Chris D

When I was a kid I think I built one of these models. Certainly didn't look that great! Chris D

Looks great! love the color and details. Probably another one I have to add to my "want to build list". Chris D

Wow, great job, love the color and the details. Love the car, I think I have to build one of these! Chris

Pictures gone Chris D

Hi Guys, The windshield was saved, thank you! Rather than starting with sandpaper, I went straight for the polish. I used two different ones, a "course" and a "fine". Course and fine were determined by using them on various models over the past year. Took a bit of work but probably spent less than 10 minutes to polish out the fogging left by the accelerator. Car is posted in "under glass" it is the "Big Tub" car. Chris

Thanks for the kind words everyone! Chris D.

Hi all, Just finished up my Revell 1/8 scale big tub. Didn't take any progress pics and probably should have. The kit is expensive (around $100.00 I think), but the quality is very good and frankly it was a pleasure to build. Being big scale, it screams for lots of detail but I just wasn't up to the task and tried to follow close to box stock. The paint is Tamiya, base coat was Gunmetal then Clear Red sprayed over that to achieve the candy color. While the paint job didn't turn out the best, the color turned out great, just what I was looking for. Even the tan interior came out looking spot on for what I was looking for. Unfortunately, the flocking on the floor is a perfect match for the color of the painted surfaces so its hard to tell there is flocking. I screwed up the windshield by getting super glue accelerator on it. I asked in the forum here how to fix it and thankfully the suggestions worked perfectly. I simply polished it with two different car polishes and the fogging was gone. Here are the pics... Thanks for taking a look! Chris D

Hi Miles, I think most of the points are already covered but I'll throw in my thoughts too. Camera, anything digital should work, I use a simple Nikon point&shoot coolpix or my bigger Nikon digital SLR , even my Iphone. All of them take good pictures if I spend a few minutes to get things ready for a good picture. Get close, and if needed set camera to Macro mode so you can obtain focus lock. Use a background, either a diorama, or, plain white paper. 11 x 17 paper is a good size to work with for most models. Have it curl up at the back like the photo (Mike's post) above so that you have continuous back drop with no lines etc. Light from above AND behind. Simple clamp on lights from the hardware store are fine or you can get more fancy photo lights. Use the lights from behind to cast a shadow and to highlight the color of the subject. The shadow adds depth to the image. Highlighting the color is important for some colors like candy and metalics. If it is nice outside, shoot outside with the sun to your back and slightly off to one side (so that you are not creating a shadow). Shoot the photo with the sun lower on the horizon (Morning or Evening) to get shadows. The sun light creates a nice natural color which adds to the realism of the photo. Use a tripod and the self timer on the camera. The tripod keeps the camera stable to reduce blurr and the self timer eliminates movement in the camera when taking the photo. The slightest movement can cause blur. If using a cell phone or Tablet computer, CLEAN THE LENS!!!! The lenses on these are always exposed and almost always have an oil film on them which will cause all sorts of nasty problems with the photo - most often blurr and flare with light. Depending on how dirty and with what, it can also cause exposure problems and color problems. Take a LOT of photos, each one with the subject moved slightly different. Getting the color to pop on a car can be tricky and sometimes just a slight change in angle brings it out brilliantly. Try to shoot the car from an height angle as if you were standing there in the same scale as the model. Remember, you are 1:1, the model is 1:25 (or other scale). To add realism, try to have the camera at a scale height of a person. Easy gauge, shoot some pictures of a real car so you familiarize yourself how the photo should look if it were 1:1 scale. Shoot a bunch of photos,with digital, they are FREE. Review all the photos you took and throw away the crummy ones and keep the good ones. Depending on what I am photographing, I may take as many as 50 or 100 photos of a subject, then keep only 5 or so. Again, digital photos are free, its not like the film days :-) Hope that helps a little bit, Chris D

Wow, Thanks for all the suggestions and comments. I think I will attempt the polishing method first to see what that yields. Failing that, I will try to hunt down the elusive Pledge floor product (AKA Future). I have looked for that from time to time, but will make a bigger effort if it solves this problem. If all that fails, I have Williams contact information above and will reach out to you - thank you very much! Chris D

Hi all, Perhaps someone can help me save myself from my own stupidity. Working on the model T model, and I glued the glass to the frame using Testors window glue, that went fine. Then I had to add a trim piece on the window frame and used super glue. It didn't set quick enough so I hit it with accelerator. of course, the accelerator caused the glass to "fog" or whatever it is called. I tried wiping it off with a dry cloth, didn't help. Then I tried to wipe it clean with ISO alcohol and while wet, the glass was clear again but as it dried the problem came back. I don't think this kit is in production anymore (Revell Big Tub) so I am kinda stuck with finding a fix for the problem. Just to clarify, I did not get CA glue on the windshield, just the accelerator. Chris D

Richard, I have been amazed by this project and it really is a masterpiece! Chris

very nicely done! Chris D.

