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dwdirks

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About dwdirks

  • Birthday 10/08/1951

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    yes
  • Scale I Build
    1/32

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  • Full Name
    Doug Dirks

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  1. I used a 1/32 scale Tamiya motorized Unimog to make a service, utility and tow vehicle for my slot car track, Overlook Raceway Park. The following photos show the model in the build process and the finished version on track. It doesn't move very fast, but it does make its way around the track and can serve as a tow truck when the need arises. It also adds a bit of scenery to my track. Along the way, I added an interior and a driver, cut out the back panel of the pickup box and hinged it and made some retaining chains, and added a tow bar with ball. For the tow truck I scratch built a towing apparatus and made it removeable so I can use the Unimog as a service/utility vehicle or as a tow truck. I painted it with Tamiya military paint out of the spray can.
  2. Several years ago I purchased a 1/24 scale diecast model of Connie Kalitta's 1967 Ford SOHC top fuel dragster made by 1320. It's a great representation of Kalitta's dragster but I was disappointed in the front spoked wheels. They were plastic and just didn't look as realistic as the rest of the model. So, I bought some after market metal spoked wheels and put them on the front instead of the original plastic ones. Now it looks much better. The wheels I bought: "curtr8tzing 19" 1/25 scale wire wheels 36 spoke .790" dia" (available from Ted's Modeling Marketplace). See photos: Connie Kalitta raced Fords from 1966 to 1970, enjoying major success with the SOHC engine. He won both the AHRA and NHRA Winternationals in 1967. Connie's best quarter mile time with the SOHC was 6.81 seconds at 219 mph.
  3. Hi Miles, Good to hear that you're getting back into 1/32 slot car racing. I have a home 1/32 track in my basement and enjoy racing on my own and with my grandsons (they like to go as fast as possible and delight in spectacular crashes). I posted a couple of my slot car builds on this forum. If you're interested in more info on the 1/32 slot car scene there are some good online forums that have lots of info: https://www.hrwforum.com/, https://www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?act=home, https://slotracer.online/community/index.php Have fun with your slot cars!
  4. Looks really sharp, great work on the figures too!
  5. Another beauty! You do consistently brilliant work.
  6. Wonderful, perfect rendition of the poor Edsel - just doesn't get as much love as it should. Your treatment is great.
  7. Just finished building my Jaguar SS-100 slot car. I had an old 1/32 scale AMT model kit of the 1936 Jaguar SS-100 and an old, beat-up Scalextric MG-Lola slot car chassis that I decided to meld together into a modernized Jag SS-100 race car. Well, maybe a Junker that might qualify for the 24 Hours of LEMONS. Turns out the wheelbase of the MG-Lola fit pretty well under the Jag. Here are some photos of the build process and the finished car on my home track, Overlook Raceway Park: The wheelbase on the chassis was about right but it was too wide for the stock Jag body. So, I split the body down the middle and grafted in about 3/8 inches of styrene to widen the body. No longer a stock 1936 Jag SS-100. The MG-Lola chassis has working front lights so I added a couple of headlight cans to make driving lights. I painted the body with an oxide red undercoat, sprayed it with hairspray and sprinkled on a bit of kosher salt and then covered everything with a coat of Tamiya Racing Green (British Racing Green). After the paint was dry I scraped off the salt and sanded the green topcoat to reveal the rusty red primer underneath. After all, this Jag is a more than 80 year old car. I also weathered the decals by lightly sanding and chipping them until they looked appropriately beat up. I scratchbuilt a roll bar and added the wing from the MG-Lola to help add some racing down-force to the Jag. Clear lenses were added to the driving lights and a windscreen was fashioned out of some clear plastic packaging that was laying around. The MG-Lola chassis is a bit long but it makes a pretty good front splitter for the Jag, so I just left it at its stock length. Out back I added a couple of tailpipes (coated them with a Molotow pen) and added a mirror to the inside of the windscreen. Here she is, ready to go on her first shake-down run at Overland Raceway Park. Note the mismatched wheels on front and back, goes along with mash-up theme of the whole car. The underside is stock MG-Lola. I mounted a couple of styrene tubes inside the Jag body, drilled a couple of