ScaleDale

Is this for scratch building? .125 scales out to 3.125 at 1:25 scale. That's like, armor plate. Evergreen and Plastruct are my sources, but the sheets aren't huge. Well, 8x10 is 200x250. .10 = 2.5 .6 = 15 inches We are talking scale modeling, right? Dale

Kinda. Stacy David did it 1:1 on his Gearz TV show. Here's a link to the web page and videos of the build. At least you will know where to cut. http://staceydavid.com/episodes/lmc-truck-shortbed-conversion Dale

It was one of my first builds when I got back into modeling. The body lifts off. All in all, the fit is awsome. Dale

Walgreens. It's a fancy word for full strength isopropyl alcohol. Link:http://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=isopropyl%20alcohol%2099 Dale

I'll work on that later tonight and convert it to a pdf for posting here. I did research on Pro Mod builders recently and have a catalogue from a chassis builder I can share. It has cool drawings and stuff of various designs of tube chassis. Edit: Here's the info on chassis. It comes from ChassisWorks.com. Link:http://www.cachassisworks.com Edit: I'm having trouble uploading PDF files to the forum and viewing them, so I added files to my Google Docs folder. They are all public and contain schematics of tube chassis and other info useful for scratch building Super Street / Pro Street / Pro Mod cars. Watch out for the ChassisWorks Catalogue, it's a big file. The Pro Mod file is all chassis diagrams. I have added the Super Street section of the current NHRA rulebook to the list, too. Be my guest. Link: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B1nHFOBDdle8R2I3NUMyRENydDg&usp=sharing Dale

And some of us have no respect for the classics. .. Have no fear, the one in the box is still sealed. Dale

If anyone is interested, here is the diagram and tubing specs for full bodied car roll cages from my NHRA rule book. I can link the full Super Street section if anyone is interested in realism. I have a build to finish and will be adding a Fair/velle to the mix around the end of the month. Dale NHRA Chassis.pdf

Acrylic simply means plastic paint. Testors is formulated and tested to be applied by charlatans like me to plastic models with reasonably good results. The acrylics sold in craft stores are designed for a variety of surfaces and you might regret trying to save a few bucks painting your $25+ kit with it. Model Masters from Testors is better than the generic stuff from them and Tamiya makes even better (IMO) jar paints. And keep in mind that you are painting small things. A jar of Tamiya Semi Gloss black cost me me $2.60 and will paint maybe 25 or so engine blocks. Dale

Sean: This is the Enzo. It's a Skill 3 build. I found it hard to paint but didn't have an airbrush at the time (or a lot of skill). The Xs mark seperate parts for the body. Dale

You did a good job on this car and should be proud of yourself. A lot of people try model cars from other types of building and just give up because it'd different from armor or Gundom/Scifi. Keep it up and you will find it has it's strong points and it's pains as well. As for paint in bottles, I have found that it's often just one or two things. One is the brush, Camel hair from the craft or art store is best and the other is thickness. If it's too thick or thin it won't brush well. Thin takes many layers and thick covers up detail too fast. Bodies with too many parts are a real challenge. I built a Revell Enzo Ferrarri that had something like 14 seperate parts for the body and it was a pain. I painted all of them with an airbrush in sessions and covered each part with the same number of coats per session. When I assembled it I used very small amounts of Tamaya Thin cement and didn't handle it much at all. Clear parts require a white glue that dries clear rather than plastic cement that will destroy it if you make a wrong move. Glue them dead last and don't handle them more than needed. Dale

I use Mr. Surfacer 1200 as a final finish filler over Bondo and to fill scratches and it works fine. It's lacquer based, so don't try to thin or clean with anything meant for enamel or it will turn to goo. I apply it with a spare brush and clean it with lacquer thinner. My current brush has stiff bristles and leaves marks and I will be getting a different one today. I have used it as a sandable primer by cutting it 50/50 with lacquer thinner and airbrushing it. I must admit that I use my older Iwata for this and clean the heck out of it afterwords. I have MS 1000, too, but don't like it as well as 1200. With finish sanding at 2000 or finer the stuff will do a good job of replicating styrene. Dale

