Ace-Garageguy

I'll need to live to at least 100 to build every idea that's in my head already (even if I actually begin building fairly regularly and intensely once I finally retire) many of which are in progress, and most of which I already have plenty of kits to pick and bash from. So to answer your question "could you keep building for the rest of your life?"...that would be an unqualified YES.

No offence intended again, but I have no use for "marketers" in general daily life and surely not in my modeling or real-car work. I see "marketers" as noncontributing members of society who do nothing but drive costs up without adding value. EXAMPLE: generic products are very often equal to (or even superior to) heavily-marketed brands, but cost dramatically less because they don't have to support legions of professional BS-ers trying to convince people to buy them. "People just like" me?. Hardly. I get inspiration, ideas, and technical heads-ups DIRECTLY from other members of this and other user-forums that have worthwhile content provided by highly-accomplished modelers or real-world people who know something I need or want to know. And you know what? MUCH of the "information" that's out there in webland is just flat wrong. It takes in-depth knowledge of the subject to separate the useful kernels of actual true and correct "content" from all the idiot noise. And you, with no in-depth knowledge of the subject you want to exploit, will have no idea whether the "content" you may have delegated "others" create for your site has any value whatsoever...unless you hire somebody like me as your editor...and you couldn't afford me anyway. I see useless "content" constantly, in a vast number of fields (on sites that just want to sell me something and have NO competent editorial policy whatsoever) and it's really getting tiring. So...my advice? Get yourself someone who knows modeling (and the REAL subjects the models represent) inside-out (who has the track record of exceptional work to prove it)...and who has an excellent grasp of English (a little math wouldn't hurt either)...to procure and edit your content. Otherwise, you'll have nothing worth looking at.

As I mentioned earlier, some diligent research on your OWN part might prove to be helpful. Scrolling through this or any of the other top-rated user forums will pretty obviously indicate what's "important content to the modeling community", if you're wearing your critical-thinking hat and have good reading comprehension and logical analysis skills. And a word of caution...a business model based on something that one has no interest in or substantial knowledge of (as you yourself say "I've never built a model before and i have no interest in them. ") is a recipe for failure...even though many "business" people seem to believe (misguidedly) otherwise. The web is already full to overflowing with sites that are just there to tap into a market that isn't understood or actually cared about, full of stupidity, wrong information, and simply useless. Passion is what drives successful startups...or real success in just about any endeavor. "Market research" that goes to potential consumers and asks for THEM for substantial product-development input very often turns out turds at the end of the process. Like this.

This image has been floating around the web for years. All it proves, again, is that there's no shortage of idiocy. In the real world, it can take hundreds of horsepower just to turn the blower on a top-fuel engine. Real or photoshop, this Camaro idiot rig is just stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Here's the blower in its natural home. During manufacture...

Geez. You're single-handedly moving modeling firmly into the 21st century. Most continuingly impressive combination of skills and techniques, most definitely inspiring me to get off my lazy complacent backside and learn a few new tricks.

I also get the message THIS WEBSITE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE.

I have a problem with the often ridiculous amounts of money sports figures, entertainers, and idiot CEOs (among others) get paid...particularly when they conduct themselves like irresponsible greedy spoiled children, or set themselves up as arbiters of public opinion when they're ignorant concerning their subject matter. A lot of them couldn't survive if they actually had to work for a living, producing something of tangible value on a daily basis, with a "the buck stops here" level of responsibility. And I just don't give a damm about sports unless I'm participating. I have no interest in breathlessly adoring other grown men getting millions of bucks for chasing and throwing little balls... Just my opinion, to which I'm entitled. Yours may vary.

A company that does what? No offence intended, but as far as information goes, every answer to everything you've touched on here has been posted and discussed extensively on every modeling forum known to man...whether the subject is cars, trains, aircraft or anything else that gets built as scale models. Some diligent research on your part would be most enlightening. I CAN tell you that for the most part, there are very few blanket generalities that apply equally to all modelers. Some of us take scale fidelity and technical and historical accuracy quite seriously, strive for excellence in our work, and enjoy the challenge of difficult kits or modifications. We have extensive collections of tools, parts, libraries, and do much in the way of research to enhance the quality of what we turn out. We can make our own parts from scratch if desired (or necessary), and expect the manufacturers to produce accurate and well-engineered kits. Some others see model building as "playing with toys", accept glaring scaling and proportion mistakes from the model-manufacturing companies with no question, build things that couldn't possibly function in reality, see investing in tools and materials as a waste of money, learning proper techniques as a waste of time and not "fun", and seem to expect overflowing praise for mediocre results. These are the extreme ends of a spectrum that includes everything in between.

Bought a '63 Corvette split-window, covered in about an inch of dust, from a guy in a body shop once. He said it looked "too complicated" to build.

