FloridaBoy

I've seen two clubs both successful start in different ways. First, the Palm Beach, Broward and Dade model car population is traditionally a hard sell, despite being the home of inspirational people in our hobby, like Augie Hiscano (God Bless and Rest his soul) and Bob Kuronow (owner and operator of Model Car Garage). The first club was started at a popular hobby shop via flyer and word of mouth, and at their first meeting boasted over 40 attendees, including beginners all the way to national and Salt Lake winners. They waited until they got enough feedback from the hobby shop owner, and had a meeting place near the hobby shop. It thrived for several years with large club turnouts and great contests until a war of egos ultimately tore into its morale, and it died. The second club was started by a few guys informally going to the same hobby shop regularly and sharing their builds. The same hobby shop under a new owner, ultimately allowed the guys to use the "back room" where the lunch table was to hold their get-togethers. Pretty soon, the guys got comfortable and said why don't we form a club. A few guys balked, because to them a club meant rules, fights, rejections, ego battles, politics and much more. So they kept it simple, and there were no officers, (one guy with a bigger mouth and some leadership provided some guidance) no rules, no nothing except gathering and sharing. Unfortunately, they met their demise by the dynamics of South Florida. Some guys lost their jobs, got divorces, got ill, and others moved away and the club sort of automatically dissolved. Both considering this area I would say were successful. I would suggest that to try to establish a reputation and group identity after getting together a few times. I would not bother with rules too much after you get a large membership, and at least one guy should do the "calling" before each meeting to remind some of us who are forgetful. Then take it from there, it will grow itself like a house plant. If you care for it and nurture it, it will grow up to be very robust and healthy. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

So did I. It looks like a great site. Thanks a million. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Patrol52, I'm building the Lindberg Cord, and now that it is close to being done, I feel like a survivor of the Titanic. What a mess. I am wondering if the engineer at Lindberg who did this model and the Auburn is still working. He is a walking testimony for us to outsource. I have seen the Monogram model and it is a beauty, and it was built by probably one of the all time Cord fanatics, Model Car Garage's Bob Kuronow, who over the years is a friend of mine. I even gave him the AMT 1/12 Cord kit he was so stoked on seeing it. But you might have a better offer for those hubcaps, and if you still want mine, let me know. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Patrol52. I am building a Cord right now myself, and am almost done with it, as we have a contest on September 18 and right now after toiling with the mess, it is painted and almost ready. The class we created is called the "Concours d'Elegance" which is a judged category consisting of pre-WWII classic cars (no Fords, Chevvies, or Willys) built anyway possible. I always like the Cord, so I bought it for this contest, and it is a horrible kit. Parts like fenders do not fit, the detail is horrible, so I decided to make it a street rod. I paointed it silver on the sides and dark metallic pearl silver on the top, fenders and frame. Red interior, with bucket seats changed out, and new dast and steering wheel. Another reason for the street rod selection as I did not like the hubs and I am using the moons with wide whites found in the AMT 40 Ford Sedan Delivery (the issue with the Brown car on the cover). Based on what I saw, the only way to get closer to real is to drill out the holes in the wheels and paint the wheel silver, at least that is close. The only other thing could be to take the AMT '36 Ford and adapt some hubcap to the wheel. If you need my wheels to experiment on, I would be happy to send them to you. Let me know by IM. Thanks, Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Bob. You just proved that it never gets too old to learn. All these years in the hobby, and I never realized the actual difference between the three paints. I knew they were different, and not to mix them, and used all three in my builds, but basically just out of curiosity and color selection. I just painted a 40 Ford coupe with DupliColor metallic red, and realized that the lacquer does cover better, and dried real fast, and I did do a light wet sand between every 3 coats. I then cleared the car with about 6 coats of clear enamel and the results were unbelievable. I rub and polish out all of my models, but this one almost doesn't need it. Of all the paints, I prefer lacquers now because they cover better, smoother, and are more forgiving. I still like enamels and use Tamiya acrylics for interiors, chasses, engines and parts. I'm getting there, and will post a finished car real soon. Bob, again, thanks you put it in very understandable fashion. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