Almost all of the '70 Mustangs available are going to be 1/24. The Boss 429 mentioned above has a killer motor. It's Mach with the louvered fastback. Dale

I'm looking at a similar project in the future using a Revell '64 Fairlane 500 and the '67 Chevell Pro Street kit as a donor car. The wheel bases and track are about the same and the Chevell comes with a narrowed and tubbed chassis to fit slicks without cutting the wheel wells. It has wheelie bars and a nice 4 link suspension too boot. It should adapt to the ford body and drive train with only a few minor headaches. Dale

Sake shot glasses, tea cups and Chinese soup bowels. All from Goodwill. Dale

Thanks for the video link, the info is different from what I have read regarding Alclad on-line and from my local hobby shop. Too bad chrome is the one color they don't stock. I don't like doing business on-line when I could be supporting a local business. Seems I've been wasting time letting the stuff cure between coats... Here is what I previously knew about Alclad: http://www.swannysmodels.com/Alclad.html Dale

Mixing paint for airbrushing is difficult at best for me and I try to stick to premixed airbrush paint when I can. There's a process called decanting that involves draining paint from a spray can for use in an airbrush. It's scary but works. Look it up on-line but don't try it unless you have access to a garage. The paint drained from a can is more like ink than anything else and sprays at 10 psi. There's a trick from Dr. Cranky and others in which you test your paint mix and spray pressure by painting the back of a plastic spoon. Until you get used to your airbrush, stick to the spoon test and it will save your stress level for the important things in life. Dale

The sanest way I've found to strip chrome is with a cleaner and degreaser called Purple Power that can be found for cheap from big auto supply stores like Auto Zone. It takes a day or two of soaking, but it's not toxic and won't eat skin like the other solutions. It will take off bad paint jobs too but won't harm the plastic. I built that kit and had a lot of fun with it. I keep it on my bench as a reference for the build I'm working on now. Dale

I get sucked into building off the wall projects like a '56 Thunderbird with a 815 Mountain Motor and get paranoid that I will mess something up and hunt the 'net for a spare kit or two. I just ordered two 64 Fairlanes so I can build a Super Stock Thunderbolt. The kit bash for the T-bird has consumed around 10 kits (and don't ask about my aftermarket bill...). That's my story, at least. Dale

Keep in mind that Alclad is a lacquer and shouldn't be applied over enamel. As has been mentioned, the gloss black base coat (it doesn't need to be Alclad) is only needed for the bright metal finishes. Any undercoat is ok for the other colors. Paint chemistry can drive you nuts if you let it. Dale

I picked up the Round2 Polar Lights Tom Grove Mustang the other day and it seems like a really well tooled kit. I was going to steal the headers for my current build but decided to keep it intact. I'll build it here when I finish my '56 Thunderbird for another forum. I can post box photos tomorrow if anyone interested in seeing the sprues. Dale

Competition Resins has hemi valve covers and a lot of other stuff. Dale

Nice choice for a build. FYI the winningest car in NHRA history is a 68 Camaro owned by Dan Fletcher. Link: It's a bit dated, but relevant... http://www.knfilters.com/images/press/fletcher1.jpg Dale

Competition Resins. CompResins.com http://www.compresins.com/site/751597/product/CRC-175 EDIT: The button in the top left of the Comp Resins link egads "F/C Resin" That may be the company the Original Poster is referring to. Maybe CR is a distributer or bought them out. Comp Resins is top quality. Dale

I saw one of these run in the Stock Eliminator finals of the Las Vagas race on TV last week end and the car knocked my socks off. It wasn't a real Thunderbolt, the guy had built one from a 289 using all 1964 parts and was running as AA/S. I just ordered two Thunderbolt kits today. Heres a link to the car I'm talking about. John Calvert is the owner's name. http://www.carcraft.com/featuredvehicles/ccrp_1010_john_calverts_1964_ford_fairlane_500/viewall.html Dale

I saw one of these run on the Pinks All Out show with a blown hemi. You can take this build any way you want. http://www.stephenmason.com/cars/opelgtv8m.html Dale