Maindrian Pace

Thanks Eric, your champagne coupe is super clean, and I studied it carefully for tips on finishing mine. I borrowed a few, like the black around the fender emblems, and I did do the dark green radio dial, although you can't see it in the workbench thread because my photography isn't as good as yours. Thank you very much, Ron. -Mike

These two Mustangs are fantastic, Oscar. Your sig line says "Lacking motivation". Really? Could've fooled me. -MJS

Thanks for the nice words, gentlemen. Making the master was as much fun for me as building the kit with the resin body. Everything just came together, and nothing fought me as is usually the case. I'm looking forward to building the next master, but I need to tune up the coupe master and get it to Greg so he can make a new mold. I'm on it. Thanks Ryan. All the glass and light lenses are glued in with clear enamel paint, a tip from the aircraft builders who use it on canopies. Brush a little on the edges of the glass and the surrounding areas on the body, let it tack up for a couple of minutes, and lightly press the part into place. Then dab a little more into the corners with a fine brush to add extra adhesion. When dry, it's completely invisible. The enamel grabs well, doesn't smear paint, and doesn't fog like CA glue. Thanks Dan. It was a great meeting; food, friends, and model cars. What else do you need? -Mike S.

Finished, (finally) and a pretty close match to the 1:1 version. All emblems are photoetch from Model Car Garage. A few extra details were added to the engine, idle air bypass valve was cut off of the throttle body and glued back on at the proper angle. -MJS

Nice looking hatch, Carlos. It's done, I'll try to get some decent shots tomorrow for Under Glass. But until then, a couple of teasers: -MJS

I masked it with automotive tape stripe and sprayed it with Testors clear blue. -MJS

Have you seen the prices on OEM? -MJS

A few detailed items waiting for the glue: -MJS

Thanks Fred. The door handles will be painted as part of the final assembly. -Mike

Black trim is done, taped off with Tamiya masking tape, sprayed with Tamiya semi-gloss black. Background is to trick the camera into focusing on the body, which mostly worked. -MJS

What's the top complement you can give a model? It looks real. -MJS

The whole body, cut and buffed. Incredibly, I didn't go through a single corner or edge - by being careful to not sand near any of them. That may be a first. -MJS

Body and hood painted, Plastikote gray primer, Duplicolor code EP red, MM clear. Sneak peak at the hood, cut and buffed: Wish me luck on the body. So. Many. Corners. -MJS

I read about that car some where. Didn't they bury it in the sand on the beach after the accident and dig it up later? -MJS

Nice job Nick, it's a dead ringer and a very thoughtful gift. -MJS

That roofline is a big improvement over the standard XKE coupe. -MJS

Now the theme music will be in my head all day. -MJS

You can also get the promo models, sometimes pretty reasonably, and the hoods are separate on them. -MJS

Last year, out of the blue, the geniuses at Maricopa County animal care and control sent me a late notice for my dog license fees, $435.00. I sent them a note in the envelope that said, "I really loved that dog, but she's been dead for 11 years now. But hey, thanks for reminding me." -MJS

The black tweed in these cars usually looks grey, sometimes you have to take a second look to see if it's black. The vinyl and plastic parts are easy - semigloss black MM or Tamiya, flat for the carpets. The cloth seat inserts would be the tricky part, they looked darker when brand new, but faded to a charcoal greyish color when a few years old. I think you're on the right track with fogging on dark gray from several feet away, but it may look too dark to register right; so you might try a grey primer fogged on the same way. I did test shots on scraps to get the look that I was happy with, I would do the same with the black to get the level of grey you want. -MJS

Thanks Marcos, it's going to be factory code EP Bright Red, as on my car on page 1. Yes they are John, see post #16 in this thread - http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=78577 -MJS

X2 on both. -MJS

I see they didn't fix the pro street rear wheel wells... -MJS

Thanks Mike and Jason. Interior is together, engine is in. -MJS

Great resto, and nice to see one that's not in that burnt orange metallic color. -MJS