mrm

What drives me nuts is that manufacturers are actually rereleasing over and over the same old BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH in different versions, instead of actually offering something new and interesting to attract fresh blood to the hobby.

The sad truth is that content and ownership have very little to do with magazine's demise, no matter their subject. Internet and today's technology simply made magazines obsolete and literally useless waste of space and money. We are living the last days of the last generation that grew up without cell phones that take better pictures than pro cameras from 10 years ago, not to mention videos. The last generation that grew up without 400 channels digital cable and the last generation that grew up without internet and social media. I have an amazing old edition of Encyclopedia Britannica. All the toms in mint condition. It is utterly useless and it does nothing but waste space. Fact! I can find everything I would ever want to know about every single Riddler winner and pictures of it that I can get printed in poster size and delivered to my door in less than a week, with just a few clicks. Nowadays I can not only read and see pictures of every car, dog, boat, bike show, but a numerous live videos too. And I can do it at my finger tips at any time I chose any place I am. And I'm sorry to bring it up, but if the hobby doesn't wake up and get with the program too, it's headed in the same direction. Because at one point, when that same last generation that is slowly but surely disappearing is gone, the industry would be left with piles of useless plastic that nobody buys, because no kid our days gives a hoot about '60s Novas and '70s Demons. They care about what they see on the net and what is hip and makes people turn their heads. And 95% of the current kit selection ain't it. Japanese companies notwithstanding.

Since I have already mentioned the motor, may as well share a photo of what I just finished messing with. Detailing an American V8 can be challenging, but his motore Italiano stepped it up for me. This is what is going to power my "Storm Trooper Mustang". There is quite a bit more to be done and this is just a quick mockup, but you get the idea.

I don't want another 30 day ban...

Anytime Tim. I got a great deal on mine and very surprised by the whole deal. I spent countless hours of research and watched endless hours of comparison videos and reviews before I pulled the trigger. I went with Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra. Beside the printer you will need some kind of slicer software. All printers come with these thumbnails to download some.... I didn't want to deal with any of it. Based on everything I've watched and read I went with the Saturn 3 Ultra because it eliminated all the headaches. Three reasons for my choice. Everyone raves about the customer service of the Elegoo team. Compatibility with other manufacturer resins and available presets in 3rd party software and most importantly WiFi connectivity. The last one is 70% of the reason for my choice. The ease and convenience it adds to the overall experience is well worth the few extra bucks. I downloaded the Chitubox Basic slicer program for free and it has in it all the settings for my printer and all the available resins. The free Chitubox program has an older 2.0 version and a newer 2.1 version. After struggling with the 2.1 I read lots of reviews and watched few videos and found out everyone is having issues with the 2.1. So I run the 2.0 with no issues whatsoever. I bought the printer on eBay direct from the manufacturer. They have an eBay store where you can buy all their other products and I caught some kind of special. Just the ability to work on the object you want to print from your couch while watching TV and start printing with a simple click of a button is worth the extra for the "Ultra" model. Setting it up was a breeze and I am no computer wiz. I am sure your daughter will have a blast with it. Cults3d have millions of designs for anything you can think of and many are free.

I love seeing this progressing. Great job so far. Your engine is definitely the main attraction so far. I can not even begin to describe how many times I have started an attempt at a '32 Phaeton, which is my favorite Deuce body style after the Tudor. Still have not finished one to this day.

Wow. Great job on bringing this mediocre kit to standard. Pretty cool hot rod you got there, all in tune with today's trends. The colors, the wheels, the stance, the motor... Really cool!

I think we are both in Tennessee. If there is anything I can help with, I would gladly do so. I know how much the hobby means to me (it helps me deal with life in general) and would hate to see someone having to give it up. So if you need bodies prepped or engine assemblies sanded /cleaned up, stuff like that, let me know. I don't mind painting stuff too. my airbrushes don't get used nearly as much as I would like.

