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Spaz Stix website You can order it direct if you can't find it at your LHS.

Can't say, I don't have any others. I would expect the MFH wheels to be nearly perfect, as they should for more than double the price. They're also OOP. I didn't get mine right; too late in the build sequence I realized that no matter how hard I was trying to get them lined up correctly, I had gotten some of the steps wrong. You have to follow the instruction sequence to a "T", that would also mean looking at the parts carefully to make sure they are oriented correctly to each other, and to the alignment pin on the wheel rim. That said, hardly any photoetch wheel looks just like a real miniature wire wheel. The only way to get that is to hand lace them. These look a lot better than the plastic ones, and look better in person than in photos, I'm pretty picky and they look fine to me. Just like some modern Revell bodies, you have to "be there" to get it. Judging purely by photos isn't necessarily a ticket to happiness.

This was my annual LeMans palooza build this past weekend with a crew of other ACME friends in north Georgia. The model is the Hasegawa '57 Testa Rossa with their optional photoetch wire wheels, and an aftermarket set of Renaissance decals for the 1958 NART #22 Testa Rossa chassis #0732. Rather than stick to rules that only allow primer and parts cleanup, I "cheated" by painting the white body and prepainting most of the parts before race day, since I wanted this model to come out a bit nicer than I'd likely get doing a true 24 hour build. If you are counting, I already built two other white Ferraris in the past month and I did my prep work for this one while working on the others. There's something to be said about "economy building" when you spend a lot of time at the bench building similar subjects. I masked/sprayed the stripes on race day with Tamiya TS 15 blue; I didn't have confidence that I could get the decals to conform over the hood bulge and I couldn't match their color either. This was a truly enjoyable build, it is a fantastic kit to work with (if you remember my ranting about the other Ferraris I built this month, this was the polar opposite of those in this respect), just enough detail to make it interesting, and takes aftermarket parts well, and engineered to fit like the best in the business. I learned from my previous TR build and from other builders that the rear bulkhead is a tricky fit as the instructions have you glue it in before final assembly. This is not necessary and places extreme stress on the body stretching over the interior where the side pieces are glued. It's easy to avoid; place the bulkhead inside the body and then snap the chassis into place, the only glue needed at the crossmember under the radiator in front. The bulkhead will then snap into place on the floorpan between the tube frame pieces, and the seats will drop into place without problem from above. Our club prez Henry did my seatbelts for me; I forgot my own aftermarket seatbelt kit and didn't want to use the kit-based decals for them. I shot a nice shiny coat of white on his M1. All of us LeMans-palooza builders were helping each other out with tools, supplies, and encouragement. My seats were pretty easy to get the white piping; I primed them in Tamiya white primer over the black plastic, shot them Italian red, shot dull clear, then carefully sanded/scraped the red off the piping areas...it worked really well. Can't wait for next year

Personally I found my email inbox so inundated with notices of replies that I killed the entire subscription deal for all forums and keep up with the boards in the "view new content" format. I don't need nor want an email notice for every single reply to a thread that I've made a reply to. I do get emails to notify when I get PM's.

Ooh yeah, we do need that too. And let's hope they do well this weekend...

Viper ACR and Corvette ZR1 B)

That came out great

Not sure if anyone mentioned this here, as Winston didn't want anyone to know what was going on with him, but he passed away a couple months back. He had been diagnosed w/lung cancer in February; last year it was clear his health was failing. His wish was to be cremated, no service, with his ashes spending eternity in one of his old spray guns. We're going to have a tribute for him at our NNL in November. Joe Cavorley really knew how to put on a how-to demo at shows. His humor and talent were very inspiring, and he made scratchbuilding look easy.

Aw shucks My simple models can't hold a candle my personal favorite, who would be Juha Airio. He consistently nails the look of a car, in-scale, and with not only incredible fidelity, but stunning craftsmanship. I don't think he even makes fingerprints Not only can this guy build killer replica stock models of very unique subjects, but when he does a custom it is always amazing...he's not just a builder, but he's a great designer too. He has an eye for proportion, detail, and design that is stunning. It's really hard to pick a "best", because there are so many builders who inspire and build amazing models. Probably my favorite model in the world, by one of the nicest and most talented guys you'll ever meet, is the 1/12 '69 Sunoco Camaro by Randy Derr. Bill Geary impresses with a stunning amount of detail, and often perfectly working details. I know he'll get that working soft top one of these days. Clay Kemp, Bill Cunningham, Dave Thibodeau, Dave Morton, Ken Mouton, Chopper, Pat Covert, Tim Kolankiewicz, Bill Stillwagon, Gary Kulchock, Rob Mepham, Pico Elgin, Eric Cole are just a few of the guys I look up to.

Very cool! Very "Chopper". Nice

They recently reformulated; it's even more reflective, they now offer a black base and clear. That said, with hobby equipment it's pretty much the same but slightly better reflectivity, and it was already better than Alclad. I haven't tested the new stuff w/any clears, I don't think in our scale it will work. You can check out the new Spaz Stix on their website; they recently were blowing out the old stuff for a good discount. Both are fine.

