Zoom Zoom

Welcome aboard! This board is great and it's fun to reconnect w/other builders from that other spot in cyberspace.

If you are just going to repaint it w/acrylic in the same color, stripping the paint won't get rid of the visible damage; that's the plastic not the paint. The Tamiya acrylic will look like the TS spray because the surface isn't smooth. I'd carefully sand those areas and then refinish, the acrylic isn't going to fill in any appreciable detail. Tamiya gray primer would probably seal the surface well enough for Tamiya sprays. I didn't have any problems w/the Tamiya red I used on the seats/floor of my Viper Venom, nor the black that I used on the rest of the interior. Sad that Revell has ignored the problem. I had hoped by now they would have reacted. Ismael, you can get PK primer at Michael's craft stores here in the states; not sure about PR.

That model is very cool, I've seen it years ago at Toledo on the primer table. He's done more w/it since I last saw it. I wish he'd get it finished! That page was last updated in '03, and he said that it would eventually be available in resin. Joel seems to be AWOL from the modeling community; guess life got in the way. I saw the NATMUS Futureliner at Amelia Island this year, it's a neat vehicle especially up close. Joel helped the NATMUS guys w/the restoration w/some of the information he had gathered to build his model.

Not sure of what year the 280 is; it's from the same time period (mid 70's) as all the others. It's an okay kit, needs a bit of TLC. It does have the giant bumpers and the factory slotted mags. I don't have the stock one; I have the racing version w/different mags, spoiler, rollbar, headlight covers, but also would build mostly stock. Might be a good candidate to kitbash w/one of the new Hasegawa 240Z's.

It's a basic curbside, fewer than 40 pieces in the entire kit so no engine detail at all and a simple 1 piece chassis w/wheels and plastic axles. They also did a later 924 Turbo w/BBS style rims and the smallish front grilles. Monogram made a whole series of European cars (and a 280Z) in the 70's in this series; and they did race versions of many of them (they may have done this as a racer too; there are a couple of locator spots in the interior for a roll bar). They are all reasonably accurate and enjoyable kits to build. I've built a light blue metallic Ferrari 308 from the series that you've seen here and I've also got another one (race version), a racing 280Z, and Triumph TR7 and TR8's to build as well. They show up frequently enough at shows and are generally inexpensive.

Finally finished the Martini I've been sippin' for the past 2 months :wink: I still want to make a better exhaust pipe; I'll do that tomorrow. These are some of the first custom laser printed decals that I designed; they came out great. I had intended to build a silver 924 like a local car, but when I saw pics of this Champion Edition (made in a brief run in '77) and realized I could make the decals, I decided to give this version a go. The Monogram 924 is a dead simple kit, it paint details nicely. A few fit/warp issues were the main challenges to this kit which has fewer than 40 pieces. This is a model you almost never see built, and I doubt anyone has attempted this version so it's a 1 of 1.

I'm officially jealous :wink: Talk about a true Corvette fanatic. You get the new Z06 kit, find out the battery from the C6 is still underhood instead of the oil sump reservoir, so you go out and get a new lathe to fix the problem! Let the obsession continue Hey, now you can turn some trim ring/spacers for the rear wheels so you can just slide on a set of new Viper tires in back.

Haven't had it crack like that. I've used it over Black Gold lacquer (car w/decals), MCW lacquer (race car w/decals), and Testors enamels. Never used it over Tamiya spray as I always used Tamiya clear over Tamiya spray. I've heard of occasional cracking problems w/people using Future, but I haven't had it happen on the few I've sprayed. I'm not sure what B-501 is composed of, figuring that it's a strong acrylic I'd think the 91% should work, but perhaps it's not strong enough (I've used 99% on some prepaints with good results). You might try some ammonia and see if that works. If not, Polly S Easy Lift Off seems to work on everything, but it will take off the paint below the clear. I was looking at my unbuilt Revell predecorated Goodwrench Corvette the other day and it had some cracks in the clear over some of the silver.

Prominent it is! Shouldn't be hard to Dremel away. Is the battery visible in back?

