Peter Lombardo

Nice work, great idea. I know it is a small detail, but I really like the painted bumper guards. Classy touch.

I know I am a little late with this, but you did a first rate job on your story about the 3 Corvettes. I enjoyed it very much. You sure love those things. I tend to build with as many options as I can throw in, since I am not paying for them. I was impressed with the fact that you are aware of the options and build a specific car with specific options. Keep the articles coming.

I have made some headway on the Shelby. After I read Brian's comments on the better engine choice for this car, I looked around a little. The engine in the Mustang Super Stallion looked to be the correct block, heads and blower. The only problem was the design on the top of the blower that needed reworking. So, thanks Brian, you made me rethink the engine and I think it worked out better. I masked the stripes with vinyl tape cut on the computer. The lower side stripe came from the AMT 68' Shelby Mustang. The name "Shelby" on the rear was cut from tape, but they were SO small, that they were too difficult to remove without a lot of knife work. The interior is right out of the box in flat black with flocking for the carpet. I have searched everywhere I can think of and have yet to find the exact match for the wheels on the Shelby. I am using "Phat Daddy's" mainly because they look great on the car. They will not be permanently mounted to the car so if I can get a better match, they can be substituted. I will post more pictures when I near completion.

I would be willing to bet that just about all of us have built one or more of the Skyline kits that have been around for a while now. I have seen hundreds in magazine contest spreads. My point is, this is the nicest looking Skyline of all the ones I have seen. The clean build, great paint (finish and color choice) and perfect wheels and stance make for a beautiful build. Very nicely understated.

Not a lot to say except WOW.... Great paint Great build, and Great subjects. The Mustang's really have that "Gotcha" factor. "Eleanor" is as beautiful a build as I have ever seen. Great work. I want to see more.

Thanks Ismael, no not really. I kind of expected some problems but all went pretty smooth with the possible exception being the dash board. The kit uses some prongs that inter lock to hold the upper and lower sections together. In all of the dry test fittings everything fit fine. Now because I opened the doors, the dash board end pins needed to be removed. Without these pins to help secure the dash in its proper place, the dash had a huge gap when I tryed to assemble it once everything was painted. I had a few concerned moments there before I figured out that the locking pins on the dash were the problem. Once I removed them, things settled down the way there were meant to. Other then that, it worked out fine. remember, consider lowering the wheels so that it sits down a bit. I cut off the little notched pins that fit into the disc brakes with a razor saw. drilled a small hole in the middle of the pin. Then drilled a small hole 1/8 of an inch above the original position. Super glued a piece of wire into the hole and glued the pin onto it. Just as strong as the original piece, but now lower. Just remember to align the notch on the pin in the correct direction so that the disc brake will be in the correct position.

These are two newly completed cars. The Ferrari is a 599GTB Fiorano from Revell. Painted with Tamiya Gunmetal Metallic. I mixed the interior color from Tamiya flat yellow (80%)and flesh (20%). I opened the doors, hinged them and the only other modification is I lowered the wheels by about an 1/8 of an inch to make it sit a little lower, which I think looks better. The Mustang is a Super Stallion by Revell. Aftermarket wheels and opening doors. The biggest change is in the paint job. I created 3 different computer paint masks, one for each color, silver, light blue and megenta. I covered the entire body with clear effex to give it a heavy metallic color change.

This is the AMT Camaro concept that I have converted into a convertible. opened the doors, filled in the air scoop on the nose. Over the rear seats I have molded "humps" to act as headrest surrounds. I added a '"waterfall" area between the seats kind of like the corvette has. A few weeks back, I started a Chrysler 300C touring wagon, like a lot of you guys did. I couldn't bring myself to scrap the body from the 300 and the nose from the Magnum, so I needed to build something with those parts. I cut the top off the 300 because I wanted a 2 door coupe. replaced the top with a 1970 Dodge Super Bee roof. The top didn't look quite right so I added the side wings ala, 1969 Dodge Charger to the roof. I opened and hinged the doors and designed a rear end that uses the tail lights from the 1970 Super Bee. In fact that is what this is...2007 Dodge Super Bee Concept. I have done a 2 door Chrysler 300 coupe and I really think there could be a market for a full size coupe, Dodge or Chrysler for the guys that like the Bentley's but don't have $180,000 handy. This will be yellow pearl with a black side stripe and a Super Bee logo, or close to it. This is my Ford Mustang Gt that I am converting to a Shelby GT500. I have modified the hood by adding a layer to the top. enlarging the upper grill opening and changing the angle on the sides. The bottom grill opening was reshaped and fog lights were added to the corners. It still needs a small air spoiler under the front fasia. I opened two hood air vents which will have black photo etched grills. On the rear deck I built a new rear spoiler and then opened the doors which will be hinged. I am planning to paint it bright metallic blue with pearl white stripes. I realize I may get a few of the details a little off from the prototype, so I will tell you right now, I don't care. I build them like I want to. I will be installing the motor from the Ford GT to replicate the Shelby powerplant.

