sjordan2

These are spectacular builds. Anyone notice a typo on the rear fender decals? They say LABOR DAY STEP. 4 The 1:1 reference shows it's supposed to be SEPT. 4, which should be easy enough to fix with a little knife work. Also, if the goal is to be authentic to the 1:1, shouldn't "GRIFFIN MOTORS ENTRY" be on the left front fender?

That's why I bought four of them. Sadly, the worst one was the Alfetta GT, which is the only one I bought new from the factory. And you're right - I have often compared my choice in Alfas to my luck with women. Pininfarina was quoted as seeing the Giuliietta 1300 Spider as a nublie 18-year-old girl. I was 18 when I got mine in 1966, which looked showroom-fresh, and 18-year-old girls certainly liked it, but they didn't last any longer than the car did. It was identical to this one. I wore it like a second skin, and it seemed to respond as much to my thoughts as to my mechanical actions, like I merely had to will it to do what I wanted. We were one. To this day, I have never found a car that I loved and respected so much. Like my girlfriends, however, it proved fickle and faithless. But completely memorable.

Another way to go is to do lots of filing and sanding with the existing parts. This is a problem that's shared with almost every Jaguar E-Type kit, including the 1/8 version. As for the surrounds, here's how Alex Kustov dealt with them on the Ferrari 275 GTB. It starts out rough at first, then takes some finessing. http://www.italianhorses.net/Gallery/Resin/EX275SN/275GTB2%20SN.htm

The most unreliable cars I've ever owned were my first five cars, all meticulously and lovingly maintained, and serviced by the book by factory-trained mechanics (4 Alfas...59 Giulietta Super Spider Veloce, 66 GT Sprint Veloce, 71 Spider Veloce, 77 Alfetta GT, and an 84 Porsche 944). All were service nightmares and I won't go into their recurrent and common problems, but I still love them more than any cars I've owned. I know, I'm a glutton for punishment, but nothing handled like those Alfas and I would buy that 59 Giulietta again. Things got better when I bought my 93 Corvette coupe (not without its share of headaches in later years), and never had any trouble other than brakes with the 3 Infiniti G35s I've owned since then.

The funny thing is that a few years ago I was corresponding with Gerald Wingrove on another subject, and when I mentioned it, he wasn't aware of it. Meanwhile, back to your regularly scheduled thread topic. Sorry for the hijack.

This is for the 1/24 Monogram kit. Looks like the headlight screens will take a little molding and bending, which makes me think you could accomplish the same thing using mesh and doing some scratchbuilding of the surrounds. http://www.modelcarg...1&idcategory=12

Close, actually. The picture is backward. Check the positions of the windscreens and carburetor stone guard. On my copy of the book, it's easier to see that the steering wheel is also on the wrong side.

I agree. I had 2 G35 coupes and now a G35 sedan, all of which were much better than my 944.

When I searched for this cover, my spellcheck didn't like using the double L, but Art and the others are correct. However, something else is amiss here...

A totally shocking suggestion about a car model that almost no one has ever done: How about a stock build?

Those mold seams across the nose and along the sides, where the door panel and gas tank lines are offset, seem totally inexcusable for a modern, new-tool kit. Did the earlier versions have that kind of mess?

Not necessarily. I don't know if there are any aftermarket solutions out there, but almost every build I see shows mesh that is too thick and plasticky, with surrounds that stick out too much and don't fit well against the body parts. I'd just like to see someone nail this most difficult part of the kit and provide hope that it can be conquered.

At my age, the technicalities don't matter.

You'll have to go to the competition at scaleautomag.com for special issues like that, but MCM covers contests regularly in normal editions. (See? This forum is the go-to place for all things model car-related, even if somebody else has what you're looking for!)

Partying, alcohol and model building don't mix in your later years. Maybe I'll get back to model building one of these days.

Any thoughts on improving the headlight mesh? That's always been the weakest link in the builds I've seen.

They had access to the actual car, which is faithfully shown on the box art in its 1965 restoration, shortly before the owner locked it away in his storage facility in South Central LA (after it failed to start at a Concours show and hacked him off). Only a couple of people have seen it since.

I had a PM this morning. I enjoyed it.

Everyone should just chill and follow the wise counsel of that straight-thinking paragon, Lindsay Lohan, as she expressed in yesterday's Tweet. Lindsay, who lives on Long Island, said: “WHY is everyone in SUCH a panic about hurricane (i’m calling it Sally)..?” she tweeted Sunday night. “Stop projecting negativity! Think positive and pray for peace.” I am also renaming one of my favorite songs, "Mustang Sandy."

Spectacular. A color in that range would also be good for your '62 Corvette.

Back in the day when they were at their best, I always saw Jo-Han as second-rate up against Revell and AMT, particularly because I thought their interior tubs were too shallow for contemporary cars. On the other hand, while I don't have a broad view of their classic cars, I will put their 1935 Mercedes 500K up against anything being marketed today.

Need a marketing/PR/advertising guy? I'm your man.

Good choice, too. The beginning of an era so loaded with unreliable, obsolescent computer technology that those and today's cars will be nearly impossible to maintain or restore. I couldn't even get body and trim parts from GM for my '93 Corvette in 2006 because they'd been discontinued. Imagine trying to replace the "Master Control" computer in any car made today in the next ten years.

We have two very good pinned threads in Tips, Tricks and Tutorials about removing paint and chrome, with a multitude of options... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53377&st=0 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1527&st=0

I have followed a few lengthy threads on this subject here and on other forums, and Lownslow's observations about using Future as the first barrier seem to reflect the majority of responses. This is something Donn Yost could add to.