Erik Smith

Nice little Trabant - if you can actually say those words together in a sentence. I like the police car idea - I wasn't aware they were used for such. Makes sense - they were the car of the people.

Good idea moving the thread over. Looks very nice - I too like the look of the trim.

Looks like Dr Cranky has some influence on French builds! Nice looking models, interesting styles too. Oh no! Sixth picture down. Driver of the mustang behind the corvette! This could kill the post!

They haven't been available for a few months now. It was labeling. Last word was April or May. There are a few older posts dealing with the tamiya issue back in January or so.

John - great work. I like the mentality of this build - scratchbuilding all the little parts. Sometimes it gets tough when you feel the "need" to keep adding great little touches but it's so worth the effort. Thanks for posting as you go!

Looks really nice. I like the color combo. I enjoy seeing both kits built for comparison.

That's pretty cool. Love those "Lil' Mustangs".

Go all glam! I like the idea of an over the top chrome build. Should be cool.

It totally depends on what your lifting, how accurate you want it, and the purpose of the lift. As demonstrated above, you can add blocks to a leaf spring suspension. I would note, though, that in the "real" world, a block lift of 6 inches would be considered unsafe for anything but a trailer queen. There's danger of the blocks tipping out and the suspension collapsing. The best way is to make new, higher arched springs. With strip styrene it's easier than you think. I haven't made a truck on a long time so no pics, but you just layer the strips together and bend as you go - add a round styrene piece at the ends and some shackles and, abracadabra! Now, if it's not a leaf spring suspension, such as an IFS, than you will need to add appropriate blocks and brackets. It is a little different for all makes. I would recommend getting a few four wheeler magazines or do research online for the specific application you're working on. Look at the ads in the magazines - sometimes they show the components of a lift kit. Or, you can go the cheap and dirty way - a body lift. While a 6 inch body lift would look pretty lousy, you can lift it a couple inches and combine it with a small suspension lift. A body lift is just that - add some spacers between the frame and body at the mounting points. Easy, and cheap in the real world. You will have other things to consider when lifting a vehicle - lengthening drive lines and adjusting driveline angles, bigger shocks, etc. Sorry for the ramble but if you made it this far, I hope it's helpful!

Cool little car. I was just looking at my Tommy Kaira version this morning wondering what I should do with it. Thanks for posting!

You can get iron on fabric stabilizer at most fabric shops. Peel and iron on to backside of fabric - it is like a thin paper but keeps the threads on the edges from fraying so much. They also sell liquid fray stop (something like that) that you can run along the edge of fabic to stop the unravelling. I like that look - cozy!

Very nice build. Looks very clean - I like it. The windows are a great touch.

Nice modifications so far. I like little things like that - things only a few modelers and probably zero of the general audience will ever notice - but you know they're there. Nice pulleys on the engine too.

Yes, there are other threads of photo tips that should be helpful. I use a Canon SLR with a tripod. The tripod is really necessary for clear photos and will allow you to take pictures in lower light situations. Most electronics shops will let you try the cameras out. Switch the camera to macro mode (little flower) and try taking pictures of things like text or something you can get a good idea of how sharp the pictures will be. Any camera of 10+megapixels will be more than enough. Even 5 mp cameras used to suffice - and for posting and regular sized photos (4x6) there is not a huge advantage ( other than digitally "zooming" a picture, or essentially cropping the photo to include only what you want). For lighting, you should stick to one type of light source as different sources will look different in a photo. That is what the white balance is for. It is auto on most cameras but if you are shooting with incandescent bulbs and flash, the colors will be off (incandecsent is yellowish while flash and fluorescent are blueish). I use three incandescent bulbs, top and one on each side. I put a piece of white poster board in my paint booth. There, a rambling semi-explanation to your inquiry.

That's interesting - I didn't realize it was widened in the original photos. I can see it now. Cool. Thanks for the additional pictures.

That turned out great Mike. I like everything. Thanks for post, build and story.

Very cool. I enjoy all the photos and seeing the work happen. Excellent job.

A few distractions and work on small stuff - worked on distibutor, making clearance on the chassis, etc. If I get some good progress this weekend there will be some photos. Thanks for the interest!

Cool. I love minis. Tamiya kit? Any engine photos? The wheels came out nice - looks like the kit minilites converted to a larger diameter - nice idea!

Second the White Elephant in Spokane. I have been buying kits there since I was 8 or 9 years old. I used to save up my change and jump on the bus! Picked up a Revell 56 chevy today - $11.98. I also like B and B in Spokane - big selection but more expensive than the Elephant.

Oh, I see something like that every day. Not really. Cool idea - neat paint too. It would be scary to drive that thing. Thanks for posting - pictures are good size too.

That engine looks great. I love the color choice too - going to be a very nice looking build!

Hope for the best. Expect the worst.

All paints are different and have different drying times. My process for the last car I completed with duplicolor was: 1. Sand bare body and remove mold lines, etc 2. Prime with Plastikote sandable primer 3. Sand out imperfections 4. Prime 5. Sand imperfections 6. Prime 7. Sand smooth - grit depends on amount of work needed. More grit or more work - then up to 600 or 800. 8. Mist color coat. Wait 10 minutes. Mist. Wait 10. Mist. Wait 10. Mist. Wait. Check for coverage. If needed, another light coat. 9. Let dry at least 30 minutes. 10. If needed, sand color coat. If you get dust, hairs, etc, get rid of them now. Clear won't hide anything. I sanded through he color coat on the trunk area on my last build (arrr) - to remedy, I masked off just the trunk area to avoid over spray and paint edges. 11. Apply thin layer of crystal clear. Wait 1 minute. Apply another thin coat. Wait 1 minute. Apply another coat - this time a wet coat - more paint. . 12. Let dry 48 hours 13. Begin wet sanding - crystal clear is tough but, for me, prone to orange peal. I use a polishing kit and start at the most coarse ( coarsest?) grit need to smooth the orange peal. Then just work, wet, through all the grits. It is wet, tiring, and boring - but I love doing it. 14. After wet sanding, I use Meguiar's Scratch X2.0. Followed by micro gloss and then Tamiya finishing compound. I foil and decal over final paint. I really don't do kits requiring a lot of decals though, so I wouldn't be the one to ask. Again, this is different for all paints and also varied depending on humidity (I live in a dry place) paint thickness, etc. so you may need to adjust times. This is just the process from my last build. What I can say is - Practice. Use white plastic spoons. Try different combinations. My kids have all sorts of shiny, painted spoons! It takes time and "wastes" paint but is invaluable to getting better looking paint. One guy, one way of doing things. Every builder here has different, and probably better, techniques!?!

Very cool. Nice to see an uncommon version of a common car. Color, wheels, and engine all add up to a great period look. I'm looking at this on my phone - I'm going to have a look on the "big" screen!