John Heck

The EuroDisney thing is a poor comparison to the WDW subs but at least it's something. Stay tuned for a new totally CGI 20,000 Leagues staring Eddie Murphy as Nemo and Shia LaBeouf and the giant squid. Hey, it's Disney - it could happen. The subs live again at Disneyland but they are not as green or pointy. No chance at WDW as the area is being converted to a new, expanded Fantasyland. Not to mention the subs were not preserved as with the Disneyland attraction. Click here to see their final fate. Warning: if you are squeamish about what happens to Disney attractions after they die or thought the subs were real you should not click on this link.

Getting the Corvette to look like a Galaxie the biggest challenge.

Gil, I'm quite sure that would save a lot of time. I do, however plan to build it as my first car which is what is causing all the modification. John

If you dont need the model, here is a box for one of them! http://cgi.ebay.com/MPC-Pirates-Caribbean-Condemned-Chains-Box-/190496166234?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a74d15a

I must finish my 1965 Galaxie 500 four-door conversion. I've been poking at it for years. I am finally far enough along to hopefully have it done in just a few months. John

There were also a few Haunted Mansion™ models from 1974. http://www.hauntedma...mpc-model-kits/ I wonder how much interested there would be for model of a vehicle from a 1954 movie and a Walt Disney World attraction that has been closed since 1994. From Disney's perspective, there is not a lot of promotional value in the licencing of a model. John

I got the Academy kit a couple of days ago an it looks pretty good. I will say that filling the ejector-pin marks in the tracks will be a pain to fill, and that the texture on the upper surfaces is more of a crinkle than a gravel. Otherwise it's a nice looking lit. Oh and the wheel alignment is correct. John

Gil. I'm not sure I am understanding properly. Your argument seems to be that if you have a smaller version of something, painted the exact same color as the larger object, it will actually be darker because it's not reflecting as much light? Don't all objects have their full surface area? John

Another way to look at it: If I am looking at a 1/48 aircraft at arms length, that is about a scale 96 feet. How much haze and change in color would there be from that distance in real life? 1/700 scale ship? That's 1400 feet and might be a legit case for scale color.

But in fairness, this is duplicating wear on the paint, not a scale effect. You would, in essence, still be painting it the same color as the actual vehicle with its weathered finish. John

My mix for scale effect is 100% base color and 0% white. Just how far away from an object I would have to be for the atmosphere to cause noticeable discoloration. Pretty far I think. Quarter mile? I think that distance is much further than any likely distance you are to view a model, even when adjusted for scale. Car modelers seem to get very realistic results without tinting their Duplicolor with 10% white. A dark pink Ferrari would look wrong. Why should the same not apply to military subjects? John (< scale effect)

Must be from the Dark Knight Returns?

Stinks?

I know a guy... Robert Manasherob lives in my area. I get a pretty good look at the manuscripts before they go to press. John

I already have a copy. Iff'n yer into IDF half tracks, you will enjoy it. John

Jeff, Having spent several years hunched over a control panel in a mini-lab I might have some insight about the cropping. Mind you this was way way back in the days of something I like to call "negatives." I'm not sure how much flexibility digital labs have but the enlargers I used would crop a bit of the image around the edges. Additionally, the cuter at the end to the drying tower would also crop a little off the sides as the long strip of images was sliced into individual pictures. All of this cropping was done to compensate for any slop in the process. I would occasionally get complaints from customers that in images where a person might be right at the edge of the negative, the tops of heads were getting cropped off. There was not a lot I could do about it other then try to cheat the negative one direction or another inside the film strip holder. I would also try to convince them that these people were ugly and should not be photographed. This rarely worked. The machines then and now were designed to squirt out prints as fast as possible often at the expense of precision and flexibility. Some self-service kiosks might allow for some customization of the image. You might try this. I'm sure there will be some difference in the actual result but you can learn how to get what you need out of the machine. Of course a custom lab will do what you want and charge you appropriately. As others have said, I would make sure that the image ratio in your camera matches that of the prints you want (4x6 most likely). After that I would try not to have your subject too close to the edge of the frame. Hope this is some help, John PS. Mega Pixels and image ratio are two separate things. Perhaps your camera has a setting that affects both at the same time. Glad you problem is solved. I'm posting my reply anyhow!

Is it worth it, you ask? Only if you want to do it. For me nothing makes a good build look more like a toy than tires that appear to be made of solid plastic. Check your references but in my opinion, perfectly round it too round. All planes affected by gravity will have tires with a little squish in them. John

But, but... it's not even a tank... John (who likes tanks)

If you like truly oddball stuff, try a Super Pershing. http://www.hobbyboss.com/82426.htm

Nice work. Much more efficient organization. john

Nice work, Gil. I've always liked your Collect-Aire builds like your XF10F. It would be great to see some of them in some sort of club modeling magazine! ;o) John

Looking good, Mark. Don't forget to redeem that CokeRewards bottle cap! John

Looks great! The troublesome skin tones worked out well. The lack of exaggerated fry-brushing is welcome. Cheers! John

Welcome!

Looks great. What kit is it? John