oldcarfan

I had the same thing happen a while back. I bought two early 90s Tamiya Toyota Celicas from a seller that were supposed to be perfect still in the shrink wrap. When they arrived they'd been open and the boxes had crushed the roofs down. It was obvious the seller already knew, but I let it pass. I can probably fix them, and maybe I will someday, but for now, they sit on the shelf.

I've added some behind the scenes balsa bracing to the walls as the foam board has started warping a little. Nothing major, I'm guessing it's because of the temperature swings we've had. Last week it was in the low 90s with rain and this week it's been humid and mid-70s. Next week we're looking at close to 100. The wood bracing should stabilize it. I wanted to show something I tried that I think I'm going to like. I was trolling Hobby Lobby looking for ideas and came across the rare earth magnets. The ones I got are thin disks, about 3/8 inch in diameter. The idea is that things on the walls can be removed. The first picture isn't real clear, but I cut a slot in the back of the diorama leaving only the brick facing in place and spaced the magnets about an inch apart. If I want to put on the wall I just glue a thin piece of steel on the back and the magnet holds it firmly in place. For details, I built two roll up doors and various toolboxes so I can switch things up. The big wall size box is a model of my dream toolbox. the two smaller toolboxes came out of a parts box Monogram NASCAR kit and the green box is scratch built. I've started playing with Word and decal paper to make signs and the AREA 51 is one of my failures. I salvaged it by weathering it. lol The Red Ball Garage one was cut out on my wife's Cricut. It came out okay, but the machine doesn't do lettering smaller than about a 1/4 inch very well. Anyway that's where I stand on this backdrop. I just bought a string of battery powered 'fairy lights' and am thinking of ways to use them for lighting. If I had it to do over again I'd use a thin steel sign for the wall between the brick paper and the foam board. It would be a little heavier, but the magnets could then be on the doors and accessories which would probably work better.

That looks amazing!

I hope the ribs heal quickly. I just recovered from that last month. Not much fun involved! Have they started tacking on a tariff fee yet on stuff from Japan? I've been working up a HLJ shopping list and am dreading the possibility of a big extra fee.

I can't find my in-progress pics, but here are a few of it in use. I built a dumpster, a couple of roll up doors, some tool boxes, a workbench, and some signs to go with it. My best idea so far was to embed those rare earth magnets in the walls every couple of inches and put little pieces of steel on the back of the toolboxes and the roll up doors. That way they stick to the walls and I can change up the looks pretty easy.

This was parked next to me when I came out of a store today in Austin, Tx. Looks to be a restomod. The paint is a really dark blue with gray stripes. The seats were aftermarket with OG style upholstery. Cool shifter, too. It had 10 inch wide tires, and big Wilwood brakes. Didn't hear it running, but the guy left the windows down so he must have felt secure. Also, I was shocked how small this car looked next to what are considered mid-sized modern SUVs.

Some guy got a cool project. This pulled in at the Sonic up the road from me. No obvious dents or rust which is a good thing about living in central Texas.

Last year I ordered some parts from Texas 3D and set them to the side, then forgot about them. A couple months later I ordered basically the same things from IceMan. While looking at the new order, I glanced up at the shelf above me and guess what?

I no longer have the kit, but I once did a Monogram Mustang in black and used Model Master metallic Pontiac Maroon, I forget the real name, to do the interior. After spraying, I dull coated the whole thing and the metallic part gave it a vinyl look.

No Walmart in our area carries kits, and from the posted pictures I see, everything that they do put out is something I already have. It sucks too, because the closest hobby shops are either Austin, Tx an hour and a half away, or Dallas, 3 hours away. I did catch up to the Walmart local Dept. Manager again a few weeks ago and she still says she won't allow model kits on her floor. Not sure what that's about.

We'll be in SLC for a few days in a couple months. I like to visit local shops when I can and did a web search. There's lots of RC shops listed, but not much that looks aimed at plastic modelers. If anyone has recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

I love your set up! Can I ask where you got those storage bins with the pull out drawers? I've been looking for some for a while.

I worry about these companies and how they will weather this more than I worry about myself, I have plenty of stuff to build. Most manufacturers are dependent on China.

Not mine, but the same. My first car was a 1974 Toyota Corolla in yellow with a half vinyl top for some reason. That little car had the 1200cc engine with a four speed and no power anything. The car was was surprisingly rust free and I drove it for a year though that little engine couldn't deal with highway speeds. Sadly, it blew it's head gasket one day at the beach after some spirited racing in the sand. That car taught me the joy of driving a slow car fast. It handled like a go cart.

I have two favorites, one for Pony cars, the Minilites, and the other is BBS, especially the ones with the aero covers.

I've recently been buying from HLJ and from Hobby Search for Japanese tuners. I search under Initial D, The Circuit Wolf, Car Manga, or Anime. There's a lot of 2000s era period tuner cars available and usually for good prices. They have some pretty cool body kits and wheels and tires.

Ollie's is making it's way into Texas. I was driving by the recently closed Big Lots in town and there's a big banner on the front saying, "Ollie's Is Coming".

Strip it down and see. That's my advice. You won't know what's underneath until you strip it off. Put it in a tub of Purple Cleaner for a week and see what's there.

Didn't have time for a picture, but I saw an MRAP on a flat bed semi passing through town today. Looked like it had been rolled and possibly burned in the front. The machine mount was still there but it was beat down and all the doors and windows had been removed.

No expiration date that I could find and the seal was intact with no holes in the tube. Guess I just got a bad tube. I am thinking of trying to dilute it with maybe some water or something, but I have my doubts.

I use Bondo spot putty, I just noticed this stuff on the shelf and thought I'd give it a try. Probably got a bad tube. I tried emailing the address on the package and it bounced back.

I just bought this putty at a hobby shop last weekend. I just opened it and that's where the question comes in. First, the putty is extremely thick and hard to get out of the tube. Second, it doesn't stick to plastic at all. I tried emailing the address on the package, but it comes back not in service. That may be because Hant's is going out of business. It says it is water soluble, but I tried to dilute it and it made no difference. My thought is I got a bad tube. Has anyone tried this and had good results?

Love it!

Fia conducting her daily inspections before getting her required petting.

I came across this in a Reel from a diorama maker. I would like to know the name of it, and if anyone has used one and if they work on styrene strip. If so, I'd like to get one.