iamsuperdan

Well, I think I'm going to throw my hat in the ring for this year's CRB. I don't know what the themes have been over the years, but here are my suggestions. 1. Life In A Dumb Decade - whether it's a car from the 80s, or an 80s-inspired build, let's celebrate the ridiculousness of the 80s. The colours, the fashions, the over the top styles, the emergence of technology, you name it. TResults will either be rad and gnarly, or they'll gag you with a spoon. 2. Spies Like Us - if you were a secret agent, what would you be driving? An Aston Martin or BMW like James Bond? A Challenger RT like Sterling Archer? The Saint's XJS? Let's see your secret agent build. Stealthy and discreet, bulging with weapons and tech, whatever

Personally, I'm hoping for some "out of the comfort zone" builds here. There are some guys around here that I've seen do amazing work ion trucks, but have never posted u pa car. Or those that do amazing old rods and muscle cars, but have never done an import. Looking forward to seeing what shows up! I see six names so far.

If you watch it backwards though, it's about a ghost ship that rises from the deep to save people flailing about in icy water, and then takes them to Southampton.

They try, but it never seem slike they're doing enough. This is the big one near me. http://www.transalta.com/facilities/plants-operation/keephills-3/ The coal's not running out in our lifetimes, but it IS going to run out, so I'm all for exploiting and finding the technology that makes sustainable energy cheaper and more reliable. I may be open to electric cars, but on the other hand, I'm still mounring the slow demise of the manual transmission, so I do like my old tech. And nothing beats the sounds a V8 and loud exhaust can make. Having said that, if you get an opportunity, go drive a Tesla. Doesn't matter which model. Put it in "Ludicrous" mode. Seriously, that is a thing. Then when you're done, picture that drivetrain and tech in an old rod or muscle car. Classic, killer looks with a reliable and ridiculously strong powertrain. Could be fun.

You're right, I don't know exactly how much power charging the car consumed, but my point is that whatever the car used, it didn't affect my power bill. Now whether that's due to a fluctuating energy cost, lack of usage in the rest of the house, or whatever, at the end of the day the bill was in line with other bills. So my personal bottom line, in a month of usage is that a hybrid saved me money. However, I'm under no delusions about where my power comes from. We have three coal fired energy plants within 45 minutes of where I live. Not overly clean, not sustainable energy.

What I'm saying is that over the course of the summer months, there was no discernible difference on our monthly electricity bill from June through August. I had the car for the month of July. So in normal usage, without doing any additional power saving or conservation, our power bill didn't really change by more than a few dollars. Was there additional power usage because of the car? Slightly, but it was less than the following month, When looking at the total dollar amount, roughly the same. June 2014 - $102.07 - 594 kWh July 2014 - $97.54 - 596 kWh August 2014 - $97.06 - 656 kWh Those amounts are lifted right from our power bill. And let's be serious here, anyone saying they base their power bill on usage instead of dollars is either lying or not being entirely truthful. It's the same people that freaked out on VW for emissions. No one buys the car because of the cleanliness of the exhaust, they buy because it will go 1300km on $50 of diesel. At the end of the day, people will look at what their monthly bill costs them, and that is what they'll base their perception on. As I did.

Hey Batman, your car is ready! Great looking build, and a nice touch with the diorama.

Electric vehicles are a convenient way for people to think they are doing something good for the environment. Research the pollution those battery factories pump out. Not to mention the reliance these cars will have on the power grid. want to do away with coal fired power plants or nuclear plants? Nope. And people forget that electric cars still need fluids. Now...having said all of that, I do think it's worth exploring and developing. I've driven hybrids and electric cars, and they have been nothing but fantastic for me. I spent a month bombing around in a 2014 Chevy Volt, and I would give serious thought to owning one if I was in the market for a car. Over the course of 3.5 weeks, I used $3 CDN of fuel. And our power bill for the month was actually lower than the previous month, and about the same as the following month. I also spent a week with a Tesla Model S. This car is truly amazing, and if this is the future of automobiles, sign me up. This car does not have a flaw, and it performed flawlessly. Took me three days of normal driving to drain the battery. Over the course of a week, I charged it twice. And again, noticed nothing on my power bill. I think if the manufacturers can make this work in trucks and SUVs, it will be great. What everyone really needs to focus on though, is cleaning up the factories that make the parts. Not sure what the easy fix there is though.

I actually did do a wash on the grille! In hindsight, maybe going back and doing a second wash would help dull it a little. Despite my hatred of chrome, whether or a kit or a real car, I actually wanted to leave the bumpers quite bright on this car, so decided on this one to just leave it. Normally, I'd be stripping the chrome tree and reapplying something not quite as toy-like. As for the wheels, I wanted to paint them body colour, with chrome trim rings and centers, but after ruining a set of practice rally wheels, I just chose to leave these until I can figure out a way to paint them in a way that would leave me a result I'm happy with. I wish they were multipiece, would make it a lot easier. Might end up with a set of resin aftermarket wheels to use at a later date.

I too am calling BS...those are obviously pics of a real car! Outstanding, simply outstanding.

