::::::::::::::::::: Model News July 2005 ::::::::::::::::::

If you have ever built a model where you needed to replicate carbon fiber or a composite material, chances are you have used Scale Motorsports products. While building a dragster kit, I wanted to make the rear wing carbon-fiber and used their decals, with excellent results. I had seen Darrell Gwynns's dragster (his shop is local to me) up close and the wing on that car was a composite wing. It was not painted, so you could see the pattern clearly. And the SM decals I used were spot on.

Mathew from SM dropped me an email mentioning some new products they just released, and some future products coming up. New is their 1/12 scale harness Hardware Set. Also their new High Definition Composite-Fiber Decal sets are now being produced in several scales, 1/24, 1/20 and 1/12, with different designs available.

At first glance, you may be thinking "well, I don't build models with composite stuff", but the fact is, just about all motorsports, from racing boats to motorcycles to drag racing all use composites. Even newer production cars are starting to incorporate these space age materials. So you can actually use them on just about any model project you are building. Use your imagination. :-)

Years ago I saw an IMAX movie with Indy Cars (featuring the Andrettis), which was an awesome view of racing and what goes on with the cars and testing. But during part of the film, they showed you how the composite bodies of the cars were made. Very cool and a good insight to what's involved (and it gives you idea of why it so expensive to make them).

And don't forget, for custom car model builders, SM also offers some of the most unusual upholstery pattern decals, such as the famous "Cowhide Pattern", "Leopard Pattern", and one of my favorites (which I have), the "Brocade Pattern".

Just don't get too crazy with that cow pattern stuff. LOL

For many years, from the mid 1980's till sometime in the late 1990s, I was a subscriber to SAE. I also used to purchase Finescale Modeler, and I may have subscribed off and on a few times to that magazine as well. Both magazines are a good model read. I have also picked up various other model magazines over the years, a lot of them out of production today.

I still buy model magazines, but I prefer now to look through them, and see if there is something that interests me, a particular article or subject.

Which brings me to the Model Cars magazine I picked up today. The GSLXX pics are what got me, since there are a lot of model ideas there, and it's nice to see what builders are doing nowadays, where the trends are. Sure, some of these pics and models you may have already seen on the 'net, but sometimes you just want to sit down in your favorite chair to browse and contemplate models. :-)

Jairus Watson has some nice art ideas in his sketchpad series, and being an artist myself, I like his illustrations. Though I would never have the patience to build a model like he does.

I love the idea of the quick reviews of two models, but what I like most are the parts layouts of the pieces. Hell, model companies should print pics like that on the box cover! Let us see WHAT'S IN THE BOX. What am I buying? I wonder, have you ever seen a die cast car where you couldn't see what it looked like in the package? I think a model company should try it once. Maybe they could give you a color postcard on the inside of what the model will look like put together, or do that on the side of the box?

I am not sure why there is die cast in this magazine at all, but I guess they have their reasons. (and I've talked about this before.)

The editor of the magazine mentions the passing of two icon modelers, Tom Counce and Augie Hiscano. Though I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Counce, I had met Augie and his wife several times. He truly was an amazing modeler, and in some ways I feel he really made CAR modeling a respectful art form in the eyes of not only the public, but to other kinds of modelers as well, such as Armor or Aircraft. (and they probably breathed a sigh of relief he was not building those types of models and entering them in a contest !).

With the passing of these modelers, and others recently, where is the hobby going? Where are the young guns to take car modeling to new heights ?

A footnote on the 612. Here is a pic of the parts layout to the kit, if anyone is interested. I am not sure it will be my next project.

Also I have another picture (as long as I am taking pictures today) of a project I have been working off and on for the past 6-8 months, which is the NX01 USS Enterprise. It's a daunting kit, with a lot of parts. So I take breaks from it, other wise I will get to rushed, just trying to get it done. It is a great kit, and quite large. I'm not making any modifications to it, I am only building it straight from the box.

I have opened one of these Revell Ferrari 612 Scaglietti kits which I purchased, just to check it out. I am surprised it has a chrome tree, since I didn't see any chrome on the real car. I am not sure why Revell Germany would go to the added cost of adding chrome parts. To give the wheels a proper satin silver look, you would have to strip the chrome off.

