Zoom Zoom

I refuse to go on any Wally World expeditions looking for kits, because 99% of the time I never find what I want. I'll go into a store if I need something else, and there's a Wally World in the same shopping center as my local grocery store. My local store just shrank the big model dept. drastically. There are a ton of AMT kits up high on the shelves waiting to be marked down. A few Revell and Maisto kits as well. No new Mercs nor Lindberg kits. I realize every store independently determines the size/quantity/type of merchandise. My store grew the model dept. last year, but is shrinking it back. It's been in a constant state of flux ever since the store opened. Apparently Aug. 15 is the "official" sale date for the '49 Merc.

I put just as much effort into a paintjob on a race car as I would any street car. They simply look the best with the best finish possible; a fisheye on a 1:1 scale car wouldn't be visible on a model. You scale down factory orange peel to 1/24 or 1/25 and it's going to be awfully smooth on a model. IMHO you have to make the paint really smooth, and then make a decision whether the decals need to be a natural finish over the clear, or clearcoated over. A model is a depiction; you'll never be able to make an exact match of the finish in the right scale. Even when I've weathered a race car, I made the underlying paint job as smooth as possible.

Model Roundup will have them next week. Now guys won't have to burn $100 in gas on a wild goose chase searching Wally Worlds over several states My Wally World doesn't have them; they had a ton of models a week ago, they just greatly reduced the size of the model area, all the kits that I guess they'll be discounting are all up at the top of the shelves where I had no chance of reaching them. I guess they still need to put markdown stickers on them.

That looks great I'll have to get one of them next time I go visit the Model Roundup. I had several friends who worked as mechanics at a Dick Brooks Honda dealership. They always called it "Peter Creek" Honda

Actually the hot weather will help me get a bit more done; I have an unfinished basement that stays pretty cool and it does have some benefit from the A/C upstairs, but it's definitely cooler in the basement where my workbench is at. I'll be there a lot over the next few weeks.

The Sakatsu rims are too small, too many spokes. The BBS RE's for Challenge cars aren't quite it either. However, Scale Motorsports detail set for the C6R will have the proper BBS wheels. I would imagine someone may end up casting them in resin at some point, as they're a necessary wheel for a lot of road racing models, and so far the kit companies haven't come through. The Revell AG C6R LeMans is a waste; still has the OZ wheels Or perhaps SMS will offer the wheels separately (being aluminum they won't be cheap).

Okay, now take a deep breath...the kit gets "officially" released on the 15th, according to the Model Roundup. Soon everyone, even those w/o the elusive WM Mercs, will be able to get them. I quit doing WM expeditions long ago, never could find anything new/hot locally that I heard about people finding elsewhere. My local store has a ton of kits, but not the new Merc.

It could be renamed The Bomb. Bickering old modelers board

Scale Equipment, Ltd. has an excellent and very correct Nomad resin body. The master is based on the old-tool '57 which many feel looks more realistic than AMT's new-tool '57. Scale Equipment Ltd.

When you post a message, under the "Fonts" area above the typing rectangle, the second button from the left is the button that you hit to bring up a small box to insert your photo URL. If you put the cursor over it, it will highlight "insert image". Clicking this button and copying the URL in the box is easier than typing HTML code on the HHMB, once you get the hang of it. If you want to post more than one picture, you can copy/paste the as many times as you have pictures, and simply paste the URL's between the two brackets. Neat wagon

An awful lot of people think Future is a "wax" or polish of some kind. It is not. It's merely a clear acrylic coating. It's a very mild clearcoat paint. It can be brushed on, airbrushed on, or even applied w/a cotton ball or cotton swab. For airbrushing I find it's best to not thin it, but actually to let it sit and evaporate a bit, as it goes on runny. If you want to polish it after it's dry, it doesn't stand up well at all to wetsanding. Dry sand and buff only. Personally I've found it of limited use as a finish coat, I prefer clear lacquers instead. Future can be removed w/a bit of ammonia. I don't think Future is really what you may be looking for. If you've already done the polishing you mentioned, you don't need Future, properly dried enamel gives a harder finished surface with more durability against contact while building/finishing the model. You might want to buff the paint to a higher gloss and the Treatment applied w/the softest cloth possible will give you great results. You have to buff the paint w/enough friction to generate heat, and the heat helps to level out the paint and make the orange peel and microscopic scratches from the micromesh vanish.

