jbwelda

Del thanks for the tip maybe I will swing by an OReillys, but it sounds like you are talking about non-aerosol paint? I would more like spray cans (and at the prices mentioned above, but yeah, dream on). I remember they used to line a wall at pep boys but they had zero at the one I went to. jb

thanks for the info and for that video. I would almost guess that vid was taken at the tractor museum in Woodland California, it looks kind of familiar. any other tips on building or buying a scale model appreciated. jb

need some grass for the doggie to go on jb

Sounds like this might be a good place to ask this: ever hear of a "Power Horse" tractor? evidently they had controls that could be hooked to the reins of a wagon or farm equipment and replace a team or horses. I saw one in a museum sort of place in Utah this April and then a less restored one out in a field a few miles from the restored one. I had never noticed one before but it looks like a heavy duty machine but was very very compact. here are a couple pics I took. ever since I saw these, I have been wondering if there was a model of one available or at least a starting point for making one. anyone got any suggestions? by the way the original owner of the restored one mentioned above was also the first owner of a Ford V8 in the valley. must have been a 32 with a flattie. whoever composed the informational sign (wish I had taken a pic of it) mentioned it was "very fast". I totally love Utah. jb

love the portholes; that's some real class. jb

no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the public jb

Those Tamiya Modeling Scissors for photo etch are only 14 US$ at Amazon, and that's with free shipping. check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Model-Sissors-Photo-Etched-Parts/dp/B000E7ONR0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1435897668&sr=8-2&keywords=tamiya+modeling+scissors they have the Xuron too, but I thought the Tamiya was a particularly good deal jb

Finished up the last of the trio, here are some quick pictures, I will do a better photo shoot later this week of all three together and separately and post them in Under Glass section. Thanks to all who followed along! third car was the Suzuki Cappuccino which I have to admit was my least favorite of the three in the beginning...but now I have to say I think its about my favorite. I really lowered it to the ground, added a conical stinger exhaust pipe, did some flamed graphics from various decal sheets. used embossing powder for the first time on the carpeting in the interior, made up the top but the added-at-the-last-minute double roll bar doesn't clear the rear glass so for now I am leaving it off. in its stead I painted up the kit clear plastic tonneau (probably supposed to be a folded top) in clear red to allow the bright red package shelf to show through, clearanced it to fit around roll bar. looks pretty kool to me. front end added a photoetch tow hook. both front and rear featured clear plastic "screens" which I highlighted in red sharpie and that looks really neat too. lot of little details. the wheels are from the kit and more or less the kit color scheme but I stanced them, a bit harder than I wanted to in front but it looks pretty good. heres some pics of the finished car: questions comments criticisms...post em! jb

that turned out great I especially like the grommets on the tonneau cover. btw there were three versions from Gunze: the lo tech one (yours) and two high tech versions: one with an engine and one without. the engine one is the one to get as its a spectacular rendition of the motor, to my eyes anyway jb

dude you are never going to pre-sell these, you have to invest in the making of them and then sell them. I would wager you would sell them all but it might take some time and some sunk costs, but eventually you will make your money back or maybe a small profit. ps: make the cheater slicks in 1/8 scale and I will promise to buy at least 4, if they can be had for 10$ or less each. jb

if maine is anything like California, forget about swapping your fuel injection for a carburetor. it will not pass the smog referees you will need to take it to. also swapping a manual for an automatic transmission is near impossible to get through the certification process. the trans is part of the smog equipment these days, at least in California. now if you manage to get your car cleared you can go back and make some adjustments and still pass the biannual (it will be annual for 4 or 5 years after the swap) smog checks but initially they go over it with a fine tooth comb looking for problems at the referee place. I know this through having done 2 swaps into mid 80s Toyota land cruisers. and beware of "crate" engines, especially GM. both of mine ran like carp, and burned a quart of oil every 1000 miles within about 20k miles. mechanics I have since talked to said that was normal as their regular crate engines are built just barely within specs and most wear out amazingly quick unless gone through and blueprinted right out of the crate...which of course pretty much negates any convenience gains in buying the factory motor. and a used motor isn't going to pass the emissions test unless its pretty fresh. Maine may be different but in California its getting near impossible to certify an engine swap into an 80s car unless its the same as came out or is a completely correctly converted late model engine. and most of those conversions begin in the fuel tank and go forward from there. also sitting for ten years means a lot else has expired starting with the brakes. bring a big fat wallet and expect to leave the parts shop with a very thin one jb

