ScaleDale

You probably want to look for Super Stock. I don't think Pro Stock came about until the later '80s. Try the link at the end of this post and look at the '62 bel Air S/S on the out of production market. http://v8models.com Dale

The good folks at Five Star Race Car Bodies build NHRA approved P/S Camero and Dodge bodies. On their web site they were good enough to post the spec page of these cars. Here's the Camero. Now we need Revell to issue at least a 2010 Dodge Avenger. Link:http://fivestarbodies.com/ The pdf at the link is better quality. Happy scratch building. Dale

Here is a good link regarding photographing scale models. http://ipmseaglesquadron.org/ES-forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=dvgp1niaoj63ilv5cp6e6o2ls7&topic=871.msg4216#msg4216 Ian over at Scale Model Addict.com has a very good primer on the topic. You need to be a member to get to the forums, and since I am, I don't know if it is accessible from the front page. That link would be: http://www.scalemodeladdict.com Dale

The two biggest enemies of model photographs are soft focus and camera shake. Take a model or something about the same size to the store and make sure the camera will focus on it fairly close. Make sure it has a self timer and get a small tripod for it to keep it steady. I have a $20 one for my point and shoot and a $500 one for my digital SLR and wouldn't shoot without one. My other hobby is photography. Dale

Try this link. Revell has on-line instructions for all production kits. http://manuals.hobbico.com/rmx/85-4944.pdf Dale

Thanks for the comments. The panels under the car are aerodynamics of sorts. They were added as afterthoughts because I thought the car sat too high. This is the first motor I wired and I used a material from the craft store called Memory Thread. It's wire cored thread and was easier t work with. And yes, it's out of scale. I can d this better, now. The engine itself is a bit out of scale. It's a Ross Gibson Mountain Motor and is larger than the 1:24 BOSS 429 in the Revell '70 Mustang that I think it's based on. Dale

When I was first building models in the ‘60s I was also the “Staff Photographer” at Milan dragway up the road in Michigan from where I grew up in Northern Ohio. One of the fan favorites was a ’56 or ’57 T-bird running in one of the mid gas classes with a carborated small block Ford motor. The car was called Mister Persistence and really cleaned up every Sunday. The owner trashed it one off season by going for the Funny car look, converting it to a long wheelbase flip top roadster with a big engine. I think it was the semi-hemi but I don’t remember. He just couldn’t get it to run right ever again. In returning to modeling I decided to resurrect a more modern version of what this car would be today in Super Gas with a Mountain Motor and K&N style hood scoop. I really didn’t know what I was doing half the time but I kept at it until I made it work. Learned a lot about making a plan and sticking to it on this build. Enjoy: Thanks for your time. Dale

V8 Models.com and Westbury Motorsports.com for kits, Competition Resins for resin stuff. Dale

I have a fire extinguisher within reach while running my spray booth. It's half way between my bench and booth, which are in separate rooms. I should have another. Someone should open a permanent modeling safety thread. No joke, I've heard of exploding spray booths. Dale

The kind of Dremel can effect this kind of work. I did something like this with a corded Dremel 4000 using the Flex Extension and a foot pedal like for sewing machines to control the rpm better, but it was still tricky. I used a sanding tube thing. Don't know what they really call it. Now I have a cordless Dremel Stylus and anything like this is much easier. The 4000 will cut metal like butter. To finish by hand, wrap sandpaper around something round and keep reducing the grit until you finish with 400 or 600. Dale

I have calipers similar to the ones posted above and they have a depth gauge that extends from the bottom end for measuring in tight spaces. My approach is quirky. I scan the drawing from the first page of the instructions or the decal placement page to get a clear side and top view of the car in question. Then I find the factory wheelbase and scale it to 1:25 and set guides at that distance in a PhotoShop document and place the scan into it. Then I resize the scan until the wheelbase of the car matches the guides. Now I have a 1:25 scale image that I can either measure on screen or print and measure for chassis fitting. All that said, roll cage and chassis scratch building will keep one busy for a few days. As far as gauge/size goes, 1.6 mm (1/16 in)scales up to around 1.6 inches. Standard is something like 1 5/8 inch. That's 1.625 in. A lot of builders go to 2 mm which is scale 2 inches. A tad big. Dale

