jaymcminn

Great work on this big cat. It's funny- I didn't care too much for this design back in the '80's, but it has aged remarkably well. Your build really nails the look!

Great work. I can only imagine what it's like building a race car with Fujimi's (in)famous Enthusiast Model fit issues!

Don't worry too much about primer hiding surface detail. I use DupliColor sandable primers and primer-sealer and have never had to worry about it- lacquer primers shrink down to the surface, so you can lay down a few coats before losing any detail. I usually use DupliColor primers straight from the can. As far as Tamiya paint goes, I've never tried it without primer, but it's good stuff. I clearcoat it with Testors One Coat Clear after about two days drying time. The Testors lacquers, both OneCoat and Custom Lacquer System, also work well. As far as polish goes, I've used Meguiar's Number 7 Professional for years, although I've recently started playing around with their new Ultimate Compound. One of the biggest advantages to using lacquers, be they hobby or automotive, is the ability to use high-quality automotive polishes on the paint.

Hmm, for me it's all about color and form. I believe that paint should showcase the best features of the car and that custom work should only improve the shape of the vehicle. When I build factory stock I try to go with colors and options that stray from the expected. I try to incorporate detail, but I try never to add so much detail that the build starts to feel "cluttered". I don't view myself as a "rivet counter", but I do like my work to look like something that could actually work in the 1:1 world. Even though I build in lots of different genres, I believe that my style is pretty easily recognizable by other builders.

Masking. Masking stinks. My current build is the Fujimi 1/24 Ferrari 512bb, which has the rocker panels in satin black and flat black trim around the windows. I masked it all with BMF before shooting it with the airbrush. It turned out perfect, but masking it took longer than painting it!

It's just a hazard of this hobby. I've gone fabric shopping (lace for lace paint jobs and cotton flannel for polishing cloths) at Jo-Ann, "sanding stick" shopping at Sally, and stood in line behind twenty little old ladies with carts full of fake flowers at Michael's to purchase one little bottle of Testors yellow to complete a project after the hobby shop was closed. I've bought beading supplies, scrapbooking supplies, and beauty supplies, even though I neither bead nor scrapbook, and my beauty tends to be of the internal variety.

That's definitely got the vintage look. Nice work!

One does not drive oneself to the Oscars. One is driven to the Oscars.

When I get around to building mine, I have the RMCoM Ardun heads and the SCoT blower waiting for it. It's probably not going to have a hood. It's nice to see that you can actually shoehorn the Ardun motor in there!

Great work so far, Mike. Needs a bigger motor, though.

Very sharp. I love early MGBs.

Got a "grail kit" from EvilBay... The Fujimi Enthusiast Stratos in 1:24. It's an interesting kit- Fujimi basically kitted this one up in the mid-90's using a lot of the old Ferrari Dino tooling for the drivetrain with new tooling for the rest. There is a photoetched fret included... So far, I have mixed feelings about this kit. It should go together pretty well, and the Dino parts are beautiful, but the Stratos-specific parts are pretty primitive by comparison. It definitely shows a dropoff in quality from the mid-80's to the mid 90's. Also, this kit does NOT build an authentic race/rally Stratos. the decals for the Chardonnet car are included, but this kit represents a factory-stock Stratos Stradale, and the Stratos door scripts are included on the decal sheet as well. I was aware of this going in, but I could see someone being disappointed. I'm happy about it, as I really wanted to build a Stradale. This will probably be my next project.

"Geoff" looks fantastic (right down to the mustache), as do the others. Great work!

The metalflake on that green looks perfect for a late '60's drag car. Great builds!

Ira, I really like how this is going so far. Have you thought about rounding off the rear edges of the side window opening to give it more of a Bugatti Atlantic feel? That might be pretty cool with this design. Can't wait to see where this goes next!

Great work, Raul. The BAT cars really were straight out of science fiction!

Absolutely fantastic. The turquoise interior against the orange pearl is amazing.

Don, that is Tamiya TS-54 Light Metallic Blue over a dark grey primer base (Duplicolor Hot Rod Grey). Glad I could help!

That is an interesting idea, really well executed. Very cool!

Man, that's nice. Love the white with the red interior.

Don, the word "issues" is a bit mild to describe the challenges in getting this model together. Don't get me wrong- it was a blast to build- but there is a lot of work that goes into the last few steps. First, as I mentioned earlier, you might want to section the wheel hubs by about 1/16 inch. This should narrow the track just enough to make it a little more realistic. That having been said, the look of my coupe with the wheels pushed out a little has grown on me- it's pretty aggressive-looking. Second, the interior sides seem to interfere with the one-piece window unit. I wound up trimming about 3/32 off of the bottom of the body sides to get the body to sit down properly. It's tough to get the interior centered properly as there is an annoying lack of positive locating tabs for the interior sides, which can lead to the body sitting lopsided on the frame. Finally, I would recommend that, unless you are opening the trunk, you leave off the fuel tank and spare tire detail at the rear of the chassis. You'll probably have the body off the frame a few times getting everything to fit right and it's a lot easier to maneuver the body off without the "saddlebag" fuel tanks at the back. It is in no way visible whatsoever once the kit is built. Don't let these niggles deter you at all- this kit is a challenge, but a fun one. It's one of the best-engineered of the Enthusiast kits and builds into a fantastic model if you're willing to put in the effort. I liked it so much that I ordered the Spyder when HLJ had them on sale a few weeks ago!

I'm gonna go with model here- probably 1:12 or 1:8 scale. There's just something about the diamond plate that looks a little... off.

I had a Custom Lacquer System blue pearl do exactly the same thing, but it was a fairly old can. Never had it happen with any of the One-Coat colors, though.

Great color combination on a spotless build... what more could you want?

Good work, Matt. I broke one of the door pillars just taking the parts out of the box!