new holes in the chassis and screwed the chassis to the body. I enlarged the screw holes enough so there's a little body float on the chassis. Finally, I put some new Paul Gage urethane tires on the back. Ready to roll. Here she is, just out of the garage and on track, ready for her first lap of Overlook Raceway Park. After the first 40 laps, her best time was 7 seconds flat, not too bad for the 65 foot Scalextric/SCX racecourse in my basement. Some tuning and driving experience should be able to get her down into the 6.5 second range which is pretty good for me at Overlook Raceway Park. Cruising past the picnicking spectators on the main straight. Now we to find some appropriate competition for the Jag. I do have an old Mercedes SSK model kit somewhere around here and several working chassis that might fit under the Mercedes. In the meantime, we'll see how we do against more modern, and less rusty, competition.
  8. Well, lots of responses to selling on eBay. In the end, you just do what works for you. I've found that selling on eBay is a pretty easy and hassle-free way to sell the extra kits that I have jamming up my basement. I 've had just 2 or 3 unhappy customers out of 500 transactions, pretty good ratio, in my opinion. I just asked the customer to return the item, refunded their money and covered return shipping. Pretty low cost way to keep the customer happy. One other thing I forgot to mention about shipping via USPS, if you use USPS Priority Mail boxes, USPS will send you boxes for free, shipped right to your door. Works well for me. For odd sized and shaped boxes I just save up boxes that got shipped to our house for other stuff and use them as shipping boxes as needed. In the end, sell the stuff you don't need anymore in a way that works for you, try not to get uptight about it. After all, this is a hobby that is supposed to bring some joy and satisfaction into your life. Have fun!
  9. Over the past year I have been selling off my collection of model car kits, mostly 1/24 and 1/25 scale, on eBay. So far, I've sold 500 and the average selling price has been $18 and the average shipping price has been $8.50. I've used USPS Priority Mail since a standard AMT/Revell/Monogram 1/24 or 1/25 kit fits right into the Regional Rate Box A (inner dimensions: 10" x 7" x 4.75". Payments are always safe and secure with PayPal on eBay and using shipping on eBay with USPS is easy, especially since USPS will come to your door to pick up shipments (you don't even have to go to the Post Office). The high price for my sales is a Revell Jungle Jim Monza Funny Car (with 2 figures) at $54. The low price is an AMT Valvoline Thunderbird NASCAR at $2. I'm probably not making a profit on these sales but I think I'm pretty close to breaking even (I don't remember how much I paid in most cases). I still have about 30 kits stashed away that I hope to build some day. Some of them will probably end up on eBay in the future. So, if you have a bunch of kits stashed away and want to sell them, consider eBay, it's easy, payment is safe and secure and the Mail Person will come to your house to pick up the kits you sell. The only downside is that you have to part with some of your prized possessions.
  10. I was at the Simeone Museum Demo Day in Philly yesterday - great day for race car enthusiasts! The 4 featured cars were: 1936 Bugatti 57G 'Tank' 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe (the one used for Bonneville Salt Flats speed records in 1965) 1967 Ford GT40 MK IV no. 4 (driven by Lloyd Ruby and Denny Hulme at Le Mans in 1967) 1970 Porsche 917 LH (043) (2nd at Le Mans in 1970) What's great about the Simeone is that their collection includes a number of cars that are still is 'as raced' condition. For example, the Cobra Daytona and the Ford GT40 MK IV look like they just came off the track back in the sixties - a bit grungy, some dings and scratches, but still running well enough for the Simeone folks to take them out on their parking lot and zoom around for the crowd. After they are done with the driving demo they park the cars, pop the hoods and invite spectators to crowd around car, take pictures of anything and answer questions. I have posted a few photos below and you can see lots more at this link to Google Photos: Simeone Museum Demo Day Aug 24.2019 The Simeone Museum also has a great website with descriptions, history and pictures of the cars in their collection: Simeone Museum Collection
  11. Thanks for posting the photos and video from Toronto Indy. I was there to watch the race last year and had a great time. Enjoy the races tomorrow!
  12. Thanks, Al. I will look in the kit for the Meteor grille.
  13. Wonderful photos of some really sharp model cars. Thanks.
  14. Looks fantastic. Very creative and great execution.
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