Very interesting design. A closed system is the best defense against dust. Flow rate is important, and I'm impress with the application of math in dealing with this. When I built my open faced booth I watch a bunch of videos on-line and got a kick out of a dude from another model forum who had to rebuild his half way through because his fan was under powered. Here's the link to the article I used for mine. I have 4 60 cfm computer fans in mine. http://modelpaint.tripod.com/booth2.htm Dale

Competition Resins has a lot of nice wheels, but not just exactly those. They have Weld Pro Stars, though. Dale

You would need brass tubing or rod around 1/16 inch, solder and tube benders. Someone on this board built a pro mod that way but I think it was 1/16 scale or so. It might be easier to steal the chassis from one of the "shoebox" Pro Sportsman Chevys or that Jukebox Ford that is out now. They have good tube chassis. Look at the Match Race Firebird and Mothers Oldsmobile from Revell/ModelMaster. They are Pro Stockers. I scratch built three P/S chassis out of styrene rod using a jig I built and it's not for the faint of heart. One of them is somewhat usable. Edit: In NHRA Pro Street, which is similar to Super Street, a tube chassis isn't required, just a roll cage. If the stock steel floor and firewall are retained, the roll cage can be bolted or welded to the floor of the car. That would save some time and effort. When I built mine for the Community Build, I used styrene rod to build a reinforcing superstructure for the front end and used the roll cage from another car. Edit Edit: Here are links to some of the over the top chassis builds on this forum: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=61587 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=39961 Dale

Outstanding. The paint choice is perfect for this car. Dale

Use a very small pin vise bit to make pilot holes, but make a template first. Take an existing valve cover and measure the spacing and placement of the holes and mark them on a strip of styrene. Drill this and use it as the template. Maybe clamp or glue blocks to it on either end of where the cover will fit to make sure the holes are in the same spots on each side of the pair. Use the small holes as guides for any larger holes depending on what size wire you use. Boots are really optional for a model. Do them if you really want to do the detailing thing. If you Google How to Make Spark Plug boots for Models, some Aussie dude on YouTube will show you how. Dale

There's a 426 HEMI injector stack manifold in the Competition Resins catalogue that might do. They are equally spaced and set to the outside like in the article. You would need to build the tubes, though. BTW: That article was proof read for accuracy by Ohio George Montgomery, among others. Dale

Really nice execution on the front end. Are you going to build a plug of some sort for the grill or leave it open? The front end of a Pro Stock car is closed and everything is airbrushed on except for the headlights. They do a good job and it's deceptive. Dale

Excellent work hacking that motor into shape! Here's a link to a good article on the OHC Ford 427. http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/hrdp_0908_ford_427_cammer_build/viewall.html Dale

Is that ! factory chrome ! ? Nice motor. -------------------------------------------- I got my motor kinda installed. It's just stuck to the drive shaft for now. I tried a '60s two-tone with French Blue and White and it turned out pretty good. I used an auto masking tape recommended by Dr. Cranky. Nice clean line. And my tires. The front are the box stock from the Fairlane and the slicks are Pro Stock slicks from competition Resins as are the wheels. I spun them in my power drill to burn the rubber...The paint is Alclad Magnesium. Pics: Dale

I'm a retired Special Ed teacher, and it's good to see that someone proved me right. Dale

Edit Alert!! Allow me to correct myself. The OHC engine that Ford made was the 427 cammer built for NASCAR and promptly run over to NHRA by the round track folks who thought it would be too fast. The BOSS 429 and it's derivatives still available today from the aftermarket builders like John Kasse are pushrod engines. I honestly don't know where I got the OHC stuff associated with the BOSS name from. My apologies. Link to OHC 427 history: http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/hrdp_0908_ford_427_cammer_build/viewall.html Dale

The air flow on that converts to 141.2 cu. ft. per min, which is way below the 200-300 I've heard recommended. I have a home built one with 4 fans that total 240 cu. ft/min and uses 16x20 furnace filters. I change them after every kit or so, depending. They are white and I can tell when it's time for them to go. That's a low price as these things go. Dale

I like the Yellow Frog tape, too. The best I have found is 3M Automotive Masking tape from Auto Zone. It's tan, not cheap and recommended by Dr. Cranky. Dale

I thought every scratch builder had at least one good hair puller. I have several and use them all the time. Dale