gwolf

That PRO BUILT business is ridiculous, isn't it?

I think it's definitely bidding wars but also some people see a kit they had as a kid and momentarily go insane wanting it and post very high bids. I love the Jo-Han USA Oldies kits and seeing them on eBay gets my heart poundin' but will not pay outrageous amounts for them on eBay because I know they're out there for sale much cheaper within the hobby. Sometimes though, there's just no logic to what goes on in an eBay auction. Glad to see the forum back up.

Amazing work, Larry!

Agreed.

Has anyone had any luck cutting the fenders off the frame? I bought this kit thinking it'd be a two piece.

Looks great, man! Welcome back to the hobby!

Cool concept! The weathering is fantastic.

Nice job, man! Gotta love those flea market finds!

I recently ordered the 1:24 Volkswagen Golf VR6 kit from Hobby Link Japan. I was pretty excited because it's one of the only MK3 Volkswagens made. Upon opening the box I found that the body has split across the drivers side door. Rather than spend money to ship it all the way back to Japan, I thought I'd try to fix it. Anyone have any ideas? It's a smooth break.

Wow! Gorgeous car! The paint color is fantastic. 10 out of 10, man!

Perfect! I love the look!

Wow...that is impressive. Paint is always my biggest fear in modeling, but your paint is just phenomenal. Is that a custom front grill?

Thanks everyone!

Thanks Danno. I know the front axle is on backwards, but that's how it had to be to so it sat sturdy.

Thanks Sam! Much appreciated!

Something is up with the server I'm guessing. I can't see it either.

Thanks, Anne!

Last night I finished up my month long project of rebuilding an old AMT glue bomb 32 Ford I bought in a lot from my friend Pat. What I learned along the way is this: 1) kitbashing and restoring old kits is a lot of work, but fun as well. 2) I am not a contest builder. I build what I like and how I like and do it for myself and not for a blue ribbon. This is what I started with, a box stock, old AMT 5 Window 32 Ford. There was plenty of glue used on this kit. As I began to take it apart, the immense amount of glue used was becoming apparent. I initially scored and cut off the front fenders and running board with a hobby knife then decided not to use the one piece construction in favor of channeling the body over the frame. The existing engine is what I planned to use but was so covered in glue that only the chrome parts could be removed without breaking anything. This engine stopped just before the transmission as it continued as a molded part to the chassis. A new donor engine came from my parts box but had to be heavily modified, cut and sanded to fit in the old AMT chassis. I ordered a pre-wired distributor (my first) and installed it based on photo references of a 1:1 flathead engine found online. The headers were drilled out for spark plug wires using a Dremel tool then painted Testors aluminum. This was my first pre-wired distributor. The firewall would need to come off as it would be a different color than the body of the car. Most of it came off in pieces, except one part near the top. Using nippers and a blade it finally got removed. The cowl was then sanded smooth with fine grit sandpaper. A firewall from my old parts box from the 80's fit perfectly. Using Swiss files I notched out the firewall so it would match up with the rails that were now channeled under the body. It was later modified to accept the new, larger engine. I ordered two sets each of AMT's new Custom & Competition Firestone Champion whitewall tires and whitewall Racemaster Dragster Slicks. Piecrust whitewalls slicks on the rear and whitewall Firestones on the front, mounted on parts box steelies just how I like it. The steelies were primed then painted Testors Dark Red Gloss. Thanks to MCM members for letting me there was a difference between front and rear steelies. I would not have known otherwise. Later I was able to salvage the caps fromt he original kit's spoked rims and they fit nicely on the steelies. The axles that came with the built kit must have been from a die cast kit as they were a little too long, but I got new ones, a whole pack of them, from Jerry at NNL this past Saturday in Severna Park, MD. I measured then drilled new holes for the radiator shell with a pin vise so it sits at same height as the cowl and makes front look even lower. This ended up being a better solution than cutting a portion of the radiotor shell out. The front suspension was replaced with a chromed one from my old parts box. This one looked better and allowed the front end to sit lower. I altered it by shaving off the top three leaf springs and mounted it on the crossmember. I don't mind a bumpy ride. The windshield frame was broken and since I didn't have a replacement, I just fixed it. It ain't pretty but it's there. The windshield had a lot of glue on it from the original builder of the kit and I cleaned it up as best as I could since again I didn't have a replacement. I can live with that. It's not road legal as a 1:1 and doesn't have any headlights or exhaust system, but I dig it anyway. This is what was left over from this project. On to the finished product:

Great guy and had an awesome booth. The only problem is that he has such great parts that now I'm thinking of using an engine I got from him to replace one I've already finished and got wired just because it sits in the mounts a little better, lol. I also got the 1/25 scale laptop from him. Can't beat his parts boxes.

This past Saturday was my birthday and I spent a good part of the day at the Mid-Atlantic NNL this weekend, held at the Knights of Columbus at the Columbian Center in Severna Park, Maryland. It was sponsored by the Maryland Automotive Modelers Association ( http://www.mamasboyz.org/ ) A big thank you to MCM member Wheels for telling me about the event. This was the greatest thing ever. For about an hour I could not even concentrate because of the immensity of this model car show and swap meet. Never have I seen this many kits, old and new in one place. My birthday present to myself, an unbuilt Jo-Han 1960 Desoto. I picked up a few $3 unbuilt kits, 3 of them being early 90's Pontiac Grand Prix's. A bargain at twice the price. There were so many entries in this contest I'm not sure I even got to see all of them. There were 3 rows like this of vehicles and vehicles only. One of my favorite entries was this Earl Scheib panel wagon. A great build and fantastic topic. A nice deuce with motorcycle fenders. One dealer had an immense selection of bargain priced parts; hoods, windshields, engines, bumpers, you name it. I picked up engines for 50 cents, wheel and tire combos for a buck, even a 1/25 laptop as well as all sorts of other great stuff. Tires man, tires... Apparently they hold a flea market in the same location as the NNL and there was some confusion. But hey, at least it spread the word of the hobby. Found a Rat Fink t-shirt, brand new but from 1998 for $10 (It's the purple and green box). The crazy thing is that these were made by House Industries for their Ed "Big Daddy" Roth fonts they released that year. It comes in an old school size model car box. http://www.houseind.com/search/?search=rat+fink On my 40th birthday, for the first time in my life, I have won a raffle prize; behold, the Ed "Big Daddy" Roth Beatnik Bandit.

HAHA! Dewey, Cheatem and Howe! The legal department from the Car Talk radio show. Gorgeous build, man, and who doesn't love the Stooges. You could make another kit, a serious looking business vehicle for the law firm "Sue, Grabbitt and Runne".

Great build, man! On a side note, I still remember the commercial for that car, lol. " Chevy Ciiiiii-taaaaa-shunnnn!"

Great looking CRX! The interior looks fantastic!

Man, that is a gorgeous car. Good luck on your build, I'll be checking your updates.

I'm terrible with BMF, but this is looking great.