64Comet404

For my close cutting, I use GodHand SPN-120 cutters. They remind me of the original Tamiya sprue cutters, in both width and sharpness. The Tamiya cutters that you can buy now aren't as nice as the ones I bought 25 years ago, but they work well for cutting up sprues and for larger work. Another brand that works well for close cutting are the Dspaie cutters; not quite as nice as the GodHands, but about 2/3rds of the price. As for files, I can't remember the manufacturer of mine. The Tamiya Diamond Photo-Etch File has come in handy with those metal parts, and is part of my tool kit.

I believe most of the difference is found between the front suspension and the firewall. Monte Carlos nad the GP's were known for having engines 'set back' in the chassis compared to the other A bodies.

I would buy a couple of Project X '57 Chevs. The evolution of that car has always fascinated me from the first time I saw it in PHR.

I remember buying a quantity of these paints at a store (may have been a Wal-Mart) in Ormond Beach, Florida back in the early 1990s. I brought them home with me in my carry-on luggage, which would probably land you in prison nowadays! I have one hood left painted in those colours, wish I still had a few of them in the rack.

There was a 1:1 pictured in a recent issue of Collectible Automobile. The article stated that perhaps 7 sedan deliveries were made by Oldsmobile in 1950.

Looks great! I had a similar project underway with the Magnum, but I never completed the work. If anyone wants to try one of these as a '70s type retro wagon, the wheels from the 1:20 scale AMX work great as a styled road wheel (and the Magnum tires fit as well!)

I love all these not-quite a wagon but not a SUV-type cars. I can fit tons of swap meet material, including tables, into my Kia Rondo, and have absolutely no issues with room. I call it the TARDIS, because it is a blue box that seems to be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside! I wish I could have the manual trans on mine, but it was only available on the entry-level model for that year. No issues with the automatic transmission, but I have to keep this car in good shape since I don't think I can find a good replacement anymore.

...and if it progresses the way many thing have, I still have a couple of first issue '30 Coupes in hand, waiting for that big online score!!! Seriously, I hope we do see good distribution of the Coupe here, after all the time builders have waited to get their hands on these kits.

The Modelhaus did have a '57 150 4 door available, but they are probably unobtanium nowadays.

Bandai has some really good car kits in their tooling bank. Unfortunately, they don't want to re-release them. Not much in 1:24 scale, but ta lot of well-detailed 1:20, 1:16, 1:12, and 1:8 kits.

Tamiya also had the NSU TT 1000 in their R/C line, need to get these into the 1:24 kit line.

The Salvino's has the better body dimensions, and 'looks' like a Charger; not quite sure what PL used for their rendition. The Salvino's chassis is similar in concept to the old MPC stock cars, but the torsion bar front and leaf-spring rear represent what a Charger would have ran. The PL is more of a purpose-built chassis, but the designers didn't do a great job. As Bill S. states, the tranny tunnel on both is huge. The roll cage on the Salvino's looks good, though. I have thought about using the Salvino's roll cage and related parts with the chassis from a Revell '69 Charger, just to get the more accurate floorpan stampings for the interior. If you are just building it out of the box, however, the Salvino's kit is the winner, hands-down.

I would love to see a C8 Corvette be introduced, along with the recent 911 GT3 car and some other racers. I keep hoping Tamiya will go back and revisit their vintage sports car line, now that the 300SL and Fairlady are in the line-up. A Volvo P1800E, Saab 850 Monte Carlo, or a Mk.I Lotus-Cortina would be welcome.

There are plenty of copies of this kit to go around, so build and enjoy it. I have a couple of the Model T's in my stash, and hope to start working on them one day.

I'm not a fan of the Char B.1, but one of these days I should build a model of the FT.17. Hopefully someone will do a model of the American-built versions which ended up equipping the Canadian Armoured Corps for training in WWII (brought into the country under the heading 'scrap metal')...

In kit form, you could use the door handles from the Revell '64 Thunderbolt.

Here is the product list and contact page for Airtrax. http://www.rocketfin.com/airtrax-resin-model-cars.cfm Hope this helps in your search!

I believe a resin body was offered, which would fit on the Monogram '41 Continental chassis, but I can't remember the name of the company. I'm pretty sure Airtrax offered a '41 coupe, but I don't know if it is still in their line.

Good looking build! Agree with you comment about the rubber mesh-the one in my build fell out fairly quickly. There is a version available from Hasegawa with engine detail, but it's much more expensive and harder to find.

This is my latest build, a Hatsune Miku bust by Bandai. For those who have never heard of this character, Miku is the personification of a software voicebank used in synthesizer programs, and is a very popular figure in Asian countries. The image is also used as the graphics for GoodSmile Racing's GT3 cars for several years (some of these cars, mainly the BMW Z4 GT3, are available from Fujimi). This kit was a limited run, which meant most of the pieces were molded in metallic shades. I decided to keep the metallic look, and broke out the paint box! The clothing was painted with Tamiya lacquers, with acrylic from Vallejo and Mission Models used for details. The hair is a combination of House of Kolor Orion Silver as a basecoat, LMG Aqua Metallic Ultrabase, HoK Kandy Teal, and a topcoat of TS-65 Pearl Clear. The pictures don't do it justice, but the effect is brilliant (in light, it almost looks like the old Spectraflame finish you used to find on Hot Wheels). It was a fun project to build, and when I finally get around to decalling my Fujimi BMW's, I will have a centerpiece ready to go.

I build cars and aircraft, but I occasionally try a military subject for a change of pace. I have been selling off some 1:48 aircraft recently, but that is due more to lack of display space than lack of interest.

I'm trying to track down a match for the blue-grey colour found on 1950's era Chevrolet sixes. I would prefer to use hobby paints, since I don't need a whole can of engine enamel for one or two engines. Any suggestions? TIA!

I have the 1:72 Airfix F.22/24 in the collection, just for that reason. I have limited my 1:48 stash of Spits to the First and Last of the breed: a pre-war, flat canopy Mark I and a meteorological flight PR XIX from the mid-1950s. I used to have all the Marks in 1:48, but realized I didn't have the room to display everything! Matchbox, FROG, and Airfix always liked to do the unique British subjects, but also made them buildable by your average 10 year old. I make sure to weed out any Heller or Esci kits from my student build pile, because they come closer to short-run territory than other kits (contrary to Heller's opinion, locating pins are useful things to have on a model...)

The '41 Plymouth builds up nicely, and most of the details look to have been replicated (I seem to recall Bill Coulter had some input into this kit). The '51 Chevs were a bit too complex in design, especially with the front inner fenders, and the front sheetmetal needs some massaging (bumper too far out, and headlight bezels too bulbous).