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Hmmmmmm..... Enzo's gotta be rolling in his grave over that. Actually the livery isn't quite the same as the Cobra Daytona. The blue #24 250 GTO was prepared by Mecom Racing and ran at Sebring in 1963, driven by Roger Penske and Augie Pabst. It has a solid stripe that fans out towards the front, rather than the twin racing stripes of Cobras. The resemblance between the GTO and the Cobra Daytona coupe, especially in this livery, is remarkable. The GTO came first... I have discussed painting a Corvette C6R model in Aston Martin racing green...

Welcome Albert, this place is a lot more conducive to enjoyment of the hobby w/o the BS that some other boards seem to encourage. Please share your photos with us here!

You can try Hobbylink Japan, or Tower Hobbies. Tamiya Lime Green for Kawasaki Tower Hobbies Has It In Stock

I really wish Fujimi had put the Challenge wheels in their Fiorano kit...the Revell wheels are pretty weak; they aren't nearly as nice as the wheels in their Superamerica kit (which look great on a Fujimi 575...). I did get a cheapie Maisto kit of the Fiorano, and I've warmed to the satan wheels...so I may use them on the Revell kit. Or not The Maisto wheels are infinitely better than the Revell wheels and really fill up the wheel openings nicely.

Do a google search and you'll find several reputable mail order places to get the GTO, like Tower Hobbies, Hobbylinc, etc. No idea if Revell US will issue it, but I doubt it. They usually only rebox new Revell AG kits, not reissued oldies like this one.

The Fujimi kit is the way to go, aside from it's strangely too-large in diameter wheels. It's not quite full-detail, but there is top end engine detail.

Yes, they use the same molds but they have to modify the sprue/runners for plastic vs. metal; apparently the parts are the same but they have to run the plastic with thinner sprues; not sure why. It's a lot of work just to do that, but with the price of zinc skyrocketing we've seen Revell recently modifying their diecast models back to plastic. I'm never a fan of cast metal for model cars; the parts always are rough compared to plastic. Don't even get me started on white metal and it's prevalence in high-dollar kits. Worst. Material. Ever. for model cars

Precisely. I have a friend who had to order the paint directly from Tamiya, and it was a nightmare...and then the paint for the wheels wasn't anything great, very similar to some other paint already in the Tamiya lineup. Zero paint might be the way to go; more personalized service from a hobby enthusiast.

Okay, you guys are in trouble now Nice work on the Jags, so I dug out my diecast-bodied kit from '79. Forgot how rough it really is; good thing I like the car enough to deal with the pain of getting up to snuff. I assume the plastic body is a lot better; I'm wondering why the plastic hood/skirts are a different color now than the plastic body, they may have added those parts to the rest of the original (non-body) trees? My kit has the body, hood, and skirts all as separate parts w/no trees. The rest of the parts are all molded in gray plastic, chrome quality is good, no side mirror nor wipers. I'm impressed w/the fact you can do it as RHD or LHD from the box. Here's the raw body. Hood fit is rather bad, it will need a good deal of tweaking to get it to fit nicely. Worst is that where it sits naturally the opening at the cowl isn't very clean and you can easily see the notches for the large hinges. After looking this over I'm going to get out my Burago coupe and see if it's a viable body conversion. It can't be much worse than this...I don't want the opening doors though. The mold lines look worse in person than these photos! The gap where hood meets cowl naturally isn't good. The hinge notches are way too visible. Fun fun fun!

Sorry, I was going by old information; as the Candy Lime Green was correct for at least one of the Ninjas. If you want the latest special color, don't delay, as they get hard to get pretty fast, and then they become unobtanium unless Tamiya issues it again in their standard line.

Nice work! It's a great kit, I bought one build from a very well-known builder (phantom race support vehicle), and it's really cool. I like your color scheme too. Not sure how I'll finish mine, whenever the time comes.

Cool model; is there a Flying Lizard livery for this particular kit, or am I thinking about another company?

