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Everything posted by jbwelda
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Jaguar production headed to Saudi Arabia?
jbwelda replied to Harry P.'s topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
they probably build quality there though, as opposed to what passes for a jaguar these days: a warmed over ford. what a waste. -
that barnabas collins thing is an abomination. i recently built one (edit: oops i didnt BUILD one, i bought one! doubt i will ever build one! end edit) with the idea of making a channeled rod from it but one look at it and the flash and the level of (non) detail and it went into my junk pile. the only thing i might remotely be interested in is the coffin and trailer but that is for an off the wall project i will never get to (re: bob marley: mr brown). another one...one of my favorite cars that i just got a reissue of from a friend, the lil coffin. sweet car but the kit is a monstrosity...warped body and not enough there to unwarp it, even when i glued in the roof panel and the doors its still all sideways and it looks like the bottom of the body was short-shot or if not its just way too thin to even think it will go together. at first i thought maybe the frame would straighten it out but instead looks like the body will twist the frame instead. add to that all the flash and the poor molding and i am thinking all i am getting out of this one is the skeleton and maybe the mag wheels. another piece for the trash can. well maybe the six twos and log manifold are usable elsewhere but the rest is a joke. i dont remember it being like this in 1963 or whenever i built it originally.
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thats a darn imaginative use of that bolt head for the spa! your bodywork is amazing, its something i just never have been able to do well and its like watching a master at work doing that transformation!
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wow thats really shaping up into a great look! the nose is inspired and inspiration especially with those widened fenders. that motor is gonna be sweet and unique too. great work!
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Revell '50 Oldsmobile Club Coupe 2'n1
jbwelda replied to styromaniac's topic in Car Kit News & Reviews
>Maybe to some of the pea brains why dont they quote this dude on the box? that will be sure to create a lot of sales. "very big name in the hobby" eh? not much of a diplomat though. to continue: >but for many of us with deep roots and long standing interests in vintage motorsports there couldn't be a race car with more >charisma and historic significance. yeah and the "peabrains" wont even notice that its the wrong body style! wrong again! and an excellent example of decision by committee...its the abrams tank with the korean markings (not that i know about that war stuff). well its good that they are working to get a correct resin body into production to go with the kit but that just sounds like they are wandering, lost in the jungle. -
Revell '50 Oldsmobile Club Coupe 2'n1
jbwelda replied to styromaniac's topic in Car Kit News & Reviews
back to the (now) subject though...why is speaking up about the obvious a bad thing, kit released yet or not? and why does it matter if the kit is not released yet...does that imply that criticism will be warranted when it is actually released, but criticism based on a pre-release kit and promo material, thats not good? i remember when one company (mobious wasnt it, spelling aside?) actually read things and corrected the shortcomings before actually releasing the kit. if everyone would have sat on their thumbs that wouldnt have happened and the kit would have been worse for it. something like this (the obvious decals for the PA car but the wrong car to put them on) and being challenged on it might them redo the decals or even consider even more than they might otherwise releasing the proper body style for the decals in the future and then getting rid of/replacing them in this current kit. in other words, everyone sitting around being yes men when there is obviously an elephant in the room no one is acknowledging is rather foolish and doesnt really help anyone including Revell. calling attention to it might get something done about it. i have not seen any raving or ranting on the subject here, you want ranting and raving, you build that kit out of the box with the PA decals and take it to an IPMS meeting and what do you think will happen? that will be ranting and raving...so so far revell is getting off pretty light here and should reconsider releasing this kit version as it is even if it means delaying the release a bit more. find a graphics scheme that is correct for the body style, get the rights and then release it. or just drop the "2 in 1" thing for this release and do the 2 in 1 when the red tape is done to release a proper second version. -
Revell '50 Oldsmobile Club Coupe 2'n1
jbwelda replied to styromaniac's topic in Car Kit News & Reviews
yeah dont speak your mind and dont note the obvious. be a nice little consumer now and of course "support the hobby" even when they do incredibly dumb stuff like offer a highly identifiable graphics option on the wrong body style car. not for me i'm afraid. -
>dismal piece of rip off and circus for con artists like much else in life, its only a rip off if you let it/them rip you off. and i like circuses. never used emodels.com but i would if i had the occasion to...every time i have looked at the site i thought i must be missing something because there was very little there and nothing of any interest to me.
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TOP TEN LIST--WHAT IS YOURS?
jbwelda replied to Dr. Cranky's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
RC Cola? its a bleedin hurricane folks! get the real thing! rc cola reminds me of bowling alleys. and i gotta agree with the above: smirnoff down, stoli up. but maybe its a british perspective and the allure of the exotic in smirnoff. im surprised gin isnt mentioned in there anywhere. back in the days of empire one couldnt get through a day without a gin and quinine. for the malaria dont ya know. i got my snake bite medicine in this pocket, and in this pocket i got a snake! -
Not Pleased With A Build, What Would You Do?
