purepmd

Just doing the May check in. Slow progress, but, hopefully, what they say is true...slow and steady never lost a race!?

Exactly right! This build is looking great. It has "Heavy Duty" written all over it. Very cool.

Every one of my Astro 95s and Titan 90s will now be DD V-12 powered, Styrene for less than resin! Go Round 2, go.

That is a very sharp looking build! Mix and match at it's best! Very well done, Rick.

Jurgen, outstanding Mack! I like to hear all commentary about a build, good and bad, tends to give one a greater appreciation of the end result. Love your work.

That is one Brawny Binder. Very well executed modifications, combined with a purposeful direction, just scream, "HEAVY DUTY". Love it.

Greg, Welcome to the wonderful world of model building. I wish my second build would have looked like that. 40+ years ago, I was armed with un-thinned Pactra 1/4oz jars and those black, nylon bristled Testors brushes. Looked like it was painted with cake frosting when I was done. Nice job on that KW. Keep up the good work.

Thanks a lot Gino, now I have another 'must do' build in my head. Saved that picture off the Internet a good while ago, now, the urge just got turned up. Looks great.

Clayton is right on target, the Autocar is cool, but I really am liking that little Ford.

Hey Mike, sent you a P.M. about the next time I will have the Alclad loaded in the airbrush. Mark.

The best of luck to you Clayton. Loyalty does not put food on the table. Good drivers are worth their weight in gold, with all the steering wheel holders out there. I hope this is the right place and time for you and your families sake. By the way, that is one sweet gravel hauler. Stay safe out there.

Mike, I would like to offer a couple of words of encouragement and advice if I might. I do not claim to be an expert, by any means, but I want to share my results. I use both Alclad and Spas Stixx, another version of Alclad, and have gotten, what I think are very satisfactory results. What I think is the trick, for me anyway, is lots of VERY light coats, and after it has cured overnight, polish with a dry Qtip. I have a Passche VL that has a control to limit the trigger's rearward travel, limiting the amount of material picked up. By setting it so low, you have to watch the surface you are painting to see the SLOW color change. Build the coats very slowly, let it dry, rub it with a Qtip, and this is the result. I have even used S n J polishing powder, finely ground aluminum, in conjunction with Alclad with really good results. The wheels are pieced together Italeri and Revell parts and the tanks, quarter fenders, and visor are kit parts mist-coated until very bright and then polished. It is fairly easy to do, just time consuming. But patience really does pay off. A little practice and anyone can get this look.

Hey Guys, just making my check call for April. Been working on the floor/firewall unit, chassis, and started the resin engine. Getting the front cab mounts and sleeper air ride knocked out is this weekend's plan. will post pics soon. Thanks, Mark.

What Terry said! Now, given these results, I am sorry Inever picked one of these up. Superb results.

Exactly right!

JT hit the nail on the head! Beyond cool.

Michael, this build is simply superb. That little KW turned out beautiful. Outstanding work!

Nice work does not even come close to describing this build. Outstanding.

Thanks for checking this out, guys. There is one thing I forgot. Whether it is resin or styrene, make sure you rough up the area the repair/fill is to attach to. The hills and valleys formed buy sand scratches make the Union of the different materials stronger. Good luck, Mark.

Thanks Guys, I appreciate your interest greatly. For anyone interested, I posted a brief summary of my experience so far with the CA and dryer sheet fiberglass, in the Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials section. Maybe it will help anyone wanting to try it, save a few blisters and patches of skin. It does heat up enough to pull a blister. Check it out, if you like.

I stumbled across this idea while reshaping a very poorly cast resin piece for the Big Rig Build Off. The closer to the shape i wanted, the bigger the void became, and the more obvious it became that it needed drastic repair. A while ago, I had noticed, that the Fabric Softener sheets that go in the dryer, looked a lot like the fiberglass matting used with catalyzed resin to repair 'glass auto bodies, 'glass tubs and showers, etc... only made out of much finer fiber strands. As luck would have it, the shirt I was wearing that day, had a sheet get inside of it in the dryer. I am sitting at my work bench, wondering why my sleeve felt funny, and when I found the sheet and pulled it from my sleeve, Eureka, as they say. Once the softener itself is released from the sheet, the sheet becomes very soft, pliable, and free from the softener residue, (the CA glue does not bond well with the softener in place). It is, in fact, so soft, it is hard to cut with a scissors. I lay it out on a self healing cutting board, the anti-slip surface helps hold it in place, and cut it with a #11 blade. You can tear it, but that lease lots of stray fibers to deal with. Cut as many of the correct size and shape pieces as you will need to build the layers to the desired thickness. My experience so far, is that 1 layer equals .020 sheet styrene, as a comparable thickness. Remember, though, you will sand some of this away during the finishing process. Always and to much in order to take it down to where you need it. Besides, the more strands worked in, the stronger the set-up matting is. For most body repairs or customizing, I would recommend 3 layers, but you can adjust as needed. While Super Glue Gel can work, the thinnest hobby CA works the best. It saturates the sheet very quickly, and has the least amount of trapped air. Air bubbles should be avoided as much as possible. Not only do they weaken the finished product, but have to be filled if you sand into one while finishing. Be careful to not over saturate the matting, as being the thin CA, it runs EVERYWHERE, FAST. If you get a little to much glue in the first layers, add another. That helps build layers but control the CA. I use tooth picks or Popsicle sticks to poke and prod the matting, not only to set the final placement, but to help with the saturation and air removal. After just a little practice, you will see there is sort of an ideal level of CA for the sheet to stay workable as well as set quickly. That brings me to the hardening of the sheet. With the increase of surface area, the fiber strands in the sheet, the CA will set fairly quickly, even with a relatively high volume. When it does set, at the beginning, you notice no real temperature change, but as the CA sets, it does build heat. With even a relatively small, say. a dime to nickel sized area, this heat will get to the "blistered skin" level in an heartbeat. Make sure you skin is clear of the matting when it sets. I have tried using accelerators in this process, and can't really recommend them. They can help, in certain, tough to hold the shape, type situations, BUT, they can over heat the CA and matting and make it boil to a consistency of Silly String. Then you start over. USE ACCELERATOR VERY SPARINGLY! When it comes time to finish the surface of the, now hardened sheet, it sands very much like resin and matting in full scale. It is hard, which degrades you sandpaper faster than the plastic will, and heavier, grittier paper leaves deeper scratches. It also has the trait of being a little fuzzy, like real 'glass. Always plan on a really good layer of primer after shaping. Although I have not tried it, I am fully convinced, you could build this into a part of it own, able to withstand more stress than plastic, and easier to form than metal, as well as having the right mold, not too complex, you could use it to cast parts. You may not us it often, but it is a nice tool to have should the need arise. Thanks for checking this out, have fun!

Just adding the monthly post. I want to thank all of you who have added the words of support, as well as those of you who have checked out the posts. I will have some new pictures shortly. I have been working on the firewall and floor pan. Thanks, again, Mark.

KJ, another home run! I really like your builds. They have really made me appreciate type of trucks you like to replicate. They have an air of toughness no chromed out Beauty Queen can ever bring to the table. I am even considering a build along these lines, spoke drive wheels and all. Never thought That would happen, but your work is that influential. Outstanding work.

Clayton hit the nail on the head. It just has "the look". Very cool little custom.

Hey Gino, the choice of the needle nose is fantastic, there is something so cool about any Pete with a narrow grill. Really liking the seriously custom mods you are working into this build. Looking forward to seeing how this shakes out. Good job.