I don't think the XK 120 was ever sold in an all-plastic variant by Monogram, I think it's been relegated to Revell AG. I'm not sure, but it may have also been issued by a Japanese company. I've also got a metal-body '53 Corvette, which makes me laugh...a metal bodied Corvette w/a plastic chassis. Go figure and I built the metal-bodied T-Bird back in the late '80's. One of my favorite builds of the XK 120 was built by, I think....Gary McNutt, and it was featured in Scale Auto or Car Modeler magazine. It was done as a vintage racer, and very inspiring. The metal XK 120 is a pain to deal with, the hood fit isn't good and there's a terrible mold like going down the side of the car that has to be removed. That's one reason I want a plastic version. I know it's not up to Revell's latest and greatest, but the models from that era are still very buildable and result in a great finish, as Yad's example shows. If only Tamiya would do more vintage Jags...full detail. I'm just dreaming, I know it'll never happen

Revell AG comes up with some doozies when it comes to plastic molded colors. The tree w/the hood/skirts may be from a different source than the body. I've seen a Ferrari Superamerica kit from Revell AG w/a red body and gray mirrors, hood, and IIRC one of the bumpers. The Revell USA version is all pure white. Revell makes some odd decisions...multicolor bodies, stickers in curbside snap kits, etc. Question about the hood fit on the plastic version: I have the diecast XK 120 kit, and the hood doesn't fit the body very well. It's as if the hood is scaled a bit small for the opening. How does the hood fit on the plastic kit? I kind of want another XK 120, so I can build one stock and one as a vintage racer. I may use a Burago diecast XK 120 fixed head coupe body to make the stock version since the resin version is unobtanium.

For anything current/modern you can't beat Ebay motors and Google image search. You'll find hundreds of reference photos for the 599.

Neither Tamiya nor Testors require primer; if the planets all align properly and you can get all the mold lines sanded/polished out of the parts, and the color you are shooting is compatible w/the plastic color, you don't need primer. A pristine body molded in white will accept any of the hobby lacquers w/o the need for primer. I save primer for when I need a quick cover of bodywork, or to get everything one uniform color before shooting color, or if I'm shooting an automotive paint. I rarely prime small parts. I use a lot less primer than most builders, so many who think that every single part must be primed. If it works for them, great. My system works just fine for my level of building/painting.

Only to add to the confusion, I prefer Tamiya sprays over Testors 2 part lacquers. I've been able to get better results with Tamiya, but I know people who find it frustrating. I've gotten so used to Tamiya that it's easy for me. You have to spray it over the correct primer, often white is the best choice for lighter colors, as Tamiya isn't as pigment-rich as other paints. Their silver/black and some metallics cover really well, but other colors take a lot of building up to get the color. And Tamiya paint sometimes is prone to getting a few fisheyes, almost a reaction to it's own propellant or even a dust fleck and it's more prevalent with some colors...but usually they fill in when you lay on more color. I do stupid things w/Tamiya, always on the brink of disaster, and 99% of the time it comes out great. Their clear is amazing. I think w/Tamiya you have to have the right conditions, and be able to know just how wet a pass to make just shy of it running (or having the propellant "bubble" the paint because it didn't evaporate before it hit the surface) for the best results. I've been doing that for decades, so it seems really easy for me to use/abuse the paint this way. If you are a "hesitant" painter, Tamiya may frustrate you more than necessary. If you paint like you're afraid of it, afraid of making it "too" wet, hold the part too far away while shooting it, you won't get the same results as one who shoots it with confidence. Testors lacquers seem to be easier for those w/less painting experience. I've had them with horrible nozzles that splattered the paint, you have to find a good nozzle or it will spray terribly. They have very dense pigments, so you aren't as married to a white primer for the color to "pop". However I've never been able to get that one last really wet coat to lay down nearly as good as Tamiya. Always a bit of orange peel, the paint seems to lay down the same whether it's sprayed w/confidence and a wet coat or with a lighter touch. And the clear...it lays down nice, but when I get a good wet coat it's liable to blush, and the blushing doesn't evaporate out. Never had that happen with Tamiya clear. Some Testors metallics are far too "metalflake" in appearance. Tamiya's metallics and pearls are much finer than Testors. And I use all Tamiya colors as 2-part; it dries thin enough that you can buff out the solid color down to a light layer too easily. I'd rather do my sanding/buffing of clear to avoid buffing through the color. Many people use Tamiya clear instead of Testors clear. That's what I'd do if I was married to using only spray cans. But nowadays I decant most of the paints because I've found that I get better results, and save a lot of paint, by airbrushing the color coats in thinner layers than a spray can could ever accomplish. Airbrushing Testors clear is better as it doesn't blush. Airbrushing Tamiya color slowly, followed by one wet coat from the can, results in really great gloss...same w/the clear. I spray light coats of clear right over the last coat of color, build up in thin layers, and then make one last wet coat from the spray can. The whole paint job takes about an hour or so start to finish. I'm using a fraction of the paint vs. spraying directly from the can. I can paint an entire model with what feels like a nearly empty can. Same with clear. This past year I shot two models from the same can of silver; the can felt like it was about 1/3 full. There was still paint left over after decanting and shooting both models in silver. In addition I added some of my decanted silver to the first coats of clear...half and half, then a bit more clear, before shooting all clear. I'm amazed at the mileage I get now from a can of Tamiya. There are a lot of people out there that say you use a whole can, or more, of Tamiya to shoot a car body. While that is conceivable, I get great results using a fraction of that, and that would include using just the rattle cans. If I use just a rattle can I can shoot on average 1.5 to 2 complete cars with a single can. If you're looking at mostly solid colors, you'll probably like the Testors the best, just use Tamiya clear over it for best results. If you're looking at metallics, it really depends on the particular color. I was very disappointed w/the metallic Testors I shot on a model, it was suitable for a bass boat And it wasn't any better when I airbrushed it. I had to resort to mixing/shooting some Testors enamels in the same shade to cover up the metallic mess. I find it a bit odd and almost funny that friends with far less painting experience than I have love the Testors lacquers, while I've had very mixed results with them. Solids are great...when you don't have a defective nozzle. Clear is nice...when it doesn't blush. It all boils down to this: a particular paint seems to work best with a particular style of painting, and my style is best served with Tamiya sprays. Results may vary