Thanks. I hear you on that too. I wonder how some people made it to adulthood just watching them drive on my way to work. The feeling intensifies on any roundabout. OMG. I wanted a daughter so bad. My wife would still trade a kidney for one. But I ended up with two boys. Now that they are teenagers, one is an adult, I am actually rethinking my wants. LOL. I think that if I had a daughter I would probably either in prison or a mental institution by now. LOL. I have a buddy that has three daughters. I don't understand how he does it. My dad still lives in Europe, but we keep in touch. It melts his heart every time I tell him my kids make me mad or mess up. He calls them "the Avengers". He laughs at me at tells me: "Good! It's payback time! Now everything you've done to me is coming to you, so you know how it feels." Speaking of which, that's another thing that irks me. LOL. Not because he says it, but because the darn old man is right.

I was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. Went to school in Switzerland, finished in US. Currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee area after 15 years in Aspen, Colorado.

And speaking about being irked and the new generation... My kid wanted a car for his 17th birthday last year and he announced it the minute he got his license at 16. So me, fully realizing that we are the ones creating the ways the new generation aggravates us with, decided to teach him a lesson. I told him that for his birthday (in May) I will match whatever money he manages to save towards a car purchase. The reason being his complete inability to have any money without finding the silliest of ways to spend it. So, May 2023 He came to me with $2500 asking me to look for a $5000 first car. He end up with a rather nice ex Nashville Metro Police 2014 Chevy Impala, with most of its markings still on it. Plastic "arrest-me-seat" in the back, rubber floors and nice push bars on the front bumper. After spending June, July and half of August in Europe with his mom and brother, he decides to take it to school with exactly three hours experience behind its wheel. Yes, you guessed it, I received a phonecall very shortly after he left, telling me "OMG, dad, I'm sorry, I don't know what to do, I messed up." Bankrolled by the mercy of his mother, I went with him to the junk yard and we returned home with the much needed new front hood, right fender and front passenger door. I even managed to get him a much nicer leather steering wheel with the radio controls on it - a stark contrast from the police issue rubber plain doughnut with airbag originally in his car. I told him I will help him put it all together, but that I will not just do it for him or take the initiative. I guess it took more than a month for him to finally get motivated to ask me to do it together, while not having a car. His mom even bought him brand new headlights. While we were removing the thorn panels, I noticed that the front bushings on the lower control arms were in pretty bad shape. Fast forward to this summer and the proud moment when he got accepted in all the colleges he applied for and got to chose. That was a lot of serious talks and quite few lectures about money managing, planning etc.. And then his car got brought up, with the old panels that I asked him to get rid of still sitting in my garage and his front end now clunking over any dips to bumps in the road. I told him he's 18 and he's on his own when it comes to his personal stuff, like his car. Still helped him and showed him how to go and price shop the parts he needs and how to navigate the stealerships service departments. It was determined that it would be better to change both control arms, shocks, sway bar links and tie rod ends. Dealership, where one of his buddies dad works quoted him at $900 labor plus parts, plus alignment. And that was the employee price that his friend's dad was giving us. Like the sighs, the rolling eyes and the overall crappy attitude of an 18year old know-it-all, while you are trying to actually do something for them is not testing enough, now I had to witness a dealership trying to rape his wallet. So I made another deal with him that I knew I was going to regret. We'll find the parts, he'll pay for them and I'll help him change the whole front end on our driveway. We got lucky and due to the staggering ineptitude of a female teenage autoparts store manager got a price quote on the parts that was just stupid low. $500 after tax for everything needed and we were home. Three weeks go by with my kiddo unable to find one Saturday or Sunday free in his priceless time to dedicate to fixing his front end. Yet another lecture and resisting multiple urges to kick his teeth in and this past Friday, he announces: "We are going to do my car all day tomorrow, right?" Thanks for the heads up buddy and for your concern if the rest of your fam planned anything for the 4th of July weekend.... Here is the place to express endless gratitude to my wife for saving me yet again from going to prison for murdering my own offspring. LOL So I spent this last Saturday on my driveway replacing my kid's front end, which by itself was not fun, to say the least. Having him "helping me" took that to a whole new level and the 100 degree weather did not help. To top it all off, for the last two days he's been bragging about "the sense of accomplishment repairing his own car" this past weekend gave him "even tho he was loosing his mind over figuring it out". So I have a question. Am I really a bad dad for feeling like I can't wait for him to move out in August and face the real world and kind of anticipating the moment he gets his teeth kicked in?

