StevenGuthmiller

You can absolutely make your own. It's just a matter of if it's worth the effort, or if it's just as easy and looks just as good to spend a couple of bucks and have someone else do the work for you. Steve

That's part of the reason why my focus is as narrow as it is. I have enough projects to keep me busy for the remainder of my existence. I can't justify spending any of the precious time that I have left building anything that I might be "mildly" interested in. Steve

Oh I don't disagree at all! I know that Tamiya will very likely never produce anything that interests me. That's okay with me. But if you have limited interests like many of us do, they're of no consequence to us whatsoever, regardless of price, or how wonderful the engineering is, if their line-up doesn't include us. Steve

Usually, I just "pump" the pen until the ink pools around the tip and then just dip a brush in the ink. I tried thinning with 91% isopropyl alcohol. Still looks like silver paint no matter how thick you apply it. Steve

Many of the American kit makers have produced and sold a lot of foreign and exotic cars over the years. Revell does TONS of them! They've all made a much greater effort to reach out to the foreign car aficionados in the U.S. than Tamiya ever did for those of us that love American cars! Likewise, there are plenty of Japanese kit makers that have made forays into the American automotive niche of the hobby. I have a bunch of them in my stash right now. Steve

Did all of that. Still no better. I don't use the tips so I didn't bother cleaning them. (I use a brush) But I did try thinning. Not worth the hassle in my opinion. Steve

I had one of those fuzzy black light posters hanging in my bed room when I was a kid! Steve

You da man!! Steve

Personally, I think Casey Affleck is 5 times the actor that Ben is! I can't think of a movie that I've seen Ben Affleck in that was made better by him!! Steve

I mix my own. A combination of Alclad colors. Polished Aluminum, with a little bit of Pale Gold added. You can get the same basic affect using Testors aluminum with a touch of gold, but I like the more realistic sheen you get from Alclad. Steve

Doesn't do a thing for me. I have no more interest in a modern Mustang kit than I do anything else Tamiya produces. Steve

Of course. But how many Tamiya kits do they sell in the US? A lot I'll bet! Why wouldn't any company want to expand their customer base? Steve

I used to. But I'm out. I actually had to wrap the 1mm edge of an air cleaner lid with foil yesterday because my Molotow pens are garbage all of the sudden. I can't justify buying another pen and throwing out others that are still over half full. Steve

I have to agree, which is why I'll likely never own a Tamiya kit. It's a pity actually. They could expand their customer base a great deal by just tossing us old dinosaurs a bone once in a while. Steve

Definitely one of my favorite John Wayne flicks, along with True Grit and The Shootist. If I had to pick my favorite western, It would have to be either the remake of True Grit with Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, or "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". It's a mouthful, and a little slow moving at times, but it's a great historical flick starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. Steve

Pretty much covers all of the bases, doesn't it? Steve

If Snake is anything like me, price is completely irrelevant. It's all about subject matter. As with Snake, I have no interest in exotic and foreign automobiles. When the day comes that Tamiya produces a 50s or 60s American car, I'm all in! Steve

Yes. John Wayne hires a bunch of kids to help move his cattle from Bozeman Montana, to Belle Fourche South Dakota. The camp cook that he hired was a black man named "Mr Nightlinger" who was about to be hung by rustlers when he made that hilarious statement. Steve

Another vote for M.A.D. distributors! Steve

Looking really nice! Doesn't look like it will require much polishing. Steve

Now that would be a great addition! I can think of a few other kits that I could use that top on. ('64 Le Mans for one) The top alone would insure that I would buy more than one kit! Steve

I should probably put this in the "movie quotes" thread, but your quote reminded me of a line from an old movie. The character was praying with a rope around his neck as he was about to be hung. ".........Lord, forgive me for the men that I have killed in anger, and for those I am about to." Anybody remember what movie this was from? Sorry to move the thread so far into the weeds! Steve

Yup, I'm pretty much finished with Molotow. I haven't had much luck with it anyway, and now it appears that the shelf life is too short to justify spending the money on them. I use them very sparingly for touch ups and small details, but after trying to do some touch up on chrome parts today and having it look no better than silver paint, I'm about done defending them. Brushing on some Alclad chrome looked just as good as the Molotow! I shot some Alclad on a few more small parts today, and it's become obvious to me that it's the way to go. I don't have to worry about my Alclad getting old! Steve

I guess it's not surprising today. Nothing is ever "good enough" for people anymore. This quote makes as much sense as any to me. "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude". Or here's another thoughtful quote. "The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sail." Steve

They're getting hard to find in any condition today. No point in not building it now Snake. Pretty soon we will be up to our arm pits in '64 Cutlass's. Steve