I'm glad that Tom Carter posted a personal recommendation for his customers to try out Model Roundup. I've been friends w/Jack from Model Roundup for a number of years (he's local and a great supporter of our club ACME and a heck of a nice guy to talk with) and he told me recently that MR has been swamped w/orders this summer. So while the future may be kind of bleak if Revell/AMT etc. scale way back and change their focus (their lack of creative marketing to grow their business could almost be considered criminal neglect...) at least in the short term customers who liked Hobby Heaven will have an oasis w/Model Roundup, who have excellent friendly service, great prices and keep a good stock of new kits at all times so you shouldn't have to wait for backorders as you may have elsewhere. I just hope that all the malaise based upon the kit mfgs. doesn't make the majority of modelers still active just pack up and quit. Seems everyone has this doom and gloom prediction, and it's kind of sad to think that the driving force for the doom and gloom is the potential lack of cheap model kits in the future. We already have decades worth of them sitting in our closets, let's keep buying the ones we want and can get and building them before the paint and glue companies fold. It would be nice if we could go for months or years w/o so many doom and gloom predictions slapping us in the face constantly, whether they be real or just internet rumors, or some mixture of both.

I also noticed the numbers on the rear doors are the same green as the stripe and mountains. Not sure if there's an easy way to shoot some acrylic green over those stripes/numbers or not. Is their "printing" locked in stone, or can you change the color selection of those before they're cut?? Neat project!

RIP Hobby Heaven. Lots of changes in our hobby. This is a big one. I still remember our club ordering 2 cases of '63 Galaxie Prestige kits when they came out. That was just the beginning...

I hadn't noticed that they didn't have it out here yet. They brought out the Superamerica in US form pretty fast, and the 599 GTB Fiorano is coming soon too. Dunno why the Spider isn't on the list yet. Chris is right about the difference between the Revell and Fujimi F430's. The Fujimi is a better kit, even though it doesn't have a full engine. Everything that is visible under the clear engine cover is very well executed. The body, wheels, tires, and ride height are all much better on the Fujimi F430. That said, if you get a Revell it can look great but it will take more work to get there.

1- Are they compatible? To a degree. I've heard that people have used DC clear over Tamiya w/o problem. The primer is a bit "hot", so be careful not to drench the model with it. You will want to wetsand the primer before color. Tamiya primer is much smoother, but more $$. Tamiya clear is excellent. 2- If so, how many coats of primer and "wet sand" between coats? If so, what grit? Enough to cover, start light and work into heavier coats. Wetsand the primer before covering it w/color, and also wet sand between coats (not every pass, but every painting session if you have to go back and reshoot primer a second/third/fourth time). Micromesh 2400-3600 grit is my preference, but you can use 600-1000 grit wet or dry sandpaper as well. 3- How many coats of color? Again wetsanding between coats? Enough to cover, it varies depending on color-Tamiya pigments aren't very dense, you must paint lighter colors over white primer if you don't want to waste paint. Wetsand between painting sessions; as in get the color on, if it's smooth and covered well leave it alone. If it needs more paint or you need to sand out imperfections, then recoat. 4- Clear coat finish. I have heard about applying clear coat right after last color coat to even the surface. Also heard about waiting until last color coat is dry before clear coating. Your thoughts? If using Tamiya products alone you must clear w/in one hour of the last color coat, or wait upwards of a month due to paint incompatibility that can cause cracking of the clearcoat. When in doubt, mist on a bit of clear over the color, let it dry, then wetsand and add more clear. I'm not sure about the timeframe using another brand of clear. I use Tamiya clear w/Tamiya sprays to avoid compatibility problems. I usually airbrush the first color and clearcoats, and lay the last clearcoat on straight from the can for maximum gloss. 5- Using Tamiya #TS-54 as color on one model. It is a light blue metalic. I would like a bit more depth. Would a coat of flat black over the primer do it? I would recommend gloss black, or a gloss non-metallic blue that's darker than the metallic. Tamiya paint is best applied over the smoothest surface possible, it goes on glossy but shrinks a lot as it dries and you'll see the pattern of whatever paint is underneath it, and Tamiya is glossiest over bare plastic so if your undercoat/primer isn't as smooth as bare plastic, your paint won't be as glossy. You'll spend less time polishing later. 6- Have some Testors spray enamel. Is this compatible with the Dupli-color? It will be fine over the primer, but I would recommend against using DC paint over the enamel. It will likely be destroyed. Get a box of white plastic spoons at the grocery store. Test all the potential variables to see how everything works. It's a good way to learn what your paint will do before potentially harming a real model. Good luck!

