• Content count

  • Joined

  • Last visited

About ICMF

  • Rank

Previous Fields

  • Scale I Build 1/24

ICMF's Activity

  1. ICMF added a post in a topic That'll buff right out.... Fujimi 356 needs some bodywork   

    Yeesh, I've got a body that looks like this, and you guys are giving me greif over terminology?!? Actually, I couldn't decide what to go with - somehow 'hood' just seems wrong on a rear-engined car. Guess I should have stuck with 'bonnet'...

    Anyway, final nail in the coffin, looks like there's some sort of weird bend/warp/bulge through the left front fender too (you can sort of see it in the side- and top-views), *almost* like it's heat-warped. Screw that, no *way* I can fix it. Actually, on closer inspection just now, it seems to be cracked across the top there too, like something was dropped across the top of that fender. And I've just noticed, there's a crack running down the left door. This is almost getting comical, like one of those "how many things are wrong with this picture" puzzles!

    Dave, I'll be e-mailing you poste haste. Just in case you don't have a spare though, does anyone have experience getting spares from Fujimi? Who's importing them to the US/Canada now? Dragon?

    Barring that, I've had the suggestion of doing a crash diorama, which I kinda like. What's a good way to simulate shattered glass?
  2. ICMF added a topic in On The Workbench   

    Bought a Testors release of the Fujimi Porsche 356 recently. It arrived today, a little bit worse for the trip. Is this actually salvageable, or would I be better off finding a replacement body instead? The rest of the kit's fine, just that the body's pretty pooched...

    Frontal shot surveying the damage. Roof's split and squished off to the right side - all the pillars are bent or broken somewhere. The sides are also slanted to the right, and the entire body is notably warped:


    Rear. Note the body's also cracked above the trunk:

    Top. Looks like the entire body is also skewed back along the left side:

    Close-up on the left pillars:

    ...and the right side:

    Good view of the longitudinal warpage:

    Even more fun, looks like the left rear fender got crunched, so there's a bulge/bend out at the top of the wheel arch:

    And just to add insult to injury, the scoop braces are snapped along the bottom! Again, note the warpage:

    Amazing thing is, the box looked fine. The body looks like someone sat on it, but you'd never have guessed without opening the parcel. Not the most pleasant of surprises....

    Anyway, I'm a little stumped. Fixing the snap above the trunk isn't a big deal. Fixing the roof once I get it raised back up shouldn't be a big deal. Actually raising it back up - fixing/straightening/aligning the pillars - has me a little nervous. Fixing the roof when the body is warped and skewed so I basically don't have anything square to work from, has me downright terrified. I'd *love* to hear any suggestions you guys might have. Or whether you think it's even worth trying - would I be better served just writing off this body and trying to find a replacement? (anybody have a spare they don't need?) How are Fujimi for sending replacements?
    • 21 replies
  3. ICMF added a post in a topic Trying to sort out classic kit quality   

    Thanks for the info, all. Very helpful.

    So (just to get things straight...), older boxings would be more likely to have brittle/broken plastic but crisper mouldings, while newer boxings would better plastic, but rougher mouldings? Is that right?

    biscuitbuilder - actually most of the info I was able to find was from you, dug up from the dustiest corners of RMS. Amazing how great a resource it remains - the group may have got to hell, but there's a ton of useful information there. And on that note, you've said that the Lindberg Mercedes SSK, tooled around '73(?) is also a nice kit. Doing some digging, I found another release in a box dated 1966. Are there two different Lindberg toolings of the car, or are they both the same kit? (not trying to bust your chops or anything, I just want to know if it matters which boxing I get)

    Can Am, sure, I'd love to see your builds. Skimming through various discussion groups, it looks like a lot of people are becoming more interested in the genre. Must be something in the water...
  4. ICMF added a topic in General   

    Trying to sort out classic kit quality
    I'm primarily an aircraft guy, but I've been bitten by the auto bug lately. I've been eyeing a bunch of vintage classics, but I really don't know what's worth buying, and what's best left on the shelf. So could anybody help me out and give me a rough run-down on what's decent?

    I'm thinking, particularly, in terms of European cars - Mercs, Jags, Rollers, Bugattis and the like. Apparently Jo-Han's Mercedes 500Ks are nice, but how do they compare with the Italeri or Monogram 540K kits? Lindberg's SSK? And what's the better Rolls: Monogram or Italeri? Are the Italeri Bugatti Royale/Napoleon or Lindberg Victoria worth building? Are the Minicraft 1/16 kits any good, or would I be better off with, say, the 1/24 SSK, or MG-TC (okay, so it's not pre-war... but it looks it )

    And, for that matter, when reviewers say a kit like the Jo-Han Mercs are nice... is that nice, given the fact that they're 40 year old toolings, or just nice full stop, and they wouldn't feel out of place among more modern Revellogram releases (since I'm assuming they're not going to be Tamiya quality)?

    And if all of that is too big to even begin to answer, are there any good review sites/webzines for model cars, that will have sprue shots or in box reviews of vintage cars?

    I realize this is a pretty big and involved question, so I'd appreciate any input at all. I'm not particularly set on particular body styles, model years or the like, so I guess basically it boils down to, what kits are worth searching out for an accurate, reasonably detailed, straightforward, enjoyable pre-war build?
    • 11 replies