Faust

Well, the results are in and the people have spoken! Of the kits I managed to snag in London (Ontario, Canada) during the model show at the end of September, one has been quite overwhelmingly chosen as the “king of the losers”! The winner of this dubious title was the AMT BRAT, that awesome little bundle of tax-evading passenger un-safety! The margin of victory was considerable, with 71 votes, the Brat managed 17. Sure, that’s only 24%, but in Canadian politics at least, that’s more than enough to win! Given that the BRAT is also one of my top purchases (since I stupidly passed one up years ago) I was more than willing to dive right in and get you guys an Out of Box report on this fairly rare little beast. So check it out below! Note, if the link doesn't want to work (I had real trouble with it), just either past it into google, or go to the Sprue Lagoon, and it'll be the newest post on the front page! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/amt-matchbox-1-25-1978-subaru-brat-oob/

It's funny: When my uncle saw the kit he said the exact same thing, and he brought me the issue to see. The car they feature is a '79-based 'Vette America, but oddly, the Monogram kit looks like an 80 through and through. WEirdly, though, they gave the kit the wire wheels and "targa bar" of the prototype. From what I've researched, only the prototype had those, and there was only one, maybe two, '80 models. One was red, and I've seen one greyish-silver. Not sure if they're the same car repainted or what, but I don't think so. So, that maybe makes this Monogram a "What if" and I can do what I want with it.... Hmm... I kinda hope it wins now, although as expected, BRAT is dominating.

I’m sure everyone’s heard of an embarrassment of riches, right? Well, what happens when the riches you have are embarrassing, and they’re so plentiful that you get paralyzed by choice? Well, for one thing, you get what happened to me! At my local show just recently, I hit the vendors hard, and got so many amazing kits that I am a bit stuck for which one to open up and review first! When you’re weighing things like a Firebird station wagon, a four-door Corvette, a BRAT and a Messerschmitt cycle car, it’s not easy to come to a quick decision. So, I’m doing what anyone would do, when staring down the Magnum PI Vanagon and a Suzuki Samurai… I’m asking for help! Check out my awesome score of total automotive oddballs, and give me a hand with a vote for what you want to see as the next out of box car on the Lagoon! Just follow the link below, but be ready… awesomeness awaits! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/scores-and-collections/london-model-show-haul-2018/

It's funny you mention the D-50, since there was a D-50 Sport package that was so, soooo close to how the MPC D-50 looks. It's a shame they didn't just do that package, since I like to do my models stock. Still, I think I'm going to build the D-50 as it is, stripes and all. I generally build my cars stock, so other than Gold Rush, there's not much I have that's "sunsetted". I will likely do most of the ones in the picutre stock, where possible. However, the D-50 will, as mentioned, likely be an exception. :)

Since it’s the end of Summer as I write this, and the days are getting shorter, I thought it would be appropriate to put up a display of my “Sunset Stripe” cars. Unsurprisingly, most of them are MPCs, since that was right up their alley! Check out this collection at the link below, and get your time machines ready! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/scores-and-collections/sunset-stripes-car-collection/

Fair! See, we all know Pintos suck, but to me, they're cool BECAUSE they suck. I'll leave the supercars and other well-known stuff to the rest of the world. I want to create a museum to things that are kitschly cool now, and that we all know were really terrible. More people will likely notice the Pinto than a '57 Chev, because it's so rare to see one (either built, or in real life)! Man, if they made a Cosworth Vega, I'd get that too! I'd prefer a less powerful version, but beggars can't be choosers!

Yes, yes it is. :) You're welcome, by the way. I'm still hoping somebody will want to buy it for their own collection of bad ideas.

Even if it’s a loser car, with a loser engine (which it is), I still like to try and make the interior and chassis of a car kit look as good as possible. Of course, when you’re talking about the make-work-project that is the MPC 1979 Pinto “Pony Express” reissue, that’s not exactly an easy chore. Thankfully, the chassis and interior on this kit are fairly simple, and require less reworking than the body and engine! Check out my progress at the link below. This little beast is edging further towards completion! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/2018/09/12/pinto-update-3-inside-underside-tnt/

One of my favourite parts of modelling is trying to make something look just like it does in real life. Oddly, the other part I like is making something completely unique. Thankfully, the hobby has room for both! One genre of kits I find myself customizing a lot (especially colour schemes) is that of mecha, or science fiction robot weapons. While Gundams themselves aren’t as customizable, being the “main characters”, the supporting mecha lend themselves to any and all kinds of imagination, reimagination and customization. It helps that the Gundam kits that Bandai cranks out are so well-made and forgiving, it allows for a lot of parts swapping and alteration without the worry of ruining a kit or having to do a tonne of scratchbuilding, unless, of course, you want to. A perfect candidate for this kind of treatment is the Re/100 Efreet from the recent Reborn 100 line of large scale, but simplified and lower-cost kits. Given the Efreet’s bad-arsed appearance, I decided to customize mine into what it would look like if the Efreet had been produced for at least ace use, instead of the Gouf. The result is the Efreet Blazer custom, portrayed in the colours of Norris Packard from the excellent 8th MS series. Check it out, and let me know what you think! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/mecha-robots/bandai-1-100-ms-08-efreet-blazer-custom-norris-packard-use/

