Zoom Zoom

This was a good one. It looked amazingly real in the photo, but two things...seat material & the horn button area..definitely looked out of scale. You really have to look at some of these photos very close. I was curious enough to do a search and easily came up w/the answer this time...after I had voted, of course Very cool model. Now they need to weather it to look like "normal" Land Rovers. They're not supposed to be clean & pretty

There are also European front turn signals that are smaller & more bullet shaped. The aftermarket could certainly step up for wheels (and smaller taillights for the Polar Lights Beetle); but since these VW's don't use an outlaw hood, bigs 'n littles or a V8, it's no man's land Raiding expensive import kits for parts is a PITA. It'll be under $30 when it's boxed for sale by Revell USA. Model Roundup has 'em for under $30 already. And the Revell AG price through Stevens, a distributor, is under $30. Any wonder why people have been fleeing the LHS for years? This kind of nonsense is what's put most of them out of business.

Nice start , are you going to open up the wheel openings (esp. front) a bit? I've got one of the original blue CV's somewhere in the dungeon.

Great model, as usual

And build it you should. Just because others don't like a particular 1:1 car shouldn't make someone who does like it not want to build a model of it if that's what they want. Some of my favorite cars are "love it or hate it" controversial. I generally love most new Ferraris, but I detest the new California. I did mention here & there that the concept, IMHO..of course ...should make for a much better subject as a model than the real car. I look forward to seeing your 789 model. What colors do you plan to paint it?

Thanks. I might have an extra one already cast; beware, they're from a 1 piece mold so they're thick & fitting the stock vents is not easy. I used some spare mesh instead as I wasn't getting anywhere w/the kit based vent insert.

That should look pretty nice; beware though to paint all the exterior components that will be Mica red all at the same time w/the same number of coats since it's one of those colors that if you're a bit off, all the doors won't match the fenders & vice versa. Shouldn't be the same issue w/the racing white. I'm still pondering how I'll paint all the parts so they'll actually match. I'm going to go with something along the lines of the old "toothpaste green" and white that was common on them. I've ridden in one very much like it....neat vans. Crazy slow...but neat.

Careful, that's almost as grievous as calling a Bugatti a Lambo

Sorry, but that thing is absolutely nauseating There's a guy building a model of it on the SA board. It makes for a much better model, IMHO...of course. What can I say...the car looks like it's trying too hard, it's a caricature. People either love it or loathe it. I thought I hated it in pictures...then I saw one in person this year in Florida. Where's the little puking icon that we get on other boards? Can't. Unsee.

It's neat, but compromised by the tacked-on nature of some of the "Daytona" parts. A model builder could get away with murder on this thing and not be so constrained by "production reality" Just sayin'... The basics are there...you could section the body, integrate the side fork & hood details, and end up w/a real stunner that blows away the 1:1.

You guys don't know the half of my relief that this was a happy ending! Doesn't really matter that it was a Model Factory Hiro kit or an AMT kit; it was built to a standard that any builder would be devastated to lose. I saw the Alfa on the table, all by itself as most people had already packed their models, I was packing mine. I had a flashback from seeing it sitting there of a very similarly detailed Ferrari that had been left on the table all by itself, owner nowhere to be found, at the Atlanta IPMS Nationals a few years back. That model was stolen, never to be seen again. The host club did an awful job covering their backsides over that, the model had won "Best Automotive" and was a stunner with a lot of scratchbuilding. They had a claim tag system so theft would not be an issue, but botched their ceremony up so badly they gave up and let everyone out the door w/boxes of models and didn't check a single claim ticket. Perfect chance for someone to take that Ferrari...and they did. It was a stunning case of incompetence and a very uncaring attitude. I did not want our show to get any kind of reputation like that! With the Ferrari debacle flashback I was determined to check around & make sure the Alfa was safe...and then I got distracted and forgot about it. Guys were working around it as they took tables down. The only people left were people we all know, and people I would trust, and a couple people employed by the community center...but until the model was found, I was very, very nervous...worried more that it was left behind, possibly thrown away, or taken by someone after the fact...hoping it might be in the lost & found if one of our guys didn't have it. Thankfully we tracked it down last evening and it's safe & sound & going back to the owner. I was pretty certain it wasn't theft, but you never know for sure. We all learned a good lesson, from the builder, to his son, to our guys who take down the tables after the show, to how we handle "lost & found". Running a good show demands attention like this, the ability to think on your feet and cover all the bases. It's a lot of work, but ultimately fun & rewarding.

The internet is awesome. Pelican Repellent For Sale Wonder if the two mellow dudes w/the camera will get on Leno or Letterman for their 25 seconds of fame?

Andy Lowery had a beautifully built Model Factory Hiro Alfa Tipo 33 on display at the ACME NNL in the closed wheel competition category. Andy's son was given the task to pack up his models after the show, and unfortunately he forgot his Dad's Alfa! Update: A club member found it during table knockdown, got it to our president, and he has it in his possession safe and sound.

Just incentive for you to come to our show! You know you want to

Loot from the ACME NNL. HRM 250 GTO Engine (door prize from HRM/Strada Sports), Monogram RX7 Cafe Racer (I've been trying to find one for years, would like to make an accurate IMSA GTU body for it), Tamiya Morgan, and the new VW bus.

Excellent idea, thanks. I'd been thinking in paint terms & hadn't thought of the inserts.

