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CabDriver

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Posts posted by CabDriver

  1. 3 minutes ago, Modlbldr said:

    Got me a couple of those Milk Trikes recently. Much narrower than I had envisioned. Would love to pick up.a few more in the series. They look like they will make fun little slump busters, although I have never really had that problem- usually too many projects going.

     

    I started to collect them thinking the same thing...but then this post ruined that:

    ?

    I’d like to do the whole set as nicely detailed as Eric’s build there...I'm not quite the builder he is but I think a row of six of these nicely finished like his would be cool!

    5 minutes ago, TransAmMike said:

    Jim, I got one of those circuit board holders a few months ago, never used it until today when I put on several decals on a  completed model body. Worked great.

    Someone on Instagram had one they were using for painting too, so they could reposition whatever They’re painting easily.  I can see this thing becoming invaluable to be before too long and I’ll wonder how I worked without one!

  2. Got one of these circuit board holders from Amazon today - I’d seen other people use them and thought “meh, I’ve done this long without one”, but then the project I’m working on right now involves a bunch of Alclad’d parts that are going to be tough not to damage when I’m assembling them to the frame...

    75916FF8-159E-4550-A92A-1CAA2834713E.thumb.jpeg.d6bf5ca20ba8d1fcceacc2b9ebaed1f8.jpeg

    Seems super study and well made for $11 - I’m happy!

    B20D52EF-4F31-491B-95B1-86F914B19E07.thumb.jpeg.3f225f1637c4c0dc9786e7dbfd85150f.jpeg

    Also picked up a couple more of the MPC trike series - I’m planning on building all six at some point in the next year or two so I’m grabbing them now whilst they’re easy enough to find:

    A981738C-1EB1-4044-9CB2-8D5CDD083FB7.thumb.jpeg.5ab624062dbdd32d1cb4107f59048db7.jpeg

    And, whilst I was ordering stuff anyway, picked up some aluminum bar...ordered a lathe last week so I figured I should grab some material to make chips out of ?:

    BFEBB2E5-ADF4-4F74-9D05-9476FB772C27.thumb.jpeg.76cd5e6a4e35dd88e6c9432bf038982c.jpeg

  3. On 1/3/2021 at 10:15 AM, AmericanMuscleFan said:

    The big deal... yet another device to add to my arsenal... I will have to expand my workspace... It's a great job by the way!

    I just ordered a lathe last week if it’s any consolation...the dehydrator was MUCH cheaper ??. Thanks buddy!


    I feel like I’ve been messing with little bits of this thing all week and didn’t really have anything much to show for it, so here’s an update to prove I wasn’t asleep over here ?...

    Polished out the frame, added a fuel line and did an India Ink wash on some of the chrome bits to bring some detail out:

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    I just ordered one of those circuit board holders that people are using to help with assembly - whichever way I’m going to assemble this frame there will be SOMETHING top or bottom that has Alclad on it, so being able to suspend it will be helpful whilst I get everything in place for good.

    Wired up the engine with a MAD distributor - need to get those plug leads sagging a little more but spent some time trying to get the routing neat for once:

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    I hadn’t figured out what to use for brakes on the front OR rear yet - I think I settled on the nice drum backing plates from the old Monogram 32 Ford but I didn’t have any spares that weren’t earmarked for a future project so I’ve got a little RTV rubber mold setting up as we speak:

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    Had the idea of mixing up some black embossing powder with gold, white and red flecks in it to add a little visual interest to the carpet in the interior:

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    Pro tip: it doesn’t look good, don’t try it ?

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    Stripped it off and laid down a nice neutral gray instead:

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    It’s still drying in this pic, hence the dark spots, but it set up ok after a few hours...

    And finally, inspected the clear on everything I painted last weekend and wasn’t 100% happy with a couple of little bits on the fenders, so buffed them down, reshot them with another coat of enamel and they’re just on a timeout in the dehydrator until they learn not to have imperfections next time:

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    More soon - hopefully something more interesting  ?

