Erik Smith

I like the choice of wheels - what is the source of the kit?

Cooler was just cut from a larger radiator with half rounds added on each end.

Finished this Tamiya kit of Nissan's Skyline 2000GT-R last weekend. Here is the end result... Paint is Tamiya Mica Red over Tamiya white primer. I made some subtle changes to the kit. No bumpers, external oil cooler, changed the stock air cleaner set up with velocity stacks from a Fujimi kit, no rear spoiler. Thanks for looking! I enjoyed most of this kit. The major hangup was the hood hinge - I could not get it to line up, work, and keep the hood level, so the hood is removable. Other than that pretty smooth build.

...and the result: None of the paints harmed the plastic. I primed half with PlastiKote and left half bare plastic. No adverse reaction to any of the above paints. But... I tried the Crystal Clear and... it did this to the Ivy Leaf Krylon Paint. It was odd and sporadic, though, as not all the paint wrinkled: Crystal Clear worked great on the Duplicolor: I will keep trying out different combos. As a note, I also applied some Crystal Clear over some airbrushed Tamiya Acrylic and it worked really great. I sprayed it over a flat paint and was able (after a week of drying) to sand and polish it (aggressively, too) to a very fine shine. It was actually to tough for the project (old Ford) as I was trying to sand back down through the paint layers and I had to really put it to the clear to sand through. Hope this info helps!

I have been experimenting with some different paints, including Krylon. It is definitely a bargain compared to hobby shop paints as I can get the large 12oz can for $4. Hobby paints are $4 to $6 and only have about 3oz. So... I purchased some Krylon Crytal Clear (from the hardware section), Krylon Fusion flat black, Krylon indoor/outdoor semi flat black and ivy leaf, and DupliColor Light Champagne Metallic. The Duplicolor is a Acrylic Laqcuer, the Crystal Clear says "Acrylic" on the can, and the rest I don't know. Here are the paints:

Beautiful. I would like to build one engine that nice, let alone four.

That blue is great. The chassis is great - it looks like the 56 frame was made for the Corvette suspension. Nice work!

Check online sources for the kit(s). Aoshima made some "High Rider" versions with the four door cab. Ebay and other sites (Model Express, etc) will carry out of production kits.

I bought a can of that too. Too cool to pass by. I really like the Starliner kit also. A good combination. Will be nice to see a start and finish in one month. I do the same thing all the time - have a couple kits that drag on and then, pop, you find some inspiration and crank out a build. It helps.

I am liking the build. Great weathering and props for sharing some techniques. The videos are a nice addition to the photos. Do zombies have blood, though?

I am not sure what Aoshima could do to help. It looks like just some parts leftover from another build. It would probably be cheapest just to buy another of the Aoshima hilux kits. I have seen them for around 15 to 20 bucks. The missing body, glass, and tires means missing most of the kit - at least the important parts.

The color is subjective and completely up to the builder. If you like pink, paint your model pink. I don't mind advice on building techniques. Critique on color choices, or wheels, that's not really what I would be looking for as I know what I like. Some aspects of design, such as balance and composition, are objective, though, and I would concur that the tires appear too thin. As for the pictures themselves, it looks like a depth of field issue, not necessarily macro (macro has a very limited depth of field). If your camera as any adjustments, select a small aperture (higher f number) and use a tripod or table top. A smaller aperture/ greater depth of field will put more of the picture in focus - a greater depth. Also, watch where you are focussing, some areas in the center of the photo are not in focus but adjacent areas are. Overall, I like the look of the build. I like two tone paint. It also looks like you set up a nice spot for the photos - better than some dark photos with keyboards and things in the background, of which I too am guilty. Thanks for posting!! I find each build I do gets better than the last, so keep building and posting!

I have used the Citadel washes - you can find them at gaming stores and hobby shops, as mentioned above. I use the black, mud, and sepia colors. After a wash of color, try drybrushing high spots to add extra layer of detail. I usually add more than one wash on well used engines, even all three colors. Even lightly used or show cars benefit from a light wash as it represents shadows and detail not possible at scale. Try picking up a magazine with some military models for tips too - those builders weather extensively.

Wow! An actual kit review in the kit review section! Thanks for taking the time to photograph and post the review. I have an old version of one of the AMT corvettes and the cast looks cleaner on this one!

I just purchased and read the November issue. While it was pretty decent overall, I was disappointed that one of the articles (Ferrari F40) is a reprint from another magazine. It's a good article - in fact, really good - but when there are only a few articles per magazine getting a duplicate is disappointing. The other magazine was from England but I purchased it at Hobbytown USA - so it's not like an unavailable publication in the US. Also, the iHobby coverage is by now a little "old news".

I think it has always been a rather tough job. When times are lean economically, hobbies are seen as disposable income and thus, cut from the family budget. I prefer to buy from my locally owned shops. They are very reasonably priced, don't make you show a coupon to pay regular price for kits, and it is always fun browsing the shelves. I can't get the kits cheaper online and I don't have to wait for the postman (or hope it doesn't get crushed en route). I am surprised to hear that is the last hobby shop in Seattle? We still have three (or four, two are same store, different locations) locally owned shops in Spokane (plus Hobby Lobby and Michael's, Blech!) and we have a few hundred thousand less people. Best of luck to the owners!

Nice! I like the paint choice and it's well executed. One of these (1:1) came up for sale a few months ago for something like $350,000 - they are beautiful cars and yours does it justice.

Great looking build. I love the look of the engine with the wash - I use Citadel products also. The other colors I have been using are Gryphonne Sepia and Devlan Mud - they add a nice contrast to the black when applied in layers. The Future in the gauges is nice too, although I ruined one set of gauges I printed out on the computer and did not seal. The future lifted the ink as it was drying. Nice Work!

Nice. Let's see, I generally have my Mastiff trying to sleep under my feet at my desk, one of my cats in my lap, and the others trying to figure out how they can get on there. If I could only find a way to keep cat hair from floating onto fresh paint....

That's a great kit. I will like to see how it turns out.

I don't buy any kits from Michaels. They inflate the prices so the "50%" seems like a good deal when, in reality, the 50% just gets it down to reasonable price. I just bought two Revell Midget kits at my LHS for $13.95 ea. I can get most of the Revell kits for $11 to $15. I am sorry if Michaels is your only choice, but if you have options, use them. Michaels and Hobby Lobby don't really care too much for the Hobby in general - they stock the same kits in every store across the US. They don't cater to localities or offer any special items. I am frustrated every time I go to one of the Big Boxes and expect something different, but they never surprise me.

model expressMy linkis great. Dennis has great prices, reasonable shipping rates, and ships kits promptly. He adds stuff all the time so I check back often. I have also ordered from Hobby Search, HLJ, and HW Japan and have experienced excellent service from all three Japanese suppliers - these are the place to go for many Japanese models not readily available in the US. If your package is small enough, the economy shipping from Japan is relatively cheap and takes about 2 weeks (I ordered kits from Hobby Search on November 28, shipped SAL, and received them December 15th). Ebay is always an option too, but some sellers are better than others - look at the feedback ratings. Hope that Helps! Erik Smith