for at least the last 10 or so vehicles. Cut the sprues to fit in a gallon bag, put them in, pour in Super Clean, lay it flat and wait/flip/play with it until it's done... I usually dechrome first so it has hours and hours (I usually let it chill all day) to dechrome before I even have to think about chrome pieces.

Then pour the Super Clean back into the pint for the next go.
15 January 2020, 18:33
Spanjaard
nice hobby room 🙂
15 January 2020, 22:47
Tom ...
De-chroming 7 kits tonight. It's bath night at the hobby house.
4 February 2020, 03:33
Tom ...
Correction: Ended up doing 17 kits. All the chrome in my stash is now gone. Yay! Thank you, Super Clean! You're my hero.
4 February 2020, 06:51
Chris Greathouse
That's alot! I hope you kept track of what sprue is from what kit.

Did you just fill that rubbermaid up with Super Clean and dunk them all for X time?
4 February 2020, 09:21
Tom ...
Chris, I did. At first I used a ziploc freezer bag but that didn't work so well for doing multiple sprues and the bags started to leak (I had them double bagged). Out of all of them I only had three that took 12 hours. All the rest were done under a hour. I think it just depended how thick the chrome was. All sprues are safely back in their beds.
4 February 2020, 15:58
Chris Greathouse
Sorry you had trouble with the ziploc bags. It's my preferred method. But glad you got that all done, 17? wow.
4 February 2020, 18:27
Tom ...
It was a lot but I'm glad I did it. I always get anxious when de-chroming as I've had some tough ones in the past so it was great to get them all out of the way in one night/morning.
4 February 2020, 18:52
Olivier
Just a candid question : why are you guys de-chroming those sprues ?
4 February 2020, 21:00
Tom ...
Oliver, it's just a personal preference. I don't like chrome plating myself. Much prefer Alclad's chrome paint so I like to strip and repaint whenever I can.
4 February 2020, 21:07
Nathan Dempsey
Sometimes the kit chrome parts look very toy-like. I agree with Tom, the newer chrome paints look much more realistic. I like Bare-Metal foil too.
4 February 2020, 21:14
Tom ...
However, not all chrome is equal. I actually kept the wheel hubs of the Porsche 928S: scalemates.com/content/content.php?id=456658. Though that one is more of an aluminium finish than chrome.
4 February 2020, 21:19
Olivier
Thanks for the explanations. Building mainly WWII soft skins I seldom come across chrome.
4 February 2020, 21:50
Chris Greathouse
This is the final result of dechroming and chroming with Alclad. Compare with Tom's #8 above which is very shiny and toylike. This is my Super Boss with Alclad chrome, You can really see the difference... no toy like shine/appearance. [img1]
 
5 February 2020, 02:58
Olivier
All clear now. 🙂
5 February 2020, 09:20
Tom ...
Friend gave me this to build. I think though that I'll need to practice first on some other tank as I've not built one in like 40 something years.
11 February 2020, 16:51
Tom ...
Image #10: It's been five months since I was last at the LHS so I guess it's okay!
1 June 2020, 00:02
Chris Greathouse
Nice buy! I've been eyeing that Land Rover myself, it looks sweet.
1 June 2020, 02:07
Tom ...
Me too, Chris. I also like that my LHS is starting to stock more esoteric kits, like Polar Lights. Hope they get enough sales to keep them coming. I'm a sucker for the not-so-run-of-the-mill.
1 June 2020, 03:33
Tom ...
I went a little crazy and purchased some mini woodworking tools: scroll saw, table saw and sander. The scroll saw arrived on Father's Day so it was meant to be, I guess. My reasoning for the purchases is that I would like to be able to fabricate more things on my own... In my mind I have visions of me being as creative as others on this site and scratch building parts and dioramas and such... only time will tell though... Hobbies seem to be more about collecting things me thinks. 🙂
22 June 2020, 20:08
Martin Oostrom
We share the same visions. Luckily I don't have the room you have 😄
23 June 2020, 05:19
Chaz Gordon
That's a nice little saw Tom, I don't think you need help at all, you should be able to manage a whole sheet of plascard in that on your own.
23 June 2020, 07:05
Tom ...
Pic #12: Very excited to get the "Crepe Mobile"!

Bob turned me on to the "hpiguys Workshop" YouTube channel where you can see this kit being built: Youtube Video. I've always wanted this kind of kit and the video sealed the deal even though it is spendy.
 


