sjordan2

ADDITION: This site's search engine is useless. Try the other guys' site: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/scacs/search/SearchResults.aspx?q=paint+booth&o=Relevance The net net is that knowledgeable people such as Jim Haught urge you NOT to skimp on a paint booth. Pace paint booths come highly recommended: http://www.pacepaintbooths.com/pace/

Looks great. Can you get tighter and brighter shots of the wheels? I'm constantly looking for a dark gunmetal paint, but most of them have too large metalflake.

I hope that other, more knowledgeable people than I will jump in quickly with some specific suggestions, but there have been many posts on this subject and the number one recommendation seems to be the safety of the fan you use, which would be of a type that would not allow paint mist and vapors to move across the fan's motor and brushes, such as a squirrel cage fan. Just search the forum for Paint Booth and you'll probably find what I'm alluding to. From what I read, this is critical to prevent fires and injury, etc., and even though I know little about the subject, I thought it was urgent to bring it up, since no one has responded yet with any informed knowledge.

Yeah, I posted that link up in the Big Boyz section, since it was relevant to the Entex 1:16 1937 12-cylinder convertible. I then added some more of past Fantasy Junction Packards including one with a 12-cylinder engine. Probably makes sense to re-post links here. http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/974-Packard-Super%208%20Convertible%20Coupe-8-Cylinder Red 8-cylinder: http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/797-Packard-Super%208%20Convertible%20Coupe-Inline%208%20Cyl 1934 12-cylinder with good engine shots: http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/665-Packard-Twelve%20Sport%20Phaeton%20LeBaron-V12

Especially when grilled over mesquite with lemon garlic butter.

This is absolutely outstanding, and it's an excellent example of how you can post a lot of pictures that make sense and show something new in every one. I would say that your scratchbuilding skills are superb, and you described this as "almost" scratchbuilt. Honestly, I don't understand the conversations about whether a model is scratchbuilt or not (lots of skillfully scratchbuilt components just make for a great model, regardless of what you call it), just as I don't understand the semantic wrangling on another thread here about the meaning of "custom."

Just beautiful. Fantastic paint work.

Sad that interest in the hobby is declining, since there has never been a better time to be a modeler. The Internet has changed everything. • We have forums like this for the exchange of a huge amount of different and quickly available information, from techniques and tutorials to new products, 1:1 reference, etc. • If you can't find a kit or supplies in a bricks-and-mortar store, you can usually find them online. • The kit manufacturers follow and sometimes respond to issues raised on forums like MCM. You can probably think of many other benefits, but I think we have a lot to appreciate as modelers in 2010.

I figured this reference link made more sense here than in the 1:1 Reference section, since it's for large scale builders with specialized interests. Anyway, Fantasy Junction again provides a huge amount of outstanding reference images for models, like this for the 1/16 Entex 1937 Packard, though the real car is an 8 and the kit is a 12-cylinder. In the images, there are some things about the undercarriage that I question as being true to the factory original, such as paint overspray that doesn't match the body color, but perhaps Art Anderson has some thoughts on the subject. http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/974-Packard-Super%208%20Convertible%20Coupe-8-Cylinder Here's a red 8-cylinder http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/797-Packard-Super%208%20Convertible%20Coupe-Inline%208%20Cyl A 1934 V-12 with good engine pictures: http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/665-Packard-Twelve%20Sport%20Phaeton%20LeBaron-V12

Fantasy Junction is a great site to keep checking on from time to time. Lots of good images for a wide variety of cars. I might add that there are a few killer sites like this that almost NEVER show up in Google searches (bad search engine management?), such as: http://www.autosalon-singen.de/en/startmix.html http://www.theautocollections.com

This is killer. What are your thoughts on color? And I really want to see how you handle the hood.

Ooops. Sorry. http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/963-Ford-Model%20A%20Woody%20Station%20Wagon-3.3%20Litre%204%20Cylinder

Lots of great images here. Download while they're available.

