Ragnar

My user name is my Radio call sign from 1967. My Avatar is the fastest 1/32 GT Car in the Area. I first set up that Mosler over four years ago and it has never lost a race! Even though it is a totally stock as it came from the factory parts wise. I just went through the car and set it up to have a perfectly flat chassis, and friction free bushings and properly meshed gears. I made sure I trued the wheels and Tyres to where they are perfectly true, and I replaced the rear tyres with Yellow Dogs( which is legal under the rules for factory GT) I also replaced the front tyres with Slotit Zero Grips. The rules actually allow changing the gears and wheel to metal one, but I have retained the factory plastic gears, as they are lighter. The Car is now Banned at two of the Traccks I run at, so I am now running a Supra that is winning the Races

The mail brought the photoetch parts from MCG that I need for a couple of Muscle Cars I am working on!

I use Photo Shop, but it isn't cheap! you can use any image making software to make decals, just make sure the background is set as clear!

If you do it that way, it will look like the metal gold!

I would agree on the Paasche H model as the very best single action airbrush and a good one to start with, but when you want to move up to a Double Action I recomend the Paashe VL, or Talen siphon models, and for a fine detail brush the Talon Gravity Feed. You can't Buy a better brush than the ones made by Paasche. I have tried IWATA Brushes and I own one , But they are no better than the Paasche Brushes, they just cost three times as much or more. Badgers are no where as good as the Paashe. I haven't tried the Grex becase I am not comfortabl with a pistol grip airbrush. The Paasche is the oldest brand of airbrush in the world, because they were the original airbrush, starting in 1904, and they are american made!

That is some Wild Tyres!

Great colour combo, and great looking foil work. I will be a very nice looking Hudson!

Sorry I got that Backwards, it has been Awhile since I built either of those kits, and You are correct about the coupe having the Nailhead. I just looked in my stash and the Coupe has a nailhead but not a very good one. I looked threw my old Plans file and the Olds in the 40 Sedan isn't bad for the time period the kit was made in, but it hasn't been in production for a long time. The new Revell 50 Olds is going to be a much better engine with a lot more detail! Revell Hurry and Release The Olds! There is No way that I am going to take the Motor out of my Orange Crate, that kit is just to hard to replace!

I think with me it is my determination to get the details right. Things like only using semi gloss paint on ccars from the thirties and not using any parts on my Early Hot Rods that wasn't available during the period the car is supposed to be from. I also spend a lot of time detailing my builds to look correct for their period. But I'm still not exactly sure why it is that I can always recognise who built certain cars. I just know that when I see a model built by people like Tim, Lyle Willets, Barry Fadden, Donn, or You Virgil I recognise who built it. There are other peoples builds I also recognise when I see them!

AMT's 40 ford sedan, and Pickup both have a Nail Head with three Deuces. But a better choice is the Resin Nail Head from The Parts Box. I have used the one from The Parts Box in three Builds, and I have one that will go in my 25 Ford Chopped Coupe that is inspired by The LA Choppers Build: Bad News. Bad News has a 51 Olds in it, but right now there isn't a good early Olds available. I'm looking forward to Revells release of the 50 Olds!

We all need to be careful not to do what I did,and endangered my health. I was trying to get them done so that I could paint them this weekend. I still need to modify the bodies of three of them before I can paint them, and I now have hands that are too sore to work with! It would be so much easier if Revell had actually made an accurate COPO Body instead of just using the Body from the SS. I know that most people who buy the kit don't Know the Differance. But my hands do after using a chissel and sanding the area smooth

Have you ever Gotten so intto building you forgot to stop? I started Washing and cleaning up five 69 Novas Tuesday evening and got so into it that I didn't notice the time. Next thing I knew it was 6:AM, and my Daughter was getting her son up for school. I put away the one I was working on and, ate a little breakfast with them, and went to bed. My wife says that she tried several time during Wed. to wake me up but couldn't. I didn't wake up until after Midnight, and when I did my blood glucose was only 39, and I almost blacked out before I could get a couple of Glucose Tablets into me. Also the joints of both my hands are swollen. I am going to have to be more careful about how long I work on My Builds!

Other than the engine being against the firewall, It looks Great!

I love watching the V8 Super Cars! They actually look like the cars sold by Holden and Ford, instead of the template cloes that run in NASCAR. As far as I am concerned Bathhurst is the best race of the year and I look forward to it every year. I see that next Season Nisan will enter a team in The Super Cars. I wonder how well that will work out?

The Doc is a big part of this Forum. Virgil I hope you will always be a part of this Group!

Welcome to the Forum Ed! Nice Vicky!

Excellent Tutorials! Thanks for posting the link to it!

I always add a few drops of thnner to my paint each time I use it. This keeps it from thickening up. I also put a little petroleum jelly in thread before closing the bottle. This does two things it helps to keep air out, and it keeps the lid from sticking to the bottle.

