Zoom Zoom

I bought a TKM Lincoln Mk. VII in the early 80's. I was warned that they were "different". I wasn't quite expecting the mess that arrived...at least old slush cast metal promos have a level of "finish". TKM models are poorly molded copies of masters that must be made from amateur clay models...wheels that are awfully rough, raw metal chassis that will cut you if you look at them wrong...everything cast in open 1 piece molds. Sloppy doesn't begin to describe the reality. I was so put off from it that it eventually went in the garbage. Had I not met Don Holthaus in Toledo around 1986, I may have never trusted any resin kit, because up until he started casting, nobody was doing the kind of quality that most modelers would really want. TKM and Sam Miller make/made some interesting stuff, but they're really not "models"...they're more "folk art". Sam's models were also odd, but they weren't nearly the disasters that TKM models are. Sam's compare well w/the slush cast promos, and I have a couple of his models built that are more than acceptable. TKM's compare with...nothing that we've ever seen before, or will ever see again. I hope.

I wasn't noticing that, but I was noticing the lack of center console, the bench seat, and weird seat to steering wheel location. Nothing like any Austin Healey I'd ever seen....I couldn't fathom why someone would build a large-scale model (looked like a model from the first glimpse of the photo, and I knew it was an Austin Healey) that was so "off"....then I stumbled upon the website and it all made sense It was a good ROM subject. And yeah...I would love a good, modern 1/24 Austin Healey 3000 kit...the Revell kit is okay, but isn't exactly inspiring me to do great things with it. I have a natural aversion to 1/25 scale sports cars/compacts...they look too small compared to everything else like them done by the global manufacturers in "proper" 1/24 scale. It's just as wrong for them to be 1/25 as it was for Monogram's musclecars to be 1/24

Pigma Micron .005 pens have been a staple at my workbench for years. I used to use them when I was doing patent illustrations the old-fashioned way...before using the computer and a printer. Rapidograph pens are were far too finicky!

That reply likely means: "We will probably reissue the Polar Lights '65 Coronet someday". Shame that Polar Lights botched the body character line so badly. So close...but so far. Truly sad. The Polar Lights car models were fun, but they all exhibited to some extent the dangers of bean-counter mentality.

Yikes; that's pretty bad IMHO. Now I fully understand why that particular seller has such tiny & un-detailed photos of their product. A step above TKM...but that's not saying much.

It's a decent kit; interior has some definite "liberties" , underhood is actually fairly accurate except missing a bit of engraved lettering (the concept is very clean underhood), chassis looks derived from the same general chassis that we saw under the Polar Lights GTO (same platform, updated, I presume). Wheels tend to have sink marks. A few missing cutlines on the body. Revell's body is crisper, interior much more accurate, curbside only. Mine was an early-run version in gray, built OOB (though I did scribe the missing front fender cutlines). The red concept from the LA auto show is the reason I built mine in red. Camaro album

Very tricky there, Harry. I did play fair and voted before I found the photo. I even got it right. Dave Morton could probably best understand why I was going crazy

This one got stalled by some other projects, but it was given to me by a good friend and I realized I hadn't uploaded my before/during photos to my Fotki. Before the Easy Off: After: It's in primer now, haven't shot photos of it in primer yet. I may steal the wheels I got from Scale Equipment LTD. for my Firebird; I want nice Pontiac rally wheels for this one. I have to figure out what to do w/the vinyl top; it's got some deep scuffs in the pattern...I may sand it smoother and shoot it w/a texture. I'm leaning towards gold body, black top, black/white interior, rally wheels. It's missing the rear bumper filler, I can scratch it w/styrene a lot faster than waiting for a resin repro to get here.

I'm up for it; I've started restoring a '69 Bonneville HT that I think I can get done in the timeframe.

I got bored watching Schumacher's reign....and now this...actually a reason to watch the next race I hope he smacks everyone silly. They need it. The sport needs it. Including Max & Bernie Yes, I know...Max will like it This is the silliest of silly seasons. I hope Massa makes the full recovery that has been predicted.

