nitro norman

Looks great ! You are right. Those tires do make a big difference. I wish some one would make decals for this one.

I have some pics of the real car in my files that I thought I would share.

Nice job ! It looks like a gasser !

The parts look great. I can't help but notice the texture on them. Please forgive my ignorance, but are they easy to sand smooth ? Is this material similar to styrene ? I work at a dental lab and we 3D print some of our partials and they come with a texture on them also. I know, because I have to finish them. LOL

Very Nice ! It's not easy to get those Polar Lights bodies to sit right on the chassis. You got it right. Good job.

I am relatively new here and I like the forum very much. I like seeing how others work and I like finding out about new products and where to get them. However , I am not new to the hobby. I have been building off and on since the sixties. I remember how I looked forward to the new issues of Car Model and Model Car Science each month. Jim Keeler, Hank Borger, Don Emmons and others were my teachers. I read Jim Keelers series of how to articles on building Dodge Fever 2 so many times that the magazines came apart. New modelers come on this forum and lookto the experienced modelers on this forum the same way I looked to those guys. I think we should all remember this. New modelers must realize that learning to build good models takes time and patience. Don't be intimidated buy the super detailed expertly painted models on here. You'll get there. You must also realize that model car parts don't always fit the way they are suppose to. This is especially true of a lot of the older kits that are being reissued. Sometimes you have to fiddle with it. Always test fit before you glue anything. We all get nostalgic about the old days, but truthfully, there has never been a better time to be a modeler than today. We have allthese great kits ( old and new ) to choose from. We have all these aftermarket parts, decals, paint, etc. And we have this forum where modelers new and old can come to see and learn. We should try to make it a pleasant experience. Those who post models should expect helpful criticism and everyone should leave their egos out of it.

I don't know if you are aware of this , but there are two You Tube videos on Prudommes 74 Vega. One is a cackle video and the other is a video tour of the car . Short, but better than nothing. I found these by accident. Hope it helps.

Nice job, beautiful paint !

I finally got up to the Hendricks Museum and I'm sorry, but the Vega funny car is not on display there. It's all Hendrick's race cars ( Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, etc. ) Some alternatives you might have are these. One of Prudommes Cudas is in the Garlit's Museum. It was probably set up about the same as the Vega. If you know some one down there, maybe they could get some pics for you. Also I think Prudomme has a lot of his cars on display at his shop. Don't remember which ones ,but if one of the Cudas is there, again, maybe someone could get some pics there. From what I remember, Prudomme only drove the Vega for a short time and didn't like it for some reason and went back to the Cuda .Seems that the chassis ,engine ,etc. should be about the same. Also, I don't know if the Vega was ever in any magazine articles, but if it was maybe you can find it on e-bay. I've never built a replica on the level that you are doing, but I know how frustrating it can be trying to find reference, since many of the cars I'm interested in don't even exist any more. You may just have to fill in the blanks with your imagination. Good luck with the rest of this build. I wish I could be of more help.

Welcome, Steve. Looking forward to seeing your models. I've always wanted to visit England. Maybe I'll make it someday.

Finally got back to this Mustang. I got the front wheels on , modified the interior tin to fit over the fuel lines etc., and made a fuel tank strap out of aluminum roof flashing. I was worried about the stance , but it turned out o.k. I like the way it sits. I didn't like the kits rear hinge, so I've got to figure out a new one. I'll be back.

How about an MPC Chevette or MPC Pinto wagon ( I've wantedto build Pro Street versions of these for years ) instead of this nonsense.

I don't understand why they would put the car in the museum and not let the public see it either. I have been to The Childress Museum, Petty's, and a few others, but never to Hendrick's. Maybe they have it with his personal collection and only let the public see the Nascar collection. I don't know. I go up that way on a regular basis, and I'll probably be up there next week. Go ahead and post the e-mail if you like. I will check it out as soon as I can. As I said, I would like to see and get pics of these cars also. I do know that Rick Hendricks has a huge collection of his own cars up there ( Vettes, etc. ) and I fear that the Prudomme cars may be with those. I think he just lets family and V.I.P. s see them. Anyway I'll find out as soon as I can.

This build is mind boggling. I can't wait to see it finished. I saw in one of your posts that you were trying to get the Hendricks people to take photos for you. I live about 40 miles from Hendricks Motorsports. Is the Prudomme car on display in the museum ? If it is, I would gladly go take some pics for you and post them, as I would like to see the car myself.

one more

Here's a few more.

