Justin Porter

Not entirely sure! Hasegawa is a staple of my stocking across many genres - auto, air, and sci-fi. They hit a nice price point and their kits tend to be excellently detailed.

Another day and even more progress on the V12. The USCP detail set REALLY does the trick for dressing up the Fujimi engine. The trumpets were done in Alclad Chrome which really helps them stand out as the icing on this cake.

Progress continues on the V12 at the heart of this build. I painted the cam covers with Cobra Motors Satin Black and added a few of the engine's ancillary details. The alternator belt was a bit of a disappointment, being molded solid(!) so out came my scriber and I managed to carve it out. Finally, I added the carburetors from the USCP detail set, currently wearing a coat of Tamiya Titanium Silver with the delicate linkages picked out in Mr Color Silver and the throttle return springs picked out in gloss black.

I can't say anything about their candy paints as I haven't used them, but the Extreme Metal range is one of my favorites to use because of the consistency of results compared to Alclad. The only real downside I've found is that when you get a bottle that's off - generally because it's old stock that's separated too much on the shelf - there's no amount of shaking or stirring that's going to bring it back. If your local shop either doesn't turn over paint often, or doesn't mind the age of their stock that doesn't turn often, then it's not a good line of paint to chance.

With my California finally finished, I felt ready to tackle a build that I have been aspiring towards pretty much the whole time I have been a modeler. The idea of a superdetailed build of a 250 GTO has been in my dreams ever since I watched my Dad make an attempt at the Gunze Sangyo High Tech kit as a kid. Instead of the Gunze kit with its wonky white metal chassis and glaring rear bodywork issues, I'm using the Fujimi kit as my base. To it, I am adding 3D printed wire wheels and Dunlop tires from Jack Modelling, 3D printed carbs, coils, exhaust tips, and wired distributors from USCP, and a full photoetch detail fret from Renaissance. The start of the build involved sawing the intake and carbs off the Fujimi block to replace them with the USCP unit. I've selected AK Interactive Extreme Metal Matte Aluminum as the base paint for the engine and transmission. Away we go!

Finally have my Indycals decals so I am starting to apply the most critical piece of the puzzle - that JPS livery!

Funny thing is that I actually used a specific car as the reference for this build! As to snags, the headers have pretty vague instructions and worse fit, the brightwork all has nasty mold lines, the wheels and tires are hideous, the seats are a joke, the interior side panels equally so BUT if you install scale seats then the side panels won't fit properly, the chassis wants to sit too far forward inside the body once the firewall is attached, and the windshield frame fit is most courteously described as vague. That said, it's not insurmountable and it can be very satisfying to get something nice out of it.

Finished! At last my Italeri 1/24 Ferrari 250GT California Spyder is all finished up. Painted in Cobra Motors Grigio Thalasse with Wine Red stripes, and wearing seats from Yamamoto Model Parts, wheels and tires from Jack Modeling, steering wheel spokes from Highlight Model Studio, and assorted parts box photoetch to dress up what really was a decent if basic kit. I'm pretty pleased with the end results even if there's a fair number of flaws traceable to the kit's wonky Italeri heritage.

This one is all finished and over in Under Glass!

Really closing in on the finish line with my California Spyder. Got the interior together at last and the body has been fitted to the chassis for the final time. Now I'm in the midst of the final dress-up. I'm honestly particularly tickled with the final result in the engine bay.

Nice thing about the Heller kit is that it's a current production item as well. If your local deals with Stevens International as a supplier, then the kit is in current stock at the distributor even if it's not on their shelf. MSRP is $39.99 which is a good chunk more than the Revell USA boxing of the new-tool E-Type ($29.95) but substantially less than the Revell Germany boxing of the same kit ($51.99)

Looking like a good start. Hasegawa sells a nice variety of "bulk" photoetch screens in different patterns. You might find something that suits the mesh you're looking for.

