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Hello, OK, Here we go: There were 2 reasons why this project got stalled: 1. The paint scheme: Had to build up the courage (and experience) to paint it. This car is silver and black on the sides, white and black on top but there are thin silver and red stripes separating them. While it looks fairly simple, the thin stripes require the highest precision in the color separation lines. I always wanted to paint the silver part, not using the silver decal. I don't like the idea of a massive decal covering the side of the car. Add the fact that at the time I was a huge decal hater, and it was intimidating to say the least. I'm not exactly a decal lover now, but I consider decals now like my asthma. I aacept it will always be there so I better deal with it 2. The second reason I blame on my "overcomplicaditis" syndrome. I'm a sucker for accuracy on my models. I can be as anal retentive as the worst IPMS military modeler Race cars are always changing and evolving. That's why a specific timeframe must be set to represent a specific car. The model has no louvers on top of the fenders. That makes it an early version of the car. Yet, the back of the bodywork behind the cockpit makes it a later version. So I FOOLISHLY decided to add the louvers. The louvers themselves were constantly changing on the car. So I decided to do the car as it raced in Road Atlanta in 1987 where it was on the pole and set a new track record. (Shhh I didn't choose the 1986 Road Atlanta winner because the louvers were bigger Shhh ) So, for over 2 years I tried everything to replicate these louvers: Here are some of the attempts: and many others that were so bad they were not even worth a digital picture I gave up and was about to do it without the louvers, but while at Venture Hobbies in Chicago last Novenber, I found 0.75mm quarter round rods. Hmm OK one last chance: and TA DAH!!!! This is as close as I'll get. I plan on doing a decal for the outline of the louver panel. Now I'm ready for the paint challenge Sorry for the long post. Thanks,

Hello, This should be one of my most important projects of 2008. My grail for this year: the Quick Skins IMSA Corvette GTP. Brief History background: Back in the very early 80's, Lola designed a revolutionary chassis to compete in IMSA against the strangle hold of Porsche 935s of the day. This chassis, named T-600, debuted with a Chevy V8 powerplant. Lola had all their hopes into this sole car. It won it's debut race in 1981 and eventually captured the 1981 IMSA championship, despite having entered at the 5th race of the season. The success of this car generated interest in Chevrolet, which had not "officially" competed as a manufacturer since the late 50's. Chevrolet, at the time, was interested in developing their V6 turbo into the small block succesor. From this, a relationship between Lola and Chevrolet was established and the Corvette GTP program was borned, debuting in 1985. The model: Around 2004, Quick Skins announced it was going to release a resin kit of the GTP. I immediately salivated an ordered one as quickly as possible It was eventually released in late 2004 or early 2005. The model is quite good, with the body requiring only minor cleanup. A quick mock up shows the overall look. After cleanup, a good wash and removing the support bar in the windshield area, a light sanding and a quick coat of primer would reveal how it's going. The panel lines can use some deepening but overall it's looking good! right? Well, there's a catch in here: All this was done over 2 years ago. Why did it stalled and was not revived until now? That will be the topic of the next update: Stay tuned! Thanks,

Beautiful build! Love the color combo! I have that kit waiting its turn on the bench.... Thanks,

Jairus, that's a very nice comparison. Thanks! I've never used a Paasche. While having the proper airbrush is key to success, I use to say "It's not the arrow, it's the indian shooting it" Back in 1993 I used an airbrush for the first time. It was a Badger 150 from a graphics artist at college. I immediately knew I wanted one, but they were very expensive for a student like me. So I saw one in a Harbor Freight catalog called a Central Pneumatics 1500 for something like $19. Basically a cheapo copy of the 150: Dual action / internal mix. I bought it as a temporary fix until I could afford a "real" one. Well, Guess what, that's the ONLY airbrush I've ever bought or used since. I've used it pretty much almost daily for 15 years and counting. Some people that come to my workroom don't believe it. My only secret is: I disassemble and clean it completely after each use. It's not a chore, it's a ritual. It is definitely not the best choice for a graphics artist like Jairus. There are no fine or high volume needles/tip available for intricate work. But it has proven more than adequate for hobby use. Fine enought for this pattern: yet wide enough for this 1/48 monster (it takes the space of 5 1/25 cars) and of course all the cars in between. Bottom line, if I ever need to replace it I would look for dual action internal mix. Most likely a Badger 150. Thanks,

That is so cool! Great job on those pipes. They look sinister Thanks for sharing Art's story! One of my favorite aspects of this hobby: Learning about the 1:1 and/or history behind it. Whether a factory stock, a race car, and aircraft or a submarine, I love to learn about the real thing. Thanks!

Cool! My favorite car in my favorite color....

Don't you dare put NASCAR wheels and cover with NASCAR decals! then again, why not?

Pay? Wait a minute: Then why do I need to send Gregg a bag of cash every time I submit something to the mag?

I'm an electronics and communications engineer. I work for Motorola (14 years) currently as an engineering manager for tech support.

There's no formula for that. I probably had 10 different reasons for the last 10 builds. The only common thing is I build for myself so it has to be something I like. I don't care if it's not the cup of tea of somebody else or if it's not the judges favorite color. Something I usually take into consideration when choosing the next build is "Do I have everything I need?" that includes among other things paint, decals, any aftermarket parts, etc. but most importantly reference. We all have many projects started, but I try to concentrate on one primary build. Thanks,

Sorry, it was never my intention to put down the idea of using it as a starting point. That's actually a good idea....

