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Interesting how people interpret photographs. Most new car photos are heavily photoshopped. Doesn't make them "models" or "computer models". This one was easy, I remember the buzz when it debuted. I've seen models of previous presidential limos. They're nowhere near as well sorted as the image in the photo Harry showed. Here's another heavily retouched/photoshopped image of the new limo. It's a heavy duty truck wrapped w/Cadillac sedan looks. It's anything but a normal Cadillac sedan or limo. Here's the back: Look at how huge it is, and how thick the armored door is: And whitewalls? There are few, if any Cadillacs made anymore with whitewalls. It's not the '70's anymore, folks However, I think they would look appropriate to make the giant truck tire sidewalls look less massive.

That sums up how I feel as well, unless someone specifically asks for comments/critique. Otherwise I stay quiet. Not everyone wants criticism, constructive or not.

Plastikote is nice for auto primer, but it's not going to give you Tamiya primer smoothness. AFAIK, there is no automotive/mass-market primer that's a true substitute for Tamiya's primer.

If it was a toy made with any scale accuracy, it's gonna knock out a wall if it ever gets thrown, M80's wouldn't faze it, and black R/C helicopters will appear out of nowhere

It's one thing to review a model by opening the box and looking at the parts. It's another to delve deeper into a kit by actually building it, which sounds like Scale Motorsport did to a point before making their decision. The vast majority of large scale models never get built (remove "large scale" and the conclusion is still the same). Buyers are enamored by all the parts and details and the dream in a box, but often are intimidated by the scope of actually building it. Others take it to the next level by purchasing super detail kits that also rarely get built. Big dreams, not enough time, intimidation factor. I have no idea what the tipping point was for Scale Motorsport, but I'm sure others will fill the void somehow, and any serious builder of this scale will probably still like the kit. I'll bet that the Asian-based cottage industry will offer super detail kits of some sort. What would be helpful to all potential builders is an out-of-box buildup of the kit that defines the areas that work and also the areas that need work.

I fully realized the true meaning of "gobsmacked" when I found out this car wasn't something from Jada Yikes. What a travesty. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should I did a bit of research before voting, and have enjoyed reading the replies

No super detail kit from Scale Motorsport: Details here

Scale Motorsport has ditched plans for a super detail kit. Information here Just in case the link end up dead at some point, here is what was posted on SMS's 'site: "Many automotive model builders have been waiting years for a manufacturer to release a 1:12th scale builder's kit of the infamous Ford GT40 MKII. So when Trumpeter stepped up to the plate and announced they would be 'the' manufacturer builders around the world took note. Hundreds of customers placed reservations for our GT40 MKII Super Detail Kit and we have kept everyone up to date on our activities. About two weeks ago we received our Trumpeter sample kit and immediately jumped into evaluating every detail. You can imagine how excited we were to have such an early opportunity and to report back to all the customers that placed reservations over our web site. Our first impressions were good, the only negatives we could see was the extensive use of chrome parts and the incorrect molding of seat details. The body appears to be perfect and the wheels excellent but the tires too balloon like and out of proportion. All in all not too bad for Trumpeter's first effort into the field. We felt the problems identified could easily be corrected with our super detail kit. But in order to fully evaluate the Trumpeter kit we needed to get further into understanding it, the same way we did by visiting the Holman/Moody Garage in North Carolina last January and spending a day with Lee Holman studying the original engineering drawings taking thousands of detailed photos and hours of video. Holman/Moody was the garage chosen by Henry Ford back in the early 60's to build a team of GT40 MKII's along with the Shelby team to beat Ferrari at Le Mans. Scale Motorsport spent a great deal of time and expense on research we felt it was the only way we could move ahead with confidence and speed knowing our details would be right on. After assembling the engine, suspension components, mounting the wheels and body we have come to the conclusion that we will not be investing our development time into a super detail kit for the Trumpeter GT40 MKII. Our view is the kit is too 'toy-like' and regardless of the amount or degree of detail we could create it wouldn't be enough to make economical sense for Scale Motorsport, nor our customers to spend the time and money it would take to build the kit into what it should have been. We applaud Trumpeter's efforts for their first attempt at a large scale automotive builder's kit it is a good effort, unfortunately the result is not where Scale Motorsport believes it needs to be in order for us to bring to market the type of product our reputation has been built on and our customers expect. The 1:12th scale GT40 MKII is the Holly Grail of builder's kits, and as Scale Motorsport is all about building, we encourage you to grab one of the Trumpeter kits for yourself before they are sold out. Since 1:12th scale subjects are so rare these days you will be amazed at how different it feels to hold parts of this size in your hands. And speaking of parts, the parts in the Trumpeter kit do fit extremely well, practically snapping together with little to no modification. Also make sure to get yourself a gallon of bleach, you will need it to remove all the chrome from all the parts! We greatly appreciate everyone's interest in a Scale Motorsport GT40 MKII Super Detail Kit. The volume of reservations we received tells us there are enough interested customers out there to make our development commitment worth it, but only for the right 1:12th scale kit. Unfortunately the Trumpeter GT40 MKII is just not that kit."