If you've not seen this channel definitely give it a look. He's for sure given me some of my model building mojo back with his simple but effect approach to building and painting, and having fun. Very enjoyable to watch!

WARNING: Watching this channel will result in you buying more kits.
29 December 2020, 21:01
Nathan Dempsey
I want one of these now as well. I recently ran across a real one at the St. Petersburg (FL) pier being used as a coffee vendor. The owner let me take a bunch of pics 🙂
29 December 2020, 23:51
Bob Hall
The Pancake Roach Coach ! Pretty cool !
30 December 2020, 00:53
Chaz Gordon
Strangely, during the Pandemic one of these has shown up at a park space near where my mum lives in a purely residential area. and even more odd is that it is a Crepe wagon. That's random enough in the UK, but to see it in a residential area is another level of weird.
11 February 2021, 21:50
Tom ...
Anyone know why I'm getting this "pitting" when using Tamiya gloss acrylics? I thin with X-20A close to 50/50. This happens pretty much all the time, some cases worse than others. Time to move onto a different paint me thinks....
2 January 2022, 07:28
Spanjaard
Maybe the costs should be thinner?
2 January 2022, 08:22
Martin Oostrom
Almost looks like some silicone contamination or too much thinner. As always; try some mixtures on a spare piece. But 50/50 sounds too thin (for me). I'd go with 75/25, depending in nozzle size, temp, etc.
2 January 2022, 10:38
Tom ...
hmmm, I'll try doing some tests to see if I can pinpoint the problem. Have a lot of Tamiya paint so would be worth the effort. Seems to only happen when I'm laying down a wet coat.
2 January 2022, 21:09
Chaz Gordon
I've seen this happen with over heavy coats, where the solvent eats into the coats below. when I've cleaned the paint off, the pits go right through all layers of paint. It could also be micro particles of paint that dries mid air due to build up in the air cap of the airbrush. I find direct gloss paints can be so touchy, which is why I prefer Matt & Lacquer.
3 January 2022, 03:25
Tom ...
Upgraded the compressor and added a separate regulator with moisture trap that's up on the bench which is so much more convenient. Really like having the quick release on the compressor so it can be easily used for other tasks, like topping up tire pressures.
2 April 2022, 22:33
Bozzer
That pitting, Tom, I've seen before. Has the new compressor and traps, solved the problem?
3 April 2022, 08:21
Tom ...
Bozzer, I believe it was just my bad technique by laying the paint down too thickly and how I was thinning with X-20A. I've started using Mr Color Leveling Thinner since and laying down thin coats and am very happy with the results.

As an aside, it feels like I've turned a corner on airbrushing and am much more confident with juggling thinning ratios and air pressures and building up layers. And a very big part of that was with my last two builds, the Isetta and Vespa, where I stripped and repainted the models three times, twice for the Isetta and once for the Vespa. Strangely redoing the same work really help things fall into place. Still have a ways to go but airbrushing for me is definitely not so stressful as it was before.
3 April 2022, 21:41
Bill Newcomer
Tom, It sounds like you are just ahead of me on the learning curve. I have found an excellent primer in Mr Surfacer though it is expensive. I do need to break myself of the habit of laying paint too heavy too soon.
3 April 2022, 21:56
Tom ...
Bill, I've got Mr Surfacer 500 and 1500 which I need to try out. I was mostly interest in the 500 as a filling primer but have not had a reason to use it so far.

At present I'm using Tamiya's Surfacer exclusively and I love it. I used to prime with Stynylrez but prefer solvent based primers now. However, stynylrez is the best water based primer around and I still use the black primer as a base paint. The stuff goes on so easily, with great coverage and self levels like a champ!

Looking forward to seeing how the PS-290 performs... need to start or resume a build...
3 April 2022, 22:15
Bozzer
Mr Leveller is the Mutts Nuts, for Tamiya. I'm glad that things are going your way mate. Just remember, it's not a race, and the learning process can still trick the best of us! But you will find, that you now have another weapon in your arsenal, and it's amazing how much control you have, as opposed to rattle cans. Consider yourself a heart surgeon, as opposed to a decorator? It's a pretty good analogy mate. Slowly and steadily, low pressure and light coats. I also recommend that you look into Alclad Microfiber cloth. It's a fancy grit paper, that lasts a long time. Excellent for wet sanding, between coats, on car/truck/boat bodies 😉
5 April 2022, 21:52

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