It was fun to throw this car together right after getting it, just like a kid again I love the 458, I've poured over photos, "built" ones I like on Ferrari's configurator. Can't wait for Revell's kit... This kit is overpriced by a factor of two. It's clear that Fujimi didn't put forth any of the same effort as they did to the F430 or Scuderia. It honestly seems both rushed and over-simplified. Quality issues like some fitment issues (short rear axle, side glass), significant sink marks in the rear spoiler, seats, and windshield over the rear view mirror detail... No photoetch, no transfers, no window masks...but priced like Tamiya's Aston DBS that has all those extras. And none of the quality issues. It does look pretty slick when finished. If you have to be an early-adopter and have a 458, this kit is adequate; I'm not suffering buyer's remorse, I'm just disappointed that Fujimi winged this kit. Maybe Fujimi will revisit it like they did after the initial RX8. The interior is the biggest disappointment; with integral seat bases and door panels molded to the floorboard/wheelwells. When built, the only obvious issue is with the door panels. The dash and seats look good; I did not paint over the molded brown for part of the interior, so the sink marks in the seat bolsters remain..but the seats do look pretty good, even having the hinge areas. I'm on a roll w/white Ferraris. This is my first color choice; looks great w/my 612, and this weekend I'm building a white Testa Rossa "Lucybelle" that was race at LeMans in '58. My Revell 458 will be a completely different look..

It's better than Alclad and will stick to Tamiya TS gloss black, unlike Alclad. The new Spaz Stix is really impressive.

Test these first, but you should be able to use either rubbing alcohol or cheap lacquer thinner. The lacquer thinner works some of the time, but not always. Tamiya makes a bottle of lacquer thinner that is excellent for shooting their acrylics; it makes the paint flow and lay down more like lacquer and not so much like water-based paint. I clean my airbrush of Tamiya acrylics w/lacquer thinner all the time.

On common kits I use Tamiya fine gray or white primer. It's the best, by far the smoothest, it's lacquer. It's also very expensive. Alternatives are Duplicolor and Plastikote automotive sandable primers, and I've heard good things about Duplicolor's primer/sealer, they say it sprays incredibly smooth and in nice thin coats. In general, an automotive primer will be good, as long as it is labeled "sandable". You can also get away without primer on a lot of models, especially using Testors lacquers, as they're mild and won't hurt the plastic, and they cover very well.

Looking forward to seeing more of this one! Your models never disappoint...

Outstanding model, and Lee Baker (the man who mastered the woody for AAM) would be proud

Definitely looking forward to it. We'll be having out traditional LeMans palooza in north GA; about 7 or 8 builders. I'm building the Hasegawa Testa Rossa using aftermarket "Lucybelle" decals. My prep work is done, just waiting for the green flag on Sat. morning.

You said a mouthful! They're the last company I want to touch a subject that I want. Thankfully, they seem adept at choosing subjects that I could pretty much care less about. No biggie...even building like a madman I can't keep up w/all the good stuff that I do want that is managing to debut.

And as much as I'd love that kit (and I would buy several), I'm not at all interested in it being a $100 super-duper with white metal sprinkles on top product. $28.99 by Moebius with 1990's Revell-level detail and fidelity, sign me up. I'm a typical car modeler. I like what I like, but I'm pretty cheap thrifty.

Funny you ask; I'd buy two $71 Aston Martins before I'd buy one $5 double dragster. The main value to me is subject matter. Guarantee that's the same with those who value the DD kit far more than the DBS. I already know the Aston builds into a beautiful model with relative ease. I also know how to get an Aston Martin kit for under $45 delivered to my doorstep from halfway around the world. Forget the LHS. They wanted $45 for one of the reissued Round2 double kits in the tin box. My new Fujimi Ferrari 458 lists for the same as the Aston DBS in Japan. The DBS is a bargain by comparison. It has window masks, metal transfers, and photoetch included. Fujimi wants 2400 yen for their optional photoetch, on top of an overly-simplified 3800 yen Ferrari kit. The interior bucket on the 458 is shockingly simplified; no footwells, integral interior door panels w/the tub, seat bottoms molded to the floor. Grille engraving is so weak it's as if they're forcing builders to buy that photoetch. I got my Ferrari for $42 and change, no buyer's remorse, a few details bug me but it's the subject matter that draws me in. The body proportions look right-on. I already know it looks right when finished. Even with a lot of questionable simplifications and too-expensive price, it's far more worth it to me than a double dragster. There is some consolation that Revell is doing the same car, should be available for less $ and will have far more detail. So my second one will not be a Fujimi, it will be a Revell. And perhaps a third... It all boils down to this: every modeler has limits to what they'll spend, and they'll spend what it takes on subject matter that moves them if the price seems fair. If that results in the model company selling enough to make a profit, they'll survive and make more. If not...they won't.

That didn't take long; shipped on the 26th and on my doorstep today Not bad for 780 yen to ship a kit halfway around the world. Friends who ordered and paid for EMS (overnight/fast) shipping got theirs a week earlier, an option that roughly doubles shipping cost. Guess it's time to fire up the camera and get some before, during, and after shots. This one just got pushed to the front burner. It's a simple kit (88 pieces, that includes the 4 polycaps for the wheels), interior is simplified...for the same price in Japan as Aston DBS, this kit is inferior by a good margin. Regardless, I think it's going to look excellent finished and be far easier to get finished than the Revell 612 turned out to be.

Hmmmm...

Excellent work, gentlemen, and great models This definitely helps me with my '62 which is on the bench as we speak. It's a pretty impressive model.

I doubt we'll ever see any new 1/8 scale kits. The market just isn't the same as it used to be. I'd like to see more tooling modifications; why not backdate the 1/8 Trans Am into an SD455, or the original '70 T/A? Or even the ubiquitous '77 T/A. Why not take the '84 Corvette and make a '90's ZR1 out of it? Or a Grand Sport? Take that '65 Corvette and Jag XKE and make 'em into convertibles? Heck...the 1/12 '67 Corvette and '57 Bel Air are ripe for convertibles. Or make a 1/12 '69 Camaro COPO or B-M car? If they won't even consider "easy" modifications like the above, you can be sure they won't be making any all-new kits in the large scales. The diecast market pretty much took care of that sliver of the market.