John Goschke

Vinyl tires are the enemy of polystyrene packing peanuts, chips, and kit parts. Generally the softer the tire the more likely they are to adversely effect styrene. Further discussion here... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/122957-why-havent-the-model-companies-addressed-the-problem-with-tire-melt/

Nice work making something very cool from such unpromising raw material!

Amazing work!

Room temperature. Here they are when I first got them. I put them, along with the custom Lancer caps from the Impala kit, on this AMT '60 T-bird using old AMT wheel backs and wire axles. I had to wrap some additional styrene strip around the wheel backs to get the tires to fit. Within several weeks the tires had softened the edges of the wheel backs enough that the tires would not stay on and the edges of the whitewall inserts were softened and distorted.

In spite of the fact that I build mostly old kits where dealing with tire melt damage is often an issue, the worst case of melt I've seen is from a more recent kit. This little horror show came from a 2009 issue of the Revell-ogram '59 Impala hardtop. The styrene inserts are from the same plastic as the rest of the kit and they are now the consistency of chewy caramel. It's a shame the tires are so toxic because otherwise they're really nice!

Now that I'm calling the '58 Impala ragtop finished I've returned to this neglected project thanks to an eBay find with a very clean body. Clean, except for the chipped fins and damage to the front bumper and fender and the ancient green hobby enamel which I was able to pull off with masking tape! For the moment I'm digging that natural ivory & white two-tone! Here's a little step-by-step on the fin repair. The original plan was to use spare custom fins from another old kit but once the fins were notched for the graft I realized the custom pieces were too thin. Plan B came into play when I looked at the original '58 kit chassis and realized the rear corners would provide another source for the donor bits. Because I'm using a '59 Ford chassis for the actual build, cutting up the original chassis won't be a problem. After cutting the end of the new pieces at a rough angle, they were superglued in place. The right angle notch makes a very firm joint. A trusty #11 blade was used to carve the grafted pieces closer to the final shape... Once the new tips were carved close enough to the final shape, I used flat, elliptical, and round section files to get the final contour. Though the stock '58 Ford fins had a more rounded tip, I think it might be cool to retain these sharper tips for my custom. Next will be finish sanding the grafted fins followed by quite a bit of mold line cleanup and accurizing body shapes and window molding details and removing all those nice, crisp emblems. But no nasty scratch or glue damage repair from skirts or other custom junk!

Great job, Andy! Your work is always an inspiration and it's great to see something from your bench! Hope you're doing well!

Nice! Great stance and excellent color choice.

Guilty as charged!

Wow, this is cool! How did I manage to miss it till now?!

Man, that is cool! I don't know much about NASCAR but I love the aggressive look this has with the wide wheels and tires and killer stance! Plus the fact that it's a "Customline" hardtop rather than a Fairlane, along with that color combo, adds to the coolness quotient!

Thanks, Ron. I usually don't carry my camera to these events as my tremor prevents shooting hand-held, but I'm sure there'll be plenty of coverage of the whole show as always! Thanks for the kind offer Chris but I've got it covered. Just need to print them out and mount them.

Thanks for the comments, guys! Once I get the plates on and the carpet flocked I want to try to get some better photos that'll show the flames to best advantage. Ron, I like your idea and I'd be honored to display this model next to Bill's superb stock Impala, since that was one of the models, along with Irv Arter's black '56 Merc mild custom, that made me want to starting building car models again!

Finished up the interior, though I'll likely take it apart to add flocking to the carpet before NNL East. For now though all she needs are some license plates...

One of the best... http://www.customcarchronicle.com/ Including this... http://www.customcarchronicle.com/photo-archives/larry-watson-personal-collection/larry-watson-painted-fords/ Vintage photos are your best reference for period authenticity, if that's important to you.

Very sad news. His voice will be missed on this forum and in the hobby at large. An extremely talented modeler whose work was always an inspiration to look at. I'd love to see a pinned gallery of his work as a memorial! I'll have to make sure I put outside rear view mirrors on my next model in his honor!

That is so beautiful, Steve! So perfect. I love the blackwash you used on the grills and moldings to make the detail pop – looks very crisp! Oh, and good luck with the move!

Really nice build! Nice pix too! I think this color was called "Skymist Blue" in 1960 and is a little lighter than 1959's "Wedgewood Blue." But unless you see them next to each other you'd think they were the same!

Nice clean build!

Nice build! I like the subtle chop and the Meteor-style side trim! But what's with the transit bus steering wheel angle?

Perfection!

Don't know what else to say since all the superlatives have been so well-used by others, but this model is beautiful and inspiring. I love that it's so creative and well-designed, while being faithful to the "Streamline Modern" aesthetic and unmistakably a Model A roadster. Just brilliant!

Cool! Very, very impressive work on that sedan roof – profile looks great! Wheelbase on the Imperial was 129". Chrysler New Yorker, Saratoga, 300, was 126". But I'm sure the AMT 300 chassis would work with a little stretch. Basis for the 413 can probably be found in some Mopar kit from the '60s - I think the whole 361, 383, 413, 426 wedge, 440 series are basically similar for modeling purposes.

Beautiful build! Well photographed, too!