Ken

Did the same thing, picked up another vintage Toyota. Got myself an 86 cressida and my buddy got an 89 cressida. Paid 500$ total for both cars. My 86 just needed a fuel pump. 20$ and an hour later she came to life after 8 long years of sitting in some guy's driveway. Next up is parts swapping to make it a 5 speed instead of the slushbox it is now. Oh yeah, I also picked up a Hasagawa (spelling???) 70s S30 Fairlady Z. Now comes the task of finding some choice wheels for it. Good luck with the IROC!!!

No cars, but I did get some deals this week. Academy's 1/32 scale F-16C/J for under 25 bucks and Tamiya's 1/48 P-47M for under 10 bucks. Some how, one of the Hobby Lobbys around me got aggressive with their clearance pricing.

This is too funny, 8track!!! I am happy,I just just scored an Alpine 7517 cassette deck for the 83 and a buddy of mine found a Kenwood KRC-3005 cassette deck for the 77 celica at a thrift store for $2.50. I have been searching for the Ol School shaft style Alpine deck, but all the ones I find are either missing part or the sellers want huge money for. I also stumbled across a thrift store that had a huge selection of cassettes for .89$ a piece. I picked up Journey's 'Escape', some Molly Hatchet and G-n-R's 'Appetite for Destruction' Can't wait to get the radios installed and the cars fired up. I do plan to keep an 'IPod' type cassette adapter in the car. Right now the MP3 player is booming Metallica's 'Broken, Beaten and Scarred' into my ear canals. My most played list right now would include Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, Megadeath, some Green Day(before they got preachy), some U2(before they got weird and preachy) and THE CLASH!!!! Long live Joe Strummer!!!!

I have a couple of them. Compared to the Fujimi Euthusiat series of 911s it isn't great. On its own, it is not a bad kit. I think the body looks good once finished. Annoying that Monogram choose to make most of the trim molded to the body. The engine goes together easier than the Fujimi version, but isn't as detailed. For a shelf sitter, good kit. As a contest contender, it would take a bit of time. If you find it on clearance, like I did mine, it is well worth the price.

This is the only 'newspaper hack' that I would trust with an auto review. Of course, he is not really a newspaper hack... Lookee Lookee I really think that both the Camaro and the Challenger both, need about a 5 to 6 inch sectioning. They look good in photos, but most of the press photos are from a low 3/4 front shot. The height of the body is minimized. After seeing both of the cars, the body just looks too fat! The roof looks too low. if the designers had gotten a little better on their proportions, the cars would look a whole lot better. That being said, I would still take a Challenger or a Mustang over the Camaro.

I have the Castrol Mugen NSX in the stash. It does include the engine and doesn't have the diecast chassis plate. It is an older issue, but still that great Tamiya quality. I hope that I can do the justice to it that you did to yours. Superb build!!!

What Bill meant by the Bare Metal Foil is cover the entire center of the part on the lower left with the foil. Burnish it down really well and then apply your red paint. After giving the paint a decent time to dry(a couple of days at least up to a couple weeks) take some fine sandpaper, 2000 grit or higher, and sand down the paint on the letters and such. You want to remove just enough paint to reveal the foil. I usually use a toothpick moistened with thinner to remove the paint. It is a bit more controlled then the sandpaper. I usually use flat toothpicks and wrap a small amount of fluff from a cotton ball around the tip. If you take your time and do it right, just the foil will appear and it will look like you were able to paint the raised parts.

Right now, the 'grokable' kit for me is the Tamiya Enzo. I have three and started on one. I got worried I wouldn't finish it like I wanted and back in the box it went. Now it get pulled out when I am bored and looking for a new project. Just sitting there, looking at the trees and the amount of time, designing and planning that went into those molds, make me want to finish it better than my abilities right now will allow. So I sit and stare and then start something else...

