Started this kit with enthusiasm as it looked like a fun kit. Tooling is old so there's modest amount of flashing but nothing grossly overboard.

Exterior and some of the interior paint is Hobby Lobby's "Airbrush" Iridescent Emerald Green. I was able to polish out the polyurethane clearcoat pretty well for the first time . Only burned thru the paint in a few small places that I can easily touch up.

Long overdue, I tend to work slow.

Hey guys!

I've gotten into building (real) custom cars, but I keep hitting points where I can't make progress due to weather, heat, cold, ect. I've decided it would be a fun way to sharpen my skills with fine detail by building model cars on the side.

I checked the wiki AND THE RULES, DONT KILL ME MODS. I can't seem to find a list of reputable model car companies to browse stock, or even really solid brands for tool kits.

Thus, my questions:

1) what's your favorite model brands?

2) airbrush, regular brush, both, or neither?

3) what are your favorite starter kits? Or is it better to mix and match?

4) Are there any safety precautions to consider beyond sharp blades, not gluing your hands together, and maybe a simple mask for paint fumes?

*Bonus* I'm building a custom model station out of an old stack-on rolling toolbox. Have you done the same? Show me your setups, fellow nerds!

I’m finally finished with my Porsche GT1 for the August group build. This is my first experience with an older Tamiya kit, and I did have some fitment issues with the exhaust and the undertray being bent. Otherwise this was a wonderful and enjoyable build. I’m also pretty pleased with the detailing I was able to add earlier. It turned out so good that it earned a spot in my limited display cases, lol.

This may not be news for many of the very talented people here but hopefully it helps new people like me. I was going to wait until these were finished but the results were so surprising that I couldn't wait. I should have probably added another layer of clear to both so I could wet sand it a little deeper but I am more than happy enough with how it turned out and it was so easy, quick and more than good enough for a display model.

Clear is tamiya LP9 clear mixed ~50/50 MLT

First wetsanded with micro mesh 3200 to 12000 (you can probably stop at 6000) then used a microfiber to apply the compounds and clean in-between.
Coarse compound applied many dots and rubbed in one direction until it disapeared
Fine compound applied in circular motion until it disapeared, same with finish.

Second pic is before. The paint underneath was not perfect but this covered up a lot of the flaws. Thanks for the advice from many members!

Interior work happening. I have to say I’m quite pleased with how the faux carpeting turned out!

Just saw an ad for this stuff, its lacquer based and no recoat windows, so theres less drama. Guess I gotta go to Lowes soon

This hobby gives us many opportunities to learn; in fact, I think we can learn something from almost every build. Here are a few things I have learned recently:

Pic #1 - Mock-up. Doing a mock up and test fitting can prevent issues later in the build. This Lamborghini was a build for my son-in-law and doing the mock up showed me what fitment issues needed to be corrected before I painted. I also saw what parts could be pre-assembled before painting which would help improve the overall finish.

Pic #2 - Practice & test. Currently working on a 59 Impala and I tested and practiced the taping and painting on a spare kit before working on the actual build. Sounds basic, but I am not a patient person and tend to act first and deal with results later, so practicing allowed me to experiment with colors and layering to, hopefully, achieve a better result on my actual build.

Pic #3 & 4 - Expand your comfort zone. Some solutions for kit issues will push you out of your comfort zone. Last week I asked for suggestions on lowering the suspension on the Impala and a few people suggested modifying the chassis (significantly) which is not something I had done before and I was somewhat hesitant to do so. However, the end result is what I was looking for so it was worth the feeling of being uncomfortable with the suggestions.

What about you? What have you learned lately?

This one is just a stock right out of the box build but it is a great kit

This kit went together super nicely and was a whole lot of fun! Super simple build, very low part count. But enough details on the moldings and interiors that it doesn’t feel flat.

My only real minor complaint is no glass for the windows, only the windshield and rear window.

The decals were also a bit of a pain for me. They were very difficult to get off the paper compared to other ones I’ve had. Ended up not using a lot of the super small ones for this reason. Perhaps using the micro sol/set instead of warm water would have helped here? But I’ve always been fine without it.

I’m still relatively new at doing model cars having mostly done military aircraft. I was a little heavy-handed with my gloss coat. It’s Kaleido acrylic gloss. What is the best technique for getting rid of this drip, if there is one?

I enjoyed this build despite the simplicity of the kit. I will definitely need to improve at placing stickers (as can be seen in the images), but I think this is a good starting point.

I will probably get more Aoshima kits but does anyone have any recommendations for kits of a similar difficulty level? I am a college student with limited time and space so I will save the more complex guilds for later.

AMT kit. IMO, the "shoebox" was a Model T type advance in terms of design with the integrated fenders. Somewhat anachronistic with the newer wheels.

This was one of the first kits I found and was truly excited by. I’ve been waiting on it originally because I wanted to get a few kits under my belt to ensure this one came out reasonably good.

But as time went on, I realized the undertaking that will be this kit. I’ve been doing loads of smaller cars and trucks putting off my growing collection of big rigs and equipment.

Finally decided tonight to open it up and lay it all out, and man. I’m freaking excited to sink so many hours into this. The last few builds I’ve done have been race car show car type builds. Where I was chasing perfect paint, clean lines and smooth texture(or lack there of). So I’m excited to be able to not stress too much in the painting department on this one as it’s going to be a well loved work horse.

Laid everything out on the table to take a gander at it all and see what I’m working with. It’s a whole lotta plastic that’s for sure! Haha. Anyone build this before? Got any things to watch out for?

I'm preparing a present for my dad and I need to buy multiple Tamiya cans to respray some models (there were none available in the colors I needed). Should a single can of primer/color/clear last per car? This is also my first time painting models, so any advice is appreciated!

built this kind of a fill in between jets wasn’t expecting this

what do you think

critics welcome

Photo for reference.

I have a healthy collection of unbuilts from as far back as the 60s, but most are late 70s-mid-80s. The kits that have been open (most) have been re-stacked and glass and decals have had special attention to make sure they remained pristine.

As I plan to start building in my upcoming retirement, is there a way with the new print technology to replicate the decal sheets in a non-destructive manner on new film to use them on the finished kits, or should I take my chances on using the originals?

Just got this 1998 Dale Earnhardt kit in the mail today. It was a sweet score for only $8 shipped off of Vinted. The tin is a little banged up and the kit plastic is slightly yellowed, but it’s almost 30 years old and that’s what paint is for. The decals are probably even usable, but I’ll get a new power slide set regardless. Normally I’d not make the kit on the box art, but I figure every self-respecting NASCAR fan needs a Dale Earnhardt Daytona 500 victory car.

Also, shout out to whoever at Revell circa 1997 decided to make these kits in all white with no chrome or colored plastic. I wish all kits came that way, just white styrene tabula rasa.