Danno

Wow.

Corvox and Snapper: You guys have precisely the kind of attitudes that will take you to the top of the hobby! You will not only encourage others to share their knowledge, experience, and expertise with you, but your selfless openness will result in so much more enthusiastic acceptance and interaction with others. You're on the right track; others could learn from you! If everyone approached this hobby as you do, there would be no flame wars at all. Bravo to you both!

The hot new Crispy Critter 500-ET (Extra Toasty).

Just a bit of info re: Ford truck fires. Ford had a significant design/manufacturing problem for a number of years with the design of its F-series and E-series pickups and SUVs (Expedition, Excursion, Navigator) that resulted in a large number of vehicle fires and a huge recall. The issue was an always-on switch in the cruise control. It was located in the engine compartment near the firewall. Ford's system had power always-on to the switch, via direct battery connection, even when the vehicle was not running, switched off, parked, what-have-you. Exposure to corrosion resulted in eventual failure of insulation at the switch and a fire would result. The most devastating of the fires were unattended, overnight events ~~ usually in driveways near houses or inside the garages, both of which often caused house fires. To their credit, Ford worked hard to replace the switches once the issue was identified.

Amen, Don. I'm on the same page with you and with Christian. And as this thread has demonstrated, all too many of us are hesitant or reluctant to offer constructive criticism for fear of being inundated with the attacking rants of the 'buddies' to whom you refer. So, we remain silent too often while the cheerleaders heap empty & unwarranted praise on the clueless and skill-challenged who might otherwise actually benefit from hearing that more glue is not always better and that paint depth measured in phathoms and presenting 3-D texture is not always the 'best paint job ever.' When truth and sincerity are rejected, or withheld in the first place, we all suffer. My somewhat unpopular .02 worth.

That's looking good!

Several months ago there was one running around the metro Phoenix area ~~ after SEMA ~~ according to various sitings by club members. After I saw it, I checked the factory data and found that vibrant green was not an available color. Turns out the car we were seeing around town was the SEMA prototype, obtained by a local enthusiast after the tradeshow. We had a discussion about it at a club meeting, and I confidently announced it was not an available color and cited my research. That must have been about 15 minutes after GM started pumping out Synergy Green as a mid-year option because virtually the next day we all began seeing several of them! SO MUCH for yet another attempt to know what I'm talking about!

Very nice, Doug!

Nice looking trio of 'tangs, Wayne!

Or, as John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Bonnie and Clyde used to say, "Now back to the guns and fame."

I still think you're right on track with a great build in progress!

Hey, Brian. You have the ends of the big round white tank on your Ecto-1a flipped around on the wrong sides.

Wow! That's neat. I'd never seen a Catherham C-1500 pickup before! Nice.

Hendrix products are very good; not the best, but well above average. They often are the only source for some special vehicles, and you really can't go wrong with their product. Two thumbs up.

Yes, I believe it was. He and another friend of mine drove it from Tucson for some kind of movie car meet or show. Your friend probably saw it. However, I was wrong: He has the Ecto1a not the Ecto1. You can check out his websites for more info and pix: Ecto1a Website Liquid Realities

Looking good, Brian. BTW, the real one that is for sale here in AZ belongs to a friend of mine; it's in Tucson. He's a member of the Tucson Miniature Auto Club (TMAC). His is one of the bona fide movie cars.

Whoa! That's some great stuff!!

Nice!!!

Out in the desert there aren't any hills, there are buttes. And that car is butte ugly! It's neither model nor real.

I know! I know! Real. What do I win?

Wild! What an unusual model. Can't wait to see it completed.

My pleasure, Matt. Just a little something I picked up that worked for me; glad to share it with you. That's what it's all about! Good luck.

Sweet!

Hey, Highway! Here's a little unsolicited help, or a suggestion, whatever. Maybe you are already onto this idea, but I've encountered the same problem ... or its cousin, the sprue mounting lug that gets trimmed off after painting. It looks like just the edge of your hood is showing bare plastic as a result of the paint being scraped off by a tight fit; hopefully, the chippage hasn't extended to the top surfaces of the hood and fender. If only the edges are damaged, you can make what I've found to be an easy fix. Sharpie marker. I bought a multi-color Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker set. All kinds of colors, most of which are commonly used in automotive modeling. I often use the orange and red markers for coloring taillights, marker lights, and turn signals. I frequently use the black, silver, and red for touch up of painted parts, chrome parts, or taillights, respectively. But I've also found that many of the markers are close enough to body color paints to pass for touchups of flaws, errors, scratches, scrapes or accidents such as yours. You might try the orange Sharpie marker on the edge of your hood. I'd lightly sand the hood edges to increase the fit/gap and reduce the chance of the damage repeating. Then run the orange Sharpie marker around the edge of the hood to cover the bare plastic. Even if it is not a precise color match, if you're lucky it will be close enough to not be noticeable when the hood is in place. Remember to not compare the surface color to the edge color; once the hood is in the 'closed' position the edges won't be visible and the marker coloring will appear natural ... much more so than the bright white bare plastic. Another little note about the orange Sharpie. I've found it to be excellent for touching up Chevy Engine Orange painted parts. I paint them all on the sprue, then clip them off, smooth the remaining burr, and touch it up with the orange Sharpie. Voila! You can't tell. Hope this helps, Highway. Just another little tool for your arsenal. As with most good ideas, it took longer to describe it than it takes to try it! Hope it works for you.