jwrass

Chris, The spoiler looks awesome and period correct. Seems like a fuss is being made about the spoiler, the FACT is that the car during a season most likely had many changes to help with the aero in the rear.(my highjack of your post 7/7/14 sums it up fairly well)If you added a larger spoiler(alum)it would produce more force on the fiberglass spoiler on the body which could lead to failure. The cure was not always to make the spoiler on the body larger (although some did) with more fiberglass. Often the spoilers on the bodies were made smaller with balsa as a reinforcement(glass/balsa/glass) to combat the extra pressure as it's lighter than all glass, that may seem trivial but pounds are pounds and when your livelihood is based on performance you take all you can get to pay the bills. Could you build a exact replica of a car on a particular, day, week, or photo, YES a whole season NO. In my opinion there is no wrong way! Based on what you have built so far is artfully and skillfully prepared, with plenty of reference for sure. Keep doing what you are doing!!!! No matter how you slice it chances are it won't be 100% for a full season of racing anyway. Make the interpretation based on your reference and your own artistic license. Your build is way beyond a plastic kit. Seriously, it's a piece of Art! Jimmy "Rass" P.S. The wide fold pliers I mentioned, start at 3-4 inches and go up to 8-10 in width. Not smaller like some of the photo etch pliers that I have seen.

Dan, If you go to scale finishes and they suggest anything other than Kandie blue over a silver base they would be incorrect.

Bill, I'm with you!!! the IRS,DMV,P.0. I'm have a smart phone and was using way to much and was turning me less smart! The idea of a hard days work sadly I fear is long gone!!!I get a sense of worth and satisfaction after a hard days work. I am a salaried type and bust my hump all day!!! Come home put on my blue collar duds (which I prefer) and do another 6 to 8 hours in my shop at home! Many times my work day gets interrupted my younger engineers in my department (I'm Senior in the group) who have far more education than I do. They come to me with problems, many of which I have seen due to being the fossel in the group, typically I try to explain the mechanics and theory in an effort to teach! I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I have had the same question asked weeks latter by those who didn't pay attention. The thing that irks me the most is our year end bonus is based on the teams performance, if I don't help them do their work I pay a price $$$$ at the end of the year. As I watch them flee at 5:00 on the button, I sit at my desk trying to meet a clients request. I'm irked now!!!

Dan, The correct color (period correct) would be Kandie blue over a silver base. I know dupli-color makes a tranparent blue in a rattle. I wound try to find a silver with a high metallic content as those high metallic bases were the ones mostly used back in that era and still used today.

Art, Thank you for your insite and histroy lesson, very interesting! Rob Hall, I am among that bunch that bought all the Revell cars in the 70s. Revell made allot more than they paid out, however modelers benifited and the racers did too as it helped pay the bills on the match race curcuit. So it was a win win for all of us. Revell being the biggest winner in $$$$$$$ modelers with the kits, racers with the bills. I think it was a great marketing venue. Sadly i don't think it would work today.

Hugh, The boat flake is the large stuff you saw years ago. Back in the day you had three sizes of flake sm,med,large actually made by a company who's name was Metalflake their main deal was Metalflake when that died down(died really) they got into all types of custom finishes candies, pearls. etc. they had good products but the company fizzled in the late 70s early 80s. Boat flake is a term the low rider painters use for large flake. That came from the large flake you see on sport fishing boats

I have purchased some from him on flea bay. Some of the best artwork out there of unusual but famous match race cars from back in the day. Has allot of iconic east coasts cars. I have the Eastern Raider, Black Magic, Tom and Jerry, Holy Smokes. I have not applied any of his decals. I didn't know he had a site (thanks guys) The stuff he sells on ebay appear to be limited runs (again I didn't know you could by direct) and it seems like every month he has a couple new entries. He must know someone somewhere as I would think their could be copyright issues? In my opinion he has the best artwork going.

Gene, Even though the frame is black, I still would go with black on the seat as that really would be period correct. I still haven't worked with any of the paints or techniques to make the plastic look like 1:1 Upholstry but I have seen others on this site do it with amazing results. White was a popular choice back then, I don't know who in their right mind would make a race car seat white but they did it, I wouldn't touch that one with a 10" pole. Small flake upholstry was big back then as well, a zip, zilch, notta on that one as well for me. From a artistic point of view let the detail of the belts, clasp and mounting points give you definition, sometimes less it more. My vote is a realistic black. jrass

