Let's see your Corona projects

[spookshow]

I'm not sure what qualifies as "a lot". Like I said, I applied it with a small brush (the non-melting kind). I guess "dripping wet" would best describe the quantity. In any case, glad to hear that I made some sort of model railroading breakthrough (although it's hard to believe that no one else has ever thought of this before).

-Mark

[peteski]

If Mark was using lacquer thinner, he had to use a lot of it. As you see in the test, the thinner barely etched the surface. Acetone was very aggressive but evaporated quickly, resulting in a rounded crater with shallow edges. MEK didn't evaporate as quickly, so there are better-defined edges to the crater. I didn't notice any strong odors (like you'd get with a hot knife), just the normal solvent stink, and in the pipette-drop test, not much of it. The foam in all cases solidified once the solvent was absorbed or evaporated, nothing gooey at the bottom of the craters.

The problem with this test is that every lacquer thinner is not the same. There are many formulas out there, depending on the manufacturer, and maybe even on the environmental laws of the state it is sold in.  Formulas change from time to time, even of same brand! The proportion of acetone can vary between them. Some might not even have any acetone.

It might be that Mark's had a lot more acetone than yours did.

My favorite was SCL brand, but the new batch (I buy gallon size) has a different smell.  And the other 2 brands I have (from when I was experimenting) each have different smells (formulas).

[Dave V]

After making significant progress on my lake last week, now I am finally going to get off of my duff and begin the serious layout and construction of the portion of the town that I'm modeling (Aberdeen, North Carolina).  Here's the first efforts towards modeling the sidewalks.  I used a scribing tool that I bought from Micro-Mark to carve the sidewalk joints and cracks.  Unfortunately, the only 0.080" styrene that I had in my inventory was black styrene, so that's what I used.  It will get painted with a concrete color, so it's not the end of the world.  It's just harder to see the pencil lines while scribing.

I will use 0.060" black styrene for the streets, because that will butt up to (and stay just below) my Code 83 rails at railroad crossings.  I like black styrene as the base for asphalt roads, because, if it ever gets damaged, there won't be a bright white scratch showing through.



DFF

Hey @davefoxx ,

I have a stupid, off-the-wall and off-topic question for ya.  When last we discussed, you were a divorce attorney.  Has business increased, decreased, or stayed the same under quarantine?   

[C855B]

... (although it's hard to believe that no one else has ever thought of this before).

I think in general we've been afraid to go this route from the bad experiences with adhesives and paints. Just last year I was using Weldwood contact cement to mount backdrops, dripped a spot on the foam, and instant crater, about 1" deep. Impressive. Similar experience with spray lacquers; a texture spray that seemed ideal for simulating bare dirt dissolved the foam 1/4"-1/2" deep and it was a gooey mess. Had to cut it out of the layout and patch.

Just going straight to the solvent is the key discovery since we have some control, that there's a direct relationship between how much is applied and the depth of the etch. Good stuff.

... It might be that Mark's had a lot more acetone than yours did ...

Could be. Illinois is a low-VOC state, so I very well could be dealing with a weaker formulation. It certainly works well for cleaning acrylic paint residues out of the airbrush. My best bet for this foam-etch technique seems to be MEK, although I might try acetone with a brush just for the comparison.

Oh - for grins I tried heptane (Bestine)... nuthin'.

Better living through chemistry!   

[Mark W]

My wife intercepted today's delivery! 
I guess my next corona project is... the dishes...



https://i.imgur.com/AsCs6do.jpg

[peteski]

My wife intercepted today's delivery! 
I guess my next corona project is... the dishes...



https://i.imgur.com/AsCs6do.jpg

LOL!  That is the reward you get for being a good hubby!  Washing dishes is certainly up there in generating good points for you. 
I guess now you have that 4-4-2 you always wanted.

If you have access to the Nov/Dec 2012 issue on N scale Magazine, I had a 10-page article on the locomotive, and the next issue had a 10-page article on the train set.  I can't believe it was so long ago!

[Tom L]

My wife intercepted today's delivery! 
I guess my next corona project is... the dishes...



https://i.imgur.com/AsCs6do.jpg

I had a similar experience when my Kato Bilevel 400 set was delivered. I had some explaining to do.

