Erik Smith

Model Express is my go-to online source. They are close to me so shipping is cheap and Dennis ships fast. I have also purchased from Jiminohio, Megahobby, eHobbies, HLJ, and Hobby Search with great service and no problems. I shop regularly on eBay and only a fraction of the sales have been less than desired - and they were remedied by the seller or eBay. I do search Craigslist but most of the time it's more frustration than it's worth ("what do mean my 1971 Barracuda in a misprint box isn't worth $50?"). Most online sources are good sellers - Tower Hobbies, Spotlight, Model Roundup (priced a little higher than others), etc.

You can go to Platikote's website to see if/where it's available down under. I use Platikote as well as Duplicolor, but Duplicolor is easier to find where I live.

Duplicolor primer - it is dark gray.

This really depends on the seller. I have seen kits obviously open and worn listed as "New, never used", and while technically correct, it's not brand new. I think it is more honest to list an old item as "used" simply due to the fact it is not like it was 40+ years ago when you could pick it up off the shelf. Enough with the baseless speculation. Somebody pony up the cash and let us open it to see if it's real.

Hello Dan..., Yes, you should sand the body as there are bound to be mold lines that are not there on a 1:1 car. You can also spray paint the small parts. In fact, I spray about 80 to 90% of all my parts. You can attach the small parts to pins or chopsticks or leave them on the sprue (I don't do this, some do) and spray the parts. Brand of paint - that question will get you as many answers as there are builders. For spray cans, the Testors line of lacquers is pretty easy to use, dries quickly, and is readily available. The Testors clear will also be easy to use. Model Master enamels are the old standby when it comes to brush painting. They are available in a huge assortment of colors and brush on fairly well. They do take some time to dry though. If you have access to any of Tamiya's paints, they are very nice. They are more expensive and harder to locate, but worth it. You can glean a ton of info about building just by perusing this site. HERE is another good site for tutorials. Good luck!

I have purchased from that seller. Everything went fine and as described. He has a lot of vintage kits and I think it is weird he would purposely re-shrink wrap this one kit and leave most of the others non-shrink wrapped. If you look at the box, it looks like it's in very good condition - no shelf wear or rubbed corners, both of which are evident on a kit that has been opened. I saw an original 1968 Cougar kit that had similar plastic wrap and looked that new. I am not verifying this kit or endorsing the seller, just saying it's not impossible. Now, let's see...1963 Chevy II Crew Wagon, 1964 Bonneville Hardtop, AMT Chevelle Drag Team...what were we talking about?

I open it up. I even open new kits when I already have another one that is open.

That is a very clean, beautiful model. I really like the color choices too. Excellent work.

Very cool cars - high power four cylinders, all wheel drive, awesome. The Tamiya kits of a few of these cars are as cool as the real deal - super detailed too with full engines. So who is crazier? The drivers or the fans standing 2 feet from a car sliding sideways at 70 mph?

Tom - I have built a couple of the ARII 1/32 kits. I have no experience with the Porsche kit, though. HERE is some info. HERE are the parts, if you don't want to open yours Generally, they are pretty basic. Some are meant to be motorized, so chassis detail is minimal. Some have a little detail, but still curbside. They don't have chrome parts. The glass on mine have been anything but clear - and polishing only goes so far as they have had swirls in the actual plastic. They can be fun, quick builds and include cars not made in any other form...

My personal favorite Datsun My Grandpa actually had a 240, 260, and 280.

They are still trying to catch up from relabeling. Primers and bottle paints seem to have stabilized but spray colors are still limited in my area.

Beautiful.

Oh, how cool. Let's see, is that a Fury out in front near the beginning? Lots of Impalas, a Divco milk truck, Corvair, 57? Buick pulling out in front of the camera, Valiant, quite a few Bugs, oh, nice Impala convertible...so cool to see all the "before my time" cars on the road. Boston is a great town too - great walking city and, apparently, a great driving city back in '64. Isn't that a '65 Galaxie at 4:58? Is this the same year they started the Big Dig?

That's nice! I have a marginal resin 63 Fairlane kit - trying to acquire an AMT original. I really like the 62, 63, and 64 Fairlanes. Thanks for the extra pics too.

That is a great looking build. Excellent work. I really like the shot from the back - beautiful.

Is that your Fairlane Dave?

