ColonelKrypton

Very nice. Looks just right. cheers, Graham

That really looks sharp in that lovely ( emarald perhaps? ) green. Is the interior white or is it a very light shade of green? Well done. cheers, Graham

Very nice. I have not yet built a Takom kit but I have built a few of the MiniArt kits. Not sure if your Takom kit had the interior bits but the basic MiniArt T-55 kits without interior are close to that 1000 part number and no doubt just as fiddly as the Takom; the MiniArt with the full interior ( plus engine plus transmission if you care to add it) is doubly so fiddly than the basic kit. Too much so for me. cheers, Graham

I am not familiar with the Trizact product; I have not seen it locally. Same for the Infini sanding pads. What I do find locally is another 3m product - https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40066306/ 3M™ Performance Soft Sanding Sponge that is more similar to the Infini pads and the Tamiya sanding sponge. I tend to use what I find locally and what I find locally can be hit and miss especially after I find something I really like and can't be found the next time I go looking for it. cheers, Graham

That is an excellent idea and I will give it try. Up to now I have been using 3m Super Flexible Sanding Sheets https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/MMM31851 folded over and used in a similar way. However, being thinner and more flexible they tend to create a less round end. I have resorted to folding the sanding sheet over a small diameter rod in order to make it more round. If you are not familiar with this 3m product, it is a silicon carbide sanding sheet which has a thin flexible rubberized woven backing; maybe about 2mm total thickness, perhaps a bit more. Available in grits up to 1200. cheers, Graham

Cool project. I had '75 Gremlin - 232 straight 6, 3 speed on the floor, bench seats, and would do zero to sixty. I needed new tires and found four somewhat oversize tires and it became my ATG - All Terrain Gremlin. I drove it all over Newfoundland when I was stationed in Gander; over hill and dale and down some old logging roads that if I at that time had better sense would never have explored. I always wanted one with the 304 but was not to be. cheers, Graham

Tamiya tape is great and always have a couple of rolls on hand but local availability can be a bit hit and miss. A very good substitute and what I have been using more and more of is a washi tape product by Scotch called "Delicate Surface Painter's Tape" and is available in various widths. https://www.amazon.com/ScotchBlueTM-Painters-Tape-Walls-Floors/dp/B000BPRGFQ?th=1 And, another is a 3M Automotive Refinish Masking Tape 388N https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036C0PVI/ another is this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M5F0Q2M/?th=1 It is always nice to have options. cheers, Graham

My preference is for using tiny drops of liquid solvent cement as well. The Tamiya extra thin limonene cement seems to work well for this as it doesn't seem to make as strong a bond https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87134limonene_cement/index.htm Rubber cement works too and as an alternative which is not quite as strong you can also use liquid masking fluid of which there are numerous choices. i.e. https://www.mr-hobby.com/en/product3/category_39/211.html cheers, Graham

indeed, very nicely done. cheers, Graham

I couldn't agree more. I have just recently been smitten with building some Hot Rods and these kits fit the bill. Very nicely done. Just like Lay's - you just can't eat ( build ) one. cheers, Graham

overall this discussion has been quite interesting. I did find an interesting forum noted in a recent posting: https://newkoolestkruzers.forumactif.org/ In French BUT if you are using Google Chrome you just need to "right click" and select translate into English. Very handy and it makes forums in other than English easily followed. cheers, Graham

very nice. Looks good in blue with the wood panels. cheers, Graham

Indeed it does. Very nicely done. cheers, Graham

Fabulous. cheers, Graham

I was thinking the same thing. Seems that the mention of FaceBook was the catalyst which de-railed the original intent. cheers, Graham

Funny thing about Facebook; I tried on two occasions to "sign up". Went through the initial stages just fine. Refused to upload a picture to prove it was really me; far too invasive I think and besides how does that prove who I am? I could upload a picture of anyone and say it was me. How are they to really know. In any case, on both occasions, I poked around on Facebook getting a fell for the place, stated to "ignore" or set as not interested ( or whatever they call it on Facebook ) most if not all of the "trending" people and posts they were pushing my way and the got into user configuration and started turning off features I didn't want. In a matter of few hours I received an automated email from the Facebook Over Lord indicating that I had violated Facebook user policies and that "fake" accounts are not permitted. My account has been locked and terminated. There was no recourse and I hadn't even made a single post. cheers, Graham

