Ace-Garageguy

WOW! That is really beautiful. One of the two best builds I've ever seen of this kit. I really like that particular Ford design, and your model does it justice.

I wish both you and your wife well. As Dave said, just keep on hanging in there. What you're going through is rough, but you can handle it. Stay positive.

Clean is good! Beautifully crisp lines on the black trim. Really nice.

Illuminating tools...specifically, a pack of 100 watt-equivalent LED bulbs to replace the slowly dimming compact fluorescent bulbs I had in the swing-arm lamps on the bench. Quite a difference. Apparently, I'm not going blind after all.

I know you recommended them a few years back, but at the time, I had stocked up on CF bulbs and had enough to last quite a while. LEDs were not widely available and were pretty expensive then, too. I elected to wait until the performance of the CF bulbs in the bench lights began to degrade before replacing them. I'll save the ones that were on the bench to use around the house and shop for general illumination. The improvement from CF to LED in light output for energy consumed isn't as dramatic as the switch from incandescent to CF, but it's still certainly worthwhile. The only gripe I have is that it's a little hard to find 100 watt-equivalent LED bulbs in my market. Shouldn't matter though. The ones I bought recently will probably outlive me.

I just replaced the compact fluorescent bulbs on the bench lights with 100 watt-equivalent LED bulbs. I ran CF bulbs for several years, and they were a huge improvement over incandescent units. The 100-watt incandescent bulbs made a lot of light, but they would melt the switches in the swing-arm lamps, and produced a lot of waste heat. The CF bulbs I just replaced are about 5 years old, and tend to go a little dim over time. The price of LEDs is down considerably from what it was, so I figured I'd spring for a pair (I have 4 swing-arm lamps) to see what kind of difference, if any, there was in usable light. All I can say is holy moley. I can see again. (this just shows the swing-arm setup, prior to the change)

Very nice. Reminds me of the old Freight Train.

Desktop SLA machine, uses various resin systems 25-micron (about .001") resolution. Several informative videos about where we are today. https://formlabs.com/industries/engineering-product-design/?utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=eng-launch-16&utm_source=desktop-engineering

50-60 F is about as low as I ever try to go, but sometimes lower in a pinch. Just remember that a can of paint that's warmer than the air will sometimes cause the paint to "blush" when it hits the cooler surface of a model. This is just a little condensation of atmospheric moisture on the surface, and will usually polish off after the paint is thoroughly dry. Also take into consideration that initial "flash" time of solvents will be slower the cooler it gets, so you're more apt to get runs and sags if your technique isn't perfect.

Man, that is beautifully done. So real I can smell it.

Wow.

Me too. Very nice.

Coming together well. Your color choice looks good on this body style. Like your fender welt detailing and careful work on the front end. Ride height looks spot-on too, and the stock wheels look right.

Sprung a big $3.75 for a package of .188" round styrene tube to make up the header mods on the big ol' 1/8 scale channeled '32.

Heck, I haven't "finished" a model since 2012, but I still enjoy building immensely.

And there is also the Testors "Metalizer" line. VERY FINE pigments, comes in spray-cans both "buffing" (for a polished appearance) and non-buffing, for a more as-cast appearance. Also comes in bottles to be airbrushed. The exhaust on this engine was done with their "titanium", and the trans case is done with the "buffing aluminum plate" (there are other colors as well).

Coming along nicely. Looks like you have a good handle on it.

That's the best attitude you could possibly have. If you love it, and you enjoy the time you spend doing it, you're successful in the hobby. It's not about competition or being as good or better than the next guy...unless you choose to compete. If you want to refine your skills, the guys above make excellent suggestions. Take your time. Use quality tools and materials. Take your time. Solve one issue you may be having, and move on (for instance, the suggestion you use a "white" water-soluble PVA glue for windows is excellent. It worked for me.) Take your time. There's no better way to mess up a model than to try to rush it. And don't beat yourself up. You can fix ANYTHING if you really want to, so no matter how dissatisfied you may be with your results, just keep on keeping on and they'll get better. Guaranteed.