One of my favourite parts of modelling is trying to make something look just like it does in real life. Oddly, the other part I like is making something completely unique. Thankfully, the hobby has room for both! One genre of kits I find myself customizing a lot (especially colour schemes) is that of mecha, or science fiction robot weapons. While Gundams themselves aren’t as customizable, being the “main characters”, the supporting mecha lend themselves to any and all kinds of imagination, reimagination and customization. It helps that the Gundam kits that Bandai cranks out are so well-made and forgiving, it allows for a lot of parts swapping and alteration without the worry of ruining a kit or having to do a tonne of scratchbuilding, unless, of course, you want to. A perfect candidate for this kind of treatment is the Re/100 Efreet from the recent Reborn 100 line of large scale, but simplified and lower-cost kits. Given the Efreet’s bad-arsed appearance, I decided to customize mine into what it would look like if the Efreet had been produced for at least ace use, instead of the Gouf. The result is the Efreet Blazer custom, portrayed in the colours of Norris Packard from the excellent 8th MS series. Check it out, and let me know what you think! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/mecha-robots/bandai-1-100-ms-08-efreet-blazer-custom-norris-packard-use/

While I’m not as hardcore into all the fine details as many armour guys out there, I do like me some good old ground-pounding, mud-churning armour to build once in a while. I rarely, of course, indulge in larger or more expensive kits (the Takom G6 Rhino is a dream of mine, and likely will be for a long time to come). No, I prefer simpler, smaller more (gasp!) fun kits. To me, that means old-school, small-scale stuff, like Fujimi and Matchbox 1/76. Of the two, it’s no surprise to most who know me that Matchbox kits are my absolute favourites. I LOVE them, and I am forever glad that Revell seems to reissue them regularly. One such kit that got a reissue just recently was the 1/76 Pak 40 and Sdkfz. 11 halftrack, one of the larger “multi sets” that Matchbox originally came out with to expand their armour range. Check out what’s in the box of this newly revived masterpiece below! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/1-76-revell-matchbox-pak-40-sd-kfz-11-out-of-box/

No worries, man. Just wait until I build the rest of my collection! Well, the A7M and Ki-100 at least, but likely the Buffalo and Helldiver will get built too, assuming I don't replace them with better kits, like Matchboxes. :)

Sometimes, things don’t work out in real life like they do in theory. Anyone who’s ever designed something and seen it built has likely experienced this. It happens all the time, and in the field of aviation history, it’s a very common occurrence indeed. One perfect example was the “Norm”, a Japanese floatplane recce bird deployed in only very small numbers in the Pacific theatre of WWII. The designers of the Norm had all kinds of great ideas for it, and it should have been a success. However, despite counter-rotating props and (technically) jettisonable floats, the E15K1 was just one of those cases where theory and reality were at loggerheads, and reality won. The few Norms put into service experienced all kinds of troubles, and most were shot down. Equally plagued with troubles is the ANCIENT Farpro Japan kit of the Norm. Yeah, if you know me, you knew that I’d be busting out another Farpro at some time! Well, here it is! This ancient dog needs about 400 pounds of putty and elbow grease to even get it looking like a plane, let alone half-arsed. However, with some patience and work, it can be made to look acceptable, even against much more modern and forgiving kits. Check it out below, and save yourself the pain of building it yourself. I mean, that’s what I’m here for! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/farpro-japan-1-72-e15k1-siun-norm/

When it comes to Sci-Fi, I’m more of an anime guy than anything else. I grew up watching Astroboy, Battle of the Planets and Robotech. There’s always been something about the realness and completeness of Japanese designs and the universes they inhabit that inspire me to build plastic models of them. However, I am also interested in Star Wars, and have become more so in the last decade than I was before. Thankfully, during this time, the number of quality kits from the Star Wars franchise has grown, and the old MPC offerings have been truly put out to pasture. Most recently, Bandai has begun to market very nice, gorgeously moulded kits of some of the designs from both the classic and newer movies. These take the Star Wars modelling experience to the next level, and I felt I should at least try one to see what they were like. Of course, I chose a rather odd example: the 1/144 U-Wing/Tie Striker set! Despite being small and simple to build, this multi-kit set is a pretty nice piece of work. Check it out below! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/bandai-1-144-u-wing-and-tie-striker-out-of-box/

I don't mean the kit is bad in any way, but it seems that FineMolds gets all kinds of hype, and, well, this one just wasn't worth it. It's passable enough, like most Tamiyas and Hasegawas I've seen. I've never been blown away by any of their kits, personally, given the price-per-scale ratio. I'd rather have Academy kits and, for all their engineering problems, Zvezdas are good for the price too.