I was at one of the local Michaels yesterday. Ottawa ( Ontario ) is lucky, there are four Michaels and two DeSerres plus a very nice traditional art supply store called Wallacks ( downtown Ottawa ). Michaels was having a 40% off Labour day weekend sale. Get 40% off one regular priced item so I couldn't resist. I can also get a senior discount - every wee bit helps I purchased a can of Pebeo acrylic spray, Christmas Red. There are quite a number of interesting colours in the line, it just happened I needed a red and this one looked like it would do nicely. Had a chance to play around with it today and painted a few pieces. First impressions are good. Covered well over Dupli-Color Primer Sealer, and has virtually no smell. Some of the other modern acrylic sprays also have low smell. The smell of Tamiya, Mr Color, (etc) are tolerable but I pick and choose my times when I paint in the basement so as to keep the smell in the rest of the house to a minimum. I occasionally spray outside from time to time for the same reason but the dusty garage or windy deck don't always cooperate. Price wise; list price at Michaels ( Canada ) is $19.49 CDN. Size of the spray can is 200ml. Tamiya and Mr Color spray cans are 100ml and sell for around $11 to $12 CDN. Already the Pebeo is a bit better $ wise per volume and using the daily 30% discount plus a seniors discount makes it even more attractive. So far, I like what I see. The very low smell is a big selling point. I will be buying more provided my other simple test work out. Will they replace Tamiya or Mr Color or Dupli-Color or Vallejo sprays or others? Not likely. Each brand but I am not above trying something new if does what I want it to. I will provide an update in a day or two after I have given the Pebeo some time to dry and cure. Next test will be a compatibility test of Tamiya semi-gloss and Dupli-Color clear gloss over the Pebeo. Stay tuned, same Bat time, same Bat channel ... cheers, Graham ( aka ColonelKrypton OGE )

Indeed they do and these paints are also quite good. However, the stock in the local stores has dwindled to near nothing and I think that they are on their way out, not the brand, just at Michaels. Perhaps it is just a supply issue of some sort. No one I asked in the store I recently visited knew one way or the other. cheers, Graham

That's what my workbench after I tidy it up. And, it doesn't stay that way for very long. cheers, Graham

Good point, I had forgotten about that one. I will go have a look. cheers, Graham

Me as well, over 60 years in fact. I have many fond memories of Model Car and Science and Car Model, my first real introduction to what others with similar interests where doing. These and other magazines ( Hot Rod, etc ) where the "social media" of the day. I would still be building even if there was no internet or online forums. I would be rather disappointed if Model Cars Magazine where to disappear however, it is the last remaining bastion of the hobbies traditional social media aspect. To be fair, there are other magazines which have this content but not exclusively and do occasionally have content of interest. cheers, Graham

Good points and spot on. I think that is one of the reasons I don't care for Facebook but have not been able to articulate well. Facebook is very ephemeral, short lived, it's there and before long it's gone. Perhaps that is it's niche. I too search the forums and find much of interest in many old postings and am constantly thumbing through old magazines for the same reasons. Magazines and books are very tactile and I tend to retain much more in memory from having read something on paper whereas online I tend to skim and many things are quickly forgotten. Forums I think are somewhere between the printed word and the likes of Facebook. cheers, Graham

It is. I do the same. I often hear the cry from older modellers that the hobby is dying. This just isn't so. It is changing, quickly and in ways that years ago would have been hard to predict. Gunpla ( literally GUNdam PLAstic ), warhammer, SciFi, ( etc ) has become BIG. And is not just for the young but for all ages with a large number of young women and families participating. Miniatures ( i.e. scale dollhouses ) is another area that has grown substantially as has the notion of "makers". Europe and Asia appear to be ground zero for much of this growth and activity but North America has followed. There still seems to be an underlying notion in North America that model building is for kids whereas in other parts of the world it was accepted and embraced as an activity for all. cheers, Graham

Indeed they have. In fact I subscribe to your channel and I find other members here on this forum have youtube channels as well. The model car segment of youtube posters strikes me as a very close knit group of enthusiasts, very friendly, supportive of each other, and with very diverse interests all with the desire to share and share alike. Kind of like a big virtual club. cheers, Graham

Steve, I will have another look at Facebook. I know I am missing a lot by not looking there but I am not so sure the benefits out weigh the ills of Facebook. cheers, Graham