Got a head for the 83 supra the other day. Price... FREEEEEE!!!!! right now it is torn down to check clearances and such. I don't think it will need any machine work. Still have to get a headgasket set. Biggest news... Bought another RA29 over the weekend. This one for the interior. Pretty much complete, most amazing, an unmolested center console. Best part is the color... The ever popular BLACK... Got the center console out. Once cleaned up it should look really nice. The front seats are toast as is the carpet. I will have to be very careful with most of the vinyl as it is very, very tender. I ripped the drivers side door panel in my excitement. So I will have to be careful with the rest. Seems as there may be a whole car left once I am done with it. I was not able to get the hatch open, but judging by the condition of the back or the rear seats, it will be rusted. I believe that the rear hatch leaks something bad. The metal strip on the top of the rear seats is completely rusted through. That is okay as I am only interested in the seat coverings. I may be able to clean and use the rear carpet, but not the front. I plan to pick it up and tow it home tuesday night. The wife is working late and I also need to wait for them to move the cars along side the celica to get it moved. Anyrate, here are some pics As you can see, it is near impossible to even open the doors with the other cars this close. I don't know what the auctioneers were thinking when they parked them this close. Other than surface rust this is the only cancer I could find on the body panels. I could not check the undercarriage... reference the above pic for the reason why.. A good set of shadows, anybody need some? Four stock rims, anybody need some, there might be a fifth, gotta get the hatch open The pillar vents are decent except for one, so I will have two small ones extra as I need a large one to complete my set. This is damaged one on the driver's side. Most of the paint has come off of them, but that is easy to fix. All in all, I think it is a solid car. I may part it out, I may try and sell it whole, most likely it will be a complete part out.

A lot of the pics that I see on the HLJ page look like they have been built specifically for trade shows and such. I think that they either take photos at shows or use publicity shots from the model companies. I do love the shipping from HLJ. They are also great about having hard to find stuff occasionally. Especially with the Macross and Gundam stuff I buy for my brother.

Yup, that is the only thing that brings me any joy lately

Sorry, didn't mean to threadjack you

The cressida is the easy part. I know of two four doors right now for sale at less than 500$ a piece. The 2JZ swap... is like another 10 grand on top of it, if you want the turbo verision. Of course, if you are going to drop a 2JZ in why not go turbo!!! I bought the 7M supra to drop the engine in my 77. It was too straight to cut up for parts. The other supra was just being in the right place at the right time. I almost bought a 7M turbo supra this last week for 600$ or so. It needed a headgasket, but that is normal for these cars. A 7M-GTE would have been killer in the 83 Supra!!

Ah, the Fujimi AW11 MR2. I have a couple of the 'stock' kits from them. They were originally motorized, so some of the interior details are a bit shallow, but they build up to look like 1st gen MR2s. Most of us stock up. I myself, have 5 Kei Office S15s, 3 of the Mazadaspeed FD RX-7s, 3 of the C-West FD RX-7s, a couple of the Fujimi SW20s and a bunch of other import stuff. Most of my kits come from online. We only have one Hobby Town nearby and he deals mostly in RC and armor. My favorite hobby shop was when I was living back home with the parents in Maryland. Bel Air hobbies used to be a great shop and there was one out on Route 1 I believe. Oh, Mike, that 91 Cressida wagon, nice choice. The 7m drops in as does the JZ series. Found one yesterday during a junkyard crawl. They are pretty rare compared to their four door brothers. Here is the wagon I found. The yard also had 3 four door cressies, 6 82-86 supras and a bunch of other stuff, including a very rare 1969 Toyota Corona 2 door coupe. Unfortunately, the corona suffered from a severe case of tin worm. the only thing in the trunk was the rear axle and springs As I said in the 'post your tuners' I have used most of me free time for my 1:1 projects. I have no pics of my scale projects right now.

I don't have any finished tuners as my 1:1s are taking up all my free time. They have been posted before, but what the heck... I am always happy to show them off... My RA29, currently under restoration.. My 200$ M70 MkIII supra My free MA67 Mk II supra. It needs a head, but I am getting one tomorrow for free as well. she also needed a new hood and front fenders, which have been added at this time Tuners in the works, R34 spec V, Eclipse and a Nismo R34 as well.