jbwelda replied to slusher's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
i was being facetious (somewhat) above, what i have done in the past is just set it aside like others say, and then come back to it later and/or when a likely solution can be thought of. i have found that often fairly unsurmountable problems, when all wrapped up in the complexity of a build, have rather simple fixes when you return to the project later. i have had several instances in the past few years where i pretty much decided i never wanted to work on that model again, put it aside, and some months or weeks later looked at it again and there was a fairly painless fix to whatever was styming me. my problems in this area usual revolve around a finished car sitting too high off the ground despite trying and trying to engineer it to sit down low. those sort of problems are often the hardest, most frustrating. some may remember the jaguar xjs i had a build thread running on: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19454&hl=%2Bjaguar+%2Bxj-s there were a number of "i am so tired of this..." moments in that build if i remember right. and it took forever for me to convince myself it had to be finished no matter what. -
Not Pleased With A Build, What Would You Do?
jbwelda replied to slusher's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
introduce it to the nearest wall at a velocity somewhat higher than an unladened Swallow. then vodka. -
hey ty, that looks pretty great and definately an off-the-beaten-path build, just what i like. but could i give you a bit of advice, the one thing that kind of ruins it for me is the tires. that big raised seam running down the middle of the rears specifically. when you build, especially a car that is for off the road, you pretty much have to remove that seam. and sand down the tread a bit to simulate wear and then spray the tire with some dull-cote to finish it off. you will be surprised how much more realistic that will make your tires look and how much more real it will make your model look, and it only takes a few minutes to do. great build as always and i am still in awe that you found and built that uncertain T a while back...ive been looking for one and they are all sky high!
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vodka: the solution to builders block and the solution to builders anxiety all rolled into one! to the subject though, i tend to have projects going and rarely will be waiting to get a kit to start building. sometimes im anxious to get it to see how it is or whatever, but oftentimes when it arrives i let it sit for a couple days just to be in the proper frame of mind for what i might find. just this morning, for example, i received a built up Blue Beetle i had won on ebay and despite my courteous instructions on how to pack it, i feared what i would find when i opened it. it actually came tuesday and this is friday. and both rear wheels were broken off, the glass had come out of the windshield, the front tires had come off the wheels but the wheels were still firmly attached to the unbroken axle which was a relief, a couple of pieces of suspension had come loose but overall it was pretty successful. ive had build ups arrive that i had really lusted after only to find they had pretty much disassembled themselves but unfortunately not where the manufacturer intended. oh well off the subject again, but thats what happens when my relaxant of choice kicks in.
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Builders Block What Do You Do?
jbwelda replied to slusher's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
i look at the stupid barnabas collins van thing i just got and wonder what it would look like as a rat rod surfer van with the ardun head flattie from the 50 ford pickup i also got, channelled low over the white metal 32 chassis i have lying around here. and with a camshaft as the spreader bar for the front horns. pics to come. -
every styline kit i bought as a kid at the time they were released had a usable tube of putty in it. usable for what, i never figured out because like said above it worked about as well as plastic wood or something, but it was pliable and soft. so i can say i am old enough to remember when those tubes of putty werent hardened!
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wow that is really something. just that paint job, that candy root beer looks super and deep! the body looks super and i love those tunneled tailights. i have followed your models when they got published in magazines and i must say i have always dug your eye for design and style. something i have aspired to but never really gotten anywhere, and you make it look easy. those knobs on the dash are something else too!
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Austin: what kit do you mean?
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i recently (saturday evening) ordered some kits from Tower Hobbies and despite a speed bump or two documented elsewhere, i do have to give props for their shipping. Ordered Sat approx 9PM i think and arrived Tuesday in an undamaged box. I think the only had to ship from a Reno warehouse (i think i read that somewhere along the way) but still pretty excellent service as far as shipping time goes. despite my writing elsewhere i think i will order from them again and just be more cognizant to get the order right the first time and not have to deal with the other stuff.
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next up, we got the Tamiya Mini Cooper Monte Carlo version, with the front end torn apart and the hood up with distributor pulled and mr zappa, head mother mechanic, down there removing the skidplate in preparation for some real work. most of that stuff was done out of convenience because once i wired the motor the hood no longer shut and then it hung up on the radiator brace and then the grille didnt fit so hey its a garage! here is the Tamiya Campus Friends Vespa, which is a pretty kool little scooter; i made an aluminum exhaust pipe and extractor and detailed it up a bit with cables, brake pedal, and some other subtlies that you cant really see in the photo: heres the Tamiya Lotus Seven, up on two wheels having some oversize shoes put on and generally getting race prepped: another shot of the Eleven and also the welders bench in the background: i am glad i finally got around to renovating this piece because now its a lot more stable, easier to handle and just plain better looking. too clean, but i am thinking of doing some dirtying up of the place next! thanks for looking and any comments appreciated. remember i built this and the cars back in about 1992, when i was first re-discovering models. this actually won best of show at the sacramento autorama back then but i really attribute that more to the size of the display than to its quality, but still it was very flattering and almost embarrassing to be awarded that.