Great Tutoria! Thank You for posting it!

Great Tip, I will look for some of these! Thank you for posting it!

I have been using 5 min. epoxy to make lenses for well over thirty years! I first learned to do this from a model Aircraft Magazine in the early 70s. I was asked about how I made My lenses on my 32 Ford Three Window by one of the Forum members last year, and told him about this method. It is the best way Ihave ever found to do lenses. Yes you can use artist tints or transparent acrylic to ten the epoxy. I have used both Devcon, and Loctite brand 5 min. epoxy to make lenses. The Tail light lenses on several of my builds are made with tinted epoxy. Crystle Clear makes great flat lenses if you only put a thin coat on them!

First Decide whether you want IRON, STEeL, STAINLESS,CHROME, WHITE HEADER PAINT, OR Rapped HEADERS. FOR Cast iron headers: First prime them black, then mist on some red oxide, leting it specle the black, then take brown ink that you have thined with about 6-8 parts thinner to one part ink, and do a light wash over the complete header, let this dry and then use a slightly heavier brown ink wash, starting at the area where the pipes connect to the engine exaust ports and fading the ink lighter as it gets furthe from the ports. Then if you wish to show that at sometime the header was subject to extreme heat(Like when the engine has been ran lean) you can take blue ink that has been thinned 8 parts thinner to 1 part ink and do a fade wash starting at the exaust port and getting lighter as it goes away from the exaust ports along the front side of the pipes. For Steel headers: I first spay them with Testors Steel Metalizer and let them dry over night. The I do a light brown wash starting at the engine exaust port end of the pipe, let this dry, and then do a very thin blue ink wash on the front side of the pipes fadin it as it gets futher from the exaust ports. Use the same Thinning ratios as before. For Stainless Steel I preffer ALCAD Stainless Steel, but you can also get good results with Testors Stainless Steel Metalizer. The staining method is the same as for the Steel Headers. For Chrome Headers: First let me say that I don't like the chroming on the kit headers, so I usually remove it with Purple Power, so that I can clean up the mold lines, etc. The I either Spray them with the ALCAD CHROME SYSTEM, or I send them to be Chromed. Either way the Staining method is the same as the Steel Headers. If You are using solder, or silver wire: all you need to do is buff them well, and then use the same method as above, but you will need to build up the stain with lighter coats, as solder and wire has a slicker surface. For Rapped Pipes: First rap them using 3/16 Drafting tape and then spray them whatever colour you want them to be, I normally paint them white that has had a Couple of drops of tan added to it. when the paint is dry, give them a thin was of your thiinned down brown ink. then if you want to make the ares around the exaust port connection look like it has gotten very hot, you can give this area a very thin wash of Tamiya Smoke. Painted headers: For white painted headers, First spray them with an off white, after they are dry, give them a wash of brown ink starting at the exaust port connection area and fade it lighter as it gets further from the exaust ports. You can also use a very thin blue wash on the front of the pipes but do it very very lightly. Tom

Actually There are several flat and Satin finished cars in Don's Collection! Yes MAGS does a great job with the Model Car show! The Models have always been inside, exposing them to the weather would not be a good idea, especially Ocala's Weather.

The most important tool is your eyes. so always protect them, by using the right lighting, and wear eye protection when you sand, file, use caustic cleaners, grinders, and when you do any spraying. I lost the sight in my left eye about four years ago, due to a tumor that was putting preasure on my optic nerve. My Doctors were able to shrink the tumor with a drug, that I now have to take for the rest of my life,and they saved my right eye, but the left one was blind. It took me a long time to get used to the change and teach myself to be able to work on my models again as my depth perception was all messed up. It has made me think about taking care of the sight I have left. I now need very strong close up lenses to see the detailing on my models, and I can no long work on them for long periods the way I used to do. I now have to take a break every 20-30 minutes to let my eye rest for an hour or more before I can start working again. I know that my detail work is not what it was before I lost the eye, but I am determined to get bak to being able to do as well as I could before! So take good care of your eyes and get regular eye exames!

Jeffery Welcome to the group! I like the Early Hot Rods, sometimes Very Early, before the Hot Rod lable was even thought of! But I enjoy building all kinds of Model Cars. I will get an idea for a build, and then I will research the type of car, or truck it is, and make a building plan for i,t and start gathering the parts and matterial I will need to build it. I ussually end up putting a lot more modifications and details into a build than I had originally plan. This means that I will end up taking anywhere from Three, or Four months to years to get them finished. I ussually end up doing a lot of kit bashing, and making sratch made parts for my builds. My wife keeps saying to me that I need to stop adding to builds and finish them, well I do eventually get them finished, but almost every time I look at the finished model and see something else I could have done to it!