jbwelda

like I said...this comes in three materials. if there is a painting "problem" it is probably with the cheapest which is described as a sort of nylon. I know from experience that the next up the line has no such problems, but problems remain with smoothing surfaces without destroying detail. now supposedly the third level cures most of that problem, but I have never seen anything done in that material so I do not know first hand, hence my reticence at shelling out some big bucks (approaching 100 if I remember correctly) for something that will need a lot of work. not to say it needs a lot or work or anything. other restrictions may apply. see your zone office for more details. offer not good with other offers nor on third sundays of the month. does anyone read these posts? jb

anyone else seen this or better yet, have one in hand? http://www.shapeways.com/model/2169755/1-24-volkswagen-notchback-custom.html?materialId=6 appears to be available in three different materials: the base stuff, "white strong and flexible", or a medium grade "frosted detail" or the high grade "frosted ultra detail", at increasing prices starting at 46$. pretty neat looking although I could do without the "custom" stuff but it does look kool for what it is. wonder if it fits right over Tamiya bug or ghia though that poses the problem of a type 3 engine needed so probably wont work out...maybe they will do a mill next. I am getting an order with them together when I ran across this, but I don't think I will risk my money on this without seeing it in person first. too much other stuff I need right now. jb

I have always wanted to build a visible V8, but you say now they don't have the electric motor or the lighting spark plugs? personally I could do without the electric motor (probably the leading cause of breakage if not everything is up to tolerances) but the lighting plugs are a must. I have always marveled that someone could put one of those together and have it actually work, with that electric motor. jb

right on scott, that's exactly the sort of thing that brings young people not only into the hobby but also into a general knowledge of cars and engines and what makes them go down the road. and a foster kid like that is probably even more impressionable, you might have changed his life all for the better. good on ya. jb

well they have been shown here before but from memory they were the fumin fiat, thunder charger, mooneyes dragster, bantam bomber, sanitary T and scarlet screamer. look around a little bit under various "parts packs" threads and you will find photos of the boxes. jb

that's what I was going to add too Bernard, how much nicer the engines in AMTs parts packs were than the Revell equivalents. they go together better, look better when together and are remarkably similar (industrial espionage?) to the Revell counterparts. jb

you do realize he is asking the exact opposite question: which body fits the parts pack chassis? I think the answer is nothing specific, it was just offered for modelers to do what they wanted with it. as to anyone ever building a car out of parts packs? if you include revell parts packs then of course: there were three kits of six cars that were engineered from the parts pack sprues. according to some they were changed around a little from the actual parts packs but I do not know how other than nothing but the engine sprues were chrome plated. jb

whatever art...post a picture of your latest drilled out 1/24 scale distributor cap please. make it a nice detailed macro shot. unlike some, I don't speak for this imperial "we" you mention. what I posted is my experience, just like I said. take it or leave it. jb

I bought one when it was first introduced to the USA market probably more than 10 years ago so its possible its been updated since then...but from similar reports I don't think it has. right when you've got your best paint job ever...its gonna come apart on you and that paint job will end up in the dirt. jb

yeah so lets see the facial detail. or any detail for that matter. it simply does not exist at this point. yes that is a fairly ok cartoony sort of figure, in a way, but its not usable as anything more than a placeholder. could you perhaps post a photo of say an intake manifold with bolt detail, veining on the intakes, in 1/24 scale, that does not need to be sanded into oblivion to get rid of the lines created by the printer? that's what I am talking about: the resin itself is a certain molecular size and the more I see the more I become convinced that size will need to be reduced before 1/24 scale finely detailed parts are usable. I say this while struggling with a 1/8 scale offenhauser motor that needs so much tedious sanding that it is draining my spirit rapidly. but it never stopped me before...I know the technology has advanced way beyond this but not to any great degree in the smaller scales. but we are talking about what could REPLACE or at least enhance that whole thing anyway because as mentioned this virtual model could potentially be used as your input to the 3d modeling program to result in a tangible physical model from your virtual one. this is a very necessary step in the development of 3D modeling if you ask me, and brings it down to the level of the consumer not some egghead engineer (hey I resemble that remark!) that is, once the scale detail problem gets conquered and I for one think that's going to require a whole new generation or two of hardware and the software to back it up. anyway, with this sort of virtual model I imagine you get or build a digital file so it is certainly parallel to the music industry and its sale of music downloads (and the resultant "collection" of music some people brag about). the thing this thread has me wondering most though, is whether Revell AG is actually marketing the Slingster in a physical form. jb

