Here I have numerous how-to's by the people listed that helped me create better models.  I want to thank the persons who did these how-to's.  Check-em out.  ---> More to come so stay tuned <---

HOW TO LOWER THE RIDE HEIGHT

By: Joe

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=107458

HOW TO PREPARE A BODY FOR PRIMING AND PAINTING

By: primera man

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=59123

Make sure you sand the car well...removing molding lines etc. Finish off with 1200 grit paper.
Before painting, heat the can up in hot water for 10 minutes so it flows better from the can.
2 Coats of white primer. First coat very light, the second so that it covers the model. Don't be to fussy if it still looks a bit "see-though"
Leave for a week to harden the primmer.

3-4 Coats of finish coat about 5-10 minutes apart....that's it...nice and simple. (Keep the can warm)
The first coat is a very light mist coat...the paint should only just be landing on the car.
Do the same for the second coat
The third coat you can spray a bit more heavy.
The last coat is the one you want to get perfect.
I always spray the front and rear bumpers first...then both sides along the whole length of the car body.
Then the last bit I do is the bonnet/boot and roof last

Don't bother sanding between coats as I don't really see the point...all you are doing is making more dust and removing half the paint you have just stick on.
After you have finished the last coat...leave for 10-12 days.......rub with some compound then finish with a wax.

NOW THE NEW PARTS !!
Once you have finished removing the molding lines and sanding the body, give it a good wash in hot soapy water, then finally wash the whole car with hot water straight from the tap....using a good soft brush to get into all parts of the body. This gets rid of all the small sanding particles left on the body.
Once you have done this, shake off as much water as you can, then using your soft brush, brush all the water off the car so it don't dry in "spots" on the body.
Once you have done this, you want to keep the car as clean as possible from dust. Place the body straight into a plastic container with a lid to stop any crap getting into the box and onto the car. This is AS CLEAN as you will get it and you want to keep it like it !! See pic....

I put a tooth pick under the lid just so that it can "breath" a little as it dries. Leave the car to dry for awhile. A good day is how long i leave mine.
IMO this is so important as there is so much crap floating around in the air, and it lands on your model....SO KEEP IT CLEAN !!
After a day or two, take the body out ready for painting. Attach it to your painting frame and give it a final brush and a good blow.
Now your ready to paint !!!
Spray the primmer on.
In between coats I put it straight into the microwave as this is a great DUST FREE place....this is were I think a lot of people muck up as they leave it in the room to dry....but as its drying its also attracting the very small dust particles which stuff up a good paint job......this is what is giving you a lot of paint finishes that are "rough" looking....because the dust is being trapped under the paint.

Well...that's all. Most have your own ways of doing it, but this is what i have found to work the best for me.

HOW TO CONVERT RIMS FROM FEMALE TO MALE

By: Chris

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=90961

Cutting away the polycap housing is the first step, which is not easy without some sort of motor tool. A steel cutter is used for the job by steadily grinding away with the tip. Take it easy here and watch out for the cutter biting into the plastic, when this happens it will jolt and will usually damage a spoke. You will notice a small recess when the housing is removed, this is what will be used to fit the peg into.

The pegs can be taken from a Fujimi kit but chances are you won't have any, so we'll make some. 2mm styrene rod is what I'm using for this, 2mm seems to be the standard for the pegs on most rims.

The recess on the rims has a larger diameter than 2mm so you will need to widden one end of your peg to get a tight fit. By far the easiest way of doing this is to use heat and soften the tip, then press the rod onto a hard flat surface. Try to keep it as straight as possible, you could from some kind of jig but dont worry coz you can always sand the base flat.

Sizing the base is a job for the Dremel again, fit the peg straight into the chuck of the drill and use a sanding block or file. Apply light pressure and check the fitment to the rim regularly coz you want this to be a very tight fit. In the case of this how-to, i'm using 17" rims which have a smaller recess than the 18"s, so the base on these pegs is barely noticeable but necessary all the same.

Use your choice of glue to attach the pegs, I've gone for styrene adhesive coz this will weld the join together and should provide a stronger bond than CA coz of the small area we're dealing with. Either way these are still fragile so fitting and removing them to their hubs should be kept to a minimum. If you have followed everything so far by keeping a tight fit and a flat base, the pegs should stand at 90degrees and u won't have wonky rims.  This is in fact another reason why styrene adhesive is better here, coz u will have time to play with the alignment.
Do this 3 more times, cut the pegs to length and you're done.

