Ben Brown

I recently finished the Revell reissue of the Monogram RX-7, and one thing about it has been bugging me. Sitting next to my Tamiya 1st gen Miata, the RX-7 looks like it has monster truck wheels and tires. Turns out, the Revell kit has 15” wheels with larger tires to match, instead of correct 13s. I’m guessing Monogram scaled up the wheels to fit the same Michelin tires they used in a lot of their other car kits. So, my question for anyone who has the Tamiya RX-7 Savannah kit, does it have the correct 13” wheels? The original issue with the green car on the box art has the alloys commonly found on the first couple of years of RX-7, which are the ones found on the Monogram RX-7 kit. Thanks! Ben

I recently managed to lose both painted and decaled stabilators for a 1/48 F-4 Phantom model. After hours of searching I had to order resin replacements because I never did find them. I did find a missing part from another build that I’d lost, scratch built a replacement for it, and finished the model about six months ago. Never fails. Ben

Mine, too! I need to start pestering Michael from Indycals to make some decals for the #44 Magnus Racing car that won GTD at the 2016 Daytona 24. Ben

I'll probably do that. I'm afraid the area where the number mount is molded will leave a flaw, no matter how careful I am removing it. Ben

True. I just went with the Rowe kit again because it was the least expensive one I could find. I’m such a cheapskate! ? Ben

Looking forward to your WIP! I'm not looking forward to removing the place number mount from the windshield of my M6 so I can build an IMSA car. ? Ben

The M6 was pretty good, I’d say in line with a Hasegawa kit, a step or so below a Tamiya kit. Engineering was good, with a few minor fit issues that were easily addressed. Most parts had fine mold parting lines on them, but removing them didn’t really add much to the prep time. I enjoyed building it so much I’ve bought another one. I expect Nunu’s future offerings to be at least as good as the M6, if not better. Ben

Nice, thanks for posting! I really enjoyed building their M6 GT3, and I look forward to having a go at this one and the 911 RSR, too. Now Nunu needs to get cracking on a Huracan GT3 to go with all of these nice GTs they’re producing! Ben

Thanks, Dann! Ben

I didn't know Fujimi made an S1! Is it the same kit as the Nichimo kit? I have one of those buried somewhere deep in my stash. I'll definitely be following this one. Ben

I’d definitely be up for some Volt Racing decals for this one! Ben

I bunch all of my images at the top (or bottom) of the page and then print. I cut that strip off and just run the shorter paper through the printer the next time I print decals. Ben

I used Krylon on a couple of recent builds. I got results consistent with the price. I decanted it so I could spray it with an airbrush. Even thinned close to 50% paint/ 50% thinner, it still dried with a pebbly finish. I was able to polish most of it out, but I still wasn’t too happy with the finish. “Rubbery” is a good description of the paint. It’s best left to painting lawn furniture. I’ve had great results with lacquers from Mr Color, Tamiya, Splash Paint, Gravity Colors-Spain, and Zero Paint. They’re more expensive than Krylon or Rust-O-Leum, but the results are worth it, IMHO. Ben

Beautiful build! That’s a great-looking livery, too. Ben

I have the one in your second link. It works well. The fan pulls enough air through so rattle cans won’t overpower it. The filter needs changing often and the fan is about as loud as a hair dryer. It works well for cars and 1/48 airplanes up to about the size of an F-4 Phantom. Ben

It’s interesting how some resin will behave itself and some will shrink, and you never know if your parts will fall victim until it’s too late. I have several built full resin airplane kits that are at least 20 years old and they are still stable. I have another that’s probably 15 years old and one fuselage half has shrunk so it’s almost 1/4” shorter than the other! They fit together perfectly when I bought the kit. Ben

Added the brake light and turn signal lenses to my Revell RX-7 and printed a license plate for it. Now to find a few spare minutes to add the plate and the driver side mirror and it will be done! Ben

Wow! Ben

Beautiful build! It brings back a lot of memories. A high school friend had a yellow one. It had two throttle settings when he drove it: Max and Idle, so the car pretty much lived at the redline. Fortunately, it was so slow, the police never noticed. My parents went out of town for a weekend, and instead of throwing a huge party like normal teens, we rebuilt the engine in the garage. I think my parents would have been far less shocked if they'd come home to the aftermath of a party instead of a partially disassembled Honda. Ben

Green and tan on an NB looks so good! Ben

When I needed very thin stripes like that for some of my 1/144 airliners, I drew them on my computer in the color and width I needed and then printed them on my laser printer. I spray them with a future or decal film and apply them like any other decal. I use a freeware called Inkscape to draw them, but for simple lines you can probably use Word. Ben

Thank you, everyone! @Modlbldr, here's the box top: Ben

My first build thread here! I've been working on the Revell reissue of the old Monogram RX-7. Revell have included parts for both the street car and the race car in one box. Monogram originally had them as separate kits. It's been a great kit, with hardly any flash, excellent fit, and decent detail. It looks and builds more like a modern kit than one that was first issued in the early '80s. The paint is Mazda Sunbeam Silver, custom mixed by Splash Paint, with Tamiya clear gloss lacquer. This was the first time I've used Splash Paint and I was impressed. I've since masked the body and rear window so I can paint the black bits. The cockpit is unmodified. I used black paints with different sheens (flat, semi gloss, mixture of the two) to paint the various surfaces. The kit includes decals for tartan seat inserts. The pattern is also molded into the seats and I'm thinking I might pull them out and hit them with a couple of coats of clear flat or a very dark flat gray so they look more like they have cloth inserts. The carpet is black embossing powder. I stripped the chrome off of the wheels and painted them Alclad White Aluminum and then hit them with a clear coat. I still have to paint the engine, engine bay details, and tires, and then it will be time to put it all together. Comments welcome. Thanks for looking! Ben

I've been an airplane nut since a very early age, but my dad got me started on cars when he bought a '71 MGB GT back in the mid-'70s. That car, which I started driving when I got my license, plus a TR-7 and an MGB, taught me a lot about cars. When I left the aviation world, I rediscovered cars and then soon after discovered racing (sadly, just watching). I do most of my own work on my current cars. Other than a Miata and a TR-7, my model car builds all fall into the categories of "Cool Race Cars" or "Cars Ben Lusts After but will Probably Never Own." To that end, I've built models of a couple of the planes I've flown, but most are just types that interest me. Ben

Old pic, but this is my daily driver, a 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata. I've since changed out the wheels, among other things. Ben