Zoom Zoom

Glad so see someone else who "gets it" Fujimi won't "waste tooling" on an AMX, Barracuda, or vintage American iron...it's not what they do. There is nothing wasted if something they make sells in their home market (the US buys barely a trickle of their production), that's all that matters. Forget the politically-charged bluster that trickles down to mocking people who like or buy something like a Prius to blaming a company for all the ills of the industry because they chose to do a subject that is popular in their home country (and also a top-seller in the US). We build model cars, so there's an inherent component of insanity in all of us, but sometimes it gets to levels that creates facepalmage on forums I should be crying that Fujimi is wasting tooling on a Prius when they (or Tamiya or Revell AG) should be doing the Ferrari 599XX or the 599 GTO that was unveiled today, subject matter that they do have history and track record for producing previous modern Ferraris. Thankfully I'm not stressing over that their absence...even though I'd drop everything to buy/build those in a heartbeat, something I would not do for a Prius kit. I don't need to fall asleep at my bench while the model flies off the edge to oblivion, though it might entertain the cat I look at the bright side; if Fujimi is making the effort to tool a boring car like the Prius, the hobby & the market can't be all that bad. Considering that this year folks who like modern cars are getting models of the Mercedes AMG SL63, Aston Martin DBS, Ferrari 458 Italia, Mercedes SLS, Corvette ZR1 Viper ACR, International Lonestar, life is pretty good Add to that historic subjects like the Academy Shelby Daytona Coupe, Revell '62 & '66 Impala HT's, the TV Batmobile, the Hudson Hornet and Chrysler 300...no complaints here, I can't keep up with them all.

I found that on Firefox, but if I open it in IE8 the pictures can be saved in the normal fashion.

Yeah, I know how you feel. Some people run their mouths so much they think they're having their own private conversations while basically running people off with their own extremist and political views...and some of them should know better about including anything political...but they just cannot help it

I go to the show every year. It's always amazing, and I'm glad to live within fairly easy driving distance. Saturday (Auction Day; setup day) Concours d'Elegance 2010

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I may try that; there's a location very close to me...the Bondo professional tube of polyester glazing putty kicks a bit slower with the blue Evercoat catalyst. Since the putty always dries out before the catalyst, you usually have plenty when the container dries out. Evercoat was over $30 last time I got some. Never again, considering I never use more than half before it's dried out.

Read the extensive instructions that come with the BMF. Go to their website, see the slideshow.

These days it would be ludicrous to do a new model kit in a "fringe" scale. If they want to make slot cars, 1/32 is fine. If they want to make plastic kits, 1/24 scale is the only one they should consider. I have no desire for models in fringe scales. I'd take them in a heartbeat in 1/24th, and I believe the market would agree.

You want to clearcoat it. That's just how these paints work best. I'm painting a model in the pearl light blue right now. Nice colors...cover well, but they have to be clearcoated to be able to buff out to a mirror shine w/o damaging the pearl.

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That came out nice

Wow...didn't know that, and I have yet to receive any royalty checks

Wow, absolutely superb build!

So true. Those who insist on clearcoating BMF are fine to continue if that is what they prefer, and I'm pretty sure they'll continue regardless of what we say, just like we will continue to do it our way.

I've used BMF since 1981. No lifting, no tarnishing, and it buffs out to a very realistic shine once applied over clearcoat. You can apply it before or after, but here's where I think clearcoating after foiling is a big potential mistake...you spend a long time applying your foil over a half-finished paintjob. You then apply clear. What happens if you mess up that clearcoat? I see an epidemic of modelers who give up on very easy paint repairs and choose to strip their paint. Mess up that clear, you've not only messed up your paint, but potentially hours of foil work. That alone is what would keep me from ever putting clear over the foil. I can replace a mistake on my foil...but if I drop the body or have some other potential paint disaster after foiling but during the clearcoat, I've wasted a lot more time than necessary (mistakes I make at that point are rare, but it does happen occasionally). But that will never happen to me, since my foil goes on after the clear. Just something to chew on when you contemplate how you approach your paint, and how successful you are with your paint and your clear. Look through my Fotki album...none of those models have clear over the foil. None of them have ever had foil fall off (only if the foil was bad, and that would happen at application, not years later). The facts are clear...that BMF does not require anything to seal it from the elements; sealing it from the elements may work well for some, but it might also waste a lot of extra time if you make a mistake during the clearcoat phase.

Looks nice; did you test fit the chassis at all before the front clip was glued in place? There's a slot/tab under there that might be tricky to know if it's seated or not if you didn't pre-assemble and see where it fits before the front clip is added. If you were to carefully pull out the chin from the lowest point up front, and then push down on the chassis at the very front, that should snap it in place and seat it, unless there's something on your assembly that's getting in the way.

