Stop riding motorcycles- you will never be Mike Hailwood , Giacamo Agostini , Michael Dunlop…
Stop riding the longboard- you will never be Joel Tudor or Belinda Baggs …
and stop looking at pictures of women who will never have sex with you …
all hope is lost …
I like to use cement very sparingly, and I don’t like forcing joints because it inevitably means I’m driving the plastic into a place it wouldn’t naturally go. But this is all technique, experience, and habit. We’ll never do things the same way, but so what?
My point is that the difference between using branded cements, brand matched thinners (not for brush cleaning, though), brand name decal solutions, and mixing my own washes from clean mineral spirits and oils, and the various “money-saving” alternatives is maybe one dollar per model for me, on the outside. It’s just not worth the risk of something behaving differently this time than last or the time effing around to determine the best way to work with the alternatives.
“False economy” . . .
KL
If you are doing things on a competitive basis or with the intent of making a career out of it, it’s quite reasonable to quit doing them if you will never be truly competitive or be able to make money from it.
“You can do anything if you want it bad enough”
“Anything is possible if you really try”
“The other side won because they wanted it more”
Are vile, pernicious, and damaging lies because they completely discount and dismiss skill and talent. One of the most important skills is the ability to recognize what is realistically possible. Many things can never be overcome by determination, no matter how strong. Some people just ain’t got it and will never get it. Recognize that and you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble.
Hobbies, on the other hand are quite different. You shouldn’t be competing with or comparing yourself to others if you want to enjoy a hobby. “Hope” has nothing to do with it. With our hobby it’s perfectly sensible to decide that, realistically, the kit in you are considering in a store is never going to be built (enjoyed) and just walk away.
Do that once a year and you’ll have all the money you need to buy Tamiya-brand cement and thinner.
KL
I should have prefaced my post with :
“ writing with tongue firmly in cheek “
"There is no ‘I’ in “TEAM.”
However, there is one in Winner, Victory, and Champion.
KL
Can’t agree more. I just don’t understand how can you spend maybe a hundred euros (or dollars) in a kit plus its aftermarkets, work on it for months and then try to save a ridiculous amount per model on the finishing products.
That video was intended for someone like me–new or returning to the hobby and still figuring out best practices. In my opinion, it was pretty good.
With regards the application of glue, I still use the brush in each bottle of Testor’s Liquid Cement. Control is definitely an issue. Using a small paint brush to apply glue is not a good solution for me. However, this discussion has me thinking of alternate solutions.
Isopropyl Alcohol as Airbrush Cleaner: When using Vallejo Model Air paints, this works and does save significant money. One year after switching to Vallejo Model Air and Badger primer, I currently use isopropyl alcohol (large amounts), Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner (small amounts), and water (very large amounts) for airbrush cleaning.
Use Mineral Spirits for Thinning Paints: For Mig and Winsor and Newton oil points, this works and does save significant money. I use Mona Lisa brand odorless mineral spirits.
Use Liquid Latex as a Masking Solution. This one is new to me.
I recently purchased some Vallejo Liquid Mask. When the moment came to use it, the contents of the bottle was a brick.
Before that, I purchased some Micro Liquid Mask. When the moment came to use it, the contents of the bottle was a brick.
How does a team with no eyes see the goal? 
When I have a stubborn joint I apply Deep Heat and wrap it in a tea-towel. What? We’re not talking bad knees?.. 
I did actually apply acetone to a skin rash many years ago.
It burned like h-ll but the rash cleared up within 12 hours …
Interesting.
Have what may be a spider bite. I should try this.
Don’t blame me if it doesn’t work.
I think my rash was some kind of infection and the acetone killed whatever it was.
An insect or spider bite could contain some kind of irritant or poison so acetone
would probably not be efficient.
It could cause the injected molecules to break down, for better or for worse …
Adolph’s meat tenderizer. A known SF remedy for many years.
When I first heard about the meat tenderizer trick, I too was skeptical - so I used it on the affected area. It worked - it hurt so bad I forgot about the insect bite.
I hope you didn’t try it on someone else in your team first …
… 
