Scale-Master

Thanks guys! Yes, 100% out-of-the-box. I too like the previous generation's styling better. (I can barely fit in this car, and that was with the roof open and the seat all the way back. Not sure it would comfortable with the top up.) Nothing to look out for in this kit, it fits great, no surprises. I think I'd build it open top if I do another one.

New Tamiya kit.

There are complex builds of mine there too. You say you haven't read SA for many years, out of curiosity, when was the last time you read a new issue of MCM?

Since it would not be ethical, I don't share all those models here...

Thanks guys! Pete, I build a lot of box stock kits. Probably a dozen or more a year. I usually have two or more reviews in each SA and they are always "Out Of The Box" plus what I build for other clients.

As satisfied I was at the time, the more I looked the more I thought I could do better… So more time on the mill and now I think I have what I want. These cross-drilled holes scale out to ¼ inch in diameter.

It's all fun. Why else do it?

Maybe I'm missing something, but the sleek version is nothing more than a Photoshopped vertical "squish" with the wheels pasted back in to be round. Yes, it looks wickedly cool. It would be a massive undertaking to do on a real car, and likewise on a model. It is not just a chop and section. Unless one had a digital solid file that could be dis-proportionally scaled, much like the image and outputted...

Thanks Trevor. Those 60 holes I did today were a breeze compared to the rectangular vents I milled around the perimeter yesterday.

So after way too much time and effort without acceptable results, I went back to my original plan to make the rotors before I got the 3D printer… Good old machining. First I milled in the rectangular vent holes around the perimeter. Then I cross-drilled 60 holes in each side.

I designed and then grew the rotors several times over the course of a few months. The detail I want is just not something my printer can do on both sides. (One side is great.) I redesigned them adding more material so I could post-machine after growing them, but the material is too brittle when cured, and too soft and pliable before fully curing. I was able to make them look really good after machining, but every one of them had micro fractures (or worse) that would show up under paint. The good side of them: The rough side of them before machining:

All done. Definitely a recommendable kit if the subject is to your liking.

Thanks guys! Into the final stretch.

This is a brand new kit. It builds a modern Monkey (with fuel injection among other upgrades) not the old one from the '70's. All the large scale Tamiya kits use those screws to some degree now. That's part of what takes me so long to build some of them, machining all new hardware... Sadly once they jump out at you it's what you see first.