Nitromethane

Fresh out of the box, Maisto's 1:24 Audi A4 sedan is quite plain, so much so, that it hardly looked like a four door sedan without the panel lines of the back doors darkened. This was done to the model and it makes a huge difference. Other panel lines were darkened as well. Full carpeting, performance metal exhaust extensions, blackwashing the wheels and painting the interior clear plastic rear view mirror connected to the front windshield window glass went a long way in dressing up the sedan. Due to the wide tires, narrow wheel wells and the solid, straight metal axles, lowering it some for a more sporty look wasn't practical. Thanks for looking..

I've started working on the Round2 MPC '76 Chevy Caprice and have a few things that I need some help on since there is no painting guide provided in the instructions and I'm basically ignorant of certain details. I would like to do the Auto World car carrier model as shown on the box art to get some decal practice. * is a stock Chevy engine of this era supposed to be red with a silver colored transmission? * what size spark plug wires (is telephone wire too big?) and what is the firing order? * are the exhaust manifolds and crossover pipe painted steel like the rest of the exhaust system or more blackish? * where would I find pictures of a painting scheme for the interior as a good guide? * regarding the taillights for the bonus trailer, are the two outside lights red and the two inner ones amber? * what are suitable colors for a trailer from this era? Thank you very much for all your help...

Finding this 1/24 scale Maisto on a closeout shelf at a very, very, absurd price, I didn't think it had much going for it except for the $1.74, NOT $10.74, paid for it! I liked the fact that the model was a 1999 SVT Cobra Mustang, but the non-descript, solid black interior and "tray" engine compartment didn't seem to offer much in the way of special detailing work that could be done to bring out some "character" to the model. What was required for this "characterization process" was to blacken the side window trim, detail the side scoops, and silver the exhaust pipe tips. In addition, black ink was rubbed on the centers of the wheels to add some depth. I attempted to lower the front end some, too. Photgraphically speaking, Maisto seems to have done a repectable job with this budget model. Just wish they would have included some actual taillight lenses instead of merely painting them on. Overall though, quite a good-looking model and a super-major steal for the price. Thanks for looking....

Picked up these two Maisto "1/64 scale" Highway Haulers from Walgreens for a buck and a half each. It was fun adding some detail to each of them. The Hot Rod Hauler trailer had the side vents silvered and the treads on the back ramp blackened. The tractor cab had its headlights silvered as well as its running lights. The grille was blackwashed and black was used to outline the headlights, blacken the lower front grille, the six side vents and both exhaust pipe ends. The Monster Drift R/C trailer had the side front and rear reflectors painted red, the hardware on the rear doors silvered and the rear safety guard silvered. The mud flaps were painted flat black as well as the rack underneath. The trailer support legs were silvered. The tractor cab had its grille blackwashed and its front scoops and openings blackened. Also the exhaust pipe ends and the two air horn ends. Air horns and running lights on top were silvered along with the headlights. Thanks for looking....

Classic Metal Works 1/24 scale 1963 Chevrolet Impala SS 409 is a diecast kit of some sixty parts with the moulds being by Welly. The detail is pretty good considering this is a bargain kit; for example, the rear panel has the round machined designs on it just like the actual 1:1 car. Also, the 409 engine is replicated reasonably well with chromed exhaust manifolds and a chrome air cleaner. To make the model more visually appealing, thin felt was used on the floor to mimic carpet The door panels' interior trim was highlighted in silver. The seats were painted flat red in contrast to the rest of the interior. The grille was blackwashed and the exhaust pipe tips were silvered. Since the ride height seemed too high, both the car's front and rear were lowered. Thanks for looking....

This Testors 1/24 scale diecast kit of a 2006 Dodge Charger HEMI Police Cruiser was found on a Hobby Lobby's clearance shelf a while back for about ten bucks. The kit is sufficiently detailed and includes one hundred parts, much like a traditional plastic model kit, but with a nicely finished painted diecast body. The front wheels are poseable, the rear doors don't open nor does the trunk, but all window glass is included, as well as the front/rear seat divider glass. The seats are molded in a very pliable, realistic material. Even the headliner and its accessories are included. Everything in the HEMI engine compartment seems to be correct. I left the engine shroud unglued so that the engine could be better examined if need be. Thanks for looking...

Thank you, sir. The way the wheels were done was quite simple. I used a couple of different ultra fine-point Sharpie permanent markers, a light brown and a light beige, to get the woodgrain look. Do the light color first, then use the darker color sparingly, depending on what shade of wood you prefer. The center hubs were done with a black marker. So were the valve stems and the outer edges of the wheels.