I hear you and share your pain. But let's take a step back and ask ourselves the question: "Who raised that generation to be this way?" Because "their momma" are our wives or daughters.

There are spherical very nice vices on Amazon that are designed exactly for what you need. Quite expensive tho. https://www.amazon.com/iDili-Omnidirectional-Spherical-Rotation-Universal/dp/B0C5RFMB5W/ref=sr_1_8?crid=Q6IKZZZL3TX9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.2YFY60ZyMO9mYKchzFIbq0KhXG5y2MPsCkspVAV9DzK8tKs3TWkhJsEdIPg3O3SwI7Uv3dioTRnIfR0HEsiCs7SoCCzDG_PGYl3vIznlk3J6pD1A4wbuw8R9DM03IU9oHZ8xNd8pgYEUBCZXPuLoFHEA0swcbL3xLnqpmmgv0f1gqNDeEU2ZzxhUpMHlLaHT8kc8tFiXCyFr3LY4pPhWEqfkM0Kk3l9cGBIYIdWsqErcgPvOn_SVZ0MgH3ttJis8-JFO-aL5sJGl38Lx6cQYViB2R58ABN0jJYys5NyB9bU.ptzdNxhEM2DX3mvx_MsfbES5bWusWs7hC-RVdmCd6PQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=hobby+spherical+vise&qid=1720540384&sprefix=hobby+spherical+vise%2Caps%2C191&sr=8-8 But there are many other options for not much money that may work. You should definitely take a look. https://www.amazon.com/Bench-Jewelry-Carving-Multifunctional-Walnut/dp/B0C53B7ST3/ref=sr_1_14_sspa?crid=33BVFWOOG6ZKB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nBE9heI0sZGEqcARm63UR5RFNdKb9onnW0nD1ALvb-3P5rUKswaGAlMgV-IqSwkysNf-M9XR-hygx8_DMq34CfJNogfaKCWfGMcN1EzPbQIpDlVMT7LqcB8XQhSnFjc7QjgJtyqmNdSR1ys6nSvEJzth9Qx-F4fPAHAtA08oYGdSBQ77Vp_RcJHzW5LRLga5wUw7M3X05JhY8YxcPDF1N-BARNTWDqlKg4YwzFYM-04nWm9-VG8uF17ne0_1GA03bfWkkeB-2IDvUQU9Lje6aGoyc7V_qCB2dWZykXy8NDQ.YZDKDY0sv3F96QmHzmHqMYbh9z1EyxSQvwto5D_S1HQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=hobby+vise&qid=1720540502&sprefix=%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-14-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/Yakamoz-Universal-Suction-Repairing-Sculpture/dp/B08L3NTSN9/ref=sr_1_23?crid=33BVFWOOG6ZKB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nBE9heI0sZGEqcARm63UR5RFNdKb9onnW0nD1ALvb-3P5rUKswaGAlMgV-IqSwkysNf-M9XR-hygx8_DMq34CfJNogfaKCWfGMcN1EzPbQIpDlVMT7LqcB8XQhSnFjc7QjgJtyqmNdSR1ys6nSvEJzth9Qx-F4fPAHAtA08oYGdSBQ77Vp_RcJHzW5LRLga5wUw7M3X05JhY8YxcPDF1N-BARNTWDqlKg4YwzFYM-04nWm9-VG8uF17ne0_1GA03bfWkkeB-2IDvUQU9Lje6aGoyc7V_qCB2dWZykXy8NDQ.YZDKDY0sv3F96QmHzmHqMYbh9z1EyxSQvwto5D_S1HQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=hobby+vise&qid=1720540502&sprefix=%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-23 https://www.amazon.com/Megacast-Universal-Work-Holder-Adjustable/dp/B09R8LZ87L/ref=sr_1_25?crid=33BVFWOOG6ZKB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nBE9heI0sZGEqcARm63UR5RFNdKb9onnW0nD1ALvb-3P5rUKswaGAlMgV-IqSwkysNf-M9XR-hygx8_DMq34CfJNogfaKCWfGMcN1EzPbQIpDlVMT7LqcB8XQhSnFjc7QjgJtyqmNdSR1ys6nSvEJzth9Qx-F4fPAHAtA08oYGdSBQ77Vp_RcJHzW5LRLga5wUw7M3X05JhY8YxcPDF1N-BARNTWDqlKg4YwzFYM-04nWm9-VG8uF17ne0_1GA03bfWkkeB-2IDvUQU9Lje6aGoyc7V_qCB2dWZykXy8NDQ.YZDKDY0sv3F96QmHzmHqMYbh9z1EyxSQvwto5D_S1HQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=hobby+vise&qid=1720540502&sprefix=%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-25

