64Comet404

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.

Great looking paint and workmanship, Mike. I have to get to work on my '62 at some point; my Dad owned one in that colour scheme back when I was in my teens.

Looks great so far. Is the colour a modern BMW shade, or vintage?

I just checked my kit, and I'm a bit disappointed with the limited door engraving (you can see where they laid out the lines for engraving, but didn't follow through), but I think I have some winders and arm rests which will work.

It is a different engine from the 1965 Lincoln. The 1968 could be found with two different engines; a 462 V8 (1966-mid 1968), and the 460 V8. The 460 can be found in the old AMT Ford F350 truck kits, and I think that someone had been casting the original 462.

I am researching the cars before I start building the Model King kit, and I have a few questions about the actual cars which I can't find on Google. 1. What system was used to mount the dual shocks in the front? I know later cars used a hoop tied into the cage, but some blurry pictures I have seen make it look as if the shocks are mounted using frame mounted brackets. 2. I am building the Joe Weatherly car, and I am attempting to come up with a plausible timeline for the paint scheme. I know that Bud Moore's cars, from 1961-64, were painted in a two-tone scheme of black and 1959 Chevrolet Roman Red. Pictures and film from the 1961 Daytona races show the car with what appears to be a metallic finish (the 1961 Pontiac paint chart lists one red-Coronado Red Poly). When would the change have taken place? Thanks in Advance!

I picked up my Moebius/Model King NASCAR Catalina yesterday, and here are a few things which I have noticed so far. 1) The 'Pontiac' script in the grille is now included. I will have to swap out the grille/bumper unit for the one in my Ventura. 2) The new NASCAR pieces look pretty nice, though the roll bar tubing looks a bit anemic compared to today's stockers. The only question I have for the company is: Who was the individual who thought that gluing the master cylinder to the heater block-off plate was accurate? (I will give Sven the benefit of the doubt here, since I don't see his name listed as the builder). Overall, it's definitely worth buying if you like the subject matter. I will probably end up buying a second one, just so the first one doesn't get lonely.

It's an addiction, Bill. You can probably get coverage for that through OTIP...

HLJ is actually pretty reasonable, Bill. I ordered two Hasegawa kits from them a couple of weeks ago (a Datsun 510 and the BMW 2002tii), and with shipping, my total worked out to $63 Canadian, and the package is waiting at the post office. There is also a currency converter on their website, so you can see how much you would have to pay.

The wagon and the texting person in picture # 181 look vaguely familiar...

I just picked up my last Modelhaus order today. Like nearly everybody else, I was happy to receive my package, but sad to see the end of an era. Now to actually build something with all this resin!

The Tamiya Alfa is a great kit, but you need to massage the glass to make sure it fits properly. If you want to make other versions, keep your eyes out for the Gunze kits. They are nowhere near as nice as the Tamiya, but contain all the different trim (grilles, lights, door handles, etc.) for conversion. The old Protar Giulietta is also good for parts, especially if you want to change the engine to a more 'sedate' version.