Jimmy Flintstone '34 Ford Coupe Tracknose

iBorg · June 12, 2019

Does anyone have this Flintstone body? I've got some that are very thick almost slush cast while others are very nice and uniform inside.

THANKS!

1930fordpickup · June 12, 2019

His older castings are thicker for the most part.

Mr. Metallic · June 12, 2019

When looking at Flinstone products, it all depends on when the masters were made and the bodies produced. He has made strides over the last 10 years or so to keep the thickness of the bodies down. But, he deals in volume to keep his prices lower, so concessions are made to enable him to pop out bodies very quickly. The best way to buy his stuff is in person, so you can see exactly what quality you are buying.

Phirewriter · June 12, 2019

Also depends on the person doing the master. He works with with many people, some far more talented and exacting than others.

Roncla · June 13, 2019

I think I'd describe my 34 as thick and a bit slushy inside. It's perfect on the outside which is the important thing. I have had it for years and the more recent Flintstone products I have purchased are cleaner inside.

iBorg · June 13, 2019

Thanks.....that tells me what I wanted. I think I'll pass.

Mark · June 13, 2019

The body pictured might be described as "slushy", but "inconsistent thickness" is a more accurate description. Slush molding is entirely different: it's using essentially half a mold (outside surfaces only; no inner core) and literally "sloshing" the resin around in it. That method results in inconsistent thickness also. Most slush-molded stuff is paper thin in some areas. Slush-molded items will often collapse (sides and roofs will pull inwards) and, with few exceptions, are generally useless.

Every Flintstone body I have seen is produced from a two-piece mold. Some have the thickness inconsistency pictured, which can be ground/sanded out if you wish to do so. Generally, his earlier bodies and some with more extensive alterations are like this. Still, if you know what you are getting into, they are good considering the price.

espo · June 13, 2019

This isn't as bad as some I have seen. I think you have to remember that 99% of Resin cast bodies are not going to be a direct fit replacement body for any of the production kits. They will all need a little finessing. I have built only a few Resin bodied kits in the past and I just have to remember going in that there will be frustration and a LOT of fitment problems. As long as the exterior represents what you want the rest is just is just some fine tuning.

Roncla · June 14, 2019

12 hours ago, Mark said:

The body pictured might be described as "slushy", but "inconsistent thickness" is a more accurate description. Slush molding is entirely different: it's using essentially half a mold (outside surfaces only; no inner core) and literally "sloshing" the resin around in it. That method results in inconsistent thickness also. Most slush-molded stuff is paper thin in some areas. Slush-molded items will often collapse (sides and roofs will pull inwards) and, with few exceptions, are generally useless.

Every Flintstone body I have seen is produced from a two-piece mold. Some have the thickness inconsistency pictured, which can be ground/sanded out if you wish to do so. Generally, his earlier bodies and some with more extensive alterations are like this. Still, if you know what you are getting into, they are good considering the price.

Thats all true Mark. I've always been perfectly happy with every Flintstone body I have purchased and at his price point I wouldn't be complaining about a little clean up on the inside which in most cases will not be seen once everything is together anyway.

All of the bodies I have purchased are perfectly acceptable on the outside and every one is nice and square with no twists to them.

Mr. Metallic · June 14, 2019

On 6/13/2019 at 9:58 AM, espo said:

This isn't as bad as some I have seen. I think you have to remember that 99% of Resin cast bodies are not going to be a direct fit replacement body for any of the production kits. They will all need a little finessing. I have built only a few Resin bodied kits in the past and I just have to remember going in that there will be frustration and a LOT of fitment problems. As long as the exterior represents what you want the rest is just is just some fine tuning.

I have to disagree with that 99% assertion that we should just assume that we will have to do a bunch of work to make stuff fit.

