Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

Mister 4x4

Members
  • Posts

    117
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About Mister 4x4

  • Birthday 12/31/1967

Previous Fields

  • Are You Human?
    Yes
  • Scale I Build
    1/24

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
    www.mister4x4.net

Profile Information

  • Full Name
    Eric Hansen

Recent Profile Visitors

2,028 profile views

Mister 4x4's Achievements

MCM Friend

MCM Friend (4/6)

  1. So, I finally got a chance to get 'something' done. It's stupid hot outside right now, so I'm enjoying the A/C. Since I’ll be weathering the heck out of this one, I decided to just brush paint the chassis… yeah, I’ll never do that again since I have a dedicated airbrush booth. I also loaded up the underside with some course embossing and Elmer’s to simulate the caked mud we found under there… we’ll see how that turns out. I brushed on some Tamiya Flat Black and sprinkled on some more embossing powder to hopefully simulate the crappy job of the rolled-on bed liner the previous owners put down. It’ll become flat black again when I shoot the body in the next few days.
  2. I like it! Nice job and Great idea! I like the direction you went with it, since the top would still be removable, were it a real car. When you mentioned 4-door TJ, I immediately thought of the Jeep Dakar Concept. It's really too bad they didn't go with that one.
  3. I guess I’m bored with my ’82 Mustang model kit or something… which is odd, since I’ve been working on it here and there since March 2018... and I’m still not done with it. I think it’s because I’m trying to make sure I get every little detail just right (it was my first car, after all), and as I go along I think of more little things I need to add. So, I decided to start another project – one I can [hopefully] knock out in a few days to a few weeks, rather than years. Back in August 2020, I went to Austin with my pal Harry to pick up another 1980 Jeep CJ-7 (a Laredo with a 304 V8 & TF-999 automatic transmission) to harvest the drivetrain and swap into my 1980 Jeep CJ-7 (that used to have a 258 I-6 & T-176 4-speed manual transmission). My BFF Dave came to San Angelo in January 2021 to help finish swapping the 258/T-176 into the ‘new’ Jeep (that he’s affectionately named “Klooge”) and took it home to Phoenix. As it sits, I still need to rebuild, warm-up, and install the 304/auto into my Jeep (“Dookie”). But that’s another story. “Klooge” was a hot mess (more like a dumpster fire) that needed a LOT more work than we’d thought, which Dave is getting through in short order. One of my ‘things’ is that I like to build models of cars I’ve owned, and technically, I owned Klooge for about 4 months before signing him over to Dave, so I’ve decided to build a mini-Klooge (as I found him) as a result… I’ll build another version once Dave gets him back on the road and the way he wants him. So, to kick things off, I scored another Monogram 2-n-1 CJ-7 kit from ebay (along with 2 more CJ-7 kits, so I can build one of Dookie when I first got him, along with the one after Dave finishes his work – I already have one of Dookie as he sits now… but after I get done with him [again] I guess I’ll need to get yet another one – sheesh. A few days ago, I decided to get busy on “Old Klooge,” and cracked open one of the CJ-7 kits. My logic is that since he was such a mess, all I should have to do is pretty much paint everything flat black and weather the BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH out of everything. I assembled the frame, suspension, and axles after trimming a ton of flash, then took the Dremel to the frame and ‘tub’ to duplicate some of the rust damage we found. There are a few holes in the frame, along with some rust ‘blow-throughs’ on the sheet metal. I also scored 2 sets of AR-589 wheels (from the 'Revell Trucks! GMC Pick-up' kit) and painted one set silver (to simulate the aluminum wheels) which will just get weathered with plenty of dirt and grime (Dave’s planning on Plasti-Koting them black, so we’ll see how that goes for the other set). I also pulled apart and cleaned up the V8 the previous owner had ‘glue bombed’ during assembly (that’s as far as they got, fortunately – but they did manage to break the hood hinge piece). Then I cut out the transmission/transfer case cover from the floor, since Klooge didn’t have one when I picked him up (thanks to my wife for reminding me of that) - I might just make a scale piece of cardboard for that (that kept the cats out over the winter). There was also a speaker hanging out of a hole in the dash, so I took the Dremel and punched a speaker hole in the dash panel. After all that, I ordered some O-scale diamond plate from HobbyLinc, which should be