To me, judging either makes or breaks a contest or a contest series, bar none. The size of the trophies or the location is only minor, as there are modelers who feel there is a level playing field will drive through Death Valley to put a car down to compete. I watched a local contest go down the tubes over crooked judging, and to try to pump life in a dying mule, the club president recruited me to judge, and what a trip that was. So, most people find it easy to rag on or blame a judge when their model loses, because the judge is unable to substantiate his findings, and that is why I adapted my 100 point system I sort of borrowed from our local IPMS. I like to think it helps me be as objective as possible, but I cannot speak for other judges. On the other hand, audience voting winners is deeply flawed as well, again, the objectivity is lost to superficial cars with possible no underside or interior details, painted red or shiny attention getting colors, and friends will vote friends rather than cars. Plus, a lot of spectators are not versed in the hobby and they would not know the difference between two shiny cars from a distance. The answer is planning. When you plan a contest, appoint the judges early in the contest, and make sure they follow some basic rules of integrity and have a "thick skin" and some product knowledge. As for me, I have my own rules. I will not judge unless allowed to use my own system and scoring sheets, will not judge a contest I entered, even if out of class. I also will shy away from judging a contest in which I know the contestants, but that is difficult, and I use some discretion and some caution. Judging out of my class is a total no-no, as I know absolutely nothing about some Pro-Stocks, Nascars, some Trucks, but can hold myself in most other classes. I do not know the firing order of any engine, by the way. Since I developed my 100 point system, I have only been attacked once, and he was off his medication (really). I am by far the perfect judge, but contest organizers should start to appoint judges early and train them and use a objective level playing field system, and allow for less frequent but ever present errors. As for entrants, I feel that there always is a certain amount of courage that one has to decide to put his cars down, and many times I have seen excellent modelers bring stuff to show "on the side" simply because they were too "reluctant" to enter. There is a sign over the entranceway to Centre Court Wimbledon for contestants, that is best paraphrased, "If you can treat victory and defeat in the same manner, you will always be a winner." Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

From this old guy's perspective, this kit could be entered in either box stock category, provided it meets the other criteria, or custom or even on a stretch, street rods if the classes had to be consolidated. This car is no doubt a custom, and could compete with other cars that the owners did a significant amount of modification, but a knowledgeable judge would take all into consideration, I would think. It is the style of the car that dictates which class it enters and not the origin of the kit. For example, I had a full on custom '40 Ford Coupe, which was sectioned, shortened, channelled, with extensive front fender, headlight and taillight mods, plus a customized interior, and it was entered in the Street Rod category with deuces, t's because the car was pre-war. Other cars like '60 Fords, etc were entered in the custom car category because the contest organizers stated a custom is post war. It varies from contest to contest. Nevertheless, I am enjoying the heck out of this build, and the only mod I am doing to the car is adding a sunroof, and that is just to see the interior better. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