Looks like a great visit! I live in Atlanta and haven't yet been out there (limited hours being one excuse). How did you like the High Museum "Allure of the Automobile" exhibit? I've seen some photos on Ferrarichat from the week prior to opening to the public...they have some seriously epic cars on display (though many I've seen before). The Tucker looks like it gleams, compared to it's previous faded-to-satin appearance that was due to old age. Our ACME club will get a group discount...looking forward to it. Hope you had a good time in Atlanta

That doesn't always get rid of the shadow effect from the peg when it goes into the receiver hole. If it's still too visible: Remove the peg completely; carefully nip it off and polish the area (this takes some practice, a tiny round Dremel bit helps), then put a bit of foil over the receiver hole, and glue the lens in place with any white glue or clear paint that dries invisibly.

I'm not at home at the moment, I'll look through my Fotki at some point to find a couple models where I did a quick & dirty version that I mentioned. You can get pretty close with doing a bit of careful scribbling with a black pigment liner pen (same one I use for panel lines, grilles, etc) and a few quick dabs of slightly watered-down white paint. This one I just scribbled a little with the black pigment liner, making a horizon line across the middle, and bringing it up the sides a bit. These both have scribbled black horizon lines added down the middle. Gives the illusion of depth...add a little white wash, don't have to be too careful, and it will look even better. Look closely at this one, I did a little rendering on the headlamps to make them look better. This was done w/paint and transparent colors. A little more of the pigment liner work on this one (hard to see at this angle)

That's exactly how Formula 560 Canopy glue works, and I use it for exactly the same reasons...it's safe on paint, easy to clean up any excess, dries clear...and if by chance the part needs to be made "non-permanent", a drop of water, wait a bit...and the part comes right off. Extremely handy...if it stays dry, it's hard as a rock and very strong once fully cured (and that can take a long time beyond initial cure).

Honestly none of the painted headlights shown look very realistic to my eyes. You have to look at a real headlight to get an idea what colors to use for the reflections and depth. Just covering them with a single different tone/color just gives a bit of contrast. The Fox Mustang headlights as mentioned are worse. You can't use one color of paint over the whole thing and get anywhere near what they'll really look like. If I don't have a clear lens/reflector handy (that is going to be the best solution; Mark's idea is by far the best), I'll render the headlights a lot like you see the stickers/decals for drag cars and stock cars. That will look a lot more realistic than thinned out Elmers, or other single tone colors. Seriously...look at a real headlight, get your paint, pens, small brushes out and copy what you see on a real headlight. It works quite well with a little practice. A little white, light blue, earth tone, a dark tone to show the horizon line, and some white or silver cross-hatch lines over that. Don't shy away from using a 2D rendering technique on a 3D surface.

If you want see-through wire wheels, you need photoetch. The Jaguar Mk II wheels are nice, and you can almost see through them, and the tires are relatively skinny. They're bigger than the puny wheels in your kit that are likely undersized. The Cobra wheels are too wide, nice detail for what they are. You might try these; you knock out the solid center of your wheels, and use photoetch centers w/plastic rims. Deeks Borrani Wheels

Awesome! I knew it would work. I really want to get that version of the kit as well. My first one is silver, the one I'm working on now is white (NART Lucybelle from '58 LeMans). Saw the black one in person last year, it's a stunner, and there's lots of photo reference for it (including my own).

I did snap the bodywork on my first TR; I used large Scuderia shields to cover them up. And learned my lesson (try another way of final assembly, don't use superglue to glue the body together)...this is the only difficult part of the assembly. You should install the chassis from behind first, and it rotates the entire assembly so the last part to come together is the front of the chassis behind the nose cone; just a small amount of glue is needed there to hold it all together. I started working on my second TR this past weekend, I used Tamiya extra thin styrene cement and the body feels strong enough now that it might survive the stretch (the fit of the body pieces isn't great, I had to do some careful filing/sanding and I beveled the open edges of the doors and rescribed ever panel line on the car as they are all a bit weak). If you have not glued the rear bulkhead in place, nor the seats, you could leave them separate, turn the body over, lay the rear bulkhead in place, then install the chassis/interior, and carefully glue the seats in place which will hold the bulkhead. This allows you to do almost no stretching of the body over the chassis, just a small amount of drama getting the rear wheel housings rotated inside the body and the back of the chassis snapped into the slot on the body. I did a dry run and it seemed to work, and I've heard from others that it does work...so little or no stretching required. Hope this helps.

Oh jeez, another thread about can poking I have excellent results decanting whatever quantity I need via a straw; I found a package of translucent almost-neon-colored bendy straws at the grocery store that friction-fit nice and snug on a Tamiya nozzle. I spray into an open mixing cup and let the propellant gas-out for a few minutes. Add a few drops of Mr. Color Thinner (or Tamiya lacquer thinner), and I'm good to go. My spray cans remain usable as a spray cans until it empty, I only decant enough for what I need at the moment. I'm not ready to become a potential Darwin award recipient (or have a video on Funny or Die) so I have no need to decant paint in any other fashion