Jon Cole

Shouldn't you wait at least until you actually have the kit in question in your hands, to complain about the scale? You post a 'scale' issue with the kit, and suddenly it starts to be taken as "fact". What's more disappointing for me, is the price. At over $20. it appears the new toolings are going to stay on the store shelves, unless it will be my next build. I used to buy kits even though I knew I wasn't going to build it right away, now I'm afraid that may no longer be the case, at least as far as new tooling is concerned. Unless the subject is a 'holy grail' then sadly I just cannot afford it.

Yikes! I don't feel like I can put much faith in a product that just has a label that says "NEW!" stuck to it. What's to keep them from planting a sticky label on all the inventory they have, regardless of when it was made? They should have made an all-new envelope; where it wouldn't be cost effective to swap old product into a new package. And based on the customer service being reported here, that's not a very long stretch.

I found these @ Michael's Crafts. What makes them different from MV is these are already in a chrome trim ring. Granted, you will have to trim off the two mounting tabs. These were meant for use by scrapbooks. Not perfect, but not bad either. I haven't tried them yet. -Jon-

ModelMartin- If you are interested in doing the Craftsman Sawblade car, it was at my local Sears store on display back in (IIRC) 2003. I will post the link below to several pics I took. http://public.fotki.com/JCole/race_cars__trucks/page15.html Hope this helps! -Jon-

Think I'm going to give PlastiKote (sp?) primer a try. I just called a regional auto parts dealer (Bond's Auto Parts) and they stock that brand. As soon as I can shovel a path to my Jeep, I'm going. -Jon-

The bodywork has progressed to the first coats of Dupli-Color Gray Filler Primer to check for sand scratches, etc. Because the car will be painted in a white Tamiya spray, I need to know if Dupli-Color or Tamiya make a white primer? Thanks! -Jon-

Thank you for the responses. I would like to point out again that it is the plastic wheels, not the tires, that have the paint issue. Some of that paint rubbed off on the tire when I removed them from the rims. I still will seal the rims with an acrylic paint. Thank you both for the suggestions. -Jon-

I am building the Aurora / Revell Ford GT that was re-issued several years ago. Going by photographs of the early prototype from England, I stripped the chrome plating off the wire wheels and painted them Testors Aluminum. Several weeks later while handling the wheels, I noticed the paint was not quite dry. In fact, I wiped the edge of the rim on paper towels, and some of the paint left a mark. I also had to use lacquer thinner to clean paint off the tires. The front of the wheels seem to be OK. Should I use some type of barrier between the wheels and the tires? Is this a preview of the melting tire issue? Thanks. -Jon-

I mask large areas with Heavy Duty Household Aluminum Foil. It resists puncturing better then the cheap regular foil, it can be formed to wrap around the sub-assemblies, and you can use your favorite tape to secure it along the edge if you like. -Jon-

Thanks, Albert! I always appreciate you letting us in on the SoCal car scene! It's the middle of Winter, and more white stuff is in the forcast. I want warmth and palm trees! BTW, what WAS that under the hood of the red Pro Street Challenger? I think it was the next to last page. -Jon from New England-

POW! RIGHT OUT OF THE PARK! Now that's a home run build! The spacing between colors is so... perfect! HowYaDoThat????

Thanks folks. I appreciate all the replies, and they were helpful. I used a center punch tapped with a small hammer, after first using an X-Acto knife to shave out the inside lip of the aluminum tube. It worked perfectly. Spyder

I want to make some velocity stacks, and I need to know how to make the tops flair out just a bit. Can anyone help me on this? I don't have enough time to order some from the aftermarket. Thanks. Spyder

Clay, if you feel the need for the rules to be posted, why not ask the board moderator to do so? Taking this upon yourself... makes you sound like you are "above" the rest of us. Hopefully, this entire thread should be reposted by the management of the board, thus earning the respect it requires, rather than grandstanding. No disrespect meant to anyone. Nuff said. Jon

What I learned the hard way- when you grab a roll of solder to make your first metal exhaust, MAKE SURE it doesn’t say “Acid-core†anywhere on the package! The photos below show what happens. Corrosion builds up, just like on a car battery terminal. Any ideas on how to fix? If I could clean it, I’m thinking of sealing it with clear lacquer. I hope to avoid harming the paint on the nearby body. I think I attached the part to the muffler with a two-part epoxy. Thanks!

