Zoom Zoom

You know the story behind the Hobby Design resin TT? I kid you not...it is a common ~$15-$20 Welly diecast model that they took apart and recast in resin. Period. Hobby Design...caveat emptor, big time Welly has done quite a few modern Audis in 1/24 scale; the current A4, A3, TT, Q5, Q7, R8. I think Burago does an RS4. Diecast companies sell them, they're on Ebay. The only modern Audi plastic kits are the A4 DTM car and the R8, and the R10 LeMans racer. There will be an R8 Spyder this summer.

I think it's better at being a barrier than a top coat. I had a difficult painjob that I was running into unexpected etching of my color over a base color, thankfully I was shooting light coats at the time through the airbrush. I ended up shooting Future as a midcoat barrier, and it did the trick. I just don't like how Future flows; to me it seems too thin, it will run very easily, and I don't like how it polishes out...can't use water. "Real" clear paint is much superior, IMHO, for external use.

I'll be there, looking forward to it

Thanks for all the replies! They're little adhesive-backed "beads" found at a craft store. They're sold in small packages layed out in rows. The amber was tinted w/a Sharpie.

A tiny concept track day car, and you're focusing on the ride? Don't worry, I'm cooking up a custom Caprice idea for a club project, I'm sure it will have a pillow-soft ride for soothing the bumps away on the days I'm not carving corners on the track or in the mountains

This is one of those ideas that crept up and slapped me upside the head. I had a $5 Lindberg D-Type Jag swap meet find, intended to build it up as a D-Type w/a few additional goodies, somehow it ended up in the vicinity of a Tamiya Miata...and this idea was hatched. I used a Tamiya Eunos Roadster, as it was RHD. The size/scale/layout of the two bodies were so close I had to do this; Mazda has done a couple Miata Monoposto concepts, so I decided to do one of my own. With a show coming up I wanted something new/crazy from my workbench, something custom and not OOB. Burning the midnight oil, this model took a very short time to go from idea to show table. I would love to own/drive a car just like this...great trackday special. I shamelessly stole their 2011 Mazda Miata 20th anniversary paint scheme from their SEMA showcar. Tamiya light gunmetal and Testors grabber orange are the two main colors. This was built "just for fun", a lot of that fun was the fact that it wasn't a highly-detailed show-stopper, it's more of a "what if" simple curbside, and it certainly scratched the itch for a nearly instant-gratification custom.

Thanks! I guess I can put it on the forums now that it has been published. The entire concept of the build just kind of happened one night when I was comparing the Lindberg D-Type body (I bought one intending to build it) and the Miata. They were so close in size, shape, layout, that I figured "why not?" and that's all it took. Glad you like it, I like how it came out too. Best part was, aside from the cutting/blending of the body, it was a dead-simple curbside build that didn't take forever to go from concept to execution.

My Tamiya paint stand works just fine (plenty of friction between the base and the holder), but I was using one at a friend's house and his stand had the same problem you mention, almost caused a disaster.

I recommend foiling after. Others will recommend foiling before. It's only a matter of personal choice, it makes no difference to the adhesion or lifespan of the foil. I like to lightly polish the foil w/compound to brighten it up.

I used to rely on an old wire coat hanger, bent in a fashion that I could tape the body to it, and it made it's own stand as well. I have two commercially-available paint stands, both work well. I use the "Hold-It Easy" the most, but the Tamiya stand works well for some more oddly-shaped projects. I also use the four clamps that come with it all the time for holding smaller parts or trees. My Favorite Paint Stand Tamiya Paint Stand

Cool model of a bizarro car

I have three Dremel tools; the original corded unit, a big/heavy cordless unit, and the Stylus. The Stylus is hands-down my favorite. Easy to maneuver, lots of torque, wide speed range, fairly lightweight, excellent ergonomics. The big cordless one is great, but a bit clumsy to handle. I had asked for a cordless Dremel, expecting the smaller one that was available at the time, long before the Stylus came out. The others now only get used as backup...I'm not one to keep them on the chargers all the time, I only recharge when they run out of juice. I've used the corded unit perhaps twice in the past couple years

I'm in complete agreement. They could do the '62 Corvette the same way. I doubt that will happen, though. The "D" word isn't an easy sell to anyone anymore, especially to fussy model car enthusiasts.

Which is truly a shame, because the diecast T/A is by far the best example ever available as a kit. The '62 Corvette destroys the ancient AMT offering. Looks like any chance of building them will require picking up OOP diecast kits because it seems Revell lost interest in diecast to plastic conversions.

