Bainford

Very impressive.

Beautiful Lambo, Steve. Nice paint work. It really pops in the sun. Such a good looking car. I have this kit in the stash, but it really deserves to be built and put on the shelf.

Can't give you a hard time about that colour. It looks great. Suits the Futura perfectly. Nice choice David.

Speaking on behalf of the community, we are waiting for you to paint it and show it to us, at which point we shall berate you mercilessly for choosing the wrong colour. ?

NNL North coverage, page 77.

Lots of excellent information there. I would like to add that a successful cut & polish job starts before to paint even goes on. Body prep is very important, but specifically I want to address a couple of issues with panel gaps (doors, deck lids, etc) that sometimes crop up during colour sanding or polishing. On most kits there is a low ridge that forms on either side of a panel gap when the kit is produced (an artifact of the molding process, I presume). These ridges are nearly imperceptible (invisible unless you look for them) but I have had them show themselves by burning through when sanding/polishing the paint. The solution is to knock these high-spots down by block sanding the plastic across all panel gaps using a hard, flat sanding block. Another issue with panel gaps is that sometimes the body surfaces on either side of a panel gap are not on the same plane. That is to say, the surface on one side of a gap may be higher or lower than the rest of the car body, such as a door that is slightly proud of the rest of the body. Again, these areas will show themselves by burning through when colour sanding or polishing. Sometimes these surface discrepancies are significant. Block sanding can deal with the minor instances, but a filling primer or (my favourite) Gunze Sangyo Mr. Surfacer may be needed to build up the lower surface. Yet another consideration. If you scribe your panel lines, be sure to block sand across the panel gaps afterward as the scriber can produce a fine swarf at the edge of the gap. I highly recommend panel scribing for anyone who cuts & polishes paint as this is when a panel gap looks really great. The act of cutting & polishing a model (for me personally, at least) is not about making the paint shiny, it is about tightening up the overall appearance of the body, sharpening the edges of panel gaps and other body edges, and flattening the overall surface for a cohesive and realistic appearance. It is an important step in the pursuit of realism, if that is the goal. Keep in mind that any proud point or area on the body surfaces may be exposed at the most inopportune time, i.e. when putting the finishing touches on that great paint job. I highly recommend giving the complete body a block sanding job with a soft block before paint, during the body prep stage. I like to use one of those white vinyl drafting erasers as a soft block. I usually use 1000 or 1500 grit sandpaper for block sanding, and do it all wet. Don't press hard, just let the grit do the work, to ensure a flat surface, especially over panel gaps.

Thanks for posting this. A very interesting resource.

Another potential source for mirrors are those horrid Ford Courier kits Revell released in the 70s. The mirrors look pretty good.

Yes, any progress on t-shirts available for online purchase?

There are a number of sources for braided hose. One of the most common is Protech carpartscatalog2 (protechmodelparts.com) . They have SS braided hose in several sizes at that link, and machined metal hex fittings, too. Another option is de-soldering braid. It's a fine copper braid. It looks flat, but is really a tubular braid that is flattened. A plastic or metal rod of the appropriate size can be inserted into the braid to make it appear to be a round hose, and to hold what ever shape you want it to be. Being copper, it needs to be painted, but it has a great braided hose look. There was also a discussion on the forum a few weeks ago about using the center braided shield from a communications cable. Apparently this stuff is available in many sizes and is very reasonable priced. Unfortunately I can't find that thread now, but it had some good looking options for SS braided hose. EDIT: I found the thread. It starts out talking about glass beads, but soon turns to a discussion on braided hose.

Good looking Eagle, Gustavo. You have done this very cool race car justice. Nice work. Question; what is the flat plate mounted to the top of the left header?

Cool period style on the Charger. Nice clean work. Well done.

Good looking Chaparral, David. The rear wheels are such an improvement over the kit wheels. All round nice work.

Another very cool build, Matt. The Delage is definitely period beautiful. Those wheels should be a huge improvement over, say, the clear plastic discs in the SMER kits. I really need to try my hand at one of these metal kits.

I'm digging this project. It's fun watching this thing come together from nothing at all. Very impressive, and such cool subject matter.

Stellar work, Ken. I am really enjoying this build.

Not at all, Marcus. You've got a good WIP going here. There are probably many more people checking in on this project than you realise. For me personally, when I see a thread I am interested in, I usually comment early on, but on subsequent visits I don't make much noise unless there is something specific I want to comment on or a question I want to ask. Saying over and over again "Nice work" or "That looks great" gets a bit trite, starts to feel a bit silly. Fear not, this is an interesting upgrade on a cool subject and your WIP is looking good. Cheers.

Yeah, they look great. And I agree, tires/wheels make the model. The Lotus will smart in the new shoes.

Man, that's lovely stuff. Interesting subject and looking great. I love watching these MFH builds. I do wish they did more 1/24 stuff these days.

Bob has got it; it's AI. Man, I'm beginning to hate that stuff.

I suppose the flying saucer from War of the Worlds had to end up somewhere once the aliens died. However, I find it is not the most curious thing in the lot. There are a lot of strange looking cars there, too. For example, what is the slab-sided white car in the second row behind the saucer and to the left? In fact, I find I can't identify most of them. Is this photo from Auatralia? I am looking for steering wheels to see if they are right-drive, but I can't even see those.

Probably. What airbrush are you using? Something I have seen over and over on the forum is people learning to use an airbrush and starting out with an el cheapo airbrush and cut rate paints. I appreciate the logic behind starting with low priced paint and equipment, but the logic is ultimately flawed. There are many variables to overcome when learning to airbrush, but the most difficult to manage can be overcome by using proven supplies and equipment. General purpose or lawn furniture paint and Harbor Freight Chinese knock-off airbrushes throw way too many curve-balls at you as you attempt to develop your technique. I fully endorse experimentation with supplies and equipment, but first one must get a handle on the basics. When it comes to airbrushes, quality doesn't necessarily mean expensive. Excellent brands such as Badger and Paasche have very reasonably priced, user-friendly airbrushes, and are well supported by their makers. As for paints, go with a proven system when learning the art and developing technique. If you are not fussy about the type of paint, I would recommend lacquers for their ease of application and quick drying time. And if using lacquers, you can't go wrong with Tamiya. They are all very high quality products that work well together, and are designed specifically for the task at hand. Their primer is excellent right out of the spray can. Their paints, thinners, and clears all work very well together, as expected. Sticking with a proven system will prevent a lot of the frustration in learning the art, and when results don't meet expectations, the issues are diagnosable. There are many other very good brands of course, but I mention Tamiya because it is such a known quantity, and is readily available. Whatever brand you choose, stick with their system until you gain some successes. Then when you experiment with various products, you can better determine what is working out, and what isn't. Some of that is more than you asked for, but has been added just to complete the thought. Good luck with your airbrushing.

I love painting black as it's almost always a great result. The only trouble I have with black is trying to photograph it.

A second vote for Tamiya lacquer, either the TS-14 spray bomb as used on David's beautiful Starliner above, or airbrush the LP-1 bottle paint (after thinning, of course). If you wish to use clear, I would recommend the Tamiya stuff as well. Some people find black troublesome to apply and finish, and the Tamiya paint is as user-friendly as it gets, and looks great.