Gray Smith

love the color combos...so far this Merc looks great...I really dig the teal w/ copper..those pearl ex powders are great aren't they? Gray

Cool subject Ismael, this is one of my favorite of all indy cars...but it may have to do with that cool quad cam engine....are you going to build it with that option? either way your progress so far looks great! I really need to get a lathe one day... Gray

Looks good Marc!..while you say its a tight fit..that Hemi looks right at home there...this is coming along well man, keep up the good work Gray

This is sweet! Easily the best racing vette livery ever...excellent work on the decal creation and the application, alot of hard work there and it is really paying off. I'm keeping my eyes on this build.. Gray

Jarius....wow! this is cool..I do remember a certain article waay back in the early 90s about a scratch built 7 cylinder radial engine(the 2032 rod you built) is this a continuation of that theme?(albeit in a totally non-futuristic way..lol) Also thanks for the tutorial on the frame z for the front of the 32 I'm going to try that out on a build of mine.. anyway keep the ideas coming..I like where this is going!!!!! Gray

Man did I ever miss this one.....way cool!! I'm doing a similar hidden headlight front end on my Camaro..and yours is very well done..Like the colors too.. Gray

Looks great!, excellent color choice too...only thing is...lets see some outdoor pics! Gray

Awesome build man, great looking rig, congrats on the 1st place too..

Hey oldstyle....what color is that on your blue Camaro..its a very nice shade... Thanks Gray

I really like where these builds are going..I esp like the blue one with blue interior...really nice color combo, and also great work on the flocking...looking forward to seeing these finished.. Gray

Don't know how I missed this one....but you really need to stop posting pics of real cars..lol Great build man!....excellent craftsmanship as usual from you... Gray

Looking good Jose, Nice to see something different done to a Willys...Great idea on the airbox too. Look forward to seeing it finished.. Gray

Michael, Thanks for posting those pics...I love seeing how other parts of the world builders customize familiar shapes in new ways... Thanks Gray

looking good Marc, looks like a custom welded oil pan is needed for this swap...lol. Glad to see some new progress on this one...are you going to use the stock Hemi intake or will you be making something a little more wild? keep up the good work on it man.. Gray

Then we have my fujimi s13 silvia which was built up super slammed for daily driving...I was never happy with the Oni wheel choice(they go better on an ae86) so I took it apart and put on some r33 skyline wheels(from an old built up thats in the process of refinishing) I tried to give the front some camber since on the real thing you have to do that to fit those massive wheels(even with a mild pull). I also tried to "titanium-ize" the exhaust with some sharpie on the tip...lol. Another thing i'm into the LM racer look with yellow headlights so the trusty yellow sharpie came out and walla..a new look.. here is the old.. here is the new an attempt at an artistic shot there^ anyway..felt like posting something since i've got the itch to build..but little time with delivering pizzas on the side... hope you like the updates.. Gray

Hey guys, over the last few months I bought a house, and while moving, and painting, and working 2 jobs, I decided to give a few of my built kits a slight refreshing, since I didn't have much time for any heavy model building ... the first is my Tamiya r34...originally built with no top piece to the spoiler, and painfully factory brochure(read stock) looking..... Here it is now as an owner would personalize it with Z-tune wheels, z-tune exhaust tip, and some number plates/registrations stickers(and a Nismo and Option decal for good measure). I also added the top piece to the trunk spoiler and used Tamiyas Carbon decal from the Z-tune parts pack decal sheet. Not much else was done...I needed to fix the front suspension from where it came unglued, and I changed both dash decals on the inside. Here it is....

Virgil, you really captured the look on this one...much props for going and doing something way off the charts different!! Gray

Nice stuff!, good stance, very clean body...looks like a cool JDM ride...great job on the 'Rolla Gray

Great work Tom!, excellent looking build, weathered just right, perfect stance...i'd be proud to drive something like that everyday.. Gray

I might be able to help your friend out with a Tognotti T kit since I bought one a few years back at a model contest...its way not complete, BUT it does have the fenders, the body(I think) and the basis for the chassis as well as a complete front suspension..It also has the box, and the full set of instructions...it was missing a bit of other stuff(rear suspension, interior, and I want to say the chassis isn't correct) but it may be a starting point. I need to head down to the basement and dig it out and actually see whats left. I know I did scrounge the front suspension parts to use on another build...but i'll see if I can round those up as well. Pm me and let me know what your friend is looking for. Gray

Great stuff andy, as always your builds rock the house!..i'm going to have to get on this kit soon, your build has inspired me....but mine will have something other than the sr in the engine bay(and not an RB either like everyone else puts in these) anyway look forward to seeing the next great build you have planned.. Thanks Gray

Jon, funny you posted this today since last night I broke out my Modena as well and looked at what I needed to do...the changes to the seats look great, much better(but the first try looked fine to me, i've seen so many different CS seats that I dunno whats correct anymore), also the other revisions to the console(never thought of using pin heads for the buttons) and chassis look good. I'd noticed the console just didn't quite look right and i'm going to use half the resin part and half of the kit part(my resin console is warped where the kit part is similar) and add some styrene like you have. Actually good portion of the resin stuff is junk now due to shrinkage . Good luck with the build, I'll get back on mine eventually, I do want to finish my Daytona first though. Gray

Dude! thats wicked! and its exactly what I was picturing a Ferrari supercharged set-up would look like...I knew you'd come to the rescue, plus thanks to the other guys who gave input as well, i've got a ford gt thats going to get torn apart for another project so I may try to pirate that blower and fashion something neat up. I'm gonna stick with supercharging because while twin turbos would be cool, they'd require some custom exhaust fab work that i'm not sure I could do yet... thanks for all the input guys, and Ken don't worry i'm building it how I wanna build it, I just needed a little guidance for(Paul Sr. voice) idears, If I were to build it how the purists would..it'd be stock...i'm not about stock, even on a classic Ferrari..lol. Thanks again guys Gray

Hey guys, I've started some minor work again on my 356 Daytona kit..and if you remember its going to be a slightly modified street car/weekend racer version. I've reached a point on the engine where I can't figure out how to move forward. I want to do an induction set-up different than whats in the kit(actually too late for that since i've already modified the kit parts..possibly beyond repair) I originally thought of doing a cold-air/ram box similar to what i've seen on the vintage racing Daytonas, but that would hide alot of detail, then I thought about an efi set-up with an induction box in cf and with the eyelets I've got as throttle body inlets. I actually started on that route, but the clearance from the top of the air box, to the bottom of the hood is too tight for me to put the eyelets in place without some major cutting to reduce the height....which isn't easy either because of clearance with the heads, and cam covers. Then I though of something else...has anyone ever seen a supercharged Ferrari? Would that be sacrilege to the Prancing Horse badge? I've got the airbox, and since this machine will be a racer, a belt driven supercharger would mount up very nicely to where the a/c compressor normally sits. It was a thought, since I've got another idea of salvaging the kit carbs, and doing something with them..but not as cool as forced induction. Now if I go the route of the centrifugal charger, where might I find one that has a slight vintage look...or shall I say a "Ferrari" look...or if anyone can point me to a tutorial on how to scratch one up I could try that... Thanks in advance guys, i've gotten inspired again to work on this kit, and i've got everything else pretty much figured out except this darn well detailed motor! Gray "the cornfused modeler"

Hmm I was wondering why I had a snotsickle hanging from my nose this morning.....lol As always Marc, your builds are top notch and this one will be no different. I'm looking forward to seeing that 6.1 under the hood of this one. Have you decided on wheels and a color yet? I'm guessing red since the XV Motorsports car is right? Keep up the good work bud, Gray