Like others have said, most of the letters and such after the name are the chassis codes. 1st gen MR2 are AW11 2nd gen MR2 are SW20 I don't know the chassis code for the 3rd gen MR2 Celicas are RA- 1st gen are RA22/23 RA28/29 I have an RA29 that has been posted in this forum. 2nd gen are RA41/43 I think 3rd gen are RA61/67 after that they go FWD and don't count The supras are Mk1 MA46 Mk2 MA67 I have one Mk 3 MA70 I have one as well Mk4 JZA70 don't have one yet The Z series is a bit harder. Nissan changed the chassis code somewhere in the run, but I am not sure where I believe that the first-3rd gen are SA30s, but I might be wrong Then I know they start the Z series Z30-Z35 so far I believe. The kits you have listed are both 2nd gen MR2s. 1st gen MR2s are very boxy. The SW20 is actually my favorite. I don't think Toyota got it any better than that one. The 300ZX you have is a second gen of the new chassis. The first being the Z31. The one you show is the Z32 chassis, which is notable for being the first twin turbo model of the Z series. Silvias, are S chassis code. They actually started in the early to mid eighties with the 200SX, which I believe is an S11 or S12 chassis. The 180/240SX is the S13-S15 chassis and are most popular with the drifting crowd. sorry, didn't mean to lecture, early Japanese cars are another hobby that I can't afford. I wouldn't worry about what color the green MR2 is and just paint it whatever color strikes your fancy. I have been using the high impact colors from the sixties for alot of my tuner style builds lately. Just seems fitting to paint them those kinds of colors. Oh yeah, I would go for the veilside SW20 before the other one, but that is just personal preference on my part.

Would starting with a sil80 be easier. I know you have gotten this far, but I picked up one of the fujimi sil80s and would be willing to work a trade if you would like.

I went yesterday, without a coupon and picked a few kits up. I got the 71 'Cuda, a Porsche slant nose and the 1/6 Hemi for 4.00$ each!!!! I need to go check the other stores in the area

At least he had them on asphault and not just sitting in the grass.

Mine is in cream/white, USA oldies edition. I don't think it is first issue... who cares if it is!!!! She will be a mild custom with some newer touches. Maybe I will go VIP with it, curtains and all I do know that it will most likely have a hemi under the hood. Just getting to sanding mold lines and such. Everytime that I pick it up, I am amazed at the engraving on these 'old' Johans. Interior, will be tossed. I am looking at using the 57 300 or the 58 belvadere(sp??) as a donor for most of it. This one is still in the planning stages... gotta finish the 'deathrace' build first.

Okay, I finally scored one thanks to a gracious member here on the board. So now comes the planning for the build. My first question is... What would be a good donor for a decent chassis for this kit? The Johan offering is a little dated for my tastes. I know that Dodges and such of this vintage are unibody, right? So that rules out the AMT 58 fury, although that kit will do well for engine, interior and such. what kit should I try to find for the chassis? I know this board will know the answer. Thanks guys!

Gotta love the AMT 29 kit. I don't think it gets enough love. Great kit with endless possiblities. Your's is truely a gem. Great work and I like how you solved the fender issue. I have a ton of these in the stash. Back when Wal-mart was stocking models, I would buy every 29 I saw. Around here they were stocked in the 5.95$ version. I bought a ton of them in that guise. You are doing a great job with this one. I will also third finding the AMT 34 kit. The flathead is great and it is a newer tool.

No update on the celica, but I did get the supra dragged home the other day. Figured out an idle problem that was bugging me. I also picked up this... It was a 'drag it out of my parking lot or it is going to the crusher' type of deal. I couldn't let it die, so I had to save it. there is one small problem with it It needs a head. Easy fix. 50$ for the head and 50$ for the gasket. Everything else is there. I have already picked up a new front bumper and fender. Got newer, better seats, the fronts in this one have some small tears in them. The 87 Supra is due to be titled and tagged in the next few weeks. Then an exhaust system and she will be on the road. I already have a line on a cat back off of a car that is being junked. The above car will be next. Once that is titled and tagged the celica will be back on the top of the list. I am still finding parts for it. I have a line on another 77 GT that has a good black interior to replace my busted up brown one. I hope to pick that up in the next month or so as well. While bench time has been limited. Especially, with the tornados the past day or so, I am still working hard on the 'Death Race' entry.

I just want to say that every car I have ever bought has been a manual. My work truck is an automatic and I wouldn't have it any other way. Ever try to shoot video, drive and shift at the same time? Just kidding, I would never shift and shoot video at the same time.... I mean drive, yeah that's it...

IF I remember correctly, that would be a Common Chameleon and yes, while they are cheap by Chameleon standards, they still are expensive. I used to run a reptile division of a small Vet-owned Pet Store. We would only special order Chameleons and they came with no guarantees. They are very hard to get acclimated to captivity. The Jackson's were the only species that was easily bred in captivity at the time. Things have most likely changed by now. Really fun creatures to play with. I alsways liked to freak them out by placing them on Plaid or tartan fabric Just kidding to all you PETA types