GIRLS!! who doesn't love them??

Ok, so what happens when 3 guys and a teenager go to a car show???

So, a few weeks ago I went to SPOCOM with a couple of friends. it was a fairly small show, but there were some nice cars. after we walked around looking at the cars we decided to have a bit of fun. we then started walking around and snapping pics of the girls. all of these girls are models and were very friendly. my friend dave and my other friends little brother took pics with some of them.

These are just some of the ones I took of just the girls. there are several more, but I think this will do.

Well, there you have it. just a few girls to get you by for the weekend..haha

Builder Spotlight: Jimmy AKA: FUJIMMY

Well, it's not everyday that builder decides to scratchbuild engines for kits that either dont have engines or have a shitty looking engine in the kit itself. most import kits out there are curbside, meaning they have no engine or engine bay for that matter. all hey have is the bottome half detail of the engine. the ones that do have an option for an engine either have a half engine or an engine that lacks the proper details.

For Jimmy, crewdawg15 on model car forums. he has taken things into his own hands and decided that the cool curbside kits from Japan needed a bit more detail to make them even better. he makes engine bays, new suspension, redesigns the interior if not correct compared to the real thing and last but not least engines. complete with the transmission, he also makes everything that can come with it. intake, header, carbs, you name it, he has probably has made it.

I personally have bought a pair of each engine kit he has casted. I am patiently waiting for him to finish a few more that he has on the bench. although being in the Airforce takes up a lot of his time, he seems to come out with some great looking builds. his most recent one is his Datsun Fairlady or as he named it, "The Bronzed Lady" its a beauty. there is one he has been working on for what seems like a decade, it is a 1973 Toyota Corolla, TE27 or "Mango" that one is a real work of art. having pretty much replace the entire front suspension, it also has a scratchbuilt rear suspension, engine bay and of course the engine itself. of course he has other WIP's on his bench, but those will be posted once he has more work done to them. 

Here are some words from the man himself and then some pics of what he has made and is working on.

Jimmy says:

"I've been an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force for the last 16 years. Throughout my career, I've had a great opportunity to travel the world. Of all of my assignments, Japan has to be the greatest...I met my wife Katsuyo there, friendly people, the awesome food, and the eclectic car culture.

An uncle of mine got me started in model building when I was 5 years old, and I haven't stopped in the 30 years since then. I started out building car models strait from the box, but eventually, I wanted more and more detail in my builds. This was the 1980's, and the model after market is not what it is today. So, I started making my own custom parts. I started off small with adding plug wire to the engines, to in the last 3-4 years, casting my own resin import engines. Today, you can purchase just about any thing you can think of as far as model parts go, but I still prefer to make my own parts over buying pre made.

While I can make just about anything, I get the most enjoyment out of making 1/24 scale Japanese engines, and modifying Japanese curbside kits. That's how I picked up my nickname; FuJimmy, after the Fujimmy model kits that I prefer to modify.

Thanks for the opportunity!

Jimmy"

A Mazda 13B, Nissan SR20DET, Nissan CA-18DET, Mitsubishi 4G63, Toyota 4AG-20V, 2TGEU, 3TC and 22RE, OS Giken TC16-MAII (Datsun/Nissan L18 based block)

 



All pics used with the permission of Jimmy Nilan

All I can really say is keep on building Jimmy, you know to save me a couple of each...haha

You can catch some of Jimmy's work on these two forums

http://forum.spc.org.uk/phpBB3/index.php

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/

So till next time take care and thanks for reading.

An F'ed up way to end a good day

The GOOD part:

Well, I just wanted to share a way that a good day can end badly.
August 21, Sunday morning. I wake up to take my 85 Corolla to get it's rear axle bearings replaced at Sonora Tires shop in Bloomington. after 2 years of grinding/growling noise, I thought it was about time. it was going smoothly until we pulled the axles out. now take this in mind, it's the first time I actually replace these on any Corolla i have owned. so i was a bit surprised. the bearings i had ordered were the wrong ones. too small, waaay too small. so I gave the guys I bought them from a call and  mention to them that I ordered them a few months ago and that they were the wrong size. right away he says that they were boxed incorrectly and that I can send them back, but being that I had need them that day, he said I can pick them up. GREAT! I said. so my nephew and I made the trek down to Costa Mesa. once we get to RPM motorsports, the guys gave us the correct parts hassel free. not only that, but they were a better brand than the incorrect ones.

