Ferrari F189 Portugese G.P.

...and now for something really different. Straight OOB 1989 tooling. Some more firsts for me:
> 1st car kit since - I guess - I was 8 or 9 years old (almost 50 years)
> 1st non-military Tamiya kit
Post-build Notables:
> New MRP products used: Ferrari Red and their two-part super gloss. Both performed outstanding - the super gloss is a handful though, but the results were exactly what I was aiming for.
> Changed my typical build strategy after the first two sessions to paint everything first the assemble
> I need to discover a better way to remove the massive seam on each of the vinyl tires next time
> The age of this kit showed with clean up needed on practically every part. Once completed though, good 'ole Tamiya engineering made it worth the effort.
Last thoughts:
As you may have heard, the popularity of Formula 1 racing these days resembles a 180 mph overtake with DRS. I picked up this kit at the IPMS - Chattanooga, TN (USA) show back in January for $25 USD. Go online today and IF you can find an F1 kit, expect to drop north of $80 USD to get it. From what I can tell, there are no model manufacturers making these kits currently - let alone developing new (more recent) cars. The surge in Formula 1's popularity is driving demand for some of these older kits, but several newer F1 kits (MB, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Haas, etc.). While I know licensing might be part of the reason, IMO model companies are missing an opportunity...