Snake45

Bought a Tamiya 1/35 M41 Walker Bulldog tank at Hobby Lobby. Full Metal Retail was $17.99 and I got 40% off THAT. I can't remember the last time I saw ANY Tamiya model of ANY kind that didn't have a price tag that started with AT LEAST the number 4. (Yeah, I realize this is probably a reissue of a '70s era kit, nothing state-of-the-art for today's armor. GOOD!)

Got a cooking "spatter guard" at Walmart, with a great grid pattern that should be good for many model grilles, etc. Got TWO of them (set) for $7, in fact. The Lovely Mrs. Snake now has one for kitchen use, and the other will keep me happy for years. Can't help thinking that a piece of this screen material of comparable size sold for model use at Hobby Lobby or other hobby vendors would retail for $15-$20. Boo-yah!

There is, but it's 1/32 scale, unfortunately.

$20 buy it now? That's a steal, if you consider the time and effort it would take you to scratchbuild the thing by any method I can think of.

Monogram did one in 1/24 that was pretty nice. I've never seen the MPC so can't comment on it. Lindberg did one too. I think it was supposed to be an '80. Not as good as a Monogram/Revell/AMT/MPC but the basic shape is pretty good and if you're doing a semi-custom, it might work well for you. I haven't seen too many of ANY of these kits around in a long time. Couple months ago I bought a Lindberg cheap at a local toy show/swap meet, and realized I hadn't seen one in over a decade. (I want to do a black '80 Cobra with the green trim, if I can find decals.) Did they do promos of these? If so, might not hurt to keep an eye out for these, too. I've been amazed at how cheap many '70s-'80s Corvette and Camaro promos sell for, especially if they're not in 100% perfect condition. Maybe the same is true of these Mustangs (I really have no idea).

As a side note, I have at least one old AMT kit--I think it's the '66 Mustang HT/convertible annual--that has styrene sidewall overlays to be used with the kit's regular Firestone Supreme vinyls. This gave a wider-looking tire with the possibility of sanding or scraping off the white lettering. Kind of a clever idea in the days before bigger, better tires started to appear in kits.

Wow, very clean, and not AT ALL what I was expecting to see when I opened the thread. I do believe this is the best build of this kit I've seen yet--or at least my personal favorite. You're making me want to get and build one of these--a high compliment. Well done and model on!

Yup, those are the 108 papers (there was a very similar 108 aluminum, too). I believe these might have been manufactured in England. I've never seen them on Pacific/CBI airplanes, or even Stateside. I'm pretty sure I've never even seen them on Med based airplanes, either (12AF or 15AF). Pretty sure they were an "England thing" (8AF and 9AF).

I think I read somewhere that the DeHavilland Mosquito wood was formed on concrete molds, but I could be wrong.

Agreed. Yes, thanks. My favorite clear is Model Master Clear Top Coat enamel, thinned with lacquer thinner, airbrushed, and polished. Its only downside is that it has a slight yellowish tint, which will get worse with time. But I can live with this with many colors.

Well, most of the WWII drop tanks were intended for one use. The map in the pics tells the story: These were used for the transatlantic ferry mission. I've never seen these tanks used operationally on any 8AF or 9AF P-47, and I've looked at thousands of such pictures. Maybe they were built to last for the several legs of the over-Atlantic trip, and then were done. I do think I've seen P-47s in the Pacific or CBI with the big tanks, but I've always assumed they were the aluminum P-38 tanks. But who knows. Next time I run across one of those pics, I'll take a closer look.

I believe you're right. Guess I didn't look at the pics closely. I thought the wooden ones were forms. I'll bet these were also "one use only."

I believe the wood is just the molds/forms. These were made of aluminum. There were 108 gallon drop tanks made of paper. But they were one-use-only. Fill 'em up, use 'em, and don't even THINK about bringing 'em back.

My push mower makes as much noise as my riding mower, if not more.

Not at all what I'd call a "great" kit, but a good kit, and you did a nice job with it.

No, the stork didn't bring them. Here's a great set of pics I'll bet you've never seen before showing the entire conception and birth process: http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=66266

Oh no. It was originally released under the MPC label after the "unification" but it was done by the same team that did AMT's '66 Nova.

There ya go--great project, and a Man with a Plan! Gotta love it. (Meant this for the Cobra above, but Steven slipped in before I hit Send.)

I'd love to have 'em. And you forgot to mention that styrene tires are 100 times easier to realistically "flat-spot" than either solid or hollow vinyl.

I think those were at least optional on '67 Shelby Mustangs.

I don't recall seeing Mag 500s on Fords in '67. I think they were still using their own "styled steel wheel," the ones I used to call the "forked mags." I think the first time I saw Mag 500s on Fords (factory) was in '69 with the Boss Mustangs, and they had distinctive short center caps. But I'm by no means an expert on Ford stuff; others will know more.

So could I. I could even make it look better than new (and often do so with "distressed" or less rare ones). But I think I'm gonna just leave this one alone as a nice, honest "survivor."

Bought this one used at the local toy fair a couple months ago for $7 or $8. It was complete but apparently had been played with (! The horror! The horror!) and had quite a few scratches, scrapes, and scuffs in the paint. Most of what I did on it was try to polish these out and I was I guess about 90-95% successful. It doesn't look new now, but it doesn't look too bad. About the only other thing I did was paint the chrome wheel spokes Testor steel for a less toylike took. I was (pleasantly) surprised to discover that the thing is 1/25 scale, as can be seen when compared to the Testor quickbuild, which is labeled as 1/24 and visibly bigger. Thanks for looking, and as always, comments welcome.

Here's an original, unmolested promo, a '66 Toronado by JoHan (with some chrome wear). Most promos were molded all in one color, but some, like this one, were painted and had a contrasting color interior.

Ran across this one by happy accident today: David Lindley and G. E. Smith (he used to head the SNL orchestra) doing a nice version of the late great Warren Zevon's Play It All Night Long.