Bainford

Love this build. Cool period piece.

It's coming along nicely. That little Coventry Climax looks great. I like your technique for the pedals, too. I'll be borrowing that one.

Very impressive. Very realistic textures.

Another one I'll be watching. I NEED to pick up a couple of these.

Cool project, Lee. I think you nailed the colour. I've had one of these kits in the stash for years waiting for its turn at bat. Perhaps I'll be inspired. I'm watching.

Nice work Mike. Scratch building is a pain at first, but very satisfying in the end. Each attempt will show improvement. The downside is that after a while you look at some kit parts and think “I can do better than that”, then you start re-engineering entire kits. It’s all good though. Keep up the good work.

The '68 CJ Super Stock Mustangs are some of the coolest cars of the muscle era, and you nailed the look. Super cool. Love 'em.

Da' Grump would be pleased. Nice work.

Wow! Lots of cool stuff in this thread. Love the haulers, guys. Gramps, cool old Cobra build.

Yes, the Torino is cleared with Future. First of all, I realise that Future is very popular as a clear coat, so please weigh my comments accordingly. - Future is not paint, so it does not behave at all like paint, and therefore requires a significant learning curve to deal with it. Spraying it is particularly problematic as it sometimes wants to bead up rather than lay down, requiring a heavy application. - Whether applied thin or heavy, sprayed or brushed, it runs off and continues to drool until it sets up. This necessitates blotting access from the low edges with a tissue or similar, and makes a general mess. This is seen as a benefit by some as it alludes to Future's self leveling qualities, which are impressive, but the end result is less impressive than a properly colour sanded and polished finish. The drooling also leaves runs which can be seen when the light hits it right, and blotting the lower edge completely free of a developing bead before the stuff sets up is tricky. Some guys like to dip their windshields in Future to clarify them, but the same problems arise, causing optical distortion. Polished glass is much nicer. - It goes on very thin, a result of the stuff running off the body after it is applied. This makes final sanding and polishing and removal of junk very difficult as there is little material thickness to work with. This makes it difficult to get rid of the runs as well. - Applying additional coats exacerbates the problem, as the new coats appear to somewhat re-liquefy the previously applied coats. This magnifies any issues with runs and drooling, and makes it difficult to build up thickness for polishing. - It also reacts differently when colour sanding and polishing, increasing the learning curve. - You comment on the shine, and it does have a decent shine, but therein is another problem. The shine is not realistic. It's too shiny. This is not a problem for many builders, as ultimate shine seems to be the goal of many. So many great model masterpieces are ruined by a finish that is too shiny. - Perhaps worst of all, the final finish has an unrealistic luster. It is simply not a good looking finish. It makes any painted surface look likes it's made of plastic. This is common of most acrylic paints and finishes. I find most acrylic paints, no matter how well applied and finished, just look like polished plastic, rather than painted metal. These are my own personal observations and experience, YMMV. I realise that I am particularly (ridiculously?) fussy regarding scale realism. I've read a lot of work-arounds to deal with the various shortcomings, but why bother. Not only is it an inferior clear coat (in my opinion, of course), it is a nuisance to apply. I am all for experimentation with products outside of the hobby realm, and was quite intrigued by Future years ago, but after numerous trials I found it wasn't worth the bother. There is always a bottle of Future on my bench. It's a very useful and versatile product and I use it for many things, just not clear coating a painted body. That's probably more than you were looking for, and I apologise if it reads like a rant. It's not meant to. Future works well for many, and many are happy with it. However, the bottom line is, there are literally dozens of products on the market specifically formulated for clear coating models and similar items that work very very well, and aside from cost, I find Future has no advantage over any of them.

Mr. Raisin27, it is great to see you back at it. Your builds on the SA forum years ago were always some of my favourites. I have wondered where you disappeared to. I'm glad you're back at it. Great looking Mustang. Nice clean detailing, and you nailed the stance. Very well done!

I got away from this build for a few months, and just spent an enjoyable morning catching up. I am extremely impressed with your work. Often I find models built with a lot of machined metal parts have a cold, clinical look to them, but your work has a lot of warmth and life. Very nice, very impressive. That rear suspension looks great mocked up. The annodized aluminum is a great touch. Thanks for showing your techniques. Cheers.

This was built 17 years ago. This car was air brushed. I did a ton of experimentation with Future at the time. In my personal opinion, the stuff makes a lousy clear coat.

Cool project, and nice work so far. I'm digging it.

Nice build of a fantastic machine.

Nice looking Esprit. The S1 is my favourite of the breed, and they look best in white. The Fujimi kit captures the subtleties of the body lines nicely, and you've done a great job getting it together. Good work on the stance, too. Nicely done.

I am Taig lathe curious. I want a lathe for some scratch building projects, and have been threatening to get one for some time. The Taigs are quite capable, and suitable for the vast majority of work one would use one for on 1/24 scale models. A full range of accessories is available. There are numerous hobby machinist forums online where Taigs have been discussed and modified in various ways for increased capability. Taig owners generally seem pleased with them. I had some of these conversations bookmarked, but unfortunately I lost them in a computer crash. I don't have one and haven't used one, but I believe they are definitely worth consideration.

A couple of fine cruisers. The Caddy is beautiful in that shade of blue.

Nice looking 32. Good work on the paint. I have a Lamborghini Countach project coming up and have been searching for a lightly metallic orange colour for it, and I think I may have now found it.

Nice work so far. The doors can be finicky, but you got a handle on it. I love the 57 Fords, I'll be watching this build.

Mmmm... pretty.

I really like this early GT-40, a nice piece of the GT-40 lineage. Nice work on the slot car conversion. Very cool!

Lovely Lotus. I would never guess it is 1/43. Very well done!

Beautiful Stratos. Such an awesome car. Your build captures the vibe of the Stradale nicely.

Nice work so far. The Miata looks great in red.