jbwelda

Right. I know I sure would be interested in seeing how the Heller one goes together. Or even get a refresher on the AMT one. jb

>All shops I have dealt with will not allow you to return a opened kit wow, you need to find some other shops to buy from! if you have the receipt to prove you bought it there I would hope they would be more than accommodating for making you come all the way back to the store. >I have had factory sealed kits it is very very difficult (impossible) to tell if something is genuinely FACTORY sealed. shrink wrap machines are cheap and plentiful and convincing as well. add to that, all kits (non domestic companies, don't know about like AMTs stuff from China etc) coming here from abroad are unsealed when they arrive, for customs purposes if nothing else. so all of them are sealed by the distributor, not the factory. in short, the shrink wrap on a box guarantees pretty much nothing. our (RIP) LHS let you look inside kits before buying if you liked, and some unscrupulous people had in the past either swapped out parts (like taking the tires and leaving some trash ones in their place) or just plain stole parts from kits they were "inspecting", and then they resealed them and put them back on the shelf when the thieves didn't buy them (of course). that's often how the missing parts in a "new" kit come about. our LHS was willing to take the risk to keep customers particularly in the early days of the net taking over sales. they crashed and burnt anyhow though. jb

Red Green said that jb

yep already had one on preorder from hlj, the Cappy that is. jb

jb

some big old Hudson? jb

might look into Kit and Kiboodle in El Cerrito, just north of berzerkly on 80. not sure if it is still there but they used to have a nice selection and some seldom seen kits too. jb

that Flock car would be a good companion to the Mobieus Chryslers. jb

looks like that third one is a different iteration than the first two pics, note the rear view mirror up on a tripod and a change to some less ridiculous tires front and rear. almost looks nice I would say jb

thanks for the pics and no worries on the hijacking. nice job on that header fabrication, I am going to be trying much the same thing, I hope they turn out half as nice as that one you made oh and I think I have that same tranny, I probably called it wrong. probably got it around the same time you did, its been a few years now, and I think I have that same bell housing. its all done but the linkage and in fact I engineered that engine stand to accommodate it too when it gets attached to the block. jb

>It would be cool if you could do some kitbashing with the AMT, except AMT is 1/25 and Tamiya is 1/24. why would you want to do that? I am fairly secure in guessing any and everything in the new issue will be miles beyond what was in that AMT kit of 50 years ago. or is there something in particular you think would improve upon the Tamiya kit? opening trunk? jb

here you go martinfan: http://www.ebay.com/itm/120357502344?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT jb

yeah I have to agree on the decals but they are on there now. originally I was going to use a simple black racing stripe but then couldn't find a suitable one in my stash. oh well...maybe that part is on the modern side now. thanks for looking and commenting! jb

Copen interior, remember I am planning on adding driver figures (though maybe not immediately) so I am keeping the detail level low on the seats (and pretty much everywhere). GPS screen on dashboard looks particularly neat: edit to add: wow that digi camera is brutal in detail! I can see I need an overcoat of dullcote on the back cover and the seats! sheesh! and the Honda Beat interior, this one came with roll bar and a choice of steering wheels and shift knobs. kinda nice. it was also the source of 2 Sparco seats one of which is here and one will be in the reborn Cappy (soon, very soon) so instead I harvested one of the stock seats that came with the kit. ok thanks again for looking! jb

well time for an update, got the interiors done for the Copen and the Beat, the Cappy is awaiting a new kit so I can redo the interior; just as well because the one I have I have painted and stripped three times now and it kinda shows. plus that unfortunate incident with the cutter, oh my. but back to the story: am getting some work in on the bodies themselves, they have kinda morphed in my mind as to what they will look like: I painted the hood area of the yellow Cappy in flat orange and put a graphic from an old bomber (aircraft) decal sheet I had around, the Beat has more or less stayed as was (lime green) with some accent decals added, and the Copen (faux new-Speedster) got some black tribal design scorpions to highlight, once again, the Abarth-ness of the whole thing. anyway the 911 wheels go a long way to making the viewer ID this as a Porsche Speedster update and the stance I have now (see dummied up photos) is looking pretty good. might really camber out all four wheels to mimic and exaggerate not only old days Porsche air cooled suspension setup, but also todays JDM look. am also considering 2 stinger sort of exhaust tips coming well out of the back end where the stock exhaust ends. another retro/modern styling cue. I am really liking the Copen more and more. next is to complete the body, then do the same with the Beat, leave the Cappy on the back burner indefinitely or until a new kit lands in my lap, then some final assembly. more locally, I think tonite I will scuff up the tires and drill out the rims for valve stems. comments or questions certainly considered! thanks for looking! you can see the graphics a bit better on this one, I meant it to mimic a racing stripe but not sure how well that happened, I still like the look interior shots next... jb

kool! I love those MR-2/MR-S cars. this one looks nice already and that engine compartment looks sweet! jb

lets see...the Devil or the Deep Blue Sea... jb

never mind...the post I was responding to disappeared! jb

those would certainly improve it...doesn't really need improvement though jb

right. defend juvenile drivel like that dog catcher rod or anything from, say, Tom Daniel, and then try to argue they aren't "toys". you ain't winning that argument with any wives, I can promise you that. and when dimensions don't mimic reality, they are treading a fine fine line too. jb

yeah man that is looking bad! kind of the same thing I was thinking of, but with a track nose. what are you using for a transmission? I bought one of their ford 4 speeds for the offy I have, but I think they also offered a shorty in-out box sort of thing. I see you did an excellent job of building the engine up, I don't have any recent photos of mine but I think I will take some and post em here. the car itself for it is still more or less in my mind, got a place cleared for it though. I painted the engine block too, like you, mostly because I didn't want to try to simulate a bare metal finish on it. mines for a hot rod...that's why I feel like taking some liberties like the Weber carbs. heres a pic from a couple months back, meanwhile the side plates have been completed and I am closing in on the cam covers... please post up some more pics if you got em, I would like to see more of that engine and car. jb

good to see another west coaster, hey now that Berkeley ace hardware on university is gone, what are the good hobby shops in the area? jb

the absolute best time to check out the kit is right there at the hobby shop. that way if it is defective they have seen you open it fresh and how it was right in the box. then they may have a replacement or if not at least you don't buy it, maybe get a discount, or just lump it because you want it that bad. I know at our LHS, since closed, they would let you open the kit before you bought it if you wanted to. never did find anything wrong in the box but a couple times I decided not to buy it...no worries, reshrink wrap it and back on the shelf. as you know import kits especially come into the country unsealed most of the time, so its not a badge of innocence or anything really. jb

by the way, Chris, if you cannot find Pledge/Future, drop me a pm and I will send you a small container of it from my big bottle that will probably last me the rest of my life. jb

>I didn't have to disassemble my model to polish the glass with toothpaste? why do you terminate a statement with a question mark? but to address that quasi-question, try it on a fragile, stand up, stand alone windshield frame attached to the body only at the bottom and let me know how it turns out. this assumes the windshield in question IS attached to the body, which it may well not be, but just if it were... jb