Batteries dead in the ruler? Cat ate the homework? Bad measuring app on the smartphone? Time difference between China and here effecting measurements in other dimensions? Confusion among shisan, shisi, shiwu and shiliu? Sunspots? Aliens? Masons / Rothschilds conspiracy? Dimensions changed due to "artistic interpretation" considerations? Hey, it's only a toy who cares?

I agree with Mr. Boyd...great proportions, concept, and execution. A little truck with a LOT of presence.

I had really wanted to get several of the coupe kits and had saved up a little fund specifically for that. When my local Hobby Lobby got them in, I picked up three with the 40%-off coupons...over several weeks. They didn't disappear from the shelves as fast as I'd thought they would, so I was just lucky. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It seems pretty obvious both kits were big hits for Revell, and I'm sure they'll do what it takes to get them back in production ASAP. The CAD design files most likely exist stateside, whether the tooling is here or not. CAD files are transmitted electronically just like email, and the original documents wouldn't leave...assuming that design work was done in the US. The only possible other issue might be whether the CNC programming for cutting the tools, probably developed by whatever Chinese firm did the work, was copied to stateside. Keeping secured control of engineering and design documents and programs a company depends on for its survival is kinda manufacturing-business 101. The professionals at Revell wouldn't rationally risk losing all of that, so it should just be a matter of time before we have the kits available again at realistic prices.

Kinda makes me glad I stocked up when I had the chance.

I don't have a problem tossing useless carp, but I don't buy much useless carp anyway. And a lot of what most people probably think of as useless, I find ways to repurpose or recycle. I put a 52 year-old carburetor on my '89 truck when the electronic fuel injection quit entirely (and is no longer supported). I machined the adapter plate from a piece of 1/2" aluminum scrap. My whole-house motion detector system is based on sensors rescued from outdoor lights that were thrown away by somebody else. Etc. I haven't bought tires for 30 years (other than for my heavy trailer) because I used to save good-tread takeoffs. Stored cool, dry and in the dark. Just put a pair on the back of the same truck. Almost new tread, no dry rot. I don't get rid of tools. I recently needed some special Jag engine tools I haven't used in 40 years. They were right there in my tool box, just like old friends. Still worked, too. Amazing. Or books. I have shop manuals, electronics and engineering texts and crash books from the 1930s to the present. Not much tech info I can't put my hands on pretty quickly...even if Google goes down permanently. I don't get rid of music just because the format may be "obsolete" either. I have vinyl, I have CDs, I have reel-to-reel...and even some cassettes...and top of the line playback systems for all of it. I don't see any logical reason to replace it when it all works and sounds just like it did new. Old car parts? Most of my old stuff is SO old now that it's actually worth a lot more than I paid for it. Try buying 1970s 911 and 914 Porsche engine and gearbox parts these days. I sure wish I'd bought all those flathead Ford engines I passed up for scrap-metal prices though. I compost coffee grounds and much household garbage, take the cans, glass and plastic to the recycling center, and use old junk mail for masking material. But...one project scheduled for after the first of the year is to go through everything and get rid of the stuff I'm pretty certain I'll never, ever need. Anybody want a pair of brand-new '84 Volvo taillights? Or a 2005 Chevy Impala rear door shell, in primer, OEM? How about a Lamborghini Espada cylinder head? And probably when I die, some history-challenged little idiot will pile all my virtually irreplaceable "useless old carp" in a dumpster. But at that point, it's not my problem.

My trick (pretty sure I invented it, 'cause I've never heard anyone else doing it) is to scrub the tire with a coarse abrasive cleanser (like OLD Comet...the "scratch free" stuff is useless), hot water and a toothbrush. Elbow grease, effort. De-shines ALL the tire, including down in the tread groves. You're welcome.

WAY too thick for a model, period. One thing it DOES work well for is making larger diameter hoses if you don't have just the right size to be scale-correct.