I've built one and partially built another, it builds up fairly easy, the one I partially built (it was a group effort) did have some mild warp to the rear glass but careful gluing of it under some pressure got it to fit just fine. The wheel/tire fit is the one area to watch for especially if you're going with non-stock rolling stock, especially in back. The wheel housings are made for the very narrow stock tires.

Looking good so far. Can't wait to see this one finished 8) About the missing dry sump tank; I looked at pics on the net and my non-Z06 C6 kit and it looks like it would be invisible on the model; trapped behind the fender and not visible in the engine compartment. Is the design of the passenger side engine compartment different between standard and Z06, or was Revell smart to not bother to tool this part if one would never see it?

Yes, they botched the instructions but I had no problem figuring out what to do. You can aid the final assembly by snipping off about 1/8" from the top point of the B pillar trim; it contacts the roof when you are trying to get the interior/chassis into place. The chassis looks seated but it really isn't, and the ride height is way too high. Also the ride height is a bit 4 X 4 if built OOB even after the B pillar fix; lowering the ride height benefits the model greatly. Wider tires are also problematical; the wheel housings are very narrow and require surgery to the chassis and wheel housings if you want to stuff wider wheels/tires into them w/o them sticking out of the fenders. I was rather ruthless w/my Dremel tool; once the tires were in place you can't see what I did to get them to fit but at least my model doesn't look like a rock hopper

Looking great Bill, nice color choice. I remember those old Buicks well from growing up in the 60's, their "scowling" front and rear always caught my attention. I think I have a restorable '59 Craftsman kit somewhere in the stash, and I restored a '60 model in silver w/a white top that looks pretty neat. Something about big GM coupes back then, they all had a classy style about them, especially the HT's. I also need to reiterate what Mike said about clearcoating the Paintscratch.com paint because it reacted much differently than expected. We recently airbrushed some of the paintscratch color (a single-stage Porsche IROC color called "Raspberry Pink" from the '70's that isn't intended to be clearcoated) onto a pair of models (one a test body), and Tamiya TS 13 clear, Gunze B 513 Mr. super clear gloss enamel, and U-Pol polyurethane clear all caused the paintscratch paint to lift/wrinkle in numerous spots on the test body (strange that it didn't happen uniformely). It was by far the worst with the U-Pol, causing severe wrinkling of the color coat (didn't seem to hurt the lacquer primer underneath). Careful wet block sanding and careful spot reapplication of the color over the affected areas repaired the damage w/o any need for stripping, but it's obvious that one has to use the mildest of clears over this paint to be safe. I would only trust Future, Tamiya or Gunze bottle clear acrylic, or Gunze's B-501 Mr. Topkote gloss clear acrylic. I always order extra cans of it when getting kits from Hobbylink Japan. Gunze's B-501 clear from a spray can worked perfectly over the repaired areas, it's wonderful stuff as it goes on very smooth/glossy, dries almost instantly like Future (Tamiya acrylic clear needs weeks to dry in ambient conditions), but the finish is much stronger than Future, it's like Teflon-very smooth/glossy/slick and you can wetsand/polish just like other paints. It's also seemingly safe over decals as long as they and the underlying paint have dried thoroughly. I haven't airbrushed Tamiya X22 clear in ages, but I've seen how good it can look so I expect this Buick will be gleaming in no time

I have one of these kits, and Brian Venable has built one and did a superb job on it. It's by far the best stock Pantera, and I'd like to see it reissued. The guts seem better than the Testors/Gunze version; back then all of them were capable of being motorized, but this one really looks right-the Campagnolo wheels are also very well rendered. The doors are made to easily cut out, or leave in place. Got mine from Ebay a few years back for a fairly good price.

