Category: The Bench

I managed to find the time to make good progress on a few projects this month. I ordered a set of 1/32 scale slot car tires for the bug. They were wider than I needed but had the correct overall diameter and hole for the wheel. A little trimming took…

I had the sad opportunity to purchase a stash of kits at my local Hobbytown USA which closed this month. I worked for this shop, on and off, from 1994-2004. It was a part of my youth and I continued to shop until the end. I was able to purchase several…

I had a great sense of satisfaction having completed two long term projects as well by the end of 2016. I had hoped to finish my Buick GSX and Superbird by the end of the year but I realized that there was more to do than I had time. After…

December tends to be the time of year when I push to finish projects. I have a “goal” of trying to complete five kits a year. In the past, I’ve rushed through simple builds or going with a rat-rod satin finish that doesn’t require a lot of effort just to…

Moving along! Although I didn’t need to start MORE projects last month, doing so reignited my motivation to build. Not only did I make good progress on new projects, I also moved forward with old projects. I even dusted off a very old project that was started some time in 2005!…

Why the big lump of time in one post? Well, I didn’t feel like I had enough work to post progress month by month. On top of having very little time to give to the hobby, I also realized that I was stuck in a nasty slump. My main woe…

Motivation and time to work on projects has continued to be slower than I would hope. I still managed to paint the VW bus as well as paint several of the smaller parts on the 70 Superbird. I needed to finish some minor body work on the body of the…

March followed the trend of last month. Still reeling from having to strip the VW bus, I continued working on other projects. The 70 Superbird chassis and engine were completed. I dusted off my wildly long term diecast Civic project by grinding off the last of the previous paint attempt…

Through February, I started digging into my full scale car hobby and didn’t spend as much time on models. I also ran into a problem where Tamiya spray primer had become scarce. After reading about using JB weld for filler in Scale Auto, I decided to give it a shot.…

After bombing the paint on my VW bus in December, I really had a hard time moving forward with anything significant. My intent has been to finish every car that is currently in progress and I’m sticking to it. There are a few that have been sitting for years simply…

Having wrapped up a few projects, I started attacking the VW bus. I started that project in 2007 and having figured out how I wanted to paint it, I really wanted to hammer it out. For the most part, the paint work was going well until a mishap to the…

I’m happy to say that I’ve been fairly productive this month! I was able to finish the ’65 Corvette and 928 Porsche projects.  I was made progress on the ’68 Corvette. I finished detailing the engine including plug wires as well as set the ride height and attach the suspension. Wrapping…

Bringing projects closer to completion always motivates me to work harder! Having finished sanding and polishing the ’65 Vette, S15, WRX and 928, I was able to focus on detail work. Trim was painted, windows painted and installed, as well as headlight and tail lights detailed painted. I also realized…

With most of the paint work complete on the WRX, 928, S15 and ’65 Vette, I focused on sanding and polishing. I also continued working on detail parts for most of the active projects. I made a great deal of progress on the 928 bringing it closer to a finished…

Through August, I continue to make progress on the ’65 Vette, 928 Porsche, WRX STi, and Golf. All but the Golf are in clear coat. I worked towards completing sanding and polishing the clear on all of the kits.

Knowing that I have limited time to work on projects, I try to plan work that can be completed in short bursts. I will prepare a stash of parts that need to be to be sprayed the same color. It may take me a day or two to have them ready,…

After I stripped the paint on the ’70 roadrunner in February, I really lost the drive to work on any projects. Still, I was feeling the draw and finally got back into it at the end of May. I decided to push myself to work on the 928.  I started…

The beginning of the year usually follows my push in December to finish projects.  I develop a momentum and try to keep it going as long as I can.  After wrapping up a few reworks in December, I dug back into my long running projects. The 928 and Hemi charger…

After July, my progress ground to a halt.  Too many other projects and obligations took priority over building models.  That’s just how things work out sometimes.  Even with the limited time for work, I was able to wrap up a few projects and make some progress on others. I finished up…

During July, I pushed to wrap up a few projects.  Although I only finished reassembling the ’69 Camaro, I was able to make great progress on the 71 GTX and 70 Challenger rework projects. Earlier in the year, I experimented with brake fluid as a paint stripper.  For the most…

I recently finished my ’82 Charger kit and just in time for Father’s day.  The Opel and The Charger are gifts for my dad.  Due to my focus on finish the Charger before father’s day, I really wasn’t working on anything else.  Now I feel like the flood gates are…

With the Opel and the 1/32 scale cars finished, and the ’82 Charger nearing completion, I’m starting to feel the itch to start more projects. What I really need to do is finish the active projects, but I can’t help myself. I pulled two ’70 challengers out of my case…

I managed to get a little burned out by the end of 2012 so 2013 was not nearly as productive.  I did make a little progress on the 71 GTX rework, 70 roadrunner as well as the ’82 charger.  In an attempt to avoid a year with no models finished,…

This was a huge year for me.  I finished a lot of long running projects as well as new projects. I painted hood pins on any model that had them.  Painted white lettering on tires for the first time.  To freshen up my ’69 Superbee kit, I painted wheels and…

After managed to find some motivation mid year I started making progress on a few long running projects.  That fizzled out once my fall semester started, but towards the end of the year, I really wanted to get back into building so I hammered out a few quick kits to…

I started working towards my masters in mechanical engineering this year.  With School, I wasn’t able to do much work.  I decided to pull a few kits from the case and repainted turn signals and head light enclosures.  Prelude, ITR, Dart, Coronet, ’66 GTO.  I also finished a 1/64 scale…

Moving right along into 2009…More work and more projects.  I decided to revamp my work space by adding shelves.  I was able to safely display the working projects and open up my work space.  I didn’t finish as many projects this year, but I was able to make progress overall.…

Continuing the pace from 2007, I was able to finish several more projects.  After suffering a major set-back with the Chevy truck, I finally finished one of the more ambitious custom projects.  Looking back on it now, I would have loved to try a few different ideas.  The 1939 Chevy…

After a slow year in 2006, I came back and finished quite a few kits.  I also started another small batch. Finished this year: Grey 1966 Chevy Malibu Rework USDM Acura Integra Type R 1966 Bug 1993 Prelude 1/32 Scale FD3S RX7 356 Porsche Rework Skyline GTR 2000 I started…

2006 was a bit of a slow year for me.  I didn’t introduce any new projects but I did make some progress on the others.  Most of the work was done to the old 356 Porsche rework and the custom 1990’s Chevy truck.  I managed to do some more work…