I'm pretty thrifty (okay, cheap!) myself (it's in the DNA of every model car builder ), but knowing these are very limited run kits w/o parts stockpiles, it's a tad greedy wanting to buy just the decals from the manufacturer if others can't help out (and the decals are the biggest reason I think the majority of the buyers want the kits). I understand your predicament; I was miffed when they did the second run of the '59 Imperial with not only far superior boxart, but also new & much improved detailing decals for it. I bought two of the first run, I don't need or want more Imperials (unless they run a '61 HT ). I refused to buy any more (it would cost nearly $60 for the replacements and I'm pretty sure I'd lose $ selling the two I have from the 1st run), and just live w/my decision because in the long run, a nice box & a few decals isn't worth shelling out another $30 or so when I already have the same basic kit. If I contacted them for replacement decals, I might get decals from them...but perhaps someone who got a kit with damaged decals might be out of luck if there were no decals left, and they'd be out of luck thanks to my greed. C'est la flippin' vie...and life goes on. Sean's advice is good. While the new kits are fresh/available you could sell/trade off your old versions of the kits to make room for the new versions, and then it wouldn't seem as bad from a stockpile standpoint. You won't come out ahead financially, or break even, but you will have exactly what you want without playing any games w/the manufacturer...whose business clearly isn't selling decal sheets except as part of a package deal with the rest of the kit.

Thanks for all the comments I'll probably deal w/the fuel cap issue soon, and probably shorten the side mirror stalks while I'm at it. And start planning the next mind-warp combo. I'm half tempted to mirror the results of this model w/the original pre-retro versions of the three cars. I'm more likely to go in a completely different direction on something fresh. I can never begin to predict where & when the lightbulb will come on with some crazy new idea...

Harry, getting a custom decal with a white backing (or any white) is going to cost more than doing it via dry transfers, unless the builder has access to an ALPS printer. For one-off stuff, not production runs, it's just a different story and there's no easy/cheap way around it. I've been admiring Tim's & Pat's work up close & in person for decades, and I can vouch for the method Tim is showing because it works. There is a company that sells a kit that you can make your own dry transfers including colors that you won't get with common printers unless you own an ALPS or better. It works okay, and you can make decals from it. You have to have some equipment like a heat gun & a heat sealer, and you use foil sheets for the various colors. It's not a great replacement for an ALPS, but it is useful in its own way (I've tried it, w/a bit of trial & error you can get some good graphics, but don't expect them to be as crisp as from an ALPS). You can buy a new ALPS from New Zealand, but they're pretty expensive, and they're fragile & difficult to get repaired. Make your own custom dry transfers If nothing else, with this system you can make a white background suitable for layering your custom decals over (including ink-jet). A common problem with all hobby-level decal printers (color laser & inkjet) is a lack of dense pigment; the pigments are translucent, fine for applying over white or light colors, but not over dark colors. ALPS printers print a base of white under many colors, and also can print metallics/foils. Dry transfers have been used for custom graphics for many years, though like film it's becoming a lot less prevalent due to better consumer printers and a lot of graphics shops having expensive printers that will print white (but they are far too expensive for hobby-level users to buy).

Nice work, finally someone fixes what everyone has missed so far on this kit! I started a fix for mine, but didn't get past the basics. It bugged me back in the '70's when Ertl did the kit. It was kind of lame after their outstanding big rig kits. It's kind of like the chin spoiler combined w/upright spats on the AMT '08/09 Challengers. Everyone is painting them wrong because AMT got that part wrong...they all look like they have a big black gap at the front of the wheel opening. It's easy to fix, but almost every single builder has either ignored it or hasn't noticed it, and to me it sticks out like a sore thumb!

Pat Covert covered it pretty well in one of his books and some articles & a video; and Fine Scale Modeler has had lots of articles on weathering through the years. Sorry I can't be more specific for a specific source that would be of the most help; in fact hopefully someone else will chime in so I can get my research more in order. In general weathering is more fun, more "loose" than the precise/clean detailing we do on most models, so there's lots of room for a learning curve and there's no one right or wrong way to do it. It can be addictive! Adding dirt & rust is pretty fun.

Hmmm... A couple things jump out at me screaming "model". We shall see...if so, it's quite impressive.

Funny thing is, you look at the parts tree and see the wheel openings and they do look horrible. Then you look at the real van and realize you've been looking at those same horrible openings for decades

Hasegawa's one-piece bodies have no interior side panel detail; at least in any of the early "general" releases (I think there was a version w/printed paper decals one could use). I think they might have added something to the latest versions. They're much simpler curbside kits than Revell's, and they have incorrectly slotted wheels. Revell reboxed the Hasegawa kit for awhile, so this will be the third completely different tooling Revell has sold of the 23 window van. Also, the way the hinges are designed for the opening doors could not have been accomplished with a one-piece body. I'm going to keep an open mind about it as I build my example. It's intimidating up-front, but all the photos of finished models look excellent. Painting the body panels and having them all match, and then masking/painting the inner panels will be a bit of a chore. All the glass installs from the outside, and all the panel gaps are where they should be. My only question is why the front wheel openings (or the doors themselves) are a bit small as pointed out by Keyser, probably due to a flange issue where the body meets the floorpan. I have Franklin Mint's excellent version of this van (with working canvas sunroof, one of the coolest scale features I have ever seen in a production model) to crib some detail ideas from.

Thanks to some helpful friends I have Mark's email, phone, & address, so he can get his decklid back Not only that, but Mark is the one who met Hank Borger recently at a local club in Florida and brought him up to the ACME NNL; his first major model car show in years! It was great to meet a living legend and see his work up close, and see him goofing around w/Bill Coulter, and I've got pictures to prove it!