Zoom Zoom

In a "F"lash, Ferrari has renamed the F1 car F150th Italia. I'm sure they won't pickup any more viewers or fans, but for now we can put a cap on the issue and put it to bed. Do people tailgate at F1 races?

I'm sure it all amounts to just another attention grab, more than anything else, and using the automotive "press" and blogs as their paparazzi. They knew exactly what they were doing when they named the car, they knew it would stir up attention. Attention = Advertising. Okay, so I won't watch F1 this year. Not like I needed yet another reason. Lesson learned

Glad it worked for you A word of advice for this particular airbrush; the needle/head assembly are relatively "closed", paint tends to build up a little around the tip of the needle and the surrounding head. Normally you spray in one direction, let off, spray in the other direction, let off, etc. Every time you let off the trigger and then start it again, you generally get a small "blip" of buildup that dislodges and lands on your paintjob. What you might think is dust/dirt in your paint is from the airbrush itself. When spraying a body w/the 150, either don't let up while spraying, just keep the paint flowing as you make the passes over the body. If you do let off, don't aim the airbrush at the body when you start the flow again, and you'll eliminate a lot of "nits" in the body. Learned this the hard way... Actually, it's a good idea for any airbrush, but the 150 is by far the most sensitive to that paint buildup and it does it consistently, but it may happen to any airbrush.

It's not that anyone will confuse the two, but with the litigious society we live in, every company must protect their own trademarks and names, if they let it slip, then a more nefarious entity may be allowed to "steal" it. This is the same brilliant climate that has strangled our hobby with licensing woes. The legal profession has created quite a lucrative industry for themselves for their clients

Of course...as soon as the new 1:1 model arrives, a kit of the old one becomes available. Isn't that what always happens? Lindberg's '97 Crown Vic, Revell's FWD Impala, now the Charger. Every one of them a "used car" replaced by a newer bodystyle by the time the kit hits the market. The Charger kits were announced by Testors in July of '05 at the IPMS Nationals in Atlanta. At the time they mentioned a police version available "in about a year". When announced, the Testors rep at the show said the regular R/T and Daytona versions that had just been approved, would be on the market by Christmas that same year. I did the math in my head, on the shelf 5 months after starting from scratch... I knew they were absolutely full of it, a new kit never gets done that quickly, figured a year would be more like it, and of course it was...for the R/T and Daytona (nice kits when they finally hit). So they're only about 5 years late to the party with the police cruiser, having gone from a Testors box to Lindberg, having Chrysler go through three owners in the meantime. Cue the golf clap, we set a new world record! That said, I love it! Charger & Magnum police cars look killer. Pick up some Revell Uptown Magnums if you want a base-model non-SRT Magnum to kitbash w/police parts. You'll have to add door handles. As for the Lindberg police cars...ever skeptical, I'll believe 'em when I see 'em I hedged my bets and picked up a diecast Testors Charger police car as an insurance policy, "just in case"...

150 is a dual-action. Sounds like the needle is not fully seated, take the brush apart at the back, loosen the screw around the needle, and push the needle as far forward into the airbrush body as possible so the very tip of it fully seats in the "closed" position, then re-tighten the screw around the needle in back, and replace the cover. Read the parts manual, learn how to assemble/disassemble it, and start practicing!

I have no idea. If it's made in Japan, maybe. If it's a Japanese nameplate but American-made for American consumers, doubtful. I have a friend who has owned his Cobra 289 for 36 years now ('cause it's a lousy daily driver ). It's one of my favorite looking cars of all time, his car is gorgeous, I've been lucky to ride in it to a few car shows. It is also a beast; it has more than plenty of power. Even w/the 289, it twists and squirms under aggressive acceleration which in itself is almost breathtaking. The 427's are insanely overkill...the 289 has all kinds of character already

Thanks for the comments; I do love building offbeat subjects, sometimes boring...lots of guys love boring old cars like Falcons, I like some boring new cars like the Prius I love the shape of the car, it's a shame to me that it belongs to such a dull car to drive. Ditto the VehiCROSS...I love the moonbuggy styling, but it's nothing special at all underneath...rides like a buckboard, sucks gas at a prodigious rate, performance? What performance?

The price differential is because the model is going through more distribution channels and traveling across more oceans, and shipped in finished packaging vs. unfinished. A Revell USA kit is produced in China, but I believe all of the kits are shipped "unfinished", and not placed inside of finished packaging, until they are in the US. They aren't shipping separate kit boxes, they are shipping a container in bulk of bagged kits and parts. So the ZR1 was made in China, shipped in bulk quantity to the US, then packaged and distributed throughout the US. The ZR1 in Revell AG packaging was made in China, shipped to Europe, packaged in Revell AG box w/Revell AG instructions/decals. If you get this kit in the US you are paying for the fact that it has traveled the world a lot further, and shipped to the US in a finished box. Extra level of middleman involved. It's not some evil method to rob you of your money. Caveat Emptor... When Revell AG kits are sold via Revell USA in Revell USA boxes, they arrive to the US the same way that the Revell USA kits arrive from China, but they come from the factory in Poland, shipped in a container of bagged kits, that are shipped unfinished to the US and packaged here. That's why they are priced similarly to Revell USA kits when sold that way. It works the same way overseas. Kits packaged for US consumption, but sold overseas, are far more expensive there than they are here. Look at the online websites from Japan, for instance, to see how much a Revell kit (from US or Europe) or AMT kit will cost them.

It's great tape, warts and all.

