Bainford

Nice work Francis. The dash looks great! I wouldn't worry about the mileage, I'm sure the odometer is on it's second time around... at least. I chuckled at the speedometer collection as a kid. A friend and I had a dozen or so between us as kids. Any time Dad went to a junkyard for a part for something was an opportunity to score another speedometer. He wasn't keen on having them around either, though, and the collection seemed to thin out from time to time, without my input.

Cheers Josh. Very helpful, I'll look into this.

Nice work on the heat shield. It looks spot on. I am intrigued by this chrome vinyl material. Is this a craft store (Michaels?) product, or something from a professional source? It seems like interesting and useful stuff. How thick is it?

Nice kit! The build is coming along nicely.

Beautiful build. Nice photography, too.

Oh yeah! I like that.

Very cool old school vibe. Interesting texture to the paint. Seems to be quite even. Will be a neat effect when cleared.

Cheers Dave. I have an old style Badger 200, bottom feed, that I have been using for 39 years, that's why I asked. I have a fine head/needle but never used it, the medium set being my main set-up. Actually, last winter I finally bought a long desired gravity feed, dual action airbrush, but was intrigued by your comments above. Thanks.

Are you referring to a Badger 200 or 100 with fine tip?

To be brutally honest Tom, that die cast illustrates why people (those who desire a nice replica) build rather then just buy.

Very cool model of the Marzal, one of the best looking show cars of the era. I am very impressed with your methods, and that you stuck with it for decades. It must feel good to have finally finished it. I always liked the Marzal since I was a kid (like others above, it seems), and in my adult years I have always wanted to build an Espada (basically the road car evolution of the Marzal). Well done, thanks for posting.

I certainly could be wrong about the crazing. It can be hard to tell from a photo, but the area between the head light pods appears that way. Certainly, the wording you posted from the FAQs suggests the paint is indeed hot enough to potentially craze. And as mentioned earlier, the paint is only one component to crazing, the other is the plastic. Like paint, plastic has many different formulations, some of them more prone to crazing then others. I'm hoping you find it to be a different problem. Striping the paint should tell.

There are a lot of different clears out there, and some will provide varying results. Alclad makes clear in gloss, sheen, semi-matt, and matt. Each will make chrome look like different aluminum treatments. I quite like the sheen to make chrome look like polished aluminum, whereas semi-matt makes a nice unpolished aluminum and matt makes a decent flat or cast aluminum look. There are other clears that will lend a different look to coated chrome.

I have no experience with Zero, Splash, Gravity, MCW, etc paints, so can't offer specific advice on application. However, the photo seems to show crazing of the plastic. This seems especially visible on the area forward of the bonnet. This occurs when the solvents in the paint physically attack the plastic. Some paint solvents are particularly 'hot', especially lacquers not specifically formulated for styrene plastic (though I have no idea if Zero is lacquer). Additionally, some plastic formulations are particularly susceptible to this reaction. It will be interesting to see if the body soaking in Purple Power shows a grainy surface once the paint has been stripped. You may have to do some priming & sanding with a filler/primer to sort the damage to the plastic. To prevent this, a barrier is needed between the paint and plastic. A number of products have been used to do this. Most builders ensure a good primer base, and apply the paint in light coats to reduce its potential to attack the plastic. I have heard of BIN and Future being used as barriers, but have no experience with them myself.

That was a most enjoyable tour. Impressive beyond words. They would be lovely to see in person.

The build is looking good. Great subject.

Cool build, and very well done, especially for a 24 hr build. I haven’t seen one of these in years.

Curious. Intrigued by this disparity, I measured some of my own. I have ten in stock, and I know eight of them came from two different issues of the MPC early 80s Bronco. A couple measured as small as .610", and several measured between .630" -.640". I also found that the tires feel more firm than when new, and wonder if the vinyl is hardening/shrinking over time.

Beautiful Jag. The XK120 demands a nice, smooth paint to show off those sexy lines, and yours suits perfectly. Very well done. I have this kit in progress, though the project stalled a couple years ago. I am hoping to get back at it in the spring. Seeing the lovely job you have done on yours is helping to inspire me to get back at it once I get through a couple current builds.

Good looking Starliner. Nice conversion. Can't wait to get started on mine.

Great job on this, Matt. It looks fantastic. And I continue to be very impressed with this kit.

Beautiful model. Nicely built. The new Revell Jag seems to build up well. I'll soon put one of these in the stash.

Good looking truck. Nice work so far. Who makes the resin body and grill? I have a '72 Crew Cab project in similar colours coming up sometime. Your build is inspiring me.

Nice work, Jr. The engine looks great. The new carb really brings it to life.

Cool projects. Your foil work is very neat.