I think a few guys missed my point. I haven't competed in a model car contest in 12 years, but attended, judged or displayed at just about every one within driving distance. To me competition only improves us, if we keep our minds and hearts open, and not get too down on ourselves when we lose. I have always learned that you learn as much, if not more, from a loss, than a win. But, what makes the hobby is the ESSENCE of the contest, the making of friends, the interchange of ideas, the accessibility to display your work to many (again, display and primer tables), table vendors. By missing one of these events, you are missing out on one heck of a lot of fun, a lot of learning, and a stronger feeling of Connection to the hobby. Granted, there are idiots in every hobby, and we are no exception, like poor losers, gripers, nitpickers, critics of work during display hours, and other challenges to our coping skills. But to me this is far overwhelmed by the positives. For example, I displayed some Pactra winners on a non-compete table with the trophies and a brief history, and the Grand Prize winner who is known to us all, took over 50 pictures of my car. Many guys commented on that they either remembered the car from way back when, and/or they rekindled some fond memories. At a contest, I always see an idea, style, or technique that I want to try out that just doesn't come out in the internet or a mag picture. Hey, I was there in the early to mid seventies when the hobby died down, and to those who on this thread were getting started, I really have you guys to thank for keeping it going when I thought it was totally dead. I know kits were produced and some contests were held, but only way down from the sixties, when Five and Dimes and 7-11's were holding contests, heck even back then the churches, the City, and department stores held contests then. I was building fast just to have enough to spread around, and had to keep a notebook to keep track where what was and when it would be over. The trophies are insignificant, but now more importantly, provide a refresher of a contest, just like an oldie you hear on the radio, that provides a fond memory. The reason I started this thread was instigated by the closing of another hobby shop, the negativity of the hobby shops owner toward plastic model car kits, some griping of some builders, and hearing some attitudes of guys not entering. For example, two guys showed up on a Sunday morning takedown to show their cars and they probably would have both won, and I commented to them that we sort of owe it to show the public and our youth the potential that this hobby offers. Even my 19 year old son is starting to see what no results from video games offer compared to the plastic creation he did a few months earlier. My intent is two fold. First, I plan to be increasingly active in the hobby. More at car shows, and will try to work with the 1:1 car club groups to throw one day contests. Plus, I plan to try to make contests more fun for everyone, competitors or non-competitors alike. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

One other tip I should pass on from experience, both in success and failure, is that if you do something for a contest car, do it well, or expect to get penalized even if you did more work than your competitor on the model. For example, if you cut out the doors and/or trunk, you need to make jambs, panels, hinges, and make them tight and secure, and the doo/trunk should fit snugly. You might get a couple of points for undertaking the effort, but be penalized more for wobbly ill fitting doors with raging gaps. I have judged cars with doors/trunk unopened higher than a poorly executed door opening, although the modeler devoted more time and energy to the opened door. So, if you do something, do it well. Same goes with paint and finish. Shiny paint jobs are fairly common now, with clears so available, and they do improve a model's appearance. But I judge with magnifying hood, and look at the corners, nicks and crannies, and seek out orange peels for unattended paint job. A twenty dollar polishing kit from Detail Associates or other firms will go a long way on a lot of models to produce a very professional finish. If you look at a car with a black interior, it is not all flat black. The dash gauges and trim are chrome and wood, the handles and knobs are chrome, and the leather black is not flat but has a sheen. Plus there are so many textures and hues of "black" in an interior that anyone who just takes a rattle can and hits the interior is missing out on a lot of opportunity to really enhance your model. I paint my interiors dark gray and use a lot of metallics and flocking here and there, along with simulated wood trim to accent the interiors. But every other modeler has his own approach and technique. Last, body work. I really judge cars hard that treat body work as an afterthought. Body putty no matter what you use, either Squadron Green, White or Bondo, takes some time to blend, sand, primer and finish. Plus often the underside of the shell may need reinforcement to prevent those minor cracks when handled. I use both Plastruct and 2 part epoxy to strengthen those joints, and constantly test. The reward is that once you complete the body work and prime it properly, it will most likely remain permanent. I have a body work with AMT body putty from 1961 that still hasn't cracked or bled to the surface. I hope these few tips can help those who enter contests a little. I am no means a big winner especially lately, as I am now struggling with engine and chassis wiring and details. A few weeks ago, I purchased a magnifying hood and installed a light atop the lenses and realized that my work under regular eyesight was really flawed. I just took apart my mock-ups and re-did most of my projects to stand up to the magnified image. It is worth the effort. Since I had lurked in many contests down here for the past 10 years, I am striving to keep up with the best examples I have seen, and that is my goal in both workmanship and accuracy. If Chip's, Boyd's, Gene's, Derryl's and George's cars can be driven, by gosh so can mine......in scale that is. Good luck and hope to see some of you at our November show in Deerfield Beach. This time I will not be a judge but a competitor. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

