ScrubbyMonkey

HAhahahaa....well, the super glue stories don't make me feel so bad now. I can't decide if I have bad model karma or I'm just an utter klutz. (My girlfriend tells me it's the latter.) Hmmm, what to share, what to share - well, a few years back I was working at a LHS. At the time I was building a Tamiya CLK-GTR (incidentally my last model built), and I was working on the entire engine/trans/susp assembly. Both hands were tied up trying the keep the thing together as I tacked it up with CA, so I pulled off the bottle cap w/ my teeth. When I went to put the bottle back IN the cap, I missed it completely, and hit my very tongue. Thereafter, I was the proud owner of a CA bottle tongue ornament. Being that acetone is toxic and all, and so not being able to use it on my tongue, I just pulled it off. Was good for character, grew hair on my chest and all that baloney. Then there was the time I severly singed myself with the soldering iron, and while I was doing laps around the room screaming and looking for water, my boss was yelling at me that I smelled like burned hotdogs. Anyway, if anybody has any karma that was inflicted on them, try and beat those....or I have some better ones still, but I still have some dignity I'd like to preserve. Shaun

If you have the money, I'd highly recommend picking up a Silentaire compressor, especially if noise is a concern. I picked up a SS 50-TC a few months back, and while it's a bit overkill (for scale modeling you could get by with a smaller variant), it works beautifully. It has a small tank on so you don't have any pressure pulses, and it's quiet enough that I have to really pay attention to see if it's running. Or, you could go out and pick up 20 or 30 lb. CO2 tank and hook up a badger CO2 regulator to it. This is almost the path I took, but if you figure gas costs over time, plus tank leasing (all the gas suppliers around me won't sell tanks, only lease), it can be more feasible to get a compressor. You still get almost dead silence with CO2, even more so than the silentaire, but you DO have to worry about regulator freeze up if you're consistantly running more than one 'brush from the same source. Well, I guess that was more than $.02, but hope it was helpful. Shaun

Hey Laugh, I use an Iwata Eclipse Autographics (side feed w/ a bigger color cup). I've had a great time with it, no problems with it not being precise enough. I know you already have an Iwata (a revolution, right?); I'd suggest you upgrade to one of the newer Eclipses with the .35mm nozzle, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by it. BTW, don't buy an Aztek; I used one for a while....they're almost impossible to clean, they wear out quickly and break easily, and they just don't have very good balance IMHO. If you'd like something of decent quality and a little bit cheaper of a price, try a Paasche Millenium. I used one of those for a few years and it worked well for me. Shaun

d, Have you had any problems with Tamiya acrylics seeming like they're not completely curing? I always thought they felt a little "soft" when I used them. Don't get me wrong, I loved using them, they went on great, but maybe it was something I was doing wrong. Shaun

Hey guys, I'm just getting back into the hobby after taking a long break off (it's been about 5 years since I last built a model). I've already got my airbrush and airsource setup, but I need advice on what paint systems to use, and what is preferred. So, any suggestions? I realize that one person doesn't use just one brand of paint, but what brands are preferred. Generally I prefer to work with acrylics, so anything along those lines would be great. Also, where can I order gunze paints from, and aside from Mr. Surfacer, is their line of paints any good? Thanks in advance for the answers, Shaun

Air source is a big point with me...does anybody know of a good, relatively quiet airsource that isn't too expensive. Other members of the family might not be too happy to hear a loud compressor going at 2am (when i do most of my work). I've thought about rigging a CO2 tank for airbrushing, has anybody tried this? Or does anybody have any more suggestions?