sjordan2

So what's the problem or mystery? If it's bad, I don't think you're going to get sued for slander here.

The last time I got Duplicolor paints at Auto Zone, they didn't know if they were lacquer or enamel or acrylic lacquer or whatever, and it's not disclosed on the labeling. Which is it? (Hate to bare my ignorance.)

Hey, shouldn't those seats have olive drab webbing?! (Just kidding.) Great detail work. And I'm another of the guys who hate donks but admire excellent craftsmanship.

What brand is this kit?

Just finished watching some Japanese painting tutorials on YouTube, on builds of a 1:12 Datsun Safari, 1:24 GT 40 and Mercedes CLK, all with racing decals. They all used pretty much the same technique: – A couple of coats of clear over the decaled body – Sand down the clear with 1200-1500 grit to remove decal edge prominence and smooth the surface overall (the finish gets very dull again) – A laborious process of using rubbing compound to bring up the shine – Polish (again, laboriously) Came out looking great.

I don't see much porpoise in continuing this discussion.

Many years ago, I read about a guy who had his Lamborghini Miura airlifted to the garden of his Manhattan penthouse because he wanted to display it as a work of art. I also seem to remember that Stirling Moss had one of his F1 cars mounted on the wall at his home.

Seems to me that the choosing the car you want to build shouldn't be dependent on scale (though I've seen some posts on this forum from people who don't like to mix scales in their collection. Not sure I understand that.). I like larger scales, 1/16 and 1/12, because of the opportunity to add more realistic detail and I'm another old fart whose fingers don't handle smaller scales very well anymore. The problem with larger scales like 1/16 is that it's hard to find aftermarket parts, particularly engine bay parts like spark plug wire connectors, etc., so sometimes there's more scratchbuilding involved. Speaking of "bi-scale," I find that in most cases there's a bigger difference than I realized between 1/24 and 1/25. I recently bought aftermarket parts including tires, wheels, coils, etc. for a 1/25 project where, although the parts labels say they fit 1/24 & 1/25, they're too big for the 1/25. These kind of parts aren't readily available at retail stores here, so I've had to order them online and have been disappointed at what I received.

The pictures shown in this thread indicate to me that it looks better than Alclad in many ways and would probably be better for things like window surrounds and body trim, and perhaps more realistic than today's tricky BMF. I hope someone will do a demo on how that would look. For my additional 2 cents, I'd add that, to me, the average kit chrome looks unrealistically bright unless washes or other techniques are used to tone it down.

It strikes me that broad, smooth surfaces are the most important areas for this kind of stuff – if it's everything it's cracked up to be.

This is both fascinating and scary. Here's a series of 6 10-minute video tutorials on building the 1/12 Tamiya 240Z Safari car, focusing primarily on the body and the engine; not much else. This is all in Japanese, but it's not that hard to follow what's going on. It's nice to see a video on a pro's technique. Part 1 of 6 is focused primarily on prepping and painting the body. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWscUoRLxHo The last one, part 6 of 6 is the scary part, and it studies what this guy does when he's not happy with the surface finish of the body and the way the decals set up with visible edges. Having already cleared the body over the decals, he sands the heck out of it, then gives it two major doses of compound. It comes out looking great. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp2pmtRS1OY&feature=related Interesting combination of rattle can and airbrush painting. One thing that amazes me about this tutorial and a few others that I looked at today is that these Japanese guys do their airbrush painting in their hands, inside their building room, in their laps, without gloves or masks.

Have we found the ultimate Holy Grail in car modeling?

Did that steering wheel come with the kit? It's one of the cleanest versions I've seen of that type of wheel.

If you didn't see this thread, here's how he did it: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28586

I think aircraft and armor modelers are among the most proficient hobbyists in the business, so I expect the attention to detail – but not such a wonderfully sleek finish on the body. If this is your first time at bat with model cars, you hit a home run.

Please. And where do I send my résumé?

So what tools and supplies did you use for performing what modifications? I've got a Bburago 1/24 metal kit of the Bugatti Atlantic, which needs some serious help just to make it authentic (cutting off air vents, opening the side mesh on the hood, fixing the seams on the fenders, and adding the signature rivets, etc.). Also, I understand that aircraft stripper from a hardware store is the way to get rid of the baked-on paint. Or did you just paint over the metal finishes? Your beautiful creation would make for a good build journal.

Something that Figoni & Falaschi would be proud of. And even those crazy guys would never have thought of gullwing doors. Reminds me of their Delahayes. Your stuff is immensely creative, and takes model building beyond craftsmanship to art. http://www.2blowhards.com/archives/2008/05/hidden_front_wh.html

Were the seats on the stock version molded with the wrinkles and crimps, or did you add them? If so, how did you do it?

Very, very cool. Since it's 1:18, is this diecast? If so, that's some seriously good work on chopping the top.

There should be an apostrophe in "that's." By the way, in spite of the fact that I'm also from Texas, I can spell. Keep 'em coming, guys.

Please note capitalization and grammar: "As a Canadian, I don't know what the heck you're talking about." Ducks in a barrel on this thread.

Sheesh. (sheesh (s̸hēs̸h) interjection used variously to express disbelief, surprise, annoyance, etc. Etymology: prob. var. of jeez) – http://www.yourdictionary.com/sheesh

Knoxville, TN is not a hotbed of rare Porsches, but I just saw a Panamera the other day and it's a lot cooler in the flesh than the photos would indicate.

It's spelled "misspelled." (Sieg heil, Webster's Dictionary.)