jbwelda

removed by special request.

a little progress to report: been cleaning up suspension and motor parts and doing some preliminary metalizing of various components, getting ready to detail paint suspension parts and assemble then tackle the interior and start in on the paint... probably not much interesting in the photos at this stage but they should get better from here on out as the individual assemblies come together: theres the bad jaguar v12 in the background with its ignition wires sticking out of the distributor: again, many thanks for looking!

well the weather has been warm to hot the past couple of days with minimal wind so ideal painting conditions in my book! not even close to the correct color, but i like this purple. photos are pretty crappy; it actually looks better in person. i havent spotted any orange peel yet and of course the pearl flakes are being reflected in the flash for the photo, but the paint appears smooth and deep. its two flow coats of the deep pearl purple followed by a couple coats of MM gloss clear, still curing on the paint stand. it looks like the paint has not stayed consistent up to the body shell from the turtle deck. its not so obvious in real life but i dont like the looks of the photo, i have a feeling if i go back and really eyeball the area im not going to be happy. maybe reprep the back and give it another coat followed by more clear. i think its at least due for a good polish on the clear after it hardens though again it looks a lot better in person than in the photos. thanks again for looking!

that kit had full engine detail didnt it? did you build the motor? lets see it!

yes toyota S800 from fujimi in race trim. full engine detail as well. very nice kit of a very cool car. a friend of mine has two of the real thing in a barn and the kit is pretty darn accurate as for small details. all three of those cars have pilot figures fitted, that was some major body surgery there.

hey mike: i thought that was the same version cappachino i remembered you buying, i picked one of them up today but had to spend more than you on it anyway i think its a sharp little car. i want to find that honda beat youre ordering too. i want to do a similar diorama to this one i did a while ago, only using modern mini cars instead of vintage ones:

hold on a sec mate, you couldnt possibly have left that body in the paint remover long enough for it to do its thing. i dont know what youre using for stripper but typically with super clean it takes a couple days to really work well. same with most other strippers ive used.

chassis and other parts painted and drying... Jaguar V12 motor parts separated and partially cleaned up. this is at least a 24 part engine assembly! dig those chrome plated wiring and fuel harnesses! look closely at the small one and you will see some substantial cleanup to do!

that is very bitchin' (can you say that here?) and i would like to do something similar with a 62 chevy wagon, and in it definately go for the 409! this one though i think i would lean toward the 427, isnt that sort of what the hoods a match to? american 5 spoke mags?

pretty slick and i like the D-type headrest!

wow that yellow is BRIGHT!!! better seal it good or it might creep back out on ya!

it is looking very nice. heres something though and please dont take this as criticism, maybe just a pointer on how to build better models. i may be mis-seeing what i think im seeing to so if so please correct me: in this photo of the header system: i am seeing what looks to be places where the sprue connected to the exhaust pipes, both on the "bundle of snakes" part (seen better in a previous photo) and on the output pipes clearly visible in this photo. are those defects going to be covered up by a plate or something? because if not you really should give them a bit of attention before painting, sanding those down so they contour to the roundness of the exhaust pipe. i know when i look at my own work thats what pops out. and yeah its a bit of a pain esp when you want to get on with it and have something major to show for your time. but as you can see from the photos, these defects kind of stick out like a sore thumb esp with these metalizer sort of colors youre using. its a shame to spoil an otherwise sweet build by not taking time for the details. again excuse me if this seems rude, i dont want to sound like that, just thought i would point it out in the interest of better modelling. and like i said if its covered thats better though for myself i often find myself putting time into making things look right even when they will be covered eventually. at least that makes me sure that if the car ever hits the floor and falls to pieces, at least the pieces will look good! keep it up though man, youre putting out some nice stuff there.

thanks for looking folks; i will post more as the slow but not so sure progress, well, progresses. >Is this a current release or is it discontinued? its certainly not a current release but i am not sure how available it is these days. i dont recall where i got this kit but it was a good few years ago, if memory serves i may have picked it up at the NNL West swap meet 10 years or so ago. I have not seen another since that i know of. i do believe ive seen a stock version but as noted that aint much to write home about; this racing variant is the one that got my attention.

i wouldnt sweat it too much, painting is always the hardest part i think, especially if you use spray cans like i do, its hard to get a light coat without it also being grainy because the only way to get a "light" coat is to step back and dust it. anyway i wouldnt give up on that yet, let the paint gas out for a few days or put it in a food dehydrator to let the paint shrink and you might find it looks better than you remembered and some light sanding and one more color coat and it might turn out. all the rest of it are coming along very nice too, i wouldnt despair too much over this paint. looks savable to me. edit: oh yeah i meant to add, you need to get the body up off the cardboard if only you balance it on a jar or something... and never feel rushed to paint, its the surest way to botch something...