I'd be surprised if bidding goes beyond half of the BIN price, and won't be surprised if it doesn't get to that point. Expecting anything even close to "retail" in this economy isn't going to happen. Many "Mint" cars resell for a fraction of their original price. If they want more $$ they'll need to sell it in smaller lots over time.

That photo is just wrong. The front wheel was copied/pasted onto the rear tire, screwing up the perspective angle. Completely amateur "photography". Real or model, the photo ruins it.

Well, at least we know who built the model and we know who has been showing it around the country with their own name on the model description card. I just do not get the mentality of people that would pass off someone else's work as their own, especially in a community like ours that isn't very big. There aren't many corners to hide in...

Trust me, the Japanese produce plenty of errors themselves. Nobody produces perfect models, everyone produces imperfect models. Give me a set of blueprints and photos or a 1:1 and I could make Gerald Wingrove a blubbering mess if I really wanted to It's frustrating, but it's much easier to say that it's as easy for them to do it right as to do it wrong, but at the end of the day it's not that simple. If you haven't been closely involved in new product development, you have no idea what it takes to get the best product possible out on the first try. It's amazing that they can make 1:1 cars w/so few defects. Models are still a relatively cheap commodity. I'm not saying the model companies should sit back and take whatever the Chinese send over, but I have some empathy for the process because sending the work so far away and expecting it to come back perfect...it's not going to happen without a lot of oversight...which to be honest isn't in the budget for a lowish-volume, supposedly cheap commodity item like a $25 or less model car kit. I found a defect recently on a Revell decal sheet for a model that hadn't hit the market. I sent a note, they informed me that the issue was taken care of, and would be fixed in the second production run, and they thanked me for informing them of the problem. I doubt they have the manpower to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb like they used to. Yes, they do let things slide that really should be improved. And they should be reminded of it...but treating them like idiots isn't the way to grease the skids. At the end of the day...it's only a model. This is just a hobby. Hobbies are for some sort of personal relaxation. Right? Seems like the "easygoing" golden days of modeling from the late 80's through the early 2000's has evolved into an era where there seems to be a bunch of griping about every single kit that comes out. Thanks to the internet, no doubt. Model car guys used to be known to be so much easier-going than the IPMS guys. Nowadays we have plenty of our own rivet counters, ready to pounce at a moment's notice on anything, and everything.

Sometimes (Trumpeter Monte Carlo, *cough cough*) I think they do fake it. Or they mis-interpret a photo. Who knows for sure? There's only so many times they're going to revisit the tooling before making some decision to run production or wait longer. There's a lot of missing guidance just do to the fact that there are people from opposite ends of the globe working on the same project. It's one thing if the kit designer has ready access to the tooling shop. Sending all production to China...not good, IMHO...it's only to save a buck, not to make a better product That said, you'll find errors throughout model car history. Even when everyone worked in the same facility.

Thanks. And try to remember, this is a model car board, not a "put everything political you can come up with today that bothers you" board. If allowed to continue this will quickly become anything but a model car board.

If they have unlimited time and unlimited resources they could. They also have to get a product to market within a budget and with time constraints and not everyone involved knows every nut and bolt about every car...especially the Chinese. Don't forget, AMT kits are/were a cheap commodity item, not in the same league as models from mostly overseas brands. They're not fine pieces of sculpture, they're a box full of injection molded plastic parts. Let's just say the mfgs. nitpick to a point and then they gotta get the product out..hopefully w/the fewest screwups. I'm sure nobody here has a clue how nearly impossible it would be to get out a perfect model. The amount of OCD and $ and time back and forth it would take would be staggering. Pocher kits are far from perfect and require a lot of fiddling, so it's assumed that AMT and Revell kits won't ever be perfect either. They usually do the best they can, and sometimes they do fix things on subsequent production runs. They do listen to reasoned critique and they do fix what they can if there's a budget for it. But if/when we nitpick them to death for the littlest of things, we aren't doing ourselves or them any real favors. Seems like we (myself included, I'm not immune to griping about things either ) put the mfgs. up on some sort of imaginary pedestal and expect them to work miracles that probably will never happen. At this point of my life, I concede that I accept more imperfections than I used to. I either live with them, fix them, or don't buy the product, trying to get as minimally upset over whatever it is. Like my models, I'm a work in progress

