Peter Lombardo

Hey, that is really nice...that is a beautiful paint job. Very clean and to the point.

Whoa, I don't know how I missed this earlier...very nice, I love the colot combo, and the orange fade over the gold really makes it pop. Excellent model very well put together.

Simone, I am sorry, I thought you wanted pictures of the real carbs. I will take a few shots closer of the engine, assuming that I can, and post them in a day or two. Billy, I know what you mean about the sync. on the carbs...It took a little doing, but once I got them working together, thay run great. I have an MGA that has a circa 1976 MGB engine in it, so they are basically the same, but the engine in the MGA has a Weber downdraft carb on it (prior owner installed) and it does not perform as well as the SU's, in fact, not even close to it, so down the road I will have to switch it out. Joe, I love that car...looks to be an MG TF, which is my favorite of the "T" cars. The SU's on it look like the SU H4's, I have SU HIF's on my MGB. The biggest difference in the carbs is that the H4"s have an external "bowl" with the float and the HIF's (mine) have an internal bowl and float. If i understand what you are saying, you no longer own that car, if that is so, what a shame....the "Open" fender MG's are so cool. One day I want to add one to my little collection...we'll see if that happens. Again...thanks for the input and kind words.

Ok Simon, here are some more shots of the engine and the SU’s. I hope these will help you. There is a wonderful forum for MG enthusiasts that will have many more pictures if you want them. You may have to search around a little but it be interesting at the very least. It is right here http://www.mgexperience.net/ Oh, again, thanks guys for the kind words on both cars....I really do appreciate it.

I love it! I love it when you guys look outside of the box. This is one of the great things about modeling....you can "cut and paste" all day long and never worry. The worst case is a few "bad" pieces of plastic....no biggy. I like what you started with and the direction this is headed. Nice job so far. Have fun with it.

For making roll gauges, I found that my local hobby shop sells thin metal rods that are coated in styrene. I don't know who makes them, but they are in the rack with the plain styrene rods. They have them in two sizes which is perfect one for the outer bars and one smaller for support units. I bend them with my small pliers to fit the application. They hold their shape and stay together with super glue and/or epoxy. The aluminum tubing can be used and works best if you insert a thin brass rod in the aluminum tube to help keeping it from losing its shape at the point of the bend. just added to the post....I remembered that some months ago I began a gaser dragster where I built the chassis from scratch. You can see in these quick photos how the two sizes of plastic tubes work together. This is all bent with pliers and glued together. Sorry the pictures are not better, but it was a quick shot. I also shot the two size tubes so you can see them raw. I hope this helps.

Nice catch Harry. I was noticing the exact same thing looking at the pictures this morning thinking that I would have to touch that up tonight. The hinges should be the same color as the car and I missed that...they look pink because they only got a partial coat of spray paint...I need to touch up the hinges and the area around them. Glad to see that you were looking so closely to the pictures. That is one of the great things about the forum. I can expose (maybe a poor choice of words) my building and models to some well trained eyes. We all benefit from the scrutiny of each other knowledge and experience.

Guys, thank you very much for the kind words. I really enjoyed this because I really wanted a replica of the real car. I am getting ready to put the MG's into storage in a few weeks for winter.....I can't wait to get down to Florida so I could drive them all year long...oh well, one of these days. Anyway....Dave I am sorry but I do not expect to ever have a clean work bench like you do.....I try, but do not see it happening anytime soon. And Joe, I have the year right. It is a 1977 MGB and yes, you are correct that it should have ugly black rubber bumpers. With the 1974 1/2 model, MG was forced to install 5 MPH bumpers on their cars because of the new US Federal safety regulations. They also were forced to raise the cars up 1 1/2 inches so that the bumpers would be at the minimum height required. I hated the look so when I reconditioned the MGB over the last 4 years, I retro fitted chrome bumpers with a conversion kit from England. Thanks again, I appreciate the kind words.

That is a very nice "period" correct looking mopar. The Cragars are a very nice touch. Back then I had a '73 Camaro with Cragars and they looked perfect on American Muscle, so they look great on your Road Runner. I like the color choice too..."butterscotchy" yellow looks great.

I am very happy with the out come of the model. I put quite a bit of the under hood detail in the engine bay. I just omitted some of the very thin wire as it just becomes too much detail to deal with. Thanks for looking…it is now on to the vacuum form body, which I have just begun working on.

