DanielG

Too cool!

Thanks guys. I don't work on anything that I can't get on my bench! Some filling done and a heap of sanding/shaping to go.

OK, my work is done until December so back to playing with cars! I have completed the roughing in of the window framing. Next up, more filler and body shaping.

My wife owns one of these cars. Goes like a scared bunny!

The only problem I have had is not waiting long enough before using the clear coat.

Hello Bill. Met a PO from Maryland once, affraid that is as close as I have been to your neck of the woods.

Check out some of the military modeling blogs, they do it all the time.

GT Radials, my heart skipped a beat until I realized they are the wrong scale. Nice build anyway.

Aircraft, I think that is where most of MY analism got developed.

If you are fortunate to have a hobby store nearby than I say support it. If you don't and it closes then all the other stuff that you may need that you also bought there is also gone. Now comes the heretical part, buy a kit when you intend to build it, you won't be spending so much as when trying to fill your house with kits that you may build 'someday'. (I think I live far enough out in the boonies that it will be years before the kit hoarders can hunt me down for the burning at the stake!)

I get stuff that goes through all the major shippers and local handlers as well and sometimes two or three hands before it gets to me and I can honestly say that I have not had a problem that could not be traced back to improper packing by the sender. I am not saying that packages do not get rough treatment but that is to be expected so pack accordingly. I get packages shipped across north america overnight so you know speed is what counts, not easy handling!

It is a HOBBY, it is suppposed to be FUN! Enjoyment is what it is all about no matter your level of expertise. I have one build on the go which is just a test bed that I bring out now and again to try stuff out on, does not matter how or when or if it turns out. I used to be a painter (suppose I still am) and you can sit there and look at your latest work and needle it to death but there comes a time when you have to say 'It is done!' and move on to the next. A model build is the same, each one looks 'better' than the last. Even the 'top pros' had to start as a newbie sometime in the distant past! Enjoy your hobby and if you want to 'improve' then compare your lastest build to the last one you did and not something done by someone else who may have twenty years more practise than you. (and there are also guys on here half my age that I cannot hold a candle to!)

That would be covered under "and so on" but I don't have a "problem" with any of it, it would only be a problem for me if I was the one doing it! I only pointed it out to illustrate the ants and elephants analogy.

I know, I can be even more anal than the next guy!

A little more framing and filling and sanding.

As someone said, detailing for its own sake will fail: the detail in the picture is over scale to start with, the tackle is loose, hence a loose cannon, one deck ring is out of place, the breeching rope is not fastened to the cascabel so won't do its job and so on. Nit picking? Yes, but a little correct detail I think goes further than a whole bunch which is wrong. Just my two Lincolns worth.

Thanks, Christian. Added interest, check out this guy http://silvestricreazioni.blogspot.com

Christian, what sort of working time before the caustic attacks the metal? Probably not something we want to walk away from?

Oh, Skip, I don't know that I know more than anybody re this subject! But, I will try to answer your query, can't comment on aircraft stripper, have not used it but if it does the job then OK. I only worry about stripping if thickness of the over-coat will be an issue. J-B Weld will work as a glue or a filler quite well (takes a long time to cure) but I also use CA as a glue (quite good if a largish area for gluing is available, and is FAST), and also as a filler to smooth out sharp joints... In above picture (I should have made sure the door was completely closed before shooting this pic!), CA was allowed to pool in the hollow at the base of the rear post to fill in the joint and provide a smooth transition from post to body (J-B Weld or gusseting should be used behind the joint for added strength, CA will crack if subjected to the wrong stresses, so J-B on all the Trans Am joints!). Milliput or such like putty is good for building up forms that need to hold their shape while curing although best results are obtained if a thin coat can be applied over a solid base shape that has been glued to the body, sometimes a putty will crack if built up too thick. I try to solder any brass components that I have to make but J-B is plenty strong enough to attach them to the body. I use Tamiya primers and laquers (cannot comment on the others mentioned), beware when using clear over-coat, the base-coats must be COMPLETELY cured or bad things will happen! Diecast 'paint-jobs' can be varied as to toughness, I have had some that refuse to be removed and others that almost can't wait to flake off. The rear deck of the roadster was carved from wood and soaked with CA then sanded smooth. Part of the trunk was built up with putty and CA flowed into/onto the ajoining surfaces. (This can be done on plastic models as well as diecast so I have posted this for everyone that may be interested intead of a PM to Skip)

Good luck on this one, Skip, I for one will be following this mod.

What a mess! Anyhooo, took the tires off the Formula because they are closer to the original (and fit the rims) and got new wheels from an earlier '79 which are the correct pattern snowflake (and as near as I can tell are 15 scale inches). Looks like I will have to turn them down on the lathe and then slide and glue them into the tires after the tires and backing plates are mounted on the axles (the joys of working with cars from different manufacturers!). Ertl tire and backing and R/S snowflake. So, some CA glue and luck and it should all come together, as in a plan, sort of.

The APOC project, with Christmas fast approaching and a start on the Trans Am, this one is not gonna get done!

Interesting concept Skip, that anyone would be interested in how I do something! My 'approach' depends on the engineering of the model and what has to be made out of it and sometimes is not for the faint of heart. It almost always starts with completely stripping the model down into its components unless it is only a matter of changing wheels or such like. I have found another doner model that may be closer to what I am trying to replicate with this modification and may start over! One doner model will not be used after all and has been reassembled and put back on the shelf. Watching this thread should give a fairly good idea of how I tackle a project. Always happy to address any specific question.

For my American friends and relatives; Rest in Peace, Merville Thompson,U.S.Army.

You could go to www.walthers.com and dig through the PREISSER figures, 'G' scale.