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I think based on conversations w/Ed Sexton from Revell that Academy in Korea has the tooling for the Ferraris. They were hoping to get licensing to release the SWB, but it apparently never happened. I lucked into mine for sure, one I've had for many years, the second I found in the past 5 years. Intent is to build both of them, for some reason it's my favorite followed by 275 GTB, Lusso, and 250 GTO in that order. Someday...? The Tamiya Lt. Gunmetal paint is a decent match for Ferrari's own Grigio Titanio. I'm slowly making the switch from TS colors as I run out of them into the LP paints as I prefer airbrushing and it's just so easy to mix and make my own color variations. Glad you aren't doing the obligatory "resale red" ? even if it does look great on 275's. Saw a Miata like mine (in True Red) parked next to a Rosso Corsa Ferrari and the color of my Miata is a little brighter and more vivid than Ferrari red! I call that a safety feature in such a tiny car...

I have all three and an extra SWB because it's my favorite and the extra one kind of fell in my lap at a show for less than the price of a new Revell kit. I have the various correct wheel sets (Fujimi parts pack and MFH wires, HRM alloys) and tires. These are some of my favorite Ferraris ever, I need some inspiration seeing them built!

Unlike the mid-engine Honda Beat this one has a traditional front engine (660 CC turbo)/rear drive setup and a very cool removable HT; the targa section is 3 removable pieces (allows opening partially or completely) and the rear glass section folds down into the cavity for the full convertible treatment without a soft top to do it. With everything in place it's not a lot different from your PRHT Miata in security, but it does require getting out of the car to remove/replace the targa's sections. I've sat in this, the Beat, and the AZ-1. This and the Beat are marginally comfortable, cockpit width is tight, the AZ-1 would be impossible for me to drive with shoes on as my size 8.5 wide shoes each cover two pedals at once.

Nice! That's basically the same spec as the US market Club Edition. Cloth interior, 6 speed (auto or manual) and suspension upgrades as well as limited-slip differential, essentially the best spec you can get on an NC generation. I have a friend locally with a 2013 white Club and he's put about 150k miles on it since buying new, other than basic maintenance he's had done all along from a Mazda technician friend all that it's really needed so far was a new starter. The most expensive part mine has needed was a new driver's side headlight unit, I opted for a fresh factory overflow tank. Fantastic cars! I've driven some ND's & really like them, especially the 2019 with the upgraded engine and the same suspension mods my NC has. Ergonomics better than my car (especially since 2019 the steering wheel adjusts for reach), definitely more power, definitely less space in the cabin. Used Clubs with low miles are going for what I could have bought new 10 years ago.

I was going to ask what year your NC Miata is and then saw the reflection in your glasses so I know it's probably a white Club edition ? Mine's an '06 w/114k, fantastic car after a few upgrades, I ditched the factory suspension w/in a month of buying it 10 years ago. Almost bought a new Club in '13 as they were heavily discounted. Probably should have, but at this point only an ND or Boxster/Cayman might replace it.

You nailed it! The finished model looks awesome, even better in person, and it's astounding how well the weathering turned out on your very first try. I can almost smell the must and the rust LOL. The safari windows by Highlight are icing on the cake ?

I ordered the new '65 GTO from the same seller. Quick delivery. But it was a '68 GTO in the package with a seller's barcode for a '65. And wonder upon wonders, at that point the "seller" became the fulfiller (person w/Chinese name from VA), so my not so great review may not have even affected DDK. I like the '68, I've built two of them. I wanted a '65. So I deal with having to physically take it somewhere to get it returned, or just donate the kit for our club meeting raffle. I did read very similar reviews (after the fact) from DDK or whomever fulfills it for Amazon, same story...ordered one kit, got another. A couple buyers tried (and failed) twice to get the kit they ordered. To me that's the same as ordering something from Hobby Lobby online and they just send a random kit. No bueno. Lesson learned, no more kits from Amazon for me.

They might feel dry to the touch but they don't fully cure nearly that fast. Might be okay for minor brush painting but this thread is about spray painting which often includes masking at some point for another color/finish. Masking over Tamiya gloss acrylic in that scenario is very risky unless the paint is fully cured, not just dry to the touch.

