drummerdad

It really depends on scale. A lot of popular stuff is available in 1/24 scale. The bigger scales, not so much. There are a few options, but you are limited to the most popular engines, SBC, BBC, Hemi, and maybe a ford 427. Rare engines will have to be fabricated. Unless you can go the 3D printing route. As for what I would call a crate engine, it would be an engine that comes from an engine manufacturer, usually built in several stages, from long blocks, to turn keys. I use the following companies, as they sell engines in several scales, and several different configurations: Future Attraction Teds modeling VCG Resins BNL Resins (Ebay store) Clearly Scale And dont forget Ebay and there are some on Facebook as well. I also stumbled upon picclick.com, too. It has some good stuff.

It really is unfair. I just ordered some bolts and rod ends from rb motion, and when I got the bag, I thought it was empty. I struggled putting the rod ends together. I dont know how you get some of this stuff together. Incredible.

I have been working on building a few tube chassis for some kits. Im obsessed with outlaw/dragweek/street legal racing, and want to build a few tube chassis cars. I have always just kinda faked it, adding bars to the model kit, and making it look like a chassis, from a few feet. And sometimes, that works. Now I am trying to go full on, tube chassis. Only the body gets used. The really fast guys are running tube chassis. I have attempted a few, and learned a lot. I am lurking, and following some of the great ones here, and trying to learn all I can. My first few attempts were on graph paper, but they didnt work out so well. But I am learning. And one thing I have learned is; I need a frame jig. I looked at a few, and I want to make my own. I want it to work with everything from 1/24, to 1/8, so I am looking at a sheet of plate steel, .060x12x24 inches. And Ill use some of the magnets with plates on either side, so I can square things up. Maybe even get some actual squaring magnets like the ones they use for welding. So, let me see some of your frame jigs. I know some of you use wood, and thats cool. Im looking for ideas. Wood, steel, rubber...doesnt matter.

Thank you Jmaracing, for the advice on 1/24 scale slot wheels. They look great. For realism, the rears are a bit deep, with no inside rim, and the foam tire hangs over the inside, but it is on the inside, so it might not show as bad. I could also use a sleeve to finish it, and make it look more realistic. I didnt want to remove the foam tire, for fear of damaging it, and it not working on a scale wheel. The foam scale to about a 28.5" tall tire, so Im going to leave it on this project. The front fit nice and tight inside a slightly modified front runner. Sweet.

Dude. I cant stop looking at this build, and all the details. And thats unusual, because I hate HD bikes. If the title says anything about harleys, I usually skip it. I just dont like them. But WOW. And to think of how low quality the kit looks to be in the first few mock ups.....Just WOW.

Do you have a link to some of the wheels you sell? The 1/8 scale world has a huge hole in the aftermarket wheel section.

I recently went to the facebook page for Micro Nitro, and found that he has health issues forcing him to stop making his amazing aluminum wheels. I have found a few decent looking sleeved wheels with resin inserts, but most of the aluminum inserts I find say they arent in stock. I dont have a facebook page, so Im asking if any of you know someone else making, for sale, aluminum wheels? I have noticed a bunch of guys have fotki accounts, and some even cast and sell parts, but I really loved the machined aluminum look that Micro Nitro was making. I have scoured google, with the typical results. I make mostly drag models, that why Im asking here. And this is for a 1/24 car, but Im also interested in 1/12, 1/16, and 1/8. I like to have the wheels selected before I begin a model. To me, nothing is as important as the right wheels for a car.

It is possible that they saw a day when it would have to turn a corner, and made the right two wheels the drive wheels. The other two could be freewheeling, reducing any stress and slippage during cornering, caused by the difference in wheel rpms. Although the brittle metal explanation makes perfect sense as well.

Its popular in the aircooled VW world to do this. Especially on very rare survivors. It might be oil or water on the paint as well(just for the picture). There are guys on the Samba website that specialize in this type of look, and they even have ways of bringing out the faded shop logos on the sides of some of the buses and single/double cabs. This car the way it sits will bring more money than if it was restored or painted with a new shiny paint job.

I seem to remember a thread with a 1/12 scale 69 Camaro, that had an LS1 in it. I have scoured the internet, with few results( I did find a triple pack of corvette engines in 1/12 scale, but I dont think that will work). I would love to build a Foose 69, but I think it would need a modern engine and wheels. Im sure this has been beat to death, but does anyone cast engines for 1/12 scale models? There arent many options from TDR innovations.

I know. I have the Dodge Charger SRT8 from Lindberg, and the wheels are not even close. I drive a Charger RT with the road and track package, everyday. It has the 20" wheels, just like the SRT8, (they are chrome clad, instead of forged, but still the same size). I had to buy aftermarket wheels for it.

One of my biggest problems is, I have wanted to build a tube chassis car for a long time. I tried several years ago, and it was horrible. Now I think my skill level has increased enough to make it a passable build. Not on the level of some of the guys here, obviously, but not an embarrassment either. I currently have three tube chassis builds in progress, not counting the scrap chassis for the drag week corvette. I think if I get it done and out of my system, maybe I can build a few where I just add a roll cage, and some minor details, or build a few of the exotics on my list. I hope so anyway. I also have a habit of starting a project, putting it on the back burner, then robbing it to start another. I have thrown away numerous kits, because there wasnt anything left of them. This gets expensive. Or I buy two identical kits, and cut one up to build this awesome custom model, then I screw it up, or end up hating it. I have had in the past two '69 camaros in 1/12 scale, and the 1/12 '57 chevy. I got too deep into them, and lost interest. Lost some parts, broke some others, etc... They are going for about $100 each now. And the 1/8 iroc I have is my second also. I was building a salt flat car, when my son fell into the box, busting the roof completely in. I have to start completing some kits. I would go see a counselor over my issues, but that would take away from the model budget.