Dave, you finished her off beautifully. Nice job, I hope, when I get to building my kit, it looks as clean and professional as your build. Very nice.

I used to say, "I believe half of what I see, and none of what I hear". Today, after computers and photoshop, I say "I believe none of what I hear and none of what I see" Today, there are too many people with too much free time on their hands sitting in front of a computer screen.

Please don't get the wrong idea here. I am not defending AM in this situation. I just thought that the company's attitude was important to bring to light here since I had direct correspondence with AM that spoke to the issue here. I was very frustrated waiting for the McLaren Cam Am to finally come out. I thought it would never come. I agree that the manufacturers have a responsiblity to us, the customers, to not unnecessarily get our hopes up. I do believe they have honorable intentions, but the "little" guy's, have problems with costs to income relationships that must be dealt with. AMT and Revell, seem to have cashflow that allows R & D. I, for one, would not want to see the little guy knocked out of the marketplace. They tend to bring the more interesting subjects to market. My biggest compliant is that the 1/43 scale manufacturers always bring great race car subjects to market, and the 1/24-1/25 guy's do great street cars, but only marginal race subjects.

Stay with me on this story, I do have a reason for the intro...A number of years ago, I purchased the Daytona kit by Gunze Sangyo. I would open it from time to time and look over the kits parts and wonder why they chose to leave the engine out. One day I thought to myself what the heck, and opened up the hood, planning to drop an AMT 289 block in it. Shortly after that I heard that Historic Racing Miniatures, connected to Replicas and miniatures of maryland, was producing a resin kit of the Daytona. I contacted HRM, who sold me just the parts I need to finish off the engine and engine compartment. As I recall, it was a very reasonable charge for the items. As for Accurate Miniatures, I have had a number of email converations with Bob, from AM, who has explained the problems they are experiencing in producing model kits. We, as builders just assume its, wham bam thank you mam, and there is another kit on the market. I have copied one of Bob's emails to me so you can get a flavor of the problem they have. This conversation was from about 3 months ago. I was looking for some decals for a Grand Sport Corvette, which I found from another aftermarket supplier. I was also asking about the roadster and 289 Cobra, and any other projects AM may have been working on. Bob, was telling me in another email that he thought that the hobby was changing and held up the curbside Tamiya models and the lack of detail on the new Revell 2006 Corvette C6R as examples of the trend to less detail and lower cost. We wondered to each other why Revell put lots of detail in the street, C6 and the Zo6, but chose to limit detail on the race car. Here's the email. Peter.. we have no decals for the 5000 and 5001 kits.. those pieces became ancient memories years ago... I have the Corvette GS Roadster done.. have to find $72K to tool the parts.. I have the reserach done for the 289 Cobra and the body drawing is complete.. my thinking is changing on this from a Corvette / Mclaren complxity kit at $40 to a less complex item with good detail but fewer parts for $20 to $25... just in the thinking stage at this point.. that wuill lower the tooling to $100K - $150K range.. tell me exactly what pieces you need. Bob You can see, cost and a need to find the necessary financing are driving the hold up of the models we are interested in. I hope this helped.

Beautiful work Norm. I'm not a fan of modified, super or otherwise, but obviously you are. Great build, would like to see some of those other 14 or so you've built. I always admire you guys that scratch build everything. I know there is not a lot of "kit" parts for these builds, so you really gotta' love what you do. Keep it up.

Dave, very nice. I have that kit, haven't started it yet, other then to open the doors and hood. I own a '77 mgb so I want to replicate my car. which is currently in the process of being redone ( engine rebuild with minor "hop up" and a conversion to chrome bumpers, from the ugly rubber bumpers.) I love the interior detailing you did. I also really like the wire wheels in that kit. Very nice work. I 'm looking forward to seeing it complete, and Bill, you must have been really tight in that midget. I have trouble getting into the b, let alone a midget.

Beautiful restoration, I really like the two tone color combination you have chosen. I always liked the slick lines of the early 1960's Mopars. The "square" steering wheel always stuck in my head too. I wish my mom hadn't been so quick to toss out my childhood builds. I wish I could go back and rebuild some of my 60's builds. Something tells me that my memory of the build is better then the actual build. Anyway, very nice work.

Just beautiful....Metallic Blue is the right color for this car. Back in the day, a good friend of mine had a real one very close to this. His had a white interior though. Very clean build.

Very nice! I have toyed with the idea of building one myself, but have been reluctant to start. I will watch your progress closely.

Steve, that is one beautiful flathead....the 32 ain't bad either. For what it is worth, I think the engine mounts don't matter one bit. The total craftmanship on the build is great, and obviously you enjoyed doing it. I never worry about those things, if it makes you feel good to build it, then that is what our hobby is all about. I always build something that makes me happy. If others approve, thats great. If not, thats ok too, because I approved of the build, and really, thats all that matters. Keep building and keep pushing the bar. Nice job. P.S. I love the fan belts and spark plug wires, they all look great.