If you look closely at both the (diecast) 62 Corvette body and the Smokey/Bandit body, there are some very thick sections in their respective bodies, especially in front. Those thick sections would play havoc if shot in styrene; those areas would end up with terrible sink marks. Styrene needs to be shot with the fewest possible changes in part thickness. That alone probably precludes them being shot in styrene without investing in completely new body tools (with other ancillary parts probably necessary). People here complain enough about anything they feel is wrong, and you can be sure that ginormous sink marks would create 10 + pages of entertainment value on this forum.

Oh boy! More reissues! Where's the sarcasm font when you really need it? At least there's the 2010 Shelby. I guess there's no way to expect a current year model of a current year car from Revell anymore. Yeah, sarcasm font.

Thanks for the photos I'll be at the next one for sure.

You can go to the Fotki link to get the highest resolution (they are 1600X1200), the car was backed up close to another and didn't get any trunk/trim shots. I think there's another underhood shot in my album. I'll send them separately as well. If there weren't ~500 cars at this show I'd probably have taken more photos of the Falcon...but all those cars and my ADD...bad combination

This morning at our monthly Caffeine & Octane (click here for link to full album) there was a red '64 Falcon Sprint, a particularly well-cared-for car in very nice original shape. Since I have one on my workbench, I decided to take a few detail shots which should help somewhat with the build. I found some details that Trumpeter did quite well, like the fine engraving at the base of the windshield where the front fender meets the cowl. Take a good look at the grill texture. Ford used factory masks and black paint to define the floating grille pieces. I haven't looked at the kit valve covers again since taking these photos, but the ones on this car were chrome from the factory with a Sprint decal applied. Hope these photos are of some help to those who are or will be building a Falcon kit. One caveat: please do not use this thread or my photos to point out anything/everything you might see wrong with the Trumpeter Falcon. I took these photos to help myself and others building a Falcon kit, not to provide ammunition or entertainment value to people who have other agendas with the subject. Nothing more, nothing less. Thanks

A Scion xB with a VW badge. Yawn.

That's awesome, great work Now...Revell...do this in 1/25 scale. NOW.

Citroen DS Citroen SM BMW 3.0CSi BMW 2002 (1600) Triumph TR4 Triumph TR6 VW Type 3 (Notch, Fastback, Squareback) Fiat X1/9 Ferrari Lusso Porsche 993 Turbo & Turbo S (Italeri just isn't good enough) Bentley Continental Supersports Ferrari 599 GTO Ferrari FF Porsche 914-6 (1/24th widebody) BMW E46 M3 McLaren F1 Bugatti Veyron McLaren MP4-12C Rolls Phantom Drophead Coupé and Coupé Volvo P1800 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 VW Bay Window van Mercedes Sprinter Sorry that I couldn't think of too many

Amen to that. There have been so many 2CV kits...I would have preferred the earlier version as well, but an SM would be great. At least the DS is finally represented in 1/24 scale, if not kits. Quattroruote had a 4 door in their series a couple years ago, and Welly currently does the cabriolet, in open or closed-top versions. I'd love to see a Tamiya or Revell AG DS or especially SM. Or BMW 2002...or 3.0CSi...or any number or popular subjects that haven't been done to death like 2CV's.

I have a couple modeling friends in Ringgold, GA where they had and EF4 tornado rip through. They are fine; one had some tree damage and a shed roof destroyed, but all around him his neighbors fared much worse. He did get out and took photos of his drive to work up across the TN border, where his plant also had some moderate (certainly not catastrophic) damage. The other had no damage at all, but his cable/internet are still out. The exit on I-75 for Ringgold is apocalyptic...all the restaurants/hotels/gas stations are thoroughly trashed if not destroyed. News has shown the McDonalds, Ruby Tuesday, and Food Lion...all places where I have eaten or bought groceries and gas...and that isn't even where the worst of the damage hit on the other side of town. People fled the interstate for shelter and it is an absolute disaster there. The same storm cell that leveled Tuscaloosa traveled all the way to NC. The tornado from it destroyed 30 homes at Lake Burton in far NE GA, killing a prominent businessman. The Atlanta area was in-between all the bad stuff. It was barely more than a rumbly thundershower when it hit. The wind was far worse for hours ahead of the actual storms.

I have old examples of models clearcoated w/Model Master clear that have yellowed terribly. One silver model looks horrible compared to a newer model painted in silver lacquers. One model was painted w/Pactra light purple; the roof was clearcoated and the interior parts painted the same color were not. The roof is now completely gray. The interior is still the proper color. Even Testors white will yellow all by itself...as the carrier in the paint is also the same kind of varnish. The Testors clear is a varnish, as it ages it yellows, and will color shift any color it is applied over. If you value your paintjobs and don't want your colors to yellow over time (especially any colors in the "cool" spectrum...white, silvers, blues)...do not use enamel clear. Yes, enamels are smooth to apply and polish out nicely, but I've moved far away from them and am very happy I have done so, judging by what's happened to my older models painted w/enamels that have yellowed.