10thumbs

If the red oxide paint was real bright red, there was some left on the trunk area of a very low mileage 57 Bel Air I owned back in 1969. The car had less than 40k miles on it and was in 1A condition overall.

Thanks Clayton for making this wonderful topic. I have a couple of new desktops, thanks. I hope you don't charge much concerning copyrights. lol.

Bruno, I have the 004 slicks, they'll fit a fender car with no problem. An A/FX mid 60's work well, they'd be too narrow though for early 70's F/C cars, my opinion. They are not fat slicks!

Wow! That's still a lot of bolts, x 2! But thanks for the insight. It's understandable.

Today it's the blond weather woman. Germany has a new all time high temp record. 105.4 °F. This guys, in Central Europe! The blond weather cutie grinned and smiled and told us tomorrow will be the same, just more humidity. Ugh!

Hi Luis, That's some really fine prep work you're doing! The setup for the refreshments looks very cool also, and usable! As you know I took a look at my 36 kit and man there are some serious trimming issues to deal with to get tit looking as smooth as yours. Respect. Michael

Hi Carl, do I read this correctly, the clear is a lacquer? Real lacquer paint, or do Testors just call it such? I thought real lacquer paints over enamels is a no-no. Won't work. I've tried it and had trouble, the piece was a mess. I've learned from a pro how it can work though. Have you used this Testors Clear Lacquer over glossy enamels before? Was it OK?

Hi Bill, These are some good looking Gassers. The dusty ones are cool too, like a garage find! The solder rods have probably leaked the flux that's inside of them. I can't say though how to get rid of the mess, sorry. I used solder rods for headers on a 33 Willys I built last year, I placed the rods in boiling water to get rid of the flux beforehand. Do you think the crust can be scraped off with a scalpel blade? Again, nice looking, cleanly built models. Michael

Surely this 1:25 model motor is an engineering and modeling marvel, but personally I find the amount and size of the brass bolts on a mirroring aluminum background as a bit too much. I find it distracts somewhat from the general, overall view. 8 bolts for a blower, why 30 for an intake of this nature?

Thanks guys! I had a guilty conscience about having too many kits. I have 10. 4 of them are doubles, because the parts are good. The other 2 suck, I wish I didn't have them. Should I chunk them?

Nice clean build, I like.

Hi Gary, Yep, thanks for posting pics of cars we don't see here too often, like FE Dragsters and also the Pure Heaven Altered close up pic. I for one am a big Fuel Altered fan, and I appreciate the closeup pics not readily found on the web. I'd be grateful for an interior shot of a Fiat Fuel Altered, whatcha got? Especially seat area with rear end and frame, then controls and steering. Thanks, Michael

Wow, now that's a lot of bolts! Are you going to plate them?

Hi Kevin, I thought it was a sunroof of some description. If I recollect, mine was clear plastic. I'll look again tomorrow if you're further interested.

That was a fun video! Amazing to think I've gotten this far along without apps.

Looking good Ray. What kind of motor does that nasty reptile have?

I'm staying with 7.

Ace, I think I've even seen those locomotives before, as a kid in a museum! Smithsonian? I'm an old railroad modeler myself. Amazing crafting skills shown there. Somewhere perhaps these early impressions over the decades have awoken anew the spirit of handmade brass things I like doing, or at least starting again. I don't think I'll ever bend fenders like some fellows here can do, but I just like the brass aspect of our hobby. Also, like guys have already stated, aluminum is a great medium to incorporate in styrene kits. I've added turning metal on my to-do list of modeling cars. Aluminum and brass are great on styrene models. Metal parts just enhance a styrene kit, my opinion.

Hi Jon, I'll just add a couple more to the list I have at the beginning of this topic, and see where it goes. I've listed all of the slicks I have (not many kits). Guys, list some tire sizes you have and I'll post them on the list up above. Good or not good? Feedback?

Hi Rob, I think maybe you over read this brass thing. The higher level of detail in brass just happens, it's a gimme. It's automatic. Pete's photo shows an early model frame, maybe a Ford Model A or something from this era, it will be visible when the model is finished. I like the idea of what's inside my models, even if it may be later unseen. This is though, as you stated, a mindset. I recently made a motor that has details that can't be seen in pics, but I can see them when I look close enough, plus knowing they're sitting there makes me happy and proud. For instance, if I were to do really machine parts in brass, and bend fenders from flat sheet metal like some gifted modelers on this forum, and the work was good, I'd leave it in brass too. Probably. After all, it is a model car. Pete will probably think of conservation, maybe clear lacquer. The difference is, it's all handmade. I like all brass models, you see them in museums. I used to build from scratch wooden sailing vessels, some didn't have the hull completely planked, just so you could see how the framework was really made back then. But it's just a model. You've posted an interesting topic.

Sharp looking car. Nice motor too!

Looking good Ray. When I see a Cobra I think small block and Weber carbs. I like the setup. Ray, did you copy/paste the pics? I not able upload any pics from PB lately, so I'm doing copy/paste. Michael

I agree with all that's been stated about the positive side of brass works. Plus, in my eyes styrene frames for instance look kind of blurry and soft. The smallest detail is visible when in metal. It's the sharp outline of metal that enthuses me, plus the parts can be made much finer in scale than in styrene. Pete J. above shows some beautiful metalwork, this possibility just thrills me. As Cato said, brass can be plated, even gold plated. Anyways, I'm lousy with styrene and I like metal. Brass is cheap. Solder it up, you don't like it, un-solder it and do it again. I'm hooked.

Clayton that is looking like a dragster now. Man that is a loooong wheelbase. I really like FED's, don't know why many aren't built. Cool looking model.

I think detailing is a preference that can be extended from build to build. Like Jon said in the beginning, every build trying to add a bit more detail. That's the way I see it too. 1st time around with plug wires. Next time with some fuel lines, and so forth. The comfort zone can be stretched occasionally, I think it's all piece by piece. I don't like plug wires that are way out of scale either. I like 1:25, and things are not big in this scale. I draw the line when it comes to replicating every bolt that is on an engine or rear end, or every rivet that joins some kind of sheet metal, enough is enough. I recently did lug nuts on mag wheels, I like the result and I'll do it again only if the rest of the car shows similar detailing. But half the buggers went flying and I can't find them. Expensive waste.