SfanGoch

Fantastic build, Wayne. The 8000/7008 camo is looking good and the weathering is just right without overdoing it. Almost every artifact at Knox and APG have been transferred to Ft. Benning. The Armor School also was relocated there.

Are you referring to Moe Howard or Charlie Chaplin?

Really, really nice work, John. Love them Mercs.

That's what I'm talking about! Paint by the bushel.

You can also use a ruling pen attachment on a compass to spiffy up them Red Lines and Blue Streak Racing Specials. You have more control than would be the case with a tire spinning on a drill.

John, I bought those tweezers from a watch repair tool supplier in NYC that is no longer in business. However, you can pick up a pair at Micro-Tools about 21 bucks. That's less than what I originally paid and is the lowest price I've come across.

Excellent build, man. I'm liking it. Used and slightly weatherbeaten looks more realistic than shiny and new.

Suggestion: try resin ones. I mentioned it before in another thread that the Russian company Masterclub makes resin nuts, bolts and rivets from 0.5 - 1.8 mm in 0.1 mm size increments. They are packed loose (not on sprues) and depending on size, there are up to 180 pieces per pack which leaves a lot to work with after the carpet monster gets its share. Because the Ruble has tanked, a pack costs $2.21. The problem with plastic NBR is that there is very little variety in what's available. Grandt Line, and other similar types make limited types of fasteners and in limited sizes. Brass NBR, like the stuff from Scale Hardware, are nice BUT they too suffer from lack of variety. Ever see a castle nut in brass? The machined stuff is also somewhat out of scale. I've used all three types and the resin NBR look the best as far as realism is concerned. As far as matching the finish on rims, no big deal. Just apply some Metalizer of your choice on the resin rivet before attaching. Once it's in place, use a Q-tip to buff it. Also, invest in a good set of tweezers. The best I found are the Dumont 00c Carbon Steel tweezers. I bought mine over twenty five years ago and they are worth every penny of the 23 bucks they cost. They're perfect for handling small items like 0.5 mm rivets. Like I said. it's just a suggestion.

I'd like to see a reissue of Hawk's HH-43B Huskie (I know.... It's a helicopter. Still, it's an interesting kit.). Testors did a HSO release some years back.

If it's a natural hair brush, use hair conditioner after you clean it. Don't laugh, it works. Let it penetrate for about two minutes, then rinse it once more. The conditioner will restore the bristles to their former soft, pliable selves. Use your fingertips to form the bristles back to a sharp point and let the brush dry,

Gotcha, Rob. Since you called this a "Wacky Racer" vette, I pictured something from the old cartoon. Nonetheless, still something interesting to watch.

Redfrog Hobbies also carries the parts set and engine for 63 and 29 dollars, respectively.

Cool idea. One question, is that roll cage going to be covered with a roof? Just wondering about a monkey bar sticking out in the open.

Perhaps R2 doesn't think that its kit can compete head to head with the Revell offering. Which one do you feel is the better version?

Using the "Insert image from URL" option is a waste of time. It goes through the "Loading" without actually doing it. I just download images and attach them.

No disputing the former. I'm as un-PC as they come which explains why I like watching them; however, the latter isn't entirely true. Compared to a bunch of Five Points rowdies throwing rotten eggs at a drunk clog dancer in a Bowery theater circa 1866, that could be the case; but, not by much. People merely think that they're more sophisticated because it helps them ignore the fact that they've been dumbed down. Sitcoms and cinematic comedies of today aren't exactly sterling examples of highbrow comedy. They cater to the lowest common denominator more so than the worst Stooges shorts. I'll take Curly's stubble covered pate destroying the teeth of a saw over infantile poop humor and juvenile sexual innuendos anytime.

I've been a fan of Randy Hage's work for a long time. He photographed New York City storefronts and reproduces them in 1/12 scale. Each one is a super accurate recreation of an actual business. Here are some of his sculptures. The attention to detail is nothing short of unbelievable.

