jaymcminn

Brian, I'll use four or five different glues and cements on any given build... and none of them come from a Testor's tube. If you're limited to a Hobby Lobby you can find most of the types of products you'll need there. The Plasti-Zap C/A that Matthew was referring to in his post is, basically, super glue. Hobby Lobby sells both thick and thin versions under a different brand name in the model department. Thick CA adhesive is great for filling gaps. CA isn't good for gluing chrome or windows, however... it can leave a white residue that is difficult to remove. A good liquid cement is also important to learn to use... Plastruct Bondene is my cement of choice, but Hobby Lobby should sell the Testors Model Master liquid cement that works well also. Liquid cement bonds the plastic parts together... it works best when you're doing subassemblies before paint, such as gluing the two halves of an engine block together. It will ruin paint if you get it on there, just like tube glue. The best adhesive for clear and chrome parts is five-minute epoxy. This is a two-part clear adhesive that comes in two tubes- the epoxy and the hardener. you mix the two together in a 1:1 ratio and it sets up very strong about five minutes after mixing, It's very durable and dries clear, so it's an excellent choice for these areas of your model. It also won't attack paint or plastic. On the down side, it can be pretty messy to work with! Due to its strength, I also use epoxy for attaching major assemblies (body/interior tub, body assembly/chassis) together. Five-minute epoxy is available at any hobby store and most hardware stores. One of my favorite adhesives may be a little harder to find, but it's worth looking for- it's a product called "Micro Krystal Klear". Basically, it's a thick white glue that dries absolutely clear. It's great for the "glass" on instrument faces (although epoxy works for this as well) and to glue small chrome and other trim pieces. It cleans up with water, will not harm any plastic or painted surface, and is absolutely non-toxic. It's not a very strong bond, however, so it's really best used for applications where you need a really invisible bond on a small or light part. Most better stocked hobby stores have it or can get it for you or you can find it online. Hope this helps!

Geoff, that's gorgeous. I wonder if that "panel line accent" color is just re-packaged Smoke?

Geoff, I'm loving this build so far. I've been looking wistfully at the Speedster kit in my stash... one day I'll get around to it. Until then, I'll enjoy watching yours come together.

Beautiful work on this kit so far. When I built mine, I couldn't bear to cover that body up with the Monte Shell decals, so I built it as a "body-in-white" car ready to be deilvered to a customer. Can't wait to see more progress on this one!

Thanks, Tim. The yellow mirrors definitely work better with the additional yellow touches on the body and interior. I'm glad I kept them too!

Thanks, Matt. Your build, in particular the heads-up on the fit of the "flying buttresses", really helped on this one. Now get back to work on that Maserati!

Here's a better shot of that rear diffuser... I'm really pleased with how this turned out. Note the mesh inserts around the exhausts. Here's that big swath of CF in the engine bay... I kept the engine detail pretty simple, just using a few photoetched scripts to dress things up. The fiddly and complicated photoetched wipers are also visible in this shot. And finally, here's the GTO with the last Ferrari to wear that name... I really need to get on that Italeri 250 GTO I have gathering dust! Overall, I was really impressed with the Revell 599 GTO kit. The fit was excellent and the finished model represents its subject well. I did lower the suspension by about two scale inches, as I thought it just sat too high out of the box. The Hobby Design photoetched set gets high marks, too, and I'm going to be buying a LOT more of the Scale Motorsports CF decals for future projects... they're really amazing.

I've been working on this one for a while now- it's the Revell Ferrari 599 GTO. Paint is Tamiya Deep Blue Metallic with livery decals from Hobby Design. The roof is painted in Tamiya Gunmetal with a coat of clear satin to protect it. I also used the Hobby Design photoetch detail set for this model, which I can't recommend highly enough- all the grilles and mesh come with the set, as well as the slick tread-plate interior floors. I used Scale Motorsport "High Definition" carbon fiber decals throughout the model- under the hood, all through the interior, and on the rear diffuser. This was easily the most challenging aspect of the build, as it was my first time working with these amazing decals, but I'm really proud of how all the CF turned out. It's such a noticeable part of the real car that it had to turn out right. The four-point harnesses were done with cloth medical tape "dyed" with a yellow sharpie. The hardware came in the Hobby Design set. I used Detail Master flocking applied with spray-mount to represent the blue Alcantara "suede" interior parts- the GTO doesn't have carpet. The seat buckets were done in carbon fiber, but the pattern doesn't show up well in this shot. On to some shots of the finished model...

