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Post by Faust on Sept 6, 2017 19:45:57 GMT -5
Normally, I can be found gushing over the latest loser car or automotive oddball that comes into my collection. However, even I have an appreciation for cool cars; it’s just that there aren’t that many I’d like to model. That, mind you, does NOT apply to Trans Ams. Being a fiercely proud T/A owner, I love Poncho’s fire-breathing ‘Bird in most of its guises. Of course, it’s no surprise that my favourite is the black sheep of the family; the 1980-81 Turbo Trans Am! Now, it’s not because that’s the kind of car I own (well, okay, it IS, at least partially) but also because the Turbo T/A was supposed to herald a new era of performance, but instead was a short-lived, now-largely-forgotten experiment. It was Poncho’s last strike at the demons of efficiency that soon engulfed the enthusiast motoring scene. It failed, but it had potentinal. While most people don’t even remember it today, the Turbo T/A was a huge deal, and there were a tonne of kits, toys, etc. of the car. It was futuristic and classic all at once, and it was cool enough to be a pace car twice – once in each year it was alive! Thus, it seems fitting to remind people of this forgotten road warrior with a look at a somewhat forgotten kit: the Monogram 1/20 Turbo Trans Am! Check it out at the link below, and get ready to relive the end of an era! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/monogram-120-1981-turbo-trans-am-pace-car-oob/
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Post by Faust on Aug 23, 2017 16:35:07 GMT -5
I love eclectic subject matter; whether it’s cars, planes tanks or robots, a model of something out of the ordinary usually gets my immediate attention, not to mention my money and time. However, there are some “famous” and “mainstream” subjects that are just too cool to turn away from. For me, one of those is the somewhat-famous J2M Raiden, known as “Jack” to the Allies in WWII. I usually prefer Japanese multi-seat or multi-engined planes; most of their single-seaters don’t do much for me. However, the Jack, whick looks almost as much like an air racer as an interceptor has always been a favourite of mine. The problem is, there are almost no good kits of it in 1/72, and I’m not willing to pay what they want for the few that do exist. However, since the Jack is so small, even in 1/48 it’s not a lot bigger than some 1/72 WWII twin-engined planes. Thus, I was able to finally add a Jack to my collection recently by picking up the old Arii second-hand. I have to say, give the age, it’s a good looking kit. Sure, it’s not as detailed as some more modern ones, perhaps, but for what I paid (and how horrified I was with the Arii Wirbelwind I got was) I was very pleasantly surprised. Check out my out of box review for this likely mostly-forgotten example of Japan’s pudgy interceptor at the link below! Anyone built this guy? adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/arii-148-mitsubishi-j2m3-model-21-raiden-jack-oob/
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Post by Faust on Jul 26, 2017 18:06:24 GMT -5
It’s not only in cars and planes that I have a love for the weird and wonderful; I also like to get kits of oddball armoured subjects! While there’s nothing wrong with Shermans and Panthers, it’s nice to have a few less common vehicles to compare them too. Thankfully, when it comes to 1/76 armour, both Matchbox and Fujimi seem to have covered a lot of the bases! A perfect example of this is the 1/76 Fujimi Type 97-Kai “Chi-Ha”. This was one of Japan’s “heavier” tanks of the war, and it makes an interesting, if not anemic, counterpoint to its much more powerful contemporaries. I managed to pick this little old gem up at a model show, so I didn’t even have to pay much for it! Check out the kit out of box at the link below. Even if it’s not your thing, you’ll have to admit it looks pretty good for its age and size! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/fujimi-176-type-97-kai-shinhoto-chi-ha-oob/
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Post by Faust on Jul 13, 2017 8:36:06 GMT -5
Yeah... Can't imagine why they didn't go with that, eh?