We have a pretty aggressive recycling program here in my town. We don't just have the garbage now, and they're very strict with this. We have: -blue bins - for paper, cardboard -recycling blue bags - for cardbaord, glass, paper, plastics -organics - yard waste, kitchen waste -garbage - for anything that doesn't fit in the above. Just about all of my modelling scraps go into the blue bags, so they're recycled, not thrown in the landfills.

I think there are a few glimmers of hope out there. Moebius seem to be introducing a lot of new kits that haven't been done before. And all three of Meng's auto series kits are unique, just wish they would release more than one a year! We are seeing new Camaro and Mustang kits. And I think Tamiya is constantly introduceing new subject matter. So all is not completely lost. But I don't think the companies could ever build as many kits as all of us want. Not if they wanted to remain profitable. Personally, I'd like modern pickups and SUVs, cars from the late 70s, and more modern sedans and wagons.

Thanks! Actually, that's not foil. That is some very careful masking, and then a coat of Duplicolour chrome. Forgot to mention originally, but yes, I know there are some underhood details missing in the pics, there are a couple of hoses that have since gone into the engine bay. And the heradlight lenses are there now.

I actually finished TWO kits over the weekend. Kind of shocked by that!

So here's what happened in my neck of the woods on Saturday. https://globalnews.ca/news/3780227/edmonton-terror-attacks-abdulahi-sharif-charged-with-attempted-murder/ Guy runs a police blockade near a football game. Hits the cop with his car, jumps out, stabs the cop repeatedly, goes to find a UHaul truck, then runs down a handful of pedestrians. The good news is we caught the guy. Turns out he's a Somalina refugee that was investigated a few years ago for "extremist tendencies" but was cleared as a non-threat. Wow. Nut jobs everywhere.

Wow. Just wow. If you took some outdoor shots, and played with forced perspective, this would be indistinguishable from the real thing!

Finished this one up over the weekend. 1968 Chev El Camino SS, inspired by a car I saw while camping in Nelson BC this past summer. The car in question was a 1969, as indicated by it's licence plate, "EL 69," But, I saw the '68 kit and figured that was close enough. Went together reasonably well, although it seemed like the engine was too big for the engine bay. had to do some squeezing and jamming to get it in there. Finished pretty much box stock, with the addition of plug wires, flocking, and some seatbelts. The paint is Tamiya TS53 Deep Metallic blue, with a Duplicolour semi-gloss black on the vinyl roof. Wash on the grille, and the panel lines, although on this dark colour you can't tell. Drilled out the exhaust tips, and made my own gauges for it. Plus, had to make a license plate. I think my skills are getting better.

I need to learn to wipe down kits before I take pics. Dust, lint, etc.

This kit has been about 20 years in the making. Back in 1997, I left the Porsche dealer I was working at and I started working for the local BMW dealer while I was going to university. Worked there just long enough to meet a girl who worked there, date for a year, be engaged for a year, get married...then I left and went back to Porsche. That first Christmas at BMW, this kit ended up under the tree for me. Fast forward to today, and we've been married 17 years, and the kit has stuck has finally been completed! Anyway, I started this one all those years ago. Finished the interior, paint suspension pieces, and that was about it. Into the box, and life got in the way of any model building for a long time. Finally dug this one out a few months ago, and decided to complete it. It's finished in Tamiya TS8 Italian Red with Tamiya clear coat. Interior is some sort of semi-gloss black and flat black, probably Testors. I found the headlights look good when done, but they were tricky to mask and paint. And I'm not happy with the fit of the tail lights, odd for Tamiya. Otherwise it's typical Tamiya, it went together beautifully, fit and finish is second to none. Now, my skills are another issue entirely, but overall I'm satisfied, and it looks good on the shelf. the one big issue I had involves the windshield. I masked it off like I always do, using the same masking tape I always use. Only this time, it appears to have permanently damaged the windhield. I pulled the tape and noticed what looked like glue residue. Some of you may have seen the thread I created about this issue. At the end of the day, I tried a lot of things, and none of them had any effect. Time for plan b. Yes, cover the windhield with a giant sign! I also made a license plate. After tkaing the pics, I noticed it was crooked, so I've gone and fixed that, have also redone the panel lines with a wash. And calling it done.

Wow. Your attention to detail is amazing. Beautiful build!

The stuff I want to see and build, and the stuff that would actually sell enough to kee pa company running are vastly different!

Tom brings up a good point. It's all well and good for us (myself included) to talk about what we want, and what disappoints us, but these companies are actually in the business, and they can see buying habits on a national and international scale. So they must have some sense of what sells and what doesn't. And he's right. I don;t know anyone else locally that builds kits, yet the local Hobby store and Michaels are always selling product. Having said that, I'd still like to see a better mix of old and new. And I am glad that someone is saving original molds and equipment, thus preserving the history of the hobby.

I get mine at Michaels. Not only do they have all the colours I need, they have all of the tips too. Wide, fine, extra fine, etc.

I have a glass cabinet to display things. It has doors, so dust is not an issue at all. Size is however. Can't fit truck trailers in it!

1/16...that's a big dang kit! I like it. Want one.