I have finished my model of my real 1977 MGB roadster that just underwent a 4 year restoration. I will spare you the actual details of the real car now, as I have posted most of that stuff before. I have thrown in the three shots of the actual car here just for reference. I have finished the model with just one small exception. I have omitted the license plate from the back of the car because I am having a replica of the “classic†antique plate that is on the real car. In NJ, classic cars can have what they call, “QQ†plates. I am having my brother make me a set on his high quality printer (he is a sign maker and has the computer equipment needed) These are the shots of the model…I did not go crazy with the background or the lighting for these. I just shot them on my work bench on a white cardboard panel. Remember, this was a left hand drive model (British Spec. model) without a motor and none of the panels opened up. The model is of a much earlier year car, so I had to update the model to the actual car which is a 1977, but since I backdated the actual car to a much older looking model in many areas, I had to make a real hybrid model here. Remember, 1977 MGB’s were “rubber bumper†cars and I retro fitted chrome bumpers. I also added hydraulic hood and trunk lifts to the real car, so I made working lifts for the model. I used the exact same paint for the model that is on the real car so even though the color looks different, it is just the lighting since it is the exact same paint.

Congratulations……very nice look group photo. Great metals too. You now have bragging rights over all of your buddies. I like the Audi…very nice.

Dave, you are really "Out There'! I have 18 unbuilt Corvette kits hanging around and I have no idea what to do with them. One of these days I guess I will get around to building some.....you can give me some inspiration....and no doubt you will.

If it were mine, I would not clearcoat it. I am willing to bet that you have many, many customs that are nice and shiny....this will be pretty cool if it is flat...just my view. Either way, I am sure it will look great.

Thanks Bill, coming from you, that means alot to me. I appreciate it.

Yesterday I received an e mail from Michael Leonhard, the designer of the 2010 Charger Concept that I modeled recently. I was completely blown away by the fact that he found my model by searching the internet, and thought enough of it to contact me. I forwarded him the links to the under construction photos and the completed posting. He in turn forwarded the link to his blog where you can see the very kind words that he wrote about the model and more importantly, you can see more of his beautiful designs. I think Michael’s work is right up there with Harry and Jairus. Take a look, it’s pretty cool stuff. http://leonharddesign.wordpress.com/

Alright, we all have our own “pet peeve’s†when it comes to modeling. You know, difficulties with airbrushes not shooting paint and all of a sudden the clog clears and big blotches spray on to your car, or why does super glue fog your windows, or even kit directions that either mislabel parts or neglect to put the assembly order, in the right order…..you know, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of little things that tie your shorts into a knot. Well, this is most probably the one thing that upsets me the most. It is most prevalent on American kits mainly because our cars have the most chrome…..and I realize that the manufacturers claim that they can’t cure this from happening, but it fries my butt none the less. So, I will just throw it out there…..why do the kit designers seeming find the very worst spot on a chromed piece to attach it to the tree???? Look at the way the bumpers on the MGB that I am working on are attached to the sprue. Could they have found a worst spot to attach them? What are they thinking here? “Hey, I know, lets attach the bumpers to the tree so when that unsuspecting modeler goes to remove the parts, he will have huge white spot right on the edge where it is the most visible!†“Yeah, that’s the ticket…we’ll really screw him up.†Now I realize that parts are attached to the tree for the most efficient flow of molten plastic. And the economy of space is a consideration, but really, why would they blatantly stick it on the outside edge….the most visible spot. I know, I can Allclad the parts, or send them out to be re-chromed, of cover the spot with BMF, or even use some paint….but that is not the point. I think they could do a better job of engineering this, but make no attempt to do it because it is just an accepted part of the hobby. OK, I now feel a whole lot better.

I just flat out love it. Colors work perfectly. I just nails the panel paint jobs of the 50's.

Oh, this is so sad to hear. When one of the well known guys in our hobby moves on to the “big plastic factory in the skyâ€, it is a shame. Bud will be missed, my condolences to his family and friends who will surely miss him….we will all miss him.

Great job.....just beautiful work. You really get how the "True Fire" flame should look. NICE!!

To all of the guys that have responded to my posts, thank you very much. I really appreciate the positive comments on the design and the out come of my first vacuum forming experiment. Frankly, I was not sure what the results were going to be so to have this much success surpasses my own expectations. It is great to know that so many of you guys were watching and hoping that this would actually work. It really is exhilarating to know you guys want this to work too. Thanks again. Last night I epoxied two bodies together, one inside the other to give the body some additional strength. I then was able to clean up the bottom and add some support plates to the front. I opened up the windshield and roughed out the door and hood opening. The doors will be gullwing, I am planing to have the wheel spats ( fender skirts ) removable held in place with some very small magnets. I roughed in the headlight placement, which also come from the Viper that is supplying the engine and chassis. I also began playing around with the design of the "Art Deco" chrome trim for the bottom of the car. I threw in a picture of my "old" driver that I "flamed" yesterday which I did just for the fun of it. I know there are a lot of flames on it and it does look better in the light of day, but it is going to be different. This club, along with my old set of irons and wedges is going down to Florida next month with me for a few days, and then it will take up residence in Southwest Florida so whenever I can get down there, I don't need to drag my clubs with me anymore. I thought some flames on the club would look pretty cool.

