Chillyb1

From this day forward I am going to do everything I can to ensure that "Take a grip of steering!" becomes a common, everyday expression.

I keep thinking about it and telling myself, "someday." I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually. They are really some great subjects. But I'm not going to rush into it.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the airbrush. I think painting with an airbrush might just be my very favorite thing about model building. I also think it is one of the modeler's most important tools. Have fun with it.

That is a very cool model of an unusual subject. I first heard of these things maybe 25 years ago after some friends visited the Philippines and told me about them.

That's a great kit. I've built a couple of the Calsonic versions, but I sold the Xanavi kit when I realized I'd be driven crazy by those decals. Good luck with it.

Those are really cool trucks. I'll probably never buy or build one but I hope to see lots of them built by you guys.

That is just spectacular! I am not brave enough to attempt anything this large. You certainly did a majestic job with it.

Both of the Detail Master interior junk sets are pretty amazing and include some really unexpected stuff, for example, a flyswatter, clipboard, and Rubik's cube! Here's one I used: Yes, a lot of stuff could be scratch built; however, there are items that really can't be, at least not convincingly.

It is one of the coolest cars ever. The kit is not hard to find. I just added another to the stash via eBay for just $31.00 shipped!

This is such a cool car and such a cool kit! I built it recently and also had serious decal problems. Most decals wanted to disintegrate and very few went on the way they are supposed to. Fortunately, I had a back-up kit from which to poach decals, and a fellow modeler on this forum provided me with a complete extra set. Keep up the work and keep us posted.

Rustoleum makes paints that they call enamel, acrylic, and lacquer. Usually the can says right on it what kind of paint it is. The lacquers go on beautifully and are very, very forgiving. Their lacquer clear is absolutely beautiful. This is what it looks like: I've had great luck with the lacquers; however, the other kinds of Rustoleum have produced less-than-satisfactory results.

That is one very cool subject. Excellent job adapting the Fujimi kit and excellent detail work. Where did the decals come from? Too bad they don't recreate those groovy numbers on the door.

The greatest thing about scale automobile modeling is that we can do whatever we want and do not have to pay attention to the laws of physics or anything else for that matter. I don't like the style and wouldn't in a million years build such a thing, but I do think you've realized your concept really well. From a modeling-skills standpoint, this build satisfies the modeler's criteria for success. I could quibble about a few things that bother me personally, and with which I still struggle as a modeler, but if the model is what you were aiming for, then you've nailed it. Plus, who can resist a silver Porsche?

Bienvenue, Loris. France is underrepresented on this forum so it is always nice to see a French presence. And definitely post some pictures of your work when you get the chance.

Good luck and please keep us posted. I'll probably never build this kit though I do like the looks of the car.

You are doing a superb job with this kit. I built and found it challenging but rewarding. Looks great when completed. Are you going to paint the red or use the decals?

I knew that the only way I would find this one is if I stumbled upon it serendipitously. My knowledge of cars is pretty comprehensive but only back to about the 1940s with some standouts from the 1930s. Before that, it is all guesswork. I figured with this one I'd have an easier time trying to find the house in the background and then reading what it said about the car.

Thanks, everybody, for the responses. I am familiar with the Portland area. My sister has lived there for twenty-five years or so and I've visited, for extended periods, lots of times. I acclimated to the weather a long time ago. It really used to bother me that it was raining and nobody seemed to notice. And that they have a large vocabulary to describe weather that anyone else on the planet would call rain. Also, I've lived in much bigger, much more dangerous cities before. I was in New York City for fifteen years and in Paris for two (not as dangerous as any American city, except in certain near suburbs and circumscribed parts of the city itself). Paris is also where I finally succumbed to and acknowledged the fact of rain every single day. No one I've ever met who has been there, nor any guidebook writers, bothered to mention it. So, Portland and Paris are six-of-one-a-half-dozen-of-the-other as far as gray and rainy goes. I'm not sure what I'm going to be looking for as employment. My background is in academia, and I'm currently ABD in my doctoral program in history with about 350 pages of totally awesome dissertation ready for revision. I have to say, though, that I'd really like to work in one of my two areas of hobby interest: model cars and guitars. Thanks again. I'll PM those of you who mentioned that mode of communication after are get there. I'll be pretty much immediately set up with a home and computer access because I'll be living with my sister and her family.

I'm moving to Portland. I'm somewhat familiar with the hobby community there but would like to hear any helpful suggestions fellow members might have. I've met a couple of Portlanders from Scale Auto and Model Cars forums on previous visits and would like to know of model clubs and the like to explore the social aspects of the hobby. Also, I need a job. But that'll come eventually.

Yes, I think this is normal. Most of the colors separate, even the transparent ones (smoke, blue, yellow, orange, red, et cetera).

1. Citroen DS (year to be determined later) 2. Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport 3. 1963 Porsche 356 4. Beutler bodied Volkswagen 5. Maserati 3500 bodied by Touring

There are no "cons" when it comes to Alclad products. Buy them, use them, love them!

Very cool, indeed. Great from conceptualization to realization. How did you make the vacuum tubes?

I'll add a couple of things that I've learned from using Alclad II, both chrome and polished aluminum. You don't need a gravity feed airbrush, but I get best results with my Paasche VL using the color cup. It just works better with low pressure because it doesn't really have to suction the paint up as it does from a paint bottle. For a long while I found that the best results were achieved shooting over Alclad's own black base. I still think that base is excellent, but I've gotten outstanding chrome shooting on top of Tamiya's TS-14 gloss black and TS-29 semi-gloss black.

That is just unbelievably cool. I'll never build one but I really love these kinds of heavy equipment things. Very nicely done.