Back at the turn of the century ( ), there were really only a handful of firms that had resin bodies that were "drop on" conversions. Drop on to me means you may have to trim webbing out of the windows and engine bay(although the true top shelf guys do that for you), and perform minor mold line/pinhole cleanup. Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland, Modelhaus, F+F Resin Casting are the ones I can think of(not a slight to anyone I didn't name that produced great stuff), while pretty much everyone else was supplying bodies that required a bunch of work to fit their donor kit, or even worse were just bad quality in general.

Today, we are blessed with a bunch of top level casters whose work is truly drop on. Rep+Min is still there, but now you have Morgan Automotive Detail, Missing Link and the other Detroit guys, Drag City Casting, Harold Bradford, Air-Trax, Altered States, Fireball Modelworks, Futurattraction, and many more. (again, not a slight to anyone I didn't mention, these are just ones I have personal experience with)

There are lots of casters out there right now of varying quality, but really need to step up to the level of these guys. It takes solid master work, dedication, and good equipment, but these guys show, it can be done. There are enough casters out there doing true drop on stuff right now that we should raise our standard for what is acceptable anymore, and ask all casters to reach that level.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Mr. Metallic

espo · June 14, 2019

10 minutes ago, Mr. Metallic said:

I have to disagree with that 99% assertion that we should just assume that we will have to do a bunch of work to make stuff fit.

Back at the turn of the century ( ), there were really only a handful of firms that had resin bodies that were "drop on" conversions. Drop on to me means you may have to trim webbing out of the windows and engine bay(although the true top shelf guys do that for you), and perform minor mold line/pinhole cleanup. Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland, Modelhaus, F+F Resin Casting are the ones I can think of(not a slight to anyone I didn't name that produced great stuff), while pretty much everyone else was supplying bodies that required a bunch of work to fit their donor kit, or even worse were just bad quality in general.

Today, we are blessed with a bunch of top level casters whose work is truly drop on. Rep+Min is still there, but now you have MCW Resin, Morgan Automotive Detail, Missing Link and the other Detroit guys, Drag City Casting, Harold Bradford, Air-Trax, Altered States, Fireball Modelworks, Futurattraction, and many more. (again, not a slight to anyone I didn't mention, these are just ones I have personal experience with)

There are lots of casters out there right now of varying quality, but really need to step up to the level of these guys. It takes solid master work, dedication, and good equipment, but these guys show, it can be done. There are enough casters out there doing true drop on stuff right now that we should raise our standard for what is acceptable anymore, and ask all casters to reach that level.

I agree with you that there has been a vast improvement in the castings offered in the last two decades. Recently I personally have passed on the purchase of a few based on how much work I felt would be involved. But I also have bought a few that were very well done. This last weekend at the Heartland Show I picked up a '67 Chevelle two door post that to my eye rivaled anything Revell is offering. This particular casting will not require any more work than what you would devote to a normal plastic kit body. My compliments to who ever the caster might have been since there was no name on the box. But I also looked at some other bodies that were interesting subjects while at the swap meet and they really would of required more work than I could have justified for my self. I did a '56 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery a couple of years ago, and it was from one of the known casters you mention, And it still required a lot of clean up and I really had to rework the inside for the Revell Nomad chassis and interior to fit. While I agree there has been much improvement overall there generally is still going to be work to be done on the builders part and you just have to accept how much you're willing to do and then spend your money accordingly.

dimaxion · June 21, 2019

I was here at the start of Model Car Resin Castings . This is an SK Miller '56 Studebaker Hawk slush cast . This is a TKM Slush Cast Seville . This is a F&F Resin Packard . This is a AAM conversion '54 Conestoga . This is a John Heir '64 Hawk conversion . This is a ?? (Mike) Willis Aero . This is a Very early Jimmy Flintstone '51 Stud . This is a MCW '60 Lark . This is a Modelhaus Nash . This is a Perry's Resin '65 Cornet .

To me , it is a matter of how much work you are willing to do for your WIP's . To see your desire in 3 D . A hand built Model . If you recognize the names , some of these have been built in the '80's and '90's . These sit on shelves enclosed in Glass Cases for me to admire . Questions welcome .. Thanx ..