jbwelda

and this kinda says it all, doesn't it? PS: Tim's photo...

this is just so totally kool its unbelievable. I rarely buy multiples of kits, at least not right off, but I need at least three of these. too killer. thanks for that detailed view Tim, it totally sold me. heres something ive not seen touched on so far, that pilot figure. looks really good in the pics Tim supplied. I recall the original as being way too big (but it fit the out of scale Sizzler), two piece figure that looked bad when done due to the seams (unsurmountable when I was 12 years old). but the one in the pics looks very realistic and nice period garb, and especially if it is in scale, might be a great piece to use in a lot of situations. jb

if your attorney is even half worth his salt, you will get your money for your original car in spades, including all his fees, plus a significant payment for "pain and suffering" (eg: inconvenience, waste of time away from family (boo hoo)). its typical that insurance companies (which is essentially who you are dealing with) will play hard ball with "that's our final offer" but they change their tune as soon as they are contacted by an attack dog lawyer when they know darn well they are 100% wrong and the publicity is gonna kill them. sic em perry... jb

I was thinking about trying some Cortina taillamps with that Kammback rear end: totally inappropriate probably though...but I like them and they look particularly good on this unknown car:

hey thanks, I wonder if that is the only style they came with. usually applications like that lights from some other car are used...I wonder if those are from something else like maybe a Hillman wagon? thanks again mike jb

looks great and I wouldn't worry too much how long it takes to complete a project, whether its the engine or the whole car. things usually end up looking better when you take your time with it. about the wash, you might think about going to a water based wash. that way it wont "melt" the underlying finish you have built up with paint, sometimes that can expose the base plastic color which you don't want. if you use a water based wash its also easier to wipe off with a Q tip if you get too much on. and in most instances it only looks like you put too much on until it dries. try getting some India ink and dilute it down a bit with water or alcohol (I use denatured but they look at you funny at the drug store when you ask for it), or there is this line of products called "Detailer" that is basically different colored water based wash in a little bottle. anyway great work there and keep it up, lets see what its going into! jb

what I really need right now are some taillights, or at least a good clear photo of the rear of a 1:1...any suggestions gratefully accepted. and of course comments or criticisms are welcome! jb

well this one has bubbled to the top of my workbench so time for a little update for any still interested! body is getting trimmed with BMF, not going at all bad, but still have to do the thin chrome trim on lower body and along wheel well tops. have gotten the rear bumper and window trim all done and looks not too bad at all. paint still needs another rubbing and perhaps a final clear coat after the BMF...we shall see. my problem though is I keep finding "gotcha"s and here is an example: the inner door panels that are supposed to attach to the insides of the body before it is attached to the chassis/interior, have to clear the bar that holds the front of the seats up off the floor. that's because the door panels have already been sectioned to allow the sectioned body to fit down on the chassis with them in place. normally the bulged out part of the door panel are above that bar, as you can see here in out-of-box vs. sectioned and notched panels: so heres the problem in a picture says a thousand words: and heres a solution. you can't see any of this with the body on so little nicks and scratches don't really matter:

that is super and I totally admire your philosophy on buying parts vs making them. but still you should look through RMM's catalogue, that might be a bit more difficult to do than say though because as far as I know its not anywhere on the web and you have to contact Norm to get one sent. now if you are used to making parts, maybe you could get something going with norm to share those parts with us through him using your parts as a master! jb

>you should use the Attempt 1 chassis I think the attempt 1 chassis is aka "dragmaster" chassis part pack...primary difference vs the "mooneyes" chassis is that the dragmaster includes the upper hoops (under cowl at its front and rear) and for some strange reason those chassis hoops are not present on the Mooneyes version. very strange. and of course the attempt 1 version has different side panels than the mooneyes or the dragmaster versions but that is body panel and not chassis itself. edit: just checked (looked at photos) and I don't think the attempt 1 chassis does have those upper hoops...that leaves the dragmaster parts pack chassis as the best to use for the mooneyes dragster unless someone knows something I don't on the matter... jb

then there is the mysterious case of the revell "mooneyes" small block chevy (as used in the Mooneyes dragster and also available in parts pack): versus the (imo) superior AMT SBC that also somehow could be built into a front blower swept back pipe version remarkably similar to Revell's!