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so first off there is the Gunze Lotus Elan S2. back then, i was puzzled why they would have this kit with a removable hood, er, bonnet, and a fairly detailed shelfed off engine compartment but no motor! of course later i learned they also made a kit that included the motor, but at that time i was puzzled, so i figured this car had to be in the middle of an engine transplant. so i took a BDR twin cam from a ford escort kit and dirtied it up, put it on a stand and called it the old motor, and proceeded to install a more (less, as it turned out) beefy twin cam motor in its place. not sure where i got the motor, mini exotics maybe, but of course it turned out to be a resin copy of the Gunze motor for the deluxe version of the kit! so here we have the Elan having an unlikely motor transplant being undertaken with a figure kind of aimlessly holding on to something because i couldnt really get the guy posed right: here is a closer look at the two motors with the quasi-Merit Lotus Eleven in the background: a better shot of the Eleven and the office detail behind it: you gotta figure this is a kinda place thats got a cappachino machine around somewhere and you dont want grease and oil and yuck staining your spotless white marble (huh?) floor so you will notice some aluminum drip plates under most of the cars for reasons obvious to the owner of any british car but particularly this era Loti. here is a final pic of the eleven, as i mentioned this was a resin repop (mini exotics again?) of the English Merit kit, with improved wheels but other than that pretty much as it came out of the box. this is a model that i had to build like an airplane, build the interior and axles inside the bottom of the body shell, assemble the shell, remove the seam, mask the interior and wheel wells to paint the body, and then remove the masking to reveal the interior. i had never built a model like that before so it was a bit of a challenge despite its simplicity as far as parts count go. looks pretty good too, but it could use some inked in panel lines, which i have yet to summon the courage to attempt. couple more photos to come, next post. thanks for looking!
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sometime 20 years ago or so i built a garage diorama out of the Fujimi garage kits, mainly the Fujimi tools and figures, then added some cars i purpose built for the garage: a Tamiya Mini Cooper rally car, a Gunze Sangyo Lotus Elan (basic kit), a Tamiya Lotus Seven, a Gunze Sangyo Triumph TR3 and a resin copy of an old Merit Lotus Eleven. Most were detailed with engine wiring, brake lines, plumbing and all the mid level sort of stuff. Looked pretty good for several years but then the shortcomings of the Fujimi base started becoming apparent: uneven floor surfaces, "floor" and "wall" textured paper covers warped and separated from their bases, and probably worst of all the fact the glass in front was stationary and one couldnt really see through it very well much less attempt any macro photography through it. and the point from the beginning was to make a self contained environment (more or less, certainly not airtight but more or less dust-tight) so the glass on two sides was necessary to support the top piece of plexiglass. So after looking at it on the shelf for some years, gradually deterioring, i decided to go visit Tap Plastics and see what i could do to replace the base(es) and at least get a flat floor surface going. One problem i had was deciding how to hold the walls vertical and also the phantom walls formed by the plastic glass i still wanted on the outer periphery. so i basically had them chop up a bunch of clear bar stock and epoxied it to the base to support the walls. turned out pretty good and now at least i can get in there to get some nice photos, some of which follow in the next post, but heres a preview: i got rid of the TR3 and replaced it with a Vespa from Tamiyas Campus Friends set because even though the now flat floor is more spacious, it was still looking too crowded with five cars in the place. next post will have some detail photos of the cars involved...
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Free shipping at tower hobbies
jbwelda replied to martinfan5's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
>its not late to cancel the order, its still the weekend right. just because it says "order shipped and cannot be cancelled" on my order when i look it up, that dont mean anything...because you say so. if i could have cancelled the order i would have done so by now. the info put forth on this subject on this thread has been bogus from the start and this is just the latest in the chain of disinformation. alright i am so outta here and wont be ordering from these folks again so thats just more for you lot. -
Free shipping at tower hobbies
jbwelda replied to martinfan5's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
yeah fine but as of yesterday (saturday) morning it was too late to cancel my order (i placed the order friday evening) or i would have done so...so i am stuck with the 10$ shipping. no biggie just kind of a disappointment as i like to get away with not paying shipping or taxes. thanks for the advice anyway...i am going to call them tomorrow and make sure they understand in no uncertain terms that they and their shell game have an unhappy customer over here. -
Free shipping at tower hobbies
jbwelda replied to martinfan5's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
>The two websites are different, but I believe both are owned by Hobbico, their parent company. well see the problem with that is that when you go to the link above it does NOT say "Hobbico, parent company of Tower Hobbies", it says, and i believe i am quoting, "Tower Hobbies" and has the logo of Tower Hobbies to reinforce the fact. and placing an order there creates an order with Tower Hobbies not with some child corporation of a parent corporation perhaps in common. so, basically, imo that is total BS and they are pulling some funny business here. not that its an earthshaker but at least in my case i think it constitutes very poor customer relations and service...because its just plain lame. and the quasi explanations i was given by their customer service desk did not clarify the situation but instead clouded it further by not agreeing with itself from a prior call! i expect that i will receive an email monday saying they are going to waive the shipping fee, because as i pointed out to the latter woman i spoke to, none of this makes any sense whatsoever. either they got free shipping or they dont and this musical chairs on the websites (more like three card monte if you ask me) is all just game playing.