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That is where I got my first bottle, but I heard from someone recently they didn't have any in stock. You might check w/the Duluth or Cumming locations...Kennesaw store just isn't what it used to be. It's easily acquired via mail order.

I test drove one the first year; I liked the style & utility a lot. It was so horrifically underpowered from a dead stop it was dangerous. I would hope a manual transmission would have been better (the one I drove was automatic; at the same event I drove a 300M...that car was the polar opposite...very quick, very nice). Hadn't driven a car so slow since the '80's. My old/slow Mazda 929 could out-accelerate it from a dead stop...starting in 3rd gear with 4 passengers. Seriously...I tried...no contest. People I know who owned them had mixed reviews. One had a terrible transmission failure very early on that really messed up the car. Another said theirs got fairly poor fuel economy, no better than 24 on the highway while their more sprightly (!!) 4 cyl. Camry would get 32 MPG (not surprising, the PT is overweight, underpowered, and has the aerodynamics of a barn door). The ones who owned turbos liked their cars better. A lot of people paid waaaaay too much for them when they were new. A local dealership was refusing any offers that were less than the $10,000 premium they were demanding. Idiots were paying $30K for the early non-turbo PT Cruisers! Stupid is as stupid does. I'd consider a used one if the price was right. Here's my model:

Thanks for all the comments

It's meant for R/C cars primarily, so you should check to see if your LHS that caters to R/C has it in that dept. I found my first bottle at Hobbytown USA.

Personally I despise Speed for reruns of old auctions over and over and over again. I wish they'd just call themselves what they are, the "Pinks, NASCAR, and Barrett-Jackson" network and be done with it.

I love Shurtape Gold. They sell other varieties, maybe they've changed the formula...what I have works just like Tamiya tape. It's not supposed to stick like "regular" masking tape. It is 10,000 times better than the blue or green painters tapes. I use the Shuretape Gold w/Glad Press 'n Seal. The little bit that the Shuretape comes up is pretty much exactly like I've had happen w/Tamiya tape.

Came out killer! Nice work

Thanks! I do panel lines a couple of different ways. On this model it was a thin wash of Tamiya acrylic paint applied w/a very fine point brush. Sometimes when I plan ahead I will apply black lines w/a Pigma Micron .005 pigment liner pen, in between colour coats. This way the black shows through the next layers of colors as a darker shade. It works pretty well, but you have to be using a colour that has good pigment, some colours require a lot of extra coats to cover the black which is too dark.

It looks killer...I like the notchback so much better than the fastback. Colors/stance/wheels are perfect Here's a local one that showed up at Caffeine & Octane on Sunday morning...I could easily see replicating something like it:

Thanks; you'll enjoy building it. I'm amazed that I've only seen 2 of these cars, a red one at Road Atlanta and a black one on the interstate. I've seen more Ferrari California's (about 6 of them so far)...and I like the Benz much better. I've seen two SLS's already in Atlanta...dunno why the AMG SL63's are so elusive around here.

This is the second one for me, the first one was done for an article that hasn't been published. It's a typical "shake and bake" Tamiya kit with no real worries. I enjoyed the first one, so this one should be even more fun. I custom mixed the paint; I was going to shoot it Tamiya TS Pearl Light Blue, but a friend told me he was painting his DBS that colour so I figured I'd modify it a bit. This is a decanted mixture of about 2/3 Tamiya Pearl Light Blue with the other 1/3 being made up of Pearl Light Green (didn't make much difference), Mica Blue (darkened it), and Metallic Green (warmed up the colour a lot). I like this shade, looks like a Mediterranean blue. The actual colour is a little lighter than it appears on the screen. I also shot a couple light coats of transparent blue over it before clear, but it didn't really do much but make the color a bit richer. This one will have an off-white interior w/either very dark teal or black accents (carpet, dash, seat & door panel inserts). It will look a lot different than the Ferrari F1 red version w/brown leather that I built previously. Wheels are Scale Production 20" BBS Challenge wheels, tires are the Pegasus/Tamiya Michelin Pilots stretched to fit. Glad to find out these tires are still available. The kit tires are too thick...these are much better, and if you use Tamiya Enzo front tires (or four from an R-34 GTR Z Spec) on the stock rims you'll have a much better look. The wheel paint is new; the resin was primed w/Tamiya fine gray primer, then shot w/the new Spaz Stix black base and Mirror Chrome. Great stuff! I didn't do one bit of wetsanding or polishing of the undercoats. This is a perfect polished aluminum look. I will be trying this on some bumpers soon, with the right prep work it should be pretty amazing. I like it much more than Alclad...it sticks really well, no need for enamel. The black base is evil on plastic, though...it etched a spoon pretty bad. Didn't touch resin...but I'd suggest Tamiya TS gloss black for the undercoat on styrene.