It wasn't until I actually removed the bought-on-line 1:18 scale MotorMax '32 Ford chopped top 5-Window Coupe from its box that my initial impressions were solidified somewhat. Before this, I had only seen the generic picture of it on the internet. And my impressions were not all that favorable. What struck a nerve mostly was the ride height and stance being too high, and secondly, a forward-leaning radiator grille which caused the car to appear contorted. Both of these made the model look sufficiently "off", so much so, that after having the model in my hands and seeing some of the more toy-like and sort of 'cheesy' aspects of it, I was very close to returning it. However, I felt that with some modifications the car could possibly be redeemed. The first step was to lower the front end as much as possible. Ideally, lowering the entire car would have looked better. Yet the rear end is supported by, surprisingly, actual working springs which, when depressed, lowers it. So I left the rear end as is. Next, the radiator grille was realigned so that it was roughly parallel with the firewall, eliminating that distorted look. This short sentence of what was done belies the fact that it took many trials and errors to get the final finished result. The model was completely disassembled so that the exhaust pipe tips could be silvered and the rear differential hub treated likewise. MotorMax should have chromed all these parts for an authentic hot rod touch. Inside, the foot pedals and door handles were silvered and the holes in the steering wheel spokes blackened. Kudos to MotorMax for the gear shift knob in the form of a piston, which looks the part. The chrome rubber gasket on the floorboard was blackened to add realism. The four slots in each chrome wheel were blackened; the radiator grille was blackwashed and the radiator cap silvered. Other engine parts were detailed and colored. Thanks, MotorMax for doing a good job with the chromed firewall, chromed engine parts and the chrome wheels. The chrome metal support rods running from the firewall to the radiator grille is a cool touch, too. MotorMax could have and should have included big rear slicks and lettered tires on this hot rod. They did make the rear tires bigger than the fronts to their credit. Two other faults are the vent opening on the engine cowling being merely a painted-on silver rectangle and the inexcusable sealing of the trunk lid eliminating the inclusion of a rumble seat or any trunk detail. In conclusion, I had my doubts about this one, but after doing work on it, I feel much better. It's no GMP by any stretch, no matter how hard you pull. But it does have some redeeming qualities after all the work that was done. Thanks for looking....

Bought this 1:32 scale plastic model kit by Lindberg (#72147) of a 1915 Ford Model T Coupelet at Tuesday Morning for five bucks. The parts were molded in clear, brass and white. I spray painted most of the parts with a WalMart Gloss Black finish. This was one kit that proved to be very tedious and time-consuming, taxing my patience and intuition. The instruction sheet is printed on one small piece of paper in tiny text and has but two illustrations, one of the undercarriage, and the second, with an exploded "view" of the entire model with various arrows supposedly indicating where specific parts are to be located on the car. This system leaves much room for judgement calls, especially when there isn't a whole lot of reference material available from either the box art or from the source book used. I studied a book entitled "The Legendary Model T Ford-The Ultimate History of America's First Great Automobile" by Tom Collins for inspiration and a possible guide. So if parts are not in their proper positions on the car, it's because I wasn't able to find out where they should have been from my sources, and followed my intuition. The model was built so that the two variations, top up and top down versions, could be displayed. Also, the hood can be removed as well, so that the little four-banger can be seen. Due to its size and construction, the model is quite fragile and delicate. It features actual rubber tires and some nice looking brass-finished accessories. On my kit, the tires were a tad too large for the wheels and out-of-round also. This necessitated filling the vacant area with white glue and painting the outer edge of the wheel black to hide the imperfections. Colored markers were used to detail the steering wheel and the spoke wheels. Thanks for looking....

I am currently building a Lindberg 1:32 scale 1915 Ford Model T Couplet kit #72147. The rubber tires supplied are out-of-round somewhat and just a tad too large to fit on the wheels tightly enough to hold them in place. The instructions say to stretch them over the wheels. This is entirely unnecessary as the tires fit too loose to begin with. I don't want to try and glue them as there are gaps between the tire and the wheels due to the tires being out-of-round, and this would look sloppy and be messy with the glue possibly ruining the spoke wheels. Any suggestions on how to reduce the diameter of the tires a little to get them to fit the wheels tightly and securely? Would placing the wheels with the tires "attached" in real hot water cause the tires to conform to the wheels properly? Thanks for any and all tips.

Found this 1/32 scale Lindberg kit (#72147) of a 1915 Ford Model T Coupelet for five dollars at a Tuesday Morning store. While I don't specifically collect 1/32 scale models, the box art on the package and the subject matter appealed to me, so I bought it with some reservations. Now, I'm wondering if this was a good idea. The thought of a bad kit with very few parts, unrealistic modeling and crummy instructions would make me want to return it immediately. Has anyone built this kit and what would be your impressions be of it? Thanks for your advice.