Completed works for 2011
The year of the rabbit! Not sure what that means, but I'll try to finish some builds this year... JS11 for sure. Maybe that Turbo Coupe will finally see the light of day as well as Davey Allison's 92 Daytona 500 winner.

1979 Jacques Laffite Ligier JS11
My second F1 car will be an older car without any CF!!! :)
I decided to go with the JS11. It won it's first 2 races at the Argentine GP and the Brazilian GP. This car will replicate the Argentine GP.

Using F'Artefice decals. They seem to be very good quality. Have that "plasticy" look/feel to them like Cartograph, but they aren't Carto's. I did test a #25 on a test body painted TS23 and the white is very opaque!
So far, not much done. Just filled some lines on the body then primed white. I will be going with TS23 over TS10 for the body color. Also have the engine together waiting on some metallic paint.

Decals went on like a dream. They are almost Carto quality, excet a little more ridgid. A couple cracked while trying to get them to release from the paper. Once they are on the model, they take to Micro Set and Sol VERY nicely.
As mentioned before, I went with Tamiya TS23 over TS10 followed by Tamiya clear on the body. The white edging was done prior to clear coat. Then all the others added.
Underside is Metalizer Aluminum with SG black by hand for the fiberglass "look".
Used Tamiya Flat White Acrylic on the tires, then dirtied them up with Tamiya weathering kit. I also tried to add a little wash to the rims... Not easy on kit chrome! :)
Brakes were painted with Alclads and Metalizers. Seat was painted with faux suede then a thin coat of TS23, then flat. Valve covers had nearly the same treatment. Faux suede then Matalizer burnt metal or burnt exhaust.

I can see the finish line from here. Got the rearend buttoned up as well as some of the small details like mirrors, front suspension, wheels, etc... Starting to look like a 70's race car! :)

1979 Ligier JS11 complete! Added spark plug wires (.5 mm clear beading line) and fuel lines (same) as well as some mesh intake covers (from brass mesh). After a little polish and some tire markings, this one is in the bag!
Not the prettiest car ever, but it looks pretty nice in the cabinet.
The only problem I have in the end is when you load the front suspension (with its own weight) it actuates the suspension arms enough that it wants to pop the monocoque cover off. I've mostly resolved this by putting 3 dimes under the front suspension to stop it from actuating. Shhh... don't tell! :)

1990 Ayrton Senna McLaren MP4/5B
My intention with this built is to build it FAST and CLEAN. I need to get better about building faster, so this will be a good one for me to try on. No CF decals. I will likely want to use screen/mesh and overspray a pattern though. Seal belts are a must, and if done right the first time, don't take that long either. My goal is to have it done in a month. That's fast for me. :)

I will be using Tabu decals (though I haven't bought them yet) and Tamiya paint. I love the look of those 90's McLarens!
So far, I've been less than impressed with an old reliable Tamiya kit. There is a ton of flash (for Tamiya) and the parts fitment is less than stellar. A lot more cleanup needed than what I wanted, but hey, this is modeling.
One thing that has me bamboozled is the fit on the front between the monocoque and the body work. There is a decent gap there. I'm sure the real car was tight fitting, but I don't see how this is possible without some serious reworking... On with the build!

Getting prepped for primer. LOTS of ejection pin marks to fill. More than I think I've filled before... Also working on getting the front suspesion more realistic by filling the seams and attaching AFTER paint. And, of course, a couple requisite mockups!

Atlanta NNL is coming up, so it's time to step up the building pace!
I now have neon red paint and starting to detail. I ended up having some warping issues with the body covering the monocoque, so I detached the nose (after painting!! YIKES!!) and will display it with the body off. I then decided that if the body is off, there MUST be some wiring. I don't have huge desires to wire the whole thing, but enough to make it busy.

Got the MP4/5B completed with plenty of time for the Atlanta NNL. Mostly out of the box build with aftermarket floor braces and some added in wiring since I couldn't get the body to sit on the monocoque.

2004 Joe Nemechek Army Monte Carlo
This is a Monte Carlo I always thought I had to build. For some reason, I just love this scheme.

I wanted to start with the body mods. I think the "out of the box" Monte Carlos look weird, so I decided to try to widen the front to make it look more like a downforce car from the mid 2000's.
I started by cutting out the corners under the headlights and using a wider section from a spare body. That went smooth, so I filled in the headlight recesses a bit with epoxy putty and smoothed everything out with Tamiya putty.
I had it in a nice shiney black until I cleared it and it wrinkled like mad. I dipped it in alcohol to removed all the paint, then I had to redo most of the body work. I just got it back to primer... Ugh...

Finished up in time for NNL South at Atlanta!

2003 Jason White 3 Stooges Beer Taurus
I've recently looked at my decal "collection" and determined that someone needs to start BUILDING these cars with rare decals. This is just a quick build. No WIP.

For this one, I used the Pro Finish Taurus. I think they are great for later style, short track, Taurus'.
I only sanded off the front grill and filled in the headlight recesses, then primed and painted black. The rest is GREAT quality Wetworks decals. They are pretty hard to come by these days.