Got this one done late winter to debut at the Birmingham NNL, and it was just recently published in Scale Auto. I didn't take my own beauty shots of it until this evening. It's a great kit, I built it to (hopefully) competitive OOB standards. It's a good kit for that kind of approach, though it would look killer w/a few aftermarket pieces like p/e grilles, headrest fans/grille, and seatbelt detail. Paint is Tamiya Champagne Gold, decanted and airbrushed. I enjoyed building this kit, and would build one again in a heartbeat, but I'd prefer the next one to be an Aoshima revision of this kit into an AMG SL65 Black Series. I can only hope... BTW, I've seen these kits at Hobby Lobby...take that 40% off coupon and you're good to go for about 30 bux

Chin splitter contour, cornering lamp color, missing side skirt bevel along bottom edge of door, oversized quarter glass trim...easy peasy

I have 9 airbrushes. They're all good for something. My workhorse is the Badger 175 Crescendo (siphon feed-I have 3 of them) and my Iwata HP-CS Eclipse (gravity feed). I also have a Paasche VL, Model Master (Aztek), Badger 150 IL, and the cheapest Testors airbrush. Don't worry about having your airbrush spray a pencil line. You will hardly ever need it if you don't spray military paint schemes. I have a special airbrush just for this (small gravity feed, Rich AB200), and I hardly ever use it. I use it for windshield tint strips. The multi-tip airbrushes don't compare. What have I learned? Buy the best one you can afford; you'll get great results with any number of airbrushes in all price ranges. Get one that is specifically made to handle automotive type paints (be able to handle the solvents, not just for waterbased illustration inks or paints). I would highly recommend getting a gravity feed airbrush rather than siphon feed; you will use less paint (by wasting less paint during cleanup), you will spend less time cleaning up after use...the siphon tubes require a lot of extra cleanup vs. a gravity feed brush, wasted paint, wasted thinner. Get one with a big cup, not a small cup. Compare at TCP Global, they have a line called "Master" which is a knockoff of Iwata for a lot less money. I intend to get one of their gravity feed airbrushes with pistol grip. I love the flow of the Badger Crescendo, even with the fine flow tip/needle it flows a lot more than my Iwata, but the Iwata definitely atomizes the paint better for fine detail and very thin coats; nice when using clear so it doesn't flood the surface...I'll start w/that airbrush laying down thin, fine layers and finish w/the Badger applying wetter final coats. Grex airbrushes are loved by many. They have a gravity feed version w/pistol grip as well.

Perhaps the '55 chassis is painted satin black, like the underhood area. In '56 Chrysler cut costs and the underhood area was pained body color.

I used to use a bent coat hanger, I own a Tamiya paint stand, but my favorite is the one I got from Micro Mark "Hold-It Easy". It holds the body securely (foam blocks contact the inner body), the handle is long enough to keep your hands mostly away from the paint spray, and it is easier to manipulate the motion of the body as you spray it. The Tamiya stand is short and not nearly as easy to hold, seems more suited to those that want to place the stand in the spray booth and shoot the model w/o holding the stand at the same time; I prefer to move the body around a lot as I shoot it...therefore I only use the Tamiya stand occasionally. This is one of those things that I didn't think I needed until I saw a friend using it and he loved it, so I tried it myself and was immediately hooked. I saw one for sale at a hobby shop out of state that I used to frequent when visiting, and got it. You can hang it up on a peg or long nail with the body inverted to let it dry. Those of us that use these paint stands always lend them out at modelpaloozas, everyone seems to love using them. Micro Mark Hold It Easy

You polish BMF just like you do paint. It buffs out beautifully. Don't worry about the appearance on the sheet, you must buff it with a bit of the same compound you use for your paint. It buffs out to a beautiful chrome-like shine. So many people seem to think BMF is applied and left alone. Take your time to carefully burnish and trim, then polish it out. Contrary to what some will tell you, it does not need to be sealed with clear, clear will not make it any more shiny or reflective, and your foil will not fall off the model if it isn't clearcoated. If you consider yourself a top expert with your painting and clearcoating it might work fine...but if you feel even slightly like you aren't yet an expert with clear, or have a track record of having to remove/repair paint after clearcoating, don't waste your time with foiling beforehand. It's simply not necessary. You can buff out the foil before removing it from the backing sheet and/or after it is applied. You don't need any special polishing tools, just the same soft cloth and compound you use for your paint. I guarantee if you try it you will like it. One word of warning; the oxidized metal turns your cloth black as it buffs out the foil. This is normal. You'll have to get all the compound residue off, and if it is a light color of paint you'll need to be slightly careful of not staining the paint...but it comes right off.

