Justin Porter

Add me to the list agreeing here. The Powell Pickup saga should have ably demonstrated that the Spaulding incarnation of Johan is well and truly done. Johan isn't pining for the fjords here, folks.

That really looks fantastic. I'm genuinely curious as to what red you used for the upholstery?

Fujimi Ferraris really are 80% delightful and 20% your absolute worst nightmare in the way they get engineered. Looking forward to seeing how your 355 goes together!

Thank you and the 250GT SWB is from the Gunze Sangyo kit. I think I probably would have enjoyed the Italeri kit more though! I have an offer from a friend to make a custom plate for it, I just haven't quite decided what it will say!

I am so happy to have built this! The kit was a Testors rebox of the Fujimi Enthusiast Series tool Dino 246GTS Spyder. I added a photoetch detail fret by Studio 27, some wiring in the engine, flocking in the interior, and covered it in Mr Color C57 Blue-Green Metallic to replicate Ferrari Pino Verde.

Well I am happy to say that I have buttoned up the Dino. It was such a delightful build and I am thrilled that so many have enjoyed seeing it come together.

Moving right along with the Dino has got me to a few important points. Firstly, as with most Fujimi kits, there has to be at least one thing that they've absolutely botched molding. In this case, it's these massive sink marks on the exhaust pipes! They've been properly dolloped with Mr Dissolved Putty and left to cure for sanding and painting. The kit wheels are nicely molded but just a bit too bright. A quick hit of Tamiya Black Panel Liner really helps tone them down and highlight the sheer amount of engraving. Now came the big part, the chassis is inside the body with the glass in place! I've elected to delete the hinge on the engine cover because frankly, I'm proud of this engine bay. There's still a LOT of bright work to go but I did get the PE windshield wipers folded up and installed.

Looks great so far! I'm really happy to see the number of the '71 Mustangs getting built.

Genuinely hope to see how your Dinos go together. I honestly spray the Extreme Metal straight from the jar, no thinning, at about 15psi. Airbrush of choice is an Iwata Neo with a .35mm needle.

Yes it is, or more specifically a gloss black basecoat for the AK. It's a similar paint to Alclad except enamel based rather than alcohol like Alclad. I tend to use it more often than Alclad because I find it a bit more durable and I like the tones of their various metal shades.

Very small but fun update on the Dino. First, I gave it its clearcoat. I decided to go with Alclad Aqua Gloss which I've had good luck with in the past and it really seems to have drawn out the shine here. Secondly, a quick spate of masking, and a hit of AK Extreme Metal Chrome gave me the window and windshield trim. Also, while not pictured, the windshield in the kit was pretty hazy - which I blame Testors for - so it got a quick polish with Novus to knock out most of the cloudiness.

Thank you kindly Tim. For me, building is very much part of the business. Being able to recommend products for purposes, or to help customers troubleshoot what issues they're having, or to give them a head's up on an issue or tricky spot with a kit has a direct knock-on effect on my register. I love to build, and I love modeling as a hobby, but more than that I've found that few sales tools are quite as valuable as having a nicely turned out model in the display case that I can point to and say "Well, if you're considering that product, here's the results I got with it and here's the quirks to using it."

It's an incredibly novel and well executed build.

Big moment for the build of my Fujimi 1/24 Dino 246GTS Spyder. After laying down a basecoat of Tamiya TS-42 Light Gunmetal, I finally airbrushed the color coat of Gunze Mr Color C57 Metallic Blue Green, giving me the Pino Verde that I wanted for this build. I'm seriously pleased with how the color turned out!

I'd seen these listed at Stevens and it's really such good news. Almost to the letter these are all high on my "I need these back in regular stock rotation" list for my shelves particularly the '68 Firebird, the '64 Impala lowrider, the '32 Ford Sedan, the '57 Bel Air, and the '57 Ford Wagon. The new tool C8 Corvette Coupe and having the Bronco half-cab available separately from the Dune Buggy combo are also pretty big scores. All that remains is finding out what alternate parts we'll see such as if the '57 Ford Wagon will have the gasser parts in the box.

