Windy37

Working on a landfill site , your truck is definitely landfill spec !

Looking good so far . What variety of paint have you used for the sump guard ? I always struggle to get a Kevlar coloured paint . The body decals should go on easily enough , because they aren't one solid piece so should smooth down well . I built this kit when it was first released , so it's a nice trip back down memory lane when old kits are featured on here . Gary .

That 7 up Impreza looks good . Youve got better colour schemes than the current WRC teams ! I reckon 5 year olds have designed most of the schemes ! Gary.

That looks great . I like the wheels ! Does your brother still own his real Escort ?

Strange seeing a rally Impreza in any colour than blue . Nice job , Pat .

Hi . I remember this kit when I was a kid in the 1980’ s . If you are not too bothered about a top notch paint job , leaving it rough wouldn’t be out of place . It’s a bulldozer after all . I drive a Cat D6 dozer at work , with swivelling and tilting blade . It’s on wide tracks and is a doddle to drive . Couldn’t imagine driving one without a cab though. Proper men in those days !!! Gary .

Just a quick update this week . Didn’t get anything done last weekend , weather far to nice to be inside . Today it’s raining heavily, so I’ve been on with the Celica again . I ve been preparing the Safari Rally spec parts . Front and rear nudge bars and Cibie spotlights. The front nudge bar has weld moulded into the plastic , great detail but nearly invisible to the naked eye ! The spotlights are in four parts and I used PVA glue to stick the lenses in . My daughter uses it to stick sequins onto her dancing costumes and dries invisible she tells me ..... we will see . Back in the day me and my mates all ran Cibies on our hot hatches . They were highly prized and often got stolen , as a 17 mm spanner was all you needed to remove a pair of spots worth about £ 80 ! Thanks for looking , Gary. Here’s a close up of the weld detail on the front nudge bar .

Thanks , Alan . Might try that on the next build . Skyline looks well . Gary .

It’s done by hand , Spiny . There is no window masks in the kit , but my experience with them is that the paint usually bleeds underneath them . Since building my last kit , I wear glasses now and I do find it easier to do the detail painting !! Gary .

More progress on the Celica. I ve fitted all the windows and cut the drivers side window out. This is something I always do as it lets you see into the car easier , showing off the detail . The front windscreen didn’t fit very tight , so I had to rub the bottom edge down to get a better fit . I ve painted the window edges and tidied up some of the vents on the body that melted with the lacquer. I hate painting window frames , you need such a steady hand and one slip looks bad . I will paint the windscreen frame when it has set . The end results do make the car look better though . I ve also painted the interior Matt black, as on the real car . All the window frames and vents were painted Matt Black too . At the front I’ve fitted the grille and headlights. Behind these is a small mesh panel that comes with the kit and needs to be cut to size . It looks quite effective . At the rear I’ve fitted the rear radiator and chrome plated light units , ready for their lenses when I get them painted . Last weekend I was at a car rally local - ish to me , the Riponian Stages based out of Thirsk and using stages in North Yorkshire . Ben Mellors was taking part in his Toyota Celica 2000 GT RA40 . It’s always superbly turned out and makes a nice change to all the Escorts . Sounds really well too . Thanks for your interest, Gary . This is Ben Mellors immaculate Celica historic class car before the start of last Sunday’s Riponian Rally .

I 'll get it sorted ! You learn by your mistakes ! It's a Safari car , so a few scratches and scrapes can be expected . Thanks for all the advice and comments . Gary.

I 'll get it sorted ! You learn by your mistakes ! Gary.

I will be can spraying . It's all about technique I reckon and with me only getting back into building it was a shock to see the decals melt . After all that effort , not nice ! Gary .

Thanks , Steve. I will buy a can . I don't want any dramas on my next builds. Gary .

Thanks , Steve . Is Mr Top Coat from Mr Colour range ?