Zoom Zoom

This was a fun project inspired by the killer SEMA Twin Turbo (V6) "Leno" Camaro. I started w/a half-price Jada Camaro plastic kit. Two reasons for that...it's 1/24 scale and the body is better/crisper than either Revell or especially AMT. The interior is also quite nice. Chassis..uh, it's made for Dubs. Engine...didn't get built. It's a pure curbside. Wheels are Pegasus, as are the 23" sleeves. Tires are from the Revell Camaro concept. Paint is Tamiya Pure White. Grille mesh (not visible in photos) is P/E brass treated w/"Blacken It". I still need to improve the exhaust tips & side marker lights before this weekend's Birmingham show. Also would like to have the side mirrors not quite so high in the sky. I have one other model I'm also trying to finish before Saturday and it's full detail

Totally unexpected, and totally awesome looking car. Makes the hybrid Ferrari look...yuck How this company can do a car this cool, yet let the Panamera & Cayenne litter the landscape...

Excellent tutorial!

ARROGANT PUFFERY? Check. Useful tutorial about leather covered interiors? Not a chance I'm absolutely shocked.

Thanks! Yes, I still have the Camarice.

Thanks I had the BRAT out of the case the other week to look at it...had been awhile since I took a look at it. Still one of my favorites. The spring of '06 I finished the 914 for the Birmingham Classic & the BRAT for the NNL East.

Junkman has a point; those Hubley kits have the kind of "character" that real (out-of-scale) leather upholstery would complement. Now let's see if this tutorial actually gets anywhere after the "break"

While it's stretching the truth to think that they are "kits", considering that they are done in very small serial production, each model they make isn't scratchbuilt. Somewhere there is a master & molds for everything on these models. These models aren't meant for "us", they're built to specification for collectors who pay staggering prices for them...staggering prices to us, but not the people who can afford exotic cars. One of these models costs less than a 15,000 mile service on one of the real cars

This epic thread isn't complete without:

Agreed 1000%. A good scale appearance to leather can be as simple as adding a semigloss/satin clear to either flat or gloss paints. I find my best results don't come from merely spraying a single-stage color for leather seats, but spraying a base color (whatever I have; color is more important that whether it is gloss, semigloss, or flat), and then airbrushing the appropriate layers of "satin clear" over it. I tend to do a bit of mixing; I have cans of semigloss & flat Tamiya spray clears, I decant them and do a little mixing for just the right "satin" sheen. Until someone makes in-scale leather texture, my own eyes far prefer using paint vs. real leather on a 1/24 or 1/25 scale model. Larger scales may be a far more appropriate canvas for using the "real" product. A guy I knew used to love putting real fabric "upholstery" into his models. He got a kick out of it, he was quite proud of it. I thought it looked pretty tacky most of the time as the scale thickness was way off for a model, but as long as he was happy, I was happy. He was humble and never went around claiming any sort of fame. He enjoyed sharing his techniques, but in a very approachable, infectious manner. He inspired with his enthusiasm with never an air of superiority, embellishment, or contradictions. He was greatly inspired by Joe Cavorley who used to give demos at the shows he attended, and wanted to share what he learned w/all his friends that didn't get to see Joe's demos in person. Neither of them gave anyone an "Emperor has no clothes" kind of vibe. Sadly, both of them are no longer with us.

Picking the right angle for the quiz is quite important! From this angle the scale of the metallic flakes would clearly have skewed the votes towards "model"

There are a lot of subtle differences. The '58 has the ribbed hood, and decklid spears (molded to the decklid). Different wheelcovers. Different custom wheels (slotted steelies w/baby moons, tires based on mid 60's Revell musclecar tires). Stock tires are beautifully done tampo-printed bias ply whitewalls. Soft top only. Different seat/door panel trim. Different custom engine dress ups. Decals to make trunk floor & luggage. The '59 has a smooth hood & decklid, a beautiful set of modern big 'n little 5 spoke custom wheels/tires, '59 interior trim, the uptop is replaced by a hardtop. The bias ply stock tires are blackwalls. Wheel covers updated to '59. They're both great kits. I was disappointed when Revell dropped plans to make a stock '62 based on their '62 "Route 66" diecast model; it is by far a better model, even in metal, than the old AMT kit (but not up to the standards of their own '58/'59 kits). In plastic it would be fantastic. I'm 99% sure that test shots revealed (if they got that far) that the monstrously-thick front fascia area, okay for diecast but not plastic, probably resulted in terrible sink marks and as such not such an easy conversion to plastic without an expensive upgrade in the body tool. A shame really...but Revell never elaborated on why the kit mysteriously vanished from the "coming soon" lineup well over a year ago.

