Jim Gibbons

Nice start; I also built this years ago as Nigel Mansell's. I had seen them at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Very cool. If memory serves me correctly, I saw this on display at the 1968 NY Auto Show. I seem to remember taking a simple two color (blue & black photolitho) single sheet flyer they had of this car. If I did, I gave it to my brother, who probably still has it. I'll ask him, and if he does, I'll have him scan it so I can post it here.

Why, I oughta...

Ken, so glad you joined our forum. Your work on this is incredible, and glad you can share it here. Proof that paper models can knock one's socks off! Be sure to post the finished model in the Under Glass section. If you don't have one already, you might consider a Fokti or Photobucket account, as your ability to upload directly from your drive is limited in size. Thanks again for sharing this!

Beautiful work; I started the 73 'RS when it was sold under the Testor's name, and eventually gave up. It sits in my storage unit. Later, I built one of the Fujimi 356's, seemed to have fewer issues, and enjoyed it more (well, loving the 356 didn't hurt!) That one I finished.

Well, one could definitely wear a stovepipe hat driving this. Lincoln driving a Ford?

Tony has some really good points here. I don't have an airbrush, but have gotten superb results with Tamiya sprays and automotive spray paints. Getting a feel for distance and misting coats will give much better results. There have been some Tamiya finishes that came out so well for me, I didn't use a polishing kit to finish them off, just some model wax after applying foil to the trim. However you do it, the point is to enjoy what you're doing. I also build some racing models, mainly vintage sports cars in 1/24 and 1/43. I like the racing type Mustang; I work Timing & Scoring at Lime Rock with the SCCA for vintage races, and have seen a number of notchback Mustangs. Have fun refinishing this, and I'll be watching.

I remember seeing that TV show. If I recall correctly, it had a clip from Goldfinger in it, too; the DB5 and the Mustang scene.

I like all types of cars, especially from the '30s to the '60s. I'm working on some Heller 1/43 kits; Renault 4CV, Citroen DS19, 11CV, and 2CV (and the 1/16 DS19, but it will be a while before I tackle that one.) I have a few vintage Mercedes and VW kits stockpiled, too. I wish someone would do a '61-'64 SAAB 96 in 1/24. I've built a resin 1/43, but I would love it in a larger scale. Erik, is the MB 540K you're working on the Italeri kit? I want to build another, as I gave mine away as a gift some time ago. I'd like to see a thread posted by you on it, whatever kit it is. There's a lot of classic car fans here, too.

I wish I could find the pictures I took of mine years ago. I may have the negatives in storage. At the time, I lived near a park that had a small concrete stage on a slight slope. The uphill side where I positioned the model was about 3' high. I took pics outside on a beautiful day using a 35mm camera w/ a 28mm wide angle lens. I had parked my car next to the stage, and by happy accident, the MB pics had a little of the Chevy showing, looking like it was parked next to it in some shots. The far end of the stage blended in the the grass in the distance, so it worked well. I had a Bulgarian friend at work who knew his classics cars, convinced it was a real car (I kept telling him it was a model,) and I had to bring the model in to prove it, lol! My model didn't look as nice as Harry's, either. I should have painted the whitewalls, too; improves the look and breaks up that massive black body. I wish Pocher would have done a production body like the 1/24 Italeri 540K.

There's a Bandai 1/16 Duesenburg Weymann boattail kit on Ebay for big $: http://cgi.ebay.com/1933-DUESENBERG-BOATTAIL-SJ-1-16-MODEL-WEYMANN-/270729759601?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f08c04b71 I never built one, but guess it would be along the lines of the '37 Packards as far as detail. Lots of scratchbuilding, and it has wheel disks. I don't know if you have the option of wire wheels. Otherwise, it'll have to be a 1/24 Monogram Duesey.

I'm following this, too. I built this kit for a friend, but I kept it simple, and built it out of the box. I'm enjoying watching your work, especially on the engine detail. It's too bad you won't see the pulleys/belts well when complete. Keep working and posting on it!

Poking Harry...so when are we going to see this Under Glass, or did I miss it?

Whew, nice Lambo! I can only imagine how challenging that was. I built the Revell AG/Monogram '55 Mercedes 300 SLR #722, which has a full space frame. It all fit together quite well, but filing and sanding the parting lines was a chore. I guess sanity and model building can't always be used in the same sentence.

