robertw

I've tried both the Future and Bin Zinnser to seal plastic and found the latter to work the best. While Future cut down the amount of bleed it didn't stop it totally but the Bin did. I sprayed the Bin from the rattle can and it goes on very heavy although as stated it does sand down easily. I picked up a quart of it and the paint store recommended Methyl Hydrate as a thinner so the next time it's needed I'll be airbrushing. RobW

Ismael told me I had to check this project out. He was impressed by it and I'm blown away. This deserves to be a winner and I look forward to seeing it on the forum and on the Scale Corvettes website when you're finished. I assume you're using the Mono/Revell kit for this build rather then the AMT one. Rob W

This is going to be one beautiful model !!!! I'll look forward to seeing it finished. Rob W

Yes it was a very entertaining race, probably the best so far this year. It's always nice to see some one other then the expected big guns to score big points. At one point there was a scene of a Red Bull crew crossing his fingers, the funny thing is that I was also doing the same thing. I've been a DC fan since his early days with McLaren and remember his last podium finish at Monaco when Red Bull forced him to wear that stupid Superman cape. How embarrassing for him. One of the things that made the race so exciting was the track damage and the role it played but unfortunately if Montreal wants to keep the event Bernie will force them to spend tens of millions to rebuild it. The perfect tracks seem to have the most boring processional races. Rob W

One of the brands of paper towel has a feature that allows you to tear off as half sheets. The half sheet folded in half then folded in half again and two quick cuts creates four pieces that are 5.5x3 inches each. A roll of paper towel can now last half a year or more. Rob W

Len, I've attempted to answer your question on the other board but in short there were at least three '85's painted Code 35 yellow so I would guess the '84 would also be a color evaluation vehicle. Rob W

Thanks for the pics. I have a soft spot for Studes since the first car I ever owned was a hand-me-down '54 Studebaker from my parents. Rob W

Very nice! I think that more modellers are beginning to build these beautiful old pre-war classics. I have the Jo-Hans '34 Mercedes 500K but with the roadster body to build and my plan is to do it in the same red scheme as yours. When I bought the kit it came with two bodies & fenders and I'd like to do the second one up as a modern interpretation of a classic but will have to scratchbuild the second chassis. Someday ! Rob W

Maybe the classics are becoming the 'in' models to build but I've also developed an interest in building some of these road mammoths of a bi-gone era and I've picked up several over the last few months. The Monogram kits seem to have the best reputation and best variety and I don't think you'll be disappointed in any of them. They may not be up to present day Tamiya quality but remember most came out of the 1960's & '70's. Considering their age they are very nicely detailed. I've built the Italeri '33 Chrysler and have a couple more from this line to build. They date from the '80's but will be a little more difficult to build with multipart bodies, in some cases not separate sidewalls and a fit that can sometimes be tricky. In the end careful and slow construction techniques will create a model on par with the Monogram models. The only Jo-Han kit I've picked up so far is the MB 500K. It's 1/25 compared to the standard 1/24 of most of the others. While mine had a little more flash then normal it was easily cleaned and again the kit is very nicely detailed. The nice thing about all these kits is that they are big enough to allow fat fingered modellers the opportunity to add what ever detail they think they can. I just wish there were some PE produced for them. It can also be difficult to find reference material on some of them. My recommendation is to grab anyone of these classics and have fun. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the results. robw

Rather ironic when you consider that a lot of the changes that have been occurring in F1 over the last few years were all brought in to supposedly reduce the costs making it possible for smaller teams to get in and be competitive. The more things change the more they stay the same I guess. RobW

They cost a little more but take a look at the Dremel Stylus. Looks like a phaser off Star Trek but is easy to handle once you get the hang of it. Runs off a Lithium Ion battery so a charge lasts a long time and it recharges quickly in its mounting stand. It has multiple speeds accessed by rotating a knob on the end of the tool. I've only had mine for a year but my older plug in Dremel was retired quickly after I used the Stylus. robw

I somehow missed this one. A very nice clean stock build. I like it so much that I built one in the same colour scheme a few years back. Rob W

Not a Vette but I do have a model painted in Camel Yellow and it is too dark to match either Millennium or Velocity Yellow. I have a paint chip of Millennium Yellow and it is just a touch darker then TS-47 and Velocity Yellow is a little brighter then Millennium Yellow so it might be fairly close to TS-47 Chrome Yellow. TS-16 has a little more of a Lemon tint to it so it may also be close to the C6R colour. I also have the Bad Boys decals on order so will be checking its color against these two Tamiya colours when the sheet arrives. Rob W

