Zoom Zoom

Yes they did. I can count on one hand how many I've seen built over the years. It was a ridiculously overpriced hot mess of a kit that absolutely never was included on anybody's wish list of models.

This body style is early '70's, yes it was sold as a Corolla. My buddy had a killer SR5 back in the day w/the same factory flares. He'd painted it light metallic blue, not a factory Toyota color (he told me the color awhile back but I forgot). I built the kit at least 20 years ago. I converted it (fairly easy) to LHD.

Since all I'd done was look at AI images, I wanted to at least get an idea of what was going on with it. This was a decent video I found to describe it and also mirrors what I've noticed with at least some of the images. https://youtu.be/_avhEwu0AX4?si=UuKw2KhTPJ2TRupn

A friend kept sending me AI car images on Messenger, I found a decent FB group "AI Automotive Art" and it's got a ton of images, some are really pretty cool and well done. Others...not so much. It's funny to pick out flaws that AI gets confused on. Strange extraneous panel lines, extra headlights, weird perspective.

Does AI mean "alien interference"? Other examples:

I have no idea. I sort of recall something similar at our show but sold by another vendor, is it possible he was helping another vendor or do you know if it was his own product line?

BTW your name looked familiar, I approved your request to join the ACME page early today, Ben is on the ACME page so if you post the photo/tag him I'm sure he could get in touch with you. He's a super nice guy and he's been to our show most every year.

His name is Ben aka Benjamin LeGrand and he's from Colorado. If you're on Facebook he's on there; I'm not sure what he might have been vending at that show, he comes to the ACME show almost every year but I don't remember if he's been a vendor or not.

Ah, thank you! I should have remembered that but my brain's still a bit fuzzy at times - I'm just getting back to normal now after successful open heart surgery 5 weeks ago to replace the aortic valve, get a bypass for a widow maker blockage and fix a dissection in the aortic root and dealing with all of the issues that lead up to the surgery since the beginning of the year when I started feeling ill. Fun times. Not. But what I went through was nothing at all what Lee had to deal with for many years yet he continued living his life to the fullest that he was allowed. He's definitely missed.

Hasegawa did a couple of short runs of their curbside LHD USDM short nose Z car, I built one last year. It's curbside only. I took the beautiful stock wheels from the Tamiya ZG and was going to use them on my Hasegawa 240Z but I didn't like the look of the stock wheels with stock tires; they're beautiful and accurate after I did all the paint/detail including the chrome transfers but my eyes wanted to see less sidewall. I ended up using a set of 5 lug (incorrect, but...) slotted mags from Pegasus and modified them to use the Hasegawa tires as they looked like the wheels that were on many Z cars here in the 70's, aside from being 5 lug vs. 4 LOL. It's built to look like my high school guidance counselor's 240Z, though I used black stripes where her car may not have had stripes or maybe had white stripes. 45 years or so between seeing the car and building the model... I have ZoomOn's conversion kit for the Tamiya ZG and I'm pretty psyched about this new Tamiya kit. Maybe I build the ZG as a long-nose street custom using the ZoomOn conversion. Tamiya doing the street custom serves a much wider market than focusing on a stock USDM Z car. I do wonder if there will be any more variants down the road, but being Tamiya I kind of doubt it.

This looks very much like it could have been the collection of Lee Kirchner from San Antonio who passed away IIRC in Feb. of 2023. I wish I could remember his screen-name here, years ago he was "Airway" on the Hobby Heaven board and he posted here fairly frequently. We communicated off-and-on for many years. He sent me an email once with a couple of super-secret "these are for YOUR eyes ONLY!" photos of the Ferrari P4/5 before it was made public that Jim Glickenhaus commissioned Ferrari to build, they were good friends.

You're new here. You're trying to sell us a product. You asked for comments. I'll oblige. I'm leaning toward protecting the members here first and foremost. You show a shiny cool Mondeo (Fusion) wagon and then an absolutely terrible looking print of said object. You asked for commentary. I've seen far, far superior work done by others. Both commercially and guys in my own local club. I've seen what they go through to achieve that quality over time. It does NOT happen overnight. I've seen examples of multiple blended colors printed of actual people that were scanned, and the prints look amazing, done at storefront shops in big cities. Those prints are light years better than your Mondeo wagon. Something here just isn't adding up. It reminds me of the people polluting Facebook using new accounts with borrowed images (not their own) and nothing to back up their "creations" and all "work" for fiver and all are attempt to sell people in FB groups vaporware.

IIRC 15" and they are the first iteration/generation of Fireball's rally 2 wheels. He has since completely updated/reconfigured the design, the original trim rings look more like a separate rim edge, not a trim ring. The new wheels are altogether better.

Honestly I think this kit has been cursed by Revell's small wheel syndrome. There are still kit designers that don't know that the tire retaining ring is a visible 1-1.5", sometimes more, sometimes less than the listed diameter which is where the tire's bead meets the wheel. Worse is most models look more natural by making them +1's. This kit has -1's Good thing Fireball knows this. If you want an OEM appearance and not teeny, tiny wheels with enormous sidewalls, it's either your parts box or the aftermarket that can fix it. Troubling is how many modelers just don't see, care or notice the discrepancy.

