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Post by Faust on Mar 23, 2017 18:50:33 GMT -5
It’s one thing for a car’s styling to be weird or polarizing (or both – ask AMC), but it’s another to be both of those things and STILL be forgotten! If you think about the Ford EXP (which I do, more than I should), it was pretty odd and polarizing too. Weird bug-eye headlights and odd two-seaterness certainly made it a car that most people recognized, even if they didn’t want to. Now imagine being even weirder looking than that, and then being almost totally forgotten! That’s what it’s like to be the EXP’s upscale brother. That’s right, the EXP had a twin: the Mercury LN7! Most of the time, Mercuries don’t get kitted for some reason. However, back in the early ‘80s, Monogram came to the rescue and re-tooled their EXP mould to produce the bubble-backed Mercury version. It may be a small kit, but it certainly captures all the increased awkwardness of the real thing! Check out the 1/32 Mongram LN7 at the link below. Remember, sometimes we forget things as a favour to ourselves; you’ll see what I mean! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/monogram-132-mercury-ln-7-sport-coupe-oob/
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Post by Faust on Mar 18, 2017 17:16:55 GMT -5
Thanks! I appreciate your comments on the chassis, too. It's a bit tough on those "all moulded in" chassis to get them looking even halfway decent. I'm glad that someone else likes it, too! Care is the big thing, though, you're right.
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Post by Faust on Mar 8, 2017 21:28:57 GMT -5
While I don’t get as many of them built and posted as I’d like to, one of my favourite types of kit is a mech kit. I grew up in the ‘80s loving Tranformers and Robotech, and have, since then, been a big ‘robot junkie’. Normally, the robots I build are Gundams, but I have a few others from different series as well. One series I was both thrilled to find that I could still get kits from was the planned successor to the Gundam franchise – Metal Armor Dragonar. I got what amounts to the whole set a while ago, and I thought it would be fun to take a look inside one and see what an old-skool mech was like. The Dragonar kits are surprisingly nice for their age, and are much better than Gundam kits of the same era, actually! Check out the first of my Dragonars; the half-plane, half-humanoid (but not a Gerwalk/Guardian) Schwalg! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/bandai-1144-flug-armor-ffa-02-schwalg-oob/
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Post by Faust on Feb 24, 2017 21:50:06 GMT -5
Clean build up, with good color combo. Knew a guy that bought a new Volare, think it was a '78. Thing rusted away ( North east winters)and basically fell apart before it was paid for. Could be why there's not many around today, which is a shame because I personally find that body style mildly attractive and full of performance potential. Oh, man, yeah. That bad '70s metallurgy and heavy winters/salt would just cause the airframes to melt away. I never thought much of these until I built this car, but you know what... now I quite like them. They have a purposeful sit to them, and with some love and extra parts, could be made pretty hot, I would imagine!
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Post by Faust on Feb 23, 2017 17:50:56 GMT -5
Well, I finally got it done! After a lot of fighting with the bumpers and a few other fit issues, my take on the MPC “Fuzz Duster” Volare is finished. Since I like to try and immortalize the “losers” in as stock a form as I can (usually), I chose to do the model as a straight-up 1980 Road Runner. These are not common today, and weren’t even very common back in the day, actually! With it’s very square looks and very staid motor, the last Road Runners weren’t much to get excited about. However, the Fuzz Duster kit has everything you need to build one of these now largely forgotten “muscle” cars, and it’s a nice opportunity to build something that you just don’t see anymore. Check it out and let me know what you think! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/cars/mpc-round-2-125-1980-volare-road-runner/
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Post by Faust on Feb 9, 2017 19:50:27 GMT -5
Loser cars. If there’s one thing I love to get kits of, it’s loser cars. Most people like muscle cars, Ferraris and other exotics or classic cruisers. Not me. If you’ve seen anything else I’ve built or reviewed, you know I love to hate to love my loser cars. What’s more amazing that having a great selection of these things as kits? Finding out there’s a model of a loser car I didn’t even know about! Recently, it was brought to my attention that there was a kit of a Plymouth Horizon TC3. AWESOME! I knew about, and have several, of the Omni 024, it’s Dodge stablemate, but I was amazed and intrigued to learn of the Horizon. I hoped to find one, one day. Then, thanks to the power of the internet, I was contacted by someone with one, and I was able to swiftly acquire one of these gems! It’s rare to have such a short turn around between discovery and purchase, at least for me, since I try to always avoid ebay! I was very excited to get it, so I had to review it quickly. So here, then, is an out of box review for a long-forgotten leader among the losers, the almost kinda cool, but still intrinsically lame, Horizon TC3. Many thanks to F-J for his help and passing this one on to me. You rock, man! Check it out to see how bad things got; don’t forget, there were MULTIPLE companies kitting this thing! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/amt-125-plymouth-horizon-tc3-oob/
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Post by Faust on Jan 25, 2017 20:15:06 GMT -5
One of the things I like most about aircraft, well any vehicle actually, is the ways in which the various models of it can vary. I am a huge fan of variants, and there’s little I like more than the two-seater of a one-seater aircraft. This is almost a universal thing for me, and it’s not a surprise that if there’s a trainer version of a given plane I have gone out of my way to get my hands on it. I’ll often turn down the one-seater until I have gotten the two-seater! A perfect example of this is the mighty Su-17/20/22 “Fitter” family of swing wings. I particularly like this one, since it’s a massively re-eingineered swing-wing variant of the fixed wing Su-7. Of course, that’s only the start. Given that there’s also a two-seater of this plane, you can imagine how eager I was to find a kit of one of THOSE. Now, there is a nice Bilek out there, but there’s also the old Hobbycraft. Not as many people know about that one, and it’s not as sought after. Of course, that’s the one I was able to find! Check out this oddly Canadian kit, made in China, of a Russian export-model airplane below. P.S. Bring your aftermarket decals! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/hobbycraft-su-22u-oob/
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Post by Faust on Jan 15, 2017 11:20:03 GMT -5
Thanks tooold. No worries. It's funny; a lot of people miss the links in my posts the first time. I often have people either message, email or reply asking if there are other pics, and I always point out the link. Hope the pics I've got on my site are good for you!