The trick is sanding it immediately after it's kicked. Don't let it sit for over an hour or it ends up harder than the plastic. When it's first kicked it's roughly the same hardness as the plastic. Used sparingly, it's so much faster than dealing w/putty. For small fills, it's the only way to go IMHO. Putty still has plenty of usefulness, but for a small pinhole or small sink mark, being able to work it immediately is a definite plus.

That's gorgeous, I have to get me one of them someday.

I use those four-grit sanding/polishing sticks to clean this up. It's amazing how well they work; also use a triangular riffler file to get into sharp edges, and for small filling use some superglue and accelerator, and sand it immediately. It doesn't take much time to clean the stuff up if you have the right tools/materials. It's not a fun job. Let's talk about seats. They're quite a joy too...they require glue, filling, sanding, and to me even more work than the engine to get the parts smooth. Again I use the sanding sticks and superglue/accelerator to do the job quickly, but it's one of those thankless tasks that's necessary but I don't find it "fun" in the same way I find doing bodywork/prep.

I've seen a ton of 2010 Mustangs on the road (the vast majority V6's with side stripes...aka rental cars)...and no Camaros. I think the Camaro is a mirage, that they really do not exist. I've seen 3 of BMW's newly redesigned (and much more expensive) Z4's. And still no Camaros. They claim to have sold 10,000 Camaros last month. I guess they're all painted camoflage because until I see them on the road, I can't comment on how I much I like or dislike. As for the new Mustang, it's neither fish nor fowl. Looks okay to me, a bit more "finished" looking than the 2005, which bothered me in that the GT looked raw vs. the concept (or the later Shelby). The 2010 V6 Mustang now has a very "Shelby" look about it, even more so than the GT which now isn't unfinished, but over-adorned, in front. The Shelby looks quite good. I'd like to see an LX model; V6 appearance w/the GT drivetrain and wheels. The 2010 taillights took me a few minutes to get used to, and once you see them lit up and especially when the turn signals are on, they look really cool. In a couple years the taillight shape will be a non-issue to just about anyone. Even Azteks blend into the scenery now Biggest problem w/the 2010 Mustang is that from 20' or more away, nobody can tell it's a new car because the refresh is too subtle. A Camaro (I assume) or Challenger is more arresting because they are not so familiar looking on the road. I hope the next Mustang is more modern and not trying to cram down our throats a 40 year old design that originally lasted for 2 years but Ford is stretching for another 10-12 years. When the 2005 debuted I was quite vocal about Ford redesigning the Mustang completely in 4-5 years and not just doing a subtle refresh. Of course we got the "Hamburger Helper" refresh that Ford is famous for, and overall I'm bored with them. I could care less about buying a new one, I'd be far more likely to buy a used Shelby GT or Bullitt than bothering w/a new one. IMHO the 2010 Mustang is the one they should have brought out in 2005, and we should have gotten an all-new car (aka the one they'll do in 2014) this year to do proper battle with two all-new pony cars from the competition.

