robertw

David, I haven't heard any announcements of new Corvette promos and on my last check of the website where I order from there was a note that he hadn't heard anything either. I did read somewhere that the company who distributed the promos had changed hands so that may be part of the problem and the Revell takeover by Hobbico may also be causing problems. I know that Hobbico recently reissued the snap C6 convertible and Z06 but they are not making them available in Canada so who knows what other strange things are happening. Rob W

Congratulations. This is excellent news for the hobby during a time when all we seemed to hear were suggestions of doom. I am sure that getting the product back into one or more of the big box stores will be high on your agenda which will be needed to grow the hobby in a new and younger generation of modellers. I know that we'll all look forward to seeing how your plans develop and what interesting kits reappear from the past. Rob W

Very nice job especially considering how quickly you got it finished. As a Canadian I've always thought that this was a kit I had an obligation to build but with your description of decal problems now I'm hesitating. Hope to see other open wheel racers from Team Ismael in the future. Rob W

I dropped Kevin a note as soon as I saw this. In his reply he told me that the Fellows white car sheet should be back from the printers in 4-5 weeks and he's think that the Bad Boys car sheet should be available around the end of March. Rob W

That is excellent news. Being a fellow Canadian Ron's car is a natural and since Jim Drew showed us his Bad Boys car I've wanted to do that one as well. Rob W

I switched over from the small tubes that you buy at the hardware store to the squeeze bottles from the LHS a couple of years back, and don't regret it. They last a lot longer, are cheaper in the long run and I find them less messy. I also don't find them quite as smelly but maybe I've just gotten used to the stuff. Depending on the size of the hole that you make in the bottle you can have a lot of control on how much comes out. I'll usually squeeze out two amounts smaller then the head of a match then mix them on my pallet. The mixing pallet I use are the plastic lids off Pringles potato chip cans. They are small, flat and a chisel point craft blade easily takes off the dried epoxy at the end of my modelling session. Rob W

An excellent job of representing a classic British sports car and what better color to do it in then a British Green. I'll have to keep my eyes open for one of these kits and will be pleased with myself if I can build it half as good as you have. Rob W

This is coming together to look like a great build of a classic car. I'm already looking forward to future installments as you build it. Rob W

It took the paint off all the way down when I tried the thinner. Looks like It's getting the dip. At best this was a long shot and a soak in CSC was probably the best way to go. If you're not already using it, use Tamiya masking tape or bmf for separating your two colors. I'd also recommend airbrushing water based acrylic for your engine compartment. If you get any bleed or over spray you'll find it a lot easier to clean up. I use acrylic to do the black window surround and window rubber trip for the same reason. rob

Enjoyed reading this threat and hearing the names of some of these old and even ancient kits once again. I'm one of these old guys whose modelling roots go back to the bagged Airfix, Pyro, SMP & AMT 3'n1 etc. I'm not sure of my first build, probably in the mid to late '50's I said I was one of the old modellers) but I remember building a squirrel that you then covered with flocking. I still have one of of my earliest builds, a Fokker Tri-plane probably by Revell or Aurora. Unpainted, gobbed with glue with a few decals still clinging to it, it survived only because it sat in my grandparents china cabinet for years (I think there's a rule that says grandparents must be proud of their grandchildren) it then ended up in a box of old kits in my parents attic. It now sits in my model cabinet in a place of pride, honored for it's history not its quality. robw

This is called, why in a situation like this I'll you acrylic over enamel. That will allow me to use a dissimilar thinner to remove the overspray. As suggested this will be tough to correct and considering that you have black paint over light blue masking and adding more blue might add a thicker layer of blue then you want. If the black is enamel you might try using a Q Tip dipped in thinner (not lacquer thinner) to rub off as much of the black as possible before masking and repainting in blue. If this were my project it would go into the Purple Pond and I'd start all over again. robw

I keep several pieces of a rubbery like material that you can buy in rolls to put as liners in cupboards. One piece to hold the bottom of the bottle and the second to help you to grip the top and I can twist most tops off. It has reduced my use of other more severe methods by at least 70%. Rob W