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Post by Faust on Jan 13, 2017 19:56:23 GMT -5
Thanks for the complimens, man. I appreciate it. It does take some time to do the writeups, and there are times I wonder if it's worth it. "Would I be better to just throw up some pictures and be done with it? Does anyone even bother to read what I wrote?" I sometimes wonder. However, I love the subject and can't resist, so I'm glad when people take the time to read it and always appreciate feedback. I think it's going to look pretty good. Black and Red is always stunning. Tame is how it was, like you said. THing is, you could at least look good doing it!
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Post by Faust on Jan 12, 2017 21:12:45 GMT -5
If there’s one thing the cold and snowy winter weather is good for, it’s finding some time and excuse to go hibernate in the modelling room! I’ve been hard at work on the Fuzz Duster, and I’ve gotten the interior and engine/chassis done. There’s still a lot of work to do on the body, but it’s coming along! Check out what I’ve got at the link below and let me know what you think! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/volare-mid-build-update-sit-down-and-feel-the-lean-burn/
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Post by Faust on Dec 29, 2016 11:31:44 GMT -5
Sometimes, getting what you wished for isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. While I’m not a hardcore armour modeller in the sense that I go out and get all kinds of fancy aftermarket stuff, I still like my tanks to at least be half-decent kits to start with. I also like them in small scale, so that’s why I’ve gravitated towards the old Matchbox and Fujimi 1/76 models. They’re small, well-detailed enough and simple enough to be fun. However, I was hoping I’d be able to find a Flakpanzer IV for my collection. I hadn’t been able to find a record of such a kit in 1/76, so you can imagine how pleased I was to find out that there was indeed a model of it in this old scale! The kit I found was made in Japan by Arii, and it was even a “diorama set” as it proclaimed on the box! The problem is that the kit is not quite up to the standards I’m used to on armour, and as you have read, my standards aren’t particularly high. Follow the link below to see what this kit is like, and why you should never buy one, given the chance! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/arii-176-flakpanzer-iv-wirbelwind-oob/
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Post by Faust on Dec 15, 2016 18:20:10 GMT -5
In the article I linked, you can see the paint guide. It's all grey... I don't buy that based on the photos I've seen.
I've seen a pic of the U-boat memorial in Germany and that U-boot has a black underside. Did Germans use black instead of red for anti-fouling? I thought German warships (like the Scheer) used red like the rest of the world.
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Post by Faust on Dec 15, 2016 17:22:57 GMT -5
I don’t know about you, but when I think of submarines, even WWII submarines, I think of relatively large ships designed to prowl the ocean depths like sharks stalking their prey. I don’t really think of costal patrol submarines; small boats with short range and limited armament. However, that’s exactly what the German Type XXIII was; a ‘brown water’ sub designed for shorter duration patrols in coastal waters. I was quite pleased to find a kit of this interesting craft a few years ago on a trip to a local shop. Since then, it seems like there’s been more interest in the Type XXIII, as now I see that Revell has repopped the ICM offering! However, the one I have is the Trumpeter 1/144. This is a neat kit because it has three different bridge options, compared to the ICM’s one. Of course, this led to a confusing search for information, but it was quite enlightening as well. My problem is colouration. The box shows all grey, but most photos show black on bottom and grey on top. Unfortunately, they’re all black and white pictures, so I can’t tell if the sub’s “underwater” part should be black or anti-fouling red. Any ideas, or proof, of why one or the other? Check out this fairly recent offering “out of the box” here: adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/trumpeter-1144-type-xxiii-submarine-oob/
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Post by Faust on Nov 30, 2016 20:16:37 GMT -5
Sometimes, it’s nice to take a trip back in time to when kits were supposed to be simple, fun entertainment for kids. Yes, there was a time like that, and many of us remember it. There were, to be sure, big expensive kits, but for those just starting out there were simpler kits with fewer parts, and even a snap fit if we hadn’t got our gluing skills up to par. A great example of kits of this type are the MPC “Fast 111’s” snap fit kits of the early ‘80s. These were roughly 1/32 replicas of, if you can believe it, 1/64 Diecast cars! The Kenner Fast 111’s line was invented as a competitor to Hot Wheels. While it never took off like Hot Wheels did, the toys were cool, and Kenner asked MPC to make some kits of key designs. The idea was to capture a market that Hot Wheels wasn’t tapping; young modellers. I don’t think it was successful, but there were four kits made! Check out the most radical of them, the Evil Eye racing rig, out of box at the link below. If you remember these kits, it’ll be a fun trip down memory lane. If not, then it’ll be something new to look for at swap meets! adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/mpc-fast-111s-evil-eye-racing-rig-oob/
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Post by Faust on Nov 23, 2016 20:21:04 GMT -5
Oh man! Doing a Packin' Pacer would be awesome! I loved that one as a kid, too. My brother loved it more, though, and kept taking it and using it. It's worn now, but it's still one of my faves! Well, that and J-2000...
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