ZTony8

I wish he could find the time to come to our Detroit show. He's the kind of "name" vendor of whom we need more of at our shows.

Thanks, Snake. The #1 is on the end flap of the 904 box so that answers that question. I'm still wondering if there were any more kits in the series.

Over time I've acquired three of the ARII racing car kits-the Ford GT, the Chaparral, and the Porsche Carrera 6,numbers 2,3,4 of the series. My questions: What kit was # 1 in the series? Were there more than four in the series? If so, what were the kits?

As I recall from my build of the Coronet you have to put the engine in the chassis first-no dropping it in from above after putting the body on the chassis. Even then it's a very tight fit and it's a fight to get the body all the way down. The stance is too high and I never investigated how to correct that. Yes, the body side crease is a bit off. The roof C pillar shape is different than the Polar Lights Satellite (which is the same basic car as the Coronet) but I don't know if one is more correct than the other or they're both off in different areas. I've got all the different colors of both body styles of the kit in my stash so I have plenty more examples to play around with for engine swaps or other versions.

Hmmm. They must do things differently over in Europe vis a vis product announcements. I saw several of those kits in the hobby shop today here in Michigan.

I saw both the Prudhomme kit and the Garlits kit at the hobby shop today. The kits look to be identical except for the extra injector hat pieces and the decals. So this begs the question- which kit is more correct? Was the real Prudhomme car a Garlits chassis or is the "Garlits/Swingle chassis in the Garlits kit something else? Or are they BOTH incorrect?

It was last Saturday that I bought the Tamiya Porsche 934 Vaillant version on clearance from local hobby shop for $39. I already have some of the special Tamiya color for it (and I can get more) so I can build it as a companion for the Tamiya 1/20 scale 935 that I have in my stash.

Chiarrari?

No pix but I built that version several years ago. I switched the wheels to the set from the Dodge Copperhead show car, detail painted the underside, BMF'ed the moldings, snipped off the posts from the headlamp lenses and put BMF in the buckets, and got rid of that awful puppy poo colored interior by painting it black. For a simple kit it came out looking rather well.

Anybody have a good fix for the ill fitting nose piece of this kit?

I'm thinking that this guy was one of those that used to use ALL the custom parts in an old AMT kit- on one model!

This past Saturday I went to my LHS as I know that they put kits on clearance in January. So I bought a Hasegawa Mini Countryman Ray package,a Revell Germany BMW M1( which is the old ESCI tool), an Academy Hyundai Azera, and the Revell Tony Nancy 22 jr double kit. I'm sure I'll go back for more as the budget sees fit.

US= Shock absorbers UK= Dampers

For the New Man version of the Porsche 956 one of the drivers was Mauricio de Narvaez. The Tamiya kit decals are correct. The Studio 27 decal set of that version spells the driver's last name as " de Navarez". OOPS!

I've been giving this chrome issue some thought recently and have come to the conclusion that what we're trying to duplicate as chrome is really stainless trim. Stainless isn't quite as deeply shiny as BMF. So what we need is a good stainless sheen foil.

If all those reissues pay for new kits,you mean to tell me that all they've paid for is the new 2016 Camaro tool and it's upcoming derivitives?

The Rover V-8 is an updated version of the old Buick/Olds 215 c.i. aluminum engine from the 1960s.

Some of the earlier Heller kits are fine-the Ferrari 512 S, 330P & the Porsche 917 along with the line of vintage cars have decent detail with full chassis and driveline. The later models in the rally car series are just curbsides with a flat pan for a chassis and no suspension detail, soft molding of the kit parts, and sometimes decals that too transparent. But they're often the only examples of a particular car so you have to decide what's important.

Remember to take extra care with TS-13 clear. You need to apply it either within about ten minutes of shooting the last color coat or wait at least two weeks until the last color coat dries thoroughly or the color coat WILL crack. Tamiya clear has a different cure rate than their color coats. I speak from first hand experience on this. The easiest way to avoid all this is to use Testor "One Coat" or Model Master lacquer clear. Those won't crack the color coat or crack any decals you've applied and it's compatible with Tamiya lacquers.

Testor makes a Daytona Yellow in their Custom Lacquer line. The spray can is #28103. They probably also make it in a bottle version so you could airbrush that if you choose.

I'm trying to make sense of assembling the front suspension on these kits.The directions are no help.Where should the upper a-arms belocated on the chassis rails?I've tried attaching the lower arm/torsion bar and steering knuckle first and then trying to line everyhing up but the wheel still sits too far back in the wheel well.There are some bumps on the top rail that one would think could be locating points but they're not in the same spot on each rail so that doesn't work. Help, please.

I noticed that Hobby Lobby is now pricing their most recently arrived kits at $29.95 (except, of course, the Lawman).Sometimes this price is higher than the MSRP (and often higher than the same kit at Michaels). So they're dinging us for an extra buck or two even with the 40% off coupon.The discounted Lawman price at Hobby Lobby is right about regular retail.

Nice looking model! It's good to see a Dart that's not either a drag car or a bone stock build.

The biggest external difference on the later Pontiac engines came in 1967 when the heads were upgraded and the the thermostat placement was changed.The newer design has the thermostat facing up,the older design has the thermost facing forward.

I picked up an unbuilt Tamiya Ford Sierra XR4-i for $15 last night.