  4. I built a couple of Revell 29 kits last year and really enjoyed them - I did one of each variation, the Highboy on the Deuce frame and the channeled version over the stock Model A frame.  

    I wanted to do a box stock (ish) version of each before getting too crazy and changing everything around too much...but now I’ve done that I think I’d like to change everything around too much and build something more interesting ?

    Swap the engine out, add a bunch of detail, make it a Highboy but use the Model A’s frame instead of the more commonly used 32 frame - I’ve got a bunch of ideas.  A bunch of old traditional parts, some crazy paint scheme with flames and sparkles and glitter and fades and airbrushing...I wanna build something FUN!  60s showcar style with all the bells and whistles - a real eye-catcher.

    It doesn’t hurt that over Christmas I read every build thread on the site by @John Teresi and @Impalow (two of my favorite builders) so I’m feeling pretty inspired...not that I’m going to hit the levels those guys reach, but it gave me some brain-fuel anyway.

    Quick mock-up with some parts I pulled out of my stash:

    C656987B-0E54-4D00-AE99-D6A6E0A713A5.thumb.jpeg.7c854337f206c1548a281ecf6bbeb19d.jpeg

    I like the idea of running a Flathead, and getting this thing nice and low, but making it look like it’s still running a stock Model A frame without the body being channeled.  That’ll require some trickery to get it decently low - I don’t mind the rear being zeed but I wanted those rails to look standard and un-modified in the front through to the rear arches at least.  They WILL be modified, but I’m going to try and hide that as best I can.

    First up, the rear - kit frame front and what I think is an older Revell Model A frame rear in the pic below.  To get the back down lower, and because I wanted to, I’ll be swapping out the rear end for something with a buggy spring...and likely some kind of Quickchange but we’ll get to that when we get to it:

    99601138-A51A-434C-9623-528CF6E62ECD.thumb.jpeg.8b7bfcc7cc61b3e8479a7daad763e0fe.jpeg

    Some cutting and glueing later - this will help a LOT with getting the back down further.

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    Then, on the front, rather than zee at the cowl like I would normally like to do I made the cut as far forward as possible - I’m hoping once the wheels and suspension and grill are on there this thing will sit a bunch lower but it won’t be quite so obvious HOW I got it that low:

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    Next up, went parts-digging and dug this out of my stash - I guess it’s an AMT Flathead...in fact @Dennis Lacy and a few others on my Instagram gave me some pointers as to exactly what year it represents which will help with detailing it but mostly I liked what Indian Larry called the “gizmology” of it - Flatheads look so good and I love how this one looks in front of this Revell body:

    2236B3B3-1874-429F-94FF-D21B428730AB.thumb.jpeg.67d9a36b6549a0aa5d8e21f1d4dee678.jpeg

    Plenty of work to do before I can even get a real mock-up together, but it’s a start - thanks for looking!

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  5. Nah, I just misted it on until the coverage built up, over three or four coats of their own primer, no less.

    It still attacked the Revell body I was trying to paint at the time and ruined it - they may have changed their formula since then, but I used their products and followed the instructions to the letter and it still did the same as Kurt experienced above so that kinda soured me on ever trying that again...

  6. I wanted to give this thread a little bump after seeing a few comments about their new year’s modeling resolutions.  

    Two of mine, and part of my goal to keep trying to improve my craftsmanship, are to further improve my painting technique and to learn some basic machining.  

    To that end, I started using a dehydrator recently for drying my paint - not only for purposes of speed but also quality of finish...I watched a Donn Yost video where he mentioned that they also help level out orange-peely paint to a nice gloss by helping the paint flow out a little with heat, giving you a better starting point for the polishing process.  Seems to be working for me so far!


     

     

    And, I’m about to pull the trigger on a little lathe setup...I’ve always admired people on here who make their own metal parts and I’d like to make a start on learning some of that process for myself. 

    Anyone who’s looking to improve their craftsmanship and model building skills this year - I commend you!  And thanks to all the builders who post inspiring work for those of us not at the same level to appreciate and learn from!