Now, that's something you don't see every day. I love it.

This is THE MOST DANGEROUS THREAD on the entire forum! LOL It can get you in trouble with everyone you can think of in no time. your boss - "What are you looking at on company time?" wife- "what did you buy again?" kids -"dad, you've been in front of the screen for three hours!" eBay - "what is the exchange rate again and how much is the darn shipping from Canada?" your bank - "what do you mean there is an international fee?" ...and on and on... It all starts with "look what Jimmy got. I didn't even know there was one made! I gotta have this!". ???

I use the Tamiya rotating paint stand which until recently was available in most Hobby Lobby stores when I paint my bodies. In a similar fashion I wrap it in aluminum foil from my wife's kitchen cabinet. It does not flex like a plastic bag, which can save you a lot of aggravation.

Here is something I like to keep an eye out for with these kits. A lot of their enthusiast kits were at some point also issued as Testor's kits. Their Lamborghini Countach is a good example. It is basically the full highly detailed Fuji kit in a Testor's box, which will cost you considerably less than the same kit in the original Fuji packaging. it's a good way to add some of their kits while saving a few bucks.

Thank you Greg. The engine kinda let to the choice of colors for a lot of the parts. I wanted it to be the center piece of the model without much distraction around it. But I wanted a clean, modern, utilitarian looking Street Rod, still with a somewhat traditional character. Hence the wheels and their color. The bed will have real wood, but something light to blend in and a moon tank. No chrome on this bad boy. The exhaust will be all tucked in and the only dilemma is whether the roof insert should be black or matching grey vinyl. One thing I'm doing for sure and it is a brass knuckles shifter. Originally the idea was the engine to be brass color with the wheels matching and having engine and interior details in the same finish. But I ran into the Slixx decal sheet that I cut pieces of these decals from and then everything changed. I was going to do the whole grille shell in yellow, but then I decided against it as it would be too much. I will probably paint just the grille insert yellow and the trim around it would be the only chrome part on the whole model other than the spinners on the wheels. Maybe a license plate on the back just add balance to a full 360 chrome accent.

Yup. That exact box. I was born in 1976. In 1984 I went to visit my dad in Kuwait. Growing up in Eastern Europe under communist regime, such things like this kit were absolutely unheard of. not only that, but you could get in some serious trouble for just owning them. So my dad was sent to work in Kuwait for two and a half years and somehow managed to arrange for me to go visit him, which was also unheard of back then. After no seeing me for two years, he took me to a huge toy store (similar to what Toys'R Us used to look like) and let me fill a shopping cart with whatever I wanted. The very box you are showing was one of the items in that cart. I can never forget the little seats with their target screens (or whatever those things are) inside the cockpit. This was my very first serious aircraft kit, as the only thing that was ever available back home were crude commercial russian airliners. To this day I remember getting this Black Widow kit, a 1/16 black and grey Pontiac Trans Am (Knight Rider was really big on Kuwait TV at the time), a black Harley kit that OMG ? had brake lines, a WWII USNavy aircraft carrier and bunch of diecast and Star Wars stuff. Then back home I could build them, or more like ruin them LOL, but I could not even show them to anyone, because we could get in trouble.

