64Comet404

I would buy one of these kits. I remember the kits in the stores, but was never able to buy one at the time. The built-ups I have found have been too badly glued to disassemble.

I sprayed the plane with Tamiya grey primer, followed by a coat of US Navy Blue. The colours listed by Revell are a bit of a mixed bag, since the decals represent an aircraft from the end of USN service (1955-56), which would be a gloss dark blue. The instructions ask you to paint the model in blue with grey undersides, which is more of a WWII appearance. The blue I painted it is a compromise, since a gloss dark blue would make it look like a Corgi toy. The model is an issue from the early '60s (H-175), but I had access to a set of decals from the mid-1990s SSP issue. I realized my mistake in using the newer decals as soon as the insignia was applied. Whoever did the colour match was obviously a stranger to a Pantone chart, because the shade is way too bright (closer to Ford engine blue). I have a bottle of Insignia blue, so some painting will be in order.

The LHS received a fine load of new releases from Revell this week, several being from Germany. I have always liked the look of the Porsche Juniors ever since I saw my first one in the pages of Excellence, so I was happy to get my hands on one. The Panamerica was on the shelves, but as I still believe that a Porsche with an adult-sized back seat is a form of sacrilege, someone else can review it. According to the box, the kit contains 76 parts, molded in a variety of colours. As much as I like the Heller Ferguson, I also like being able to finish a kit once in a while. The engine assembly and other assorted pieces are molded with sufficient detail, though I wish they hadn't molded the gear levers onto the drivetrain halves. Some drilling and pinning will be in order. The rear fenders have molded holes for installing a roll-over bar, but blanking plates are included. Three different styles of seats and two different types of railing are included. Some research will be required to find out which ones represent an original tractor. Roll-over bar and steel wheels. Some nice detailing to be found, considering this kit is billed as an Easy-Click kit. If this is what Revell AG is up to, I won't worry so much about the upcoming 356 kits. Lugged rear tires and treaded fronts. The front tires are actually the same diameter as the steel rims in the Revell 29 Ford Roadster kit, so someone who wants a really narrow set of steelies for a drag car may be in luck. A choice of stickers or waterslide decals. I believe the decals are Cartograf, and the metallic silver decals look metallic. I wish some of the US companies would figure out this process, and use it in their decals. Even if you may not be into tractors, this is still a fun kit to check out. I will be showing build photos in the All The Rest section soon, but I may have to pull out a Fujimi 356, just so I have something to pull behind the tractor...

Thanks for the comments. The stabilizers are a close match when you look at them from the front of the plane, but the angles really do look off-centre in that picture. For a kit tooled over 60 years ago, the parts fit is pretty good, but you do miss out on the detail found in today's kits. I'm in the midst of painting and decals, so I hope to post more pics shortly.

I wanted to start off the new year by starting and finishing a model. Therefore, I went digging through a small collection I recently picked up, and came up with a bagged Revell kit of a Martin PBM-5 Mariner. The original plane flew in US Navy service from the early 1940s up until 1956. The kit was first issued in 1957, and tooled in the ever-popular 1:118 scale. I assembled most of the airframe one afternoon while watching TV, and then began seam filling soon afterwards. More to come...

Looks really nice. Guess it's time to start adding to my buy list for NNL East.

I remember those wheels being advertised in the back of Street Rodder magazine back in the early '80s. IIRC, the spokes were painted to look like wood. I remember building both versions of the kit back then, and have unbuilt kits to do the custom, as well as the stock black and gold versions.

IMC produced a few Lotus-Ford Indycar kits. There was a ‘63 and ‘65 Jim Clark cars, and a STP car (I think it may have been a Graham Hill ride, but I am not certain).

Hi Bob, the Indy 500 combo is the version I have. Completely fictitious graphics, but great for the kids. The Willard Battery car is the same kit as found in the AMT and MPC kits, though there was a 1/32 version. The Rislone Special was a variation of the Olsonite Eagle kit, but with an Offy engine. IIRC, Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland used to offer a transkit. Have you had any luck in tracking down the three IMC Indy car kits?

