kerc

Alright, I fixed the paint! I got it flowing really, really nice this time...I think it looks pretty good:

I bought an electric toothbrush, brand name "Mr. Bright", for only $1.50 at CVS. I'm removing the finish from one of my current projects and man, this makes it sooo ridiculously easy! It vibrates like crazy (the whole thing vibrates!), and this really helps in removing stubborn paint...A completely clean body in less than five minutes. No scrubbing, just pass the brush over the body, and it takes care of everything. So, now that you know, drive to your local CVS and get one of them $1.50 thingies, and pick up a bag of Twizzlers too.

Bill Miller is fine with me!

Guitars...I own three Reverend guitars, plus a cheapie Canvas bass, a homemade cigar box guitar, and a custom-built Amptramp amplifier...

Yep, I plan on using clear...It depends on how the paint polishes out next time...

It went into the tank today...I tried to polish it but it was just too much. More thinner next time!

Ismael, that's wonderful! I know the feeling...My son got into the hobby when he was 8...He built a Tamiya Subaru rally car. Only thing I helped him with was with the decals, everything else, he did himself (including spray painting the wheels and some hand painted details here and there)...He won 1st prize at the 3rd Caribbean Scale Auto Expo: Papa was (and still is!) proud...

Okay, here's a few updates for the weekend: Scrapped the solid rod headers and made them from solder. To create the collector, I simply melted the soldering rod together. Still needs a biut of cleanup, but it looks nice to me... I then went ahead and mixed some Testors enamels, to get this funky blue shade. It needs sanding, I got more orange peel than expected...Maybe needed more thinner? And also painted the interiors with a properly 1970's-looking brown shade: I also retouched the wheels with Testors gold because the inside of the wheels came unpainted in white...

Thanks for the tip! I've never gotten shrink tubing to work right for me--that's why I tried melting the pipes together. Here's a header I did today based on a Hooker model: I'm liking it...

That was awesome! Thanks, Ryan!

This model made me laugh, in a good way! Man, that's wacky! This belongs to a diorama, bro...The possibilities are endless!

The longer nose really balances well the rest of the design, way better than the stock nose. Excellent work!

So I scrapped the solid rod headers I was building for my Mustang II, and decided to make them with solder. Nice, but...how do I build a decent collector for them? After thinking a couple of ideas, I realized that, heck, I'm dealing with solder...It melts. Hmm. So I decided to create a test. Joined four solder rods (1.7 mm thick, equivalent to a 1 3/4" header pipe), and the idea was to join them into a 3 mm collector tube. After placing them in the right positions, I exposed the solder to some open flame. Voilá! They melted together. After it was cool, I sanded and cut it down gradually until it fit a 3mm aluminum tube. What do you guys think?

I'm in a odd-model mode recently, so I decided to star this one algonside my current project, the 1977 Mustang II: Yep, it's an MPC Dodge Omni 024. The chassis fit is downright terrible, but I think I can make it work...Still gotta think up an appropriate color for it...

Thanks for responding. I've had experience with lacquers, and I like them, but also have used enamels with great results...Especially those little humble Testors square bottles!

I was kiddin', guys! It's just that the Vettes look so droolworthy... I love this paint job on the Ferrari:

I'm currently assembling an AMT 1977 Mustang II. I already did all flash and mold line removal, and it needs zero putty anywhere (I wonder if I got lucky, but I digress)...Anyway, I'm gonna paint it with plain ol' Testors enamel, the stuff from the square bottles. Since the plastic is pretty silky and smooth, I could skip throwing primer at it, right? Whaddaya guys think?

Blah...Forget GT2! Seriously now, those Ferraris look really nice.

Awesome build! The rust looks fantastic!

That's gonna look great! Not to hijack your thread, but what are you using for the renderings? I like how sharp it looks...I use markers, chalk, ink, and some gouache for the pigeon drops:

I'll take pics tonight!

I've never gotten around the idea of why some companies are so stupid with licensing. Hell, a model kit is like a free ad for them! On a different are...Think of what the Gran Turismo game series has done for some cars like the Subaru WRX. Me being Volkswagen? I'd let kit manufacturers license my stuff, but then I would make sure they do accurate stuff. I still have a nice Baja Bug body on my Tamiya Super G.

I absolutely love what you're doing with this kit...That's gonna be one sexy Dino!

Another brief update: Driver-side header is almost finished. Took me a while to get the alignment right--this is stiff wire (stuff used for plants and decorating, got a bunch of rods for $1 at Walmart)...Anyway, after I make a collector and a flange, I'll paint the whole thing flat white.

Small update...was prepping the firewall for wiring, and thought up a simple way of creating brackets and tie-downs for cabling and hoses: Took some small diameter wiring and hammered it until evenly flat. Made two holes where the tie-down will go, inserted it there and bent the remainder of the tie-down to keep it tight. This is just a pic testing how it looks... I also lowered the front-end of the chassis and I have to make new lower-arms for the front suspension. By the way, found a wonderful website with reference for this car. Click here to go there...