    • Like 1
  7. 23 hours ago, Steve H said:

    Jim, you make it look sooooo easy. That wood grain ridiculous, and I mean incredibly amazing ridiculous! Wow. The whole truck is looking awesome, I really enjoy following your builds. Educational, informative, interesting, and always fun! Great stuff as always.

    Cheers, Steve

    Thank you Steve!  The woodgrain thing kinda IS easy, I can’t claim much credit for that...just need one of those fan brushes and give the suface a few light passes with just enough paint on there to make the grain pattern.  Appreciate the kind words!

    8 hours ago, Paul Payne said:

    Been following this, love the concept and your build commentary. How about a trailer hitch for towing a boat or??????

    7 hours ago, misterNNL said:

    The boat makes sense. Church first,then go drown some bait.

    Ohh - interesting!  I like the idea of a matching boat! ?‍♀️ 

    48 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

    This is looking really nice! Love the pinstripes, subtle yet complimentary.

    Thanks buddy!

    A little more progress today - first up masked that ‘wood’ from yesterday...

    2835C6B2-80D0-4A4E-82FC-B3513377EE48.thumb.jpeg.07cd6bfef3f5a979f5c79e2bcaed1e40.jpeg

    ...and shot some black - came out ok I think!  Not totally sold on the interior floor yet, need to mess with that some more...

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    Meanwhile, the dehydrator finished it’s dehydrating so I could finish off the clear coating (it was easier just to do some parts in two stages).  Got some pretty glossy clear laid down!  The dehydrator definitely helps smooth this clear out and removes any orange peel before it gets to drying:

    9AD4FD68-2070-4973-ADF3-2AC89438B1CE.thumb.jpeg.afb39a04321863a80d8801bf576a45c6.jpeg
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    And finally, shot some Spazstix on some of the mechanical bits...I’m still getting the hang of this stuff and I need to redo one of the headlights but I like it so far.  No better or worse than Alclad I don’t think, just different!

    359BC615-8132-450F-9F32-488E6548B02E.jpeg

    More soon!

  8. 7 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

    I don't know if the internal temperature is very high, could there be a risk of deforming the body?

    Happy new year 2021 to you and your family my friend!!!

    Happy New Year to you too Francis!

    I keep the dehydrator set on it’s lowest setting, which is 95 degrees - although my little hydrometer says it’s actually running at 101.  Warm, but not much warmer than my workshop gets on a warm day ?.  I think the air circulation in the dehydrator does as much to dry the paint as the temperature does, most likely.  First full project using it though, so we’ll see in 21 hours (and counting)...

    Speaking of which, did some touch-ups on those decals, got them snuggled down tight as best I can and shot some clear today!

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    The humidity here is a little higher than I’d normally like for shooting clear, but I got a bunch of parts in the dehydrator and the clear seems to be levelling out beautifully:

    ED73B364-9CD7-4779-B5A9-C06DC8852328.thumb.jpeg.c899cc1c45a60395fd32928a7be12181.jpeg

    Most of these parts (and some more not pictured) will need a second round of painting tomorrow to get the top sides - the fenders primarily, but also the frame, the bed and the tailgate, so more clear-coating adventures tomorrow!

    Meanwhile, shot the interior floor and the truck bed in Tamiya Tan...

    D6CEF54D-6F46-489B-B86C-AD5A5DDAC188.thumb.jpeg.ce979c1ab3867b61916715961c7ba44d.jpeg

    And then painted some woodgrain on there, ready for further paint detailing tomorrow:

    6D9D4F1E-7BC5-4A5E-8FCB-7789B2E89D58.thumb.jpeg.400dd342fb34a26d24d3cf430c9c76e5.jpeg

    And finally, prepped a bunch of parts ready for Testor’s enamel black and then Alclad once they’ve set up a while...first time using this dehydrator and I already filled it up and need a second one ?

    FC75F2F8-EC7C-4EE9-A47E-8D4A21971BE2.thumb.jpeg.28c1199d76500dd36e4d0e568e94efcb.jpeg

    More soon!

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