Pete J.

No kidding! Lego is definitely model building, just without glue. Want cars or airplanes? They have them and very complex ones. Here is a top of the heap Lego Bugatti Chiron. https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/bugatti-chiron-42083 Yes, it is over $300 for the kit, but that is about half of what you would spend for a Model Factory Hiro kit that just sits there. When you look at this, be sure to scroll down to the engine and suspension system. This thing is stunning! I had a weird though. What if you put one of these on the table at IPMS nationals? The ultimate snap kit. Have a little fun.

I see a common thread in all of this and Bill and others mentioned it either directly or indirectly. The hobby is changing. It most definitely is! If you see it ageing, my guess is so are you. I will turn 70 in a couple of months and most of my generation are building what we built 60 years ago. Not the same kits, but bigger, better, more expensive kits of what we started with. Why are we moving that way? Because we can. We have the time and money to invest in that $600 Model Factory Hiro kit and spend a year and a half building it. We didn't use to have that kind of money and time. When I was 10 I built 35 cent kits quickly and built a lot of them. I didn't have time or patience to work on it that long. But I evolved and the hobby followed me because that is where the money was. The same is true of kids now. There are young builders out there and we don't see them. Why? Because they are not into contests. I wasn't at that age either. At 10 who wants to go into a hot auditorium with a bunch of old guys hammering on the quality of somebody else's model and spend a half a day doing it. No, kids are building at home just like we did. Just like they play the video games. Yes, there are venues for doing that competitively but most don't attend those either. As to the cost of kits being a hinderance, I disagree. Dave mentioned the Gundam/sci-Fi genera and I agree that the younger modelers are building the heck out of those kits and they can easily run into the hundreds of dollars. They are extremely complex and can be a blast to build. They have engineering that will make your eyes water. Have you ever seen a single sprue molded in three different colors of clear plastic? Look in a Bandai kit and you will find it all the time. Not to mention that these are articulated kits. So, yes, the hobby is changing. It is moving with the money. It is following the builders. Those of us who are aging are buying fewer kits and spending more money on them. There are companies that are following that and we will be gone at some point and take our money with us(or more correctly pass it on to the next generation) and that part of the hobby will die with us. But rest assured that there are young modelers out their and their tastes will mature just like ours and the companies will either adapt to that or be replaced by those that will. So is the hobby dying? No. Our section may be, but other parts, not seen by us, are growing to make up for that. Don made the point about muscle cars and who cares about them. Old guys now. The ones that lusted after them when they were teenagers. The young do not have that passion but them, but do not lack passion for other things to build.

Ok Tim, I'm on board and ready to watch this one. Good luck!

Tim, that is just stunning work to see completed. A true Masterpiece. Nothing you can do after this will be better, perhaps equal, but not better. ? unless the next one runs?

I too had forgotten, but in the opposite direction. I've lived in the middle of the US for the majority of my life, until moving to SoCal 31 years ago, but I still remember my shock at the number of older cars on the road at the time. In the flyover states those cars rust away and become derelicts relatively quickly. Here in SoCal, the dry weather and lack of salt on the roads, means they last much longer and that doesn't take into account a car culture that loves to preserve or modify old cars. I drive through LA twice a month and am never too impressed at the number of exotics I see. It is common place to see Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mclaren and other vehicles on the road. I don't even notice Porsche, BMW or Mercedes unless it happens to be a rare model like a GT3, M1 or an SLR. It really takes something like a camouflage wrapped Supra to stand out.

Saw this on over the weekend on the 405 going north through LA. Not sure what the wrap is disguising.

I was wondering about the plates. It just seems kind of weird that they would wrap the rear and side windows like that. I've seen cars wrapped for shipping on rail cars or car transporters with that kind of wrap but generally all the windows are covered.

Not sure why this is what it is but it is interesting. It is the new Toyota Supra, but it is in concealment camouflage. I took this Friday on the 405 just north of LAX. The only thing I can figure out is that it might be a new version or a mule for something. The cars are at dealers now so there is no real reason to conceal it.

Here is a very handy set you can get from Cabelas outdoor sporting goods. It is an assortment of lead wire used for tying flys and other fishing applications. It is really good for hoses, wires and tubing. A simple pull on each end with pliers and it will straighten and it bend very easily. If you clean it with a little acetone or lacquer thinner and it will hold paint very nicely. This is a cheap alternative to the stuff sold in little packages in modeling shops. For the worry warts, yes it is true lead and in sufficient quantity will cause you harm, but it is really hard to get enough in your system from handling this small amount without wadding it up and chewing on it on a daily basis. Here is the website. https://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=744541&type=product&WT.z_btnclk=YMAL-744541&WT.z_pg_ref=prd744646

