Erik Smith

Glass painted and peeled. I also installed the headlights. They look pretty cool. Tamiya does a fantastic job on their lights. You can see how the inside and outside masks work - brilliant really. I'm glad the masks are included.

I thinned the herd over the last two years. From, well, high point of maybe 600 to easily on one shelving unit now - probably 40-50? Really felt good getting openness back. While I like looking at unbuilt kits for some reason, I knew I wouldn't build 95% of the models. I would buy one and by the time I finished a model, I would have 0 motivation to work on the one I bought 6 months or a year ago, so...I did some the slow way - individually, then switched to big boxes and lots. I don't regret selling any.

Some time with scissors and then decanted Tamiya semi gloss black...now to peel all that mask off

I think they're resin...

Feels good, no?

Paint is on. The glasshouse on this car is relatively large with a lot of "black" glass. Fortunately, Tamiya provides a large mask for all the glass - inside and out, since some of the exterior trim is molded to the glass itself. Should be fun.

Here is an alternative for all you nut and bolt fans (since Scale Hardware is gone, T2M is gone, and metal ones are just expensive) These are from ModelClub out of Russia. I ordered them from models-hobby.com. In all, I ordered 1550 nuts and with shipping was $58 USD. Took exactly one month from order to door step. Last photo is close up of tweezers holding a 0.6 mm "nut on a washer" They are good quality and, at around $5 for 100-140 nuts, a lot more economical than metal.

Finished the dash. That red blob looked decent with my naked eye. Looks like "the guy" spilled some organic catsup in the close up. The chrome decal was from sheet of metal transfers (not the Tamiya supplied variety) - they look pretty cool.

Fantastic model, Tulio.

Too cool. Awesome work.

Meanwhile, inside...

And a coat of primer...

Shows up in metallic paint! To reduce the chance of getting more bugs on a total repaint, I just sanded the "bump" and masked off the offending fender.

Going with this duplicolor - don't usually like the metallic, but, what the heck. This car needs a little bling - it doesn't have any under the hood... Tamiya fine white primer underneath.

He will be holding something - not a Starbucks drink though...I've got an idea that doesn't involve "the guy" driving

Great work. Fantastic looking model. I have the same toothpicks.

The chassis is all about the motor and steering - no real detail, so I quickly put it together:

I've never done a figure before...ideas...

Like most Tamiya kits, the parts are molded beautifully with very little cleanup needed. There are a couple light parting lines that need to removed:

Here is an exciting one. I love boring models - not so much the cars, but the fact a model company actually made a model of such a mundane, boring car. Here is Tamiya's 2002 Honda Fit - the motorized version! This has probably been at the hobby shop since, 2002? Contents:

It's signed, so, yeah, counts.

Fireball Modelworks has top notch service and quality.

Awesome model Pat - jump in again this year!

Hmmmm - is Harts Parts a good company to deal with? Maybe I'll be forced to one of each...