Hello, After hours of body prep here we are. The plastic had more ripples than a surf beach! Panel lines rescribed, body parts attached and seams eliminated. I've used a lot of filler and almost a full can of T235 here. Now it is ready for color. Thanks,

If I am not mistaken, that's is actually a ZF S6-40 gearbox. That was the tranny used on ZR1 Corvettes (LT-5 engines). It was used in Corvettes until 1996. In 1997 the rear transaxle layout started using the BW T-56 that eventually became the Tremec. Thanks,

Don't let the low parts count fool you. Like others have said, if you like 308s this is the way to go. It is easy enough to be a quick build, yet it lends itself to additional detailing. More pics of my 308 The tail lights are the only part of this kit that can use some tweaking. Thanks,

COOL beyond words! Great job (what an understatement)! That's one of my all time favorite display cars and you did justice to it! I like everything about it, but the gas tank is probably my favorite part. Thanks for the inspiration and sharing!

That looks great! What type of paint did you use? I'll start on that same kit soon....... Thanks,

Unless you plan to do major surgery to the body and make the covers removable, don't even worry about painting it But it looks good Thanks,

I noticed that too earlier today. I immediately pre-ordered and this time I got the confirmation email so it's good this time around. The price however is the regular of 3000 yen instead of the special which I think was 2800. No big deal, I think that's about $3 difference. Thanks,

HE HE, That's David Thibodeau's Reynard. He posted it here as well and I used that trick on the Al Unser Jr's Indy car. I considered it for this build, but it was not feasable on this F1 car. Thanks!

Hello, The Corvette GTP will be the main project next, but this will run in parallel: Jacques Villeneuve's '97 driver's championship car. I wrote a very short review in the kit review section. This kit does not lend itself to superdetailing. That's fine, because I want a simple build. It will be an "Exercise in the basics" The way this kit is designed you have to put the interior tub before getting the body halves together. This leaves unacceptable gaps. So after some thought, I opened the back of the tub and the seat can slide forward now. The body can be glued and painted. Let the filler loose.... Thanks,

OK, I know this kit has been out for years but it is rather unknown. Gilles Villeneuve was a Canadian racer who was a Ferrari F1 driver in the late 70's and was killed in a racing accident in 1982. Jacques Villeneuve, his son, is a talented and popular race driver on his own right. He won the Indy 500 in 1995 and then moved to Formula 1. In 1997 he won the world's drivers championship in a Williams Renault FW19. This kit celebrates that championship. Despite been released in a Revell-Monogram box, this is evidently a Revell Germany F1 kit. Rumor has it this kit was supposed to be a Canadian exclusive product, but you'll have no problem finding it out of Canada. The kit was supposed to be a one time only run of 75,000 units, and it includes a "certificate of authenticity" Mine says it is #49791 of 75000. All part are molded in dark blue. Even the wheels. The only non-blue parts are the tiny little windshield and the stop light thing they use in bad weather. The simplified kit has low parts count and seems to assemble rather easily. I mocked up mine in just a few seconds. The proportions look good. The upper body is all one piece, so don't waste any effort on the engine as it will not be seen, unless you plan to make major surgery and separate the engine cover from the body. The way the kit is designed, you need to put the interior tub in place before gluing the top and bottom together, resulting in obvious seam lines. I did a workaround this problem by cutting the back of the tub, so the seat can be inserted from the back. (More on this later in the workbench sesion). The decals are gorgeous and I hope they perform as good as they look. All the white in the car is in the decals sheet so you only need to paint the car in blue. The rest of the colors are decals. Since the primary sponsor of the car is a tobacco product the model represents the correct livery used in tobacco banned events, replacing the tobacco logo with question marks. The decals are probably the biggest challenge of the build. The molded panel lines can use some deepening. This looks like a fun kit that should go together easily. It does not lend itself to heavy superdetailing, but that is actually a good thing. You can build this as an exercise in the basics and end up with a nice looking Formula 1 model. Special thanks to Ken Krawiec for getting me the model... Thanks,

AARRGGHH!!!! Just after I pre-ordered mine, HLJ stopped taking pre-orders and have a little note explaining. Somehow, I fear my pre-order will not be filled...... If there was any doubt this was going to be a blockbuster hit....... Come on Hasegawa, step up!

Nice job! That looks great!

It's finally finished! Thanks everybody for following along. It is now posted in the Under Glass section. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9504 Thanks,

Hello, It's finally done! What a fun project this was! I figured that if I was ever going to build a '68 Ford, this was it! 1968 Dan Gurney's Indy 500 car: Weslake powered Olsonite Eagle. He finished 2nd in that race, one of his Eagles won the race. Make sure you check the complete page I did with many more pictures, details and a cool surprise! Click here for more details, sights and sounds I'll be the first one to admit the model may not 100% accurate, mainly because of lack of reference material. I believe this is the configuration he used for qualifying. MPC Eagle kit, 1/25. Reissued in the '90s Cobra Colors paint Kit's decals with whites from Cady decals Here is a list of modifications: - reworked body for better fit on the sides and top - machined ignition module - ignition wiring - fuel plumbing - machined cap for the quick change transaxle - home made aluminum velocity stacks - plumbed oil filter - brass half shafts - 3 piece machined shifter - brass rear sway bar - aluminum sheet gas tanks tops - 6 parts each independent coilovers in brass steel wire and aluminum - brake lines - steel wire front sway bar links - aluminum rear sway bar brackets - aluminum upper rear coilovers pins - steel rear sway bar links connected to lower arm - solder headers - machined aluminum tailpipes - scratchbuilt seatbelts and hardware (I know the real ones are black, but I did them in dark red to add some color and contrast to the dark cockpit) - brass roll bar - machined dry sump oil tank cap - aluminum gas tank caps - aluminum rear wing with steel wire bracing -.. and many others I don't remember now Your comments are appreciated. Thanks!