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Russell C

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Everything posted by Russell C

  1. A.k.a. the "Zamac tragedy" http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/155243-zamac-tragedy/ If I hadn't gotten straight Ds in chemistry, I'd have more fun finding out how that zinc alloy breaks down. "Zinc Pest" is part of the problem in zinc casting, and this alloy was supposed to cure that, but the cure only works so long as metal casters don't toss junk scrap into the molten metal mix.
  2. It's a Detroit Diesel, I thought it had much better detail than the AMT versions. But now, as it relates to the production years of the 4070As, a couple of questions to cure my senility about them: what year did that style of Alcoa Front Runners first come out? And what's the name of the 10-holes that were just an overall dome shape in cross section, no raised flat area for the lugnuts? That style from an AMT kit is what I put on my ancient history build of this kit.
  3. That's actually a tough question, particularly if you are aiming for real accuracy. It could be done with double-etched stainless steel, where the partway down etch creates the channel that you'd have to fill with black paint (unless you were building a 1977, where that trim had yellow paint for that model year only). The rest of the etch would cut all the way down through the metal to give you the separate pieces you need. Problem is, you'd have to hire somebody to do the artwork and actual photoeching, which involves quite a bit of meticulous measuring to get it to fit on your model just right. I used to work at a nameplate manufacturer that also did aerospace quality photo etching, a person needs to calculate what amount of oversize the artwork needs to be to compensate for double etching relative to the thickness of the metal, since that involves eating away the outer edges of the metal twice. I've wanted to build a '76 GMC Jimmy factory stock for quite some time in the High Sierra trim level, but the one barrier to accomplishing that project is how to do this exact kind of trim. In 24th scale, these would be really delicate pieces.
  4. Basically a mid 1970s Chevy pickup stepside, but with the custom front end. Never saw if this was based on a 1:1 custom truck. My one gripe with the kit is that if it was supposed to mimic a Peterbilt truck, it should have had the headlights in pods coming off the radiator shell. I wonder if the 32nd scale headlights from a Monogram Freightliner might be size-appropriate for this kit to get that Peterbilt look. I'd think the lights from the 25th scale AMT Peterbilt would be too large.
  5. I should have guessed! Back when I was a graphic artist at a nameplate manufacturer, we used CorelDRAW and film sheets for photoetch artwork and MetalPhoto processing, so somewhere around here I have leftover strips of 25th scale 1960 Cadillac gauges that I placed in the otherwise unused outer boundaries of the film sheets.
  6. There's an idea. But if one is good enough, more cylinders might be better. Soap, soapstone, fake kitchen countertopstone, that's our man!
  7. Oops. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTxEEKDkeu4&t=80
  8. Sleight of hand might need to be involved. Inlines sometimes don't point in the direction folks expect them to. Sky (line)'s the limit in some cases.
  9. Following, yours will be different than most. 17 months to GSL .... I need more time. Got my kit already, where so far the most different I can think of is putting an inline engine into it rather than a standard issue hotrod V8 or stock 4.
  10. "Close enough for jazz and government work" red color on an '88-era NASCAR differential. This was after an abortive attempt to get a color closer to a rusty red out of a dead can. Turns out this Krylon color in a light coat looks good enough for me on the black plastic. Last time I built one of these stock cars in 1987, I followed Monogram's paint callout for a gunmetal color (7th photo down in this series, all I had was silver), but it turns out these tended to be reddish, as seen in this '88 Miller Regal photo collection. Oh, yeh. It'll have a definitely identifiable GM body on it, no worries about that.
  11. Window net bracket (but not before dropping that dinky piece first and only guessing where it landed - successfully!) Gotta stop accumulating projects and instead complete more model cars this year. Happy New Year, everyone!
  12. Knowing Gregg as moderately well as I do from having met him in person several times, that's an understatement about his injuries that you can't begin to fathom.
  13. Welcome! As I mentioned to Vitaliy in Tomsk in his introductory post here, it is interesting to me to see what faraway cities such as Kharkiv look like via the GoogleStreetMobile views.
  14. You'll most likely choose a parts trade for a kit transaxle with one of the guys here which would make life easy, but it may still be worthwhile to mention that if it ends up being buried deep enough under your project, and if you have constraints in length where none of the kit versions will work out well, one other option is to raid your scrap parts pile and concoct your own design, where heat-stretch sprue and other scrap bits can serve as the ribbing and gussets on it.
  15. And via another land where the palm trees sway, Merry Christmas to all of you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FWNcgcosMY
  16. Welcome! I myself am amazed at how much territory the GoogleStreetmobile has covered around the world. You apparently have summertime there, from what's seen in that link. Right where I'm at now, it's 49°F, I can't imagine what the temperature is there in Tomsk at this time of year. Your English writing is good! If I say "da" or "nyet" or "bozhe moi" (from the Avengers movie) or "yo mayo" (from the 2009 Star Trek movie," then I've used up my entire Russian vocabulary.
  17. Wait 'til all these smart items become self-aware. Then how are ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm?
  18. Not bad overall, but I wish it had distinctly different taillights, and maybe a different rear bumper setup, but that just because I have this other image stuck in my mind ....
  19. That's fabulous! Been wondering for years if anything can be done with that old remote-control toy, and now I know!
  20. Thanks for the heads up! For those unaware of it, this specific Revell '29 roadster is the "Common Kit" designated for that category class in the last-ever 2022 GSL contest in Salt Lake City, where all entrants "may build the entry in any style or vintage. Regardless, all entered models must be based upon the parts from this kit. Entrants may also: i) swap parts from any other kit(s); ii) use any aftermarket parts (except for complete aftermarket resin bodies); and iii) use any building materials, techniques or technologies without restriction." Kicking around the idea of doing an offbeat re-interpretation of a famous old show rod, so better for me to snag one now at a discount price rather than later under ebay "rare" marked up status.
  21. When you get to the machined dots between the numbers on the tach and other dash gauges, you're gonna need a bigger dime! ?
  22. Oh, no! Never even thought of Smart Car, and now I can't unsee it!
  23. Save. Could be dressed up just a bit by adding chrome vent panels (adhesive-backed chrome mylar, from the extra material surrounding AAA stickers for 1:1 car bumpers). Myself, I'd also do Alcoa discs for the front wheels, like I did on my ancient IH 4070A.
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