Fujimi is certainly becoming Ferrari Central to the modelling community. Not sure where I'll find the room to store another pile of 'build in the future kits' but I'll achieve the extra room somehow. I wish Fujimi would switch to white plastic for their Ferrari kits though. Rob W

Very nice ! One of the first cars I built when I switched from a/c to cars about 15 years ago. Mine from that period is certainly not the quality of yours; I need to build a better one I think. Almost bought a real one back when I went through my mid life buy a sports car period. Rob W

Two or more Guys doing some kind of activity....when doesn't it become some sort of competition. Give a couple of guys a 6 pack and it will turn into a drinking contest in a matter of minutes. LOL I've had this conversation with modelling friends before, as to why displays always seem to have an element of competition. My argument is that our projects are miniature works of art and that art galleries don't do competitions. Their response, after laughing at me, is that it requires a competitive element to get guys to bring models out more then once. I guess the desire to determine who is best is just part of human nature. Rob W

Very nice !!! The weathering on the tires and along the rockers really make this a nice model and those wheels! I just hope that they'll make them available separately someday. Rob W

As usual Felice's work is both humbling and inspiring. It is nice to see that these old kits can be brought to life by a master modeller. Rob W

I agree with Paul. The 1/20 scale one is just about as bad as it can get. The AMT one was also released as a promo although the colors are off. My only criticism would be the chassis attachment holes that go through the lower body. MCG also make a nice PE set for this kit so make sure you get one. This kit has had a couple of reissues since its original '98 release so shouldn't be too hard to find. Rob

Bob's suggestions are right on. I've built both the spyder and the berlinetta. I'm also one of those who mistakenly left the trenches above the side glass. Can't explain why I missed this because I had lots of references but by the time I realized my mistake it was too late to correct. The side scoops are, as suggested, a real pain but time must be spend blending them in. I cut the cooling slots on the rear deck, without cutting out the deck but did rescribe the deck lines. I added PE metal mesh beneath the slots (MCG#2258) which pretty much eliminated my concern that you would see that there was no engine below. The interior needs the most work. I scratchbuilt new inner doors, extended the footwells slightly, separated the headrests from the seats, scratchbuilt new drivers gauge clusters, scribed the airbag outline onto the passenger side dash plus did other little enhancements. The steering wheel is also wrong, being from the 348, and I replaced it with one from the Lindberg '97 Sebring. After some modifications it's much closer in appearance to the airbag equipped one in the 355. For an accurate 355 find some references before you start your work. Forza Magazine has had some good articles on the 355 but even checking out the web should provide cars for sale that will have useful photos. Good luck on your build, the 355 is probably my favorite Ferrari. Rob W

It's been slow here as well. I've been noticing it for the last couple of weeks. I just assumed that it was my older computer although I hadn't noticed the difference on other websites. Rob W

I'm sure that things will settle down but this was certainly an exciting way to start the season with only 7 of 22 cars finishing. I don't really feel that bad for Kimi. He's made his career being an aggressive driver and this time it turned and bit him Did you hear DC, picture of an angry man!! I'd hate to see Australia lose its GP. Bernie E. seems far more interested in making millions then putting races into areas that have a passion for auto racing. He's been threating to dump the Canadian GP and the British GP but is willing to put one in China, Malaysia, Bahrain, and now Singapore & Turkey and probably Russia. What do these places have in common other then piles of money and governments and industries that don't have to account to anyone for how they spend it. The common denominator for these countries has certainly not been a racing history, previous track facilities or a large and interested fan market. These newly built tracks also seem to produce the dullest races. My 2 cents worth. Rob W

I'm looking forward to see many of these classics finished. After having finished the Italeri '33 Chrysler before Xmas I've developed a desire to build a few more of them. Rob W

Research...then some more research. Using the research I then start looking over the kit which usually leads me back to the internet or books to confirm some missed details. When I finally get down to actually working on the kit my first work will involve sanding the body, removing mold lines, correcting what needs to be done on the body, test fitting and finally priming. I'll usually paint the body before I begin working on the interior or engine since it gives time for the paint to fully dry before polishing. Somewhere during this process the model usually goes back in the box for awhile as I'm drawn to other new or old projects. I think this all explains why I get so few models completed each year. LOL Rob W

If you think that is bad. The requested shipping fees to Canada are now in the $20 range for one kit. It has certainly turned me off the auction sites. Rob W