Kevin at Strada Sports carries them. I just got the self-adhesive Ferrari scripts...wow. Nice stuff. http://www.stradasports.com

Looks great! Hope to see a lot more of these built up with the reissue. I bought one too! I intend to build it in some sort of road-race paint scheme just "because I can"

He is the self-proclaimed "Corvette Guy" (with a few choice diversions into Ferraridome) so he probably has every Corvette kit known to mankind in multiples. As for the Z06; who knows? The kit was just was released officially today, but Revell kits often get out ahead of time. Glad to see early pics of it, I'll have to get one eventually; it's not like hobby shops around here will get it for awhile :roll:

If you want ultimate accuracy, you have to reposition the axle and spindle centerlines to center the wheel where it looks best. While the suggestions above work well with the overall height, they don't take into account the possibility the wheel itself might need to move forwards or backwards, which might require more surgery. Basically you have to break down the parts and reassemble them, and have brass or styrene strips and rods and sometimes tubes to use to reassemble the pieces so they all line up. You have to work like a mechanic in miniature, and it's not hard to cut/glue plastic, but it is difficult to get all four corners to sit level. Now, for a much simpler approach if you're not entering the model into a contest, and if curbside building is okay with you. I like to attach the brake rotors to the wheel/tire assembly first. Then I set the car "on blocks" to the desired ride height, and slip the wheel assemblies underneath to see where they set. I usually use business cards to hold the body in place on the workbench. Once I'm happy with the ride height I determine if any material needs to be removed (usually snipping off a spindle or axle end) or added (making a shim from styrene strip or tube) between the wheel and suspension. I'll add the shim to the wheel/brake assembly. Then when these are test fit, I'll make the locations permanent by gluing the wheel/tire/brake assemblies to the suspension. I sometimes use superglue, or use Epoxy if ultimate strenght is needed. This has worked very well for me to get the ride height either correct or lower on my models. Most kits seem to build up out of the box with a ride height that is too high.

John, good potential 2nd choice as IMHO the black w/black/red interior is the second-best color combo on a Z8. They're really sharp cars.

Nice finish John! Looks just right. Exact color scheme I want to build mine, the trademark colors for the Z8. Looks like you took the time to sand/smooth all the roughness from the body; the kit has some severe mold lines and sink marks to deal with. Someone told me that you can do some cutting on the chassis to make it fit a bit easier in final assembly, but looks like that really isn't necessary.

Thanks! I saw a Grigio Alloy (light silver blue) 360 Modena being delivered to a customer one day at the Ferrari dealer in Alpharetta; and one just like it (w/FL tags) was at the Canton cruise night Saturday. They aren't as common as other colors, but not that uncommon if you know where to look. It's not just any light blue metallic, but Ferrari's shades of light blue metallic really complement the car; they're much nicer than the light blue you'd see on a Buick :wink:

Speaking of "alternative" sources of masking materials like using the kit bag, I remember hearing about using Glad Press 'N Seal. While I don't recommend it for doing the fine masking of Tamiya tape, it's a great overall mask that has kept me from using torn strips of newspaper combined with tons of regular masking tape to do the finish masking on a model. The fact that it sticks to itself and to the surface is great, saves time/tape and makes for a good seal to guard against overspray. Give it a try!

I'm looking forward to these! What's the distribution of them going to be like? Through GMP or will they be widely available?

Haha this one may end up being almost as notorious (in a quiet way) as the recent Enzogate Ferrari! I also saw one like it (or perhaps the same one again considering it was in CA) at the Concorso Italiano in '00, rekindled my affection for the 308 in this shade of blue. I saw a Grigio Alloy (silvery-blue) Modena this weekend at a local cruise night, it reminds me of a modern-day version of this 308, it's a perfect shade for a standard Modena as the light blue is on the 308. Brian, thanks for the comment on my model. It's one of my favorites, even though I screwed up the paint on the passenger side B pillar when I was peeling the window masking tape :cry: Hard color to blend w/o a total repaint. I have another version to build, the racing variant molded in yellow w/separate flares. They're now molded in and the car is in primer, but other desired body modifications to make it look like a tuner put it on the back burner.

Nice work, great subject! I would have probably painted the white all in one step; using thin strips of precut BMF to cover the separation lines between the narrow stripes and the wide central stripe. When I did a GS Tahoe years ago I didn't even do the narrow stripes, and I had to use white decal strips to border the painted center stripe because my masking job didn't turn out too well. I saw a 1:1 version of this car back when the Z06 was brand new, it was nighttime and I was driving through a parking lot, told my friend "hey, there's a Grand Sport over there" and we realized when we got the headlights on it that it wasn't what we expected! It looked like a factory job.