Apparently, at least according to Stevens International, the return of the '70 Torino Cobra is just one piece in a slate of good news for in-bound Revell reissues. REVELL-MONOGRAM RMX-4534 1/25 1970 Ford Torino Cobra $0.00 $0.00 TBA REVELL-MONOGRAM RMX-4544 1/25 Ford Bronco Half Cab Truck $0.00 $0.00 TBA REVELL-MONOGRAM RMX-4545 1/25 1968 Firebird $0.00 $0.00 TBA REVELL-MONOGRAM RMX-4546 1/25 1980 Ford Dually Truck $0.00 $0.00 TBA REVELL-MONOGRAM RMX-4547 1/25 1977 Jeep CJ7 Renegade (3 in 1) $0.00 $0.00 TBA REVELL-MONOGRAM RMX-4548 1/25 1957 Ford Wagon $0.00 $0.00 TBA REVELL-MONOGRAM RMX-4551 1/25 1957 Chevy Bel Air $0.00 $0.00 TBA REVELL-MONOGRAM RMX-4552 1/25 1976 Chevy Street Pickup Truck $0.00 $0.00 TBA REVELL-MONOGRAM RMX-4553 1/25 1932 Ford Sedan $0.00 $0.00 TBA REVELL-MONOGRAM RMX-4556 1/25 2022 Corvette Coupe (New Tool) $0.00 $0.00 TBA REVELL-MONOGRAM RMX-4557 1/25 1964 Impala SS Lowrider $0.00 $0.00 TBA

Pricetag is higher than anticipated but also not at all outside of the market when it comes to 1/20th scale open wheel kits. A quick browse of my distributors tells me that the Fujimi Sauber C30 runs $79.98. Tamiya's recent Red Bull F1 kit was similarly expensive and dropped out of availability quite quickly. Now, granted, it's a BIG ask to assume that Salvinos is going to engineer a kit that's of the same caliber in terms of fit and engineering as Fujimi, Ebbro, NuNu, Hasegawa, and Tamiya but I'm honestly glad they're tackling them head on. The last time an American manufacturer decided to take on the best in the world we got the Accurate Miniatures kits.

There is indeed no seam between the lower valance and the upper works of the nose. My plan is to fill the gap with CA - specifically AK Interactive Black Widow CA - which will also strengthen the joint which will be put under considerable strain when it's finally time to push the chassis into the body permanently.

This really absolutely is a lovely build. You can get lost looking into that engine bay.

Lovely results so far at trying to massage a lovely but fussy kit.

At the moment, De Tomaso is owned by the Hong Kong based venture capital firm Ideal Team Ventures. They also own Apollo Automobil, the former Gumpert company. I would imagine that because of this the current owners might not be as easy to work with in terms of licensing as previous holders of the De Tomaso name.

Small but critical update. I took the time last night to assemble the PE grille for the Dino. I will definitely say this, the fit for the Studio 27 set was MUCH better than the fit of the factory Gunze Sangyo parts on my 250GT SWB build.

New update on the Dino. While they're not yet attached, the Dino is up on all four wheels and actually sits true. That alone is a relief. I've also begun addressing the bodywork with a few hits of flat black as a guide coat for some of the most prevalent mold lines plus the much feared buttress seam. It's really starting to come together now.

THIS! The Revell "Tuner" line is an excellent case study in misreading a market. Revell did produce kits with detailed engines and engine bays - which was a unique selling point for kits of tuner style cars - and produced kits of USDM vehicles like the Mitsubishi Eclipse and the Acura Integra. However, things like generic bodykits rather than licensed replica bodykits, no poseable steering, their refusal to use polycap wheel attachment, and the choice of 1/25th scale instead of 1/24th meant that whatever positives the Tuner kits brought to the table were quickly discarded and those customers chose to stick with Aoshima, Fujimi, Tamiya, and Hasegawa. There is a tremendous international sales potential with these Indycar kits by Salvinos. Consider, for instance, that Model Factory Hiro produced a 1/20th scale kit of the Dallara DW12 specifically to celebrate Takuma Sato's 2nd win in the Indy 500. Consider the popularity of Agustin Canapino - a touring car legend - in his native Argentina. Look at all that potential, then look at Revell's failed line of 1/24th scale F1 cars from the mid-00's and realize what must be done.

It would have been larger but larger than necessary as far as Tamiya was concerned. At the time there were 1/32nd scale armor models (by Aurora) but the difference maker was that Tamiya is a global hobby juggernaut while Aurora was a primarily American toy company on the verge of being broken up and sold off to its competitors.