Well, don't forget tire and tube technology at the time. Blow outs and flats were common. We're spoiled with modern synthetic rubber compounds and radial tire technology. When I was a kid, my aunt had a '48 Buick Roadmaster convertible. The storage shed adjacent to the carport "garage" was filled with older patched tubes from it. We'd pump them up, and float on the Esopus Creek in the Catskills on them. Decades later, tubing the Esopus became a big local business. Go figure; one of the few times in my life I was a trend setter, all because of early tire technology!

Two 1934 Packard 12 LeBarons I wish were available as models; such pretty cars.

Thanks for these references. I may have snagged one at a very good price; waiting for the person to get back to me with shipping charges from Canada.

Yeah, those Fujimi Porsches are right up there. I built one back in the late '80s, and had a blast with it. Yup, fiddly, but worth the effort. The thing that bugged me, though, was that they misspelled PORSCHE as PORSHCE on the small glove box door decal, and it was a pain in the tuckus to cut it apart to correct and apply it. The 1/8 scale Pocher classic car kits take the prize, though. If I recall, the Mercedes Benz 500AK has about 2200 parts. Each spoked wheel (6 total) has around 135 parts each. Do a search for Pocher in the Big Boys forum, and you'll see some photos that members have posted. Harry P.'s Mercedes is beautiful.

Welcome to the forum and the hobby! As mentioned above, I'm one of those who use Tamiya sprays. I don't have an airbrush, so use the cans. I build a number of Tamiya kits, mostly for friends. They're well engineered. Tamiya's line of acrylic brush paints are very good, too. When you first open the kit, wash the parts. I use Dawn dishwashing detergent. This removes any mold release compounds, and allows the paint to adhere. Invest in decent tools, and good sandpaper in various grits. My suggestion is to also invest in a polishing kit which has 1800 through 12000 grits. You can polish your paint job with it, but I also use it in body prep work. I sand down all the mold parting line seams, then follow the sandings with polishing. There's a little method to my madness; Tamiya often molds their car bodies in color. If I'm painting it in the same color as the plastic, I skip the primer step. (I know, there are some folks thinking, "The horror! lol!) After I get all the parting seams smooth as a baby's bottom after using the polishing kit, I wash it, let it dry, then paint. I'm working on a Renault Alpine rallye car from Tamiya that is molded in metallic blue. I used Tamiya's paint, and it looks great. As you said, baby steps. Look at the forums On the Workbench projects, and see what other folks do. You'll learn as you go. It's a hobby; enjoy it, but always try to improve a little each build you do. You'll see the difference over time, and you have an online classroom to help you learn right here!

Sweet! Looks like you fell off the bicycle, got back on, and didn't miss a beat. There are so many talented folks here, and you'll get lots of tips and help. I'm still amazed at the tools, paints, kits, etc. that I wish were around 40 years ago. Here's a pic I took last year of some 40 odd year old kits I had built; Pactra brush paint, etc. Many of us are the same model builders we were, just with a lot less hair, and what's left of it is often grey!

Wow, missed this project because of an an illness thing. This is looking great; I love seeing post sedans being modeled as the 1:1s were sold in the majority. My two cents on a yellow is that I've always prefered one with a bit of an orange/red tint to it. I had a 1:1 '69 Camaro in Daytona Yellow, but I always preferred the yellow on Mustangs of the same vintage; nearly a school bus yellow.

This is looking great; I love "old school" customs. Whitewalls rule!

Beautiful work; I built this kit several years ago for a friend, but it was the Avex Group sponsored version. Most of the entire body was decals. I will NEVER build that version again! It came out nicely, but I spent more time on decaling than building the kit.

By the way, thanks for the Hobby Lobby tip. I'm homebound for the most part, but do get out once in a while. I guess I don't get out enough; I had no idea that one had opened a few miles away until I just did a Google search for the nearest store. Sheesh. Jane Seymore could walk by my window, and I'd likely be oblivious.

As long as "fixed" applies to my income, and not to something Vetenarians do to pets, I'm happy. As it's said, if it ain't "broke," don't "fix" it!