Hi Tim. Thanks for the kind words. I think you are giving me too much credit however. The wide body and all the other aero parts which I have not shown yet, were all part of a transkit which was designed by BlackBoxStl. I am not sure where exactly are they based in, but all their stuff is available on Cults and a lot of people print their designs. Half the stuff in Iceman Collection is their design. This particular print, used on this body in fact was purchased from Iceman Collections together with few other parts and actually played a huge role in the decision to get a 3D printer. His stuff can be hit or miss and when you mess up a part on a transkit like this one, which you paid $40 for, you start thinking "can I do better" and "what if I could reprint just this one part instead of having to purchase another $40 set for just one fender". To answer your question, I have a little over a month into this project and this is not a very accurate assessment, which brings us to the second question about my printer. I have a love-hate relationship with it, ever since I got it (for Father's Day this year). What I mean is that I absolutely love what it does and I still have hard time wrapping my head around what it is capable of. The hate part comes from the time it sucks away from everything else. Once you get out your first set of wheels, you immediately want to try something different and print more wheels and another body kit and a figure and to make a keychain for your wife and this thing and that.....and next thing you know, you have gone through 2kg of resin, have a shoe box of parts that you realistically did not need, didn't sleep more than 3 hours per night for two weeks and not only didn't do any work on the models on your bench, but started six new projects that you shouldn't have. LOL. It's one of those I love to hate it, but hate to love it ordeals, very much because of how good it is. I bought the printer myself, because I didn't think it was fair to let my wife spend that much money on a Father's Day present. But she followed up with buying me a wash station and a UV curing station from the same manufacturer to match the printer. Which made prints easier and faster in terms of getting parts ready. Which in turn made things worst, when it goes to the addiction factor. I literally had to step away and promise that I am not playing with my new toys until my other chores are done and I finished at least two of the models I have started. As far as this Mustang goes, it turned out to be the outlet for quite few ideas and desires I had rolling around in my head. I always wanted to build a Ferrari powered hot rod. Actually I have, but not quite like that. Now that the cat is out of the bag, you know what to expect next on here. A thoroughbred 4.3l 500hp V8 from Italian descent under that hood.

Oh, boy! This kit brings memories! You just brought me back to 1984. LOL

20 started projects?!... That's probably just the '32 Fords I have in different stages. LOL. I have this one model which has a body somewhat based on parts of an Aluma Coupe, which would be best described as something that could have come out of Marcel's Custom Metal on a Coddington or Foose commission that could be passed as '33/'34 Ford. It was started in New Jersey together with the aforementioned Speed Wagon some 25 years ago. Numerous body mods, three different scratch built frames and two interiors later it is still not finished. And it is not the only one. Actually, thinking about it, I should have somewhere a Dan Fink Speed wagon with the roof taken off, taped together with masking tape as a highboy. Maybe I should dig it up. See what you have done now?!?! LOL

Aaaaaand..... we got paint! Now comes a lot and lot of tedious carbon fiber decaling...

It does a little, but once you put the hood on and look at whole car, that goes away. Thanks Spike. I’m having fun with this one. Thank you Steve. I’m glad you enjoy it. Thank you. I needed a little change of pace from my usual builds. I hipe it turns out like I envision it. Still plenty of opportunities ti Ef it up. Lol

And just to add... I have done countless carbon fiber decal jobs on all sorts of parts in every possible shape or form. Nothing comes even close to be as aggravating as trying to do deep wheel barrel covered in carbon! Nothing! I'm loosing my mind ???