here next week. Here’s Klooge on the trailer on the way home from Austin. Doesn’t look so bad, but little did we know. The hard top is for my Jeep, but I got the half doors for Dave, since he really liked having them on his ’92 YJ Wrangler “Islander” (which, I scored a Tamiya kit so I can build that one, too). All said, I think I have 6 more Jeep kits to build, so I guess I need to get crackin’. And here were after spending a little time getting started with the kit. Next up: slather on some embossing powder to simulate the bed liner on the floor after I punch a few small rust holes in the front seat footwells and clean up a few more parts to get ready for some flat black paint. I've never built a 'beater' before - this is kind of fun. I promise I won't take 3 years just to get 3/4 of the way there.
  4. Interesting and good to know - thanks for sharing. Honestly, I thought it was a C4 at the time, when I didn't know squat about cars in general - I really only learned about the AOD around 10 years ago when I stuffed one in my '71 Mach 1 to replace the roached FMX. A buddy of mine literally gave me the AOD from his '89 5.0 GT when he swapped in a T-5. I just looked a few things up and it looks like my '82 actually probably actually had a C3 (which in 1985 became the a4dl by adding OD)... and that makes sense, because I don't recall it having OD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_C3_transmission Hey, regardless of whatever is was or should've been, I'm keeping the bonus points for swapping the automatic onto my 4-cylinder, just the same. 😁
  5. Wait! That kit might be more accurate than you think. 😲 Apparently, there is a known-issue with the hood-to-bumper alignment on the 1:1s. I was talking with a new Viper owner a few weeks back at a Cars & Coffee gathering, and he said the hood lines up fine, but the bumper lining up to it has all sorts of issues he's been struggling with since he bought the car. His is a yellow RT/10, BTW. I'm more a fan of the coupes, myself - they remind me of the '63 Ferrari 250 GTOs (one of the most beautiful cars EVER).
  6. Thanks! Hopefully, I'll actually get it done sooner than later... my stash has been growing, and I'm falling way behind. 😉
  7. Very nice! I found a glue bomb of this kit on ebay, and one day hope to build a tribute to my BIL's '60 Dodge. (Yeah, it'll be 'fun' trying to make it a 4-door... I know)
  8. I just realized that it's been over 3 years since I started this kit. Wow... pathetic. Didn’t get a lot done yesterday, but I made these discs to help mount the wheels correctly. I’m using wider tires than came with the kit (just like on the real car), so they don’t glue together like they should. I “chucked ’em onto” a Dremel bit with a threaded tip, then trued ’em up on some 400-grit. They fit great! Then I got the wheels mounted up, and they're just right - they sit correctly, and roll, and everything... unlike the other kit I'd built where the wheels just got glued on. Right now, I'm making a headliner (since I've always wanted to and thought they were always a little 'unfinished' without one). Should be close to putting it all together after tinting the windows and finishing up a few more details.
  9. OK - MUCH better! Here is the first attempt at 'carpet' using some course embossing powder (need to pay attention to the label next time): And here's the second attempt, with the lower door panel carpet pieces, and some cream-colored flock to make 'sheepskin' seat covers: I even left the pile of brown gravel I scraped off from the first attempt in the picture. Hopefully, I'll get a good shot to get this one finished this coming Labor Day weekend.
  10. SWEET!! I love the Fox bodies, and especially the SVOs. Nice work!
  11. Nice Job!! So many people don't even know that the Nicholas Cage movie was a remake.
  12. So, I'm still alive, and still working on the '82 Mustang. I finally broke down and ordered some flocking. It arrived last week, and I had some time to mess with it today. I scraped all that course embossing powder (looks more like brown gravel), and I laid down some tan flock over the brown paint for the carpet, and I'm actually really happy with how it came out. I also picked up some cream-colored flock and coated the front seats in hopes they'd look like fake sheepskin seat covers... which, they kinda do. I'm not going to sweat it at this point. It's all still drying, so I'll get some pics later.
  13. I saw this article in one of my Mustang Monthlys from a few years ago. Don't know if it'll help or not, but here ya go: http://www.mustangandfords.com/featured-vehicles/1308-1988-ford-ssp-mustang/
  14. I used to slam 'em together in one day - that's how I wound up with the one in the first post of the thread. LOL!
×
×
  • Create New...