Ace-Garageguy

Tornado chasers in cars might consider putting doors in their floors.

I agree entirely. All anyone needs to do to prove it to themselves is to look at an approximately 1/25 scale photo of a real car on a high-res computer screen. No visible orange peel. Which reminds me of the old saw that "body proportions have to be artistically adjusted to look right in scale"...which is also absolute bollocks, and entirely too subjective and in-the-eye-of-the-beholder to have any basis in repeatable reality. Again, all anyone need do to see the fallacy of that idea is, again, look at an approximately 1/25 scale photo of a real car on a computer screen. Correctly-scaled models appear correct when viewed or photographed from similar angles as photos of their full-scale counterparts, and I've investigated this thoroughly from a variety of perspectives (pardon the pun).

I really like your build style and presentation, and I could look at GT40s all day long. Very very nice.

Say whatever you want about the motives, but it seems some companies are going out of their way to alienate their core markets.

Agreed 100%, though I have very few scale examples to show. I don't find the dipped-in-syrup look to be at all attractive, or scale-appearing. But a lot of tiresome sanding and polishing CAN be avoided by learning to lay down a slick paint job. This is just exactly as-shot, no sanding or polishing. 3 color coats of duplicolor "mica" green and three coats of the old Testors "wet look" clear...but similar results are possible with most lacquer clears. (And a scale appearance would be better achieved if this was sanded and polished too, but of course, with very little orange peel to knock down, it goes a lot faster))

I lost mine because, when I was on the other side of the planet helping to win hearts and minds, my then-significant-other couldn't be bothered to keep up with my $25 monthly storage unit rent, a unit that also contained many hundreds of dollars worth of vintage Porsche parts and tools. Same little chickie sold my running Karmann Ghia, BMW 700 coupe, and '60 Corvair 4-door for scrap metal prices. She sure was cute, though.

I have an OptiVISOR. I also have a positionable, illuminated, large-diameter magnifying lens, very much like what a dentist uses. Though you CAN drive a nail with a wrench, it's not necessarily the BEST tool in every circumstance. Different tools sometimes work better for different jobs, and the relatively inexpensive (found) drugstore magnifying specs have proven themselves to be a very worthwhile addition to MY arsenal of tools. My only point is: don't overlook a potential highly functional solution just because it's cheap. EDIT: Another aside...the single most helpful addition to any modeling bench (or machine tool, or fab shop, or just about anything involving making things) is sufficient light. I have four 100-watt-equivalent LED bulbs in reflectors, daylight-color-balanced, that I can put exactly where I need them relative to my model benchtop. They also provide enough illumination for decent photography without flash.

Sometimes the universe takes a hand. Not too long ago, I just happened to step off the hiking trail and saw something glinting in a sunbeam. It was a pair of drugstore magnifying specs that had very obviously been there for some time, judging from the vine growing around one temple and the crusty dirt in general. Normally I'd put something I found on the nearest trail marker, in case anyone came back looking for it. But these had been there so long, the odds of someone coming back at this point were nil. I started to just toss 'em in the trash when I got back to the truck, as they looked pretty grotty, but my little voice said "self...you recycle and reuse all kinds of castoff stuff, so why not take these home, clean 'em up, and see if they're of any value?" Well fellers, remarkably they cleaned up just dandy, the lenses were damage-free, and the magnification was perfect for occasional use on the bench. My very small fabrication and detail work has improved dramatically.

Kenny announces his candidacy for the highest office in the land, and demonstrates his oratorical qualifications...

1040 may not be the loneliest number you'll ever do, but it strikes fear into the hearts of millions.

I missed this one too. Beautiful job, beautiful car.

I've been risking looking like that kind of idiot...and succeeding...for years.

Taping edges and high points on models to avoid sanding through works very well. I've been doing exactly the same thing (on real cars too) for decades. Bainford's suggestion about block sanding adjacent panels flat is also dead on target. Molded plastic bodies very often have imperfections exactly as he notes.

Did anyone notice that "did" isn't the same word as "didn't"?

Man...nice functionality on the website.

Such an elegant, timeless design that will always look good. Great color for it, and a fine choice of wheels. Nice job indeed.

Two of the better kit sources are the "new tool" AMT Ala Kart and the last release of the AMT '36 Ford. I don't have either kit here right now to check the diameters though. I imagine you'll want 15", which I'm reasonably sure the '36 kit's are.

Dude...you should start hangin wit the coolios who say Vee Dub. Dey don waist no silly balls.

I don't remember anybody ever sayin' "triple-CP" for CCCP, or U double-SR either, now that you mention it.

Love your friends for their strengths and your enemies for their weaknesses, because it's their weakness that will allow you to prevail in the end...and then you can forget about the useless REDACTED.

I'm conflicted about which is funnier: the trust issue reference or the preponderance of rebleating ignorant morons who use "sike" when they mean "psych" and it never occurs to them how idiotic it makes them look. Kinda like "aircrafts". EDIT: Yes, I'm aware "sike" is the texting abbreviation. Saves you one whole letter, like a whole 10th of a second, and stems from ignorance of the meaning of the actual word anyway.