Zoom Zoom

You're going to love this I kept seeing ongoing references to Glucifer on your FB page, the way it was written & without me knowing any of the background it sounded to me like you were working on some sort of large craft-type sculpture or statue @ work, adding to it bit by bit every time you mentioned "four more tubes today"....man, I wasn't even close...not even in the same galaxy...and I swear, I haven't used any tube glue in decades

So that's who Glucifer is?

No kit of the Prius...yet. There is a pretty neat Matchbox of an '08 Prius, and there's a Tomica toy of it. At the hobby show in Japan in September, Fujimi showed a couple early-stage mockups of 1/24 2010 Prius & Lexus HS models, apparently they were done to gauge interest, there is no guarantee...most observers thought the Prius was a good idea but the Lexus would be a waste of time, it just looks like a weird Corolla...a bit too esoteric whereas the Prius is iconic. It would be fun to have a Prius model...I like the teardrop shape since it's not a cookie-cutter boring sedan look. They could make it an iconic Japanese kit & throw a battery pack & Mabuchi motor in it

Microscale makes a liquid foil adhesive that you brush onto the foil. It's much like white glue when you apply it, but it dries tacky.

Nice I got a shot or two of it in-progress a couple weeks ago in the hospitality room. BTW, got home today from T'giving & the package arrived safely. Thanks

Why yes, you do need to finish that! Looks awesome. I have the decals left from that to do more... And when you are finished, snag one of the Revell snapper '63 split windows & do the Z06...one of the most fun projects I've done in years (minimal modifications, curbside). One of my favorite racers for my PS2 GT4 game. Not sure if you've seen it or not, hope you don't mind me sharing...getting the decals was all the motivation I needed: I'll be building a couple more of the cars from the excellent VRM decal sheet.

Thanks. The Rendezvous wasn't nearly as controversial (aka fugly) as the Aztek; it sold in decent numbers & was more of a US (& bargain priced) alternative to the Lexus RX300.

Shhhhh! Don't rat me out!!!

That comment was LOL hysterical

It's often the sequence how I build. Glad to know I'm such a hack

Are you sure it's residue? I've never heard of Tamiya tape leaving residue. If so, the residue would be sticky, just like the sticky side of the tape. Tamiya tape will leave marks in paint that has not cured enough before being covered w/the tape. It prevents the solvents from the uncured paint from escaping to the air, so the solvents etche the surface of the paint w/the pattern of the tape. If you have enough paint in those spots, you level them w/the proper sand papers/polishing cloths, and buff them out. If you go through the paint, you'll need to reshoot. If it is just tape residue, a little polish should get it right off.

Gorgeous model, amazing work to get such an authentic appearance in every nook & cranny

Neat model Would the Gunze be a good candidate to backdate to a split oval window?

The Samba.com is a great place for VW inspiration, that's for sure. I might steal the two-tone green on your Kombi for my panel van. I think the Polar Lights "Herbie" kit has a good set of authentic-looking wheels (though the area under the hubcap isn't detailed). Speaking of Polar Lights Beetles, I'm getting a set of Tamiya Beetle taillights from a friend for it; it's big issue are taillights that look closer to 1/12 scale than 1/25. Otherwise it's a neat kit, though lacking in VW emblems. Would be nice if Round2 were to reissue the Beetle w/VW licensing so they could engrave the VW emblems. It's full-detail.

The worst ones never get finished, and some of my favorites fight me tooth and nail for issues that may have nothing to do with it being a good or bad kit. I started a vintage Pyro/Lindberg Triumph GT6 this year, I've seen decent built examples (though obviously they weren't contest winners, more like 5 or 10 footers), but to be perfectly/bluntly honest it's such kraptastic handful that I may never get mine finished. To get one to look anything like a really nice model will take a lot of patience & a good bit of scratchbuilding to correct the driprail area & windshield surround; tasks that I often don't mind if I like the subject, but mine went back in the box because it wore me out to just look at it due to the domino effect of "fix this, you'll then have to fix that". I was surprised at it being reissued & all the positive forum response it was getting (obviously from dreamers rather than people who have built this thing). Bluemoose did nice builds for boxart, but Model King really did their best to hide the worst evils of the kit on the boxart. It isn't a good kit...it's just the only game in town for the subject. There's a reason we haven't seen any or many ever built. Look back @ Lownslow's build...he's usually game for anything.

Sorry, I did wonder when I replied (thought you might have meant "Revell"), but not sure...and I haven't built any of my Heller kits yet so that's a whole new thing to "look forward to" I build curbsides quite frequently since, to me, the exterior design of the car is by far the most important to me...I wouldn't mind if every kit came as a curbside. Hundreds of tiny detail parts is not the reason I build model cars for me. The engine is generally the last thing I worry about. The chassis is often just there to hold the wheels/tires in place. Everyone builds/enjoys models for different reasons. If I am building full-detail, I do want it as right as possible. I wouldn't expect anyone to put a curbside on the pedestal of "KOTD"

You contradict yourself...AMT Challengers have no engines; they're unassembled promos (nice models, but absolutely not KOTD material). The Tamiya Enzo & FXX have full engine detail. That's why I chose them; full detail, and very distinct detail & quality, engineered much like the 1:1, and no excuses.

Thanks for the replies & input; I'm still going to try some different things w/the back end & mirrors. I'm going to shorten the mirror stalks & doing so will remove the mirror bodies; will give me a chance to see in 3D whether orange, orange & black, or just black is the way to go w/them (all-black sure looks good on my '70 AMX w/a similar black mask). I'm still leaning on the second of the tail end variations; but there's still something missing. The orange bisecting strip as it is looks okay, but I'm not 100% satisfied. Maybe I'll never be 100% satisfied so I'll end up living with something

I'm going to operate under the assumption that Revell will eventually do a HT version of this car or something very similar. I've got enough to keep me plenty busy until it happens

Wow, nice save, gorgeous result Where did the wheels come from?

You'll never get it back; it's not that it's "just" warp. The warp is from the material shrinking and it doesn't do it consistently. You can try dipping it in warm water which will soften the plastic & you may have some limited success, but you'll never, ever get it "back" to new. You are probably best to clean it up and let it be, & put it in a sealed display case. That's how the promos look. If you want a straight, clean '59 promo w/o the warp, build a Revell/Monogram kit as a promo in the same colors & with the same simplified detailing. Promo collectors love models that aren't "dripping with bare metal foil" as one of my promo-collecting friends describes the kind of models we like

Or...maybe not

Here we are in a thread about our favorite model car kit of the decade, and (of course ) people have to come along and turn it into an IPMS (with emphasis on the PMS part) contest, instead of staying focused end up arguing about something else. In other words, we've become "them".

As an ex-smoker, all I can say is "YUCK". Tobacco is nasty stuff, aside from the addictive properties which are epic. People who smoke cigars smell like they've been munching on skunks. I have no idea how they ever procreate.

Easy Off heavy duty oven cleaner evaporates the chrome in seconds. Soak for a little while (depends on kit) to remove all the clear undercarrier. That said, if the clear itself isn't too thick, or has a run, or dirt, I've never had a problem with leaving it alone and refinishing over it. I usually spray, put in a plastic baggie, rinse off in 10-15 mins. and am ready to refinish.