Zoom Zoom

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.

Revell AG kits are molded in Poland, not China. They have the molds...send the bagged parts to US. If boxes are made in China, that's where Revell USA must get them. They get packaged in the US to get around tariffs for "complete" items. So it's actually cheapest to do this. It is no different really from any Revell US kit. Molded in China, shipped "unfinished", packaged in US. The only difference in this case is the bags of model kit parts are coming from Poland, not China.

Several hints: Tamiya colors like Pure White are relatively "thin" in regards to pigment. You really need to apply it either over fresh, white styrene or white primer. There might be an issue between using one brand of primer and another brand of paint. If you had used Tamiya fine white primer, you'd be doing backflips right now because it would look so incredibly good. I decant/airbrush Tamiya sprays, easier to build up mist coats and avoid the problem w/paint pulling away from edges, etc. But the main issue you are having is spraying white over gray.

A couple months back I traded some Emails w/Ed Sexton, he mentioned April for the next round of announcements, so I imagine it will be soon. Sounds like there may be some very interesting stuff coming. But in the meantime I have a Falcon and CRZ to build...talk about two vastly different subjects

I got 100%...had to think a bit on the hood ornaments. Next...

Looks pretty sweet The black paint looks perfect.

That is one gorgeous Firebird! Nice work

Looking and definitely do the brushed look on the side trim. If you change your name to Gregg Foose, you'll have to fill the side mirror holes as Foose hates side mirrors

I've been there a couple times when I used to go to the Detroit Auto show; I always found some great stuff and some great prices. It helps that I like foreign/exotic kinds of cars, aka the ones that can't sell in Michigan, so the prices were very nice indeed on some hard-to-find items.

Tamiya is telling distributors to expect the revised primers and thinners etc. to start hitting later this month, and some will be in May. Just be patient, it will be back. Floquil makes some nice figure primers, you can use those. Gunze/Mr. Hobby makes great hobby primers Mr. Surfacer 500, 1000, 1200, some in bottles, some in spray cans. I have been using a jar of Mr. Surfacer 1000 and love it. Thinned w/Mr. Color Thinner (same basic stuff as Tamiya lacquer thinner), it goes on smoother than Tamiya primer from a spray can....so even though I'll be able to soon restock on the Tamiya spray bombs, I will be using them less now that I'm so happy w/the Mr. Hobby alternatives. Haven't seen Plastikote primer in ages. Don't really miss it.

No kits whatsoever. However if you search around, you'll find many 1/24 diecast models of modern BMW's. The ones by Welly are the best, and consider any diecast a "blank canvas" to work with.

A website in the UK lets you make your own here

Oh, okay, it hasn't had anything posted since 1PM and seems down again. I still get the "new posts" page but can't open anything.

The SA site is working fine for me. It was down last night or earlier today. In the meantime:

I got my "newest" and improved sheet in March of 2010 and the vendor told me at the same show this year that even ordering straight from BMF that it seemed that they weren't always consistent. I've used not quite half of that new sheet and in the meantime it has begun to wrinkle on the backing sheet, but it still works well and has not exhibited any signs of cracking. The previous sheet of "batch 1 new and improved" that I had was worthless. BMF should have changed something about the packaging to know what production batch it is...or they've had more issues in subsequent production runs. My only suggestion would be to complain, get fresh product, and learn how to make your own from thin/generic kitchen foil and Microscale foil adhesive.

My Falcon arrived today. Compared it to my original (built nicely by somebody) '65. The model is a headscratcher, for sure. So much promise...so many oddities. It is what it is. I'm reading up on the Japanese website (thanks to Google Translate) where the black one was built, looking at photos of real Falcons. No doubt that it will look decent and should be a fun build...but I'm not under any delusions, I really wish they'd have sweat the details more. Photos on the Japanse website of the convertible shows the "Falcon" lettering on the decklid that is missing on the HT. The CV has a more basic steering wheel, more basic air cleaner, a bench seat, and some bigger tires for the optional 5 spoke wheels. For those complaining about the stock exhaust...just use the custom dual exhaust. It looks much better and much more believable as an exhaust system. It's no more "wrong" than the stock setup.

No, they didn't miss them, they're just "scaled more appropriately". Not sure if there are any missing between the trunk lid and roof...

Now that got my attention! More...more!

I just happened upon the convertible kit and instructions (the HT is there as well) at a well-known Japanese online hobby shop; nice that the CV and HT have their own side panels, nice to see an uptop in the CV too. Looks like whitewalls are up to the builder...no inserts, no decals.