sjordan2

I'd say Rick Hendrick has plenty of brains. He's one of America's leading Corvette collectors, owns dozens of Chevy dealerships and...oh, yeah..one of NASCAR's most successful race teams. This is a charity deal and a business thing.

Gorgeous. Looks like it has some XJ220 in its DNA.

Currently watching the live B-J Scottsdale auction, which has the most exotic and collectible classics from the prewar era that they've ever presented. Sadly, the commentators' researchers haven't provided them with a fraction of the information they need to know about these cars, particularly a Bugatti of very questionable background, and they seem totally over their heads. You can be sure that Craig Jackson got as many qualified bidders as he could put together for these cars, which are the only ones with reserve prices, but a number of them went unsold. B-J has no credibility other than as a seller of overpriced 60s-70s muscle cars for Baby Boomers with big retirement funds and Silicon Valley millionaire kids. And now comes Batmobile number one. If this sells for less than $5 million, it will show the weakness of B-J as a serious venue for important cars, based on the sale of last year's Bugatti Atlantic by RM Auctions - one of four - at $35 million.

PS: Clark Gable's 1955 Gullwing just went UNSOLD a few minutes ago at Barrett-Jackson for $1,900,000. They typically go for around $750,000.

What kit is it, and what is the kit number? You may be able to find English instructions here if you look under Fujimi... http://www.thedpmcc.com/instructionsintro.html Or Google it. Here, for example, are instructions for Fujimi's BMW 635 CSI... http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10023302

This thing is looking superb. Time for more updates.

Just killer so far, great detail work. I'm sitting in the cheering section.

In my estimation, nearly all model kit box art -- especially the paintings -- is second-rate when it comes to technique. That covers everything that isn't a photo on page one of this thread. One of the very few pieces of excellent painting that I've seen is this one... I have this kit, and it's as excellent in its production as the taste of the manufacturer who okayed the box art. I think most of the Revell of Germany art of the past few years has also been quite good.

It's an original Gakken, also boxed by Entex, et al. It's kind of a toss-up between this one and the different 1/16 Italeri Gullwing, but mashed together you've got the best Gullwing available. Like every Gullwing kit ever issued at any scale, you have to be careful about getting proper door fit. Italeri has a complete array of chrome pieces for windows, etc, and Minicraft requires foiling or Alclad on window surrounds, etc., and uses decals instead of chrome for scripts and other trim. But it's the only one that has a complete spaceframe, and it has the best wheels and tires. Italeri has a more complete interior, and requires putty for the joining of the upper and lower body valances -- Minicraft has a more accurate body, produced in one molding, with no need for that. Italeri has somewhat crisper and more detailed engine molding. Unlike Italeri, you'll need to sand away the back of the Minicraft grille to put real mesh behind it. I'm told that joining the body to the spaceframe on the Minicraft can be tricky. Check the site of the late Martin Swire for build information... http://www.freewebs.com/martsmodels/1955merc300sl.htm

Behold, the stunning 1/12 Ferrari 275 GTB. Originally created by Renwal, it was reboxed by Revell with a fabulous shot of a 1:1 car on the box top, featuring beautiful Borrani wires, and carefully cropped details on the side of the kit that don't begin to reveal what's inside. On the other hand, we have the original Renwal boxing with amateurish-looking artwork that is actually dead-on to the kit inside, with its droopy nose, too-long rear end without the proper spoiler, a top that looks chopped, some kind of square boxy thing on the hood, and poorly crafted Campagnolo mag wheels.

Note the bottom left of the box, which says it's 1/16 scale. It's not -- it's the same old 1/24 kit sold under many labels. This is a typo that made it onto a ton of this kit. There never was a 1/16 version.

Spectacular. A perfect job. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Got mine a couple of days ago in perfect condition here in East Tennessee. Until I had to walk through the snowfall to my front door.

Fun. I could see it peeling down Daytona Beach.

Just like this forum, the L.A. Times reports a widely mixed reaction among the general public. http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-corvette-twitter-reaction-20130115,0,5108425.story

I would expect to see an increasing number of print-to-order retail services that could offer larger printers and higher quality, using files from a number of sources, while affording to keep up with changing and improving technology (and keeping prices reasonable due to volume). In other words, more companies like Shapeways, with increasing capabilities. It will be interesting to see how such services deal with inevitable copyright questions. I think home 3D printers will go through a series of fast-moving improvements in price and performance, and make early versions prone to becoming obsolete.

It plays fine on my iMac (I don't know if that's a good or bad thing), except for typical video streaming glitches, but I watched it all. You can get it right off of YouTube here. There's some questionable language here (in Spanish), which might have to do with censoring. Moderatto - Entregate

Has MCM or the printer ever consulted with a reputable 3rd-party mailing house (other than the one being used) to get ideas about the problem? We're told that everything comes off the press just fine, but has anyone ever inspected certain batches after the mailing labels were affixed and before mailing? As most everyone knows, publications pass through a multitude of hands and processes before they're received in the mail.

But there has to be some kind of common element as to why many members regularly get damaged issues, while others like me never get damaged issues.

Regardless of styling, I -- (like other European sports car snobs) - turned up my nose at the poor handling and lousy suspension of Corvette - until a major overhaul in 1992. My '93 C4 was a wonderful surprise after my Alfas and Porsche 944, and outclassed them in every department, even with all the corners they cut in the interior. And I had the satisfaction of knowing my purchase and maintenance costs were far below other cars in a similar performance category. But I do agree with ACE and Harry that the basic C7 styling could be nice without all the added junk. Even so, if you look at all the performance and materials upgrades of the C7 and a starting price around $50,000, it's still quite a package.

Is it possible to set up 2 online polls -- People who get mangled magazines click on the state where they live People who don't get mangled magazines click on the state where they live Perhaps that might give some sort of statistical clue. Or both in one poll: I o Do o Do not get mangled MCM magazines I live in o TN [etc] OR How often do you receive damaged issues of MCM? o Most of the time o About half the time o Rarely if ever o Never I, for example, would answer Never. Mine always arrive in newsstand condition.

Let's not forget cost. While top-of-the-line versions are sky-high, Corvette has always been price-engineered by GM and delivers a superior package of price/performance at a fraction of the cost of cars like Aston and Ferrari. According to The Huffington Post: "PRICE: Not released, but the car's chief engineer says people who can afford one now will be able to buy a new one. The current Corvette starts at $49,600."

I think wind tunnel testing for aerodynamics has a lot to do with similarities in sports car design. Anyway, under the skin... http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/5404/Chevrolet-Corvette-Stingray.html

Let's see... I went to my Fotki folder, copied the url below, posted it into the forum's image box and got a message saying I'm not allowed to use that extension on this forum... http://public.fotki.com/sjordan47/mcm-album/bill-the-cat.html Then I tried it by typing before and after the complete link above with the same result.

Huh? Please give an example of what such a link would be based on the links he provided. And yes, geetee66, you can post images directly from your computer using the attachment feature in Use Full Editor or More Reply Options.