I've become a fan of Model Express. Always seems to have new kits as quickly as anyone and carries some of the Japanese and Revell Germany kits. He also carries a good selection of MCG, Pro Tech and Pegasus. The only thing he doesn't carry is paints. While Dennis runs a one man operation I've found him to be quick with his shipping and he's never messed up any order that I've sent. Rob W http://www.modelexpress.net

The list is long but since you've asked......here's a partial list. Corvette Stingray racer the new C6 ZR1 Solstice or a Sky McLaren F1 roadcar a modern Aston Martin or Jaguar conv Jeep Cherokee or Caliber so that I can build a model of a car that I've owned any Corvette that hasn't been available as a model Rob W

Corvettes and European sports cars plus anything else that suddenly takes my fancy. I recently finished an Italeri 1933 Chrysler just because I'd never built a model like that. Currently on the bench though is a Ferrari 355 by Fujimi. It is one of the nicest looking of the newer Ferrari's but has taken a lot of scratchbuilding. Rob W

After 32 years in the classroom as a teacher and school vice principal I retired at the end of June 2006 although I've remained involved with the school in several ways including a little part time teaching. I have to say that it's very nice to be able to get up in the morning and know that I can spend the entire day at the modelling bench if I want to. Despite having more time, my modelling output doesn't seem to have increased an appreciable amount but I'm trying to improve my building skills rather then just building models as a way to relax from the stresses of the job so projects are taking more time. Rob W

While I admit to not being a big fan of hotrods, this is such a nice clean build and the colors work so well together that I can't help but appreciate it and say, "I wish I'd built it!" Well done. Robw

It sounds like you've got decals that are really fragile so Andy's suggestion of the brush on product would be your best option and you might even give it a couple of coats. I've used it successfully for many years. robw

I used the Inca Gold on a project last week. Under it I used Tamiya White Primer so that primer is certainly compatible. The paint really does cover in one application, ie I made about three paint passes to ensure that I'd gotten every nook and cranny. Paint came out with what seemed to be a lot of force so keep that can moving. Once dry coverage was perfect. For the clear coat I used the Testors one and it applied like any other clear. The project is a two tone with Tamiya Pearl White and had no problems with Testors Clear over Tamiya. Again I made several passes with the clear can and it went on smooth and dried very quickly. I did try a second application of clear a couple of days later and was afraid that it was creating a rough finish on the paint but by the time it had tried the finish was smooth. I would recommend deepening any door/trunk lines before painting. Nice paint and I hope they'll broaden the range of colors but reduce the metal flake content to make it more suitable for factory stock applications. robw

Have had the same experiences with the bottles of Detailer. They dry too glossy, black changes to blue and they can really only be used in deep seam lines since they come off so easily. Go with thinned matte Acrylic paints, that way you can mix your own colors. I often find that black has too much of a contrast with most colors. robw

Thanks for the tip Matt. I was planning to put a coat of Inca Gold on a project today but had planned to use Tamiya Clear over it. Perhaps I'd better stick to the Testors line for the whole project. robw

That is a gorgeous build and the colour looks great on this car. Usually you see these painted in silver, met. gray or red but the cars looks at home in this color. robw

As stated all 53's were white but if you have the Monogram-Revell kit you could always build the car as a '54 then you could do it in Black, Sportsman Red or Pennant Blue. The Blue even came with a Beige interior the other colors still had the red interior. If you're wanting to do a Pearl effect the Tamiya Pearl White is easy to use and has a nice mild pearl effect. The new Testor's White Lightning appears to have a slightly heavier pearl effect but also looks very nice. robw

Enzoenvy1. While I may not comment on every model posted on the Forum, I for one build almost nothing but Corvettes & sports cars and appreciate every one posted on this space. Please bring them out because I'm both humbled and inspired by the quality of models that I see. Robw

That will look great behind any 1950's or '60's model. Well done!! robw