Bill Eh?

James, that is a really nice haul of Fujimi and Tamiya kits. I especially like those Dino 246's. That Chevelle could make an interesting sleeper. By any chance are you going to NNL East this year?

Quote "I did notice though, the chunk wasnt there after i applied the paint...it appeared a few seconds after, like a slowly rising bubble." To me, what you noticed might indicate a reaction between the paint and the surface. Was there a primer coat? If only bare plastic, did you wash it first to get rid of any possible mold release agent residue? Just curious as I have bought a couple of cans of Testors one coats, but have yet to use them.

I have a class of 25 students. On average, only a couple have ever seen, let alone built a model. You can tell kids to be patient, but it is quite different for them to practice it. They have to have a vested interest, in this case a plastic model car that they want to do proud by. When I have a chance to talk with any of my early-in-my-career students, a lot of them will tell me that they still have the car model that they built with me. These are students who are now in college. LOL, do I feel old!

When I used to do model building as an 'After School Program', we fully painted the models. We used a Tamiya Spraywork airbrush system, as it is of a pistol grip style and easier for ten year olds to use. We sprayed Tamiya acrylic paints (safe for use in a classroom with windows open), and a very large cardboard box. Now I just get the class to do some brush painting. Usually just aluminum, silver, and semi-gloss black to bring out some detail on the chassis, brakes, and a few interior components.

Thanks Shane. The fun part is that I build along with them. They can see the enjoyment that I get from building. They can also watch how I approach things as well. I use what I call a 'think aloud' method. I verbalize everything that I'm thinking and doing. Sometimes talking through a build, out loud gives them some additional information to work with. It even helps me most of the time. LOL

Shane, I think that there is definitely a connection between your youth building time and your your skill at reading manuals of all types. One of the reasons that I do a same-model-kit-build with my whole class is two-fold. First, it allows my students to follow a set of instructions, which are both sequential and of an exploded view nature. Since the parts are drawn 2-dimensionally, it helps them develop their ability to relate a drawn representation to its 3-dimensional counterpart.

Ive got kits, I bought new with every intention of building, that are now vintage. does that count? Darin does that mean that all of the kits that I have bought, over the past years/decades, might just eventually become vintage? I guess I better not say I can hardly wait. Probably not going to happen.

Johnny, I agree with you. Since Paasche have so many different models, how will a buyer know if it is a good deal, if they don't have basic information like model numbers?

Skip, Toronto is really bizarre in terms of what grades makes up elementary. We kave schools that are Kindergarten to 5 to grade 5 ( K to 5 ), K to 6, and K to 8. They are all under the same board. The school I teach at is K to 5. Which means that you are so right. It will be a little bit of an eye opener for them when they start Middle School next school year. I just try to pursuade them to leave behind some of their behaviours that might make them stand out, in a not so good kind of way.

Thanks Skip for bringing forward the idea of positive personalities. When I first read the original post, I was thinking that reading the various types was getting depressing, in a humourous kind of way of course. LOL

Thanks Rob. Normally I might say that I'm too old to change. However, teaching grade 5's, that's impossible! LOL

Darin, excellent thoughts. Since these kinds of horsepower and speeds are happening so frequently, does a new name need to be created for cars of this nature. Exotic and Super Car titles were easily interpreted as cars above the rest, at least in terms of horsepower and top speed. I don't want to say common place, but if cars of this nature are more numerous, you're right, what is their future? Excellent thoughts for consideration, that you have raised.

As well as regularly checking out eBay, I do the same with Kijiji. I am usualy looking for things kit- or airbrush-related. I saw an advertiement for an airbrush. The following are the content of the ad, my respone, and the seller's response to me. Ad: "Barely used paashe airbrush and compressor. The compressor has only be used a couple of times, its in brand new condition." ( no picture was included ) My response: "Just a suggestion, even if you do not include pictures, it might be easier to sell if you mentioned the model numbers of both the airbrush and compressor. Good luck with your sale." Seller's response: "i dont have a camera; mind your own business" I should have just left it at that, but I guess I felt compelled to clear up the misunderstanding of my intent. So this is what I sent back. My response back: "I was not trying to be critical and I was not being sarcastic. I'm sorry if it came across that way. I was just thinking that people who are considering buying these things might be interested in the model numbers. Again, sorry. I was not trying to be mean spirited." At this point, I am not expecting to get a response. I probably will glance at the ad again to see if the ad gets updated with my suggestions. I think it is a sad day when you receive this kind of reply. I am just way too old fashioned in the way that I think. In my way of thinking, people should deal with each other in this manner. Bill (Eh?) Allen, just an old fashioned, 56 year old, elementary teacher.

Harold, I hope you are not too shocked when you open up the RofG Porsche Carrera RS 3.0 kit. This is obviously a repop of a much older kit. I'm not sure as to the origin of the kit. Two piece tires!

It is a very interesting quote, to say the least. Amazing the thoughts that come out of SBSP. Are the inner workings of "your" mind that mysterious? Just a heads up, I think you actually meant: The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma.

Right now in Toronto it's -15 C / 5 F. Wind chill is taking down to -26 C / -15 F. I don't thnk that I'll be heading outside any time today!

Chuck, thanks for posting the link. That Gemini Capsule at the top of the list looks pretty cool as well!

On Boxing Day I bought one of the Mercedes DTM kits and was going to buy after market decals to do Bruno Spengler's car. Now they are coming out with a kit in his livery. Now I have a decision to make.... On the other hand those 2 Ferrari's 599's do sound interesting. Peter, I'll help you out. You keep the Spengler decals from the additional kit that you buy, and I'll take the inconvenient plastic pieces. LOL

Ambitious and well executed mods to an Evo! I will follow your progress to completion.

Thanks for that tip Ben. I've used Silly Putty to mask small parts off the sprue, but never thought of using it to mask a chassis. Sure will save using a lot of tape! LOL

Luis, I got the same message, not once but twice. The first time I actually phoned PayPal. They told me to first forward the message to their 'spoofmail' address and then delete it. The second time I just forwarded the message followed by deletion. I have never heard a word back from PayPal if the forwarding did any good or not.

Curt, another outstanding build. All business and no bling, which is my idea of great looking bike. You seem to strike a perfect balance in adding the 'just right' amount of detailing. I hope this one ends up being a keeper for you.

Don, I'm curious as to why no products from Iwata are included in your reviews.

Geoff, your Morgan is looking amazing. Your painting style is clean and crisp, as can be seen on the detail painting of the steering wheel. I'm really enjoying this.

translation for mr cheap Oh, it's X-mas, 1 small cardboard rack with 14 to 15 kits in the midway (middle aisle?) at $15 to $19. The artwork on these kits was made for 8 year olds and I was not impressed. Somebody here said there was 2000 through 6000 wet dry sandpaper. They did not have it.