Justin Porter

Brilliant build!

I use Tamiya tape - both the regular Washi tape and the vinyl tape for curves - for masking. One trick I have learned is to cut the tape into fine ribbons to use in small tight areas to build up the overall mask.

All finished! I have stated previously that Revell's 1/25 1966 Pontiac GTO is likely the best bi-scale kit available of Pontiac's immortal muscle car and I stand by that. My own build here used MCW Light Turquoise Metallic under Cobra Motors 2K Clear for the paint, an Iceman pre-drilled distributor to add ignition wires underhood, and AK Real Color Cream White and Tamiya NATO Black plus Ken's Fuzzi Fur to replicate a factory Parchment interior. Really pleased with this one.

Nearing the finish line with the GTO. One of the bigger projects left to tackle was the wheels. A bit of Abteilung 502 Liquid Mask was applied to mask the center cap and trim ring. I've found that Gunze C8 Silver is a good match to the Argent finish GM used on a lot of painted surfaces like the spokes on these wheels or the grille surrounds.

Seriously impressive to see one of these IMC Chaparrals actually finished and to a very clean standard.

Just a quick update. The interior is together and I am fairly pleased with it. I decided to replicate a Parchment interior using AK Real Color Cream White and Tamiya NATO Black, and added flocking from Ken's Fuzzi Fur. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the dash decal cooperated with Mr Mark Setter and Mr Mark Softer to snuggle into the details of the HVAC and radio controls.

Thank you so much for pointing this out. I went back with a 10/0 brush and some paint and touched up the louvers a bit to better match. The AK does hold up a lot better than Alclad or Vallejo Metal Color to handling. I believe that's down to it being enamel based rather than alcohol based. That being said, you still don't want to accidentally hit it with your polishing compound cloth. lol

More progress on the GTO as it comes steadily along. Firstly I was able to get the suspension together and the exhaust in place. I used AK Xtreme Metal Stainless Steel for the pipes and mufflers and Xtreme Metal Chrome for the exhaust tips. I then got to work on the time consuming task of masking the chrome trim on the body to spray with the Xtreme Metal and I have to say I am unusually pleased with how the brightwork turned out this time.

Loving the look of this! I know from personal experience that candy reds work so very well on full-size Chevies.

After addressing a handful of mold lines, the GTO was primed in Mr Surfacer 1000 Gray, then shot with two coats of the MCW Light Turquoise. This was followed by using up a ton of Tamiya tape to mask and spray the frame and the engine bay. A little bit of wet sanding with a 4000 grit polishing pad and then down went the Cobra Motors 2K Clear. I'm really looking forward to wet sanding and polishing the clear because the tone really does pop for the GTO.

I have been meaning to build a GTO for some time. In truth, I'd started a build of the initial release of this kit in high school but it encountered terminal paint issues. In any case, the plan is a clean, modestly detailed build of what's arguably the finest GTO kit on the market. I've selected MCW Light Turquoise Metallic from their lacquer line for the paint job. I'm still debating on the interior as the reference cars I have looked at have had either a color matched or black interior, and neither of those have really suited my fancy. The engine went together with my usual selection of Mr Color and Tamiya paints. I did actually have a very old jar of Model Master Pontiac Engine Blue. I revived it with Leveling Thinner and it airbrushed quite nicely to really set off this classic 389. I have drilled the cylinder heads and inserted plug boots as well as replaced the kit distributor with one from Iceman as I will be adding ignition wire to this build.

I have to admit that AMT has made two very appealing announcements here. The Barracuda chassis is promising, too.

All finished up! This was a really fun project to see how well I could stick to "out of the box" without losing my wits. Ultimately I added Ken's Fuzzi Fur for the carpeting in the interior and a leftover PE number plate from another detail set as the kit's decals weren't salvageable. Paint is Cobra Motors Dark British Racing Green with rattle can Mr Super Clear over it.

Sprite is happily all wrapped up. I couldn't help but take a small "family portrait" before the Sprite heads for the photo booth.

This really is a fantastic project to follow. The transkit integrates so well into the kit, and the Hasegawa kit was already really nicely engineered.

I look forward to seeing how you'll slay this monster. The Monogram Esprit is well known for its questionable fit ESPECIALLY when it comes time for the chassis to sit inside the interior tub.

We are about 95% of the way there with the Sprite. The only major deviation I have made was drilling the windshield frame to take two lengths of 0.7mm brass tubing to pin the windshield to the body as I did NOT like the joint as designed.

Really cool project and one of those Tamiya kits that just plain doesn't get built enough.

Really some seriously good improvements to what is not a bad kit, but one that does show its age in places.

A light touch on a simple kit can sometimes be exactly what you need. I added flocking from Ken's Fuzzi Fur to the floor of the Sprite but otherwise am sticking to the contents of the box to avoid letting this build spiraling out of control.

Don't want to pull the 2K off the shelf. It's moving too well to customers! lol I will likely clear this with Gunze UV Cut Super Gloss.

While it certainly runs the risk of being cliché, I couldn't help but want to use the new British Racing Dark Green in the Cobra Motors line on my Sprite. Really really happy with how the color looks and looking forward to the clear coat.

Really do love each time I revisit this build. I'll also have to look for that set of Ferrari metal transfers!

Unfortunately yes. Both the seats and the interior side panels are vinyl as opposed to styrene. Fortunately I'm using mostly acrylic paints on the build so I'm not terribly worried about painting those pieces.

Decided to knock out a nice quick curbside build of Gunze Sangyo's 1/24th scale Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite. There's really not a whole lot to this kit, so I'm just focusing on a clean build. I started by re-scribing the panel lines which were a bit weak on the kit body, then block sanded the body with 1500 Tamiya Sanding Sponge and have shot the whole thing in Alclad Grey Microfiller Primer.