The BAD part:

So, we get back to bloomington and get back to work on the Corolla. we get done at 3pm on the dot! closing time for the shop... I get home to find that one of the neighbors was having a kids party. so the lot is full and I had nowhere to park but on the street. deep down inside I felt as if I shouln't have. it was roughly about 3:30pm when I park. I go inside take a shower, sit for a bit with my kids and then my door bell rings, at about 4:15ish. it's my neigbor, he comes to tell me that some kids found my car with it's window busted out...instantly I get upset. so I go to see what damage they did.
they attempted to steal the stereo, but only managed to bend the brackets, broke the pocket underneath it and the stero housing as well was damaged, so its a bit bent up. then it dawned on me that I had my tools in the trunk, cause I worked on my car earlier, so I popped it open and GONE! about 95% of my tools just gone, over $1000 worth due to there being a mixture of Snap-on and Matco tools along with some other inexpensive ones, but what brought it up was that my Blue-Point impact gun was in there as well. luckily that was all i really had of worth in there and the whole car wasn't taken.

I filed a police report, but I know nothing will come out of it. some kids saw some guys standing next to my car, but weren't sure they were the ones to do it....so it sucks. I was hoping they saw something. it was broad fucking day light, somone had to see something. but people just don't give a fuck now adays.

Lesson I learned: Next time my gut tells me not to do something, DON'T!!

Although they are material things and can be replaced with time and money, they WERE important to me and held some value to me cause some were gifts given to me by my wife, friend, uncle and mom.
for those of you who might think, "big deal they were just tools" well, let it happen to you(not that I would wish that upon you), be it small things or bigger things, any kind of theft is just something that doesn't feel right.  

A car is defenseless no matter what. a car alarm can only do so much but ill be getting one though, might get one with a custom siren so I can recognise it when it goes off. who knows. I won't be leaving anything of value in the car anymore, not even for a minute!

I really hope whome ever did it gets caught at some point and has the book of law thrown at them.
I believe in KARMA, it does come bite you in the ASS at some point and I hope it happens to them.

Thanks for reading.

Builder Spotlight: Andy AKA MICRO

Andy is a adminisitrator/caretaker/overlooker/"post whore" O_o......well, he's MICRO on the SPC(Scaled Plastic Cars) forum. to me, he's on the top 5 for nicest guys on a forum list. not only is he helpful on the forum, he is also a great builder and has an extensive list of completed builds of all sorts, euro, exotics, j-tin, military and motorcycles to name a few.

Although Andy is pretty much on the other side of the world(Blackpool-UK), getting to know him on the forum has been a pleasure. here are some words from the man himself and and the top 3 builds I chose to show.

Andy says:
"Ever since I was 11 yrs old I have suffered with a disease known as Ankylosing Spondilitis (AS). This has affected my life alot. It means that often I am unable to do everyday chores or work or do ordinary things, I had both Hips replaced when I was 19-20 yrs old, both are now Titanium.. My illness has also caused alot of damage to my spine and although I am able to walk, I use a walking stick and I am in pain alot of the time.. because of this situation I spend alot of time looking after my kids and wife. I stay at home so this means I have looked at a hobby to keep me occupied and active. I have always been an artistic and practical person and I love repairing and working with my hands. I have chosen modelling as my hobby because I like to learn about automobiles while I build.People often do not believe me when I say I don't know a thing about cars, but it is true.

Steve Hemming (Hiroboy) gave me the opportunity to look after SPC instead of closing it down,which helps to keep me motivated.I have always liked to help others in anyway I can.

My inspiration comes from my health situation and my religion, I believe effortless effort is the best means to live a good life and build nice models.

yours truely

Andy"

Now, if this does not inspire one to build, then I don't know what will

This camaro is my favorite, it's just bad ass american muscle.

All pics were taken by Andy and used with his permission.


So, what can I say. if it wasn't for Andy, we would not have that great forum that supports this hobby.
What forum you ask???

http://forum.spc.org.uk

Wish to see some more of Andy's (MICRO) work, join the forum and check out his bio on this link

http://forum.spc.org.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=14960

Thank you Andy and thanks for hangin out here.

"Black Beauty"

When you hear the name Black Beauty, you might automatically think of the Green Hornet's 1965 Chrysler Imperial. Well not in this case, Hanzel has a Nissan Leopard and although it doesn't have all the gadgets, it's still a beauty.

This is Tamiya's old school Leopard Dressed Up kit. comes with front and rear bumper spoilers and sidskirts. along with that it also comes with a driver figure and scooter. hell, it even has a sunroof that slides back and forth, its a pretty cool kit. simple yet clean. Hanzel took this kit and lowered its stance, put some deep offset Lamborghini wheels and shot it with gloss black. there are no modifications to the body itself. it was built mostly out of box.
I swear if it had it's windows tinted, I think even the Yakuza would drive this around on the streets of Japan.

Here are some pics of what I like to call Hanzels Black Beauty.

All pics taken by Hanzel Conchas please do not use with out permission


Thank you Hanzel and I hope to see some more fantastic builds from you.