jaymcminn

Thanks Noel! I'm pretty sure Nick at least has the correct style panel fasteners in stock now as opposed to the Alfa ones I used, but the Alfa fasteners seem like they're a bit less fragile and easier to work with. If you have any questions shoot me a PM, always happy to help.

Thanks Dave, it's a favorite trick of mine. Hit it with a 4000 grit sanding stick to knock down the shine and go over it with a turquoise sharpie. Boom, instant glass edge!

Huh. Usually he just stole credit for other people's work.

A few days late but... New (2024) Kia Forte GT2. I had to drive over to Lauderdale to get it as they're pretty hard to find now with the 2025 K4 on the lots. 1.6 liter turbo with 7-speed dual clutch transmission. It's very quick and extremely fun to toss around. I'm behaving myself during the break-in period but I can't wait to wring it out a bit. The toys are nice. Ventilated seats in SW Florida are a game changer. Only mod plans at this time are for a 30% ceramic window tint.

Love that Orient "Sun Moon and Stars". I have the white-dial version!

I'm in Southwest Florida. The surprising thing was that he was by himself, there's a good-sized flock of them that usually roam my neighborhood together!

This guy hung out with me for a while today eating bugs out of the plants while I detailed the cars.

Looking excellent so far, Anton. Those monster Penta wheels with the flares are fantastic!

Ironic that such a dirty model should be such a clean build. Absolutely fantastic.

Absolutely EPIC!. Can't wait for the under glass thread!

I think you do just fine on your own, Charlie. Coming from one of the best builders I've ever seen that means a lot. Thanks!

The bones of the kit are pretty solid. Test-fitting is crucial and needs to be done vigilantly. The main modifications were the distributor and some extra wiring, carving the seats and adding photoetched washers for the rings in the 1:1 seats, and the aftermarket stuff. I added scratchbuilt switches to the dash and hinged the front hood panel as well. The kit PE covers a lot of detail and I didn't really need any supplemental PE. The issue I never was able to resolve was the slightly wonky fit of the rear clamshell, although I got it pretty close.

I built my Trumpeter GT40 before 3d printing was really a thing , but I adapted a 1/12 Corvette distributor (heresy!). I modified the kit seats since the KA aftermarket ones look worse somehow. I did splash out on Icon Automotive Miniatures tires and the KA spare tire, as well as decals from Best Balsa Kits. It's a nice kit but it takes a lot of fettling, some of it pretty aggressive, to get it to look "right".

Yup, looks right to me...

Thanks Pierre! The next trick will be trying to replicate a bare fiberglass airbox using paint effects. I have some ideas... That's the challenge with 1/12. They actually take up the same amount of space as about four 1/24 models. I've got a spot picked out for it if it comes out as I'm hoping it will! Fortunately most of this work is visible with the rear clamshell open, I don't think my wallet could take the hit of another one of these monsters!

Absolutely phenomenal. It's great fun watching you beat this old Lindberg lump into an amazing replica of one of the all time classics!

I started with the engine. I should have gotten pics during construction but it honestly went together so well I got into a rhythm with it. Metallics are all Vallejo Metal Air... Duralumin for the block, flat aluminum for the ancillaries, and exhaust manifold for the, umm, exhaust manifolds. The heat stains on the manifolds as well as the grunge on the valve covers was Tamiya Weathering Master pastels. ALL of the detail on the engine came right out of the box, and the fit is excellent. All of the lines and wires connect up in the engine bay with many more to be added. It's going to be properly busy in there! Impressions so far are very good. Fit is excellent, but Italeri's mold quality isn't quite up to Tamiya standards and some of the decisions to allow multiple variants on the same tool are a bit frustrating. The detail is first rate, however, and I'm really enjoying this build so far. Next up is the chassis, which is ready for primer and paint. More to come soon!

Super excited to be working on this kit at long last. The plan is to get away from the Alitalia livery and go for something a bit different. I saw this online and decided that this was the way... Color is going to be Tamiya French Blue. Probably going to stick with the yellow wheels but Italian Red isn't out of the running yet. Interior will be black but the seat inserts and upholstery inserts on the firewall and roof will probably be burnt orange. I am going to use a few of the decals (HF with Italian flags for the sides, Lancia logos, maybe a sponsor decal or two) to add visual interest. There will be mild weathering and light grunge... My idea for this build is of a millionaire's toy in the 70s that was used for bombing around the shores of Lake Como.

Fantastic build of one of the all-time great kits. Beautiful!

Yes, it could stand to come down by a scale 2" or so. In test fitting it sat a bit lower but the interior/glass interface pushed the ride height up in final assembly. The little rake it has out of the box is nice, though. The suspension is the same between the stock and Lorinser versions so this is how the stock 500 SEC will sit. I did narrow the track a bit by cutting down the hub assemblies to get the wheels to tuck in a bit more, otherwise they would have sat a bit proud of the wheel arches. The offset is different on the stock wheels so it wouldn't be necessary on the stock kit.

I don't have an unbuilt one... ...anymore.

I've ordered a few things from C1. The quality is first rate and they do have some really great stuff.

As a child of the 80s who was hyper-aware of cars, especially weird foreign ones, I loved the DMC-12 well before the movies came out. I still do, even knowing everything about them that I know now (Adam left out the screwy deal with the British government that resulted in the cars being built in Northern Ireland as an attempt to quell rebellion through economic investment; it, umm, didn't go well). Honestly, the BTTF movies probably saved the DMC-12 from total automotive obscurity. The reason so many of them haven't been turned into refrigerators and dishwashers is because the movie moved what would have been a minor, if especially pretty, footnote in automotive history into broader popular culture. Discussing the DeLorean without discussing BTTF is like discussing Lincoln without mentioning the Civil War. They're inextricably linked.

From a retail standpoint, I think it could be a challenge to shift. $380 is a lot of money when you can get it shipped from European retailers for about $270 total, and the (probably limited) market for this kit has been drooling and chomping at the bit for two years waiting for it to come out. I know I put my order in the day I saw it was available! It's a big chunk of change to potentially leave sitting on the shelf. I can't speak to the market in your area but I don't know how many walk-in customers would impulse buy a $380 kit of a 50-year-old Italian rally car. It's a shame that the US MSRP is so high on this kit, as Italeri's MSRP on their site is €210, about $220. $300 would seem more reasonable.

Working on mine now. So far it's pretty typical modern Italeri... It's no Tamiya "shake and bake" kit and it needs some fettling in places but it's true to its subject and I think it will be a brilliant model.