Spiny

First rule of anything - don't be in a rush to compare yourself to others, particularly with a place like here where some of the builds are incredible. It might be your first model, but it does show a good starting point and it's a plus that you're able to look at what you've done and identify where you can improve. Just remember everyone starts somewhere. As for more specific questions, I use Halfords car primer (white for light colours, grey for dark) which hasn't let me down yet and is good value for money compared to model paints. Of course, being a rattlecan you will need somewhere that won't cause you to stink out the house. Other people will have other favourite primers, but it's usually worth giving a quick rub over it with fine (say 1500-2000 grit) sandpaper before the colour coat. It sounds from what you've written that decals are proving your bete noire at the moment. I would second the suggestion to get hold of Microset and Microsol. Brush on the Microset, then apply the decal. Leave for a while so that the decal is set in position, then brush over it with Microsol. Depending on the decals (some are quite flexible, others not so), you may not need to do this but it's often worth giving at least one application. Once you've applied the Microsol wait a few hours before touching the decal as the solution makes it soft and easily damaged. For thick and/or stiff decals such as the Fiesta I'm on with at the moment, you may need to apply Microsol more than once to get the decal to conform properly. Even then, as you've discovered, tight compound curves can still be a pain and the odd crease or tear may be present at the end. Keep at it.

I take it you're looking at putting clear varnish onto the clear plastic? If it was me, I would leave the clear as is as much as possible - if there's any small scratches on there you're probably better off polishing them out than varnishing the window. In terms of whether it will react, I don't know but would expect probably not. If you want to see how it will look and whether it will work, it's probably worth trying on some sprue first.

If only... when I went on furlough I moved the modelling to the desk I was using for work as there was more room. Now I'm back at work, tomorrow I'll have to move everything back to my usual place. At least the carpet where I'll be moving to is much less capable of swallowing small parts, important with all the photoetch coming up

I had a look around Google, and it seems that it's a debris shield used on some of the the highway cars "which protects the windshield from speed related debris such ruptured tire pieces and similar objects". Guess I shouldn't have been lazy and had a look last night.

Looking really good now. I must admit my first thought when you put up the dashboard on the previous page was that it was a bit to bright and garish, but now that it's in position inside the car it just looks right. Just goes to show that you can never be 100% sure of how something will turn out until it's complete.

Over the past few days I've been making a start on the interior. It's amazing what a difference even the first few parts can make when added to a blank white piece of plastic. Lots of holes ready for parts, and the instructions aren't always accurate as to which hole you should fit a part - fortunately all the moulding is good so you can easily work out which is the correct place when the instructions are wrong. First bits are all sitting in the footwells: ...as indeed are many of the next set of pieces added. The decal for the display panel required another huge done of Microsol just as on the body. This is where I am with it at the moment: From now on, things are likely to revert to my usual glacial pace for two reasons. Firstly, I'm moving onto the seats with all their fabric and photo-etch seatbels. And secondly, I'm back at work next week so it's onto weekend modelling again.

Just something I read somewhere - what I can't guarantee is that the person who wrote that hadn't just built it badly. It'll be a while before this works its way through the stash, but the doors are something I will be test fitting very carefully.

Looks really good to me, not really much in the way of constructive criticism I can add as you've overcome all those difficulties you encountered really well. The only suggestion I can put forward for anything in future is that perhaps a wash might have given that grille some more depth, but that's probably being picky.

It's not a colour I would have thought of, but it works really well. If I'm honest, I think it works better than the grey I used on mine which is probably the colour I'm least happy with on any of my models. Anyway, back to yours which looks as though it's very well built. It also looks as though you've done a much better job than me on the engine - mine didn't quite fit under and I had to glue the cover in place to stop it sitting about half a millimetre proud of the body, Yours is definitely a looker (nice window rubbers by the way )

I'd second the above. Your best bet is to paint the front and rear reflectors silver (or even better the Molotow chrome pen mentioned above if you have it) - this is the nearest you'll get to how a real car light is structured. I've tried both inside and outside for adding clear red to the tail-light lens, and in my opinioin six97s is correct in saying to paint the outside rather than the inside unless the tail-light is completely enclosed by 'metal' on all sides (i.e. you can't see the edge of the clear plastic when built).

I thought that as soon as I saw it - not sure why but Amazon listed the retailer who was out of stock first rather than the one with one left Not that I'm complaining through. Did you get yours built? I've heard that the doors aren't great on it, so if they are virtually impossible to get right I might end up doing with the doors open instead.

Another one for the "cars which share a name and not much else with cars I own/have owned" set, although in fairness this is the right version. At the very least, it's the closest kit I'm aware of to the ST sat on my drive. I've been looking for one of these for about three years and had pretty much given up on finding one for sale, let alone at a decent price. So when I found this one lurking in the depths of Amazon at £40 I wasn't going to hang about , even if it did mean using up a good chunk of the budget set aside for the 6R4. I know from comments on my Fiesta build that decals strike terror into some BM members, so if you're one of them this is not a kit for you - the decal numbering goes up to (at least) 144, with I'd guess in excess of 160 individual decals to place

Not much wrong with that. I do like the background too - you've done an excellent job of fading the 'grass' into the background. One thing which looks odd to me (and this isn't directed at you but at the kit or Porsche) is the presence of mudguards on the front wheels - I can't help thinking that on clay soils they could easily clog up in winter mud.

Nice to see something different (as in I don't think I've seen this kit before), let alone you having made a nice job of it. It certainly seems to have worn the decade well. Just one question - what's the clear plastic screen on the bonnet? Is it meant to deflect objects from the windscreen?

An old (or cheap) toothbrush can often help with dislodging those stubborn bits of paint in panel lines, corners etc. I've found. It hopefully goes without saying that this will be in conjunction with the soaking in paint stripping fluid or some description, and ultimately you will still need a good soak to soften it anyway.