Smitty

Superb job on your '48 sedan delivery Cliff! I was surprised to see it so soon after seeing your '41. I'm amazed you came up with reference for the spare tire well, and I like how you were able to adjust the shapes of the windows to make them look like the real car. I'm going to examine the photos closely because I'd like to attempt something similar (maybe!) with my Galaxie kit. I also appreciate that you made that subtle (but important) recontouring of the front wheel openings with the little flat spot at the top. I didn't notice it was incorrect on the kit until now. This looks like an excellent kit that has responded very nicely to your improvements, like the opening doors for instance. As always, your colour choices and finishes are spot on, and I love those white walls too. It's a commercial vehicle but it has a lot of class.

These are the kind of matchbox cars I buy on occasion. The affordable kind. They don’t have to be mint and in the original box for me to enjoy them.

Great looking Nova Gene. I think it’s the most accurate looking model of that car that I can think of. I’m starting to feel a little light-headed, I might be falling off the fence soon myself!

Beautiful models Gene. Looking at the grill of the Charger, I’m impressed by how ‘tight’ everything is.

Another beautiful and inspirational build from you! The chassis is a master class in detail painting. It’s very realistic looking. Great scratch building in the engine compartment too. Really well done overall.

Does anyone know the artist’s name by any chance? I’d love to see more of his work.

Nice Camaro! And who was the lucky owner of the ‘67 Chevelle parked in front of it?

What a heartbreaker! Really beautiful. Right or wrong, the paint colour is a knockout and appropriate to the era. Your experiment with the gauge face was very successful as well. Super nice job.

Very nicely done. I like how you chose the black wall tire option. It gives it a real ‘mainstream’ look. I have this one in my collection and I’m really looking forward to building it. It’s great to see it built up so well. In the second to last picture it looks like the headlights are on!

You’ve done a superb job on this replica! Very cleanly built. I’m impressed with your attention to detail and your foil work on the trim is excellent. Your work on the interior and engine compartment are simply amazing!

Look at all those beautiful shoebox Fords! One of my all-time favourite classic cars. In fact, if I could have but one classic car in my garage, it would be a ‘49 to ‘51 Ford. It appears there are 160 of them if that barge was full!

The challenges you had with this model certainly are not apparent in the finished product! I too like the colour, and your high quality paint work and excellent diorama are always a pleasure to look at. I like the casually dropped newspaper by the dumpster.

Another fine addition to your collection of sedan deliveries Cliff! I’m a real fan of this era of Chevy, and it’s nice to see one built in the replica stock way. Especially such a rare body style. I certainly don’t expect to see another model like it. You’ve taken the best parts of the two donor kits and blended them seamlessly. I really like how you recreated the windshield area, which is a problem with both the Revell and the AMT kits in my opinion. You did a great job making the folding bucket seats, the gas tank and the spare tire well to name a few items. Great colour choice too. Thanks for posting all the in progress pictures.

Beautifully done and very accurate looking. Great color choices. After looking at yours, I too would like to build one of my own!

Well Harry, it certainly looks like you’re ‘back in the saddle’ with your model building. You’ve done a beautiful job on this vette. Under the hood looks especially well done.

Your model A is an absolute knockout! I love the color choice. It’s really nice to see one built stock for a change.

1958 Chevy Sedan Delivery

I applied some decals from a well known and high quality supplier a few years ago to some tires. The decals are still sticky and very glossy. I sanded the tires lightly prior to applying the decals, but I’m wondering now if the tires should have been coated with some clear acrylic before I put the decals on. At this point I’m looking for opinions on what I can do to remedy the situation and halt this continuous reaction so the tires will look matte and not be sticky. Should I coat them now with a matte clear acrylic paint to seal them?

What an incredible model Cliff. I’ll bet assembling it was a lot of fun! I had no idea IXO made models like this. One of my high school teachers drove one of these Volvos. I don’t remember too much about it except that it was red and that he had just finished installing a set of Koni shocks on it. Eric

Despite the problems with the body, I’m a big fan of this kit. I’ll be watching your progress on this one. It’s looking great so far!

A quick question for you Ryan. Id like to give the surgical scalpels a try. Did you purchase just the #11 blades, or did you need to buy a corresponding handle too? I was wondering if the scalpel blades fit in a regular X-acto handle. Thanks-

You’ve done a most enviable job on this Starliner! Truly gorgeous. Your attention to detail is really remarkable and subtle touches like lowering the front end really add to the amazingly realistic look that it has. Thanks for sharing your tips on your bmf application and photo techniques.

I’m a big fan of Chrysler A-bodies, the Duster being my favourite. Great paint work with the nail polish! I spent the most time looking at the engine compartment, it’s immaculate!

You’ve done a beautiful job on this Ford. It’s very realistic looking, and I like the detail painting on the chrome mouldings and hubcaps. Great attention to detail right down to the wheel valve stems!.

That looks like a really nicely detailed kit. Your rendition of it looks very realistic, and as always your diorama and lighting skills are superb!