The only remaining "Goldfinger" Aston (1 of 2) is going up for auction at an estimated value of $5-10 million. One-owner car with 30,000 miles. The owner bought it in 1969 for $12,000. http://money.cnn.com/video/luxury/2010/09/16/n_bond_car_auction.cnnmoney/

My '93 Corvette developed an irregular habit of stuttering and stalling when I would pull out into traffic (and if you're pulling into traffic with a 6-speed Corvette, you become used to fitting into a shorter window). Then it would occasionally shut down altogether (including the steering) while at speed on the Interstate. For about a month, it took a few tows back to the incompetent dealership to fix it. Dreaded ABS made it impossible to stop on a dime and resulted in one slow-speed front-end collision.

Found an article on this car: Swiss designer Ueli Anliker presents his new tuning work the Mercedes McLaren SLR 999 Red Gold Dream. He claims to have depleted more than 30,000 man hours and about 5 million SF, which comes to around $4,35 million US or €3,3 million, to complete the it bejeweled SLR with 24 karat gold and rubies plastered throughout. http://autoworld.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/awesome-swiss-tuned-mercedes-mclaren-slr-999-red-gold-dream/

I love Chattanooga, but I absolutely do not recommend anything to do with the Chattanooga Choo-Choo hotel and restaurant. Very seedy. For those whose interests lie in the following direction, there is an antique tow truck museum. The Chattanooga Aquarium, however, is world-class. It serves as an excellent freshwater complement to the saltwater Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg. Wonderful restaurants in the area, plus a great Discovery Center for kids next door to a 3D IMAX theater and across the street from a mulitcinema, and the Arts District across the bridge is good.

Just amazing. Are you going to give the headlights a snake eyes look?

My first car: White 1959 Alfa Romeo Super Spider Veloce, showroom cosmetics, purchased in 1966 for $1100, short wheelbase version, prepared in New York by Hoffman Motors with overchromed camshafts and sporting the Veloce dual Webers, and a cutout exhaust that burnt out the valves. My favorite car of all my life, a joy to drive, and an absolute nightmare to maintain. This looks exactly like it.

Could be. This is part of the trail of the original Thunder Road, that eventually runs just a few blocks from my apartment in Knoxville – home of the late, great Popcorn Sutton, the modern era's most famous moonshiner, who committed suicide last summer rather than face prosecution. ("Popcorn Sutton done been lawed.") http://www.mitchellspublications.com/ur/nc/suttonp/ Anyway, Gatlinburg also has a terrific Ripley's Aquarium, a great saltwater facility.

Pigeon Forge, as you may know, is the home of Dolly Parton's Dollywood, which is a very good and very clean amusement park. You may want to check to see who's performing while you're here, not only at Dollywood but many other music venues in the area – it's sort of like a mini Branson, Mo. Pigeon Forge is nearby to Gatlinburg and and Sevierville, all at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is the most-visited park in the nation. In Gatlinburg, you can visit the Hollywood Star Cars museum, with some cars you'd never expect to see here; info here: http://www.starcarstn.com/

David, that is awesome, a superb presentation. I amended my original post since you posted this one, and I think it's important to note my question, "what are you doing to SELL your build to the judges?" But how far can you go with display material? I don't know. A big fat book with information that someone has to pick up and thumb through has much less impact than a small poster in an acrylic frame, which you can see right away, that has bullet points on what you did. It's right there for anyone to see. All I'm saying is that salesmanship is part of the contest equation, and just sticking a model on top of an entry form is putting too much trust in the hands of judges who will not necessarily get it.

Well, that's not what I'm asking. I'm hoping that people will post pictures of the way they display their models at shows and contests to catch the eyes of the judges. What are you doing to SELL your model to the judges? Are you just laying down the model on an entry sheet? Can you add a miniposter to the display that talks about what you did? Do contests allow you to place a totally unpainted and unimproved kit next your build so they can see what you added?

I don't go to model shows or contests like IPMS, etc., but there is a current thread about problems with those competitions, and I think I and others who don't attend these shows would be interested to see what your displays look like at the shows. I say this because I'd like to see what you do to encourage the WOW factor when judges see your work.

So, Christian – are you an undertaker? Here's a shot which I think you've seen, since you commented on it, of a 38 Rolls Alpe hearse, which was used in a great 50s movie called "The Horse's Mouth" with Alec Guinness. I think you could make an excellent hearse out of the 1/16 Gunze Sangyo/Anmark/Revell Phantom III. http://cgi.ebay.com/HTF-1937-ROLLS-ROYCE-1-16-LARGE-SCALE-UNMADE-MODEL-/110573189861?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19beacfae5