samdiego

Shiftknobs are details that I've always liked to have fun with. The key to this one was finding the tiny 5 decal on Revell's Thumper Firebird sheet. Looks like it may have been an inspection sticker. An alternative is the fine print at the bottom of some decal sheets, if it has been printed on a carrier film. My printer hasn't printed in years so that was out. The shifter is a pin that already had a large, plastic head. I dipped it in Testor's Orange enamel, maybe three times, rotating it as it dried for a day or so between dips. The white is a dot of paint. It was better before I dropped it twice with fresh clear coats, but you can't really tell without a magnifier. Two recent knobs

Yup, this one has a drive shaft and a solid rear. JBWelda, I always hope to attract photos of other builds. I'm going to start including "show me yours" in my headers. I'd like this one more if it did sit a little lower, I may do that in the future. The late 90s were not a high point for Tamiya's quality, although they were still pretty good. Some of the engraving is a little soft. The decals were stiff, only reacting a little to Super Set. The clear film was way too big for the gauge bezels. I love the adhesive backed photo-etch.

I still need to address some paint issues and install the stuff that has to wait for that process. I'm giddy over the 5 ball shift knob, I love it when lightbulb moments work out.

I'm torn, Scummy. I am so entertaining the idea of a drop, chop and channel with a parts pack Allison V-12. But, I also want the truck I fell for in the AW catalog.

Just picked this up at the LHS. Frankly I was more taken with this than the Lone Star. I remember seeing it in an Auto World Catalog, maybe1970 or so but never got one.

I'm still upset about the stillborn Budweiser Rocket car. And one of my favorite vehicles that I realize may never appear in any medium or scale (it hasn't so far), the 1967 Ranchero.

Do you mean just visually, to highlight the shutlines?

I started out to quote from several postings but changed my mind, the influence is obvious. Of course it's in the game plan and for most of the reasons given. The length of time between announcement an delivery plus the amount of buzz is crucial to a quicker return for the company. They can't afford to wait for all of us to just happen upon their product eventually. I also agree that the departure of the big boxes has led to a little more being thrown our way, instead of trying to draw every 10 year old, regardless of the fact that two cans of spray bomb and a kit are pretty much beyond lawn mowing money any more.

Not working very much since last Sept has really taken a toll on my stash. I could average about 1 1/2 a week. The upside was resorting to cars that I sort of regretted buying, like The Beatnik Bandit 2. Under hideous graphics, there's a really nicely engineered model. I finally did a silhouette that came out nice. The Ford C900 that I've sat on since the first release. Now I really need to do something with the half finished 16th century galleon wood kit that I started 6 years ago.

Are you kidding me? Does the color matter? When was the last time you saw black plug wires in the winner's circle? Colored wires are good for at least 2 tenths in the quarter. And Smoky Yunick's experiments with "clear" plug wires are legendary

Some of AMT's Merc releases had several (6, I think) as stanchion bases. You can see one on the front.

Thanks. The only problem with the rims is that the depth didn't let much chrome in and a lot of yellow plastic shows. Maybe Alclad. It's also hard to find this type of tire that isn't distorted

This began as I really wanted to use the wheels and tires from a Barris buggy on something less ugly. The paint is One shot Fiery Orange. IMO the graphics for the 1:1 would not fulfill my "less ugly" criteria and not just because they're pink and purple. I may add some later if an idea strikes. Good kit.

wait . . .is she hot?

Just like this one. Except mine was Butternut Yellow with various shades of primer spots and it didn't have the hood scoops or ducktail. Or the Shelby rims and Goodyear tires. It was also lacking the John Fitch performance stuff for the engine and suspension. And it had the worthless Powerglide trans. But other than that, an exact replica

I've spent less than that on most of my cars. I just can't drop that kind of cash on plastic, no matter how desirable. You guys are cra . . wait, a '62 Ford Uni with custom parts and trailer?! (Homer Simpson gargley noise)

Or I could just say Reading the instructions

I think I've misread the original question, so I'll go this route. When I build as a pro, I replace understanding with good reference material. I just need to know what it looks like. When building for me, it's the allure of the subject matter. I rarely build something that I wouldn't want in a 1:1. And the solving of the puzzle, how to achieve the desired end results.

Sprue cutters or nail clippers or something to fill that role. One of the first rookie mistakes newbies make (and I've ridden herd over a few Make and Take events) is to twist parts from the tree, my equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard.

Diffuser won't contain light scatter, but under the car where you can see the reflection of the actual bulb and the circular halos. Those would be a more even wash of light

Great technique. LEDs are a good replacement for the old Grain o' Wheat bulbs we used to use. Way more efficient and much lower in temp. Fiber optics can be combined with LEDs to carry light to hard to reach places. One more tip: Sign shops use a translucent white film made to diffuse the light and help keep it from hot spotting like underneath the Mach 5 shown here, where you can see the signature of the actual light source. If you ask nicely at a sign shop that does lit signage, you might be able to get a scrap, freebies. It doesn't recycle and one sign's trash would supply most modelers for years. It's self adhesive and about 2 mils thick. You might also be able to purchase some of the really small LEDs that the sign industry is using now.

I'm converting an RV to serve as my coffin and they are all going with me

The other sure-fire method of prevention is to never open the bottle when there may be paint in the lid, which means no shaking to mix, only stirring after the lid is off. I break that rule all the time, But it's one of my dad's rules and it works.