Harry P.

There is a guy who is a former forum member whose only concern was "stance." In fact, he would literally cut the tops of the tires off in order to get them up higher in the wheelwell. When you saw the model from the side and completed the circumference of the wheel in your mind's eye, it was obvious that the wheel/tire combo he was using couldn't possibly have fit, bagged or not. Of course, that giant wheel-ultra lowered look was his "thing," and nothing wrong with that... but obviously he had no interest in realism. I guess he saw his models more as "sculpture" than scale model.

Unless you're on your way to New York and you decide to go to L.A. instead!

But too many times guys lower the car down so far onto the tires that the car would be impossible to steer and would have ZERO suspension clearance. Not a complaint... just an observation as to how "stance" sometimes is giver more attention than basic credibility by a lot of builders.

Now you're getting into a whole 'nother can of worms... why it is that model car builders are more willing to accept sub-par models than military or RR modelers. It has nothing to do with clear.

If you want to edit the title of your topic, you have to click on "USE FULL EDITOR" (next to the "Save Changes" button). Clicking the "edit" button alone only allows you to edit your comments, not the topic title.

I read that a woman's brand new 2013 Charger fell into another sinkhole in the area.

Exactly! Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but accuracy is not open to interpretation. Either a model is accurate, or it's not. And that's every builder's personal call.

Dave, this thread wasn't meant to knock anyone's style, least of all a talented guy like you. I sincerely doubt that the original poster had any personal ax to grind with anyone... it was just a generic observation on his part.

Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. I just finished a Pocher Alfa Romeo. The car is red, and in 1/8 scale, the temptation to do a blazing, miles-deep super-glossy urethane-to-the-max type of paint job is pretty strong. I mean, a large model like that with one of those "ooooh, shiny!" paint jobs would definitely be an eye-catcher. But while a paint job like that might impress a few contest judges or onlookers, it would be totally incorrect! The real cars didn't have a finish anywhere close to that. And my goal was to try and duplicate, as well as I could, what the real cars looked like, so I tried to copy how the paint actually looks on the real car... which to me meant no polishing, no clearcoat... just as the real cars were painted. You can see that while the paint is smooth and fairly glossy, it's definitely not that super-gloss look. The paint was not worked in any way after it was sprayed on... and I assume that was the case with the real cars, too.

It all boils down to one simple thing: is your model supposed to be an accurate replica, or not? If the modeler's intent was to build an accurate replica, then the finish on the model should look like the finish on the real car. If it does not, the builder made a mistake. If accuracy was not the builder's priority, then of course it doesn't matter if the model's finish doesn't look like the real car. If a person builds a model that's supposed to be a replica of a real car, and the model's finish is obviously different than that of the subject car, then that's a mistake in the eyes of those who look for accuracy. For those who don't, it's not even an issue. It depends on what each person's definition of a scale model is and how much of a role accuracy plays in their work. I'm not judging whether a person is "right" or "wrong" to do the super-gloss look... I'm just saying that as far as accuracy goes, that look is very much overdone, and in many cases not an accurate representation of the real car that the model is supposed to be a replica of.

The car in the picture is a 1957 Volvo P1900. The car was only made for two years (1956-7) before it was discontinued. Sort of Volvo's version of the Corvette. Who got it right: patami wisdonm trogdor MrObsessive Badluck 13 george53 ChrisR G Holding Corvair Jim blunc

Different cars have different levels of gloss, and if your model is meant to be an accurate representation of the real thing, you will do your homework and copy how the real car looks as closely as you can. You would no more give the model an unrealistic finish than you would use the wrong wheels or the wrong color. If, however, accuracy is not necessarily your number one priority (and judging by many of the posts here, for many guys it is not), then obviously it doesn't matter to you whether the real car is super shiny or less so... you're going to do your model the way you want to do it... and that's fine. Bottom line: Yes, real cars do vary in their level of gloss. Whether or not you "care" about that or try to replicate that is your own choice, but if it's accuracy you're after, that "dipped in pancake syrup" ultra-glossy look is usually not correct.

It's all a matter of self-control.

Exactly! And a google image search for reference photos or other info is right there, handy. I would think that the best place for your computer would be either on or right next to your workbench!

ok, I'm confused. Why do so many of you say that your computer has to be far away from your work area?

If you want the photos to show up here full size, you first have to upload them to a photo hosting site like Photobucket or Fotki, then "share" the photos from there to here. If you upload photos directly from your computer to your posts, they appear as small thumbnails, like yours.

Several north and northwest Chicago suburbs have issued a state of emergency. The guv was touring the suburbs today, he declared a state of emergency so that people are eligible for federal aid for relocation, housing, cleanup, etc. Geez, what a mess.

Yep... it's been a bit damp here the past 3-4 days...

Weather radar shows it's pretty much moved past us, it's on the way east.

I lucked out. I see photos in the paper of all the flooding all around me. But none here... just your run-of-the-mill rain. Sump pumps didn't even go off.

Please post QUESTIONS in the QUESTION and answer section, NOT IN THE TIPS, TRICKS AND TUTORIALS SECTION.

Please post QUESTIONS in the section called QUESTIONS and answers, not in the TIPS section.

Drew was simply stating an opinion. That's what a forum is for. Why do you assume he was telling you how to build your models?

Just to name a few!