Here's one of mine. AMT Camaro funny car body. Chassis scratch built from Evergreen plastic square rod. Interior made from aluminum roof flashing. Engine from MPC 57 Chevy gasser. Detail Master combination fittings and braided line. Other parts from here and there. Paint I Testors One Coat Laquer.

This is one of my all time favorite Funny Cars. Going back to the windshield, I think it's good to keep in mind that drag cars and race cars changed from race to race and track to track, just as they do today. The windshield changes were probably due to experimentation. In my opinion building it either way is o.k.

Looks like you are getting off to a great start and taking the time to do it right. I have a similar story. I am 57 yrs old and live in South Carolina. In 1969 my father took me to the now long gone Blaney Drag Strip. The main reason that I wanted to go was that Jungle Jim was going to be there match racing. After arriving and finding a seat, I remember looking over toward the pits and seeing Jungle Jim's Nova sitting out there with the body up. I asked my Dad if we could go over there and look at it. We did,and I remember standing there fascinated as the crew prepared the car for the race. After a little while Jungle walked up. As he walked over to the car he walked right by me, rubbed my head and said something about my red hair. This is one of my fondest childhood memories. I was at Z Max earlier this year at the 4 Wide Nationals. Iwas standing at the fence by the staging lanes taking pics of Tony Schumacher preparing for his next run. A couple of kids came up to him and he took the time to talk to them, even though he was about to get in that car and go 320 mph. I'm sure that they will remember that for the rest of their lives as I remember Jungle Jim taking the time to talk to me. Never underestimate the power of influence.

The Malco Gasser Just the fact that Round 2 brought this kit back in it's original form ( with improvements ) impressed the heck out of me. I never thought I would see this kit again. The Ohio George 33 Willys Another one from round 2. Never thought I would see this one again either. Round 2 went the extra mile with the large box and the booklet with great reference photos. Young American and Garlit's Winnscharger dragsters. These are great kits for those who wish to build Top Fuel dragsters in their final phase before the rear engine revolution. Again these are from Round 2. None of these kits are perfect by today's standards, but it impresses me that Round 2 would bring back these great old kits.

I've got to put throttle linkage on it, headers, seat belts, starter bracket, Fuel tank hold down strap, put the front wheels on, finish modifying the interior tin , and a few other things.

I got the crimp tubes at Michael's. I think they are used for making necklaces. I bought a big supply a few years ago. I haven't looked lately, so I'm not sure if they still have them. The slicks in the Kalitta kit have the Goodyear logo printed on them. Thanks for the compliment.

Thanks, Stephen. Just got to get it finished.

This build started out as a paint test and turned into a project This is the older AMT version of this kit with rear tires from the current Connie Kalitta version. The front wheels are from the Revell Hawaiian. I used Detail Master Combination fittings and braided lines, Hard fuel lines are from craft wire with crimper tubes for fittings. Chassis and engine block were painted with Tamiya gloss black. Driver's compartment and debri panels were painted with One Coat Icy Blue. on the body I used Tamiya matte white for the base coat. Next, I sprayed on Testors One Coat Icy Blue over the whole body. I then sprayed One Coat Star Spangled Blue along the bottom of the body. This was done with the can,not an airbrush, and it turned out great. I then applied One Coat clear and polished it out with a polishing kit. Hopefully, posting this will motivate me to finish this build soon. The thing I like most about this build is the paint. That Icy Blue is a beautiful color.

Testors has a great line of Laquer paints. Their One Coat Laquer line has some beautiful colors. Their clear coat is great too. These colors dry very fast and the clear polishes out beautifully. Tamiya also has a great line of laquer paint. However , for some reason ( something to do with California laws ) their clear is no longer available in this country. They do have a pearl clear that is real nice. Since the Tamiya clear is no longer available; I use the One Coat clear on Tamiya, and it works fine. MCW has a huge line of laquer colors for both production cars and race cars. Black Gold has a large selection of House of Kolor laquer in spray and jars for airbrushing. Duplicolor laquer is used by many. Their Filler Primer is the only one I use. I haven't used their other colors much. You have to be careful with Duplicolor. (except for the primer ) as it is pretty strong and can attack the plastic. AT least that's my experience with it. But, it's been a while since I've tried it. Well, I hope this helps. Maybe others can add to this list. As far as model car painting goes, laquer is still going strong.