Fireball's are done in 14 and 15" sizes. Your choice. They are spectacular. I used Round2 parts pack redlines, they look more vivid than the photos depict. Honestly can't remember which spray chrome I used on the trim rings; Molotow or AK most likely, not sure I had Revell Chrom yet when this was build last summer. These are older original run Fireball Rally's, they've been completely revised. Need to order more.

IF he let the Revell Chrom thoroughly dry and then perhaps applied a good 2k clear w/a spray gun, it might work. I tested 2k clear (leftover after shooting a model car body) over spoons shot in Alclad chrome, Spaz Stix chrome, and Molotow chrome. All were applied 1-2 years (!) previous, and 2k barely affected the chrome effect. Better than Spaz Stix and Alclad clears applied over a different batch of spoons. Once I get some E7 S-02 clear I'll have a good idea what should work for me, and add Revell Chrom to the mix. One thing I'll test is how well secondary painting looks after the clear such as painting/washing grille textures and wheels that have both chrome/polished surfaces (like center caps, trim rings) and painted areas, such as painted wheels.

He should have used Alsa Easy Chrome products made for 1:1. Plenty of examples of it's excellence on automotive subjects. It's so $$ that modelers being cheapskates that they avoid it like the plague. Thus few examples of it available in photos of model car applications.

Mr. Black surfacer 1500 is beyond amazing. I tend to airbrush it mostly. It's my go-to black for when I mask/spray window trim etc. It's just so smooth, and I can adjust mixture airbrushing so it sprays lightly and doesn't flood the masked edges causing bleed-under. If I'm super worried about that I spray Tamiya acrylic flat or semigloss black with their acrylic thinner in light coats and any bleed-under can be removed w/a pointed swab and some alcohol.

In general Mr. Hobby spray primers are better than Tamiya. They have more options; the higher the number (like 1500) the smoother the primer. 500 grade is better for in-process body prep when in the sanding/puttying stage. Tamiya Fine white or gray are quite good, but Mr. Hobby 1200 and 1500 likely both go down smoother. Otherwise very similar. I use Mr. Hobby thinners for Tamiya paints and many non-Tamiya paints. Their thinners are nearly universal and work with at least some automotive lacquers made for hobbyists. Mr. Hobby jarred primers are quite good too, wide range, and thick. You use a lot of thinner to lay it down with an airbrush. I have a ton of Mr. Hobby primers for both airbrushing and quick rattle-can jobs.

Are you perhaps thinking of Randy Derr's amazing 1/12 '69 Sunoco Camaro he built in the early 90's? It's held up remarkably well and still looks perfectly immaculate. This was in March of 2022 when he invited me over to see his Greenwood Corvette that was nearing completion. Edit: Mark's model was an OOB 1/12 Camaro in orange w/white stripes. And stunning.

Nice work! I can only fathom how difficult for me building to this level in 1/43 would be, as I stick to larger scales...perhaps out of necessity ??

Uh, that reply sure sounds like damning with faint praise to me. For someone who's known for amazing built models, it sure seems you are wearing your contempt for another builder, on his own thread showcasing his own excellence, right on your sleeve. Correct me if I'm wrong. If you ever pull this on the Facebook page I run for my local club, trust me...you'll be gone or put on post restrictions immediately.

Tamiya LP's; they mix/spray beautifully, easy (for me) to mix custom colors. Wish they were available in Tamiya's larger jars. Alclad metalizers/metallics, always preferred vs. Testors stuff. Always. Splash Paints colors. Good stuff. Use a really good primer under them. Metallics are scaled for scale models, not 1:1 scale. Vintage Cobra Colors paint. Same as above. Large jars. Perhaps overscale metallic flakes. Decanted Tamiya sprays. Except clear. It doesn't like being cut/thinned like the old formula. Mr. Hobby lacquer jar paints. Thicker than Tamiya LP's, not quite as smooth-flowing, need for thinner but still pretty amazing. Their #46 clear was my replacement for Tamiya TS-13 when it was off the market, but Tamiya LP-9 clear is even better IMHO.

Every generation has done some seriously dumb/questionable "stuff" to perfectly good cars that makes said car less useful and more "hey, look at MEEE!!!!". My Dad gave me grief for putting black out trim and home-made air dams on my first three cars. Not quite the same level as making the cars drive worse than intended, but to him it was useless "hey, look at MEEEE!!!" adornment. Whatever. I get why people do it, but we all have differing tastes and that changes over time. Some cars end up stupid. Some reactions from those that don't get it are...stupid. Lather, rinse, repeat. Easier to laugh it off than get mad. I drive a 3rd gen Miata as a weekend car, and they're popular with enthusiasts from age 16 to roughly 108 ?

I think it's done just to get old men to shake their fists at clouds. FWIW, I'm in that demographic ?