kensar

Fill out the paperwork and the registration people will help you decide what class to put the models in. Most of the 'rules' define what kind of model goes in what class. This will also designate what table to display the model on. Most models are simply put on the table with the identifying slip of paper under it. This leaves room for other models, which can be needed if a table is full of models already. Some models are displayed with small bases, as well. Just be aware of how much room you are taking to be considerate of other modelers that also want to display. Other models, like dioramas, are on large bases and they usually have their own table. Usually, the builder's name is not displayed in order to discourage judging bias, but this does happen occasionally. The next task for you is to walk around and check out the other models and be in awe. After that, a trip to the vendor's tables is in order because you can't go home with any money. At the end of the show, the awards are announced and everyone packs up. You other guys can chime in if I left something out.

Definitely replace the wheels. The under hood area can be made to look decent with a little scratching. I overcame the red plastic with lots of Tamiya white primer!

Thanks for the nice comments, everyone. I'm glad to finally have it off my shelf of delay.

A nice string of builds there, Pierre. I think the yellow SWB stands out to me as the most eye catching. I thoroughly enjoy your build threads where you discuss the particular challenges of the builds and show your approach to overcoming them. And it blows my mind that you do all the painting with a hairy stick! I made a similar list of models completed this year - 6 planes, 4 cars, and one tank! Looking forward to seeing more of your work in the coming year. Ken Mouton

Nice work, Mark. One day you're gonna finish this thing! 😄

This is a primary training glider that most of the WW2 Luftwaffe pilots had some time in. This Special Hobby kit was quite challenging due to the small and fragile parts. I have scratchbuilt a number of details for a better result. Must have been a breezy ride in one of these!

A striking model, Pierre. It's nice when an uncomplicated build turns out to be a looker. The decals don't look uncomplicated, though.

A fantastic looking build! Very clean with sharp detail.

Exceptionally nice model, Chris. Looks very real.

An outstanding model, Pierre, and a cool looking subject. Your modifications definitely upgraded the appearance. 👍

Thanks, Ulf. The paint is a mixture of white and chrome yellow Tamiya spray paints that were decanted and applied with an airbrush. Then polished out with no clearcoat. Some light weathering was applied on the bottom and under the hood. This is pastel chalk mixture.

I have completed this build and put it in the 'Under Glass' section:

This is the relatively new Revell Jaguar XKE depicting a series 1 car. The kit was somewhat disappointing with many sink marks and a couple of short shot sprues. Fortunately, I had two kits to draw upon. I have also enhanced the kit with some scratchbuilt items. Most details of the real car were in the kit, but many were poorly rendered and not very sharp. The decal sheet is very complete and exceptionally nice, high resolution printing and in-register. The wheels are aftermarket 3D prints from Ukranian Scale Car Production and are exceptionally nice.

Well, first of all I determined that an adjustment needed to be done. I got this information by looking at other's builds of this same kit and if they adjusted the ride height. Next, how to do it depends on the kit design - what parts set the ride height where it is. Then modify those parts to raise or lower the chassis relative to the wheel hubs. On this kit, the rear ride height is set by the tabs on the wheel hubs (part C10). Lowering the chassis is a simple matter of filing down the tabs (by 0.060"). A number of other parts need to be adjusted to accommodate this change. The axles needed to be bent, the shock absorbers needed to be shortened, and part C18 needed to be bent. This was the initial adjustment I did. Later, I test fitted the wheels when the body was attached to the chassis and I determined that the initial adjustment was too much. By this time I did not want to readjust all the parts I had done earlier, so I made a smaller adjustment to the backs of the wheels. The wheels are attached to the hubs by fitting the hub into a 'hole' on the back of the wheel. I used aftermarket wheels here. I was able to cut the material forming the hole so that it was open on 1/2 of one side, effectively, elongating the hole. This enabled the wheel to be lowered on the hub. Although the wheel is not aligned with the hub, it is only a small amount (0.030") and is not noticeable. I then glued the wheels to the hubs with the car supported at the right height on a piece of glass (a flat surface) so that all four wheels will touch the ground surface. Hope this is clear enough. Again, the ride height is adjusted by modifying the parts that set the height.

Looks awesome. Can't wait to see it in the completed section. 👍

Thanks, everyone, for stopping by and commenting. The interior leather paint is Model Master enamel leather color 1736, which is nothing special. I did apply it with an air brush after thinning quite a bit. It is applied very lightly, building up layers of paint and not completely covering the white primer underneath. This technique yielded the uneven coloration and realistic look. I'm currently spraying on some chrome on the chromed exterior parts, so hopefully this project will be completed soon.

Thanks for the nice comments everyone. The chassis relative to the rear axle was lowered about 1.5mm (0.060")based on a couple of other build threads I came across, however, that was too much after I test fitted the wheels with the body on, so I adjusted the back of the wheels to raise the body up about 0.030". Consequently, the wheels are not lined up with the rear axles, but this is not noticeable. I frequently need to make last minute ride height adjustments to my models.

After many distractions and problems with paint, I have finally made some progress with this. I have the body painted and the wheels on it. I adjusted the rear ride height. After looking at numerous pictures of real XKEs with the rear ride height appearing to be all over the place, I went with this. Now there's just the outside details and some weathering left to do.

Great detail on this model, Andrew. Exceptional result, especially considering the base kit. My only experience with UMI models was a Porsche 908 - nothing was straight or square on it.

Completed this Airfix Tiger tank (1/35 scale) recently. This subject is not my cup of tea but the kit was a gift from my wife, so I had to build it, right? It depicts a tank that participated in the battle of Kursk. I find that armor kits take a different approach to building and painting and this was a new experience for me - I survived it. Thanks for looking.

If you're going to slice up the hood vent decal, use a new blade! Will still need some green touch up paint after the knife work. Good luck with it!

Great restoration of an old model and a cool subject.

I found some photographs of the tail and scanned them. Hope this shows you what you need.

Here's my LeMans Miniatures Audi R8 from the year 2000 LeMans. Built in 2004.

One interpretation of the label could be that the base color and clear coat are combined in the same can and no additional clear coat is needed.