Rich Chernosky

Welcome aboard Scot. You will have no problem making friends here. Just reach out. As far as a paint line goes take a good hard look at Tamiya. Their TS line of spray cans are pretty much idiot proof. Many users here on this forum. I've been using them going on 30yrs now and no complaints.

Stuart...not the first time that has happened but always a joy when it does. I have had to fabricate a lot of lost parts only to find them months later either on the floor or stuck to something else. I'm sure there is a Murphy's law for this.

Bob..as an additional note...I do have the roadster kit built. Same nice kit but a lot harder to find.

Starting to really shape up Dave. Look forward to seeing this complete. You always do such cool subjects no else covers.

This is a kit that almost didn't get built. While rummaging through my stash I accidentally leaned on top of this box and crushed the roof in on the painted and polished body. I had been excited to finish this kit but not so much now. Months later I decided to attempt a repair. After much careful gluing, filling, sanding and repainting I was successful. I recently polished the roof out and decided it was time to finish this. Color is Testor One Coat Laquer #1803 Diamond Mist. Can't say this was exactly a joy to build as it is an early Italeri. almost all of the alignment holes had to be enlarged and there were many fit issues. But the kit has its good points too. In particular the glass and chrome surrounds worked very well. Below are comments below the pictures for the rest of the details on this build. Thanks for looking and comments welcome. Wouldn't be a Mercedes Gullwing with out this shot. This particular car has to be the most modeled subject. I have this car in several scales from 1/87 to 1/12. Its a cool collection. Interior with drivers door open. I chose a darker red than normal and like the regal look it affords. I also had a flocking to match. Interior was very well appointed with all the approprioated chrome doo-dads. Dash was chrome but painted to match the exterior which is common to this car. Finished car on its wheels. Hood, trunk, and doors all open. Wheels steer through the steering wheel. Chrome trim fit was excellent and most enjoyable part of this build. Rear veiw has some good detail. That 300SL chrome logo has an interesting story. I used Micro Liquitape to apply these and left this logo on my bench to dry. Later when i went to attach it , it had magically disappeared. What had happened it is it had attached itself to my sleeve (its a contact cement) and I had gone upstairs to take a nap. Several hours later and just before going to bed I discovered the logo in the blanket. I rushed downstairs and attached it. You just don't usually get this kind of lucky. Side veiw shows the nioce fit of the window trim and glass. The chrome surrounds were seperate pieces and I worried that it would be a problem. Not so. The doors on ths other had, consumed a lot of time to get working properly. Italeri included the hydraulic struts to keep them open and eventually this all worked out. The true test of a Mrecedes Gullwing kit is how the doors fit. During mock-up they fit great but when the glass was installed not so much. This side looks good, the other is marginal. Italeri did a nice job on the fuel injected six. The engine is laid over at a 45 deg angle. The nice detail on the injector and distributor is hidden. The hood fit down nicely. Thanks for looking

Another home run for you Thomas. Your modeling skills and attention to detail set the bar for the rest of us. Always a pleasure to see your work.

Really nice build of this kit Michael. All the extra work you put into this really shows...especially in the engine department. And inspiring others (myself included) to build this kit....that's priceless. Great job.

Really sharp build of an iconic car. Is it the most beautiful car ever made ?? If you have ever seen one in person you would be hard pressed to disagree.

I have to agree with Steven on this one. Stirring is the best way to " thouroughly " mix bottle paints. Hobby paints have pigments (the solid part of the paint) that are very finely gound. They sit like heavy mud on the bottom of the jar after a period of time. No amount of shaking will mix all of this with the liquid. I have some of Tamiya's metal stir sticks and they work just fine. One swipe through a paper towel and they are clean as a whistle. The biggest problem with shaking, however is it gets paint up into the cap where it dries and breaks the seal. This shortens the life of the paint very quickly.

Nice kit Justin. Built one. You will enjoy it. Looks like you are off to a great start.

Just bought this kit. Will be following to see how it goes. Thanks for putting this up.

Don't feel bad Brian. As you know I have most of them anyway. 60yrs of collecting will do that. And besides..we F-1 and Exotics builders are in the the vast minority . Just look at this forum. The muscle car and hotrodders are much more active and numerous here. Not complaining. All modellers here have something to contribute and I talk to everybody. It just that is the way it is. But don't give up hope. I know of quite a few modellers who will tackle an F-1 kit just to see if they can do it. So...keep bringing em. See ya at the next one.