A buddy of mine has a Solstice It's an '07 that he bought with only 15k miles on the clock last year. Neat little car, but: 1- no spare tire, or any real provisions for a flat 2- a tiny amount of cargo space with the top up, none whatsoever with the top down 3- shocking interior build quality 4- not nearly as quick as you'd expect (but the GXP solves that problem) 5- really, really unreliable- CEL continuously goes on for no apparent reason, trans control module crapped out at 17k miles Overall, it's a fun little car, but I'd never have one as my only form of transportation.

Don't forget about the Revell "Amigo Pack" issues from about ten years ago that included a 1:64 diecast in the same color scheme as the 1:25. I still have the little T-bucket diecast on my computer desk.

It's going to come right down to the wire on the mirrors... I'm not 100% sure on them right now, but I'm thinking that with the yellow calipers and Scuderia shields, they'll flow better with the rest of the design. If not, they'll get repainted in gunmetal.

I've just gotten this one out of the paint shop- the Revell Ferrari 599 GTO. The paint is Tamiya TS-53 Deep Metallic Blue. The yellow livery stripe came from the Hobby Design GTO stripe decal set. I decided to do something different here... usually 599 GTOs have either the livery stripes or the metallic grey roof. I decided to combine the two and I think the results are pretty striking. The wheels were stripped and finished in the same Tamiya gunmetal paint as the roof. Brake calipers will be yellow as well. Interior will be grey and black Alcantara. I also purchased the Hobby Design detail set which will provide a lot of additional detail for this build. I have some Scale Motorsports High-Def carbon fiber decals coming for the many carbon fiber bits on this car- I've never used these decals before, so it will definitely be an education. Here are some pics so far... as always, questions and comments are welcome!

Hey, it's finished! Can't wait to see it "in person" this Monday... just outstanding!

Good luck finding the Detail Master wire wheels... I don't think they make them anymore. It's a shame, because they were really nice.

Beautiful clean work, Geoff. That color scheme is fantastic!

For me, the "gotcha" factor has more to do with coming up with a cool and unusual color scheme than anything else. Everybody's seen a red Ferrari or Lamborghini. But a light blue Ferrari? A brown Lamborghini? That's something different that draws you in. I take pride in my paint work and detailing, but I really like building something that you don't see every day.

I've dealt directly with Tamiya's customer service on several occasions and they are fantastic. I'd be highly surprised if they couldn't help.

Matt, I'm really enjoying this build. This is one of my "someday" models and it's really interesting to see an accurized version taking shape.

I should have mine arriving tomorrow... $159 on Ebay and free shipping to boot! I've also ordered a set of decals to represent the #1 car. I'm probably not going to go nuts on getting every little detail perfect (and I'm not going to spend a fortune on the KA detail sets), but I'm going to do what I can (within reason) to do justice to the original. It seems that a lot of these get started and put away by builders who don't have the patience to see a project like this through, and I don't want to fall into that trap.

Beautiful build, Geoff. I'm in the process of building the '73 Carrera RS now as an "outlaw" hot rod and have been struggling with this kit's ride height issues as well. I love the subtle color choice... it really has that eighties vibe!

Awesome... when I painted my 288GTO I used red oxide primer and the Italian red turned out a little dark. This might be just the ticket for my next red Ferrari... probably the F50.

I hate the name, but the car is a masterpiece. I just wish Tamiya would do this one, although the Revell version should b e alright.

It's hideous. An overstyled mishmash of vents and louvers that isn't nearly as attractive as the Aventador it's based on. The price is an insult to decency, just like the styling. Hopefully the Sultan of Brunei will buy all three so they'll never be seen again.

Thanks, Charlie. I can't find a manufacturers tag anywhere, but I don't think it's Hey-Wake. My guess is Lane or Broyhill from the late sixties. I might research it if I ever get bored and/or curious enough.

Thanks, Ron. I had a blast restoring that thing... it's kind of appropriate to put some time and effort into a piece of furniture that showcases the models I've put so much time and effort into. And yes, that is the Big Deuce... it's really nice to get that monster under glass!