mrmike

I have finished my F-150 Lightning and it is posting in Under Glass. I would like to thank all those who took the time to view and to comment on my WIP.

This is my SVT F-150 Lightning painted with Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red and shod with Pegasus 19" Chrome T's and low profile tires.

Looking good, Gus! The slap-stick shifter handle is black with a chrome button on the left side and a chrome shaft that goes into the console.

Here's something to influence you a little, Clay! The stripes are on! More to come.....

The body got another coat of paint this morning. The hood needs another coat of paint and then some flat black for the Performance Hood Treatment. More to come.....

The body has gotten it's final coat of paint. Stripe decals in silver gray are next and then clearcoat. A mockup to check the stance and wheel placement. Lookin' good!!!!! More to come.....

Snicker...snicker...OK, I...snicker...I promise not to...snicker...not to laugh...snicker...snicker! The truck has been repainted in the same, beautiful red as before. It's just minus the blemishes from before. I'll get some pictures up later. :lol: :lol:

I sat down to wire the Hemi this afternoon. What this kit lacks is an ignition coil. With ingenuity being the mother of invention, I made my own out of a piece of round stock. I drilled a hole in the center, some glue and a piece of plug wire, and I have a coil! Some semigloss black paint, a small strip of foil, and the coil is complete. I just need to run the coil wire into the distributor. More to come.....

I got the engine reseated properly since it sat high in the chassis. I should have notice this the first time around, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. More to come.....

I had used two coats of Tamiya Gray Primer, neither light nor really heavy. After a long discussion yesterday with a good modeling friend, my application of paint may have been too heavy as I was following MCW's instructions. When I get to painting again, I may do a light, but not quite a mist coat of paint and see how it goes.

That's great to hear! Any stay in a hospital, no matter how long, is too long!

IMHO, the engineering here is 100% better!

Happy Birthday George! I hope the cake will be big enough to hold all the candles!

I hate wetsanding! I usually end up with more water up my sleeves than in the pan. It had to be done though, since the finish was very rough and almost to the point of looking like the hot paint had crazed the plastic. As hard as I try, painting is still a hit or miss with me. I should get Donn Yost's DVD's and learn how to paint correctly and consistantly. Back to the paintbooth! More to come.....

Well, I finally broke down and performed one of my least favorite choirs...wetsanding. I don't like wetsanding since I make quite the mess on the bench and end up with more water up my sleeves than in the pan. My last coat of paint had so many flaws, runs, and trash that I just had to wetsand the finish. I was hoping to have the Lightning finshed for tomorrows Classic Plastic Model Club meeting, but that is not going to happen. More to come.....

Personally, I wouldn't be in too much of a rush to get another one of these Lightning kits. IMHO, this is a poorly engineered kit requiring much patience building. I am getting near my limit with this one! The chassis is now complete with suspension, exhaust, radiator, engine, wheels and tires. The interior is in-process. The dash and the instrument panel do not have positive mating surfaces. This is going to take a little bit of work to correct. More to come.....

I can't imagine trying to stop one of those DONKS with huge wheels and tiny little brakes like this! Anytime you add big diameter wheels and tires, you need to upgrade the braking system. This one will need a couple of miles to come to a complete stop from 55 MPH!

Happy Birthday Gregg! Welcome to 50 Club For Modelers! I hope you have a great birthday today!

I have been reading all of the replies to this since I first posted this thread yesterday. I have laughed, felt sad for those who have had to deal with this problem, but for the most part enjoyed reading the responses. I have sympathised with those afflicted, and it got me to thinking about this for a bit. I do believe that most people here are not hoarders. I do question those who have several thousand kits stashed in closets, basements, attics, storage sheds, garages, and storage lockers away from their homes. They may have only the vaguest idea of what they have stashed away in those areas. And, what are they going to do with them? I doubt that any of those kits would ever get built...or see the light of day. IMHO, a hoarder is not just the person with junk piled high to the ceilings of their homes, but one who also has excessive quantities of whatever they happen to like. Sure, they have the intention of building that kit when they bought it, but it gets put away especially when that person goes out and buys more and then even more later. It just compounds itself over time. It seems easy just to say that they are a collector when their "collection" is out of control. If you don't have a place to display your collection, is it really a collection? Hoarding is an addiction. It needs to be treated by a professional who has the knowledge and understanding of this affliction. The person with that addiction needs to realize that they need and want help, otherwise going through their stuff and disposing of it is a waste of time since the hoarder will just go back to satisfy their addiction all over again. I hope I haven't become "preachy" and I will get off my soapbox now and hopefully more of you will post your opinions and stories.

My first car was a 1956 Ford Customline 4-door sedan. I have been unable to find one in resin, but I did have a 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 with a 352 topped with a 4-barrel carb and air cleaner from a 1970 383 Road Runner for a second car and was able to model that one. It was my first airbrush job and I thought it can out pretty good.

Thank you Jeremy and Randy! I finally got the chassis up on four wheels. The suspension is fiddily to put together. I did a mock up with the body and bed. Lookin' good! I started on the interior by flocking the floor. More to come.....

Thanks Nick! I suspected that there might have been another version out there, I just couldn't remember if there was. OK guys, I have more progress! The chassis is nearly done save for the engine, drive shaft, radiator, wheels and tires. The bottom of the chassis. The exhaust tips will be foiled. A mock up with the engine. I don't like the fit against the engine and transmission mounts. A little massaging is in order here. More to come.....

I posted this over 2 hours ago and I am amazed at the responces so far! My goal is to see what others think about their stash of kits and if they might think that they could be a hoarder. I told my wife about this thread and I said that I am not a hoarder and she said that I was in denial. I disagree! I have found several different definitions on hoarding so I won't tell you folks which one is right or wrong. That is up for you to decide. But, when we go into the hobby shop or other stores and see models on the shelf, are you impulsed to buy one or two kits even if you don't really need it? Do you think you will have the time to build it before the BIG GUY comes and says it time to up to the BIG HOUSE?? I want to hear from more of you, my fellow modelers! Are you a model hoarder?

Fabulous craftsmanship, Art!

I am sitting at my bench and I can hear the TV in the living room which is next to my hobby room. My wife is watching an episode of Hoarders and I have watched a few scenes of this show and the hoarders with their piles of stuff that they say they simply must have. Some of these scenes are quite disturbing and it got me to wondering about us modelers. Are we hoarders? I know of at least one modeler with a garage full of models and kits and have heard stories of others with closets and storage sheds and cellars full of models. Some say they would never part with any of their collection of models while others are willing to trade for other kits, but the question still lingers...are we hoarders? With only 54 kits in my stash, I know I am not a hoarder. All my kits are neatly stacked on a bookcase in my hobby room, and barring any unforseen disaster, I plan on building all of these kits in my stash. Even at the age of 58 years young, I will be building for many years to come and well into my retirement years and old age. So, how about it my fellow modelers...are you hoarders?