IJ001

Didn't realise I'd not posted completed pics... so here they are ! Great Powerslide decals really made all the difference on this one, absolutely superb to work with. Easily my best NASCAR build to date. Thanks for all the encouragement along the way, folks. Lookout for a 'Beer Car' posting in just a few minutes. Ian.

Finally got around to applying a couple of coats of Tamiya white on the body... As usual instead of drying full glossy white, it's dried somewhere between gloss and satin - no matter I've rubbed it back with a 3200 Micro polishing sheet so it's smooth like a mirror now and ready for decalling at the weekend. Hey remember all that beautiful detail on the block and transmission... This is all you can see now !! - more after next weekend - we have a show here and I'm taking the Porsche with me to do a decalling presentation. AFN Ian.

Superbly done, & great ride-height. Ian.

Thanks all, appreciate the comments. Hey Terry, you aren't too far from Lake City, got some good friends there. Already started on my next two projects - both very well known cars, as usual will take around a month to six weeks before they're ready. Thanks again folks. Ian.

Yep Ricky's 2001 ride. Ian.

Finished this morning. Powerslide decals on the Chevy, JWTBM on the Ford. Tamiya acrylics throughout finished with Johnsons Klear/Future applied with a 10mm chisel-edged sable brush !! - As always thanks for taking the time to look and/or comment. Ian.

Decals done - didn't expect to get any bench-time this weekend, but whaddya know !! Ian.

Progress - All the interior is complete... ...and the body is primed (but not yet rubbed down). Next, paint !! Ian.

Started decalling this afternoon: Ian.

After I posted the photos yesterday, I went back in to the 'cave' in the evening and shot a couple of quick coats of Tamiya glossy black on the lower sides of the body. This morning I brushed on two coats of Klear/Future to seal it and about two hours later masked it all off using photos of all the 1999 #33's as reference. Then took a deep breath and fired a couple of light(ish) coats of Tamiya TS-21 'Gold'. Personally I'm overjoyed with the result but would appreciate your input, guys. Ian.

Hello from Middle Earth Current NASCAR project, a slab-side M/C driven by one of the 'unsung heroes', Mr. Ken Schraeder: Not too difficult to tell which one from the last couple of pics, and I'm sure somebody will guess it pretty quickly. As it sits just now, it's got the best ride-height I've ever achieved and the plastic is glass smooth. Even after the Plastikote dark grey primer the finish is still like the surface of the mirror on the Hubble Telescope !! Stay tuned, more soon. Ian.

Agreed 100% Ian.

Just superb. Ian.

Ha !!, sounds like our kids have very similar tastes ! Ian.

Zero Paints, here in NZ !! - where you gettum ?? - can't find an outlet here and BNA in Oz suggested I try back home (UK) !! Ian.

Looks very good, Ashley, which paint did you use for yours, Tamiya ?? Ian.

Thanks guys, much appreciated. This has gone to the back of the queue at the moment whilst I focus on the 911 GT1 build. Won't be allowed to forget it, it's daughters 11th birthday tomorrow so she's getting quite impatient ! Ian.

Somewhat unexpectedly, managed to grab some bench time this afternoon and made some progress. So just the direct drive shafts & axles from the gearbox to finish painting and attaching and that is it for the whole powerplant & transmission sub-assemblies done, and I can move on to the front radiator & steering 'bits'. I also mixed-up and sprayed some 'olive black' on the interior sections, chassis plate & firewall etc, so it's all good to go. More next week hopefully. Ian.

Cut my own masks & sprayed at very low pressure. Ian.

Erm... I only finished it this week, David, I've been working on-and-off on this one for about two years !! - I get distracted very easily by bright and shiny things. Ian.

Saw this on eBay a couple of weeks ago. A business seller back in the UK who I know personally was offering it at a ridiculously cheap price because the box was worn. Even with the postage out here to Middle Earth it was a steal, so after decision making process that could be measured in nano-seconds, I snapped his hand off. It arrived on Tuesday and I started it on Wednesday afternoon. Two sessions in and I'm well into the engine, transmission and mounting sub-assembly. Lots of pre-painting with AK 'Xtreme Metals' (outstanding enamel lacquers, highly recommended) - absolutely loving this already, incredible engineering by Tamiya. Stay tuned folks this is simply flying together at the moment. Ian

Not the Tamiya 'uber kit', this is the RoG version of the magnificent LaFerrari. Back-story, my 10 year old daughter was in the man-cave with me a few weeks back looking through the stash... "Hey dad, would you build a model just for me ?"... "Yeah of course..." I was thinking a wee Airfix 1:72 or something similar. "Great, can I have this one ?" And she's pulled-out my Fujimi 246 Dino 'enthusiast' series kit. So after some rapid negotiation, she changed to the La Ferrari. She's decided on an electric blue colour which she'd mixed herself from my Tamiya acrylics and it looks incredible. It's going to be a slow-ish build project but so far the only problem it's thrown at me is the exhaust openings in the lower body which need a lot of filing and thinning back to accommodate the pipes and the chassis/diffuser tray. If anybody here has built one of these, I''d be grateful any heads-up you can give for the rest of the build. Thanks for taking the time to look and/or comment. Ian.

This looks very promising. Ian.

Dear G*d !! (apologies), this is going to be a fantastic project to follow... Ian.

Second completion this week was this out of the box build of Revell's fourth gen' Firebird. Paint is Tamiya Metallic Orange straight from the rattle-can, looks to my eye like a perfect shoe-in for GM's 'Sunset Orange'. Not too much else to say except I didn't realise until I saw these photo's that the Turtle Wax was still hiding in some of the recesses... it's fixed now and I've also run a black wash in to the door joints which looks much better. All comments, questions and criticism welcomed as usual. AFN Ian.