Models |
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Like most boys I started putting together plastic models when I was a little kid. Back then I cared more about getting it put together than making look real good. Most of my models were either sloppily painted or not painted at all. As I grew I started taking more pride in my models and making them look better. I found I did much better at putting together airplanes than I did with cars and trucks so that is what I assembled mostly. When I got married and moved out of my parents house. I didn't have much money left over from week to week to spend on models and such so I set them aside. I was able to put together two of Testors pre-painted metal bodied models over the 8 years I have been away from the hobby, though. I have recently gone back to assembling them as a hobby. I don't know why I chose to start back with a car model. When I was younger, cars were the worst model type for me. I always ruined the engine and ended up gluing the hood down so you couldn't open it and see, if I even finished it at all. I later learned that this is a common way of building cars and is called a "curbside" model. Flash forward 8 years. I was bored silly one day and decided I needed something to do with my hands. I went to the local hobby shop intending to get a model airplane, but they didn't have a Testors model airplane I wanted to build (see next paragraph to understand why Testors). As I got to looking around I saw Tamiya's Jaguar XJ220. I have always liked this car, so I bought it thinking I would just end up gluing the hood down again. OH NO!! This model has a clear window over top of the engine. Looks like I've got no choice. The engine turned out pretty good. There are spots on the rest of the model that I'm not too happy about, but it was my first real model in over 8 years, so some of my skills had to have deteriorated a bit. This model also introduced me to Tamiya plastic models. I used to assemble mostly Testors models. I felt that Testors were a higher quality kit than some of the others in the same price range (at 13 I couldn't really afford the higher priced models). I still like Testors, but Tamiya is my new favorite producer. The molding is great and has lots of detail. The parts fit together perfectly without any shaving or bending of the pieces. I feel they are a very high quality kit, the price however reflects the quality you get. They are significantly more expensive than Testors, Revell, Monogram, etc... However, now that I am older and taking more time with them making them look good, I don't feel it is a waste of money buying the more expensive kits. The added quality just makes my finished models that much better looking. As an example of the quality of detail in a Tamiya model, look at the Jaguar page. You will see a close-up of the metal transfers that are included with those models. Simply put, these are little die-cut pieces of metal that you stick on your car to add metallic details, such as name plates and such. They come on a piece or sticky film that press down into place on the model and then rub over the metal pieces firmly. When you remove the sticky film carefully the metal pieces will stay on the model. These details really make a model look sharp, and it's a lot easier than trying to paint little raised sections on a model. Thank you, Tamiya. One thing I liked about Testors models was that on the side of the box it told you what paints you would need. Many companies do not do this. So you either have to open the box at the store, which is usually no problem at your local hobby shop, but not too easy anywhere else like a retail store or a web site, or wait until you get home to find out you don't have a critical paint. I will give the paint list as recommended by the maker on my model pages. I will also give you any special colors I used. I will not list substitutions for similar colors I used, for instance if I was out of aluminum paint I may use silver instead and not just not mention it. Almost everybody does it and you will know what you can substitute and what you can't. What I will list is major deviations from colors or a substitution I used for a mixed color. For example, the Cooper 1275s called for a mixture of one part Lemon Yellow and one part Green. I didn't have Lemon Yellow and couldn't find a close enough yellow to use, so I substituted Testors Zinc Chromate, kind of a dark yellow, instead of mixing for one tiny part. It's not exactly what Tamiya called for and probably not very accurate, but it was close enough for me. I am usually not too picky about historical accuracy on my non-military models. I just build them the way I would like to see them. I list the links to the individual model pages two ways, by category and chronologically by start date. I may finish some earlier than others, but this is the order that I started/will start them. Category
ChronologicalJaguar XJ220 |