epi4561

Ok, I quit.... this is just insane. Great detail.

Great job... I really like the looks of the new Miata/MX5. But I gotta say, I REALLY like the way it looks with the hard top from the Beemer (which I also like very much).

Wow! That engine looks fantastic!

So that trailer is an example of "uncharted territory" and you "jumping in the deep end"? I jump in the same deep end and I drown, you win gold medals and set world records. Just plain not fair.. After 24 pages and nearly 500 replies to this absolutely brilliant build, I'm still in awe at your abilities... Thank you for sharing this with us all. Happy Holidays....

Holy BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH!!!!! that is some outstanding work.

So lately I've been doing a lot of "behind the scenes" stuff, like filling sanding, priming, sanding, glueing, etc... But I have also taken a stab at doing some wood grain. I used a variation of dark and light yellow craft paint for the base coat and a tube of really dark brown, raw umber I think, Artists oil paint. Most tutorials suggest to use an acrylic like testors or vallejo for the base coat, and after using the craft paint, I would also suggest it.. lol Anyway, here's what I've come up with. Chopped sides and tailgate: Interior roof slats/support: Finally, the floorboards. Interior and underneath: these still need to be treated with a transparent yellow or orange, (or a combo of the two) and them cleared. but I'm fairly happy with them so far. I hope you like them and I look forward to any comments/criticism. Before I end, I tried something not knowing or expecting much... And, I'm actually quite surprised. This was done on the back (unpainted) side of the scratchbuilt roof. Besides the Artist oil paint that found its way through the small cracks from the other side, the only thing I used was a yellow highliter and a light brown crayola supertips marker directly on top of the bare white styrene. let me know what you think... Not too bad IMO... I mean it could obviously use some fine tuning regarding the placement of the artists oil, but I think this method has some amazing potential... thanks for looking...

Good stuff.. just wish there was a video tutorial. Although not quite the same results as Uschi, I've found a couple tutorials on youtube. Scalemodeladdict has a good one that is not very "grainy", which is what I'm looking for. thx everyone for the nice comments.. more to come slowly, but surely.

It's been a while.. I have a very tiny update. I did not like the interior roof so I decided to scratch build a new one. I am now at the stage where I am attempting the simulated wood grain.. wish me luck..

I sent you a PM...

That is awesome... My 10 yr old son and I love that show. I better not let him see that, or I'll have to do that to his room. I might have to do it anyways.. thx for showing that... Is that just painted on or what? a fathead maybe?

Are you gonna go all Jeremy Clarkson on that Range Rover?

Ace - I just happened to see that thread the other day. I like what you've done so far. My kit doesn't have wheels and tires like that. Mine has wire wheels and performance tires. (not sure how else to describe them).

that purple absolutely pops... looks great, love your carbon fiber work as well. looks great.

very cool... love the color. My tv seems to always be on the Velocity channel, and I saw one of them on Mecum auctions yesterday.

Thanks for the comments guys. I appreciate it. As far as what parts I am looking for, I didn't really have anything in mind, it was more of a general statement. But I will definitely ask if I find I need something. Steven - Sorry bud... but I happen to really like the wire wheels that come with this kit and I was definitely planning on using them. If not on this kit then on a t-bird build that I have in mind. I don't think they look as good, but I have the ones from the 32 ford roadster. (one of my 2 parts boxes)

So I was in my dad's basement the other day and I found this sitting on a shelf. I just had to grab it and "try" to do something cool with it. I'm still relatively new to the model car world.. Sure I did some as a kid, but never "really" got into it, until the past few years.. So, as I am new, I do not have an extensive "parts bin" like most of you. Actually my spare parts consists of 2 old model kits that have missing parts.. that's it, Sooo this one will be made using mostly stock kit parts. If it comes out anything like it looks in my head, it should be fairly decent. First things first, that sucker is just too tall, and something needs to be done about that... So here goes my first ever attempt at a chop. Starting with the wooden sides, I used a strip of styrene to mark the cut lines. Then cut them out with my dremel. There were guide holes on the "inside" of the panels at various heights in the pillars, so I cut each pillar at different places. Here they are after they've been glued together.. Not too bad. Fairly happy for my first attempt. That's all for now. I hope you guys like it so far. Please feel free to comment good or bad. Any and all are welcome. thanks-garry

very nice idea here. You should call it the Modestang.

that engine looks awesome. I've NEVER been able to get that good of results from Alclad. If you say you suck at painting bodies, then that's the only thing, because everything else looks fantastic. KUTGW.

Oooh, ooooh, oooh..... I want one of those REAL bad. That was my first car when I turned 16. That looks awesome..

Ok.... so I made a little more progress. Here's how she looks as of now. Not too bad, but all in all, I'm not too happy. I'm particularly miffed about two things. 1) The PE kit for this model is more of a hassle than it's worth IMO. It's just way too thin and it bends and creases every where. Plus I had a heck of a time applying it. I tried elmers glue, clear acrylic, future, etc... none of it would work except for CA glue. And thanks to that, all my edges around the flimsy chrome trim are now "messed up" and will take a lot of elbow grease to make it look presentable. If I ever do another one of these, I'm gonna skip the PE set. 2) I am not at all happy with the durability of the Alclad II Chrome. It is ridiculous how easily that stuff rubs away or gets ruined. I can't even describe how disappointed I am with it. There has to be an alternative to the Alclad II chrome, other than BMF that is... Here's what I mean: Notice the chrome rubbed away from the corner of the Windshield frame. (Sorry for the grainy pic) here you can see the less than desirable outcome of the PE trim as well as another example of the "stellar" Alclad II chrome. Well, thanks for looking anyway.

small update. the grab bar did not fit correctly so I took 2 pieces of 0.2mm half round glued together. I chucked that piece in my dremel and used it as a lathe to create a new side connector piece. The base is a bit thick. I'm not sure if I'm gonna keep it that way or try to thin it down, but here it is mocked up in place more to come....

NIIICE!!!! You have to figure a way to keep those vents from the blue car.

Thanks everyone for your nice comments. I really appreciate them. Yes it is.... thanks again for the compliment. For future builds where I try to carpet, I think I will try a little harder to find actual flocking instead of listening to my inner cheapskate.

Finally, I got those darn seats to a point where I decided not to mess with them any longer. Here they are painted and attached to the interior floor and set on the chassis. Thanks for looking, I know I'm not up to most of you guys' standards, but for the most part I'm happy with it. I hope you guys enjoy it as well.

Next I worked on the interior door panels. I didn't like the way the molded on trim looked on the lower door above the carpet patch, so I sanded it off and used 2 pieces of 0.5 mm mechanical pencil led side-by-side and glued them in it's place. Once they were in place, I cut off sewing pin heads for custom handles on the PE window cranks. I also experimented using small bits of colored wood putty to simulate the carpeting. I don't really care for it but it's too late to change it now, especially at the snails pace I work. Here they are all painted and foiled with the PE parts attached. Hope you like it.