I have to say this is one of the smartest, most innovative ideas I have seen in this "hobby" in decades. Those saying otherwise, let me guess here, 20 years ago you thought the interwebs were the dumbest thing you had ever heard of and NO ONE was ever going to go along with this fad. Come on, its alright, just admit it. 3D printing is going to hit the technological wall, or has already hit it and has yet to hurdle it, of resin particles being a certain size and that size is too large for smaller scales like 1/24. but this concept allows unlimited detail and unlimited sizing, or would eventually once it caught on, and the fact that you do not have anything "tangible" is really not a problem if you consider the job the music industry has done convincing people that downloads are "real" and worth paying for. this is a brilliant idea and also I like the idea that Revell AG is using the slingster, pure old skool stuff, as its release. that is, unless this whole thing is a spoof...I didn't explore it really yet so maybe the whole thing is just the figment of someones imagination but I swear this is a billion dollar idea perfect for the now generation with even the slightest interest in automobiles. edit: never mind me thinking this was real, or that Revell AG was involved, this was just more from the never ending fountain of misinformation. jb

I like that, the dealer could just say "Emergency Brake? Phhht. Just put it in park and point your wheels to the curb". on a 100K$ car (isn't that what a vette fetches today?). Who needs a stupid e-brake anyway! jb

it pops off because it pops off...sooner or later it is going to happen to you. only solution I have found or perhaps its just because it is easy, is to tape the two halves together at their junction. just get some 2" wide masking tape and put a few round around it. end of problem. if you don't do it, it WILL come to bite you in the azz. I am #1 Tamiya supporter but this failing is pretty blatent. it took me two or three times of ruining a paint job to get wise. jb

replicas and miniatures sells three pack of pre drilled distributors that are super nice. use detail master race car ignition wire and it practically doesn't need glue. most pre-wired distributors that I know of aren't that detailed, to simulate one just drill a big hole in the top of your distributor cap, fold 4 proper sized wires in half and stick the fold down into the hole you drilled (don't forget a ninth wire for the coil) and put a drop of 5 minute epoxy colored with black ink or paint and let it dry. then spread your wires out in an artful way and insert into holes drilled into block, after adding some slightly thicker wire covering for plug boots. that's what most prewired distributors I have seen are like. or as mentioned, a magneto is an easy way out again you can get away with just drilling one big hole and folding over 4 wires to make 8 (no coil with a magneto). these are particularly easy to make with 2 sizes of telescoping aluminum tubing. the hard way is what you are attempting now...I am getting too old to be able to accurately place and drill with a little bitty drill bit 9 times without making a mess of it. and most distributor caps in kits are impossible to drill, or at least very difficult, by the time you have created a flat surface to drill one hole, the entire cap is flat and the detail is lost. that's why the predrilled cap from RMM is the easy answer. jb

I got that esci escort, actually a few of them, body is crystal clear, no hazing of any kind. then there are all the Tamiya "full view" kits as mentioned above. then there is: from gunze sango, also came with a messerschmidt but I think only the Isetta (above, highly modified) came with the clear body. I could never really figure out the utility of a clear body unless you want to make some sort of transparent display piece, other than that it strikes me as a totally PITA, having to mask the windows multiple times over the duration of body work and paint. jb

hey thanks for the ideas and for the pictures! I had forgot all about this thread but the frame has been sitting on a bench with the body next to it so maybe some osmosis will happen! my original thought was a 27 but the reality is the Big T body, and am not enough of an expert to know what needs to be done to update it to a 27. I know the light mounts on the body need to go but also I believe there is cowl work to be done and some other not so subtleties. I would be using a turtle deck like the one shown too. I really like the sculpting of the deuce rails and would want to preserve that...I think I agree pinching the frame will be necessary and I also agree on the suicide mount instead of Zing the front. still its just a dream sitting there right now. thanks again jb

use Elmers/white glue for your windshields. it dries clear and is easy to clean up if you need to. plus just soak part in water if you want to unbond it, and it is surprisingly strong when dry and cured jb

I like that ghia. how about some details? I take it it is the Tamiya kit? wheels look great, whats under the hood? that Manx is nice too, again some details would be nice. great collection of builds! jb

perhaps we should take a moment to reflect on how our country (USA) has lost so much in the days months and years after this event and how we collectively have attempted to trade "security" for freedom. and perhaps think for a moment about how we need to be protected from the chickens coming home to roost from our decades of poor foreign policy decisions and wanton destruction to other countries by the cowboys who have ruled this nation over the past 50 years or so. but probably not. carry on. and move topic to off topic lounge. jb

So they want you to cut up your boxes to send in the UPC? That wouldn't work for me; or I would then need them to send me boxes too because I was required to ruin mine. jb

obviously American trailer park trash was not their forte. they (Airfix) have a long line of excellent kits of all genres including very nice car kits in 1/32 scale. unlike those ducks you show there, their proportions were pretty much right on the money in most cases. jb

doesn't look bad at all, sitting outside the public housing terraces. jb

You're being modest; I see screw heads. clearly more to it than meets the eye. jb

Japanese tourists taking photos of their friends in the crosswalk my friend steve works there, or did in 2007 anyway. no photos allowed inside but a lot of stuff has not changed...read Geoff Emericks book "Here There and Everywhere" to get some idea what a hell hole this studio was. not at all what one might expect from the great EMI. perhaps better yet listen to the Sex Pistols song EMI...theres an unlimited supply. jb

Cornering? Ha. Those cars don't go around corners. jb