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Post by Faust on Jul 12, 2017 12:00:52 GMT -5
I grew up in the “Automotive Dark Ages”, among throngs of gutless econoboxes and the rusting hulks of the last survivors of the ‘70s. As far as being interesting for an automotive enthusiast goes, that era was pretty much a wash. However, I do remember as the ‘80s wore on that things started to change, and as I watched a new breed of “economical” performance cars came into being. These weren’t the rip-snorting muscle cars that my Uncle had raised me on and that I’d seen at car shows, but they weren’t the wheezing, soul-destroying, square-cornered beaters I’d seen for the last 10 years. Rather, they were some interesting mix of the two. They had modern aerodynamics and front-wheel drive (unlike a true performance car, I still feel), but tried to recapture some of the fun of driving. A perfect example of such a car was the Ford Probe GT. I remember when it came out that it made quite an impact on me. Clearly, it did on others, too, since I remember seeing lots of them around. A sporty car for the masses, then, and one that helped to pave the way for it to be okay to want more than just a beige hatchback. Because I remember the car so well, I was really happy to get my hands on one of the AMT Probe GT kits. It’s one of my earlier builds, but it still looks pretty good, so I thought I’d share. Check it out, and if you ever drove one of these, let me know what you think! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/cars/125-amt-1989-ford-probe-gt/
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Post by Faust on Jul 9, 2017 15:01:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the compliments on the build. I think the late '70s and early '80s is when EVERYONE started hating American cars. I started liking them again a bit earlier. The 87's (like GTAs, Grand Nationals and even Mustangs) were cool, and even everyday cars started to drag themselves up by their boostraps a bit at that point. It's pretty sad how bad it got, though, that a quality nightmare like the Citation was literally one of the sportier cars available, eh?
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Post by Faust on Jul 3, 2017 7:33:22 GMT -5
Oh man. I can't believe these things sucked so bad they blew up coming off the car carrier!
You know things are not going to go well when you burn the clutch getting the car onto the lot. I'm glad to know that there was at least one out there in this colour, though! And I certainly appreciate this interesting, and yet sad, story.
You're absolutely right about GM not changing its business model. My uncle once told me he read in one of his books that someone was quoted as saying "GM is so big you could mismanage it for 30 years and you wouldn't know it.", or something like that. Guess they were right. :/
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Post by Faust on Jun 28, 2017 19:36:03 GMT -5
Every now and then, I get motivated to take a look at building a kit of a vehicle I might not normally consider building. In this case, it is a mid-‘60s pickup truck. This isn’t a subject I know much about, and it isn’t the usual thing most people would expect would turn my crank, so to speak. However, the kit itself is actually really nice and I wanted to try something different. I found this Revell 1964 Fleetside at a local swap meet and couldn’t resist. It’s actually a really nice kit, but it’s giving me trouble trying to figure out some things. It’s almost impossible to find examples on the net that AREN’T customized somehow, so if anyone has any links or info they can share with me I’d appreciate it. 1.) Is the engine supposed to be Chevy blue? They say orange on the instructions, but I’m sure that’s wrong. 2.) I think I read that if you got two toning, you got the whitewalls and body-coloured wheels. Is that correct? 3.) There is a chrome group for these trucks, but I think it’s separate from the side trim. If you got chrome grille and bumpers, is it true you got the chrome hubcaps too? Could you get this without the side trim? 4.) The box shows that there’s some kind of paint/chrome around the grille. However, I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be chrome or white paint. Not all examples seem to have it. Any ideas? Check out the kit at the link below, so you can see the exact model of truck I’m talking about. I want to build this one next, so I’m hoping you guys can help me out! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/revell-125-1964-chevy-fleetside-pickup-out-of-box/
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Post by Faust on Jun 14, 2017 16:15:30 GMT -5
One thing I’m not into, and never really was, is video games. I never got the allure of spending lots of time and money standing in crowded arcades when I could stay home and work on a model. However, one thing I AM into is cool-looking spaceships! It doesn’t matter to me if I know their backstory or not, for me spacecraft provoke a very deep and immediate response. In this case, I was drawn to the Wave Non-Scale “Solvalou” fighter from a famous (well, not to me, but…) videogame of the ‘80s. This game was called “Xevious”, and while successful here, it was a huge hit in its homeland of Japan. To honour the game’s anniversary, kitmaker WAVE issued this model a few years ago. I’m not sure about it’s origins, but man, it’s a neat looking ship with all kinds of potential! For something a bit different from the usual Star Wars, Star Trek and Gundam ships, check out the link below! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/wave-non-scale-solvalou-fighter-oob/
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Post by Faust on May 31, 2017 16:13:31 GMT -5