Thanks David...couldn't resist adding some extra detail to that engine. Humbrol airtbrushes very nice with the right thinner.

Now that is a real coincidence. Last kit I finished had your name and address on the bottom of it. Must have done it at a swap meet. Haven't seen you for a l-o-n-g time. But...glad to see you on this forum. Don't be shy...put some more stuff up. We always appreciate anything anybody wants to share.

This Gunze kit is getting rarer and rarer. You were wise to restore it and bring it up to specs. Looks real good now. Thanks for sharing.

Mario...doesn't seem to matter what you build...it is always spectacular. And the photography is always over the top. Congrats on a job very well done.

Found this one in the stash while looking to complete my 911th model. Gotta luv the Fujimi Enthusiast Series. So much detail. This one was sprayed Humbrol Purple way back in 2000. Clear coated with Testors Model Master then decalled and polished to a high shine. Don't know why I waited so long to finish this but I have a lot of kits like this and they kinda get lost in the stash. Not much to modify but I did add some extra detail I thought was worthy. Specific details are in the picture captions. Thanks for looking and comments welcome. The engine in these kits is a model all by itself. Careful painting with a variety of metallics and blacks really makes this shiine. This is Porsches 3.0 litre flat six with fuel injection. Engine stand came with the kit. Another veiw of the engine showing off the drilled distributor and plug wirres. Fuel lines are the twisted wire centers stripped out of some very fine wire. Coil eventually had to be moved to allow the engine cover to fit. Instructions were not very specific about the location of the coil. Finished car on its wheels. Decals were buried under clear and the wheels painted to match. The tail light lense was accidentally dropped on the floor and stepped on a long time ago. A few coats of clear red and orange (both sides) filled in most of the scratches and gluing the two pieces in place was the rest of the cure. Can't tell now. License plate is out of the stash and is from Washington DC. Looks like some politician owns this car but don't know what party he is affiliated with. I really like the Enthusiast series but these kits are not for the faint of heart. They DO go together and look well. Two points of contention on this are the way the wheels attach (which is not very secure) and getting the body to snap in place. There were other fit problems but most were easily overcome. Thanks for looking.

Helmut....I have a lot of these early Japanese kits and most of mine were built way back when and completely box stock. Information on these cars is hard to come by and you did well finding way more than I did. Don't know if I have this one (probably) so I will be following along. Thanks for posting and good luck with the project. Too bad Toyota didn't participate in the 1970 Can-Am. With all that horsepower they might have been a contender.

Always liked this model and this one is a beauty. Great Job Phil

Here is the latest off the bench. This is a re-visit of an earlier Tamiya kit I did sometime in the mid 70's. the original kit was lighted and motorized but the new one was not. As a result there is a lack of detail in the engine compartment as this was probably more of a motorized toy than a model as was the custom back then. I did wire and plumb the engine (it looked like fun) but neglected to include all the other details. I have an Exoto 1/18 version of this car and that has the details. (pictured) Plus I wanted to do it like I originally had but this time make everything fit better. Color is Testor 1145 Insignia white and was sprayed some time ago. Rest of the build details in the picture captions. Thanks for looking and feel free to comment. Engine detail on the flat six. Had to change out the distributor as the kit one was for an 8cyl. Extra wire goes to the coils installed in the cockpit. Comparison of the two engines and details. Exoto was much better detailed. Completed car and whats left of the model it replaced. They build so much nicer when you know what you are doing and have all the materials and tools. This view. The wheels steered and the suspension worked in the kit. Doors, rear engine cover, and front cover are all workable. The stance of this car is v-e-r-y low and if you have ever seen a real one it is about right. The actual car is way lower than a Ford GT and very cool looking in person. Didn't realize I had so many models of this particular car until I dragged them all out of this pictures. In the back is a Tamiya 1/ 12. 1/16 version to the right is an Otaki with full detail. To the left is the Exoto 1/18. Center and partially hidden by the feature model is a 1/64 by an obscure Italian company. #8 is 1/24 Arii and a very nice kit with metal wheels and mirrors. Front center is an unknown (probably Japanese) 1.24 version. 1/64 #17 is a Mini Lindbergh plastic body on a Jag TR3 slot car chassis. Its fast. The #17 car was driven to victory in the 1967 Nurburgring 1000KM by Schultz and Buzzeta