I've read more than a few BAD reviews on Amazon (and other places) of products that turned out to be real gems (after I went ahead and purchased them on my own analysis). My only rational conclusion is that a fair number of people who post reviews on the web are so stupid or inept that they probably can't fry an egg without putting themselves in the hospital. There's no shortage of people who post modeling "advice" who have no clue as to what they're talking about either. The "decent user forum" you mention for this particular product should be interesting to peruse. Do you happen to have a link, so I don't have to take 30 seconds to find it myself?

James2 recommends this product for rust as well. If his and JTalmage's results are anything to go by, it works beautifully. Thanks Jesse and James! (MODEL SHOWN BELOW BY JAMES2)

Not meaning to be an SOB, but I've read so many incredibly stupid reviews of products on Amazon that turned out to be total idiocy (which I found after I bought and used the product) I tend to take anything posted there with a big ol' fat grain of salt.

Yup. When I die, all my photos will disappear a month or so afterwards, as the bill will no longer be paid. I don't believe I'll put a provision in my will to pay Photobucket in perpetuity for the questionable privilege of being a posthumous rivet-counting know it all still trying to force people, from the grave, to build gassers that have the period-correct stance. Anyone who looks around the site much will see that many photos on many old threads are gone. Of course, we really have no guarantee ANY of us or anything else will be here tomorrow, Like you, i keep "permanent" copies of any web-sourced information I think I'll "need" in the future, either on my own main drive, removable media, or one of several cloud accounts. Still, a massive cyber-attack might corrupt everyone's computers, crash the internet and the economy, and a lot of us might find ourselves wishing we'd bought guns and bullets and canned food instead of the last 500 inedible kits that sit uselessly on the shelves.

Thanks for the heads-up on the wheel backsides. I've recently found the custom wheels in the reissued MPC '75 Corvette that should give me a good starting point for the front side without having to mill it all out.

That's a point. I noticed a couple of the photos I'd posted on that thread that were simply linked to other non-photo-hosting sites had already disappeared. I went back in and loaded those shots into Photobucket and re-posted them here the standard way. They will be available here as long as Photobucket remains in business (and as long as I continue to pay the monthly fee there). Any photos posted here from 3rd party photo-hosting sites should be fine, again, as long as the host remains operating.

"Spruce" is a kind of tree. "Sprue" is what you guys are talking about. Thought you'd like to know that.

Yes, the engine in the Revell 2009 Challenger is very nice. The engine in the Revell Magnum wagon is out of scale, too large. I haven't looked at any others, honestly, though I would assume the engines in the later Revell Challengers use at least most of the same tooling as the 2009 version.

I agree entirely. I wrote "sometimes" because I've had so many folks vehemently disagree with me over the years, and insist that I'm seeing something that's not there. It is indeed USUALLY in my experience as well.

If your final color coat is slick and smooth, follow Jim's advice and wetsand after clearing. If your final color coat is orange-peely or pebbly or gritty or dry-spray-looking, you'll need to sand it before clear coating, because clear will NOT correct problems that are under it. CAUTION: If your color is a metallic or a pearl, sanding it before clear will SOMETIMES ruin the nice even sparkly look, requiring you to shoot additional paint to even-out the flake dispersion prior to shooting clear.

I seriously doubt you'll find a rattlecan product that replicates "black chrome". Bare Metal Foil has a "black chrome" product. Alclad has an airbrush-only product... And then there's this, though it's anybody's guess if it's "styrene safe"... http://www.motostorm.com/hyperblack.html

This morning it was 42 INSIDE my place, 14 outside. The house is under seemingly perpetual renovation, no central heat, insulation incomplete, and I only run one space-heater at night. Right now, the model bench is the warmest spot in here, with a nice little electric heater under it.

My part of the world is forecast to get 2-4 inches tonight, and at lunch, the stores were already packed with panic buyers stocking up on the ingredients for milk sandwiches. Though the snowfall looks like it may possibly peter out before it gets here, at least most of the local drivers seem to have learned something from the last "snowpocalypse" and are all going home early, BEFORE the roads freeze solid later as the temperature plummets. 22 is tonight's forecast low, so it will get pretty slick if there's any precip whatsoever (it's sleeting now) and tomorrow night it's supposed to be 14. Brrrrr. S'OK by me. I shut down early and went home too. Looks like it's going to be back in the 50s by Tuesday though.

I don't know what type of "automotive" primers you've already tried and ruled out, but there are products on the market that have many different properties. While I can understand how the typical "high build" or "scratch filler" primers might be too thick and coarse for your application, there are several other options. In particular, the SEM line of "self-etching" primers (which are WAY too hot for styrene in most cases, but provide excellent adhesion to resin) have very finely ground pigments, spray coats that you can see through, and flow out very smoothly. It comes in black, gray and green, is available at body-shop supply outlets, and is impervious to ANY topcoats. These are examples of as-sprayed black.

This keeps getting better and better...most entertaining, informative, imaginative and inspirational.