Pete J.

I am of two minds when it comes to decals and clear coat on race cars. From the mid 70's on they used vinyl stickers and they had a less than glossy finish, so decals on the surface would look a bit more correct. My problem with that is that the edge of the decal becomes very pronounced on a model and that does not look correct, even if you trim the decal very carefully. With a clear coat you can sand away that edge and get a much more even finish. The decal becomes much less apparent. Either way has it's issues. I suppose if you wanted to go over the top, you could clear coat the car with gloss and then over spray the decal with a matte or semigloss finish. Your choice and good luck because this topic has been beat to death for as long as I have been building. Pros and cons on each side with ardent supports for each way of doing it.

Got ta go real on this bird. She be looking good. Got all the right detail. You can see the outline of the LEDs around the headlights and the seams look right. Yup, she be da real ting alright!

I also clear coat decals. Very similar procedure, different paint. I have used Tamiya, but my paint of choice is DuPont Lucite automotive lacquer. This stuff is hot, hot, hot, but with good technique, I have yet to mess up the decal. Several very light mist coats applied 30 minutes to an hour apart. After about 4 good mist coats, wait overnight, then add a couple of medium coats and wait another day. Then build it up to it's final depth and begin the polishing. Never, ever put down a wet coat of this stuff. It is inviting disaster. It was intended to be polished out and will be a bit dull no matter what. Good luck.

Thanks for the complement. I have a lot of time in this car and it is fun to share the work. Sorry you won't be joining us in the build. These cars are really fun and there are a lot of choices. There were a ton of different sponsors. They are still run in the Historic's and there are a ton of variants from that as well as the original cars. They were all fire breathing dragons. Thanks again.

For those who missed it, here is the whole story. http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/06/rare-ferrari-250-tr-expected-to-break-records-at-rms-maranello/ As I said, one of my favorite Ferraris. A truly great car. Speed had coverage of the auction last year at this time. The Ferrari events are really crazy to watch. Lots of money and lots of great cars.

I tried real hard to convince myself that this is one of the new Hasegawa kits, but just couldn't do it. Too many very nice bits. The wheels look very real to me and they are very hard to do right. I say real and congratulations to the kit builder if he has fooled us. Love any 250TR. Thanks Harry!

Your in luck. Tamiya re released this car not long ago in the Jagermeister form. http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=24269 I fact here is one on ebay for $25 http://cgi.ebay.com/Tamiya-24269-BMW-320i-Gr-5-1-24th-sealed-MIB_W0QQitemZ260436703592QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca33cb968 Now all you have to do is come up with the decals or make them yourself. Welcome aboard.

Ok, sounds like fun. The chassis, interior, engine and suspension are done. The body is getting close, but there is still a lot of small details to get out of the way. The glass is driving me up the wall. The original Tamiya stuff has a seam right down the middle of the piece and can't be poished out. I am on my second set of glass at the moment. Here are the completed pieces as of now.

Do we have to start in that time frame or just finish??

There is an old saying that the magic is in the magician not the wand. In short that means that you need to find a process that works for you and stick with it. Here is a link to my process and tips. Hope it helps. http://www.tamiyausa.com/articles/feature.php?article-id=35

Relative to lacquers, yes. It needs a dust free environment, especially if you are going to put it on clear parts. I have a dust free cabinet that I put is in to dry. There is a lot to making it look right. I have never had much success with air brushing it but others swear by it. Kind of a try it and learn thing. I prefer clear lacquers for anything that is not clear, so what ever your can make work for you. Good luck.

This is great news! I have been dealing with Robert for a long time now and it is great to see him with a Web site. Love his stuff.

Future is no longer available, as such, in the US. It has been re-branded as Pledge with future shine. There are other "Pledges" as well but the old stuff we are all use to is "with future shine". After hunting high and low I found it at Home Depot in the cleaning section. In short it is an acrylic floor finish with a very high gloss. It is fairly strong and gives a very nice gloss finish. I use it for all my clear parts(windscreens, head lights, etc.). Gives plastic a very convincing blueish tint much like real glass.

I know his one. No comment!

I'm going with real on this one, though there is one glitch in the photo shop work. You MoPar fans may correct me, but I don't believe there should be a radio antenna. The super-stock Dodges were all radio delete were they not?

I know what you mean. Yes, I used mine like a straw for a long time and I do not recommend that to anyone because solvent glues are really nasty stuff. I would recommend a syringe. You can drill out the end to fit and then use that to draw the glue.

Those "bumper bolts" were one of the things that were a clue to me. They are headlight washers and most modelers would have sanded them of as odd looking pieces of plastic.

Harry - spent way to much time with models of this one and owned a 1:1 way back when. All the ques are there, right parts, right fit, right lines. 930 with an RSR body kit. Very much real to my eye.

Harry - This part came from my drafting training back in the dark ages before CAD, when we actually used ammonia to make blue prints. All of our drawings had to have the scale shown in the caption and it showed it as 1" = 25" or what ever. That was a ratio. The fraction you mention is true but it is thinking in reverse to the scale drawings I was trained for. In the world of drafting, the drawing is usually a small drawing of a full sized object. In modeling we are using the scale in reverse as we are making a scaled down version of the original. Now days with micro-everything we have to draw larger drawing of what we make that is small. A bit of a turnaround from the days of my schooling. The reason that there are Engineers scales in .10" and architects scales in fractions, is that machine tools are calibrated in .001" and buildings (architects) are built in feet and inches. Thinking in ratios made a lot more since to me and it was a formal notation for us. Never used it professionally but it has come in handy over the years.

I think the problem that most people have is that we express the scale as a fraction when it is in reality a ratio. The proper mathematical annotation would not be 1/25 but actually 1:25 or a ratio of 1 to 25. To me, the the question is much easier if you understand that bit. Also, because it is a ration and not a dimention, it can be measured in anything. It doesn't matter. What ever dimension you plug in, either inches, feet, meters, cm it all comes out correct. "Just a walk in the park Kazanschy"

Boy, not a lot of clues on this one. I'm going with model. One of my favorite Lambo's.

I'm going with model on this one. Don't think it's a Pocher though. Looking at the fininsh I am more inclined to think this is one of the master's models - Gerald Wingrove. Really lookes like his cup of tea!

'69 Mustang - 200 cube six - Yea I hear you all moaning but I owned that car for 4 years and drove over Telegraph canyon between Cheyenne and Laramie Wyoming umpteen times without snow tires while I was at U of W. Never got stuck, never slid off the road, drove in some really hellatious weather and it always got me there. Worst winter cars, 74 911 - 6 winters in northern Michigan - wouldn't take the bugger out on the road from October to May. After the first winter, the heat exchanger rusted away and no heat. Bugger was ###### near uncontrollable on icy roads. 82 Honda Accord - Tap the brakes on slick roads and become a passenger as the scenery when by the front windshield. OK with studded snow tires on all four corners. Eastern Washingtion winters were a real pain as long as I owned that car.

'bama's defense is better than the Huskers??? Doubt it, but we will see. Got tickets to see Suh & Co. at the Holiday bowl. Huskers have absolutely no offense! First "in person" Husker game for me in 45 years Glad they are coming to SoCal. GO BIG RED!

Too many little things add up to model for me. Mostly it is the tires in the wheel wells that don't look right. That and the taillights look more like a model. Very nice photo with the proper reflections by I am saying it is a model.