I have seen a number of very well built Revell Enzo models. It is a perfectly good kit, and the engine cover opens. The doors do not; but to me that is a good thing. While Tamiya's Enzo is a state-of-the-art kit in terms of build sequence much like the real car, and with the opening doors, it should be noted that it tends to only look good all opened up. The doors and engine cover really do not fit well when closed. If Tamiya had never done their Enzo, the world would have been just fine with the Revell Enzo. It is full-detail, but designed more like a traditional kit than how Tamiya tackled theirs. The biggest issue with the Revell kit is that the front ride height needs to be lowered. If you want a really neat kit to build, like the look all opened-up, and can afford the kit, get the Tamiya. If you simply want a good, traditional-style Enzo that looks better than the Tamiya kit all closed up, or if you just want it for the engine, get the Revell kit. I've got examples of both kits. The most I paid for a Tamiya was about $27, the most I paid for a Revell kit was about $8.

Guess the old resin 300's we collaborated on are completely obsolete now Which is fine by me...can't wait to see this one...and all of the Moebius models. Great stuff.

I have a Pilot Extra Fine Point silver marker that is perfect for this and sounds like the Gundam marker; it looks as close to chrome as any paint, and dries really fast. I've used it on many of my models, and for a few lock cylinders. Being a Pilot pen it should be easy enough to find...but I had a hard time finding them. Found mine at an art supply store. It was worth the search; the gold is similar. Much more reflective than a usual silver marker.

You could splurge and get an aftermarket set of photoetch lock cylinders if you aren't happy w/BMF or a drop of paint to do the job. I'm pretty sure you can get them from Model Car Garage and other vendors.

I do it all the time these days; but I spend far more time w/the airbrush and then just top off either the final color coat (if no clear is to be used) or the final clearcoat. Why? Because even though Tamiya cans nozzles are far better than Testors, the paint being lacquer has a tendency to affect the layers below; a wet coat of color often causes the lower coats to pull away from edges, especially true of colors that are sometimes weak in overall pigmentation (Testors lacquers are much more pigment-dense, unlike their enamels). I can lightly spray extra color in the problem areas as I build up the color layer. Too much clear all at once can negatively affect a color coat underneath, especially a metallic; it can pull color away from edges and it can excite the metallic particles so they look mottled. I get a lot more control from the airbrush on the base coats of color and clear, and am able to use less paint. I start with lighter coats, and then heavier coats. Then one or two wet, final coats from the spray can instead of the airbrush. I am getting the best, most consistently good results with this setup. The spray can throws more paint than my airbrush. So it works for that final wet coat, but I feel it's quite wasteful and like spraying a model with a firehose when putting on the primary layers of paint. Tamiya cans cannot give a mist coat anything like a good airbrush. That said, I also like the fact I can so quickly apply those final wet coats with the spray can; if I only used my airbrush it would take longer, and the longer the paint is wet, especially at the end...the more chance of something getting into it. It works for me, that is why I do it. It definitely saves paint (cans that feel nearly empty can offer a lot of decanted paint for airbrushed coats). I get a better finish, I spend a lot less time buffing the model because the final finish is so smooth I hardly have to use Micromesh anymore, except on primer and mid-coats, sanding out any texture or dust nibs from those layers as I go along and the parts are dried in the dehydrator. Even when I was shooting old-school enamel clear mixed w/lacquer thinner I had to be careful for it not to affect the layers below; especially metallics. That reminds me...when I'm shooting a metallic/pearl color, before I graduate to clear I airbrush a few mid-coats of Tamiya clear mixed with what is left of the decanted color. This also is a good way to get a good, rich color that is safe from the clearcoat (I do the same when I shoot bottled enamels or automotive colors, taking what is left of the color and mixing it with clear). I paint very quickly. I don't let paint dry for days/weeks, I usually like to have finished color and clear sometimes within hours after I start. This is yet another reason why the steps I use work well for me.

Thanks! You found the one area I haven't finished; I need to get some "blacken it" for the mesh that will fit in the opening. Paint doesn't work as well on brass, though I think for 100% authenticity it should be painted dark blue and white to match the paint on the body.

Great news for Revell. Makes me wonder if the recent job posting for that position, with the ridiculous "will not pay to relocate" was just a corporate HR department ruse to competitively "search" for a viable candidate all the while knowing who they were going to hire. But I have to wonder...how much of Ed's influence at MRC was behind the announced Academy Cobra Daytona coupe kit, and wondering what the ramifications are, if any. That's a true holy grail for many modelers...an affordable and good Cobra Daytona coupe.

I hear you can make those with a water based chroming system