jbwelda

those hide-a-key boxes are too well known, that's exactly what most car thieves look for first. especially when you consider you are going to hide it somewhere easily reached so when you do lose your keys you don't have to crawl under the car. maybe its different in Norway but here, might as well not even lock your car. jb

you used to be able to get that engine set really cheap (relatively speaking) on amazon. go take a look for it there, I think hlj has been out of them recently. there is good detail to them but it is mostly molded in and I am not expert enough to say if its accurate or not. here is a link that might help: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=93142&hl=fujimi jb

I think this is very strange; the only reason I might be upset is if he truly told you the check was in the mail so to speak, and > 1 time. generally and in all my dealings with him he has always come through and I don't recall any extensive waits. so aside from the possible lies, I would hold off doing anything as I think your stuff will arrive...eventually. that lying part would bug me too, though, and certainly further shorten my normally short fuse. jb

or the roth surfite, at least three boards in there as I recall jb

whats with all the missing parts? jb

don't think you are going to find such a beast they are all curbside as far as I know. my 1:1 is plenty fast even with slightly less than 200k miles on it. of course I go around corners and the lowering and cross shock stabilizer helps. jb

that was a great blast from the past. while I was then looking around on ebay for old car model magazines, I came upon one that featured my friend Chuck Dunn's father, Carl Dunn, on the cover along side auggie (sic) hiscano: I remember being especially impressed with the multiple (oversize) wheels and tires from the sizzler dragster. jb

initial caps are a remnant of an age gone by and will soon evolve away just like the prehensile tail. remember who told you that. jb

>BTW... is your shift key broken? no it must be internet explorer causing that jb

how exactly does a camera on the street know you are not wearing a seat belt? I didn't know image recognition technology had gotten to that point. or is the idea that it takes a photo of everyone passing by and then someone looks at each one to see if there is seatbelt compliance? sure sounds fishy to me. about the loaded weapons...around here you are in big trouble if 1) you are caught with a loaded weapon even in your own house, and 2) you shoot someone, even defending yourself on your own property, and you better have really good proof of the facts in the matter or you will be staring at a prison term. can't have any fun in California anymore, I swear. jb

those are kind of a unique way for lowering the car. I probably wrote 100 words just on that subject when hit the "post" button and POOF it was all gone. darn Pulitzer prize winning stuff too. jb

any questions PM me jb

you know, I wrote up a big detailed review and it just disappeared in front of my eyes. so I am not going to bother again but here are some photos I already uploaded anyhow

never had any problems with Castrol super clean aka purple power on resin or plastic, but it wont even budge Tamiya paint...need some 91% iso alcohol for that usually. csc works great on model master enamels and krylon etc. jb

ah NASCAR. Well I guess this would look right at home in some Alabama rural trailer park, with stars and bars painted on the hood, so it makes sense. jb

two stories in the local paper today: man dies on 21st birthday trying to swim across a pond while carrying a 10 lb rock. police suspect alcohol was involved. Duh. man shot and killed by friend in local park was testing his bulletproof vest. another successful test! Mother said he was a "sweet boy". Right. Sweet boy with a use for a bulletproof vest and not enough upstairs to maybe test it out on a tree first. The kid who he asked to shoot him reassured him "Its alright bro". Another bro-dude gone! that's two down and what, 120 million to go? jb

i never understood the attraction of that mess. someone hit it with a double ugly stick. that nose and wing are comical. jb

Would it be fair to point out that even though the magazine is never really "on time", there appears to be time to create a "slot cars" magazine in the meantime? I mean, I feel for Gregg and his physical condition but this mag is run like a rich boys toy, not a professional publication. it seems to be put out whenever it is convenient and its contents seem to be often dictated by what the editor has a current interest in, not necessarily what the subscriber base is interested in. And though it is probably an incorrect conclusion, it seems to be heavily weighted toward "reviewing" products that are sent to it for free and that can be used in the editors pet projects. Some pro publications are run like that but not many and not for long. if getting the mag out on a predictable basis were in fact the goal, I don't see how starting another magazine, especially one centering on a total niche market, is going to help. kind of like Germany starting a war with Russia on the eastern front while simultaneously fighting off the USA, England and its allies. it was the kiss of death. I think Gregg is a great guy and he is undoubtedly sacrificing a lot to keep the magazine going, but I often get the distinct feeling that no one really cares for the subscriber base...and it is the subscriber numbers that keep the ad revenue flowing in most professional publications. but decisions need to be made that the mag WILL get out based on some schedule ("9 issues a year" isn't really a "schedule" in my eyes) and that means that impediments to that schedule have to be removed or replaced. just my two cents from a reader, subscriber (former) and supporter for the past 10 or more years. and I think this mag is heads above that other one, generally speaking and particularly speaking from a "rarely see that covered in other mags" perspective. jb

now that I think of it both these pieces originated in the fujimi 356 kits. don't know if they were reworked but they don't look like it. jb