The body of the model is excellent, and once you hold it in your hand and view it, you can see it's a beautiful car design. The molding itself is crisp and clean, no flash, the seam lines are nearly invisible.

Here are some great pictures of the real car.

I haven't decided on a color yet. While the blue is a refreshing change from the usual Ferrari Red, I am thinking of using a dark metallic burgundy red. Time will tell. ;-)

Sorry I did not post yesterday, but I needed to get permission on some breaking news. A special thanks to Paul Wehner for providing me with the information and pictures. What's it all about ? How about a 2006 Dodge Charger model kit !! From Testors model corp. no less. Oh yeah !

And don' forget the RT Police Package, straight from Chrysler.

VW fans, Hasegawa is releasing a Kubelwagen in 1/24 scale. It's a military version.

Maybe it could be made into a kind of civilian VW "Thing" ?

IPMS has just posted some pictures from their recent event in Atlanta. Check them out here. Plenty of cars, military, aircraft and more. There are a couple of super hero figure / dioramas I really liked, the Captain America and Hulk displays are excellent.

The Hovercraft from the Matrix is an exceptional subject as well. Wonder if that is totally scratch built? Or maybe a resin kit?

The Polar Lights GTO Drift Car is done. I recommend you get at least one of these kits, they are fun to build, and very well done.

The kit is assembled with parts out of the box. The only things I added are the Simpson decals to the seats, and the front lower air dam I made from flat plastic stock. Everything else came with the kit.

Some of you may already know that when it comes to model subjects, I enjoy building Movie and TV related subjects. If you ever wanted to do the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard, there is a good tutorial online on how to build an accurate version.

My comments on the build: Testors has changed the formula of their Competition Orange paint. It now is a fluorescent orange, which means, it dries flat, and it is more of a glow in the dark shade. It's not the rich deep orange it used to be. I would recommend using a Tamiya Orange as a replacement (if you use spray paint as I do.).

The Ecklers Corvette is the same model as the Farrah Fawcett Corvette kit, which is even more rare, but has the same wheels he mentions. (here's the kit)

The Revell Monogram 1969 Dodge Charger kit has a vinyl roof texture, that is what you are sanding off from the article. If that's a big deal to you, you may want to use the MPC/AMT issue.

I don't think you can get bogged down with to much accuracy, and I recommend just build for fun. I saw a show on TV where they talked to the builders of the General Lee cars. Many of the cars were the wrong year, wrong front and rear treatments, and not even a Charger. They always had 20 or so cars ready to wreck, and sometimes they would make a replica in just a few hours, and wreck it before the paint even dried. They weren't to concerned with accuracy because the cameras will not pick up any small details, and most shots were to brief for viewers to even notice.

There is a lot of misinformation about the real cars, but if you just want some pics,here are a few sites -General Lee Information , General Lee Pictures.

If you are into super detailing, be sure and check out this camper diorama. It is so mind blowing for the attention to accuracy. Thanks to SAE, not only is it in their latest issue, you can download it as a PDF and look at it anytime. Written by Ken Hamilton, it includes pictures that look so good, you will swear this is a real camper.

Click here for the SAE PDF.

The next project I am going to build is this new Polar Lights GTO kit. I have been looking for pictures on the net, not just on the GTO, but on any drift cars. Looks like I may be making some modifications, such as adding a roll cage and some racing (racaro?) seats so far. Stay tuned !

Speaking of drift parts. Best 1 hobbies carry seats (in a drift parts box), and something unique, engine kits. Check them out.

And of course, www.drifting.com

The new Polar Lights GTO drift car model looks like a winner. The tampo paint scheme is right on (though there are versions that come with decals, and can be painted any way you want). It includes engine detail, interior, undercarriage, and of course the tampo pre colored body.

I finished my Beverly Hillbillies model, this one being the version used in one episode, where Jethro changes the antique Oldsmobile truck into a Hot Rod. It was not an easy build, and I'm glad it's done. But I am satisfied with the outcome.