Honestly, if you go with this I think you are going to regret it. for one thing if the floorboards really rotted away after one year of salt, there are a lot of other problems down below. Parts are going to cost a mint, and jags continue to have a history of reliability issues. like someone mentioned there are companies that specialize in upgrading these cars (one is Jags that Run or Cats that Run or something similar) and Rhode Island Wiring is a great place to get much improved wiring harnesses, but you are going to have to meet smog standards (in California its a BIG issue; don't know about your state) and that means you will have to put in an engine with computer controlled emissions, again a big job unless you know what you are doing. I say this without judging your age, but this project might sound great to a teenager but for someone with a bit more experience, its just a mess you are getting yourself into. I would really not bother but often people need to learn things for themselves. a Jaguar is a perfect tool for that edumacation...it will forever put you off these sort of projects or at least teach you that sometimes a lot of work and a lot of money only yield something no one else is going to want. especially with a big hole cut in the hood and a blower scoop sticking out. I would suggest building a model of it instead. a lot less heartache involved than with the real thing. jb

that's some totally beautiful detail you are putting in there! great scratchbuilding! jb

Well this one I managed to keep to short and sweet, closer I looked at the chassis the less I liked it, nothing was really straight so I finished up the nose, took some pics, and put it on the shelf. looks best from a few feet away actually. thanks again for looking and comments questions criticisms are always welcome. just noticed the body was sitting slightly crooked in the pics. its always something jb

>I browsed an LHS today and saw the "new" ROG kit of the 2001 Chevy Impala police car. It was priced at $35. does that reflect the retail list price or is that price inflated due to the "personal service" offered by a LHS? >Same kit in the US Revell box was about $15 - $20 in most recent issues. so...its cheaper but hey by the way: the body is ruined. go team jb

so you are going to do a scirocco transkit? will it include the engine you show here? I'm in! guess I better pick up a couple golf kits. jb

I didn't ask if it was difficult, I just asked if these were still happening. because I tend to forget stuff like this if I don't have it on front burner. jb

hows the detail and fidelity to reality on that Cosmic Charger dragster? it does say it added some options like a front mounted blower setup (seems all the rage these days but not sure why). and how about the Honda 750? decent kit? anyone build it in previous incarnations? jb

Are these actually happening? jb

Lotus Elite or full detail D-Type please. Or a Maserati typo 60/61 would be nice. overdue too jb

>the V-6 that tended to sludge up and fail on owners, that Toyota usually blamed on said owners, >even if there were maintenence records showing regular oil changes I never had a problem like that with Toyota V6 even though the 3.0 (I think it was) has a reputation for only lasting 200k or so then it needs a valve job. these "regular oil changes"...every 10,000 miles whether it needed it or not? I change the oil in all my vehicles every 3k and its never even turned black so I kind of doubt the engines "sludge up". now the small block chevy I was foolish enough to put in my land cruiser...what a hunk of boat anchor. 8mpg, premium required, about max and the 3.4 v6 in my Tacoma runs circles around it on regular gas and never fails to deliver < 20 mpg, and that's with about 150k on the clock. Toyota: oh what a feeling jb

there is a LOT of mediocre "music" apparent here. People really listen to this stuff? jb

Eins Zwei Drei Vier jb

that's only the beginning of what that dude has wrong. Toyotas are "boring" and unreliable? I wonder what planet this dude is from, cause he sure aint here on earth. yes reliability is a major issue. they are so reliable the issue is there are so many of them out there even after 300k miles. try that in your "Cruze" haha what a piece of junk. funniest thing ive read all morning, but its early still. jb

yes that sounds very strange. does it say in the instrux that some parts are ABS and you need special cement? never heard of such a thing. there must be a physical difference between the ABS and the styrene? What would that be? very strange edit to add: if the surface of the ABS is kind of slippery/oily, then I think epoxy will work but probably not CA glue. at least that has been my experience with material I am imagining is similar to what I think of as ABS. jb