Erik Smith

I think the wheels will pass the average customer. The windshield not fitting will be a major frustration for modellers. Looking at completed versions so far, the trim and top of the windshield extends way too far above the roof line - Bill's remedy will cure that, but probably not a lot of weekend builders will know how or why they need to. I am not sure why somethings need to be reinvented. I don't mind glass that mounts from the inside - as long as it's relatively thin. And the new wheel design - with the die cast style ribs that lock into the tire - I hate them - they make it so easy to damage any work you've done on the sidewalls.

Good points Tim - post as many high quality photos as possible - US eBay is 12. Also, non-scientifically evaluated...weeks with holidays are good weeks to list - people sitting around looking at eBay... I try to end listings on Saturday. It is a high traffic day and gives you time to receive payments, package, and ship by Monday.

That's really cool. Great work and creativity with the paint.

What percentage believed the sun spun around us 200 years ago? 100? Even 50? Probably higher than 25%... Ignorance isn't going away. It's been here as long as humans - heck, there were probably ignorant neanderthals. I have never read this particular magazine, but why would I buy it? Really? For me, this item would be for reference purposes. I can use the Google machine and get exactly the photos I need - and a lot more of them, for nothing. I am an off and on avid reader and prefer print. Where do I buy? Amazon. I like to occassionally browse a bookstore, but books are out of stock at a store - not so online. I am sorry to see bookstores and print media decline - but I guess not enough to support them financially on my own.

Duplicolor primer won't seal the red if your using duplicolor clear - not in my experience. Primer and color goes down fine - clear magically brings that plastic to the surface. You will need to seal with Future or a sealer primer. Unless Fred has different experience... I will finish my current model and decide how I will approach this year's run - I am 1 for 3 on completions so far...

Wheel looks better Bill, nice work so far. I still think the center cap is too large - it should be flush, circumference wise, to the center hub on the drum. The small flange on the rim is also too pronounced - in reality it would hardly be visible in 1/25, so I may try sanding the whole face flush in addition to the changes you made. A nice PE piece with separate, smaller bolts would be the ultimate way to go. There were variants of the wheel that did not have that small detail either...I don't know which ones or why. I have a photo from the auto museum in Tacoma, WA of a 1961 Catalina posted in this thread HERE that looks like what Moebius had in mind. I don't think your comments or adjustments are a "slam" on Moebius or other builders - 99% of theses models will be built box stock and some people will probably groan about the added compelxity of the wheel. For some reason, wheels are close to the most important thing on my models - and any chance to make them better is, well, better. Thanks for the post!

You can do a completed items search on eBay to get an idea of what items are actually selling for and what they are "worth". Also, thanks for joining the forum, but this is less a review and more a question which should be placed in the question section. As for value - if you really want to know what something is worth at a given time, list it on eBay for a low start and see where it ends. There is no better way to guage value than to put it to the market. As has been done, the Alfa kit had fetched around $100 on eBay and the Muira kit around $40, both USD. Your examples are in splendid condition, but neither kit is ultra rare (don't let eBay listings fool you - you can put rare, ultra rare, mostest rare kit ever, on any listing), so there is some competition.

You'll notice in western cultures the frequent use of the rising sun flag - Japan's military flag and ensign prior to surrender in 1945. To many cultures, Chinese and Korean for sure, the use of that flag is akin to the swastika in our society. There are differences in how things are interpreted, obviously, the swastika holds less of a notorious place in Japan than Europe.

This is the only one that I believe is correct. It's 1/24 but undetectable. Not 100% accurate but a good representation: There are added details here, but the base block, manifolds, etc are all kit.

Nice. Did he do the decals too? Nice and straight. Great work. My daughter is a huge Lego builder too and has done a few models.

Paint looks awesome, Al. Nice to see somebody getting it and throwing down right away! Question about the wheel - I was a little skeptical when I saw the version in the pre-review of the kit, and I am not sure about them now. Are yours assembled completely? It looks like the brake drum is too far back and the flat spots where the wheel rim bolts to the drum aren't lined up. I think it's a great idea, just not sure about them... Thanks for the WIP!

Now, if you could just figure out how to focus your camera...

There were resin casters 20 years ago...the cottage industry was just hard to find in the dark ages prior to the internet machine. Everybody has a different level of "acceptable". I have resin parts that other people claim are good, but to me, are useless. So it's tough to get an objective review unless you can see the product. I am weary of most resin casters unless they have a reputation to back them up - not only for quality, but for reliability. Not only do some have low standards for quality, they have no business acumen, sometimes funding projects with money from other orders, getting huge backlogs, taking orders when there is little chance of fulfillment.

AMT Subaru Brat. It's part of that weird "mini-renaissance" by AMT that includes some detailed odd-ball kits like the Brat, Rabbit, Scirocco, and Capris II. They were kits ahead of their time with separate interior side panels, detailed engines, and cool custom options. The Scirocco is being reissued. The Rabbit probably won't see the light of day since Revell has recently tooled up a modern version of the same car. There are other 70s cars that should still exist - Pacer Wagon, Pintos, Matadors... The 1962 Ford Galaxie was one of the few that didn't get destroyed by an annual update - but hasn't been seen since '69 - that's a long time for a mold to hide. Good opportunity if they could bring that back from the grave. While the bodies of the annual era AMT kits were pretty nice, the interiors were often incorrect, atleast the HT versions. Many (most?) had convertible tubs.

That's awesome. Pretty much how I would build one. Great color choice.

Great looking model! Some very fine, subtle changes that make big difference. I like the windshield frame treatment.

Consdering the Japanese companies figured out how to "save" bodies with proper packing over 30 years ago... A model kit like that should have a separate, reinforced area in the box for the body. Especially at that price. I have lots of less expensive models that have the bodies in a sealed, corrugated box INSIDE the main box.

Do I like shoveling snow? No. Not even a little bit. But...after last year's summer, when we didn't get any snow last winter, I will shovel all winter to avoid hundreds of thousands (pretty darn close to one million) acres on fire in our state, Washington. Here is one evening on the Carpenter Road Fire that ended up burning about 65,000 acres in an area most of us never imagined could happen

Very nice! I like the color combo a lot. I agree about the tiny decals. Hard to keep track of them!

Micro Set smells a lot like vinegar - I don't know the formula, but... The commercially available decal setting solutions aren't really that expensive unless you are doing tons of decals - I've had the same two little bottles for 5 years or more, and they're 80% full. I don't do race cars or anything that require large decals. Be easy to try it out - plenty of old decals laying around and I am sure I could dig some vinegar out of the pantry!

I was waiting for "I'm a man of wealth and taste"... Welcome!

Good work everybody! Only six years in and some good work happening!

Better than even the other Lindberg kits of the time - the "glass" doesn't come across as thick and toyish as their other offerings of close caliber (Dodge 330, etc..) There is also a really cool woody conversion from Jimmy Flintstone mastered by Jairus Watson.

Haha, that's great. I remeber looking at the WIP years ago... Only thing I would suggest is cutting the decals where they cross the door gaps.

"I'll take them off your hands if you ship them to me for free"? Those models, as well as a large portion of the seller's others, are one person's therapy. Nothing more. They are not worth a penny in my world excpet to a family member or something. It looks like they were stored in an attic or garage for years and the seller didn't even clean off the spider webs and or fecal matter. Don't even get me started on the price...