well while the season is working its way around to good painting weather to shoot the Wild Dream, I decided to move on to something thats been in my "to do" pile for quite awhile now: a kind of obscure Hasagawa kit of a Jaguar XJ-S HE works car. This model is really very nice looking and I was impressed from the first i opened the box: photo etch details, piping for brake ducting, excellent looking body and parts castings, what turned out to be very excellent fit and finish of the body kit and the parts count in general. oh yeah did I mention this comes with full motor detail? Pretty cool! All I've done so far beyond fondle the plastic is to prep the chassis for paint, which also included some filling and drilling of holes per instruction sheet, and do some test fitting of body parts etc. The detail level of this kit appears pretty impressive as well: the interior is a tub stripped of luxuries with recarro seat and fuel cell and full cage roll bar. The chassis depicts detail of unknown accuracy but with some very busy looking race suspension going on. should come up nice with some paint and care. anyway heres some photos and be sure to follow along as I progress (or not, as the case may be)...the paint is going to be the challenge for me with the two tone bit but I am praying to the gods of tamiya for help on the way! Has anyone here ever built this model? Any hints or tips or photos? the box top: <a href="http://img12.imageshack.us/my.php?image=boxfront.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/350/boxfront.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a> the body from front, note how well the panel lines line up on the separate front clip/ground effects: <a href="http://img4.imageshack.us/my.php?image=goodbodyfront.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/3499/goodbodyfront.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a> and from the rear, sorry about the less than pro quality photos: <a href="http://img27.imageshack.us/my.php?image=goodbodyrear2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4171/goodbodyrear2.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a> heres the photoetch fret, pretty darn complete for not having to "inch up" (read: "bucks up") <a href="http://img24.imageshack.us/my.php?image=photoetch.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/786/photoetch.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a> heres one of the engine sprues, note the hairy exhaust system: <a href="http://img25.imageshack.us/my.php?image=motorsprue.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4282/motorsprue.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a> some hop up parts included: <a href="http://img26.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hopupsprue.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/7092/hopupsprue.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a> some assorted cool stuff: orange ducting hose, wheels, decal sheet and photo etch <a href="http://img4.imageshack.us/my.php?image=coolparts.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1040/coolparts.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a> close up of really nice slotted Jaguar works rims: <a href="http://img4.imageshack.us/my.php?image=decalsandrims.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1778/decalsandrims.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a> finally chassis and parts prepped and ready for DP-40 simulation color: <a href="http://img7.imageshack.us/my.php?image=chassisprepped.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3214/chassisprepped.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a>

super! that paint looks spectacular too!

>Love the Kubelwagen (Thing) thats a common thought, that a "The Thing" (as they were officially known) was somehow equivalent to a Kubelwagen. examining them side by side reveals them to have pretty much zero similarities except perhaps in the pressed-ribbed body panels. I owned a "The Thing" for 20 years and kinda got into them. I always hoped a credible 1/24 kit would appear and even helped some early work on an ill-fated attempt at a trans kit for the tamiya Karmann Ghia (which is the chassis The Thing utilized) to build a true type 181, aka The Thing in the USA only; known as a "Safari" in South/Central American and "Trekker" elsewhere, but we never followed through unfortunately. killer builds by the way!

wow thats a cool little number: kind of looks like an updated abarth design! never seen that variant before!

nice build. did fujimi do an enthusiasts model of this? is the revell issue you built the same mold? generally ive found revell kits like this are pretty difficult to realize, and if that dash is installed incorrectly i would bet it was out of necessity. am i right?

pretty neat! definately original idea!

wow, that is impressive! those wheels look great and i cant believe that trim transfer!

thanks for the link mr. o, but is there some narrative that goes along with the photos? i guess the photos are pretty self explanatory but i was just wondering about the finer details.

heres a pic i took a couple years ago, japanese tourists taking pictures of their friends crossing at the crosswalk outside abbey road. i think thats george got caught out alone in the crosswalk. heres the actual studio itself, graffitized by everyone who goes there looks like: close up of some graffiti:

if it counts at all, i dont believe ive ever met anyone in the model hobby who was all that egotistical. its just building pieces of plastic after all. in fact ive found the opposite: there have been way more people willing to explain and help than anything else. anyway thanks for posting the cool mag article! i remember reading the mags back then and just drooling over models they featured, never thinking any way i could ever do as good! in fact i think i remember reading this very article and being very taken by your friends rod there (your tempest is magnificent but wasnt really my style...though i admired those wild customs like that). but your friends rod there with the removable body really appealed to me. thanks for bringing up the memories! i also really loved that ranchero at the bottom of page two, and that ala kart in the display; also that outrageous interior on the 40 ford convert and wish they had more photos of that large show diorama!

thanks for the reply chuck...yeah i see now what you mean about the exhaust tips and dont it always work like that! they do look more wicked at an angle but they look cool like you have them too. thanks for the feedback on ride height; to tell the truth i saw the photo of the tamiya one on its boxtop and was wondering if it really was that low or if that was artist conception or something...i was hoping it truly sat that low and looks like it does! for me there is no such thing as too low for this car especially if you dont have to actually drive it over todays roads!