I use DupliColor primer for all of my models with great success. First, make sure you get the can that says sandable and fillable as it first, sands smoother than any other primer I have used since the AMT primer in the sixties. Second, it is a great sealer and plastic protector for all paint, including enamels, all lacquers and of course water based paints. I use both the gray and white and both in the big cans and small cans. What I would suggest is that since Tamiya does not mention if it is lacquer or enamel, and I suspect it is lacquer, I would prime the entire model, including the underside to make sure any overspray does not craze the plastic. I have found that some Japanese and European made plastic kits have a little more fragile plastic than American based kits, so again, be careful, as you do not want to jeopardize your body mods and detail work. I have heard some guys use the cheapest primer that they can find at Wally world, but again, Duplicolor is a great source of colors and I wanted to use the primer to protect my cars, and then found how good the primer is. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Bob is so right. Also a hero to me, but that is another subject. There is another way we have found to promote the hobby. Down here in SoFla, and I am sure in other communities throughout the US, there are auto clubs, like MOPAR, Chev, Ford, X vs Y, and they all have picnics or gatherings regularly during times of good weather. Our club started hooking up with these clubs and offered to throw a contest at their event, at no expense to them. Although our club is pretty well equipped with a portable tent and display tables, and real talented and knowledgeable guys to make our plaques. But any group of guys can do it. Most of these events are held in public parks with picnic kiosks, and you could use their tables covered with used bed linen. Make up class designations (not too many), and voting sheets on your computer and copy them at Kinko's. Then set up an NNL format in which the cars are voted on by the participants. Simple, but if you can locate yourself to the center of the event, you would be surprised to see how many people show up and vote. At the last MOPAR picnic we ran out of voting ballots, and had to run to the front office to make more. It is not that hard, and the fun you have makes up for it about 100 times over. Ken "FloridaBoy; Willaman

Mr. O, Again, thanks for your continued assistance. I owe you one, buddy. I tried to reduce my existing photos on photobucket.com, but couldn't. So I tried to reduce the image on my camera settings, and again, and even though I found it in the instruction book, it just didn't take. So, a half hour ago, in a massive tropical thunderstorm, I went to the camera store who sold me 4 digital cameras so far, and the new manager walked me through it right there. I just got back and took some photos on the new settings so here goes.............