Amen. Several friends and myself are learning the resin casting ropes right now, not as a commercial endeavor but to cast interesting stuff for ourselves. It's one thing to make a long list of stuff you want. It's quite another to get there with any level of true quality that others would be interested in. IMHO someone wanting to make a commercial go of it should keep a very low profile and learn as much as possible long before making any public lists. There's a pretty steep learning curve involved. You need a lot of materials, equipment, space with lots of good light and space that's not destroyed by the mess that resin makes. One should make molds/castings for themselves and learn through the myriad of mistakes that come w/the territory. A big list of potential items means nothing without the experience & business sense to back it up. There's a reason that many resin casters have come and gone, many (and we're talking some who made incredibly good product) with a lot of angry customers who paid for nothing. There's a reason there are so few real stars in the resin business whose products and customer service speak for themselves. Think about that long before making that dream list of items. The dream list is the easy part. The rest is reality.

I saw on Hobby World's website (Japan, arm of Aoshima) that Welly is doing a '68-'80 era VW bay window van in 1/24. That's good news; their stuff is pretty decent for diecast. Welly also has a Citroen DS 19 convertible coming in 1/24.

Sadly I think there's more truth to that than anyone wants to know.

Looks like your roof and/or roof surround is warped in a manner that it's never going to match the windshield header. It's also common for the roof surround to be warped on the Revell kit, but the US version of the kit has plastic soft enough to easily get it back into shape w/just easy bending. I have 3 of the kits, one had a warp, the others are fine. The one I built went together quite well. This is a case where the better kit is actually Revell's. Fujimi does have some better detailing in a few areas, but Revell's is also full detail. Just keep it with the roof open and you'll be fine.

Well, then consider Mozilla Firefox. Monzilla Firefox is awful. Mozilla is nearly perfect. Thank you, tip your waitresses, and try the veal.

Everyone seems hell-bent on removing the lacquer undercoat. Here's a novel idea...don't remove it. Unless it's from the era of Mexican-produced chrome on AMT models, it's usually perfectly good and unnecessary to strip to absolute bare plastic. My issue w/chrome parts isn't w/the undercoat, it's with parting lines or inconsistent plating. I have had zero problems stripping chrome in seconds w/Easy Off, rinsing with water, and shooting the parts with hobby paints afterwards. Anytime you soak parts in chemical concoctions, you run the risk of paint contamination. Chemicals can leach into the plastic, under any leftover clear residue. I used to slave over trying to get that clear off. Not anymore!

I don't really know, I assume they'd be similar if they're both sandable. That said, Michael's seems to have stopped selling Plastikote primer. It's long gone in stores here. The only place it seems to be available anymore near me is Main Auto Parts.

Considering Nelson "The Engineer Guy" is quite experienced w/the products, I trust that his information is correct-so far he hasn't lead us wrong and his sense of humor is just as twisted as ours. Yes, I know the pigment affects cure time; I did some new combo wheel/tire molds and some other wheel molds tonight, tinted black. Came out quite nice. Next trick will be to try the Mold Max 30 in the resin mix. Just the rubber, no catalyst, mixed into one half of the resin before mixing the two halves together. Probably mixing the black in the A side, and the rubber in the B side. My wheels/tires combos in black look great; I can easily just mask & spray the wheels, leave the tires as-is. Smooth On's FastCat 30 is great to accelerate the demold time of Mold Max 30; using the FastCat in place of the MM30 catalyst made for a pot life of 10 mins and demold time of 1 hour. Mold is slightly less flexible than the 16 hour cure before 5 hours in a dehydrator cure of MM30. Half of FastCat and half MM30 catalyst gives 20 mins. pot life and 2 hours demold. I'll be trying that this weekend.

That's incredibly nice

I seriously doubt it. Fiat kits have always been kind of scarce. There is an X1/9 coming soon in 1/24 diecast in the Quattroruote Collection, you'll have to find them from European sellers, though. Haven't seen any photos yet. Most of the models in the collection are very, very nice for the $$, and a lot of them have never been done in plastic or resin, and likely won't.

I have been told by my local supplier (The Engineer Guy) that adding 10% of Mold Max 30 to the Smooth Cast resin (all Smooth On products) would yield soft tires. Haven't tried it yet, did get some black pigment. Tires are a PITA, and I'm also thinking of doing tire/wheel combos.

Mine doesn't have toofies up front. Did Nissan steal your idea for the 370Z? What year is yours? Mine's a '96...and 2 of my friends have also had white 96's (one still does, supercharged etc)...and white was the rarest color that year.

Okay, this thread can stay if we keep good jokes in it.