DJMar

Not enough o's in smooth to describe that paint.

You forgot about the acid test!

About a year ago, I got one of those clamp on, adjustable, lighted, 12x magnifiers for the bench. I'm surprised at how much I use it.

Oh I'm digging this! Great color combo for this car. Super clean, and really good looking build.

I'm always, always down for a Z car. I have been debating whether or not to get this particular kit. I don't really build large scale stuff, but it looks tempting.

The ghosting issue that I've had in the past with Tamiya lacquers has happened with 3 different brands of tape (Tamiya's own, 3M High Performance Green, and Scotch Blue). All of the lacquer was flashed off in the dehydrator for 2-3 hours, and cured for at least a week (some longer) BEFORE masking. All the paint had those weird marks on it after removing the tape, no matter which of the 3 brands I used. I usually remove masking tape as soon as it is safe to do so without disturbing the paint underneath, so it's not an issue of the tape sitting on the paint for too long. I thought perhaps it was the solvent in the paint causing a reaction with the tape adhesive, but you would think the same thing would happen when spraying other lacquer paints, too. The fact that it happened on 3 different types of tape was also frustrating. I haven't had this problem with cured enamels or any other automotive lacquer I've used. To be honest, I never tried polishing out the marks. IME, clear coating them doesn't make them disappear, just makes them a little less visible.

Unfortunately, I've had the same thing happen with different types of masking tape and Tamiya lacquers. It doesn't seem to matter how long the paint has had to cure, some tapes leave ghosting in the paint. Not really sure what causes it other than a reaction with the adhesive. I've tried FrogTape Delicate Surface tape with better results, but basically I stay away from Tamiya paints if I'm masking a two tone.

That blue is mighty tasty!

Really nice, and I'm digging the purple. What flavor is it?

Exactly this, you can see it clearly in the posted pics. If you look at the instructions, you can see the correct position of the fender unit on the frame.

Oh, I dig this. It's looking really sweet.

Great Minds Think Alike!

After years of "sand/fill/sand/prime" work on two piece oil pans, this is the method I've used to get rid of those horrid seams. Sometimes the shape of the pan makes the final shaping a bit tedious, but IME it's a lot quicker and more foolproof than using filler. 👍🏼GMTA and all that. It's an SBC, the same engine that was in the original Stacey David Rat Roaster kit.

That looks killer!

Hakosuka! That's a lovely 1st gen GT-R.

Sweet!

I love the color, is it Testors Purple Metal Flake?

This was a pretty infamous mislabeling goof by AMT back in the day.

A few years back, I bought a quart of Duplicolor Paint Shop gray primer (BSP100) for some touch up on my '53 F100. I had about half of it left over, so I've been using that when shooting lacquer. It's amazing how long a pint of primer will last. It is ready to go straight out of the container. I didn't buy it specifically to use on models, but it works well if you lay down multiple thin coats. I haven't had any problems with it. I do like MCW standard gray primer as well, but haven't used any in the last 3-4 years.

Yep, use the light blue (light grip) mat for paper, and set your machine to cut regular paper (or light cardstock). Each machine is a little different, so I don't know the exact settings for the one you're using, but a standard pressure cut usually works just fine.

I've used a Cricut for both cutting masks and cutting solid color decals. With something like these 911 designs, you could certainly do either. Masking frisket paper is readily available at most craft stores. As for decals, I've had good results using BMF's line of Expert's Choice paper, although there are a ton of other options out there. Expert's Choice has a limited color palette (white, clear, gray and gold) but I often just use the white film and airbrush the final color over the top before application. One tip: be sure you use a brand new, fresh blade in the cutting head of the Cricut when using decal paper.

The AMT Craftsman Series are nice and simple builds, but I would also suggest looking at some older Monogram 1:24 scale kits, which go together well and are not overly complicated. Their muscle car kits from the mid-to-late 80s are fun to build and look good finished. Since most of these are out of production, you can find them on eBay and the like. Shop around a bit for the best prices, and you might be able to land most of these for around the same street price as a new AMT kit ($30-$35), give or take. Some potential candidates: 1965 Mustang 2+2, 1966 Shelby GT350H 1964 GTO (soon to be re-released by Revell), also available as a 2'n1 kit Also the 1969 GTO (recent re-release by Revell, so it's readily available) 1970 Dodge Challenger Another Mopar, the 1969 Dodge Super Bee 1970 Mustang Boss 302 or Boss 429 While browsing eBay, I came across a few of these kits for around $30, some with free shipping. The deals are out there, you just have to look. I think these kits will give you a hassle free build with good detail, without being overwhelming.

Great kit. It's one of Monogram's best efforts of the 80s, imho. It's cool to see this one back, especially the 2'n1 version of the kit (I need more of those big GT Radial rear tires).

Looks really sweet. What's the color?