MarkJ

Thank you so much, Steve for your constant attention to the build. I really appreciated you always checking in and giving support when I was almost ready to throw it in the box and work on it later. Luckily, I have always finished every build I have started. Hopefully that can continue.

Thanks, Scott. I'm glad you enjoyed the journey as well as the final outcome. Looking forward to the next build which will be completely different.

Thank you so much Pierre for your thoughts on the build. Actually, the accounts of the race I read mentioned that he started out with a lesser engine then Lorenzen's in practice which some how he got them to replace with one supposedly just as good just before the race. The thing that makes his win so special was that the car had a terrible push in it that they could not adjust out of it. Mario was able to fight through it and actually catch and pass Lorenzen. He was held up in the pits till Lorenzen got the lead back, but Mario was able to run him down again and pass him for the win. Thank you again for the kind words about the build.

Michael, actually he is the only driver to win the Daytona 500, The Indy 500 and the formula 1 championship in 1978. That's some pretty good notoriety, His win at the Daytona 500 came in a field filler car with the same engine as his teammate Fred Lorenzen but the car handled terribly. It had a bad push in it that they could not adjust out of it, but his driving skill allowed him to catch and pass Lorenzen. Then on the final pitstop his crew held him in the pits until Lorenzen got out first, but he was able to catch Lorenzen for the win. I actually watched this race live on closed circuit T.V. back in 1967 in downtown Houston at a venue set up like a movie theatre with folding chairs. I was 16 years old at the time and my 19-year-old friend Chuck Clark borrowed his parents 1965 Ford LTD that we rode 25 miles from our homes south of Houston in the tiny city of Seabrook to attend. I did the same thing to watch the Indy 500 in 1966. There was no instant replays and it was black and white television, but it was the only way to see live racing back then. Thank you for your kind words about my build.

Finally finished. It's over in the under-glass section of Nascar. Look at the pictures from a distance and they will look better. The decals are lacking a lot in quality, but I think they are correct for the day of the race.

Finally finished one of my bucket list models I have wanted to do for a long time. I have been putting it off for years because there were no good decals made to represent this car. The only drawback is I had to make my own and the final quality of the build is lacking in that respect but at least the images on the build are correct for that day when Mario won the race. Also, I knew making the front suspension would have been an exorbitant amount of work to get it right, so I finally decided that if I wanted to build this car the hood with have to be glued shut. I'm just glad it's finally done.

David, I would show you what I mean but my work area has been temporarily removed from the table I work at. I would use one of my many wheel covers in my stash that would look as close to the wheel cover you are working with. i'm sure you have a solution, and it will turn out perfectly fine. Mark J

David, I would have painted the whole wheel cover black. Punch the big ring first then put the small ring inside the big ring, punch again and end up with a doughnut shaped mask that can be put on the cover where you want it black. then repaint the cover with chrome and then remove the mask doughnut to reveal a black ring on the wheel cover. Mark J

A little late but I hope you had a good one too. Mine was awesome. Great food, football, and company.

Donato, You and me both. Had a hard time getting time to do the finals. I just have a couple more to do and finally get them posted. I would have to end up finishing on thanksgiving week when honeydoos are at their highest.

David. I think somebody mentioned a store called Harbor Freight which I have a few miles away in the next town that I'm going to check first but I surely want this tool in my arsenal. Mark J.

David, what is the diameter of the outer ring? If it's less than 19mm you will be good to go with that hole punch kit you posted. I'm sure it should cut through a wide piece of masking tape. Man, I'd like to get one of those kits too.

Thanks, Ben. I'll see if I can find some of that for my next cage.

John , I did not know that tool even existed. Where did you get yours? From the looks of it though I don't think it would make a big enough hole in the tape to help David.

David, the kit people didn't make your job very easy getting that black circle inside the chrome wheel cover. I've been thinking of some way you could make a circular piece of masking tape over a totally black wheel cover and then come back with the chrome around that circular mask but for the life of me nothing is coming to mind on how to actually do that. I have a compass with a blade on one end of it for cutting out circles, but it would not go that small. Mark J.

Gilles, Excellent work on the Petty Charger. Do you find the 1/16 scale harder or easier than 1/24 scale?

Well, it's completely finished except for what used to be called future. But that only takes about 5 minutes and into the case it goes till I can complete the job of cleaning up my work area which will take forever. I never learned how to keep it from getting completely cluttered which my wip photos will bear out. Then I can turn the table into a photo studio or my lame version of one. Then take the photos, edit them for size and add my logo to the top right corner of every photo. Then on to the much-anticipated next build which won't be Nascar. Oh yeah, I will post the photos in the Nascar showroom or whatever it's called.

Only thing left to show is the big rig that transports the cars and the stuff. But you might have to scratch build that. I don't think Salvino JR does those yet, but they probably will. They make everything else.

Best detailing I've ever seen on one of these engines. I hope you will keep it on the stand forever.

Charlie, it still looks phenomenal. Especially the engine.

Pierre, I still can't get over how wonderfully that whole build came out but that seat was one for the ages. It looks like you took a real leather seat and miniaturized it to 1/24 scale. Simply amazing.

If you have any questions asked Pierre Rivard. He is a master of any kind of weathering. Especially rust. It looks positively real.

Awesome build, Ben. I like your approach to detailing. What did you use for roll cage padding? I have never found anything I like that's easy to procure.

Wow, you made a movie car from a race car kit. I had a real 76 Laguna s-3. you've got me thinking. The props are amazing. 1/24 scale beer. Never seen that before.

Excellent rust simulation. Looking forward to seeing the actual rust and how you achieve it. That's one thing I cannot do is weathering, so I don't even try to.