Nacho Z

This is a good topic and I appreciate the fact that it has remained civil. It seems that the topic has gone from why LHS fail to LHS vs. Internet sales. Both sides of the LHS vs. Internet have made some great points. There really is no one right answer but rather a combination of things, most of which have been covered. I have to say I tend to lean towards the LHS side of things. It may have to do with my upbringing. I came from a small town in ND before there was the internet. We had no stoplights, no chain stores, no fast food places. My father had his own auto repair garage and my wife's parents owned a sporting goods store, (mainly hunting and fishing). We both understood the importance of supporting the local businesses. It is how we got fed. We bought our jewelery, our baked goods, our shovels and rakes, our bicycles, etc from the local merchants. It was just the way it was. The two major, (by ND standards), cities nearby started building malls and shopping centers on the outskirts of their towns. People could drive an hour or two and have a larger assortment of goods to purchase at a better price. Eventually, one by one, the jewelery store closed, the bakery closed and so on. Now there are less people working and less people buying. It is somewhat of a vicious cycle. When there are no jobs people leave and go to where the jobs are. I know the above is an over-simplification and is not unique to my hometown. But that lesson had been drilled into my head and I still feel that way today. I will, within reason, support my local businesses. I know full well that I may pay a little more for a kit or paint or whatever. I do it gladly. Our LHS sponsored our model contest, gave us door prizes and allowed us to meet in their store, (they would stay after hours for us). Many times they would , unannounced, give us 20% off anything purchased that night. There were guys in my club that would come to meetings held in that store and would open kits to look at them and then buy them from the internet. Sadly, my LHS closed a couple of years ago. Yes, I buy plenty from the internet, but I sure do miss my LHS.

Wow Tony, that sounds great. Did you find a good deal on them? Was someone dumping them? I'm jealous

I think it looks great Pavel. A lot of nice detail and the weathering looks just right.

The only other thing that I spend a great deal of time on, (not sure if it would be a "hobby"), is bike riding. Like DPNM said a few posts up, I tend to go whole-hog on things so I limit myself. My wife and I discovered rails-to-trails and ride every chance we get. We have rode from DC to Pittsburgh twice now on the C&O Canal and Great Allegheny Passage, GAP. It is around 350 miles in length. We have been kicking around the idea of making a "bucket list" item of riding at least one trail in all of the 48 lower states. We'll see what happens. It is not only a money issue but a time issue.

Very, very nice Steve! Great detail. I would like to see this one in person.

Very sorry to hear this horrible news Kevin. Prayers go out for you and your family from me. I can't imagine what you are going through.

Not sure if everyone knows the story about this guy, (I am assuming there is only one guy in a Batman costume driving a Lambo but you never know....lol). He made a bunch of money by selling his business. He dresses up as Batman and visits kids in the hospital. All in all, a fairly noble gesture. I give him props for it

There is a ton of detail for a 1:43 model!! That is a great looking model. Well done!!!

Man-o-man is this thing sharp! I have been following it since day one and just had to take a minute to comment. You are doing a very nice job on it. Thanks for sharing!

Welcome to the forum Joe. I am new here myself and very glad I joined. The other guys have covered it very well, learn as you go and enjoy yourself as you build. I bet even the best builders can find at least one flaw or one thing they wish they would have done better on each build.

I am in 100% agreement with James. I do the same thing. The smaller the area, I mean really small like lettering tires, the more I tend to clean the brush. With the drop or two of paint on the brush it seems to dry on the brush faster. Having the thinner on the brush helps to keep it "liquid" longer.

Hey Juan, I think you and I have the same taste in models. I have this kit and will be watching your build progress. Good luck!

Beautiful build Jason!!! This may be the first time I have seen it done in white and I have to say it does look good.

How cool is that! Nice job on both models. I really like the splash of color the melons give to the truck. It really catches your eye. Did you make the melons or were they already made?

Wow Carl, that is a beautiful Mustang! She looks good in blue.

Love it!! What a great looking build!

That is some fantastic craftmanship!! Beautiful build of a beautiful subject.

Again, thanks for the comments, I appreciate them!

Wow, what a beautiful Camaro!!! Love that paint job!

They are looking good Juan! No one can argue with your results. For me, masking is my least favorite part of building models. I just don't like it. Keep up the good work, I enjoy following it.

Thanks for the comments guys! As Tom said, this is Revell's Snap-Tite kit. It was just a quick build and it gave me the chance to try something new, (gold base coat). BTW, I really like the way they paint turned out over the gold. I will try some other colors this way.

Absolutely gorgeous!! What a beautiful Z.

NICE!!! Looks like you did a great job on it.

Beautiful color and shine! Something about that blue and gold wheels that I really like. Nice job!

This model was a quick "slump buster" for me. Minimal work on the chassis and interior. I had never used gold as a base coat before. I wanted to see what it would do with Tamiya TS52 - Candy Lime Green. I also like to play around with lighting, backgrounds, etc. Here are the results. Hope you like it! Same angle, softer light. I also took pictures on a black background. I'll share two to let you see how it changes how you see the car.