So what was your first model kit? I can remember getting some of my first kits in 1969 / 1970. One of the first was an A1 Skyraider. I think it may have been a Revell kit, 1/48 scale. I don't remember painting it, so I probably built it right out of the box (good thing it was molded in gray).

One of my second kits was a ship, but I do not remember what kind. A military ship, probably a battleship or destroyer.

Then came the car kits. I believe the first one was a Dodge Deora. But I also had a 70 or 71 Impala, and a 1970/1971 Superfly kit. I had a Rat Patrol kit, which was small, probably 1/35 or 1/48 scale. But it was cool, because I used to play with it on my bedroom floor. It had jeeps, trucks, palms and sand dunes. A model and a toy !

So began my model passion. Now I have been building kits for 35+ years, and I still enjoy it.

This just in from model truck builder Adam. KFS Kit Form Services is releasing their TQ48 Leyland Marathon heavy truck trans kit. The kit consists of the usual high quality TQ polyurethane resin & white metal parts, plus waterside decals & nickel silver photoetched parts.

It uses any Italeri Volvo F12/16 or FH chassis kit as a donor.

It's a shame more companies don't release some of their old larger scale trike kits. Like the "Evil Iron" . Some had Harley motorcycle engines, but some had V8s, Corvair, and Triumph engines. Many were customized and interesting. I think one or two were reissued in Germany, but if would be cool if some were issued here in the U.S.

You would think that with all the motorcycle TV shows and the interest in custom bikes, these would be a hot selling item.

Time to maybe relive your youth, with a model of Johnny Quest's Dragonfly. Who doesn't like hardware? The kit is around 10 inches long and is resin. I don't know of anyone else doing this kit, so this would be the one to get.

I always thought Johnny Quest was one of those great cartoons. It had action, danger, and pretty good animation for it's time and market (way back in 1964).

It was way ahead of the crap they have today, like dragonball z or the pokemon stuff. It was one cartoon that did not insult it's viewers, even if they were kids.

If you're getting tired of eBay and just want to try something new, take a look at eModelcars.com. They are an auction site, but they only auction model related items. To narrow it down even more, just car and truck models. (Though it would be better to me if they did all kinds of models.)

It looks like most of their functions are like eBay, so there's no big learning curve. The layout of the website is familiar with many of the same features. Their categories are more extensive, giving you a chance to put your auction just where you want it to reach a precise bidder.

Sometimes a modeling product comes around that just has to be mentioned. What am I talking about you say? How about JBots bullet holes decals set.

That's right! Now you can make your model kit look like it was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like, uh, Bufford Pussers home town? Hilarious.

Revell Germany from across the pond is releasing some truck kits this year, including the Peterbuilt 359 and their chrome Tanker trailer. Truck modelers have been telling me the 1/24 scale Volvo VN 670 is a hit, and well designed new offering.

Hobby Link Japan has some good coverage of new kits from model kit companies, such as Fujimi and Studio 27. I personally am looking forward to Fujimi's Mazda RX3, since as a kid, my mother had a new 1971 RX3 Wagon. Great car. We were probably the first people in our neighborhood to even own a rotary powered car.

I was unable to find a wagon version picture online, but here's a coupe, if you are not familiar with the cars.

I remember we used to go to gas stations, and all the mechanics would come out to see what a rotary looked like. We had a lot of fun with that car.

I am working on the Beverly Hills Hot Rod more (see below for original post). The hood is in 3 parts, not a great idea on a car like this. I am going to have to work to get those 3 pieces and the radiator / cowl all to match up. Plus the hood has two slots for the injector stacks, and the sides have holes for the "fake" exhaust tubes. Yowzers !

I have also started a 1965 Impala, to replicate a car my mother had back in the late 1960's early 1970's. My brothers and I use to play with the chrome speaker which was in the back seat. Anyway, this tooling is much newer (around 1996) and what a difference between this model and the much older AMT Beverly Hillbillies kit. This Impala is as good as a Tamiya injection example.

