PeeBee

The AMT 289 Cobra is 1/25 scale. MFH kits are 1/24 and 1/20 scale.

I would inquire to HRM about the scale of that Z06 transkit. Harold offers a transkit of the 1960 Cunningham LeMans Corvette for the Revell '58-'59 Corvette models, which are 1/25. I buy HRM kits from Island Collectibles and the default scale in their catalog for HRM products is 1/24, with no reference made for kits that happen to be 1/25. I contacted Ed @ IC and he verified that the '60 LM Corvette transkit was indeed 1/25.

I wouldn't spend my ad dollares on drag racing and NASCAR if I were an auto manufacturer or fuel/oil retailer because neither of these venues generate significant showroom traffic or increase gas/lubricant sales. The equipment raced is irrelevant to a new-car buyer (for obvious reasons) and 99.99% of car owners in this country today don't care what product Jiffy-Lube or their dealer dumps down the crankcase. WRC and production-class sports car racing is an entirely different story, however. You can buy a Subaru, BMW or Corvette that actually resembles (even mechanically) the cars you saw compete over the weekend. But still, the majority of the car-buying public in the U.S today are not interested in auto-racing or high-performance automobiles; they want SUVs or hybrids with on-board navigation and computing. "Driving" is no longer the priority when behind the wheel, it seems.

Great job on that TR. I actually passed a TR250 (he was coming in the opposite direction) on Rte. 35 in NY state last summer. From afar (I was driving a truck and so was able to spot it a 1/4 mile down the road) I thought it was "just" another AC Cobra replica. I nearly passed out when he got up next to me.

Ah, what the heck. Wife's car is a 2000 Subaru Legacy Outback Limited w/129K on it. Just replaced the timing belt, idlers, tensioner and water pump and will drive it another 130K. My car: '99 Miata w/134K. Just pulled it off the road for new rear quarters (rust is a common problem with these, expecially in the northeast), a paint job and a new top. While I'm at it she'll get new springs, a new set of Konis and a thorough tune (timing belt, headers/exhaust, a chip, etc.). Current color is Emerald Green (a dark metallic green) w/black interior. When I give it the re-spray I'm thinkin' a dark BRG (we call it "black BRG") w/white stripes will do the trick. My other car is the Corvette I push off a cliff every year. When my two youngest are finished with college (three more years - gettin' there!) I'll keep one of those Corvettes. PB.

What Charlie Larkin said. The cheapest store-brand foil you can find is plenty thin enough and I find it much easier to work with than Bare Metal. Just couldn't see paying 7-8 bucks for a square of aluminum foil with paste on it. Jason, the $16.00 you spent already was more than twice what you'd have to pay for a lifetime supply (even at your age) of chrome trim going this route. PB.

Superb.

Aside from the old standards like X-Acto knives, pin-vises, clothespins, sable-hair brushes, epoxy, CA, Tenax, etc., I would have to add: Trusty old Testor's Aztec airbrush(es) and compressor (yup, I've had these for 20 years now and they work flawlessly. I just keep the nozzles stored in a jar of lacquer - that's all the mainteance they require); Foot control pedal for my Dremel. Provides infinite speed control and I haven't burned out any of these tools yet; Cheapo store-brand aluminum foil and Microscale foil adhesive. Lifetime supply of chrome trim (and polished metal surfaces if you use the flip side) for under ten bucks; AlClad; Airbrush-ready automotive finishes; Floquil paints, particularly "Engine Black" and there zinc chromate (red) primer. Apparently Testor's is discontinuing this line of paint. Bummer; Micro-Mesh polishing pads and cloths; Novus #2 and #3; Micro-Mark Polish Mate polishing cloths; PE saw blades. PB.

I think this is very cool technology and have been following it since the '90s. It's come a real long way in 20+ years; the quality/resolution vastly improved, a much broader range of material is available, etc. In fact, we're using it at my business to print architectural models. I don't see much promise in the near future of use of this method for mass production of kits, however, in as that it still takes a good amount of time (hours) to print one model (one of the reasons for the high cost), and of course cost of materials and maintenance of the equipment that can't match the economy of scale and efficiency enjoyed by a full-blown injection molding operation. As mentioned though, 3-D printing is very useful for generating detailed and well-developed prototypes - we always referred to this process as "rapid prototyping" in the first place. I believe Model Factory Hiro has been using this process to create masters for components in their kits for some time now. That being said, I would imagine that more affordable, accessable and user-friendly 3-D printing should spawn a healthy market for...models. Electronic models that the consumer could purchase on-line, download and forward to a service bureau that offers 3-D printing (which is becoming fairly common now). There are restraints and tolerances that the e-modeler needs to be aware of, and good knowledge of traditional model assembly would have to play in to this as well. But just think of it - you could offer models of varying complexity/simplicity with accessories that the modeler would have the choice of printing, or not printing, etc. Need to satisfy a craving for an obscure subject? Possibilities...

And, if you're trying to keep to a constant scale the later, "new-tool" Revell Corvettes ('58; '59; '62; '67; '68 and '69), and AMT '57s (IMHO excellent kits, too) are all 1/25. Paul B.

This is going to look very cool. Where'd ya get the kidney beans?

Excellent! Good attention to detail, look and stance. Great paint, too. This one looks "just right." Clean. Paul B.