For those that use Tamiya sprays they have a relatively new product called "Base White". It's one of the best paints they have, it covers multiple colors of plastic with ease, and dries to a very smooth semigloss finish. In some cases like a weathered finish that may be enough, but allows spraying their regular white over it (or airbrushed decanted or LP lacquers). My only gripe with Base White is the can is small, same size as the regular colors and IMHO should be available in the taller primer sized cans. Tamiya rattle cans are nearly foolproof. White is an easy color to achieve if you use the right compatible products. They have white primer, base white, regular white, racing white. All of it is plastic and user friendly. I generally ignore their acrylic gloss colors, they take too long to dry (even when mixed with Tamiya or Mr. Hobby lacquer thinners) and their jars of LP lacquers for airbrushing are all good, mix well to get custom colors and dry rapidly. Example below was a model that the body was molded in white but the separate engine compartment was molded in black. The Base White easily got the black engine compartment into the same shade of white as the primer on the body without having to flood it; I used white primer to help make the metallic blue a bit more vivid than if applied over gray primer.

I saw this with my own two eyes and I shot the photo and the only photo editing was cropping. The photo is remarkable not necessarily for width but the height and thickness of the new Challengers, which are challenged by a high cowl height due to being related to the large car LH platform.

BIN sands super-easy, easier than any regular primer. Does MCW still offer their sealer? It's been years since I shot MCW but they had a primer-like sealer with specific instructions for applying (inside a time window) and it worked like a charm.

I always thought the '71-'73 Mustangs looked big. A few years back on the freeway on the way to a car show I passed a '71 Mach I traveling to the same show. It looked pretty small compared to modern traffic...I was surprised. Some perspective:

Lee was one of a kind. Incredibly generous, funny, and an ultimate car guy. He'd been dealing with a nasty blood-related cancer for perhaps a decade or more, in fact for awhile both he and his wife were going through chemo sessions together side-by-side. He spent time at the NIH near DC for treatment, I believe that's where he ended up getting bone marrow transplants. Through it all he kept his sense of humor and positive outlook. When he couldn't fly anymore, he got a Mercedes E63 wagon for rapid transit cross-country. He sent me pics from SEMA the year his McLaren was in a booth, first time I'd seen a photo of him. He didn't let his disability keep him from living life to whatever fullness he could muster at the time. Back in the day he posted as Airway on the Hobby Heaven board. That name was a glimpse of what he did for a living, being a pediatric pulmonologist. I wish I had been in closer contact more recently, I was concerned as he'd been quiet for so long on this forum. RIP Lee, you were one of a kind.

Yes, I took many cellphone photos. Not sure they allow any flash photography. Their website is pretty good to give you an idea of what to expect. The collection is mind-blowing.

It looks like decklid was shared with the coupe as it has the concave shape seen on the HT. I haven't seen a Coronet CV up close lately but if/when I do I'll check it out; Google is good for overall shots but not aimed at detail-oriented modelers LOL. I'm just anxiously awaiting a HT variant of this kit which I have to think is coming at some point.

Very nice turnout, thanks for sharing. Your Merlot Miata looks great! I was down in Naples in early March to visit friends, drove my '06 Miata all the way down there. Honestly aside from the day we took it down to the everglades for an airboat ride etc. it was wasted on the boring/crowded boulevards of FL. Highlight of the trip was our day at Revs Institute, we had a morning docent-led tour of the collection and a brief tour of the workshop. After lunch at Spanky's Speakeasy we went back to go through the collection at our own pace. Mindblowing collection, probably the best museum I've ever been to. After that we drove down to the airport observation deck, my goal was to see my first HondaJet, and thankfully that goal was achieved as well as seeing a really cool metallic green w/gold accents Cirrus Vision jet. Unfortunately never hit the beach due to the red tide. Drove up the coast to Ft. Myers, was heartbreaking to see the hurricane damage. Naples looked like nothing ever happened except for the row of mansions right along the coast.

That rear window shape for this uptop is all kinds of wrong. Just take a look at photos of the real thing. The kit's own tulip panel is wrong, shaped to fit a coupe's compound rear window contour and not the convertible's. AMT masks it somewhat by including a top boot that covers the shape. This uptop just amplifies the shape issue. Good luck making any kind of sheet plastic fit that opening. To make a correct convertible uptop is going to take effort from someone, because it requires an all-new shape of the tulip panel between the decklid and the edge of the body where the convertible top resides. Maybe someone could fix the issue and resin cast a corrected body and offer a properly fitting uptop. A correct 3D file could be created so the uptop shape is proper and would have to include a 3D printed replacement tulip panel. I'll just wait for a coupe version of this kit. I understand why AMT cloned the original as-is, flaws and all.

