Scale-Master

How partial to lineage are you? I have a beautiful 1/32 Tamiya Zero radial engine. Talk about a "tuner"...

Caveat Emptor... Or P.T. Barnum's famous quote...

Thanks guys. The purple is supposed to be all decal, but it needed to be touched up in several places due to the cracking issues. I mixed the color from Testors Panther Pink and Dark Sea Blue with a little Dupont Violet. Overall it was not a difficult or complicated kit to build or decal, I'd say time consuming is a better description, (plus a lot of decal solvent). The base white is Mazda touch-up paint I thinned with about 80% lacquer thinner. The rest is decals.

Both at the same time is pretty cool...

You can't wake up sombody that is brain dead.

I decided it needed some kind of hood scoop this morning. So this is what it got…

Super clean work. I think it sits just right for the wheels and tires you used.

Yes Wayne, that is the one I was referring to. The rules were changed (re/defined maybe?) a bit after the initial invitation, and as I recall, all entries were supposed to be purpose built for it. Nothing already built even if it had not been shown was to be allowed. Quite an undertaking for a contest when many entries of the caliber expected take a few to several years to complete.

Yes, I believe Mark Gustavson was organizing what you are referring to. When the rule that all entries must be 1/24-1/25 scale only was announced after the invitations were sent out, I backed out.

I know the TailDragger is a very popular casting for collectors, but it never did a whole lot for me, that being said this custom of one is by far the best I have seen. I like it, I like the graphics the most, but the engine addition is cool too.

Resin kit by Starter.

I sourced the driver’s seat from the parts box, I came from some Tamiya car. The door panels have been sanded off and I am making replacements. New floor panels were made from corrugated aluminum. The chassis is mostly done, even though it will just be a curbside I figured I’d put a little detail into it and weather it. The brakes are also from the parts box. This is a better shot of the stance it will have.

Got a start on the roll bar. It was kit bashed (narrowed) from a Revell Charger and other scrap roll bar pieces.

Just simply gorgeous.

I really like that roof graphic! Beam me up...

The tire is too small. "Fixing" the body by reworking it into an inaccurate shape would be energy spent addressing the wrong issue. I'm wondering if the tire can be stretched over a larger rim to fix the diameter issue. It won't address the width, but it might help...

I can't think of a way to lower the rear without making it look worse. If I lowered it, the car wouldn't sit level, and the front can't be lowered any more to compensate. Plus it might affect the wing location/alignment depending on what was modified. Right now there are a few elements that split the difference so nothing really jumps out to the casual observer. The best way to fix it would be to replace the rear tires. I just don't know with what...

The tires are too small. Makes for too much "air" in the wheel wells.

I guess it can be built using all the parts after all. I did have to button it up so it is a curbside, and it is under pressure. I learned a lot about the kit and will likely build another as a curbside. Too bad the rear wheels are so anemic though.

I toyed with different sized tires, but opted for just different offsets for the rims. It will be a curbside so I guess it might even have a 302 in it...

Thanks guys! Loosely mocked up stance…

That is a good point, but there is more to it than just delivery. There is the inabilty by those who post (in some cases) to accept anything other than praise, deserved or not. The OP must be able to accept other peoples opinions (and reality). Add to that a handful of people who like to pile on and make it sound like the OP was disrespected (as well as adding nothing constructive) and you have a trainwreck waiting to happen.

I have always liked the style of the 3rd generation RX7 5 spoke rims. They seemed like the right choice to widen and deepen for this Miata. I milled down the boss around the mounting post to allow them to be set inward… … and I shaved off the lip so the aluminum outer sleeves I machined would fit flush. Here they are dry fitted and mocked up. The fronts and rears have different offsets, but I made the centers all the same to keep it simple, (and uniform). I textured them before applying the satin light gray and made decals for the center caps. And with valve stems… Here is a front (no tire) and a rear (with a tire).

I used talc to texture the injector manifold. I used acrylic this time, but it works with solvent based paints too. The wing and the injector stacks are installed. Instructions call out for the stacks to be installed in step 1, but this way worked much better for me. The wing supports are victims of some of the other alignment issues. I didn’t cement them firmly to frame earlier so I could make adjustments to them and align the wing to the body better.

Killer.