TS-52 "Candy Lime Green" is the Kawasaki color. TS-22 isn't a pearl like the modern colors, and it's a different shade of lime green. You may have to get a local shop to order the color for you, or buy it on the 'net. It's nice stuff.

Wazzup Dave? I remember this Caddy well. It's one of those models you need to keep staring at and finding more cool details. I also wonder what happened to Carl Shenke, the amazing modeler with the amazing models who won two BOS awards, lived locally and only came to one of our meetings ever, and vanished after '99. Nobody has a clue what happened to him! I can't model in the same kind of vacuum he was able to...I need inspiration/interaction from other builders to keep me sane and keep me going. Sometimes a guy comes along that's a lone wolf, and Carl was one of them. He made his models look easy. You've surpassed his skills, and you'd better not run away like he did Especially since I need to pick your brain a bit for my Fischer D Type Jag; mine will be built just like my Profil24 E Type during the 24 hour race, but I'm lacking a bit in reference/details-I have to figure out how to build it so it's as accurate as possible, but w/in the time constraints and keeping it "fun" since I get cranky/fumble-fingered when I get down to the nitty gritty ultra-detail that you make look so easy. I was a bit surprised that the Fischer kit isn't any better, and perhaps is a bit rougher, than the Profil24 E Type.

It takes a few tries to get used to it; I ended up cleaning the tires w/some thinner and scuffing the sidewalls a bit. The pen has a relatively narrow tip. It only bled on me once, but it's easy to smear before it dries. Once I got the hang of it I did a set of four in a couple minutes with very clean results. I haven't found my old pen/ink compass yet to try that; it's buried somewhere.

Joe Vondracek of Quick Skins had been working on an S7R for awhile, don't know whatever happened of it, and he's currently taking a break from resin casting due to life getting in the way. I think someone else may be working on one. The diecast model isn't very good, nor is it the race version.

I tried a white gel pen and circle template yesterday, and it worked like a charm

I know it's cheating, but Auto Art makes a gorgeous 1/24 scale slot car of the Veyron. The price is about what a high-end Tamiya goes for, and it's already painted/detailed and has driver/passenger figures. Two tone gray/silver or black/red. Yeah, I want a kit...but there's at least a very suitable replacement if we don't get a kit. Official price is about $55, the club member who bought this got it for roughly $30 via ebay.