Harry P.

I was wondering that, too. They went to frequent shots of Yoko and Sean, Olivia Harrison, etc... but why the constant shots of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson?

Olivia Harrison has long, shoulder-length hair. They showed her face several times, but the "short-haired woman" couldn't have been her. BTW... does Yoko look more and more like an Anime cartoon version of herself?

Spring training is right around the corner.

One of the people on the show that they featured was the guy who was the set designer/art director for the Ed Sullivan show back then. He talked about how he had designed the set for the Beatle's performance, with big "BEATLES" lettering on the backdrop. Ed saw it, and told him he didn't like it... that everyone already knows who they are and we don't need a sign to tell them who they are... change it! Interesting stuff.

Remember, don't post any hints or answers here. PM me with year, make and model. The answer: 1962-64 GSM Flamingo

I watched it. Brilliant! Loved it! The only downer is that John and George couldn't be there. Highlights for me... Alicia Keys doing Let It Be... and I thought Maroon 5 were fantastic. And it's always nice to see Dhani Harrison. He's the spitting image of his dad.

Wow, Frank. That is too cool! What a piece of history! Tell us more. You say you inherited it. From who? Do you know who built it? How did it wind up in your hands? We'd all love to hear the details.

I really only use the Testors bottle paints for brush painting small parts and detail painting. I generally spray anything bigger than those cylinder heads... but sometimes a little brush paint is all you need. Brush strokes aren't an issue on small parts like that... I just sort of flow the paint on, and it's pretty self-leveling. I don't think I could get a good finish with brush paint on a larger surface, but for the small stuff it works great. I also use a lot of acrylic paints. I like acrylics because they dry fast and cleanup is simple... just soap and water. But in the case of these cylinder heads, I just happened to have a bottle of Testors Green sitting there, so...

I am a big fan of the KISS school of model building... Keep It Simple, Stupid. I know a lot of people have these incredibly elaborate techniques and use all sorts of exotic paints and stuff... and if it works for them, great. But my philosophy is keep it simple whenever possible. If simple works, why get complicated?

Cylinder head detail... first I sprayed them silver. Silver is a very opaque color and cancels out the red plastic very well. Then brush painted Testors bottle green, then Testors Transparent Window Tint to tone down the green, then the details picked out with various Testors bottle paint colors... and finally a Future/acrylic black wash. We've come a long way from here... To here: A little paint detailing can work wonders on very simplified kit parts. There's no secret technique here, nothing anyone else can't so. All it takes is a good, sharp brush, some patience, and a steady hand.

If you want to call it a "build," that's ok by me!

Yeah, but what is the temperature?

My "secret formula." Actually not a secret at all... I've mentioned it in several of my other WIPS. It's a mixture of Future and black acrylic craft paint (the stuff in the squeezy plastic 2-ounce containers with the flip top). The ratio of Future to black depends on what I want to do and the effect I want to achieve. I don't have a specific "recipe," I just do it by experience. The darker I want the wash, the more black I add. In general, I'd guess the Future to black paint ratio is about 8:1 or so? I only mix up as much as I need for the part(s) I'm washing... literally a couple of drops of Future, then I dab my brush into the black to just get a little bit, and mix that into the Future. A little black goes a long way... and it's always easier to add a coat or two of black wash if you want it darker, than to take it off if it's too dark. And BYW... not sure why, but the effect seems to be emphasized in the pix for some reason, In real life it's not quite that pronounced. And one more thing to consider... Future being what it is (clear gloss acrylic), adding the wash leaves you with a shiny part. In some cases that's exactly what I want... it has that oily, greasy, mechanical look to it... but if gloss is incorrect for the washed part, just hit it with a coat of Dullcote after the wash.

Wow... talk about a Frankenstein's monster... here we have all three kits Skip sent me doing their part... the Aurora Stutz chassis (still unpainted at this point), the Lindberg Stutz engine block, and the Fuman Mercer engine front cover... together. Everything fits perfectly. The crankshaft hole lines up exactly where it should be... right under and up against the bottom of the front chassis crossmember, and the Mercer's engine front end fits pefectly between the Aurora Stutz's chassis rails. Success!

BTW... I went to HobbyTown yesterday to stock up. If you're into scratchbuilding at all, you can never have too much of this stuff around... the more different shapes and sizes you have on hand, the better. Here's just a small part of my supply. I can't imagine doing the stuff I do without these items...

Because the Lindberg Stutz engine is so simplified, it's missing a bunch of components. I'll rob from the Fuman Mercer kit to get those missing components, which all look very similar to those on a Stutz engine, including the front cover, magneto, etc... I guess I just turned that really nicely detailed Fuman Mercer kit into a curbside! Oh well...

Brass rod. It bends easily. I use small needlenose pliers to make the bends. I could also have used aluminum rod just as well, but I happened to have the right diameter on hand in brass.

That's a beauty! Love the color combo!

Since it's a drag car, I'll give him a pass on the mirrors. But taping your doors shut with stripes is always a bad idea...

I guess I'm in the minority. While I agree that there's a lot of very cool box art (and as a graphic designer, I do notice stuff like that)... I can honestly say that I have never bought a kit due to the box art. For me, the subject matter is all that matters, whether the box art is garbage, or done by DaVinci. I really couldn't care less about the picture on the box... I am only interested in what's inside the box. And as we all know, the picture on the box is often not a very accurate representation of what's in the box. But that's just me...

Just in from finishing our latest "shovel ready" job. A "dusting" that was more like 2-3 inches. On top of the couple of feet we already have on the ground. Ok, I get it... it's winter. But come on, man... enough with the snow already!

Oh, come on, now... you probably say that to all the guys...

The edit function works fine. You didn't do it right,