Tim, interesting...I have always pushed the boundaries so perhaps the enamel I was buffing was too fresh. Not sure if I know where that old black tube of The Treatment might be. Tamiya's own liquid wax is a great final detailer for most of their colors...but really dark colors I get the best results w/a little Meguiars cleaner/wax cut with a bit of their liquid quick detailer. That seems to get all the haze out and give a mirror-shine. You have to use a very soft and clean polishing cloth if you want that ultra mirror-like finish. I love Tamiya TS black, it's a true black...Testors looks like a dark brown by comparison. Lighter colors are a lot less hassle and work to look good.

Gregg, sorry for confusion, your link is broken/incorrect in the thread from back then. GSL Photo Thread URL from thread that doesn't work Different URL than what you just posted. When I saw the Ferrari I went back using the search function to find your GSL album and got "page not found" from that thread. I certainly hope someone isn't buying other people's models and presenting them as their own without giving the builder credit. I do remember him entering a model at the NNL East I attended where he mentioned that someone else painted it (I think he won the Mustang class with it as well, painted w/Flames by Brian Nehring).

Your eyes perceive reds in such a way that small differences between reds aren't very noticeable, vs. blues for instance. There are slight variations in Ferrari reds through the years. The most ubiquitous red, Rosso Corsa, is very well matched by Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red or Testors Italian Red (lacquer). Nobody will really know the differences, but you can get exact matches from MCW or Scale Finishes. Ferrari reds are generally applied over pink primers. The dark "blood" red is called Rosso Barchetta. Rosso Scuderia is a newer, brighter red, almost has some flourescent qualities. The new Ferrari F1 color is extremely well represented by Tamiya TS 39 Mica Red. Ferrari yellow is very, very close to Tamiya TS 16 yellow.

Surprise! Models aren't perfect. They never have been, never will be. This is the first I've heard of this problem. Looks more like the door release is upside down, the armrest looks okay. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. This kind of thing has been common on more models than you can imagine. Models were a cheap commodity up until a couple years ago. Surprising there weren't more problems.

Oops! Congrats on your win. I was a bit surprised that the modeler attributed to the Ferrari had built it, as it's not his normal style of build. Gregg's online photos from the show are no longer able to be accessed by us mere mortals; I looked at Dave Lindsay's photos, and the model is on an information card that lists Robert's name. I guess there's more to the story...

Nope, I haven't. Considering how good the results are w/the Tamiya compounds, which I just bought more of (due to nearly empty tubes of coarse and fine), I doubt I'll get a chance to try Finisher's unless I know someone local who has some. If I'm buffing out automotive clear, I use Meguiars/3M products to great results, and Testors enamels buff out beautifully w/both Novus #2 and Meguiars Scratch X.

There have been a few contests here and there with some sort of cash prize. They are few and far between, though it is an interesting incentive for those with the competitive spirit. No guarantee that judging would be fair and balanced, but there's no guarantee of that in any contest anywhere with any sort of prize.

I bought a big tube of The Treatment back when I first heard about it, and tried it on a couple paintjobs and it caused a chemical reaction to some of my enamel and softened the paint; made it cloudy and difficult to polish back to a high shine. I already had started using Novus #2 by that point, and I stayed with that for my enamel paintjobs and never looked back. Most of what I shoot today is clearcoated w/Tamiya TS13, and Tamiya compounds are by far the best for it. Quite a timesaver and excellent results.