I guess that would be in the eye of the beholder. one thing, white metal polishes up like real metal so maybe that's the attraction jb

Michael I was being sarcastic (again). Evidently someone needed to explain the utility of turning headlamps to the NTSB or someone...but oh no OUR LAMPS MUST FACE FORWARD AT ALL TIMES!!! Oh and be sealed beam weak little inefficient candles at the same time! jb

Brian, I have never used the Gunze clear so I don't know...I would suspect it would work as well as the Tamiya but not sure. its only really critical over white, the yellowing I mean, so that's why I mentioned it. you are right about the iterative nature with the painting/fitting. you can clear coat over the decals if you want but they probably don't really need it for protection, in most cases you won't be handling the body too much during assembly, or if you think you will, you might hold off on the decals until most of the rest of assembly is done. one thing about the Tamiya clear though: don't expect a super shiny look like the Testors/Model Master "wet look" stuff. the Tamiya is much more subtle, which would better match the subject anyway since race cars like that never looked shiny after the day they rolled out of the shop, if even then. but I would try to avoid the clear coat if possible. something to look into too if you are not familiar with their workings are decal solvents, and setting fluids. I think the solvent is more usable than the setting stuff, but MicroSol and MicroSet are two I use all the time. the Sol will make the decals literally melt down on the paint, which is good, but you have to be a confident, patient man to keep from ruining the decals. depending on how much "graphics" you are going to use, the decals may or may not conform easily down to the surface over curved surfaces. the microsol will solve that problem but you better do a bit of testing before tackling the real thing. jb

that looks really pretty nice for a first build and of an expensive and difficult kit. heres something though: be VERY careful what clear you spray over that white. many if not most will cause a yellow cast, if not immediately then with time (possible as little as weeks). if you are only clear coating to have a smooth finish to apply decals, work on getting your color coats smooth and skip the clear. or if you used clear I have found Tamiya gloss clear is pretty neutral, Future/Pledge/whateveritscalled airbrushed on even more so. but since you are having repeated issues with paint (its the hardest part most times so don't feel too bad) I would try to minimize them by using as little paint as possible, meaning, no clear coat. you made some good points too, let me expand on them a bit: >1) Primer is very critical to an order of magnitude as it dictates how the paint will lay down, flow and look. > I used cheap primer with disastrous results. especially on resin bodies it is essential. and honestly, cheap rarely works. Tamiya is the "go to" brand for good stuff >2) Be patient and let the paint fully cure. >* I smeared/pulled paint off before it fully dried. yeah man another problem especially in high humidity places or times. get a food dehydrator, you can find them for cheap on amazon or ebay, and they will allow you to fully cure your paint, even enamels, in one to two days instead of multiple weeks. you want it to cure to the point it doesn't smell or give off fumes. >3) Test fit everything and I mean everything before applying glue/paint. >* Speaks for itself. one problem...that fit is going to close up when you paint it, so you will have to do a bunch of test fitting later in the process as well and also clearance checking and adjusting. forcing parts together after they have gained paint depth size will result in chipping the paint. perhaps you have experienced that already. >4) NEW, don't mess with non hobby clear gloss coat unless its been used here with success. BINGO! even if its been reported to be used "with success" I would find some good clears and stick to them. again Tamiya is the goto, but Testors wet look lacquer works well too (beware of carp nozzles though and be careful laying on over enamel...Testors makes (or made, its hard to keep up) an enamel wet look clear too but it doesn't look as good as the lacquer to me). great work on that model though, the engine is looking sweet and again don't get too bothered if your paint doesn't come up to your expectations, some of us spend our entire lives not looking forward to the next paint job jb

this is a small detail but really makes it nice in the front compartment. every time I see something from R&MM it means 50$ out of my pocket because I can't stop with just one piece. by the way the VW Baja Bug kit is total fantastic, thin as styrene (or thinner?) and really clean detail...would be a great place for this jack and tool bag set too jb

man I wish someone somewhere would acquire the ScaleKraft catalogue and repop them! I wonder what happened to the molds and/or originals? he had some beautiful rare stuff as Maxx and I agree. jb