This is a great topic As a long time competitor then non-competitor and have a lot of experience in building, I am often asked to judge model car contests. I have had the privilege of being asked, but dread because I am not a judgemental type person, as what is my cup of tea might not be what another guy's is, and vice versa. However, I have found that judging is often an oversight at a Judged Event. The selection process for the most part is informal, but I have been a part of several contests where judges were picked way before the event, trained, given criteria and rules of the road. My own rules of the road are that if I enter a car in a contest, I will not judge in it, even of off class. That to me disturbs integrity. Second, many people tell me I am a "nice guy", but I am also a staunch believer in the importance of competition in our hobby, and to give every car and builder a fair chance. When I was with the IPMS, my local chapter developed a 10 category, 100 point judging system which to me was the answer. The categories are workmanship, accuracy, could the car conceivably run, etc, with one category called "The WOW factor" which gives each judge some latitude. For the most part, model car contest guys routinely expect the judge to go over a car, then pick the "best" one. But this "nice guy" is a hard-a%% when it comes to the responsibility of judging. I even use this 100 point system on my own cars, and I have yet to break a 90. The 100 point system also has blank lines for quick notes from a judge to the contestant, thereby providing in writing the critique of the model for the bruised ego. For example, I am a killer when it comes to unresolved model production problems (parting lines, sink marks, etc) and poor gluing and adhesion. Also, I am also pretty tough on models that are pieced together, so that you are not able to pick it up to look at the undercarriage. Crazy to mention, but I see at least 2 to 3 in every event. The last thing I tell myself is that time is relative. The car that the Bruised Ego cherishes and feels so strongly about will be toast in 6 months, so why argue. There are trophy hounds in every activity I have ever been involved in. But to me, the size of the trophy is irrelevant compared to the memory of the cars my car won over and the calibre of competition. When I put my cars down, I expect them to win just like any other guy, but when you look at the cars that won in your division when guys are picking up their cars, talk to them. In a custom car category, I was sure that my essentially perfect '40 Ford Custom coupe with working gull wing doors was a shoe-in and when it didn't even place, I found out I was beaten out by a guy who junked a car in his diorama. I felt totally betrayed, until I talked to the models owner and he showed me the incredible level of detail and accuracy his model had, way beyond mine. I learned, and that is why I treat every contest as a supreme learning experience. I have met some real tremendous people who are full of energy, competitiveness, and enthusiasm for the hobby at these contests, and almost every one will share his technique with fellow modelers. I have learned even judging a superior car, that you learn at every event. Judges are often not the best builders, but they are knowledgeable about models, building, and aesthetics. Do not shun competition because you feel it is "against your grain" to compete your cars, enter your cars to improve yourself in the hobby, and you are in for an incredible learning experience. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Holy Cow!!! God or fate has been really kind to me. A couple of years ago, my soon to be ex-wife decided to do me a favor and clean up my garage while I was in physical rehab recovering from a badly broken hip. When I got home, I hobbled out to the garage to find 13 of my major model car projects missing, to which she vehemently denied tossing out. These were old favorite models of mine which were still good but needed some body touch up work, repaint, better workmanship and the latest detail approach. Since 10 of the 13 are no longer in production, I was crushed. Over the last few months, I have been able to obtain the kits to re-do, improve and enhance my old projects, one of them most notably an old AMT '59 Ford in which I sectioned added rolled pans and '57 Ford guts, and called it the "Fiftyniner". When my wife threw it out, it was sitting in the box primered and ready for paint and assembly. I just got hold of a very old '59 Ford at a model car contest vendor table for 40 bucks. That left a Challenger funny car that I originally built in college in 1972. I extended the front wheel well, molded the body to look like fiberglass, and crossed it with an MPC Charger funny car frame to match the new wheelbase. Now Dave Burkett, the real Model King, is coming out with the last model that my wife tossed out. The marriage is long dead, but long live the King!!!! Thanks buddy, I owe you one. If I win the lottery this weekend, maybe you and I can talk about buying AMT. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Hey guys, I saw these "in person" or should I say "in marker lights" last Tuesday night at our model car club meeting. GMP440 is one great builder, and is also one of the quiet humble guys I ever had the pleasure of meeting. He lets his cars do the talking. And they do. Two years ago, because of some problems with real MOPARS I owned, I would never have built a Chrysler Motors kit even if Osama bin Laden threatened to blow up my house. But after seeing "G's" bring to the meeting cars and some he showed at some Mopar events where we had contests, I got sold. G is also a solid member of the local SoFla Mopar club, and they have a doozy down here. Their picnics are to die for. Now I have at least 5 Mopars in the works, and my goal is not to win a contest with one, but to impress Mr Mopar and that would give me creds. He is so good at details and accuracies that if a part is wrong or missing, he casually goes out and manufacturers the part, and these side lights are just one example, and to hear him describe the simplicity in doing it, one, it is like hearing Einstein casually describe how he split the atom, and two, I could do it. So, tomorrow on the agenda is off to Micheal's to get some RTV, mold release, and clear casting resin, because G convinced me that I could make headlight lenses, side mirrors, taillights, and headlights for the '32-36 Fords. I know I don't say too much at the club, but that is because I have some creds there not on my present work, and the core guys in our club are potential GSL winners, and I haven't produced a newly finished car, so generally I keep my mouth rather shut. G brings 'em in and puts them down, and then the crowds gather around his cars, either just finished or new ones. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

