Chillyb1

VWelcome:

Love that Alfa. I recently pulled that kit out to get ready to build it, or at least get it started while I finish up current projects. It is such cool car and a great kit. Here's one I did a few years ago:

Having just recently received the Ebbro/Tamiya Citroen 2CV fourgonnette, I'm even more excited about that Renault.

Mike, I have two items for you; One of praise and one of reproach. First, thank you for keeping this WIP going at speed with regular progress and updates. I've analyzed the available data and have found that 99.999% of threads that start out with this sort of ambitious project requiring lots of work end up disappearing along with the builder after building only excitement among the many modelers following along. So you deserve accolades and adulation alike for both the work you are doing and the sheer persistence. And second, you didn't tell us what "this technique" is. So, Slacker, what's the secret?

Some of you may know, or know of, Matt, who usually went by Mojodoctor on scale automobile modeling sites and forums. I just today found out he died late last month and the age of just 55. He was an avid modeler and a super-friendly guy. He was one of those who started a million models and finished few, but kept a spirit of enthusiasm and encouragement all the while.

Excellent analogy. And I agree. Jurgen's work is spectacular and he has a great sense of subject.

Thanks for the response, Eric. I'm working on a project that requires graffiti....

That's what I was waiting for, too. I couldn't believe that I'd won the auction when I checked. Probably a one-time thing, but it is just another example of the wondrous deals to be had on eBay if one persists and is vigilant.

How did you do the graffiti?

Duncan Hamilton.

And speaking of reasonable prices: I got this for $24.19 shipped to my door!

That's a pretty good list and I think a lot of modelers would come up with something very similar. Well, as long as said modelers understand the difference between "best" and "favorite" as the determining goal of the set of criteria to be used.

And that's one of them, Tom. A good build, too. Lots of excellent constructive criticism for refining his weathering techniques. It is also the kind of thing I had in mind to do.

And here we are, one year to the day, and I've finally got this kit. I'm still waiting for build-ups of this kit. I've only seen a couple so far.

This isn't really the case, nor is it the conclusion to draw from the above responses. While it has already been pointed out that some respondents misconstrue the question at hand, most responses have focused on trying to answer the original question in a fairly objective manner. This matter of kit quality is not a subjective one. We modelers, either individually or collectively, could probably come up with a list of desirable qualities that would allow for the evaluation of kit quality by any given modeler. There are also plenty of things that I think we'd all agree are not particularly relevant when determining kit quality; for example, the size and shape of the box that a model is packed in would probably not rank high on anyone's list. I happen to like the boxes that Tamiya uses across its model range, but I'd never try to claim that they are in some way objectively superior to some other company's boxes. Nor would anyone suggest that one single model from a particular company, no matter how excellent or awful in and of itself, would qualify that company as best or worst. We all know what makes a kit an excellent one; and these qualities can be evaluated by each individual modeler to determine whether or not it is a kit to buy and build.

Yeah, I was just about to tell you your scratchbuilding skills were non-existent. Here's an Alfa I built a few years ago.

Way too cool. I'm loving this build. I've just broken this kit out to get started. I built one a few years ago and was pleased with the result, but I think I could do a much better job on it now. Not planning to go as far as you though....

Bardzo dobrze. You've really captured every single little detail. Fantastic work. I remember seeing this kind of vending cart in Sopot in the mid-1980s.

One of my all-time favorite American cars and you've done a spectacular job with it. I need to get this kit again. I love the color combo, especially the interior. Your engine bay is probably the best I've ever seen done on this kit. Very sharp, very clean, and very beautiful.

I like those sanding needles, too. They come from this company: http://www.alphaabrasives.com/hobby-abrasives.php Hobby Lobby has started carrying their products here in the US. I don't know where you Canadians can get them.

I really love seeing subjects like this one presented here. We don't get many buses, let alone French ones.

Thanks. It is nearing completion, so I'll post it in the Under Glass section soon.

While I'm not generally a truck sort of guy, I really love little utility vehicles like this one. This might be my all-time favorite model just because it is such an oddball yet also a spectacularly useful and adaptable vehicle. I'm doing it up as an urban (Detroit) delivery truck for an independent auto-parts store (decals came from a Revell Firebird kit) that has been the repeated target of graffiti taggers. I'm posting this now because I'm going to be finished soon and because I added these quickie photos to an unrelated thread. So I figured I may as well toss it out to the gang and get some reactions. Here 'tis: