Junkman

Ad 1. The best primer is the one which is on sale at the time I buy it. Ad 2. I don't like to work with Testors enamels and acrylics. I much prefer Humbrol and Revell enamels. But here you see the point - YOU need to find what works best for YOU. And all of these little modelling paints sold in bottles or tins work well - as long as you stir them thoroughly. I stir them for at least a cigarette length. That's seven minuts for a non-smoker. I use and old paint brush stem for stirring and I stir for so long, that I feel friction between the stem and the bottom of the tin. Ad 3. With putty it's pretty much the same as with the paints - you need to find the one you can work with best. You are talking pinholes, so you think resins? I use zap a gap for those. For plastic models, I use sqadron green for small ans shallow stuff. For major surgery I use my own putty which consists of plastic sprues dissolved in cellulose thinners. I apply all putty with an old-fashioned razor blade. You see, everybody has his own little bag of wizardry. Tools: What you listed should be sufficient for most model building tasks. You may want to consider a mini vise, third hand, and swivel lamp with magnifier glass in the middle. Oh, and I have once bought a six pack of tweezers too. I only use two of them though, one of which very little. You will also need: Set of tiny drill bits Small screwdriver Cigarette lighter or matches Candle - best are those tea lights which you can put into these little aluminium containers Kitchen roll A few old T-shirts - cut up into small patches If you want to get fancy: Set of small c-clamps Small vise I also have a waste paper basket at my feet when I work. Oh, and beer. Do not forget the beer.

I think there is no set procedure carved in stone. By the sounds (and looks) of it, you are doing everything right. Whatever needs to be done to achieve a nice finish on the model you are working on needs to be done. I find paint finishes differ from paint to paint, model to model, and also depend on my form of the day. Some require nothing at all, some need a slight buffing, some need severe cutting back and polishing. The main thing is to lay the paint on as thin as possible, especially if you don't build customs. The thicker the paint, the more vague the moulded on trim becomes. The thinner the paint coat, the more realistic the model is going to look. Metallics always require a clearcoat. Solids sometimes. Most of the models I see nowadays at shows are too glossy for my taste. Unnaturaly glossy. Like if there was a secret competition going on to out-gloss each other. This may be fine on customs, show cars and hot rods, but most cars aren't really that glossy when they leave the factory. Smooth, yes. But half an inch of buffed out clearcoat? No. I think someone here even started a thread on the subject because he has the same impression.

The chances to find a plastic model kit at a British boot sale are bordering zero. It's hard enough to find model kit vendors at toy fairs, but at boot sales it would be a huge coincidence to find a model kit, especially an automotive one. You might find your odd Airfix Spitfire which has been built by a kid 30 years ago and deteriorated from then onwards. @highway - a boot sale is something typically British. It is indeed like a flea market at first glance, but the vendors are overwhelmingly non-professionals. It's really people selling the stuff which has accumulated in their lofts over the past centuries.

The only time I had a car stolen, I felt sorry for the thieves. It was a Triumph Acclaim.

I thought that's an essential prerequisite to get into the hobby in the first place. Hence I didn't bother to mention it.

I cannot relate to the quote. Not at all. I am the most normal person I know.

You sure can save the money for the lotto this week. I have never seen a '59 Gal with intact washboards south of a mint/boxed, resin, or my own resto. Don't worry about the bonnet bulge. Even if it left its mark, the bonnet is completely flat and thus easy to fix. This is mine: It was hardtopped and had the door handles shaved off by a previous owner, but it had never any spats installed.

I used Tenax 7R for ages, but it has been unavailable in Europe for years. I'm now hooked on EMA Plastic Weld, which I find is exactly the same, but UK-made, hence readily available. Not sure whether it is available in the colonies, but if it is, and you can't get Tenax, it's well worth to give it a try.

Built a 1/8th scale Monogram E-Type a millenium or two ago. I converted the fascia to RHD, opened and hinged the bootlid and petrol filler flap, installed a fuel filler pipe with removable cap, made beaded carpets from felt, installed a headliner and scratchbuilt dome light, hinged the quarter lights, re-laced the wheels with real wire, and added countless other detailing. I mated the body to the floor pan and filled the seams before painting it. When finished, I gave the model to the owner of a real E-Type as a gift. He still has it in a custom made showcase in his living room.

Stockcar F1 racing: Well, building for the moment. It's gonna have a 525CI Potter Cadillac with 700 bhp through a Doug Nash two-speed with reverser and a Mercedes Sprinter rear axle.

It says on Wikipedia that one of them was based on a Fiat 850 Spider. That would explain why one of them was never running.

But they could be suitable for 1/20 scale, right? May I ask where they are available and how much they are?

Hubley/Entex/Academy/Minicraft Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Nothing mentioned in this thread so far comes even remotely close in sheer atrocity. But all is still well when you compare it to the ITC Mercedes 300.

It's a 2CV 'Charleston', a special edition built 1979-1981. How on earth could this be registered in the US? The 'official' story goes that no 2CV could be registered in the US after 1973 due to safety and emissions laws.

What does one have to do to a VW-based car that it doesn't run?

A very cool idea indeed. I'll suggest this to the BriSCA for next year's Stockcar F1 tournament. Of course, this would be an oddity over there. Hard to imagine when living in a country where they are so commonplace that they literally litter the roadside.

Pun intended.

To my knowledge, there is a very nice 37 Zephyr coupe by Ertl Precision 100, which will indeed cost in the 80-100 range. Then there is a 39 convertible by Signature, which is in the 40-50 range. The same company makes a very nice 1937 Lincoln Touring Cabriolet in the same price region. Hot Wheels makes a custom coupe, which looks like being based on a 40/41 for roughly 30. The above are all 1/18 scale. Unique Replicas makes (made?) a 1937-39 [sIC] Lincoln Custom Zephyr in 1/24 scale. It is really very much modified and has even spats on the front wings. Oops, over beyond that's called skirts on the front fenders.

The Franklin Mint makes (made?) a rather good looking one.

The trouble with ebay is that it attracts the types who bid on the stuff I want.

Building model cars (or bullfrogs for that matter) involves sustained exposure to glue fumes. I think this is the catenation. The result from doing this over extended periods of times could result in the likeness of a Snake Plissken, or sum such.

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Lindberg made a Bullfrog kit.

It says so in the Bible. Who am I to judge?

I really don't know. Do you, or somebody else here, have any evidence? I think (and stand corrected if I'm wrong) the real car was a Jeep Surrey, right? The Hogans Heroes Jeep did (does) include this option, but no link to Fantasy Island was made anywhere on the kit.