Ray, I feel your pain. I have two in college right now. I'll be done with that in 3 years. And then, instead of pushing a Corvette off a cliff every year I'm going drive one into my garage!

I use the cheapest store-brand aluminum foil I can find (because it's the thinnest) with Microscale Foil Adhesive (available on-line). I can't remember if mil thickness is published on aluminum foil packaging, but if it is your looking for the thinnest. You don't apply the adhesive to the parts you're foiling, you apply it in nice, even coats to the foil and then attach and trim the foil just as you would Bare-Metal. I find that it holds detail just as well as Bare-Metal, is much easier to work with and you don't have to worry about shelf life. And, you get "chrome" and "brushed/polished meta/aluminum" in one box, depending on what side of the foil you apply the adhisive to. I use this method because I prefer it to Bare-Metal. The money saved is a bonus. Paul B.

The '59 included the hardtop. Jaydar: Regarding the ride height, all of the above. I haven't built my '58 yet, but one thing I did notice on my kit is that the rear portion of the frame curls away from the floorpan, thus adding "ride height" to the rear. You might want to see how it sits (in the rear, anyway) after alleviating this feature before bending, cutting, blocking springs and axles, etc. Paul B.

Great build of that Ferrari! Excellent color scheme. Nice job on the CF decals; I used them on the Tamiya Porsche GT1 and they were a challenge!

I just viewed this and your other Roth builds. Outstanding. Just outstanding. Really fine craft here. Paul B.

Thanks for the comments, guys. Just a couple more hours to go on this one. i'll post better photos when it's finished and point out a couple of more details about this build that I heven't mentioned. Custom Mike: The ignition wire is some kind of beading wire I picked up at Michael's. Next time I'm in the "cave" I'll check to see what brand it is. I think I picked up several different gauges because it comes in handy for use as Airquipped (braided) lines. Duntov (yeah, one of my heroes, too): Thank you for the encouragement. Actually, I'm fine with the way these tires look and fit on the model. Scale-wise, yeah, they're too wide to mock the originals that came on the 1/1 cars, but when it comes to models I ultimately go with what I feel looks "right" on a particular car but still fits within the era. Funny. My oldest friend and I are about to finish a ground-up restoration of a car that his dad started but wasn't able to finish before he died: a 1/1 1967 427 (L-89) coupe, Goodwood Green over green (rare combo) w/white stinger. Off-road suspension and side pipes, and the "turbine" wheels. And, we're still debating about the TIRES! Thanks again for the input! Paul B.

Here's one that was almost off the bench, but I wasn't happy with the way the windshield fit and took it off for modifications. Color is GM Sunfire Yellow (I believe this was a Corvette-only color) from Scalefinishes. The bumpers that came with the kit were warped, and the only extra set that I was willing to give up for this car had lousy chrome, so they were stripped and given a shot of Alclad. Interior chrome is Alclad, too. Tires are those funky AMT Firestone Wide Ovals, but to me they just looked right on the Corvette. Regards. Paul B.

Wow! Thank you all the positive feedback. I must admit that participating on the forum has added a whole new element to this hobby for me. Yeah, the fire was a really depressing situation to deal with, but it was four years ago (already!) and I've re-built the model room and have a new, and different, collection. Before the fire my collection had become focused on 1/24 Japanese and European resin, plastic and white metal sports and racing car kits, i.e. a lot of Tamiya and Fujimi, and I lost nine Model Factory Hiro kits, two of which were built ('57 Ferrari TR & 166MM Barchetta). At the time of the fire one of my daughters was just out of Fordham University (Bronx, NY) and two more of my kids were headed toward college (and are attending now), which meant, of course, that there was no way I was going to be able re-build the collection I had (keep those receipts, kids!). I decided that this time around I'd just replace my favorite 1/25 kits that were lost and then hold the scale of the collection to 1/25 to keep costs down on future acquisitions. CrazyGirl: The fire investigator (our local Fire Chief) thinks that the fire was caused by a couple of heavy-duty extension chords that I used to feed the lights and power strips in the room. The surplus length of the chords was kept "neatly" coiled up on the floor, apparently causing enough heat build-up to eventually burn through and ignite the cable insulation, and then everything else nearby. i was told that this was not an uncommon occurance. Monty: The air cleaner filter element is just a thin strip of Tamiya masking tape, no cutting required. The sole survivor of the fire - an Etzel's '25 Duesenberg (resin kit). It was in my cabinet surrounded by plastic and white-metal kits that liquified. Go figure. Back in business. Thanks again for the input folks! Paul B.

Well, time to stop lurking and finally post a build. This is the first build I've completed since a fire gutted my model room and consumed all my builts and 350+ kit stash (50 years worth). The pictures are snaps taken with my phone and are not very forgiving; the model looks a lot better in real life (really!). Especially the engine - in the pictures it looks like the paint's globbed on and the ignition wire (30-gauge wrapping wire) looks like scale garden hose! Gonna hafta work on my photography, i.e. use a real camera and pay attention to lighting. Anyway, paint is Dupicolor "Bright Red" over Duplicolor primer, no clear, just color sanded (4,000 thru 12,000) and polished with Novus #2. "Chrome" trim is cheapo store-brand aluminum foil. Tires are AMT Goodyears. This kit fought me the whole way and I rushed it at the end - it was on the bench way too long. Regards. Paul B.