Small but important update. The kit steering wheel was another situation where I felt that a highly-visible detail was just plain awful. I did some searching and found that this PE set by Highlight Model Studio fit the bill nicely. A little bit of work with nippers, knives, and bending tweezers later and I am happy to say a massive improvement was made. Also, luck of luck the kit decals actually cooperated too!

I'm glad you pointed out the Gunze rear fender openings because they are absolutely wonky. I built the Gunze curbside roadster too and I am equally not 100% convinced on their radiator opening either. It's not as undersized as the old Revell E-Type tool, and it's not the "what happened at the cowl?" issue of the new Revell E-Type, but it feels puckered somehow in a way that makes me squint. Honestly, I have to hand it to Heller. Their E-Type FEELS the most right to me and that's just on a roadster to roadster basis. Obviously they still hold the FHC crown.

A '63 Corvette either based on the bones of the '67 Vettes OR entirely as a fresh tool on the level of the '71 Mustang or the K5 Blazer would probably do reasonably well. I don't know if it would necessarily be a huge success but I could see fairly well. While I do understand that fundamentally a C1 Corvette is a whole different beast from a C2 Corvette, the last runs of the '62 and '58 Corvettes - Revell's two most recent new tools for classic Corvettes - may not have generated enough sales for Revell to be convinced that the market is strong enough for yet more new tooling for classic Corvettes.

I am absolutely looking forward to seeing how you can carve a 330GTS out of all of that filler. The resin caster certainly didn't make your life much easier!

Such a sharp build so far! The orange you mixed for the interior really jumps out.

Another mock-up now that wet sanding and polishing has been finished. The bumpers, grille, and side vents are test fitted here after being painted in Alclad Chrome and cleared with Aqua Gloss.

I would imagine that with their good friends and neighbors down the street at Gunze Sangyo having produced a stunning - for the time - E-Type kit, it simply didn't clock to Tamiya to produce one of their own during the time they had the Jaguar license. The fortunate thing is that while they had the license they gave us arguably the two finest Jaguar kits full stop in the Mk.II Saloon and their XJR-9LM. Personally speaking, an XK-120 FHC in 1/24th from Tamiya as a companion to their astonishing 300SL Gullwing would have been my wish.

Cobra Motors 2K Clear is on and I am SERIOUSLY happy with how the body pops now that it has its shine.

If we look currently at the 3D printing kit space, we're seeing that manufacturers are popping up that are producing full kits of cars previously not offered in 1/24th-1/25th scale frequently with far better detail than many current (and certainly most vintage) injection molded kits. Look, for instance, at Red Wheel and their astonishing Tucker and Cadillac kits and think to yourself that this has been accomplished by essentially a "one-man band" serving every role from CAD file to shipping and wholesale. If this can be accomplished by such an individual - even granting that this is a very talented and dedicated individual - then think of what could happen if a full company devoted the time and investment into producing kits of that quality. Currently, we're already seeing in military kit companies like Rye Field Models, Special Hobby, and Arma a move to include 3D printed detail parts in their kits in place of traditional resin casting. NuNu has also moved towards including 3D printed parts for better detailed grilles in their touring car kits.

From my retail brain, I see a few things that I'm certainly looking forward to having on the shelves. As a builder, I'm honestly still looking forward to the early Barracuda and I'll be happy to have the '68 El Camino street machine back as a source for scavenging.

And as the second step with Cobra Motors Red Wine, the distinct red stripes as this build was inspired by Chassis #1183GT.

Big step as the first color coat is now on! I'm using Cobra Motors Grigio Thalisse as the base color.

Sometimes, the work just has to be put in. My reference car in this build had one very striking - to me at least - detail in that it had slimline bumpers. These were a very stark contrast to the kit's bumpers with their overriders. This meant a trip into the bleach for the kit bumpers (as well as other bits of brightwork since if the bumpers are going to be one shade of chrome then everything should match) and then time to get cutting and sanding. It's honestly a good thing I did this too because the kit bumpers had some pretty unsightly sink marks and mold lines. It took two applications of a guide coat and sanding sessions with Tamiya 320 grit sanding sponge to finally get the bumpers right for the project.