Times have changed, and the kits the model companies produce today are far better. The fitment is more exacting, and they are not such a chore sometimes to build.

Model Expo offers a model kit of the 1863 Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley. The 1/32 scale kit includes a base and figures.The resin hull is perfectly shaped and complete with five keel ballast blocks, hatches and rivets. The 15 3/8 long kit also contains a Singer torpedo, metal harpoon tip, dive planes and stabilizers, metal propeller and shroud, brass and aluminum rods, plus Hunley dock.

Not to be left out, they also offer a USS Weehawken, which was one of ten single-turreted Monitors built after the Monitor defeated the CSS Virginia. Known as the Passaic Class, these ships were larger than the Monitor and were armed with heavier guns, most carrying an 11" and a 15" Dahlgren.

The kit features a one-piece resin hull and deck, and intricately detailed resin pieces for the turret. Individually cast white metal parts for the turret interior duplicate a cut-away version that matches original plans. Also included are two Steingraeber life boats, Duhlgren gun with carriage, 64 two-ball stanchions, cast metal propeller, flagpoles, turret stanchions, sheaves, cleats, warping chocks, etc. Hull length 25" (over 2 feet long! ) / Width 5-3/4" / Scale 1:96

Model Expo's site is a little whacked to link too, but by searching for "Hunley" and "Weehawken", the kits come right up.

I think either one of these would be a great historic build subject, wish I could afford both of them. They look like great kits.

AMT/Ertl has a couple of new releases scheduled. Including a new Cadillac Escalade EXT and "Firefighter" 1974-1978 Mustang II, racing / prostock style kit. There's around 10 kits in all. One of them is the 1986 Dodge Daytona Z, which, is really a surprise. I wonder what they are thinking, or what market research shows that would be a good seller? I built one long ago. If I remember right, it includes the Turbo 4-cylinder, but also a Chrysler small bock V8. The rest of the kits listed have been out so many times, they are not hard to find.

They are also releasing some kits mentioned as "Resto Rods", though there is not a rod in the whole bunch. Basically, they are 60's muscle cars. Most have been out recently. They are two in 1's, meaning, I guess, they come with two sets of wheels? To build stock or "custom".

They reissued the Star Wars kits this year, now it looks like they are going to do some of their Star Trek models. Some of the kits I can see reissuing, but others, I am not so sure of how popular they really are. The Klingon Bird of Prey is a good kit, I can see that one, that's almost a given. You can pose the "wings" in different positions too. Is the 3-piece Enterprise kit really that popular?

They never had a NX-01 class before, but since AMT now owns some (all?) of Polar Lights, that's an easy release for them. My guess it's the same kit. Did you know Polar Lights has color / painting reference pictures of the digital NX01 online. Check them out on their site.

For more about these new kits and color pictures, download the PDF from Starship Modeler Here.

Speaking of Star Wars, check out the new Fine Molds Millennium Falcon at HJ Hobbies. Wow, 800 parts !

The current model I am working on is the Beverly Hillbillies truck. Not the stock one, the old country version, but Jethro's hot rod truck he builds in one episode. The truck was built by George Barris, as was the original truck for the series.

The kit is painted and assembly has started, with the suspension and engine. I don't really see any modifications I need to make yet. So for the most part, it will be straight out of the box.

I eventually will build the old timey one like in the show (I have two more kits in my stash). But feeling the need to do a hot rod, doing Jethro's version first seemed like it would be fun to do now. Plus, as most of you know, I like to do TV/Movie models, which are my favorite subjects.

You don't see many construction vehicle model kits, but check out this front end loader on Model Truck Mafia's site. You would swear that baby is real. The kit is from Kit Form Services in Europe.

If you are into trucks and equipment, that's the site to check out, and it's just been updated. The kit is 1/25 scale, even though it looks large sitting next to a normal car kit.

Car model builders would like to see this released in 1/25 scale, but so far, there is no word from a major model company that this is going to happen. There is a 1/18 scale Die cast version, but that's a far cry from 1/25 in size.

