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DanR

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Everything posted by DanR

  1. Thanks everyone! I should note that the fogging on the windshield is not as bad as it appears in the pic. It looks like I picked up some weird bit of lighting because the fogging in that pic looks like it goes from under the hood right to the roof! That's not actually the case.
  2. Aaron, I actually did use white glue. I used the super glue on the dashboard because there were no clear attachment points. Ultimately, that's what caused the fogging. Lesson learned and I'll pay better attention next time. The color is Testor's One Coat lacquer Graphite Dust straight from the can with no clear. Thanks for the compliment on the color scheme!
  3. I just finished the Revell Willys pickup earlier this week. This was a nice, quick build, but like so many early Revell kits, it was not without its problems. The front wheels are not lined up under the fender openings, I had to glue the doors shut, and sadly (this was my own fault), I got some super glue fogging on the windshield that I did not notice until everything was glued shut. But all in all, it's a nice shelf model and I do have a second one that I can always build some day. I went for a stripped down look. No headlights, taillights, door handles, etc.
  4. Sadly, for anyone following this post, I completely screwed the pooch on this kit and decided to scrap it. My advice if you're going to build this - invest the extra money in Tamiya's front fork kit. The forks on this were a mess - weak, poorly constructed (which was a surprise for a Tamiya kit), and in the process of having to correct a minor mistake that I made, they snapped off and the front end was an irreparable mess. I see that Tamiya is releasing a full view version of this same kit. I may take another crack at it. I learned enough from my first pass at it to know how to build it right next time. My main piece of advice - wherever possible, attach the hoses and wires in advance. Trying to attach hoses to tight spaces caused a lot of the problems that led to me giving up on this.
  5. (I'm duplicating the same post from the other well known forum). All, Follow this link to pics from today's NNL East. My apologies for some of the bad shots - I used three different cameras and one of them was clearly not up to the task. Just wade through some of the blurry or grainy shots, I can assure you there are many good ones in there. As always, I couldn't get everything - there was just too much. And allow me the indulgence of also sharing with you what I bought today - I think those pics open the slideshow. Pics: http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Danr67/library/NNL%20East%202013 Slideshow: http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Danr67/slideshow/NNL%20East%202013
  6. I built this as a sort of companion to the Honda RC166 using the same colors. It was a nice, quick and fun build that I did in between building the bigger bike. These Aoshima mini-bikes are fun kits. The only issue encountered was with the rear chrome rack. The individual parts did not line up properly and trying to adjust them resulted in broken parts. I had to improvise but I'm still happy with the end result.
  7. Steve - I would definitely recommend the kit. It's been a challenging but fun build and the bike itself really is beautiful. I'm nearing the end, and hope to have it complete probably by next weekend or the weekend after that (since NNL East is April 20th and I just might have to make the drive from CT to NJ again).
  8. I lost a week because I got busy with other things, but today I committed to building both sets of wheels. I could tell just by looking at the kit instructions and the parts that this would be a daunting task. I was right. Three hours later and with a slight headache as a reward, I have ONE wheel done. I'll do the other one next week - I need a break. In the meantime, I can move forward with the rear assembly. The parts for the second wheel are in the background. Yes, each wheel is an eight part assembly. For anyone building this kit, here are some tips: The spokes are attached to a circular rim of plastic. Leave them on there until you're ready to assemble them. While attached, scrape all chrome off where glue will be required (Tamiya shows the attachment points in shaded gray on the instructions). This especially includes the spoke tips. I found out the hard way just how delicate these are when I snapped off two but was lucky enough to be able to reattach them. Even luckier, they're next to each other on the wheel, so I can hide them behind the chain assembly. Be patient. I found that once two spoke halves were assembled and ready for the outer rim, it's best to line them up and press the spoke tips into the designated slots one by one, adding a drop of glue to each. Wait a little and let the glue set up on four or 5 tips before moving on, being sure to occasionally check that they're still seated properly. When all are in place and the glue is dried, take a piece of sandpaper and sand down any tips that are poking up slightly to allow for a uniform mating surface for the other rim. These are the kit parts and the end result - in my opinion - is a very nice looking wheel when it's complete. The key is to take your time. Block off an entire day for this if you have to!
  9. Nice work. Check out this book that just came out - you might find it interesting: http://www.amazon.com/Movie-Monsters-Scale-Modelers-Dioramas/dp/078646884X/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_1_4H53
  10. Engine's wired and mounted. This was harder to do than you might think...
  11. The preceding post was done entirely with a Samsung tablet. From the pic to the posting to Photobucket to linking the image to this page. I am loving it that I rarely need to turn on a laptop anymore!
  12. Not a lot of progress today. Had some painting issues that may be because of 10 year old cans of Tamiya spray.
  13. Pete, I'm doing a box stock build. The extras are a bit too pricey for a person building at my level.
  14. Don, Tamiya recommended a 1:1 mix of copper and red brown but it was too dark when compared to actual photos. I lightened it considerably with Titanium Gold until it was a more acceptable shade. I'm not thrilled with Tamiya's suggested colors, some are miles away from what's in the photos.
  15. For a change of pace, I started working a Tamiya motorcycle kit. I hope I haven't bit off more than I can chew!
  16. Anyone have any tips for building these? The multi-piece body looks like it needs to be built around the interior, but this will create problems with filling seams and overall painting. Can the body be assembled first?
  17. I do plan to build it and I won't let the disappointment take that enjoyment away from me, but the whole thing will make me skeptical of buying anymore of these "special" kits from AMT. At least the '57 Chevy comes with some photo-etched parts, but is even that enough to justify all of the extra cost? Worst part is that when I do finally build it, I'll probably toss the tin anyway. What do you do with something like that once you don't need it to store the kit?
  18. I was excited to find this kit online at a "closeout" price of $30. I figured that was only $5 more than a regularly priced kit these days, and so I bought it. I'm sad to say that I don't think it was worth even that extra $5. I know it's an old tool that's been around for some time now, but at that price, maybe they could have worked harder to clean up the flash around the window edges. A small sheet of foil is included and so I assumed that the real value here was going to be the tin itself and the 18 page booklet. I guess I didn't read close enough, but I thought the booklet was going to contain pics of the real car, including possibly some decent reference photos. Instead, what we get is a CD insert-sized illustrated booklet that seems to do nothing but promote AMT and it's chosen graphic artist. What a rip-off. Had I paid full price for this, I think I would be furious. As it stands, I'm just mildly annoyed. Still, I think the car itself is beautiful and it should look nice alongside my '49 Merc, '48 Ford, and the upcoming Revell Olds.
  19. I generally check out new hobby websites just to see what's being offered. I found an ad for this site in Model Cars magazine but when I go there, I get a dead page that has an offer at top to purchase the domain name. Odd since the ad is in the current issue. Anyone know if this place just suddenly went kaput?
  20. I've been considering the scratchbuild option. After 20 years, I'm still trying to perfect my paint.
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