Zoom Zoom

Ditto. I never look at mobile site, but tried it just now. Have no idea why some people referred to me by the name of the town I live in, since neither show on Safari on my phone.

I figured that must be the case; I never view this forum on my phone.

Bob Downie. It's in my signature under every post. You have signatures turned off?

Yeah, it's about time to have this one back!

My name isn't Tucker, unless yours is Minneapolis

That used to bug me too. Not any more; I realize the RHD models I have built never "call attention" to their driving position. I also see many Japanese-market cars at our local car shows now that the 25 year rule is in effect, allowing importation of cars never seen here before. It's pretty cool. I have no problem w/the Civic being RHD, but if you study the actual dash design, it won't be that hard to convert...if the aftermarket doesn't accommodate.

If you read the first post, Jonathan referenced the 2002 tii version that is already out. I believe he's also shared photos of it under construction and finished. 2002 tii kit

I got my preorder in this morning. Should be good "holiday building" if I get them both shipped after the Civic comes in.

Should be on sale by Dec. 1st in Japan. BMW Turbo should be on sale Nov. 3 in Japan. I have pre-orders already placed.

I've shot through my #3 Grex tip and whatever my Iwata Eclipse (finer tip) is. Unregulated small tankless hobby compressor. It sprays just like paint.

I had a blast building these from the Revell snap kit; if you don't need an engine it's a very nice kit. The stock one has a few modifications, the race version a few more. Both used VRM's decals, there were extra emblem decals (amazing...chrome base layer and you add color layers on top) for the stock version which I built after the race version.

Love the 1/24th Monogram sports cars. Just finished a couple of the reissued RX7's, one I can't show yet (race version) and this one, built as a base-model using steel wheels/Dunlops from a Fujimi early GTR wheel & tire parts pack: Here's what I did w/the 924, I researched and built a Martini Edition, making my own stripes digitally and printing them using a laser printer on decal film. It's easy when the base color is white.

The ink is dense; with the pen you need to keep the area wet with the ink as you apply it...with just a little practice it can look almost like liquid mylar when applying it. It doesn't need any sort of special undercoat, it is a completely different animal than Alclad or Spaz Stix chrome products, or also Sharpies when it comes to manipulating the pen. The fine tip 1 mm Molotow pen is the only one I really like using as a pen; the 2 and 4 mm sizes paint areas large enough that I'd rather run the Molotow ink through my airbrush...which is pretty amazing in itself. Regardless of application, let it dry thoroughly for 24-48 hours, as it gets pretty durable after that time.

That's precisely why I don't have the Moebius kit. The Belvedere would have been a sure sale if had been done more correctly; roof/glass/cowl design issues are too cartoonish for me to bother, it's not enough of a grail for me to bother to fix it. I have plenty of other models to build so it's not a big deal to move onto something better. Guess there's no reliable way to predict how big/visible flaws limit overall sales, but I'm sure it's a factor.

Alclad is a paint process, so it is as allowable as painting the body (and removing mold lines). You might want to try the Molotow liquid chrome; it sprays much more like paint (even though it's an ink), and covers any base color. No jumping though hoops for a gloss black base, or putting on too much. And the final results generally are better than the most perfect application of Alclad. You can buy a pen to test it out, and open it up carefully (find Youtube how-to video), and see how it shoots through your airbrush. Once it has dried thoroughly it's also much more durable than Alclad or Spaz Stix, which I find superior to Alclad; though Alclad makes an incredible black chrome that's something I've used a lot lately for modern wheels. If you like the Molotow for spraying, purchase a refill container. It goes a long way as it's very pigment-dense. Didn't need any thinning for me. The refills just have hit the US distribution channels in the past couple of days, soon to be available just about anywhere the pens are sold.

Well, it was over 25 years ago. I got some then as well.

My semi local shop, one of the best in the business and by far the best locally (Free Time Hobbies) just cut all their regular retail hours aside from one Saturday a month, because 90% of their business is internet sales and retail was distracting them too much. Even though their retail was up 3X, it wasn't nearly enough to offset the mammoth internet sales that require most of their time and attention. Enough that they want most Saturdays to themselves to spend with their families. This is today's reality. They have great retail prices, same as online.

Yep. Cut it out, don't dip in water. Or dip decal in water, apply to thin styrene sheet, let dry, trim. Either will give you scale thickness far more accurate than any separate piece that's injection molded as part of the kit. Much like some of the newer kits, especially Revell, that have entire instrument clusters on the decal sheet, you can trim the whole piece out and rather than dip in water, just glue it to the face of the cluster.

I do that too sometimes, depending which is closer...the tape or the glue When I print my own plates I cover each side with glossy clear packing tape for more strength. I rarely use kit-based plate bases since they're generally so completely out of scale. I did use the rear bracket on the Revell early Bronco, it's in a recessed area so it's thickness isn't quite so obvious, and the detailing above the plate is quite nice. I left the front one off, too thick and didn't want a tag up front.

Great job, looks fantastic. Glad the Plamoz wheels helped!

Regardless, if Revell had molded a bracket it would be wildly out of scale (like all front plate holders generally are if injection molded). Your second photo shows that you barely see anything but the plate itself, I'd rather have just the thickness of the decal-on-paper plate than a 1/16" thick, chrome plated monstrosity that Revell would include for that job or having it engraved in place. Look for some photoetch brackets & surround or scratchbuild if you want it to look as good as intended.

Honestly it's better this way. Just cut around the decal with scissors and glue carefully to the bumper...it will look infinitely better and properly scaled vs. an overly-thick injection molded bracket, which likely would be engineered with pins mating to oversize holes in the bumper itself, and also better than having the bracket engraved to the bumper itself therefore ruining the effect of a plate-free bumper that's common in so much of the country. The Japanese are bad enough about having ginormous molded license plate holes in fascias (vs. flashed over), and Revell GmbH that put huge, out-of-scale, completely incorrect Euro plate brackets on the face of their 918 Spyders, SLS, and others, really annoying.

Lookin' good, and nice job on the panel lines. And a word of warning. Don't let Chip Foose near this BMW....

The way the kit is designed, you can figure out Hasegawa is doing multiple variations. Race cars could be one reason; with the separate rear seat and all. It's almost a given the Turbo will be kitted, in fact the second rear bumper and the little divots in the body for body side molding that would be completely covered by separate flares, and even a separate taillight overlay can be used for the rectangular lamps in back. The clues are there just in what you get in the box for this first iteration. Their latest Honda 360/600 and the Suzuki Jimny kits don't have any sidewall detail either. It's like they got to the interior and gave up. For a 2002 w/black interior, it's not a big deal regardless. I've seen some nice ones built in Japan, just odd that they put so much detail on the body and chassis and then made the interior so spartan. I'm happy to have the kit, and have ideas for getting the interior up to snuff. I think my kit was about $32 delivered, no real complaints.

Great model, very creative!