cartpix

That's a camouflage paint job. It's hard to pick out details when done up like that. I see test cars, around here, with the same kind of camouflage, mostly BMWs. Now & then, there's a couple Mercedes with what looks like ballistic vest panels covering various parts of the car. Jeff

I had problems with that kit too. I shot the hood & rear wing, semi gloss black. The paint kept having issues. I painted them about 3 or 4 times. They're still not perfect but I finished it & went on to another. I have way too many problem models, back in their boxes. Now, unless it's a paint problem (into the purple pond), I try to just soldier on, learn from my mistakes, go on to the next one & hope it goes better. Jeff

Great idea, Darin. Instead of coming up with reasons it can't be produced, you came up with the best way TO produce it. Like Revell did with the 66 El Camino / station wagon / 65 Chevelle, using like parts for all the kits & changing bodies & interiors for each. As for finding one to measure, as said before, the Simone Museum has one & Miller Motorsport Museum has another & the Wilmont coupe, as well. I don't see it as being a niche market, anything Cobra sells very well. Look at how many releases AMT has done with the 289 roadster & Monogram 427, as inaccurate as the rivet counters say they are. I can't see paying the better part of $200 for an HRM resin kit to sit in my display case & another $165 for an FIA roadster. They are nice kits, from what I have seen, but a bit spendy for me. Jeff

When I was about 12. I bought a dimmer switch & wired it up to my Dremel. This was before there were variable speed models. After that, in no particular order, good fine tip brushes, air brush, bare metal foil, & Xacto knives & razor saw. Jeff

I shop everywhere. There's a Michael's very close & I get the 40% coupons. But I've pretty much shopped them out, model wise. There's 2 LHS, Hobby People (chain) is fairly close but caters to RC. One of the employees is a car modeler & we have talked quite a bit. The rest of the employees are friendly & helpful. They have 1 isle of models but only one side. They keep up with the latest releases. But they are very lacking in paint. They have a model master rack that is pretty empty & NO Plastistuct. The 2nd shop is another chain (can't remember the name) about a 1/2 hour away & I have only been once. They have a good section of kits (a lot of new releases), paint, & Plastistruct. There's a train store about 45 minutes away & it's the only place I can get Tenax & Ambroid. They also have a great selection of Testors Metalizers, colors I never knew existed. I don't do too much Internet shopping & use Ebay for vintage kits. I wish I had a Mom & Pop locally. The last one was great. I got to know the owner & his wife. They were really great people. He did armor but didn't discriminate. They knew me by name & we'd talk models every time I went. That was over 20 years ago (before Internet for most) but he just didn't make it. I felt bad for him because he was such a nice guy. I really miss that place. Jeff

64 Chevelle 68 Barracuda Super Stock VW Type 3 Notchback

My last High School reunion, I couldn't help but notice all the "old people" there. Jeff

About 5 years ago, when I was talking to a pretty 20 something woman, at one of the sites I work. She said that I probably like the same music as her dad because we're about the same age. Jeff

Great build. Nice stance, awesome paint, & cool wheels. As for the motor, not my cup of tea but if you like it, that's all that counts. Jeff

You got 85% (41 right out of 48) Still well above average. Jeff

When I first got into motorsport photography, my "beat" was CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams), which became ChampCar, which became extinct. Since I shot CART, I used cartpix as a username on the motorsport forums. My avatar is me, at Laguna Seca (turn 4 in the background), at an ALMS race a few years ago. There is another fence to my right. They don't let me, nor would I want to be on teh track side of the fence. The photo holes are dangerous enough for me.

I've got over 300 started or unbuilt

The Mayan calendar was made of a giant rock. It's not something you'd want to go out & buy every year, so they made it to go on for years. It just ends on the 22nd. My 2011 calendar ran out on the 31st of December & the world didn't end. I just bought a 2012 calendar. I guess, maybe it's time to go buy a new Mayan calendar. Jeff

They keep the rubber, from the burn outs, off the bottom of the 1/4 panels. The Revell 69 Nova has decals, of the rubber build up. Jeff

If you look at pictures of CSX 2128 & 2129, you will notice the front fender openings are stock & the rears are flaired. Many of the early racing Cobras were like this. Even the early "works" cars had stock front wheel openings with bolted on flairs on the trailing edge of the front wheel openings. Just a thought. Jeff

I'm quite the opposite, When I'm trying to go to sleep, I think about what I'm building / want to build & it relaxes me. What keeps me up, is thinking about work! When that happens, I think about plastic cars. Jeff

I'm a major long roof junkie, so I'm loving this one. I like your idea of a tow car for another wagon. I may do that with a 65 wagon & a 65 2 door wagon resin body I have. Jeff

I have the showboat kit, in my stash. I can't decide whether to build it as the 4 engine Mustang or Ivo's 4 engine Riviera station wagon. Having seen John Teresi's builds of both, I'm thinking of maybe taking up knitting. Being a "long roof" fan, I will probably build it as the Riviera. Maybe I'll start it, as soon as I finish this sweater. Jeff

Another beautiful build. Keep them coming. I enjoy seeing the WIPs & the finihed product. Jeff

Very shiney!!! Jeff

Wow! Fantastic build. Love the detail. Jeff

My Mini is built in England, by a manufacturer owned by the Germans (BMW), with a French engine (Pugeot), & a Japenese transmission. I bought it new. It has ABS, traction control, airbags, & a ton of other safety equipment not offered on older made in the USA cars. I wouldn't know where to start, to work on it, nor would I want to. I left all my car tinkering in my youth, when it was fun. I love my Mini. It's my first new car & it's a ton of fun. My model cars are assembled in the USA, with foreign parts, by an unpaid Euro-mutt American. My whole life seems to be a melting pot. Jeff

It's a 1:1 build up of one of David Chang's, Kustom City, Hot Wheels Drag Bus. http://ktekdiecast.com/EVO_GT/AP6/AP6-2009-192magenta-1024.jpg Jeff

I love the German granade exhaust pipes. Jeff

I must have been 7 or 8 when I built the old Craftsman kits. My first glue kit was at about 9, in the mid 60's. It was an AMT Cobra (a miserable glue bomb). Built up until about 16, most blown up with fire crackers. After that I built a model every year or so. In the mid 80's, I cought the bug again. Joined IPMS, bought tons of kits, tools, air brush, etc. & built until the early 90's, when I moved around, got maried, & had kids. I tried to start up again, a couple times, & finally finished a build in 2008. I've been building again, ever since. Jeff