jaymcminn

Let it get dirty. It's a badge of honor. I ran a small screw through the stem where the base meets the top to keep it from coming apart on me.

Harry, one thing that impresses me about your process is how you don't differentiate between "old school" and "new school" techniques. You just go with whatever works best for you and the results speak for themselves. Things like cardstock for the floors and carving basswood for the seats really go back to how this hobby began before the aftermarket was a thing, but you are not afraid to try new products like the Spaz Stix chrome as well. A lot of modelers get into a rut building the same thing over and over, but you find some way to make every project unique. Even if I don't always comment, I'm always watching your latest build (and looking for techniques to poach!) and am always blown away.

Yup. The headlights were a dead giveaway. Didn't know Pierce-Arrow hung on for quite so long though.

This one was diabolical, Harry, I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about pretty little '60s sports cars and it took three days to figure out- by realizing that the Alpines in the background could have been built in Brazil instead of France!

Mine was the EM version, Matt. The instructions for that kit have you install the front valance after the chassis as well. Do you have the Circuit Wolf curbside release?

That was my suggestion too, Matt. It'll fit with a little persuasion. Just ignore the sound of creaking plastic and you'll be fine!

There is no way the BBC will cancel Top Gear unless Clarkson really forces the issue. My guess is that there will be some form of public apology from Jezza, the producer will move on to another show, and Clarkson will continue on in his capacity as TG's resident oaf until he does something truly horrendous like punch a small child or buy an Astra diesel.

Good job, Matt. You'd never know from the finished model what a bear this was to build.

I recently built the 1/12 Lotus 72. You can really go to town detailing these 1/12 Tamiya F1 cars. Great start!

Beautiful work, Matt. I haven't gotten around to tackling this beastie myself yet, but I've started work on the Lotus Esprit engineered around the same time. Monogram was really pushing the envelope for the period when they designed these supercar kits. Your work is definitely paying off!

That and that it was parked next to a Lada.

Wait, are my eyes deceiving me or is RoG finally abandoning those stupid wheels with the brake disc sandwiched between two sets of spokes? I'm definitely picking one of these up. There are at least three of them in town here already... if you think they look good in pictures it's nothing compared to how they look in person.

Very nice. I did my Hasegawa 328 GTS in gunmetal grey with a red over black interior and it's a fantastic color combo. This kit is a real sweetheart to build and you're really doing it justice so far.

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for these. The styling is actually pretty nice once you get past all that chrome.

Between the Ebbro DS 19 and this, 2015 is shaping up nicely...

Be careful with the Testors colors. I think they're the Custom Lacquer series, which are meant to be used under a clear lacquer top coat as part of a two-stage system. The base color coat is too soft to be used on its own and will not polish out properly. The Tamiya black will polish out to a brilliant shine without a gloss coat... give it a few days to dry before polishing.

They glue into place.Use five-minute epoxy and make sure they're aligned properly.

It's pretty slick. The profile looks like the classic GT 40, but the details really make this design stand out. I particularly like the way the body tucks in behind the cockpit and the nifty flying buttresses between the body and rear fenders. As much as I love the '04 GT, the new one feels like its own design more than a rehash of the original.

I used Micro Krystal Klear applied with a toothpick.

What Cato said. I thought I had mine perfectly dialed in until the final test fitting over the finished floor pan, which revealed a ton of fitment issues that I had to correct before priming and painting the body panels. It's a fun kit, but challenging to say the least. Feel free to PM me with any questions, and good luck!

Yessss! I can see at least two or three of these in my future, especially if we get Estate and Cabriolet variants.

Tamiya 1/12 Datsun Fairlady (240) ZG. Tamiya 1/12 Ferrari 312T. Before I get to either of those I need to get some new wall display cases built for all the 1/24 models those big boys are going to displace. I also have a few 1/24 projects I want to work in around the big projects for the year.

Yeah, this is going to be how about 80%* of Hellcats meet their fate. They should come with factory-installed dash cams, if only for the entertaining YouTube videos. *The other 20% being immediately mothballed by idiots looking to sell them for huge profit in 25 years.

The Esci BMW M1 kits are the only ones I have experience with. On one the body was pretty badly warped, but I was able to get it sorted. On the other one they included the incorrect wide Procar body in the street version box. Detail is pretty nice but the moldings are a little crude. The major attraction is that some of their subject matter, like the M1 and the mk2 Escort, isn't available elsewhere.

Winter in south Florida is the best painting weather, so I have quite a few projects lined up... my Fujimi 911 cabrio, the Monogram (ex Aurora) Aston Martin DB4 in racing livery, and the Tamiya 1/12 scale Ferrari 312t are the next three I have in the queue. Unless something else grabs my attention in the meantime, that is!