HOW TO SCRATCH BUILD MUFFLERS

By: Honoturtle

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=89854

There are many ways you can create Mufflers, but the big question is "is it too big?"

Here is my write-up on how to create mufflers without going overboard on size, or making it too small.

Tools/Supplies
- 1 piece of 5/32" styrene tube
- 1 piece of 7/32" styrene tube
- Modeling glue
- Round and flat files (or sandpaper)
- 1/8" drill bit or hobby knife
- Wire cutter or tube cutter (to slice pipes)
- Marker
- Silver (or other preferred) paint
- Bottle of patience and time

When you take the tubes out of the package and lay them next to each other, it should look something like this:

The 5/32" tube should easily fit right into the 7/32" tube,

But as you can see, the border between the "outer" and "inner" hole of the 5/32' tube is large, and doesn't really look realistic

So by using the 1/8" drill bit by either hand or a dremel on it's LOWEST speed, drill it through, to widen the "inner" hole, or you can use a hobby knife to carve it, just make sure you carve evenly.
Then you use the round file to smooth things out, it's hard to tell from the pic, but the hold did come larger.

Then you want to cut the desired length for the inner tube (5/32"), for this example, it was cut to about 13/16". I also cut the outer tube (7/32") about 11/16' leaving about 1/8" for the tip, but remember, it's going to VARY from car to car.

And remember to smoothen out the parts you just cut with a file, or sandpaper.

Remember that the inner tube has to be longer.

Now you can test fit the two pieces, making the back flush, if it's a little too long, you can file it, etc.

Now, you want to glue down the two pieces, do this using your preferred glue.
*NOTE+TIP* Apply the glue on the inside of the 7/32" tube and insert the inner tube 5/32" back end first, and rotate the 5/32" tube so glue touches almost every spot.

Let that dry, then paint it with your preferred color (Silver/Chrome, Carbon-fiber, Fire-red. etc)
*TIP* While painting, avoid breathing in any paint fumes, for this is a health hazard!

After you let the paint dry, after waiting a long time, take a good look at it! Because now you're done with the muffler! Congrats too you, now all you have to do is make the exhaust pipes!

Here is mock up pics on a supra! (I'll dry to get less blury pics, it's the lighting!)

As you see from the pics, it's not too big, or too small, it's what I call perfect!

HOW TO USE RUBBING COMPOUND AND POLISHING A BODY

By: primera man

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=89313

Thought I'd share this with you all as it seems to get talked about a lot on the forums
Now everybody probably has there own ways of doing this, but this is what I do all the time and it works best for me.

Stuff need
Rubbing compound
Wax
Very soft polishing cloth
Cotton wool bud
Toothpick
Very soft brush
Toothbrush
......and plenty of time !!!

Now, as long as the paint is pretty good, you can start giving the body a rub.
The rubbing compound will not take out bad orange peel. If you do have orange peel you will need to sand the body first before carrying on.
First thing to do is add a small amount of rubbing compound to the cloth. This much is about all you will need to do the front of the car shown

Use small cicular rubs, slowly getting bigger and bigger so that you have the whole area covered

It's very important to keep changing the cloth so you dont get a big built up of paint. This can cause scratches as you are trying to pull around old paint from the cloth.
Change to a new part of the cloth as soon as there is about this much paint in the cloth. You should only need a very light pressure when rubbing



Keep adding compound if its starting to get to dry. Its important to keep the compound "wet looking"
When you have covered the whole car, wipe it off with a clean cloth and i repeat it all over again.
In hard to reach places, i use the cotton wool bud

After you have done it twice, do it once more for good luck....I always say...3rd time lucky !!
Leave it for 3-4 minutes. This will allow any compound to dry. Then, if any is left in panel lines etc, use the toothpick to very carefully remove it. (It should just flake off like a powder). You can use the toothbrush also for harder bits. If you look hard in the last pick you will see all the powder sitting on the top of the guard

Lastly, give the car a final light brush over to remove all the compound dust.

Next...put some wax onto the cloth, (not to much as) and wax the whole area and wipe clean.
Repeat this again to make sure its all done well.

Hopefully...all going well it should end up like this.

This took me around 30-40 minutes....so allow plenty of time.
Hopefully this well help all those question about polishing.

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