Ace-Garageguy

To those who haven't noticed yet...Atlas is in the process of shrugging. It won't be much longer until the lowest-common-denominator run...and ruin...everything, and some time thereafter, everything that defines civilization will just stop.

^^^ Also apparent in the shot of the car in blue is why it benefits from the larger diameter tires (on the red incarnation) to visually offset the almost-too-much front and rear overhangs. Proportion, line, and stance need to be paramount in every designer's mind...and unfortunately, the most we usually see is two out of three. Sometimes, not even one...

It must. From its looks, there's not much it can be except a...or possibly a... (looks to me like there are really only two possibilities), but I haven't been able to find its provenance. I guess my encyclopedic knowledge ain't that great after all.

Much as I enjoy old-school magazines (I'm going to be sitting in the sun reading a 1960 Model Railroader for the next hour or so, a 94-page magazine that's very rich in content), at this point in time, I just don't see the need for more paper mags. Couple the fact that most people today read poorly (or don't even bother, which is evident from the number of questions you get on a very detailed build thread where everything has already been addressed fully and in depth), with the wealth of information that's available online (if you already know enough about the subject to be able to distinguish useful information from downright stupid rebleated gibberish)...why bother to print a mag? People want pictures and videos that they don't have to process excessively...so give it to them. Just continue playing to the dumbing-down trend that's been going on for decades, if not centuries. Still...I'd gladly pay for downloadable/printable access to how-to articles and some build threads and kit reviews presented in an "online magazine" format, just to have incorruptible hard-copies of stuff I want permanent reference access to...like I have in my 50 and 60 year old magazines. And if MCM comes back in print format, will I subscribe? Probably, if for nothing more than nostalgia's sake. EDIT: As an aside, I've learned a great deal about materials and techniques from reading FSM occasionally. Many of the modelers represented therein are absolutely world-class.

I've had very realistic results coloring the back of the lenses with a yellow Sharpie highlighter...sometimes a few coats to get it as dark as I want.

Oh yeah. Very fine.

I'm old. Anyone who can't go 15 minutes without checking his phone is "modern".

Good points. The photo of the car in red certainly looks better (to me) with taller rubber that fills the wheel arches than the fade-painted version with lower aspect ratio tires. I have found one of the more frustrating things to do, building models or real cars, has been to find exactly the right tires to get the overall look I want. My guess is that ol' George's tire supplier only had the triple white stripes available on one size tire, so for simplicity he went with it...and I personally think the heavy tires on the front of the red version look too heavy too.

Welcome to my life.

Yes, that's an alternative. But stop for a minute and think about what's happening when you try to fold the plastic on the scribed line. If you scribe on the outside, the line opens up as you bend away from it. If you scribe on the inside, the scribe tries to close as you bend towards it. This can have the effect to trying to stretch the plastic on the outside, which can weaken it further, and cause a complete split. This can work for you or against you, depending on a variety of factors. How far do you have to bend? How hard (and brittle) is the plastic? In general, if you're going to scribe on the inside, try to make a shallow V rather than just a fine scribed line, to give the surrounding material somewhere to go as you hinge on the scribe. It's also a really good idea to practice these techniques on scrap parts before you commit to doing anything drastic to your model.

Z-7 only works on bonds made with cyanoacrylate adhesives, CA "super glue". It has zero effect on bonds made with typical solvent glues. Some poorly assembled models, or those built with "non-toxic" glues, are very easy to simply pry apart. Others will require very careful cutting and wedging using a variety of knives and modelers saws, while paying close attention to where the seams are to minimize damage. You'll find that some parts are so heavily glued that it's impossible to separate them. The "freezer" method works on solvent bonds (when it works), but also embrittles the plastic surrounding the bonded area, so damage can easily result if sufficient care isn't exercised.

No way I'd try to get that fixed by heating it. This is going to require some care and precision. Heating and bending while you pray isn't going to get it. If I were doing it, first I'd lay a strip of Dymo tape along the convex crease that runs through the PENNZOIL logo, as a scribing guide. Then I'd scribe the crease deep enough so the body side would fold relatively easily on the line. Then look at where the rockers end up. After it's OK, I'd jig the thing to hold it in position, and run liquid cement into the scribe to soften it, as it should set in the correct position as it dries overnight. Probably reinforce the inside too, with a strip of folded styrene to help hold the new shape. The crispness of the body side fold can be brought back by masking and lightly filling (with something like Tamiya white) up to the mask, then pulling the mask, re-mask to the other side of the line, and do another very fine fill...as many times as necessary to get it perfect. I sharpen lines this way on real cars and models all the time.

Nice. My kinda car, mo debinately. Especially nice work on those metal aprons. Trained girbils with little tiny hammers and dollies?

https://www.revell-service.de/en/

Yeah, the place I'm going will be where I'll die...assuming I can get there before I do.

Yeah, my last move was a little over a mile, six years back. Left the the big ol' house with the two-story garage (open, high enough for a lift and a loft) and drive in basement, moved everything one pickup or pickup-and-trailer load at a time. Including a full size Bridgeport-clone milling machine. Took about a month. Then I took a month off to recover. Now I'm fixin' to move my home, shop, office, studio, and a bunch of non-running vehicles in various stages of restoration almost 2000 miles across the country. Mostly alone...though I'm talking with a couple of car-haulers about getting one full semi-load shipped in one shot.

Mark's right (as usual). The engine in the Coffin is the same size as the engine in the '53 Ford pickup kit, and works just fine in a 1/25 build...

By far the easiest way on both ends...though not prototypically correct...is to simply cut the stub axles off and move them upwards the amount you want to lower the model. Make clean, square cuts, and use liquid cement to put them back on...with at least an overnight drying time. Drilling and pinning them can add strength, but it's not really necessary if you're careful during assembly. It is possible to lower this kit like you do a real one, but it's a lot more fiddly work.

I like heem.

Another dead thread I stumbled across... Got to looking at the '65 Riv kit and the Barris custom, and digging through the net for build specifics on the real car...which I think is one of the best looking things Barris ever did. The nose was lengthened about 6", and the tail about 5". That's only 6 and 5 millimetres respectively in 1/25 scale, so any more than that is going to wreck the proportions. The nose droops a little too, and the fender tops are more crowned front-to-rear than stock. Another major visual difference is the round wheel arches. It's also kinda funny how so many folks say the first incarnation was cobbled together with chicken wire and a ton of bondo. Period build photos show the work being done to what was then industry standard for a high-end custom...not Marcel DeLey quality coachbuilding for sure, but certainly not the horrible mess under the skins we're told repeatedly. The sheetmetal appears to be gas-welded, not brazed, which is still the way you do it if you know how to oxy-acetelyne weld and don't use Tig for whatever reason. This is one smoking hot looking car... And the car in white with the surfboard racks looks great too, is very nicely proportioned, and deserves an accurate model to be made...

Kinda cool seeing somebody saving Marinas. We got a few stateside, and I've worked on a few. What's the parts situation like?

Never had that problem. Of course, the cars were with me first, and stayed after the women were long gone. I once had a prospect ask me "why do you have so many cars?" "Same reason you have so many shoes" I said. She didn't get it.

Always inspiring to see how good this stone-age kit can look with some thought and careful attention to detail.

It just gets better and better...