I agree, neat conversion. Works amazingly well w/the Focus body. How's the new Civic? Sad to see what Ford did to the '08 Focus. It's so out-of-focus it might as well be called the Escort.

From the discussions about the '32 Tudor sedan w/Kelsey Hayes wheels, I saw this gem this past weekend at a local cruise night. If the model is anything like this car, I'm happy. I'd be inclined to do a close replica of it, the period warm gray paint w/the yellow wheels really fit this car perfectly, it was a knockout. Very subtle, full of attitude and class.

This one is held every 3rd Saturday from April through October, and has over 500 cars. This time was so full they were turning away cars by 5:30 pm. Revell's doing a '32 Ford Tudor sedan w/optional Halibrands. I believe this gem has to be very close to what we're getting from Revell: This T-Bird gasser was perfect. I don't know the history, I believe it resides in a museum. It wasn't nearly as raucous sounding as one would expect. Lots more: Canton Cruise Night Album

That is certainly not a Ferrari. Probably just some low-production kit car. Has a lot of GT40 MkI styling cues, especially in profile.

As Homer Simpson would say..."DOH!". Bet Ismael would love to have known that before buying it! It's a bit harder in PR to find paint products than it is on the mainland. Nice to see you pop in occasionally Leon!

You did a very nice job on that. Black Chevies are always cool. I hear you about vac-formed glass, most often it never fits as well as it should, unless it's a really high $$ resin kit from one of the better mfgs., which definitely excludes R&R. I have a '61 wagon that I've played w/a few times, it's a handful But as you've proven a bit of perseverance pays off.

The leftover carcasses. Magnum front clip and 300 body. A diagonal cut from the A pillars keeps the cowl w/the clip, while allowing the body to be spread to match the donor clip. I won't combine these two parts, I'm a much bigger fan of the 300 front clip vs. the Magnum, even though the Magnum SRT-8 front clip is much cooler than more pedestrian Magnums. If anything, I may do an '08 Magnum SRT-8 w/the new front clip which I happen to prefer over the current variation.

Most of the time I do use primer for Tamiya paints, because of the aforementioned properties. It's a bit thin, it doesn't cover anything (Testors lacquers are another story, not as smooth but much more opaque). But on the odd occasion it can be sprayed over unprimed plasic, it comes out amazingly smooth. Tamiya primer is amazingly smooth, but if you want your top coats to be really glossy, either your plastic or primer has to be glossy. Even wetsanding Tamiya primer doesn't leave the base surface smooth enough for the topcoat to come out as perfect as it would be over bare plastic. I'll shoot white over white plastic, or black over any color. But it's rare that I can do that. Tamiya paints don't dry as hard as auto paints, but they do dry harder than Testors enamels, and do dry rapidly. If you decant them to an airbrush they go a lot further. I love shooting auto lacquers, but for base colors that Tamiya does in a spray can, you can't get a better/easier kind of finish w/a minimum of hassle.

Gregg did one with the diagonal cut using the AMT 300 which is just as wide as the Revell version. I had wracked my brain trying to figure how to do the conversion because of the width disparity, then he came along and made it look easy If you remember the Skyline wagon I started, that was because of my frustration w/the dissimilar parts between the AMT kit and the Magnum, and the fact the SRT-8 kit wasn't going to be available for a long time. I'll still finish it, after a few other projects ahead of it. Did you notice on the Overhaulin' conversion that they used a 6 cylinder 300 front end? Headlights differ noticeably between V6 and Hemi 300's.