Cato

BMF will give you very flat edges.

X2!

Does anyone have photos of the finished Vega? Built back in the day? Shame kits are being bought today for investment purposes rather than to build great models...

-about time you contributed something around here HP...

Thanks to all. K3-I think I agree about being favorite. Although the Trumpy GT40 was fun for me. I'm actually thinking of doing the next one in a 'non-standard' way. Sort of like a 935DP or Kremmer street/track car...

Here's my version of the Tammy kit finished in 1989. My skills were even rottener then than now... I have the reissue and SMS detail kits waiting down in the dungeon and they make my scratched details look like the work of a blacksmith. The Pactra clear (remember Pactra?) has turned a very light tan which actually adds to the vintage race car feel. Polished with LMG grits and race muck sprayed over in appropriate areas. Oh well, it was a good learning experience.

You nailed it!

Great, great job. Just my style too-all business race car-no glitz. Your work shows excellent attention to your references and nothing is overdone. Love the 'cobble stone' base. Now it just needs one of my glass case covers!

Beautiful job all the way. Nissan GTP's were my faves in the day as raced by AAR. You don't see many models of them and none done this nicely.

Well thank you too Classic. Glad someone shares my 'sickness'...

Very classy, clean build.

Hey-there you are! And contributing already! Welcome aboard...

Excellent job! I've got the unopened box in storage for about 1 1/2 DECADES now-gotta open it and put it on the bench after seeing yours. Beautiful.

The only inaccuracy in your presentation is that Landy's stomach was approximately twice that size... Great detail, build and reference.

I'm getting tired of MCM's stuffing my mailbox every couple o' weeks!!!! I'm gonna write Gregg a nasty email soon...

Boy, I hate the legal and conflicting ###### and BS that comes out of Italy. Senna's death was a travesty, Berlusconi is a joke and lately the American girl in prison for murder. ---AND I'M ITALIAN! I wish Robert was in John Hopkins or Columbia Presbyterian in USA...

You've got to make friends with an Editor who has some "pull"...

After the miracle of Zanardi, anything good is possible. I wish him well. Rally cars are hellish devices.

Got my issue yesterday-great condition all the way to NY. Content and presentation was beautiful too.

Now you need a driver in there...

1/32nd armor and soft skins would have been a natural with the very popular 1/32 warbirds...fantastic dioramas.

First, study real engines, not just reference pix. Engines all have nooks and crannies which collect oil sweat, dust and ozone. Get metalizer or Alclad finishes that match the metals you've seen. Things like Holley carbs, linkages, hard lines look best done this way and have a very slight sheen. Then stain selectively with very thin oils in umber or gray. Create shadows in manifold low spots, spark plug holes and such but be SUBTLE. Here's a reference shot which illustrates some of this: For well used engines, tone down chrome by scuffing lightly with 0000 steel wool-not painting. Use thin ink washes to simulate oil sweat and fingerprints around valve covers and distributors. Avoid blue/red/yellow wires and hoses-black is they way they were originally and adds to the distressed effect. Use clear blue to simulate heat on chrome and clear orange and tea stains for gas stains on carbs and intakes. Stainless exhausts should not be bright and must have different tans, grays and browns on hot/cooler areas. Look at the real thing first. Add weld seams. Then add a mist of thinned Future for a slight sheen. Dullcote sprayed on various areas simulates dust and road film very well. Practice a lot and study the real thing.

#154 still not here-2 weeks after mailing. Guessing midwest storm knocked down the pigeon going from Denver to NY... Will call nice lady a GBP and ask for replacement.

A gauze-type material like cheesecloth or model airplane silk with epoxy or resin squeege'd on.

Well thanks for a reply Gregg, I know it's painful in more ways than one. There's nothing I'd like to see more than your 'baby' become a viable, money-making powerhouse. Harry has surely demonstrated that he's fully capable of taking it to that level if you ever decide to pass it on-with your vision of the product intact. Having a forum for us to yap on is great but it's not paying your light bill-the opposite in fact. I subscribe to the mag much like supporting your LHS-a small expense in the hope it will help the endeavor grow and prosper. AND NOT DISAPPEAR. Extending the benefit of the doubt to those who complained loudest, I think they too want to see a strong mag. I'm sure many would like to contribute to a strong, viable, quality mag -not only with subs ('shareholders') but with print material of the hugely talented work many of them do. The lateness of issues was just a sign to them that wasn't happening and a disappointment. Magazine publication can be likened to drag racing (among other sports). Sure it's a thrill to run 325MPH and the uniforms are cool. But above all IT'S A BUSINESS-and demands hard work and decisions 24/7 or else failure. Don't wreck yourself physically and fiscally trying to do it well-all by yourself.