Oh please, you know they have to go a little more mainstream than that. I think they'd make a whole ten dollars of profit on an Amphicar

The yellow "Frogtape Delicate" is merely Shurtape CP-60 with the thin bit of edging barrier "PaintBlock Technology" that acts with water. Regular Shurtape CP-60 is essentially a domestic version of Tamiya tape, and far more economical, works the same. Frogtape isn't really necessary or scaled for model cars, The regular Shurtape CP-60 is a permanent addition to my tools/materials, works like a charm. I found it at Sherwin Williams (home paint). Shurtape CP-60

Absolutely STUNNING I love how you've added so much character and changed it so much, but it looks completely believable as if this version was also done by GM design. Can't wait to see this in person! Will you be in Anniston on March 19? If so, we need Covert to bring his Astro-Vette to display along side of it.

That's an amazing job, looks fantastic Especially considering the nature of the model you started with-this is by far the coolest MPC Ventura model ever

Cover your eyes and go hug your '57 Chevy I need to print out a new license plate that says "SMUG"

Attention all boring traditionalists! There is plenty of fun & plenty of life in the post-Model T, post-'32 Ford, post-'49 Merc, post-'57 Chevy, post-'69 Camaro world When I built this Tamiya kit, it was before it (the 1:1) went on sale in the US. Somehow the photo ended up on the 'net and I had people contacting me asking me how I got my 1:1 VehiCROSS so early and how much they loved it. Most of them were people who were on waiting lists for the real thing Tiny market, but most enthusiastic. I've ridden in a VehiCROSS...it's just a shortened Rodeo underneath...slow, thirsty, rides like a hobby horse but looks like a moon buggy.

Money well spent, I'll take all of those, especially the X-100

I saw the photo and said "wow, that looks like mine" then I read the story...nice job! Needless to say, I love it Thanks for the comments, glad it inspired you!

Hmmm..I just realized I have (or had) a '64 Falcon Sprint annual rebuilder...I think. If I didn't sell it due to boredom. Next time I'm digging in the basement, I'll see if I can scare it up. Typical builtup w/everything unpainted, except a poorly spray painted (yellow enamel) body. The best kind of rebuilder...and it was cheap. I have a nicely built '65, builder unknown, all it needs is BMF applied over the silver-painted chrome. It's a nice off-white w/red trim. I'm sure the Testors white was a lot brighter when new I'm a lot more interested in '64 Sprints now that I've seen photos of them racing on road courses.

I see some issues w/the inset side chrome compared to photos of the real car. Looks like the painted-in-contrast center portion is too wide. Perhaps painted/detailed it won't be so obvious. So they simplified the kit to "Revell plus", which is good, but priced it at Revell X 2. For a relatively boring, mainstream car. A risky move, indeed. The ball is in their court, I hope it's a fun build, I too wish them great success. I can't help but think this kit is aimed directly at the adult crowd, the same one that griped to no end when they lost their $10 kit "fix" at Wal Mart.

Nice work I built two of these, I had no trouble at all w/transfers on the first one, but the second one the engine lettering was giving me fits (both models I painted that upper intake with Tamiya white primer), a couple of the letters just didn't want to stick down. I made it work, but it was amazing how different the experience was between the two.

Ferrari 599 GTO & 599XX based upon Revell AG (or Fujimi) 599 GTB. '69 Mercury Marauder X100 derived from AMT '69 Galaxie 1/25 70 Trans Am & 74 SD 455 from AMT '70 Camaro. '98-newer Crown Vic & Marauder based on Lindberg '97 Crown Vic. '61 Ventura based on AMT '62 Bel Air, '62 Catalina, or Lindberg '61 Impala. 2012 GT & Boss Mustang based on Revell 2010 Mustang GT.

I have yet to build one (I bought Bonneville HT and Nova HT years ago at HL for 50% off), so I haven't learned about those issues "the hard way", but I heartily agree I'm good for a Falcon HT and perhaps CV, if they meet my expectations and what others report after they are issued. I'm not buying them sight-unseen. I do hope they learned their lessons. The '65 Falcon CV they recently showed is intriguing, with what looks like optional speedster parts...chopped, wrap-around windscreen, hood scoop, custom wheels, T-bird-like tonneau cover behind the front seats. Certainly has potential "cool factor" (a poor man's Barris Super Marauder?!) that's missing from the factory stock stuff. They don't need to go kitchen-sink with their models..."Revell-plus" would be just fine, and potentially less costly. There's a reason Fujimi isn't still making new "Enthusiast" kits. There's a reason Accurate Miniatures doesn't have more car models on the market. Modelers don't have a problem with more humble models, if the basics are right...the aftermarket and kitbashing offer better solutions than overwrought "dreams in a box" that are rarely realized. Make it right, make it fun, don't overwhelm the builder, kit engineers, or tooling guys with a bunch of needless complexity that's only truly enjoyed by few. There's a real sweet spot they could exploit if they do it right, but they have to convince us that they're capable of it, and actually follow through with it, and then face a (jaded) buying public that will determine their ultimate success.

Yep, and the biggest issues are when you choose to open up the front compartment and put in all those parts. I believe it's the firewall that makes for the most "fun". After building multiples of this kit, I learned to leave everything you can't see in front of the dash off the chassis, because otherwise there's lots of agonizing work to make the stupid thing fit together as intended.

By now one would think that an all-new Trumpeter kit could elicit a lot more enthusiasm rather than so much "sitting on the sidelines" skepticism. For $50, I'm sure I'm not alone with high anticipation, but lowered expectations. I hope they prove skeptics wrong; delivering an accurate, no-excuses fun-to-build kit that raises the bar and make amends with mainstream model car builders for past transgressions. The ball is in their court...