Merkur XR4Ti

I just took the plunge and ordered the most ambitious and likely challenging build I'll ever do. I ordered a 1/24 Renaissance multi-media kit of the 2006 Aston Martin DBR9 LeMans racer. I have never, ever attempted to build something this complex or expensive. The pics of the finished kit look fantastic, but I do wonder if my skills could do this thing justice: It's a bit cheaper than the Model Factory Hiro version of this car, although the MFH body is a touch more accurate. But the MFH kit has a ton of white metal pieces and I'm not a fan of those, and the rollcage needs to be soldered and I am not up for that, so I bought the Renaissance kit, which is all resin and photo etch and nicely detailed. Anyone ever take on something like this? I've used resin bodies before but not to this level. Any tips?

Mike, that is fantastic work! I love those Tamiya Moto GP Kits; they are a blast to build and fall together so well. I have that one you just finished in the box, waiting for me to get to it. I've built 3 of those kits so far.

Nice job, Dave! Are you gonna build one as it looked by the end of that race?

Are you making the custom interiors treatment on the car in the film? I have this same project planned (but not started yet) and bought a couple of different dark red flockings to replicate the interior. And where are the pics my good man?

Wow, is that ever sweet! Is that the Revell kit or the Tamiya?

Beautiful job as always, Dave. I've built that one too and it looks fantastic. I love those Tamiya bike kits, although I wish they'd produce more of them and maybe some different manufacturers.

Thanks for the kind words, guys. I took a bunch of modeling risks I normally don't try in order to get this thing built and it was gratifying to see them actually work. I'm really falling in love with Jo-Han's kits. The chassis are usually under detailed, but the bodies are spot on and look great.

I'm very happy with the way this one turned out. It's not quite done (a few small details to add yet, like REBEL decals front and rear and silver striping on the hood), but yesterday was finally a sunny day and I had to jump at the chance to take some pictures. I started with 2 built up kits that I stripped and combined into one final kit that you see here, along with numerous parts from my parts box. Given the age of the kits I started with I'm pretty happy with the results although at times I thought I'd never get it done. The rear bumpers on both kits broke on me and I had to spend a ton of time patching and filling them before rechroming them with AlClad. The engine in the original kit is inaccurate, so I used the engine from an AMT '76 Matador which was more correct and added as many of the wires and hoses as I could in that simplified engine compartment.Of course, now I have no idea what to do with the Matador kit sans engine. I also added a washer bottle and alternator from my parts box. The battery was on the original built up and merely detailed a bit. The chassis is taken right from one of the built-ups and didn't get much modification besides paint. The wheels are original kit items but the tires are not and I don't know where they came from; the wheels and tires were so firmly glued on I didn't dare remove them and used them as is. I don''t have any good shots of the interior (forgot to take them while building, dumb mistake), but I added detail to the dash like more buttons, added stalks to the steering column, flocked the interior, and painted the center armrest with a RWB stripe. I also added seat belts and a THE MACHINE decal on the glovebox door and BMF'd the doorpanel lines for the chrome trim. The original kit body was poorly painted so I stripped it with brake fluid and filled a few sinkholes. The kit hood had a hole cut in it for the optional velocity stacks (like most of the older builds do), so I had to patch it with sheet styrene and fill with lots of putty and sanding. Fortunately most of that work is hidden by the hood scoop which was in good shape. The paint is Duplicolor white lacquer for the body and MCW AMC Electric Blue Metallic for the lower panels and hood. The RWB decals are from Keith Marks (I used 2 sets), the RWB strip on the grille was done with paint, and the RBLYELL license plates were made with Acme Platemaker with some details added in a paint program. So this one's done. I have enough left over to build a second one, and the Modelhaus is now casting the hood so I have one without a hole in it, so I'll likely build a mainstreamer model out of it using the straight-6 from a Pacer kit. Maybe I'll add a vinyl roof and paint it pea soup green, like a proper AMC.

I just got a woodgrain "decal" sheet from the Modelhaus, which they say should be used much like BMF. It's sticky on the back, not a water-slide decal, so you apply and trim just like BMF. I'll try it out and let you guys know how it works.

Not to pick on you, Terry, but countless folks have said the very same thing about Japanese and Korean cars when they were first introduced to this country. The new Chinese cars aren't ready for prime time and they may never be. Their crash test results are unacceptable. However, I recall that Hyundai got off to a rocky start in this country when they first began importing vehicles here, and today, 20 years year, they produce very very very good cars. I can't see how Rick Wagoner gets to keep his job. He's guided GM directly into the tar pit of bankruptcy and has never been held accountable for anything. Where is the world class 4 cylinder engine GM so badly needs? No the Ecotec doesn't cut it, not when compared to the alternatives offered by other manufacturers. Where is the world class small car they need? The Cobalt ain't it. The G3 ain't it. The Saturn Ion wasn't it.

And given the utter disaster that was British Leyland in the '70s, it's fair to say badge engineering was an enormous mistake for the Brits as well.

It's still there.

I really don't understand this at all. Mercury makes rebadged Fords that don't sell well precisely because they're rebadged Fords. Killing Mercury will help Ford immeasurably because Mercury is currently a useless drain on their resources. They sell nothing unique, their segment is overlapped in countless ways by other makes and even by Ford and Lincoln, and they've been dying for years. Plymouth was in the same boat and ChryCo dropped the hammer. No one misses Plymouth because they made nothing appealing or unique when they were killed. No, the Prowler doesn't count. Killing off Mercury will make Ford a leaner and stronger company. I cannot see how this is a bad thing. The time has come for the American car companies to start making hard decisions, else they'll be facing bankruptcy soon enough. GM might have to axe 4 or 5 divisions if they want to remain afloat as they are hemorrhaging money at an alarming rate. Badge engineering has been an utter failure for Ford and GM.

I must say I just received my first order from the new Scale Dreams yesterday and I could not be happier. LIGHTNING fast service and shipping. Like, 24 hours. Unbelievable service. I am a fan and a loyal customer. GREAT job.

Mercury is a joke now, though. Nothing but Fusions with different grilles, Ford Escapes with different grilles, Ford Taurii with different grilles, Ford Explorers with different grilles, and the ancient Grand Marquis. What's the point, really? A different grille isn't reason enough to keep a brand alive. Killing it off will be a good move for the company. They'll save money, declutter their product line and have a more focused approach going forward.

Used it to pay down a chunk of my car loan.

I can't understand why a plastic model manufacturer hasn't jumped at the opportunity to make a kit of Danica's ride. With the new merger there's going to be an uptick in interest in that racing series, and I'm sure a Danica kit would sell like crazy. Seems like a wasted chance.

Knocked that one right out of the park!

So externally, they were visually identical? And you said you replicated the Clean Air Package. What did that consist on on the model? Your model looksgreat, but from the one shot where I can see the engine it looks like the usual hoses and wires to me.

What's the difference between the Magnum version and the non-Magnum versions of the 383, besides color?

That is really nice. I like the choice of the 383; makes the whole model IMHO. I'm tired of Hemis. What color did you paint the engine?

The correct wheels are also in the AMT '69 Buick Riviera kit.

This is great news. I was always a happy Scale Dreams customer before they shut down; I'm very happy to see them back in business.

That's looking great Ismael!

I did one that way and it looks nice, but it's a pain to sand off the vinyl top pattern on the roof. You'd also have to source the correct wheels from another kit. It would save a lot of time using the AMT version, even if the rear window on that one is not correct. Whatever you do, don't use Model master Lacquer Hemi Orange for the Dukes car. It's far too metallic for this application. Learned that one the hard way. Go with the solid orange color mentioned above.