I found that the mouldings for the Lotus and the Watson were in need of some TLC by the time of the MPC run. The copies I had always had poor fitting body panels and twisted parts. I was fortunate to locate an earlier AMT double kit, and it made a world of difference in assembly. I would also suggest picking up some decals from Indycals or another vendor. I placed the yellow MPC decals on the green bodywork, and they turned out to be a bit...translucent...

Great pics, Howard. It’s nice to see that Supershow has gone back to a good mix of different bike genres (I stopped attending when the number of Harleys made the show look like an episode of Chopper Build-Off). I miss going down and seeing what bikes were on the build tables.

The weirdest kit I have is a Pyro 1/8 scale 'Surf's Up'. It's a chopper-style bicycle, complete with a fabric canopy roof, towing a surfboard trailer. The box art shows a teenage girl riding the bike, and there is a figure included. The figure looks as if the Pyro tooling department grabbed one of the office workers, and told her "We need you for a project. Here, wear these clothes!!!". Imagine the reaction of the poor kid who went into the hobby shop in 1970, bought the kit based on the box art, opened the kit, and found out he had bought a model of his mom...

When I built this kit, I found that the yellow pigment was strong enough to tint the white lacquer primer I was using, giving the look of a filled fuel tank. It wasn't exact, but it was close enough to work for me.

It took some time with decal setting solutions (Sol and Set), and using a hair dryer on low heat, but the decals can be made to work. I wish they weren't so thick, but at lest I have a set from Slixx for the Hustler kit.

A few pics of my main completion of 2017. It's the Revell version, which has some nice detail, but misleading instructions. If you install the interior tin according to the directions, the body will not fit over the engine. I would show off the chassis, but something is keeping the body from lifting up, and I am worried that the chassis may grenade if I put too much stress on it. I have the Chi-Town Hustler version, so hopefully the build will be a bit less problematic. Tamiya paints used in the build, and all OOB.

Great job on the Defiant. I still have the bits from an original bagged Airfix kit which did not fit together at all. I have the cockpit finished in the newly-tooled version, and hope to get back to work on it over the winter months.

Years ago, I built a Palmer '64 'Vette convertible, and thought it looked like the fiberglass cars you used to see on the carnival kiddie rides. If you could find the right size rider, it may be a possibility...

There is a kit of an FJ available from Italeri. It was originally an Esci kit, and a curbside, but it's still pretty nice. The only things I don't like about the kit is the Italeri version does not give you the hardtop roof, and you will need to add detail to the inside door panels.

I have owned this for a while, but I was finally able to bring it home from the dealership last week. 2015 BMW R1200RT. While I had to sell a few toys to purchase this bike, it's a completely different ride from my old Beemer. I'm glad it has cruise control, or else I could see many tickets in my future...

I'll save that one until they come out with the 1/24 scale Brad Keselowksi figure...

Looks good, Mike. Checking on your other builds makes me want to have another go at building a model of my '84 944. I just need to remember where I stashed the 924 interior bits and the cookie-cutter rims.

What an amazing piece of construction on a horrid kit. Simply stunning!

I stopped in at an antiques market this afternoon, not expecting to find anything interesting. Came across a couple of aircraft and ship models, and then found a vendor with a number of built-up models. There is nothing out of the ordinary, until I came across a complete Hubley Metropolitan. I have seen these before, but usually as resin re-pops. The original builder used plenty of glue on the interior posts, but with Dremel and de-bonder, it did come apart. Now to see what it looks like when it comes out of the dunk tank.

I have had similar problems when I tried using some of the new paints like Scale Finishes and Gravity Colors. Part of it was using an airbrush which couldn't flow enough paint, but I also found that I would get blotches on areas where the color coat ate through the primer. I use Plasti-Kote T-235 as my primer, but there were some areas which were not protected well.