There is also a 1/35 scale plastic injection molded kit, but again, that's not really going to be any help kit bashing a 1/25 scale project. I find it unusual they would go with the military scale ? Maybe later they are going to release a camouflage version or something. I expect that eventually a resin caster may fill the gap and produce one in 1/25 or 1/24.

And of course, there's always the Mattel Batmobile (7.00 inches x 10.00 inches x 14.10 inches) for kit bashing.

Check this out for more information of how MODEL KITS were used to help develop the car for the film !

It's not really a new release, I think it has been out for awhile, but the kit interests me. First, it's a larger scale than 1/35, second, out of all the soldier kits Tamiya makes in this model series, this is a modern figure, (whereas the others in the series are from WWII and older conflicts).

If you don't want to do the military approach, I think this would also make a good SWAT or tactical police figure, with some modifications.

It's rare I build a ship, but this kit is pretty large, in fact it's 1/72 scale. Revell-Monogram Germany has come up with a new mold and now has pictures of the sea rescue cruiser Hermann Marwede kit on their website. For reference on the net, here are a couple of pictures. It even appears to be a hardbound book on the ship (though I cannot read German, I used the Google translator.)

The real ship is 46 meters long. This looks like it could be an interesting build.

Later in the year (around December 2005) Revell-Monogram will be releasing a "Penske Corvette Sting Ray Racer". Features: Authentic period racing parts including 427 big-block Chevy engine, racing wheels and tires, side mounted exhaust and correct sponsor decals. From their picture, it is hard to tell if this is a street kit that has been slightly modified (decals, wheels...) or if it really is a race car tooling. I also think this may be a direct response to Accurate Miniatures news that they will be releasing similar Corvette kits. Their releases are the Corvette GS Coupe 1964 Hall / Penske Sebring 12-Hour and Corvette GS Roadster 377 Cubic Inch Prototype.

Accurate Miniatures has released their Corvette Coupe before years ago. In my opinion, those kits have one of the best molded small block chevy's V8s ever done. The original kits had photoeteched parts. No word on their website whether the new kits will included that.

The Revell Monogram Corvette model kit is just out. This kit features a newly tooled body, chassis, interior, and an accurate 7.0 LS7 engine. The kit is 1/25 scale, molded in white, and is a glue assembly. The hood and roof panel are removable. If you want to detail your model out, check out GM's Z06 website. They even have a PDF file there you can download for printing or computer reference while you are building.

A new company, Retro Hobby, soon will be releasing their first products (though they are manufactured by Revell-Monogram for them). A group of 4 kits that are purchased together. 4 motorcycle Trikes, in 1/25 scale. The Tiki Trike, Mailbox Chopper (designed by none other than Ed Roth himself), Taco Trike, and the Milk Trike.

These were once kits released by the old MPC label in the 1970's, so they have not seen the light of day for many years. Hopefully these will sell well, opening up the door for us to see many other unique and older kit releases from Retro.

The kits are boxed separately, and have their own box art, but are only sold as a group (4 kits with one purchase). They include (very cool) decals and clear -colored parts for lights, etc.

Polar Lights has released their new 1:350 Star Trek Enterprise 1701-A kit. This thing is huge! How big? How about a primary hull saucer section that is 15 inches across. The kit, when done, is around 34 inches long. Includes interiors: Shuttle Bay, Botanical Gardens and VIP Lounge. Upon looking at the kit I have, it looks like there is plenty of ways to light this thing, and even add your own custom touches and modifications. The big problem to me is, where do you store this thing when it's finished?

If you want to detail your kit out, here are some pictures taken of the studio model at the Smithsonian Exhibit. Also, here are some good shots of the open interiors, such as the shuttle bay, on Marc King's buildup of the Polar Lights kit.

Stevens Hobbies is releasing some AMT limited edition kits, including the 1939 Ford Tudor Sedan, 1970 Ford Galaxy 4-door Police Car, 1978 Vega Pro stock Sport back (an older MPC mold), and Don Garlits vintage front engine dragster.

Expect to see these in some of your favorite hobby shops later in the year 2005.

The 1970 Galaxy is the same as the one Hobby Heaven released on a limited run back in the 1990's.

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