ZTony8

Three of them got away: 1) Back in the mid 70s I missed on a real '65 GTO convertible.My buddy and I were out riding our bikes and I saw the GTO on a street with a for sale sign in it-$900.It had just had accident damage repaired and when I drove it it had a severe pull to it.Could have been anything from a simple alignment to a bent frame or suspension components.So I offered what I thought was a fair price considering the money that I'd possibly have to sink into the car but the owner refused. 2) My '71 Firebird Formula 455 H.O. 4 speed.I bought in 1974 for $2400.It had been played with before I bought it and the engine was tired,the paint was flaking,and it had a Ford radio in it.I kept the car for about 14 years(it sat for many of those) until my (now ex) wife said I had to sell it because of the pending arrival of our daughter.Sold it for $900 and regret it to this day. 3) A friend's brother-in-law had a rust free '57 Chevy 210 post coupe.My buddy was selling his house where the car was stored so it had to be moved.Unfortunately for me I had no place to put the car either so I had to pass on it( for $600).That one hurt.

Another source would be your local GM dealer.Ask them if they are willing to give you any lock cylinder tumbler springs.They should be no charge as dealers get them with every cylinder kit and never use them all.There a couple different lengths and there are also some other springs used for the lock shutters and wedges.Those could be possibly be used for coil-over springs or have other uses on different scale builds.

Nacho Z-I found the kits at the swap meet area of a car show.I did goof,though.I posted from memory at work and rather than nine F1 kits it was really eight plus a New Man Porsche 956.Anyway-one guy had 5 of the kits for $50 and another guy had 5 for $60.I didn't exactly steal them but I didn't get taken either.I'd call it low market pricing.Usually the kits sell around here in metro Detroit( a rather low demand area for F1 and Sports/GT kits) in the $15 range.

Ok,it was yesterday but I bought 10 Formula 1 kits (9 Tamiyas,one of which was the hard to find Lotus 102D Mika Haakinen version with the pre painted driver and lettered tires, and 1 Revell Jacque Villenueve Williams),a Tamiya Jaguar sedan,and a Monogram Frank Iaconio Pro Stock T-Bird.

You can't use Tamiya clear over enamel.It's a lacquer.You can use a Testor clear enamel or their old type lacquer clear.

The new Testor Fine lacquer primer is just as smooth as the Tamiya version and may be more widely available.I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it.It dried very smooth and needed very little sanding.Looks like Testor got this one right.

One of the dumber things I've seen(besides Donks on 24s and 27s) was at the Detroit Auto show a few years ago.Ford exhibited a Ranger pickup with a suspension kit on that would have lowered the truck a couple of inches had they not installed oversized rims on it that ended up RAISING the truck over the stock height.That one still makes me shake my head.

Or maybe a " bagger" car!

I never had much luck with the multi piecers in the distant past so I've avoided them.I do have a multi piece F40 kit(Protar) and and a few old Revells but I haven't touched them in years.My big problem was vertically aligning the body sides.I ended up with way too much tuck under and then the chassis wouldn't fit.

Bill,I'm surprised that you needed 5 coats of "non 1 coat" 1 coat to cover the Chevelle.It's my experience that that paint shoots much thicker from the can than Tamiya lacquer(but not as thick as Testor enamel).Did you first decant it to an air brush? I do like the clear (even if it does spray out a bit thick) because it doesn't attack decals like the old Tamiya clear did.

I do have a version of each manfacturer's kit.I'd go with the Tamiya as being the best overall.It has fit issues with the rear body but aside from that it offers the best detail.IMHO,though,the Fujimi has better looking wheels.Note also that there are differences between the kits in the number of rear window and body side vents.They represent the different prototypes.Yes,they all have engine detail-some better than others.

Charlie- Modelhaus has '63 and '64 resin hoods available.

Michael's 40 and 50 percent off coupons are also only good for one item.Occasionally they have a coupon for 25 or 30 percent off your entire bill (except for clearance items).

1/20th,1/25th,and 1/24th though I will build in another scale if I like the subject.

I think all of us guys who are over the age of 55 or so had a crush on Annette from watching the Mouseketeers.

I stash them because I can't build them all at once.But since I plan to live to be 500 years old,no problem.

A while back a fellow modeler and I were discussing the MPC '68 Indy turbine kit and I mentioned that someone,years back,made an upgrade set for it.My memory being what it is has failed to retain who produced this set and what it contained.Anybody out there have any information on this?

A belated Happy Birthday to you,George.If you can make the Downriver meeting on the 19th we'll have your 2 week old birthday cake for you!

I too have been a car nut since I was little( Mom says I was calling out the car names at age 3 when we were riding in traffic). So models were a natural part of my early car interest .Dad got me my first kit,an AMT '60 Buick hardtop,for Christmas 1959-I was five- and I built that kit.After that we would go to the local hardware/hobby store while my mom was grocery shopping and buy a model (for a whole $1.50!).Dad did build the more complicated kits for me(the Big T,Big Deuce,and the Hawk Mercedes W163 grand prix car) until my parents divorced and I got a little older and was able to handle the higher parts count.I also started receiving Matchbox cars from my uncle starting in 1960. I had my tonsils removed that June and,while in the hospital, my uncle started bringing me the cars from Windsor,Ontario where he was courting the woman whom he later married.

You should use the Testor "One Coat" lacquer clear over your Tamiya paint jobs.It doesn't go on all in one coat of course.Spray on multiple light coats.This can sometimes be a bit difficult as Testor's paints go on noticeably thicker than Tamiya paints.Then sand between coats of clear.Polish and wax afterward. Clear over decals?It's up to you.If you're doing a custom car with flames or pinstriping or scallops,it's a good idea.If you're trying to replicate a race car,I'd say no.Decals on a race car are vinyl (or on mdern cars on a wrap) so the have a more semi gloss finish.A high gloss finish there looks wrong.

As a kid I didn't duplicate build very much.I can think of a couple of AMT '40 Fords and '66 Mercurys but little else.As an adult(OK,a kid in an adult's body) I've managed to accrue multiples of several kits (few of which are built yet)-the Revell/ Monogram '55-56-57 Chevys and '49 Mercury, several versions of the Peugeot 206 rally car from Tamiya and Heller(some built) and I'm sure several more that currently escape my sieve-like brain but on quick thought the most I have of one one type of model is the Porsche 956/962 with about 13 of them.I have MANY more Ferraris but they run the gamut of many different model types.

Twenty one years?That's still new. In my stash is a Hubley '32 Chevy metal kit that I got for my birthday in 1967.I started to file the pieces and then put the kit away when I realized it was beyond the abilities I had at age thirteen.It's still not done and I don't know when I'll get to it again.

I don't usually set a budget since mostly what I build is box stock so for me it's just the cost of the kit (at less than retail) plus any paint I may not have in my stock or foil if I'm running low on that.Occasionally I'll splurge and buy some photoetch or aftermarket decals but not for every kit.The cost of the paint,glue,and foil is amortized over several kits.

Chuck-The shape of the back of the hood and the base of the windshield were incorrect in the first run of the '61 Chevy hardtop.They were much too curved.The next run of the hardtops was corrected.If you see the two versions together you'll clearly see the difference.All of the cars in the white background box were the early,incorrect,version.There were some incorrect bodies early in the stock of the gray background boxes but the majority of that run was the corrected version.The convertibles were the corrected version from the beginning.

I bought the Ferrari because I was willing to risk the seven bucks to discover the quality of the kit.Yeah,I'll build it but if it starts to go together with difficulty I'm not out much and I'm sure I can use the parts on something else.