I would contact revell by phone or their website and I bet they will either give you the parts (probably the whole chrome sprue) or offer to sell them to you for a reasonable price. that's assuming the kit is anywhere near recent vintage. its been my experience that they really go out of their way to help those who contact them. best of luck on the model. oh yeah...if you do try to fix the axle, try drilling holes in both pieces and putting a bit of wire or rod in them to secure them. otherwise you might be continually bugged with that wheel falling off when the axle snaps again, and it will unless reinforced. jb

thanks for the correx; I been looking for one of those Taco mini bikes for a while now, these little thing make great quick builds. jb

One year my buddy Jerry and I built this to raffle off at the NNL West. we hung out a few evenings working on stuff and it was a blast, best time I have had building a model ever. So this had to be my favorite build...I built the V12 flathead and suggested the Orange Crate body, while other members of our club (City Styles, Sacramento CA) built up the beginnings of a chassis and Jerry and I figured out the final running gear and engineered it all to touch on four corners! Turned out pretty nice Jerry Amaral did all the paint and graphics, it was quick but effective: I gotta build some thing Orange Crate based this year, I just dig that body. jb

amt triumph: revell parts pack Honda: little mini bike that came with Vandal van I think:

I found that Tamiya's pearl white seemed to be pretty much pearl clear with only a little bit of color in it. so yeah, shoot it with pure white and then follow up with the pearl white. then I would finish with some normal clear on top. jb

you know, after living with the way oversize one for 50+ years, how ironic would it be for its "upgrade" to be UNDER size!!!! but I doubt it is...just couldn't be. jb

>Revell '57 Ford has one similar. thanks...you mean the new fireball Roberts one? and so any of its precedents? I might have one of these on the shelf, am going to go look. meanwhile any others? thanks again! jb

am building the mooneyes dragster and would like to be able to find a master cylinder and/or reservoir like in this photo: you can see it in between the two support rods going from the brake support tube to the front hoop. its pretty well hidden so blob-ish will do but the crisper the better. I was wondering if anyone knew a specific kit that contains something close, or maybe an aftermarket manufacturer? I am going to call reps and mins of Maryland tomorrow... many thanks if anyone comes up with something...I got a bunch of kits on the shelves so hopefully one of those will have one...darned if I can find time to go searching through them! heres a look at my scale frame as of yesterday : jb

I would have to agree on the slingster even though I have not seen one yet, just the concept does it for me. plus the moebius 300B and the Rat Roaster (if that was from 2013...I think it was). jb

turned out excellent especially for your third model! now move on to the Orange Crate...a whole new level of challenge but much simplier in execution! jb

auctions work in different ways; on ebay it has always worked like this: you set a starting bid and then you can set a "reserve" price IN EXCESS OF THAT STARTING PRICE under which you are not obligated to sell the item. the catch was, and possibly still is, that an auction with a "reserve" price cost more to list and possibly cost more once the item sold. in addition the cost to the seller was based in part on the starting bid. it drives me crazy when people set starting bids so high, but no more really than all the "buy it now" at a high price nonsense. but that's the way they set it up so that's the rules no matter what the rest of the world presumably does. maybe I don't know what im talking about, have only been using ebay regularly for about 15 or so years now. jb

> Either way, repackaging "freshens" old product. It's marketing. exactly what I was referring to, but a bit more on target than my somewhat flippant remark. jb

ive used some rustoleum similar paint but it didn't come out nearly as good looking as illustrated above. ps: I'm told I look like john lennon a bit. maybe me and you can do a "lost weekend" LA style some time harry! jb

I like that asphalt look. I am going to have to find some of this to redo a road surface I tried a bunch of years ago. I wonder where I can find some? edit: never mind, Google is your friend even if it spies on you! jb