I got everything down, including joining photobucket, but I need to reduce my photos, like you all have done to get them posted. I have a Nikon KoolPix camera and software, but no where on my software can I find any function to reduce the photo pixels. I looked at all of my photos I took with my camera, and the size is 2560 x 1920, and the error read I get when I try to post the photos are that the file is too large. What am I doing wrong? I have all of my photos of old work and new work to share with you guys. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Lyle, I am a certified died in the wool '40 Ford NUT. You did a beautiful job on this model. It has the right stuff to achieve the absolute right on look you intended to achieve. Way to go. And, I never knew the '40 Ford Convertible had the "hump" for the spare on the trunk. Great touch. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Since you guys on this forum have been so helpful and supportive, I am offering my past to try to help in answering some questions raised in this post. I have been an active builder since '52, and REALLY Active since the AMT 3in1 Kits came out in '58. I am retired and disabled so I am lucky enough to realize a lifetime dream, to be able to live free and build all day if I want to. I do build quite a lot. I also read everything about model cars and consider myself knowledgeable, but when reading this forum, I feel like a kit entering first grade. But I have built a lot of kits over the years, including over 100 AMT '40 Fords. First, the engine on the AMT '49 Ford is a Cadillac. I think sometime during a re-pop AMT removed the Cadillac name from the valve covers, but in the original instructions, the Cadillac valve covers were offered in chrome, and on the instruction sheet, the engine was referred to as a Cadillac. Next, I never saw the Palmer '40 Ford back in the old days. I always considered Palmer a manufactuer of cheap lousy kits. That was perception THEN. In '95, when the Lindberg '40 Ford came out, even though I was put off by the pink car on the box art, I breathed a large sigh of relief then because I had a massive case of insecurity that AMT for one reason or another wasn't ever going to reissue the '40 Ford coupe. Geesh was I wrong. So, I picked up a whole bunch of Lindberg '40 Ford coupes and had a real mixed reaction when I opened the box. First, I was completely put off by the pink plastic and paint provided. Second, the flathead motor was atrocious. A chrome radiator? Come on. The on close inspection of the body, saw those horrible modifications to the side grilles, the naugahyde rear window covers, the what-evers on the running boards, and I determined the only way to build the car was a full on sectioned custom, with spare parts motor, and other parts as they were needed. The other thing I noticed and I am not real detail oriented was the rear window on the driver side was too long, but not enough to make me sick. I was pleased that Palmer stole a kit from AMT and pirated it without much abandon. The parts are interchangeable, which is OK by me. But after sectioning it, and opening up the doors and trunk, the model one night literally exploded/deteriorated in my hands while wet sanding my body work. I had to use a ton of superglue, underside structural reinforcing plastic, body putty, and 2part epoxy to restore the car and it is now ready for paint. When Lindberg came out with the "blue" redone '40, you could see where the tooling was altered to take off the ghastly stuff on the pink model. Still not up to AMT's work, but enough to keep me tided over in case I depleted my '40 Ford kit stock. On the other hand, while I am writing this I am painting a re-do of my very first AMT '40 Ford Coupe I purchased as a kid in 1960, and the plastic was as fresh as any new AMT I have on my work table. Down here in SoFla where there are rich people all over the place, there are several Wallys, within 10 miles of where I live. Also there are 2 Michaels Arts and Crafts, as well. plus Kmarts and other chain arts and crafts stores carrying models. Plus LHS's. As of this writing on August 16, the Wallys are carrying the Merc, the Revell "41 Chev pickup, and the Dodge L700/trailer/'40 Ford (for 25 bucks). The '40 Ford in this multi-kit is the Palmer/Lindberg version with the some of the poorly attempted body corrections. I hope I provided some insight of past models from my perspective. Back to painting my '40 Ford custom coupe and as soon as I learn to reduce my photographs to fit the file requirements here, I will post pictures of everything I have done, and everything going on. Any help either on forum or by email would be greatly appreciated. The error message I get when I try to attach a photo from my camera is that the file is too large. Thanks in advance, Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