G-man; Nice Ford you built. Wish you had told me it was such a junk of a kit, then I wouldn't have gone and built this JUNK of a model. Model builders work a kit to make it the best they can. Being the only '40 Ford I have ever built, I cannot compare it to others, but with some stubborn determination, I was able to build it. Am I supposed to be embarrassed of it because it is, as said, a "junk" kit? It may be "junk" to some, but... I am still proud of what I built. My 2¢ worth, minus inflation. -Jon C-

''Freak Show'' A '61 Chrysler-'64 Chevy pickup-'57 Chrysler sandwich with a little bit of everything else thrown in

Here is another interesting car I have... like the box shows, it's a Wix Filters promotional die-cast, 1/24 or 1/25 scale. This one is currently packed away. Does it deserve to be displayed? Needs a little detailing like on the headers etc. Thanks for looking! -Jon-

You can't help but love the Hirohata Merc by Danbury Mint!

I really like the Presidential Limo's (1/24, IIRC) by Yat Ming. This is the only one I have photographed so far. This is the "LBJ" car, which was the re-bodied Kennedy car that the White House recieved approx. six months after Kennedy's assisination. It was reportedly painted in the same blue as Kennedy's limo, and President Johnson wouldn't accept it. He made them paint it black. I also made new flags on my computer, using address labels, and inserting heavy duty aluminum foil in between the two sides. That way, they can be bent and folded. No matter what I did to the ones out of the box, they just looked to stiff, like cardboard. Thanks for looking.

Really, REALLY fantastic work! You have talent!

My other hobby... seriously, would be reading these message boards about model cars! I hardly even look in the magazines that I still have subscriptions for. Most anything I want I can find on-line. The down side is I take a lot of ###### from my model buddies because I don't build too many models a year. I guess I was "raised" on the former Hobby Heaven board, and will always be partial to the Spotlight Hobbies board that replaced it. I am glad I have found this one (MCMF); lots of good stuff here! I have heard of other boards, such as Scale Auto's, but two boards keep me busy.

I just bought a new type of glue @ Michael's... ...because I remember someone highly recommended it. "Crafter's Pick" Ultimate water-based super glue. Has anyone out there used this glue? How is it? Can it be used on windows without damaging anything? Also looked at the Testors bottle paints, something I rarely bother to do. I was surprised to find they had a black called "Rubber" (#1183). You can never have too many shades of black. Also got two different shades of what I refer to as "taillight red", #1152 Met. Red Rouge Met., and #1529 Red M.F. (metal flake?) Rouge Met. Thanks for any advise. -Jon-

For me, the big issue is the actual cost of the kits. Like everything else, it keeps going up. But the difference between a kit, vs. food, gasoline, clothing, paying the utilities, etc. is that model kits are NOT a necessity. It's a hobby. And with over 1000+ kits in my house overtaking every last bit of free space, it's getting easier to walk away than buy a kit. A good example- Testors new Charger Police car kit. Pre-painted metal body, lots of well detailed plastic parts, and all new lightbars (yes- that is plural) never before done in scale. So why are they trying to rape our wallets for approx. $35 bucks?!!! That's just plain 'out of my league'. And then to add insult to injury, after we feed our sickness and buy that overpriced kit, I'll bet within a year it will be issued in plastic kit form, for less $$$. Problem is, there is no guarantee that will happen. So if I REALLY want it, do I buy it now? Don't forget, kits now are produced in numbers to satisfy pre-orders. I someone mis-judges a kits popularity, then a lot of us miss out on a kit we were hoping to get. It's happened to me before. When we must decide between food, gasoline, or hobby stuff, well... the model kits tend to go back on the store shelf. And I don't have enough vices in my life left to phase out! My one big remaining vice is... buying kits! And I already have more than I can ever hope to build. And I am lucky if I can build two kits per year. I rarely bother with old kits. There is too many new and wonderful kits coming out. Funny... I just realized that at this rate, the new kits will soon be as expensive as the old kits! Go figure! -Jon-