Figuring out who's in KISS might be an issue. Aside from Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, how would the loot from the licensing fees be split?

My apologies, Peteski. I should have wrote that RPM gave us the business. Testors Corp. acquired Floquil Polly-S and Pactra prior to itself being acquired by RPM in 1984. The decision to drop the other lines was made by the RPM corporate braintrust. These lines were seen as not profitable enough to justify continued production. Hobby paints and products constitute, at most, 1 percent of RPM's total sales. Its major business is in industrial coatings and sealants. That there were too many paints in the combined lines is a fact. But, each line catered to a different segment of customer. The elimination of the three previously mentioned brands left the model ship builder and train enthusiast without any options. Floquil produced excellent Marine and Railroad Colors lines. Testors (RPM) never bothered to incorporate the Marine Colors into its MM line. Many of the Marine Colors have no MM equivalent and that placed the wooden ship modeler between a rock and a hard place to try finding a substitute. Ditto with the train guys. Your comment about the shrinking number of modelers isn't entirely accurate. Ever check out the number of items being produced for model railroading? That's a dumb question, of course you know . It's insane; but, that area of interest is more popular than ever. There are more brick and mortar shops exclusively dedicated to model trains than there are for plastic kits. And, they're raking in the mazuma, too. Floquil reformulated (removing Xylol from the formula) its paints to be plastic compatible in the early '80s. That made them dilutable with regular thinner, as opposed to using Dio-Sol. I'm partial to N Scale myself, going all the way back to my first Aurora Postage Stamp Train set I got for Christmas in 1967.

I've experienced the same thing. JUST ONE MORE DETAIL and I'll be done. That one more thing turns into twenty more because I got to get it to look right. And, the project never was completed because I lost interest. My solution: If I can't see it with a casual glance from at least a foot away, nobody else will notice and it doesn't get added.

Funny that you should mention Bigfoot, Harry. There was a kid I went to school with named Gennaro. He was a 15 1/2 EEE in fifth grade. Gennaro once told the class about the time he was chased through the woods by some guys with a camera when he and his family were on summer vacation in Washington State in 1967. Even as a youth, Gennaro bore a more than passing resemblance to the Kanamit in "To Serve Man". Last I heard, he was living somewhere around Rachel, Nevada involved with some type of government work.

I know. I was just injecting some lowbrow humor. I'm good at that. I checked out Peteski's album before. That is one hellacious build. I built a couple Cobras years ago for some guys at work. Now, I'm gonna search the great big dub-dub-dub for a few more for myself. These beauties need to be reissued and Revellogram should add to the series. There are a lot of worthy candidates.

Accept no imitations! Get your copy, pressed on gen-oo-wine, honest to golly, vinyl! Esque Reeder, Voolameister par excellence, sez If it ain't a hit, I'll eat my...................................shirt.* *Had you there for a minute, huh?

I was being sarcastic. I'm one of those rivet counting military modelers who uses Vallejo paints; although, only for figures and interior painting. They don't have the bite/permanence on styrene, like MM Acryl, Revell Aqua Color, Humbrol Acrylic, Gunze Aqueous and other acrylic types. Micro-Mark acrylic paints suffer from the same issues. Polly-S and Pollyscale were the best acrylic paints They didn't scratch or peel off styrene, primed or otherwise. Testor's decision to discontinue the Floquil/Pollyscale and Pactra paint lines was planned when RPM acquired those companies. It's known as killing off the competition. This is a letter Testor Corp./RPM sent out to its "partners": Yeah, Testor gave us the business. A model train enthusiast can no longer find colors anywhere equal to Floquil enamels. Military modelers miss the variety Pollyscale military colors offered. R/C fans bemoan the loss of all those great Lexan compatible Pactra colors. The only thing Testor wanted to do was push its own house brand without offering the consumer the choice of using anything else and not bothering to add comparable replacements.

I'm not a gasser fan and it'd be nice to see a bone stock Willys coupe for a change.