Scott Colmer

If you ever built a fort...in your bedroom... out of empty model boxes. If everybody who enters the house is required to see your latest creation. If spackle IS just as good a putty. If putty can be used to make any part, no matter how big. If ALL your painted models are either testors gloss black or dark blue - from the little bottle. If your latest model went Salvador Dahli after you left it by a lightbulb to dry the gloss black paint. If the entire decal sheet goes into the water at once and ALL of them are used EVERY time. If any "fit" problem can be resolved with ... more glue. If ALL your models were built WITHOUT an exacto blade or knife of any sort. If your highest level of detail come from a small jar of testors paint. If all your models are really, really bad, and you love everyone of them....even when you rip them apart because you are bored.

Thank you. Scott Colmer

Someone sent this to me a while back. They said it was George. Definitely NOT Tom Daniels. Hosted on Fotki

That's just crazy good.

....also on some of these older builds I would get criticized for a wrong engine block color or that spark plug wire doesn`t go there......or thats the wrong wheels on that car.......anyway I am so glad that I got criticized......because it made me want to build better......so any of you that get criticized for you builds....... please don`t take it to heart .......just build for your self and and take pictures of you build and check to see if you mad a mistake somewhere... I believe what John said above. John has been dominating the contest circuit in SoCal for the last few years. I have been able to check out his amazing builds in person. John always answered any questions he could. Once when I was checking out his Allison powered mustang, I was noticing how nice the bluing was on the headers. He said, "Yeah, some guys said my bluing [on earlier builds] did not look realistic, so I really worked on it." Simple as that. No defensiveness, just a desire to get even better. Way to go, John. Scott

It is always fun to peek at other guy's stashes. Ratnasty's has to be the best on this thread. Lots of great kits VERY well displayed. I had 500 about 2 years ago. I haven't sold any, but I did acquire a few more. To be honest, I have most everything I want. I still buy a cool reissue here and there. Right now that are all packed in boxes waiting for the new house to become available mid september. I'll count them when I unpack. So am I the only one that will grab a stack of unbuilt but open kits and look through them while watching racing on TV? It just feels good. Scott Word of warning - Watch where you store them. The back of one of my cabinets was wet and became an entry way for termites. They like the boxes but they LOVE decals. Hosted on Fotki

Beautiful job, John. I really enjoyed checking this one out at the shows. Incredible work! Scott

WOooowwwww! and WOW! Excellent work Romell! I have really enjoyed following this build. You really pulled out all the stops. Thanks for taking us along. One of the better build threads I've seen. Scott

Thanks for posting all your oldies, Jeff. It's really great to be able to check them out. I have seen a pic here or there in a magazine. Much better to really dig out all that detail. Great stuff. I did a trade with a guy in Australia. He said he did not get his package. I believed him because we have had many good deals before. Turned out he found by his package by his porch almost 6 months later. Go figure. Scott

That's VERY cool. I would like to see more of the 32 in the background too. Scott

John, You are a master at simulating a metal or rubber or padded or whatever surface. Hard to believe that was all plastic. EXCELLENT. Scott

Ok, I think a can bring this closer to a car related topic. There is a pretty cool dude in SoCal named Dave who has a Testors classic orange tube with and IV drip tattooed on his arm. That's modeling dedication! Wish I had a pic to post. And.... it a home spun tattoo that ultimately send Boyd Coddington to the golden milling milling machine in the sky? Kinda scary considering I got mine back in 82 from a friend using a modified TV etcher powered by a car battery. The medium was india ink. We did use an airline bottle of Everclear to steralize. It's a pam tree on a small island. Located on my ankle. Hurt like H... Well, it hurt a lot. But Figured I would not want to cover it if I ever went for a job interview. Hey were were dumb, but not stupid. Scott

I read that the J2000 did run. In fact Dobbertin used an extra light flywheel so it would rev quick like an indy car. I know he drove it; what I don't know is how far he pushed it. The real limiting factor would have been a lack of travel in the rear suspension - even with the mono shock he installed later. Pro Fairgrounds is a fitting term for the outrageous cars of that era. Scott

Crazy good scratchbuilding!!!!! Keep 'em coming! Thanks again for letting us see the magic. Are you working from plans or do you have to try to figure out all that engineering? Scott

STUNING! Thanks for the tips David. Hang it upside down. Hooda thunk it. Secrets of the masters. I got one almost ready for a deep metallic blue paint job that I'll be trying this with. Just as soon as I get out of this apart-tent. Scott

Way to go, John! I've been wanting to see a Teresi in-progress for a long time. I'll be watching.

WOW!!!! This is a stunner! I love all the extra detail. Scott

Hey Steve, It was at GSL where we talked and you shared some tips while I drooled over the Woody Wagon you had on the table. I also am waiting for an excuse to try making my own pinstripes too. I was giving the lock thing some thought. I might try sanding them off to start. Then I would punch out a tiny lock size disk form aluminum flashing tape. It would have a little crest to it, which is closer to accurate than flat PE. Next I would use a #11 blade to put a tiny slit in the disk. Finally - peel and stick. Hope to see 'round again Steve. Let's see what I learn this time. Scott

Go back to what Steve said. Save up the 40 bucks, send it to Micromark and get a punch set. Steve told me to do this and is was the best advice I had in YEARS! You will find all sorts of uses for this tool. Scott

The guys on the forum over there put this together. Took them several years because it was a pass along build. Nice piece. For the engine, I wold suggest the big block in the old AMT Pro Stock Twister Vega kit. The scoops can come from the Paddy Wagon. http://coffincorner.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=12444&page=2 Scott

Best bug I've seen in a loooooong time. May be the best ever! Love the weave doors, expanded metal seats, and the side exhaust! GREAT, GREAT build! VERY entertaining!!!!! Scott

Actually, Bernard, you have a good eye on that issue with the Piranha frame. If I were to do this again, I would scratchbuild the front half of the tube chassis and then make the panels seperately. It took a good bit of work to get the kit panels to look right. What you see is the full second redo. This started As a box stock build. (They all do.) So I do have the kit body. It's called the Scorpion. AMT robbed the old Astro 1 kit to make it. Scott

Hey Raul, As for the Land Speed Vette.... This is pretty close to where it sits. I did manage to rework the spindles. You can see the difference in the second shot. Later they go some clean up. I am still looking for a good, cheap source for getting the gauge decals printed. I've got custom art, and a very generous friend gave it a try, but thye still look a little lumpy and hard to read. That is a project I can work on while I'm in the apartment. Here is the on hold state. Hosted on Fotki Here is the in progress spindle rework. I also started reworking the calipers to add the pad retainer pins. Hosted on Fotki Scott

I can't remember ever seeing one of those built. You made it look stunning! What a great model. Scott

Setback are all part of the game, Bernard. Jus' keep on keepin' on. You are working on a really good build. Scott