Beautifully simple, stunning build. Some times a simple project like this is good for the soul. I really like the black wheels...works very well. I bought one weeks ago, I think I will follow your lead and not get crazy with it, also, you were smart to drop the wheels that come with the kit, as they appear way too large. Nice job.

Randy, beautiful work. I also like the tri-five Chevy's, with the 56 being my favorite of the three. Early in the Overhaulin' series, they took a 56 four door sedan and converted it to a 2 door roadster. They modified the windsheld dramatically and made no effort to build a top for it. Yours being a fully functional design works better for me. Very nice, I may just have to build something like that as I have a 56 hardtop and 55 convertible in the boxes just collecting dust. I'm Looking forward to the completed build.

Thanks Myles, I think I need to better explain the vinyl painting masks I made. I inadvertantly mislead you. My brother is a sign maker. In the old days, a few years ago, that would mean he "hand paints" signs. Today that means he is a graphic artist who operates a computer. Today signs, well, the ones on trucks and such, are cut out of vinyl and layed onto the vehicle. I was always amazed by the intricacy and fine detail his cutter was capable of. I thought he and I could design masks that could be used for painting. I took digital pictures of the car, we scaled them in the computer so that the cut masks would be the correct size. Once done, we "printed" them on the cutter using the thinest vinyl that he had. If you want to do masks like this yourself, you only need to find a small sign company that does vinyl signs. I am sure in Colorado there are many. Once you explain what you want, they should be able to help you. Obviously, having a brother in the business is a great help for me, but this really not that complicated. I hope that helps you, if you have any other questions, please ask.

Very nice and clean. I have done a few of those photo etched belts and I can attest to the difficulty level. They are a bear, but nothing looks better when done right, and you did them VERY RIGHT. Nice job.

Thanks, Paul. The Bentley grills are home made. I took the Chrysler grill, and very carefully removed the "egg crate" center being extremely careful not to damage the chrome plating on the outer edge. Then I took some wire mesh that I purchased in the hobby shop ( I don't recall the brand name, but I am sure you either have some or can find it in your local hobby shop. If there is a problem locating it, look in a shop that specializes in model trains. This same mesh is available as chain link fence material for HO scale train layouts. Once you have it, cut out a piece just larger then the opening, being sure to align it diagonally to achieve the crisscross look, and carefully trim it to fit. Because this aluminum, it is easy to bend, so I folded back the edges inward to make a clean fit. Once I had the fit right, I used a very small amount of CA to secure the edges. I must stress, a VERY LITTLE glue, as it has a tendency to find a way to go where it shouldn't. Be careful and it will work for you. As for the young lady, I originally built here for a 50 Ford coupe that I built a few years ago. I was replicating a picture in the Hot Rod, 50th year book. The car was Chopped, Channaled, Sectioned, Shortened and Scalloped. The picture had a young lady in a silver bikini that just looked great. I could not find a figure that was right so I found one that was standing upright, with one hand on her hip and one holding sunglasses in the other on top of her head. I had to completely dismantel her at most of her joints and rebuild her in the pose I wanted. I used small pieces of wire inserted in holes in each dismanteled joint and CA then Tamiya putty to reshape her shapely shape. Alot of work for just a figure, but I wanted her to complete the picture in the book. Thats it. If you want it bad enough, you can do it.

Thanks Dave, You are right about the placement of the "hump". I was faced with a bit of a dilemma there. Because the roof and upper fender was a transplant from the 612 Ferrari, I had to keep the length in tacked to make the union flow to my eye. I was pleased with the overall shape, so I thought that the design compromise was acceptable. I just think that a 2 door brother to the 300 sedan would be very well accepted. Right now the Bentley Continental Coupe is extremely hot. At well over $160,000, a $35,000 alternative from Chrysler would seem realistic. Anyway, thanks for the comments, good or bad, I need to hear it. Right now I am working on a 2 door Dodge "Super Bee" Coupe based on the 300 body, converted to a 2 door (again), with the Magnum front fitted on, Well, it was left over from the Magnum body being given to a 300 nose for a 300c touring wagon build that is also underway. I wish I could learn to do one at a time, but I always end up with multiple builds underway. Anyway, this 2 door has a 1970 super bee roof, with a 1969 Charger rear window "wing" treatment. I am very happy with the way this is working out. I will post pictures and try and document the build, which is a whole new experience for me. I wish I had documented the 300 builds. Thanks again, I am sure we'll talk again. As you may have noticed I tend to go on a bit.

Bill, coming from you, that means alot. I , also, am looking forward to see the jewels you will be bringing on Saturday. You may remember me from a couple of years ago at NNL East, I had the Ford F150 Lightning with the motorized top that retracted into the rear bed. Anyway, thanks for looking and commenting. Good or bad, I always want to hear what other modelers think of the work. It has been my experience that guys outside of the hobby are usually impressed by a well constructed model, but it's the guys that DO IT, that really understand the pressure that we self inflict upon ourselves, only they can really appreciate the hard work and pleasure that we get from the experience.