Hi-Po Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Three or four months ago I was looking through the an issue of Hot Rod Magazine when I came across a short article about a 1954 Buick Mobile Starting Gate. The subject matter really caught my interest and I saved the article for later reference. It was a month or so later when I decided that I was going to attend the IPMS Nationals in Phoenix, AZ. It was at this time that I decided to build the mobile starting gate. I was not able to find a suitable '54 Buick, injected or resin, so I did some research and discovered that any number of different vehicles have been used as starting gates. I settled on the MPC 1970 Pontiac Bonneville because I wanted a LONG vehicle to accommodate eight gate positions. Note: the Pontiac is really showing its age. Lots of flash, soft moldings, warpage, etc. The entire starting gate was scratch built using styrene rod, tubing and rectangular tubing. Other items that were scratch built include the control pedestal, chair, loudspeakers (front and rear), gate supports and the clipboard on the front seat. The Pontiac was modified by scratch building a trunk lid cover that hides the supporting framework and mechanicals for the starting gate. The kits molded in headlights were drilled out and replaced with clear lenses. I used various sizes of wire for the electrical and hydraulic lines. The model was painted using Tamiya Light Sand Metallic (TS 700) for the car body. The interior was painted Model Masters Leather. The starting gate is a mixture of Tamiya and Model Masters paints. The decals were produce on my home computer and transferred to Microscale Decal Paper using a laser printer at the local FedEx store. This was a fun and enjoyable build and I was able to finish it in time to enter it in the Nationals were it took first place in its class. Enjoy the photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooOld Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Now that is just plain old cool ! I had no idea what you were talking about but then when I saw the first pic a light bulb went off - "Oh yeah I knew that !" Great job , this is a real winner ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
om617 Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Great idea and nicely done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Foxx Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 A lot of great work in this , so different , well done . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Way cool. What a neat idea ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonhawk1066 Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 A great idea done very well. Nice job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbowser Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Now that is cool! Great idea and execution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Zoom Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 That's amazing and unique, best use of the '70 Bonneville CV I have seen yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Very unique and wonderfully done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Marischal Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Very fine work! steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumpyDan Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Wow that is alright, well done oh so cool. Great job Terry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Very unique and a great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencer1984 Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Wow, nicely done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Po Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 Thanks everyone for the comments, they are appreciated. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps46 Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 I remember these at the fairgrounds. Really excellent job recreating it and congratulations on the 1st place in class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 This is really something special. Beyond the paint and interior finishes, the making of the swing gates is perfect. I remember see this type of vehicle used at the Arlington Race Track out side of Chicago when I was growing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o-man Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 holy cow, that's so cool and well built! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phildaupho Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Very well done. A pleasure to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peekay Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Fantastic! Great idea in the first place, but beautifully built and totally realistic too. I LOVE it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTrucker Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 That is just what that car needed! That would be a cool option in that kit next time around except not many would know what it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Gilkeson Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 very nice build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Awesome model! This reminds me of a Ken Hamilton model, which is a sincere compliment. Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYLIBUD Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 Now this is definitely out of the box.Excellent idea,and great detail all around... Very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim N Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 I had a great uncle that went to the horse races a lot. I went with him a number of times. I had forgotten about the track using a car like this to start the races until I saw your model. Thanks for bringing back some memories. Superbly built model! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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