Bruce - I am no expert at selling, but I have bought and sold about 700 to 800 (feels like more) kits in the last two or three years. I do it through eBay, mainly because I was already familiar with the process and It is the best place to get top dollar for collectible/rare kits. It is not difficult, but it is time consuming. Photographing, listing, packing, and shipping all take their toll on your time. I usually limit it to what I can get shipped out quickly - about 20 to 30 models per week (it's a part time job). It's also important to look at what kits you have. If you have some older, collectible, and rare kits, I would definitely list them singly on eBay. If you have kits that are not rare, are recent releases, etc., eBay becomes a lot of work for kits that will not really bring in that much. When buying on eBay, purchasers will factor in shipping, so the sell price is lower on a kit that they can get from an online store or LHS. You end up spending time photographing, listing, packing, and shipping on a deal that may only bring in a few dollars (eBay will take a cut - from the TOTAL TRANSACTION, INCLUDING THE SHIPPING COSTS. Then, Paypal will take their cut. All in all, it's probably about 10 to 13 percent of total). Then factor in cost of tape, paper or labels, ...it's a hard luck life. So, what to do with the more common kits? You could bundle them on eModelcars or eBay. The first model is the most expensive to ship - additional weight doesn't add the same amount, so people can save buying more kits and spread the cost out. You could go with Craigslist - although I have really mixed feelings about CL. You will waste time with no shows, lowballers, etc. Most people on CL think THEIR stuff is worth a mint, while everyone else's stuff is worthless - and that's what they offer to pay. Just my experience, though. I have not sold to Model Express or other business - but know people who have. They will generally pay half (or less) of what they can sell the kit for and they may not want all the kits you offer - unless they can get the whole lot even cheaper on a per model basis. They don't want to spend on something they can't sell. It never hurts to call them and send a list to get an offer, though. As far as shipping costs - I ship USPS priority mail. You can get free boxes from USPS for priority mail and print all the labels from home. Then you can schedule a pick up or just drop the boxes off at the PO - No need to wait in line (usually). A single model with box will generally weigh over 16 ounces, so shipping ranges from about $6 locally to $10 cross country. International is a whole different game, PM me if you decide to offer that and I can share what I have learned. Again, I am no expert and have different ideas/experiences than others, but my 2 pennies worth!

Nice work. Why Academy made a model of that car...??? Glad they did so you could build a replica, though.

To be honest, I've never looked for it like that. My current aerosol can is about empty, so I will take a look. Is it the same formula?

You generally don't need to thin decanted paint - it is already thinned in the can. For bottle paints, the rule of thumb is thin to the consistency of milk. I have a hard time telling the difference between milk and, say, half and half, so I start with the paint manufacturer's recommendation. Most are about 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner - but it depends. With my Iwata Eclipse, I can't spray Tamiya at the recommended ratio - it is too thick and clogs the tip. So, I spray Tamiya at 1 to 1 - equal parts paint and thinner (Tamiya). I can spray Model Master paints at 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner, though. You will know if it's too thick because you will be soaking and cleaning your AB nozzle.

Easy Off is kind of nasty - for some reason the fumes will make you cough. Not sure why, but it doesn't seem like a good thing. So I would spray outside or in a place where you don't have to breathe the fumes. I like to put my parts in a suitably sized plastic container (with lid) then spray the Easy Off over the parts and close the lid. Depending on the material being stripped, I wait a few minutes or hours, then, using gloves, I take the parts to the sink and run water over them. If you are doing small parts, use a strainer or they will go down the drain and disappear. After rinsing, I wash with warm water and soap and scrub with a potato brush or toe nail brush (the kind you use to wash baby's feet) as they are a little stiffer than a toothbrush. Easy Off will strip chrome very quickly, including the shiny undercoat. It will eat some paints rapidly, others after some soaking, and some it doesn't do anything.

And it's not windy, it's "blowy". Breakfast? No, "brecky". Vegemite too - yum!!! No worries, mate.

Very cool. Great paint. I love the engine too - nice details and fit. I don't know why people have qualms about cross-brand engine swaps. Why not put a powerful, cool looking engine in a cool looking car? Forget where it comes from, judge it based on looks and performance. Well, performance is kind of hard for a model, but perceived performance, I guess.

I found super glue to be very strong as well. I filled the entire rear wheel openings on a T-Bird build by backing with scotch tape and applying glue and accelerator until desired thickness. It is harder than the plastic and bonds extremely well. It actually gets very warm, almost hot, and produces nasty fumes, so I did it in my paint box.