You guys are so right. Not every Wally world carries these beautiful models. I went to the store in Boca Raton, and you would think that the one in this rich town would have carried them but they didn't. So I traipsed back to the one in surrounding Coral Springs, about 4 miles away, and voila still had 5 left, so I picked up two more and now I have more than I need. I haven't been this excited about new kits since the Revell '40 Fords and the '56 Chev. Way to go. Now only if we could get Dave Burket to buy AMT the model car world would be just about perfect. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Hang in there guys, I signed up for photobucket.com, took more pictures of the Pactra cars and work in progress and now working on uploading the jpg files to photobucket, then will transfer to this forum. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Mr. O, Thanks for the tip. The error read I got when I posted my photos as attachment were that the attachments exceeded the 500K limit. So, I will follow your lead, register for the service, and start to post the pictures. I also have all of the 20 cars I have underway photographed, as I work on them concurrently. When the putty, paint, glue is drying on one, I go to the other. They all have progressed about the same, and the body work is done, mock ups (I started doing that recently) are almost done, and painting is about half done. I devote one complete day to a finish paint job, then another day to wet sand the first clear coat, then apply another clear coat and polish it with my kit. I hope these come out. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

The AMT '40 Ford Coupe and '40 Ford Sedan Delivery (now boxed as a "woodie") both have nailhead Buick motors, which to me, are pretty vanilla and asking for details. The '40 Ford Sedan has an Olds engine with old time Hillborn Fuel Injection intake. The AMT '65 - '67 Rivieras which you can pick up at swap meets for not too much, both have decent nailhead motors, but have axle holes in the blocks that need filling up. Thanks for the inquiry, you have refreshed my interest in these motors, as I thought these were no longer popular. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

The AMT '40 Ford Coupe and '40 Ford Sedan Delivery (now boxed as a "woodie") both have nailhead Buick motors, which to me, are pretty vanilla and asking for details. The '40 Ford Sedan has an Olds engine with old time Hillborn Fuel Injection intake. The AMT '65 - '67 Rivieras which you can pick up at swap meets for not too much, both have decent nailhead motors, but have axle holes in the blocks that need filling up. Thanks for the inquiry, you have refreshed my interest in these motors, as I thought these were no longer popular. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Sorry, guys, I tried to upload the photos I have of the cars, but the host did not accept them. I would appreciate some help, as I am probably some kind of klutz and maybe I just forgot to hit the right prompt. Any assistance would be appreciated. I could email them to someone and maybe they could post it for me, or give me some instructions as to how to get my photos on this forum. You heard of trial and error, this trial and resulting error. Ken "FloridaBoyt" Willaman

As I am speeding toward my latest fleet of new builds, I thought I would share with you two cars that I displayed at our latest contest to rekindle memories of several of us old guys that built back then. Both of these cars were built in 1962 - 1963 and haven't been touched since, and have been carefully kept in storage, as they are now. The first one is a Lime Green Metalflake '40 Ford Sedan, which has been sectioned, channeled, gull-wing doors opened with working hinges, molded in fenders, quad lights, reformed grille. The 'flake effect was created by using Pactra Candy Lime Green then hitting it with very light silver, gold, and black overspray. The paint has kept its lustre, and the body putty hasn't acted since I built the car. The second car is a Candy Sapphire Blue '40 Ford Coupe, with essentially the same body treatment, only different headlights made from fuel tanks from the '36 Ford. Again, the paint has kept its lustre, and no body putty has shrunk or any glue surfaced. Both cars have the curduroy and naugahyde interiors, thread for spark plug lines, etc, which were the state of the art back then. As long as the paint lasts, I do not plan to re-do these and will continue to display them when I enter my other cars in contests in the coming year. I hope you enjoy a trip back to way back then. Another interesting note is that these models were produced in 1960 and 1961 by AMT, and the plastic is the same today as was back then. I thought it would get brittle, but I am working now on another car I had back then and the properties of that plastic are no different than a modern model. Although I don't want to date myself, I was 13 - 15 years old when these cars were built, and I am 60 years old now. The third car winning my other Pegasus trophy has been donated to the National Model Car Museum, and is on display there today. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman