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You make all of these look so easy! Magnificent.

First words out of my mouth would get me kicked off this page. Awesome!! Love it.

That Alfvo/Volfa wagon is magnificent! Love it. This thread is great!

It's not perfect; it does take multiple passes to layer and you have to let it dry a bit between layers. It's not going to be as good as a "properly" masked/painted (or Sharpie; easier overall when there's a pre-cut mask in the kit) technique, but if I use paint I use acrylics and I use canopy glue to attach the glass, which tends to soften the acrylic and it pulls away from the glass, the Sharpie is impervious. It does have a bluish cast if it's not layered. It takes some practice, for sure, and I get pretty good results with it. Straight lines are a lot easier when you apply the Sharpie at an angle where the Sharpie's wide chisel tip can take a "set" on the edge of the glass. Then it's a lot easier to control the tip as you go back and forth across the edge. Again, it takes a bit of practice, and at least you can use the same compounds used to polish paint to remove Sharpie ink and start over. You may perhaps find a Youtube video out there that might give some advice; that seems to be a medium that would best show a how-to in this regard. Sometimes after the Sharpie is applied if I find areas that are too translucent, I back it up w/a little brush-painted acrylic flat black.

If you're talking about the black perimeter masking on the inside edges of the glass, it's easiest with the big black chisel tip Sharpie. The fine point nibs would be annoying to try to cover that.

If you look back at Russell Cook's replies in this thread, you can blame him for infecting my mind into the "blending disparate subjects into one" mentality. Once I saw his Porsche CRX in person at the Southwest Challenge years ago, I was hooked. It's all his fault, and I've told him that in person. Thanks for the comments about "Flashback II", yes it was done for the other magazine, they asked me when I created the first one if I had taken in-progress photos for an article. I had not, it was a "for me" project for an NNL theme...but I told them if Revell updated the Mustang I'd build another, and it finally happened. It really didn't need much filler at all to blend the three bodies: Here's the first version: And this is "NISMAGNUM" where I combined an R34 GTR with a Dodge Magnum. Again...it was remarkable how things lined up and how "simple" the transformation was.

That turned out really cool!

...thanks! Tamiya MX5's are the Lay's potato chips of Miata-lovin' model builders. You can't build just one. I have built a trio. Yet I haven't built a replica of either my '06 nor '96. Guess I was having more fun driving, and left the model stuff to those I'd like to drive...yeah, that's as good an excuse I have at the moment!

Thanks for all the comments

Just two? How about three? It was interesting how easily this Challenger/Camaro/Mustang trio melded together...

Thanks! I have an '06 soft top, it's a really fun car and lots faster than my previous '96 NA, and more capable after I did suspension work. I love the style of the RF but I have heard that wind noise is an issue w/the open top. I guess I have to reserve judgement until a drive. Not an issue with a model

Thanks! The ride height is 100% out of box. This is one of Tamiya's best kits ever for fit/finish. The Plamoz wheels and front Brembo brakes fit the kit like they were made by Tamiya. As they should, the two conversion kits were not inexpensive. There was some issue w/the decklid/C pillar piece, I needed to use some styrene strips to optimize the fit on the sides and at the very back, so that the removable top piece would fit properly and the panel lines would look uniform. The MX5 body I had carved up previously to try a different hardtop, which failed, but I had left enough material to do the RF conversion when it became available, so it was completely salvageable at that point.

Tamiya MX5 + Plamoz RF & Club Edition conversion sets. Custom mixed TS paints, Alclad black chrome finish on the BBS wheels. Have worked on this off and on (mostly off) since June. Debuted yesterday (Nov. 4th 2017) at the ACME Southern Nationals.

Thanks Tom, it was great seeing you and I/we really appreciate your coverage of the show! It was a great show, lots of fun, and a lot of happy modelers.

LOVE it!

Gemini? Why not a BMW 2.8, 3.0 CS/CSi? Y'know that 2002 is great, but...a Gemini??? Isn't this what always happens when something new gets announced? While my apathy for the Gemini is real, perhaps some of you can amuse me with a 24 Hours of Lemons group build of Geminis ...and Porsche tractors.

Gorgeous! Great stance/rake.

There are countless places on the web to buy/sell models. Why clutter up this site? I'm an admin on my club's Facebook page and we do not allow buy/sell/trades; too much drama, too much babysitting, too much clutter would be the result if we allowed it...and there are countless buy/sell/trade pages littering Facebook already. Our hobby sadly seems to be way too focused on buying/collecting/selling/trading vs. actually building.

Ted "Chopper" Lear built one of the resin Fords in metallic orange. I have the unbuilt kit in my stash...it's amazing.

Excellent; that means time over holidays to work on Civic, Turbo, and hopefully the Ebbro Honda Jet (they claim December...).

It was great to meet him and his crew at the NNL East this past spring; his work has inspired me for decades. I'll be building the Marauder X100 resin kit he mastered soon. His eye for both design and detail is amazing; his customs are really cool. I won't be surprised if they're a yearly fixture at NNL East; they sold a ton of product this year and it easily covered their trip expenses (Airtrax resin from Juha and Tapani Rauramo, and Eero Kumanto's Highlight Studio etched products mainly for vintage VW's).

Completely understood, I was more venting than anything with my previous comment. It's sad that only a HK based company seems interested in tooling plastic kits of modern-ish US trucks primarily for builders outside of the US. The US companies are showing us all how much interest they have for the subject.

Hopefully this time next month the Civic has landed, and I'll combine shipping w/my pre-ordered 2002 Turbo.

Well, there are experts, and there are experts. Any interest in plastic kits of modern American pickups is falling on deaf ears. There's far more of a pulse in diecast and RC at this point. Pic for attention: Quite probably the last modern pickup from Revell that has anything close to detail that might satisfy an adult builder. Thankfully my interests are broad enough that there's always plenty to buy and build when companies are asleep or worse, and my 100 year backlog is available as long as there is paint and glue and my vision and dexterity remain. Personally I can't wait for the Ebbro 1/48 Honda Jet to hit my workbench.

And the upcoming 2 door Wrangler...when the Wrangler Unlimited sells 3:1 vs the 2 door, and judging by the popularity of modified Wrangler Unlimiteds at local gatherings, I don't think Meng has their finger on the pulse of the US market at all. Revell can't be bothered to do any new trucks beyond the two snap Raptors, the latest the kiddie Build 'n Play. Meanwhile Maisto has a far nicer Raptor in 1/24 diecast, true to scale...as well as a Wrangler Unlimited. Hate to say it, but people wanting modern truck kits better get used to the fact that if they want a model, they're going to have to rip apart a diecast...because the plastic companies have no interest, just apathy.