As to the look of the Supra, all I will say is that beauty and ugly are in the eye of the beholder. I haven't seen one in person, so I can't say if I like it or not. I learned to withhold judgment from the Ferrari Enzo. I remember the first time I saw photos and thought it was ugly. When I saw one in the flesh, it is really quite attractive, so no judgment on appearance yet. As to the car itself, Toyota has a long history of working with other companies on both mechanicals a production. My 93 MR2 turbo engine was designed by and has Yamaha stamped all over it. I also owned a Toyota FX16 hot hatch and it came off of a GM line in Fremont, Ca. The GT-86/Scion FRS is a collaboration with Subaru and is cousin to the BRZ. In a recent quote from the chief engineer for Toyota, if you you are going to do a collaboration, do it with the best. This quote is from the introduction of the Supra and was in reference to rumors that they are going to reintroduce the MR2 in a collaboration with Porsche. With two master's degrees in management, in classes we often discussed the mind set of "we didn't invent it, so it can't be good" and how to overcome that. Toyota seems to have done so and I am very pleased to see that. Is the Supra and the Z4 the same car? I have read many road tests and the general opinion seems to be no. Although they share the drive train, the engine, transmission and suspension seem to be tuned differently so each has a distinct feel. Also the Supra, being a coupe I would expect it to slightly lighter, but it isn't. In similar trim to the BMW it is about 200 lbs. heavier. However I would still expect it to stiffer than the BMW. The big difference other than appearance seems to be cost. You need to cough up $15,000 more for the BMW for the M version to get the same engine. Frankly as a sports car aficionado aficionado , I would rather have the Toyota because it is a coupe not to mention the money factor. As to what Toyota is thinking, it is clear that they are going back to a 70's marketing strategy and have said so. They like the "3 brothers" (Celica, MR2, Supra) at that time and are looking to return to that. I have no issues with that. Loved them then and it will be good to see that approach offering a performance and handling package for every budget.

At about 60 euros? Yup, I would be a buyer.

Mark, interesting that Tamiya left them off. Almost every photo of the real deal i can find has them. They must have had a problem with keeping the front on the ground. Good catch!

3,000- I couldn't resist this. This is the 3,000th post on this topic!?

Just tooling around SoCal. Nothing that unusual?. Second generation GT-40 On the south southbound 5 going through Oceanside. Love the sound of a Ford V-8

Spot on with some additions. All paints are made of three basic components. Pigments, binders and solvents. The binders and solvents interact differently with classes of paints. The main reaction has to do with the solvents. This means that when you spray one type of paint over the other, the solvent in the new coat will interact with the binders in the substrate. That interaction is one reason for problems. "Hotter" solvents such as lacquer thinner, are designed to be much more reactive with substrates because that is how lacquers are intended to work. Each new layer slightly dissolves the prior and binds it together making a single layer. Other paints such as water based acrylics(which are actually alcohol based but that is another discussion) do not do this and actually have distinct layers with surface binding only. This can be seen when stripping paint. Lacquers will come off in a single sheet whereas others will come of in multiple layers. Thus lacquer will tend to try and attack the surface of the enamel to bind. You can get away with that by creating a situation where the exposure of the substrate to the top coat of lacquer thinner is significantly reduces. Several very light coats with sufficient curing time will build up a protective coat of lacquer binder over the enamel and allow you to paint one over the other. The other issue is contraction rates. All paints shrink as they cure. Some more than others. They also take different times to reach stability and the shrinking stops. The classic case of shrinking issues is the "alligator skin" effect where the top coat lifts and wrinkles the substrate. You can also have cracks in the topcoat that show up days or even month after the paint sprayed. There are no hard and fast rules regarding this. I have experienced shrinking issues with the same type of paint from differant manufactures or even with the same brand. Tamiya clear was notorious for this when it was first introduced. It took a delft hand to make it work and I had my shares of disasters with it. I believe they changed the formula and it is now much better. In short when mixing paint classes the only way to make it work is to experiment on an sacrificial body and pay close attention to what you did. When you get it to work, then follow that process exactly. Anything else is a roll of the dice with craps as the most likely outcome.

Yea, this my story on the 69 coupe. My first car. Searched for years for the kit and finally found one. Unfortunately, when either of the coupe versions show up on eBay, they almost always sell for well over $100. The coupe is indeed one of the rare kits. When I got mine, I found the original roof and a resin copy in the kit. Not sure what was going on this two tops.

There is something to be said for doing an "easy" model once in a while just for the fun of it. My preferred relief are egg planes. However, having said that, to me the real joy of modeling is taking it to another level. The joy of doing the difficult well. The challenge of doing something you didn't think you could do. In short, leaning a new skill. At 70 years old, there is still much I can learn how to do. It gets me out of the bed every morning.

The difference between a good modeler and a great modeler is the great modeler is better at fixing mistakes. All to often people think that great modelers get it right first time every time. Not true! They are just great fixers!

This is an early version of the 901 body style that I've never seen in a model. I am sure it would confuse the heck out of a lot of people. I believe it was a early prototype that was never produced.

Ok, I was really barking up the wrong tree! I thought it looked like a Ghia one off. Never considered another Italian coach builder.

Ok, I give up! I guess I will have to wait for tomorrow.

I recognize the coach builder as they did several similar designs, but I can seem to find this one. That snout(ugly) has me baffled.

Another option would be to make your own body colored decal. Get some white decal paper and cut out the strip. Then spray the decal paper with the body color using a lacquer paint. The lacquer will generally stick to the decal paper without harming, but follow the same procedure you would use to clear coat over any decal. Lacquer is also impervious to water so the decal should work just fine. Also use white and not clear decal. That way you will get a true color. If you use clear the color underneath may "bleed" through if the paint is slightly translucent.

Not quite. I over fill the indentation with super glue. I then sand it down with a sanding stick. When you just sand bearly through the BMF, you know you are on the edge, so no trimming required, but it takes a delicate touch to sand it just enough.