iamsuperdan

Haven't had a chance to post these yet. Was on vacation for a few weeks, and much to my wife's joy (yes, that was sarcasm) I found a place selling kits! If you're ever on Vancouver Island, look up Jake's DIecast in Coombs. He doesn't have a ton, but what he does have is interesting, and he's open to searching for you. Anyway, the more interesting of the two kits is this. Mercedes 600SEL from Lee Models. I still need to do some internet researching, but this appears to be a rebranded Tamiya kit. The artwork is very Tamiya-like, and the instructions clearly reference Tamiya paints. Not sure how rare this is, but I find it interesting.

Although I don't personally like the finished look, your paint technique is fantastic. Your skills are bang on. Looking forward to seeing a less busy finish on future builds.

I like this idea.

Love this kit. Have one in the stash, will most likely add one of the reissues.

Been away for a couple of weeks, in an area with almost zero cell coverage or internet access. It's been glorious! I'm back, recharged, and will be cracking this thing out soon enough.

Look at the side of the car on the box. They spelled Porsche wrong. Looking forward to seeing this "Porsce" finished!

I really like this one. Nicely done!

Noticed Roadkill is on Netflix now.

Very cool.

Looking fantastic.

This one was the Dirty Donny Vantasy kit, but I knew from the start i wouldn't be using any of that custom stuff. I just wanted a plain white work van. I think this kit is another case of a manufacturer rushing a release, and not trying to make it better. The flashing on the parts were ridiculous. Spent more time sanding and smoothing that I have on most other kits. I also didn't like how the engine fit into the front. Kind of a moot point though, as you can;t see any of the engine when the kit is done. So I'll be honest, I totally half-assed the top half of the engine. I'm not even sure I painted the air filter or installed a battery. Also, I had a heck of a time trying to paint that front grille. For whatever reason, it was just a nightmare for me. The fit of the rear axle was bad too. As I do with most kits, I mount the wheels last. Not sure why I do this. Anyway, the rear wheels were not centered. I tried flipping the rear springs, as the instructions were vague as to what direction to mount them, but that didn't work with either. So I ended up cutting off the mounting points and just positioning the axle wherever I could to make it centered. Had to add a few mm of styrene to the driveshaft so it would still fit. Body is actually Tamiya white fine primer, with Tamiya clear gloss over it. Gave the van that sort of grungy, not quite pristine finish work vans should have. I know there are no mirrors or windshield wipers on there. I'm not happy with the ones that came with the kit, so I'm coming up with another solution for those. Will update pics when I have those mounted. In the meantime, I'm staying away from these reissues of old tooling kits. Between this one and the Ford truck I'm working on, I'm just not happy. Takes the fun out of the build for me when I have to fight with the kit due to flashing, poor instructions, poor fit, etc. Not my best finish, but I'm reasonably happy with it.

Depends on what mood I'm in. If it's in the evening, I prefer something a little more mellow, something to relax me. Portishead or Pink Floyd are two common choices. If it's the middle of the afternoon, Volbeat or may some Howard Stern on satellite are pretty common choices.

Finally got some bench time in over the weekend. Got started on the interior. Consulted the Google machine and a Prostar brochure and came up with what I think is a realistic colour choice. Pics to follow. Here's a pre-assembly pic to keep things moving along.

People actually chose to complain that you used a background? i'd love it if you would name names. I'd also love to see what they've been able to post and contribute. Part of me now wants to post a photo background for everything I finish, just to annoy the elitists.

I think that turned out fantastic. Your masking job is perfection. The intake pipes, door handles...masking done perfectly. Now give that a matching trailer!

What irked me today? Let me frame that with some advise. If you have horrible credit, and you're trying to get financed on a vehicle, don't get angry with the vehicle supplier when you get declined. Had a customer in over the past few days, dealing on a new truck. Found exactly what they wanted, put together a lease package that everyone is happy with. Red flag number 1: customer didn't want to fill out the credit app in full. Look...if you don't fill this out, I'm not even going to submit it to credit. Red flag 2: didn't want to provide proof of income. Oh, so we're going to provide a $50k truck based on promises and feelings? No. Customer finally gives us the info we require, which let's be honest, isn't asking for much. Credit immediately comes back with a decline. Not a tentative approval with some conditions, but an outright decline. Upon inquiry, we discover that the customer declared bankruptcy three years ago, and has since had several missed payments, and has three unresolved claims with collections agencies totalling over $8000. And then we're the bad guys because we won't provide them with a vehicle?! They even pulled out the threats to get a lawyer and dispute this, and then threatening to go to the media about how we deal with people. So I explained very calmly (which I think angered them even more) that I would be happy to meet with their lawyer, and with any media they wished to send our way. Ugh, some days...

Very well done!

Not to worry, had my lot guys clean this pretty much right after I took the pics!

1. Lawn maintenance 2. Landscaping. This is apparently the year we add trees and shrubbery to the backyard. And some additional stonework and shrubs in the front yard. 3. Weather and activities. With the nice weather here, we're out in the evenings doing outdoors stuff. Hiking, walking, riding the bikes, etc. 4. Weather and lounging. Summer evenings, firepit. No need to expand on that. 5. Vacation. Taking off for two weeks. 6. Band practice. The band is back in action and we practice semi-regularly now. Plus I practice/noodle at least an hour every day. Model building is simply one of the many hobbies I don't seem to have enough time for! But I make time when I can.

We've never had a bird issue here before. The odd magpie or crow, but never anything else. We have a major gopher infestation on the front lawn though, so it was only a matter of time before the birds of prey rolled in. Especially considering that our resident coyote hasn't been around for a while. No sign of the flying poop demon so far today.

Thanks guys. When we got married, my wife was driving a 1991 2Wd. Should never have sold it. Detailing cars at the local VW/Porsche/BMW dealerships put me through university, so before long, this thing will get detailed to within an inch of its life. Looking as close to new as possible. Then the mods begin.

Not today, but yesterday, mother nature and her birds irked me. Here's my Tahoe. And what happens when a hawk or falcon or pterodactyl or whatever has a steady diet of gophers. This is one bird, one dump. You can see the little bugger sitting on top of that lightpost.

Picked this beast up. 1998 Chev K1500. Needs a bit of work to get it where I want it, but could pass it up. Always loved this body style. First task, get rid of that Mossy Oak sticker. No redneck garbage on my truck! The ultimate plan will be to turn this into a camping/expedition vehicle.

The hood being ajar just adds to the authenticity! Keep that hood ajar, makes it easier to get in there when it breaks down!

I'm almost finished this one too. Lots of thoughts about the kit itself. Really like how yours turned out.