Ok, here is the box top and the side info on the MGB model, It is the Aoshima kit which I understand comes in a few versions. This is the Euro Sports Club version. I purchased this a few years back from Lenny of Fantastic Plastic in PA. I did some more work on the engine last night adding the exhaust header, SU carbs and the air cleaners. I also enclosed a shot of the real cars engine and interior for reference when I complete those two areas.

Yes, we had them as Mercury Capri's. I loved the look of that car and wanted one very much. I ended up with a Mustang II Mach 1, which was no Mach 1, but with the V6, 4 speed stick and hatchback, very similar to the Capri. I liked that car in white with the tan vinyl roof and tan interior. I also really liked the John Player Special version in black with the gold pin striping. It is a sin to see one all banged up like you have there, but it is a very nice job of mucking it up, you did there. I would love to find one of those to rebuild. I think it is great looking, so seventies and so European too. Are those models readily available on your side of the pond? I would love to get my hands on one one of these days. Anyway, well done, nice scene...rather realistic.

It has been quite a while since I last posted anything on my MGB model I am working on and rather than dig up the old posting, I will start a fresh thread on the car. As a quick recap, it is a model of my actual MGB that just completed a 4 year complete rebuild this summer. The car is a 1977 MGB that had those ugly black rubber bumpers on it. I have retro dated it back to a chrome bumper car but updated the paint with a GM Merlot Pearl Metallic finish. Also I installed a brand new tan leather interior and an upgraded engine and overdrive transmission. I just love tooling around in it and its stable mate, a 1960 MGA that shares a garage with it. Here is a shot of the real car. So I decided to build a model of this car but that has turned out to be quite an undertaking. The kit is of a chrome bumper car but it is a curbside kit with right hand drive. I opened the hood, trunk and doors and built hinges for all. The motor had only the bottom detail molded on which actually looked pretty good so I left it in place and just built the top of the engine and am detailing it to replicate the real car. I had to rebuild the fender walls and create the radiator, oil radiator and hoses. I scratch built the heater and motor which are attached to the scratch built firewall. I will add the charcoal canister to the right side and the master cylinder to the left side of the firewall later. I scratch built the inside door panels and am beginning to replicate the new dashboard in the left hand drive configuration. I painted the car with the exact same paint that the real car is painted so that is perfect. It is clear coated and rubbed out with wax. I gutted the grill and installed black mesh, just like the real car has. I also opened up and covered with black mesh the air inlet for the oil cooler radiator in the front lower fascia. Since I have lowered my real MGB, I also lowered the height of the model by an appropriate amount. The top and the interior will be done in a matched tan and I still have to paint the wire wheels to reflect the aluminum color of my cars wire wheels. I have to complete the carburetors, air cleaners and heatshield to the left side of the engine and finish the seats and interior and truck carpeting and then complete some more wiring to the engine bay. I have to say, it is looking really nice and will be a faithful representation of the real car.

Well, it has been a rainy Saturday morning here in New Jersey, so I could not play golf today, so I thought it was a good day to experiment with the vacuum form machine. I picked up two pieces of styrene plastic sheets that were 12 by 24 inches and 0.20 thick at my local hobby shop the other day. The vacuum machine handles 12 inch square plastic so I cut the sheets in half to make 4 12 by 12’s. All of the research I did warned that I should expect the first 7 or 8 attempts to be failures and not to get discouraged by that. I figured I had 4 practice pieces to play with. We set the vacuum machine up on the kitchen counter, near the oven and connected our shop vac to it. The first plastic sheet was clamped in to frame and placed in the oven set to 400 degrees. We had a heat gun ready to heat up the plastic if it did not want to settle down on the mold. The plastic began to sag in the frame in the oven and in a few seconds it had sagged about an inch. My son turned on the vacuum, had the heat gun ready, on and running and I took the heated plastic sheet out of the oven. I quickly placed it on the vacuum form machine and I was shocked to see the plastic snuggle down over the mold. The first copy was close, about 90% of the way to being perfect. The only problem was the styrene needed to be a little hotter. The second and third and forth attempts, as you can see yielded very good results. I plan on using parts of the extra bodies as support around the doors and hood area to firm up the body and give it a little more rigidity as I used 0.20 thick styrene. Maybe I could have used 0.30 sheets but I wanted to see how the whole thing worked and the 0.20 will be fine with a little underneath bracing installed. I will cut out the doors, hood and fender skirts and make new units from a different body that I can cut up. I am thrilled with the results. I am very confident that I can complete this car with the Viper underpinnings. A stretched and narrowed frame along with Viper interior components and the Viper engine and headlight units and this should be pretty cool. It is now on to the opening pieces and firming up the body. I now have plans for two more body style designs that I have come up with to be vacuum formed. One is a futuristic Minivan Concept with actual sliding rear doors and operating hatch and the other is my own design for a 2 place Sports Roadster built on a Ferrari Chassis with V12 front engine rear drive set up. I also have design plans for a very unique vehicle that will be different, but more on that one later.