georgeshaeffer

Thank you Black Knight. Sounds relatively easy. I'm sure that I'll learn a lot as I work my way through the four practice kits. I want those to come out really well also, because they are really nice cars. What do you recommend that I use as filler putty? I've heard numerous recommendations. Also, have you ever heard of cooking the white metal parts in hot, but not boiling, white vinegar to etch them? That was suggested by someone in my local model club. I'm leery, as no one else has mentioned this.

Does ANYONE know if there has ever been a 1/24 styrene/diecast/resin/metal model kit or finished model made of a 1970 TVR Vixen or Tuscan (not the more recent Tuscan)? How about any resin casters out there who might be interested in undertaking this? I'd like to make it full detail, but we might be able to come up with an acceptable donor kit that would simplify the process. 3-D printing might be a workable alternative too. Thanks, George Shaeffer

I have finally managed to acquire one of my "Holy Grail" kits, a South Eastern Finecast MGA 1500/1600 (my first car was a 1960 MGA 1600), which is rated to be, by far, the best model of this car in 1/24th scale. My problem is that it's a "white metal" kit and I've never built a white metal kit before. Not wanting to screw it up, because it has become so rare (and expensive), I've purchased four 1/43rd scale white metal kits of similar vintage cars to practice on, but I don't even really know where to start. Can someone recommend a good book that covers this subject, or give me a brief introduction on how to build these kits? I really know just about nothing. Thanks for whatever help can be provided. George Shaeffer

Thanks for accepting my application. I'm George Shaeffer, 65 years young and I'm a retired Certified Public Accountant (Chartered Accountant for you Brits). I started building models when I was about nine years old. My first attempt was a car model which was not made for beginners and that experience put me off model cars for a long time. I was a typical young modeler, so the kits went together quickly, right out of the box, with no attempts to improve them with seam filling or paint, etc. I left the hobby at about age 15, having discovered girls and real cars. I came back to the hobby in the mid-1980's and have stuck with it somewhat sporadically as time and working space have allowed. My particular focus is the endurance racers of the 1960's and early 1970's, as well as one-offs of my own (how about a 1934 Rolls Royce Monster Truck?) and movie cars that interest me (like the XKE hearse from the movie "Harold and Maude"). I also built wooden ship models for a time, but became disenchanted as I came to realize that the models built from the kits often bore little to no resemblance to the actual ship. I could have built from widely available plans, but that would have required a significant outlay for equipment that I was unwilling to do, so back to the car models. Oh yeah, I've also got a thing for WWII 1/72 scale MTB, PT Boats, S boats, etc. I'll be running a separate thread on this, but I've just managed to acquire one of my "Holy Grail" kits, a South Eastern Finecast MGA 1500/1600, which was my first car. It's a full detail kit. My problem is that it's a white metal kit and I've never built a white metal kit before. I've purchased a few inexpensive 1/43 kits from eBay to practice with, but I still don't even know the basics and I certainly do not want to screw up the MGA - that kit has been out of production for a long time and I count myself very lucky to have found one. By the way, thank God for Google, or I never would gotten the answer to the security question on the membership application!