I have been modeling for decades. I had about a 7 year break, when my kids thought they were toys and crashed a few, so I put them up. In the last 2 years, I have returned to the hobby, and I really enjoy it, even though I dont get a lot of time to build. I am struggling with knowing when to say enough is enough. I look at my older models, and they look horrible to me. So, I want to improve, and add details and custom parts. Then I search and see another build of a kit I am building, and notice a detail I forgot. So I work on adding that, then there are the detail parts, and upgrades.....I am learning a ton here, watching some of the masters build. And I have scratch built 2 chassis. One is scrap, but I learned a bunch building it. I started over, and its looking better, and I have started the 1/16 mustang, and have some parts on order so I can finish the chassis on it. I want to build every model like its a car I would own. Then there are the costs of all these parts. I have been out of it for awhile, and my paint and glue were history. So I am restocking, and holy cow, paint got expensive. So, with detail parts, styrene, paint, glue, tools, kits, resin parts, 3d parts....The costs to build even a 1/24 kit can exceed $100. The 1/8 camaro build I am planning will reach $500, and I havent found all the parts I want for it yet. The chassis will be scratch built, so that is just parts. I know, I know. I can just build a box stock model, for about $25, plus paint and glue. Noone says that a model needs all that detail, and the expensive parts. But that doesnt do it for me. I have 3 builds on hold for parts. And I just spent $50 on paint friday, so I can get back into the motorcycle models I had on hold. So, how much do you typically spend to build a model? And how do you say enough is enough? I know some of the Pocher kits get crazy expensive. Maybe some day, Ill get that 1/4 scale Panigalle Ducati.

I dont know. I have heard some stupid questions before. Not saying that one was, but I have 4 kids, so....

I think I have seen C.A. glue with a warning for California. It causes birth defects in pregnant women. I know furniture, and upholstery need special burn certifications to be legal in California also.

Original Equipment Manufacturer. Its used to describe a company that designs a subsystem, that is used in manufacturing a new product. Think AC Delco radios, used in GM cars.

I am personally a member of dozens of websites, from cars and motorcycles, to racing, drums, even writing, and I havent been to more than 3 in the past year. With the car and motorcycle sites, I occasionally post, when I have an issue, or need information, but I dont just hang out. Typically on those sites, it seems to be very competitive. If you arent sporting the lowest track times, or highest horsepower numbers, you are just another annoying poster, who doesnt know what they are doing. If you ask a question, you usually get railed for not searching, so I always search first, which keeps my post count low. Here, there are some very skilled builders. I have never seen them make a condescending remark about another project, or even offer advice unless it was asked for. I have seen some models that were beginner level, with several positive remarks posted with them. And the level 10 guys always help with advice and plenty of pictures. I have learned a lot by following, and searching, and have been given advice as well. There are strong opinions (the other day I was searching for spray booth advice....I found plenty) but for the most part, just helpful people trying to hang out with more helpful people who share a common interest.

Nice cars. I couldnt help but notice the Chevelle doing a nice wheelie in the background picture. Is that yours, or a friends?

I get the natural patina...save a rare car, its not a safety hazard, so leave it and drive it. Im cool with that. I dont get the purpose built, looks like you need a tetanus shot, borderline unsafe, things that are all over the place. But, a lot of people do. I went to the Hot Rod power tour kick off a few years ago in Charlotte, and the car that got the most attention, was a rat rod, that was about 3 feet tall, and looked like a nightmare. Roadkill also did a show where they took one of these things, and a Lamborghini on a road trip. The ratrod got all the attention and praise, sitting next to a $400k car. I cant wait for this trend to end.. But the last time I wanted a trend to end, was about 25 years ago, and its still going. They even made a few movies about it.....

Its a Netflix show, I think its called Titanics final mystery. Its pretty interesting. The host even went through the ship logs of other ships in the area, and they reported the temperature drops, and the mirage effect as well. It explains why they didnt see the iceberg until it was too late. Typically they would have seen it against the horizon, with plenty of time.

The Titanic sunk because of a series of bad decisions. The engineers, the captain, even the crew just made bad decisions. There is a show on Netflix about Titanics final mystery, and it makes sense. The Titanic sailed into the ice storm. The conditions decayed so fast, the crew didnt react fast enough. The temperature dropped several degrees, causing an inverse mirage, much like you see on the road when its hot. This caused the horizon to distort, which caused the iceberg to stay hidden until the last minute. Then when the iceberg was visible, it was too late. The crew tried to steer a 1000ft boat around an object, at around 20 knots. They also botched the rescue effort, because of poor training. Other ships either didnt see the distress call, or thought it was random, again because of the mirage effect. Heres a random fact for ya: The Titanic used a new type of flooring, never before used, and was very expensive at the time. It was linoleum.

Wow. Very nice.

I love the outlaw style cars. Looks good. Ill be watching. Your builds are always inspirational.

You will probably have to go to your user settings, and delete some of your older pictures, before you can post another picture. Also, fyi, in the future, you can lower the picture resolution, and/or upload smaller pictures by cropping, or resizing. Im following along, and want to see more pictures as well.

1) 1/8 scale Iroc, built as a drag radial car, or a drag week/fastest street car shootout participant. I have the kit, just need about $800 in parts. 2) 1/12 drag bike. Built after the extreme street bikes, stretched swingarm, massive turbo, lowered... 3) Dually or tow vehicle for my 4 car hauler. There are a bunch I would work on, if I had space, time and money.