Tom L.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Been working on upgrading the TLT newsprint cars.

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The car had no "Canadien National" as the  prototype I painted out the old logo, but the paint wasn't an exact match. I have since made a new blend that is lighter and more red (a mix of Modelflex Oxide Red Maroon and Testors British Crimson). I'm waiting on decals from Pete before I mask and airbrush the new blend. It should blend in well after weathering.

Ride height was cut down considerably using BLMA trucks with the bolster cut down to the cross beam.
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Because these models feature a special metal screw for the truck, I find it easier to add a modified MTL kingpin washer to the bottom of the truck in order to keep the car from flopping around.
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And it fits well. The screw sits a bit lower than normal but clears all obstacles.
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The door tracks were modified using .01x.02" styrene in the roof gap and GMM stanchion material to match the C channel door tracks of the model.
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And finally medium length 2001 couplers.

There were some other issues with the car, like the under frame jammed in the wrong way - they are keyed.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Also painted a few cryo reefers. The decals are printed on a laser. The logo was adopted from some artwork I found online, the warning labels made in MS Paint. Reporting marks were photos of real cars, covered to black and white, cleaned up, colorized and the sized to match the prototype. The cars received BLMA 100T trucks and 1015 couplers.
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I'm not thrilled with the weathering so far. These are hard cars to pin down. The grime came out too granular. I'll be adding a heavy dose of fade to these as the real ones had a tendency to get sun bleached.

[peteski]

I had a similar experience when my Kato Bilevel 400 set was delivered. I had some explaining to do.

Tom L.

There I go (not being married) totally misunderstanding a photo.  Somehow the expression on his face didn't register. Mark was like a dog that just stole a steak off the table or ripped up a down pillow.

And I was  being optimistic thinking that his "honey" bought him a Hiawatha set for being a good hubby.  I'll go hide in the corner now. 

[peteski]

Been working on upgrading the TLT newsprint cars.



The car had no "Canadien National" as the  prototype I painted out the old logo, but the paint wasn't an exact match. I have since made a new blend that is lighter and more red (a mix of Modelflex Oxide Red Maroon and Testors British Crimson). I'm waiting on decals from Pete before I mask and airbrush the new blend. It should blend in well after weathering.

Daniel, I thought you kept the word "NATIONAL".   Should I go back the the previous artwork revision?  How about the white bar?  Email me.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Daniel, I thought you kept the word "NATIONAL".   Should I go back the the previous artwork revision?  How about the white bar?  Email me.

I just sent you an email. I think I may be missing something here. The last artwork I received had the "National" included in the artwork. If you took it out, I can piece it other from other decal sets. I have plenty of white decal stock.

This was one of two cars I painted several years ago when I shelved the project the first time due to lack of decals and could not figure out a proper way to fix the door tracks. The rest of the cars are not painted out and could be adapted to use less white tape material on your Alps.

[peteski]

I just sent you an email.

Got it, and replied.

[davefoxx]

Hey @davefoxx ,

I have a stupid, off-the-wall and off-topic question for ya.  When last we discussed, you were a divorce attorney.  Has business increased, decreased, or stayed the same under quarantine?   

@Dave V,

It's odd.  Business has slowed somewhat, because people have less income to go paying attorneys.  But, I've also been retained into some real doozies since the quarantine.  With the Courts closed to the public, one of the biggest problems that I'm seeing is a parent depriving visitation with a child from the other parent.  It's a shitty, selfish move, and I hope the Court comes down hard on the depriving parent when court hearings resume.  We've had so many hearings postponed, the rest of this year's trial schedule could be brutal.  Another huge problem is that the Court is not hearing protective order matters, so if someone claims domestic violence, the respondent, guilty or not, is thrown out of the house for what now has become months with almost another month (at a minimum!) before the Court reopens to the public.

I also sent my boss home over seven weeks ago, because she is immunosuppressed.  So, I've been doing the work of two attorneys, which is keeping me busy.

DFF

[mu26aeh]

Apparently a lot of the dating apps are seeing a spike in new membership.  Close to half of new members are currently in relationships