Everybody’s got to start somewhere; that’s just a fact of life. For the German Army of WWII, the most basic frontline tank used in great numbers was the Panzer II. Far from the complex and fire-breathing tanks of the Heer’s later years, the “little training tank that could” nonetheless was an important vehicle in Germany’s early-war arsenal. For me, the Panzer II was my start, as well, into building armour kits for real. Now, I don’t bother with all the fancy photoetch and stuff; I just want to have fun and make some neat tanks! For this, the 1/76 Matchbox tanks are perfect. They’re small, simple, but well-detailed and they go together with a minimum of fuss. Check out my beginning below, and see what you think of my efforts on this old-school armoured featherweight. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks to Matchbox, now I’m hooked on 1/76 armour! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/ships-and-tanks/176-matchbox-panzer-ii-ausf-f/
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Post by Faust on May 17, 2017 18:56:17 GMT -5
When it comes to aircraft, I do tend to have a bit of a love affair with the obscure. I like planes that are a bit “unfamous” and am particularly fond of planes that a lot of people either haven’t heard of or haven’t thought of in a while! I also love protypes and paper projects, or planes that only saw very limited service. There’s a lot of potential for what-iffery in models of planes that barely existed. The problem is that because these planes are pretty obscure, it’s not easy to find good injection moulded kits of them! That’s why I was pleased to get my hands on one of Trumpeter’s F-107A kits. The Ultra Sabre was a neat looking plane, and the fact that I’ve personally seen the one at the Dayton Air Force Museum made me even more excited to get one. I’m not yet sure what I’m going to do with it; I’ve got a lot of ideas in my head for this one! Before I get there, though, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at a kit which, while it seemed to make a stir when it first was announced, seems to me to have faded into relative obscurity. Check out this odd choice for a mainline release at the link below, and if you’ve got any ideas for what I could do with it, let me know. Right now, I’m thinking West German ground support aircraft! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/trumpeter-172-f-107a-oob/
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Post by Faust on Apr 30, 2017 9:35:08 GMT -5
Okay, it’s almost summer, but not quite, and the weather where I am has turned cruddy. It’s a grey, windy, “Blech” day on the “meh” side of staying in bed all day. So, to get everybody pumped back up, I decided to dig out my own sunshine, in the form of some old Matchbox “Sunset Stripe” box art. I love Matchbox kits, and the addition of the oh-so-80’s street van-esque “sunset stripe” to the boxes only makes these kits better. It’s like they’re trying to be something they’re not, but in the end, it just makes them cooler as relics of a long-gone age. Check out all the pictures of my stripers at the link below; I hope they photos bring a smile to your face and some warm memories to your mind. If nothing else, they’ll give you a bit of sun on a cloudy day! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/matchbox-planes-sunset-boxes/
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Post by Faust on Apr 26, 2017 16:17:46 GMT -5
I didn't realize that so many small scale cars didn't have engines! My first "real" car kit (ie built in my adult life) was the EXP version of this kit: adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/cars/mongram-132-ford-exp/ Since it had an engine, I was spoiled and figured most cars, regardless of scale, would! Turns out small scale cars and almost all Japanese kits don't bother with such a detail. Huh. Gotta love American car kits for at least giving you the whole sad story to build up!
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Post by Faust on Apr 19, 2017 18:26:59 GMT -5
Sometimes the neatest things are NOT what you are looking for, but you find them anyway! I can think of a few examples of things like this I’ve stumbled across, and I’m sure you can too. However, every now and then I come across something SO weird that not only wasn’t I looking for it, I didn’t even KNOW to look for it? Confused? So was I! The object in question was an old, large-scale Corgi from the British children’s TV show “The Magic Roundabout”. Given that tomorrow is 4-20 (with all the countercultural implications), it seemed that there couldn’t be a better time to post this oddest of little oddities! Check it out for something completely different! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/corgi-807-dougals-magic-roundabout-car/
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Post by Faust on Apr 5, 2017 19:09:43 GMT -5
I’ve been concentrating on loser cars and realistic airplanes for a while, so I felt the need to get back to the “What If”-side of my personality! I remember back when Dragon first started issuing kits of some of the Luft ’46 projects; I was hooked! I didn’t even know what these planes were, but the models were super-cool. Sadly, they were also more expensive than I was able to pay at the time. Thank goodness for shows and a nice supply of cheap Luft-46iness! This is the first of the Dragon Luft ’46 kits I’ve built. I know some people say there are fit issues, but this little guy wasn’t too bad at all! Check it out and let me know what you think. I should have bought the nachtjeager version of this thing when I had the chance! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/dragon-172-messerschmitt-p-1101/
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