With a name like that, someone must call PETA at once! It's high time they get off their high horse.

Are you buffing the paint with the polish? Or just wiping it on, wiping it off like car wax? The polish has to be applied with some elbow grease. Buff it out, the friction is what causes the paint to "melt" into itself, getting the high gloss. Use the softest polishing rag you have, buff in a circular motion. I didn't like the Micromesh polish. I like Novus #2 or Meguiars Scratch X better, or even Tamiya coarse & fine compound.

You'll be waiting forever, Hobby Lobby doesn't have 50% off coupons. Best you can do is 40%. Back to the original question: Testors sets are totally overpriced. Harbor Freight has good prices on beginner airbrush sets. Good beginner airbrush You already have an air source. Stick with that for awhile, save your money for good paint. You can get an inline water trap for that airbrush for $4 at Harbor Freight. Master airbrushes are Iwata clones. Great value. Master Airbrush (Amazon) Full Line This is one I'm going to get There are too many good online parts stores & kit sources to list here. Easier to recommend to you if you let people know what your main interests are. Scale Dreams & Hobbylinc are two US-based sources for great prices/service on a wide variety of items.

Three of them were released last week.

If the primer is enamel and if it does not say "sandable" on the can, don't use it.

I have 3 Dremels. An old corded model, a big cordless Multipro model, and a newer cordless Stylus model that's smaller & more ergonomically designed...and it has amazing torque even at low speed. Dremel Stylus It's by far my favorite, but I need a backup (I keep the old Multipro charged & have the corded version too) as it gives no warning when the battery is going to run out. Once charged it keeps the charge, but as you use it (and I have only recharged it several times) there's no way to tell the battery level; it works just fine, then shuts off. All my Dremels were gifts over the years; if I had to buy one it would be the Stylus.

It's a Mitsubishi motor. You have to expect to see inside the block when it throws a rod or the flywheel/clutch breaks apart, so you have to detail all that ;) *runs/hides from all the Mitsubishi fanatics ready to hit me with the flamethrowers*

That's what she said Curses to The Office for never letting me grow up

Lookit those reflections

I learned two valuable tricks w/Testors enamels in the early 80's, when Testors came out w/their then-new spray car colors and Model Master line of paints. The guy that painted all those Corvettes and cars for the cans & flyers was Henry Gonzales, and he worked at Valley Plaza Hobbies. I talked w/him there one Saturday and he turned me on to using lacquer thinner & using Bare Metal Foil polish. I was already shooting auto touchup paint and buffing out w/either auto wet/dry or Flexigrit micron, he said that would work on enamels too...the lacquer thinner would help it dry faster. He was right...never looked back, never bought another container of Testors Model Master thinner. Absolutely unnecessary.

Formula 560 is my choice 95% of the time. Otherwise epoxy, or sometimes I can use some very neat double sided adhesive I found at Michael's. Stay away from superglues & styrene cements. Too much inherent danger; can and will permanently damage plastic and or surrounding paint if there are any mistakes. Formula 560, epoxy, Krystal Kleer, all excess can be wiped clean w/damp towel or cotton swab before it sets. Won't damage paint. Elmer's is far too weak for a good bond. Formula 560 Canopy Glue looks like Elmers, but dries 10,000 times stronger, and has a bit more stick when it is wet.

I haven't used Testors thinner for 20+ years. Just generic lacquer thinner and sometimes even acetone (good for cleaning the airbrush). The lacquer thinner cuts Testors enamel just fine, I have yet to have any issues with plastic compatibility (those issues are more from the paint itself-automotive paint is much hotter, not the thinner).

Wow, this is incredibly cool. Great idea, and fantastic execution