Thanks for the kind words everyone! I think part of what made it so disappointing is that the model could have been so much better. The kit offered a lot of little detail parts, many of which has so much flash I nearly destroyed them cleaning it off. The warped body and other panels was enough to drive me insane. Eventually I just gave up on the hood assembly. Again, thank you for the kind words, it certainly has taken the sting out of this build. Chris D.

Hi all, I finally finished this "disappointment". When I bought the kit I really had high hopes for all the cool detail it offered, however, warped components, excessive flash, etc. made it a not so fun project. I will be the first to admit, my lack of skills and patience didn't bode well. I am sure you guys could have done a much better job with this kit. Here are a few photos of the completed car.. Thanks for taking a look Chris D.

This is such a fun thread to watch Rich, you are a great artist! Chris D

Hi Guys, Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Regarding the cowl location, yes as it sits in the photo above it is WAY too close. I have asked Stephen (he just posted a finished version of this model) for a bit of advice too. I suspect in the end I am going to have to make a "jig" of some sort to get everything to work out. Chris D.

Hi Stephen, I am wondering if you could provide a few tips for me on this model as I am stuck. 1) Can you post a photo of the underside of the car - I can't figure out the muffler/exhaust mounting, especially where the bracket with the hole in it goes. 2) Can you explain a bit how you worked through the cab assembly? On mine, I don't have registration pins on the bottom so getting the spacing so the doors fit is stumping me. Chris D.

That is a way-cool charger, I love the creativity and originalism. The paint work is outstanding too! Thanks for sharing Chris D

I am trying my hand on a larger scale model this time. It is a Minicraft, 1931 Model A. I bought the kit at a model show as the cover art looked good, however, I didn't inspect the parts trees to see what the quality was like. Some of it is great, some of it, not so much. It is molded in both black and gray plastic and I personally don't like black plastic as it seems too soft and rubbery. The Chrome is good in some places, but missing in other places - bad plating job. I am not building to the box art or to be factory original etc. I am building this one in the colors and things I like. My current idea for the paint will be Gunmetal gray for the bottom half (fenders etc.) and dark blue for the upper half - could change though. Here are some pictures in the current state. Chassis assembled and painted gloss black and semi-gloss black. Wheels (which are poorly molded with a lot of flashing) are painted a cream color (custom mix). Engine is painted Royal blue with Semi-gloss black accessories. Bolt heads are silver, spark plugs are white and silver - very hard to paint as they are small. The engine will be plumbed and wired. I have holes drilled here and there for wires but plan to add those later in the build. Wiring the distributor to the plugs will be a bit of a challenge as it needs flat-bare-braided wires. Never seen in real life but plenty of picture on the net will be my guide. Plastic dipstick broke so I made a replacement with wire. The lower half of the body is painted Gunmetal (tamiya acrylic) and this is the first coat. The floor pan is in place as I have been attempting to mock up this thing to figure out how everything fits. The cabin is in place - sort of. There were suppose to be registration pins on the bottom of the fire-wall section but they are not there. This makes it difficult to get the spacing right between that section and the back half of the cabin. The two pieces join in two small areas - the front roof supports. If I just glue those two pieces together without a lot more planning, the doors will never fit. I have a lot of figuring out on this cabin area so it may take a while before the next post. Thanks for taking a look, comments always welcome. Chris D

Hi Joe, I just did 4 cars (the 68 firebirds in the diorama section of this forum) with the model car garage vinyl top kit. I am not sure exactly what it is but it does look good when done. Think of it more as a tape than a contact paper. The tape is more plastic than paper so it is a bit elastic to help it conform to the body. I used both the black and the white. The white came off the backing material easier than the black did. To get the black off I held the material on a light bulb, then quickly got a knife under the corner and started to peel it off. This takes a lot of patience, back and forth between the light bulb and peeling. The tape will tear very easily if you are not careful. The adhesive is very strong so it bonds really good - especially to itself, so again, be careful peeling the tape off the backer! To over simplify, it is just tape on a clear backer. Cut it to the width needed, then peel it off and stick it to the roof of the car. Trim it to the molding and your done. As mentioned above, there are some tricks and I would recommend ordering two kits just to be safe and reduce the "I only have one shot at this" pressure. The instructions explain how to get the three required strips so that you have the overlapped seam which is really needed for the proper effect. Chris D

great job on the 'A', I just started building one last weekend. Hope mine turns out as good! Chris D.

Very nicely done, thanks for sharing. Chris D

Walter - Thank you much for the comments, while I have owned one car longer than this one, there was no story to tell about it other than I couldn't afford to get a different one. To me, and hopefully my grandkids, it will help me to share a fun time of my life (provided cars are still a cool thing). Michael and James - Thank you for the comments, to me the story of that car and my life is very important. Should I get more ambitious, there were 3 different version of the drag car so I still have two more to go at some point in time. Chris D.

I wish I had your patience! I am working on a Model A car right now and Hate the plastic spokes on the wheels. Perhaps when I have the time (and patience) I will pull them off and copy your system to make replacement wheels. Just amazing! Chris D.

Great car, and great details. Chris D.