Once you are in the Bay Area if you have the time and a car I'd suggest driving south a bit on the 101. In Danville there's the Blackhawk Collection which is pretty amazing and the location is crazy, in a swanky upscale shopping center. Then drive a bit more towards Santa Cruz and in Scotts Valley visit the Canepa collection. It's a can't miss (museum upstairs, cars for sale downstairs, and the restoration shop in back-there's an overlook of the shop from the museum) and a lot of guys that go to the NNL West take a day trip there the day before the show. I kind of remember a very good hobby shop in the San Jose area. Get a good cheap lunch/dinner at an In 'N Out Burger while in CA, order a double double animal-style. No matter what you are interested in there is plenty to do in that area (like drive further south to Monterey and hit part of Hwy. 1 through Big Sur). Northern Bay Area across the Golden Gate there's wine country. Maybe on your way from Vegas to SF drive west to pick up Hwy. 1 north of Santa Barbara for a spectacular drive up to the Bay Area from the south...check to make sure the road is open as sometimes a rock slide can close the highway.

The primer is a little friendlier with wet coats, doesn't have the same tendency to run and easy to sand. I do the same mist coats followed by wet coats as the colors. I use their white primer, regular gray primer, fine gray primer, pink and red oxide primers and more recently they have a base white which is amazing stuff. Covers multiple colors fast and dries to a semi gloss finish. It only comes in smaller cans, I would prefer they sell base white in their "tall boy" sized cans. FWIW Mr. Hobby surfacers are even better.

Tamiya sprays are super easy to use once you master them. Mist coats first, wet coats last. I learned the hard way that spraying too-wet, too-close caused minor runs and worse the propellant bubbles; the runs actually shrink a lot when the paint cures. Back off a bit from the body on wet coats and practice moving the can at nearly warp speed as you spray the body sides. Tamiya sprays decant and airbrush well, and now their LP lacquer jar paints are out and I use them all the time through my airbrushes. I use Tamiya/Mr. Hobby rattlecan primers all the time, they're so easy/convenient and smooth. If Tamiya sprays drive you mad Duplicolor or any similar budget rattle cans will be likely be worse. Master the Tamiya stuff and you'll be a customer for life.

Inspiring build, great work! I've had this kit for awhile and want to do it justice when I get around to it. I always liked these oddball Citroens and have memories of riding in one several times (a '72 D-Special bought as a low-mile 2 or 3 year old used car) that close family friends had, they generally loved everything about the car aside from the glacial acceleration pace. It had a 4 speed manual column shift transmission and between the suspension, comfy seats, the thick and "springy" floor carpeting and the aerodynamic shape it was remarkably comfortable/quiet on the highway even compared to American luxury cars from that era. If only it didn't have that agricultural-grade engine, but then again in the mid-70's they averaged 27 MPG in their D-Special which was unheard of at the time for something so comfortable.

It can vary, some say what's in a fresh jar doesn't seem full and they add thinner to make the jar seem more full. Read Tamiya's information: Tamiya Blog LP Paint compatibility A good video tutorial on YT that was linked from the Tamiya Blog: Video Tutorial I've thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinner and Mr. Hobby Mr. Color Thinner and Mr. Leveling Thinner (with retarder). Any lacquer hobby paint I've tried has a strong odor. I used to decant/airbrush TS paints but after it's thinned a bit to flow nicely through my setup it cures rather soft, especially TS-13 clear. The LP's cure completely and don't get sticky from handing, they polish out beautifully.

I haven't compared directly but it seems different. I've painted/cleared several models recently with LP's, there's a link in my signature to see them in my Fotki albums.

Tamiya LP-9 clear gloss lacquer is a new favorite (the entire line of colors is great, I like mixing colors from them like I used to do decades ago with Testors enamels). Mr. Hobby #46 solvent-based clear is excellent as well; it was my go-to clear before the LP line arrived. Both dry rapidly and polish beautifully. One reason I prefer these two clears is that they are friendly with most lacquer based paints including aftermarket colors and are plastic-friendly.

A club member brought his to our meeting yesterday, he hasn't even looked at all the parts yet but he brought it to show how warped the deck plate is (side panels are fine). The part is unusable the way/shape it's warped; looks heat damaged and almost shrunken-the plate is also molded so thin so that it might scale nicely but it just exacerbates any sloppy mishandling of the parts after they pop out of the mold. I also saw his frame was a bit warped but it looked like it could be dealt with, I warned him about the hood being potentially warped. He had begun to scratch build one years ago (and his side panels nearly perfectly match the kit's parts) and he was elated this kit was coming out. Now he's not sure what he's going to do to make it right. This is really sad as warping has been an issue w/these Ford truck kits since day one, and the way they cram all the parts into too-small boxes just makes it worse. I wanted one of these, but I'll pass at least for now and perhaps Moebius/Model King will better manage the future production end of things.