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My New Years Modeling Resolution


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To each his own, but I don't really worry about it. I'll snag a kit if it catches my fancy whether I intend to build it right away or not. In the case of my 1/12 Trumpeter GT40, I got it for about $140 in about 2014... since then it's gone out of production and you're lucky to find it for twice that now. I will admit to getting modeler's ADD pretty frequently... I probably have 10 started projects just waiting for me to get back to them, but I know eventually I'll get the bug and finish them up. Good luck with your resolution!

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Never got that problem, sure i have a few model builds that were unfinished at once (4 max at a time so far) but thats just because i always start putting things together and only realize i cant assemble the body or put it on because i forgot to paint it first. I then always start sanding, priming and painting the model, and while thats happening i start a new one keeping me busy while every layer dries out and at the end it can harden for like a week minimum. When its hard it goes together and its another one finished.

My resolution though, al be it a very difficult one, learn how to put the window glas in without having smudges on the windows like i now ALWAYS have sadly, ow and glue parts onto the body that need to be different color to the paintjob without getting it smeared on the paint like i have a tendency to do sadly...

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2 hours ago, JeroenM3 said:

Never got that problem, sure i have a few model builds that were unfinished at once (4 max at a time so far) but thats just because i always start putting things together and only realize i cant assemble the body or put it on because i forgot to paint it first. I then always start sanding, priming and painting the model, and while thats happening i start a new one keeping me busy while every layer dries out and at the end it can harden for like a week minimum. When its hard it goes together and its another one finished.

My resolution though, al be it a very difficult one, learn how to put the window glas in without having smudges on the windows like i now ALWAYS have sadly, ow and glue parts onto the body that need to be different color to the paintjob without getting it smeared on the paint like i have a tendency to do sadly...

Latex gloves should help on the windows and using a toothpick to apply small amounts of glue should solve that problem.

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On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 9:54 AM, Lizard Racing said:

I know just how you feel.  I have to fight the impulse to try and multi-task builds.  If I had a 4 x 8 work table, maybe I could.

You do realize that having a bigger work table won't work.  Stuff expands to fit the space available. 

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10 hours ago, El Roberto said:

You do realize that having a bigger work table won't work.  Stuff expands to fit the space available. 

Plus Godwin's Law of Modeling states that regardless of the size of the work surface, you will actually work in a cluttered 1sq foot area directly in front of your chair.

Edited by niteowl7710
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This is a hobby and my art to me so I don't set any production rules or quotas.  I work on a model until I lose interest and move on to what I currently have a fire for.

This year has been very busy at work, and I have a brand new grand daughter to spoil.  I've also let my passion for my bucket list item of getting my lifelong stamp collection into order.  I probably spend as much time as some folks do building models,  running a model club and show.  There goes my hobby time! So I haven't finished anything this year. I'll live.

I do have a tradition that I've held up better than 15 years.   I call it my annual Christmas Model Car Amnesty Project.  Just as the president grants a specific turkey amnesty from becoming Thanksgiving dinner every year,   I pull an unfinished model project off my shelf and finish it over the Christmas holiday.   I've usually had the week between Christmas and New Years off.  Early on I realized that this wasn't enough time to do a new project start to finish, but there was enough time to take some poor old unfinished project that is maybe 50% done, and complete it!  So that's what I've done.

The rule is that I start right after my last work day of the year, which would be this coming Friday.  And I can work up until my first work day back.  That would be Tuesday January 2nd, 2018.  In years where I had a more ambitious project going, I bent the rules so that as long as I kept going, it was considered a finished project as I completed it a week or more later.  

This has gotten a mess of long stalled models off my unfinished model shelf!  

MVC-004F

This year i believe I will finish up this 1963 Valiant stock car.  It's been sitting long enough!

 

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7 hours ago, #1 model citizen said:

That's a pretty cool Valiant. Is that a Mustang roof? And did you rework the engine compartment? Did it even start out with an engine compartment?

MVC-003F

Thanks for asking!  It started like this...  someone knew I liked old Valiants and gave me this body just like you see it.  A complete mess from being used as a toy by apparently a child named Martin Terry, whose mother marked his toys so he wouldn't lose them.  You are correct,  the Valiant body was a curb side.

MVC-004F

I cut the hood open and added the engine bay and chassis from the AMT '71 Duster kit.

MVC-008aF

The Duster is 5 scale inches longer than the Valiant. There is a perfect spot to cut as shown here.

DSC00007

The model was coming out so good that I sacrificed a perfect 1964 Valiant body to add the roof.  No worries, the Valiant has been set aside to build a replica of a 1964 Valiant convertible I used to own.

So it's time we got this one on the shelf!

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4 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

 

Thanks for asking!  It started like this...  someone knew I liked old Valiants and gave me this body just like you see it.  A complete mess from being used as a toy by apparently a child named Martin Terry, whose mother marked his toys so he wouldn't lose them.  You are correct,  the Valiant body was a curb side.

 

 

 

 

 

The model was coming out so good that I sacrificed a perfect 1964 Valiant body to add the roof.  No worries, the Valiant has been set aside to build a replica of a 1964 Valiant convertible I used to own.

So it's time we got this one on the shelf!

Well believe it or not I at one time had 4 Valiants: a '63 2dr sedan that I bought to flip, a '64 V200 convertible, and 2 '65 Signet convertibles, 1 being a parts car. My favorite was the rather rusty & ratty '65 after I replaced the original 170 cid engine with a 225 from my '61 Dodge wagon that some one totaled as it sat parked on the street. :( It was fast! I did a little light to light racing with a friend in his 350 T-bird. I would be up to 35 mph before he would catch up with me. He could not believe he was being left in the dust by a single bb,l 6 cylinder until he looked under the hood. I sadly had to sell the car. The guy bought it replaced the 6 with a small block V8. He had to do quite a bit of tweaking to out do the performance of that spunky slant 6! I do truly miss both the wagon & the fun I had with the Valiant.

I hope that some day I can find a few of those models you have. I do have a couple of 1st gen Valiants; an unbuilt '60 and a very clean built '61 got off Ebay. I also have an unbuilt '65 Barracuda and '66 Barracuda that has built and disassembled but very worthy of a rebuild.

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