From were I sit the extension of the spoiler (on the 1:1 Fiberglass to Alum) Styrene to brass is spot on to scale. The extension was a kin to a INDY CAR wickerbill back in that era. The Army car could be found at Interscope Racing being tweaked by the indy car team in the area of aerodynamics. It is a well know fact that the Snake wanted to do the Indy 500 as a one off deal. He could be found at the speedway during the month of may with Danny Ongais on a regular basis (and I saw him there many times) in 1981 he almost got the chance to make a attempt to qualify the 25T car of Teddy Field (Interscope Racing) Two INDY CARS built by a very creative designer by the name of Roman Slobodinskij the car had a very curious shape and was deemed the batmobile. Danny was to qualify the primary car on the first weekend of qualifying and Purdhomme was to make a attempt to qualify the 25T car on the second weekend. On the Thursday before the qualifying weekend Ongais tried to knock the wall down in turn four and the primary car was a write off. With that being done their was no car for the Snake to make a attempt to qualify for the INDY 500 As it was Dannys team and they readied the 25T car for Danny and the Snake was the odd man out. The Army car was very dominate during that time period much in part with the alliance the snake had with Interscope racing. Didn't mean to hijack your thread Chis I just thought I would share some fun facts about the snake and the alliance he had with a INDY CAR team to get the aero advantage jrass

I think Art summed it up very well $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Thank you Art!

Gene, I know where your coming from, it would be a bummer to mess things up at this stage. Anything in the Altered category I'm all in!!!!! I wish a sanctioning body (anybody I don't care if their from mars) would bring these short wheel based mind blowing monsters back and be a major part of the show (can you say ticket sales) Saw the Fuel Cars run back in the day under the Coke a Cola Cavalcade Stars Program and try to get in at least one nostalgia event a year. Nothing like a AA/FA on a full pull..... driver all elbows...... and foot on the loud peddle through the lights. and they say the Circus is the greatest show on earth, HA. Man it has been so long but my Fathers New Yorker was like a 58 or 59 had fins, ( like what didn't back then) we used to call it the chicklets car because it was this weird green color like the green in chicklets gum. It was truly a land shark. Looking forward to the rest of the build! jwrass

Coming from the HVAC industry I'm not a fan of any type of flex duct(to much friction loss)however if you are going to use it this would be a text book example of how it should be done! gentle curves, short length. Nice work James!!!

Most applications have the filters on the return side of the air stream (suck side) Only special applications require filters on the supply side of the air stream (blow side) as to not contaminate the atmosphere also know as scrubbing. Their are many ways to scrub air, air filters being one of them.

Not a good idea! If it's a propeller type fan blade worse idea, they don't move enough air.

Alan, I good rule of thumb is 10 x Dia of pipe before a 90 degree elbow at one tenth of a inch (W.C) static pressure in a low presure system and that is what you have a low pressure system. Yes turbulance is the factor you face with flex duct. I'm guessing your discharge is either 3 or 4 inch? If you have to use any flex keep it as taught as possible with 2 (or maybe 3) 90 elbows you should be fine any more than that 100 cfm at one tenth, is going to be at the limits. I know the topic always turns to DANGER DANGER, I doubt you would ever have a EXPOLTION with a fart fan as the likely hood of the motor windings seeing any true wet solvents with a spray cans or a airbrush are pretty unlikely. Does the hazard exsist? well sure. Best practice would be to keep the motor out of the air stream A 1:1 car booth fan is a whole different ball game as are kitchen exhaust fans say in a resturant. I have seen pictures in trade magizines as of what not to do and the destruction that has been caused by failure of these systems. 90% of the time it's not moving the air fast enough and poor or lack of maintenance. The only thing I know about bildge pumps is that I turn mine on before I run the boat to purge the hull cavity of any water and potential fuel vapors.

Allen, I'm in the HVAC industry and perform air calculation on a regular basis. 100 cfm will work fine. Use as much metal pipe as possible and try to say away from flex tube, I you have to use flex tube, the maximum length I would use is three feet and do not make any hard 90 degree turns. friction loss is much greater with flex pipe and you will move less air, consequently your booth will not perform as well, if you plan on spraying any type of flammable materials keep the motor out of the air stream as this could be a fire harzard. I personally would keep motor out of the air stream regardless jwrass

Gene, Many of the OEM valve covers ( man I love those things on the build) Had the embossed letters painted, My father had big boat of a New Yorker that had a 392 in it, I remember the lettering well ( these were red) as any time it got below zero the thing had a hard time starting, he would drag me outside and I would work the ignition key as he would spray either down the carb. Just a thought! I think those are so trick that highlighting them would make them pop even more and it would be period correct. I know drag guys did what they wanted to do and paint them just one color, I for one think it's unique to have the raised lettered valve covers. Why not show them off some more. Again just a thought!!! Also digg'in the mail box type huffer scoop. jwrass

Chris, Very nice job on the soldering! Just a FYI their is a tool that is used in the HVAC trade and siding contractors use them as well, it's called a wide fold pliers, they are basically a small hand held sheet metal brake. They come in various sizes width, throat depths. You could have used a tool the like this to make the kick up on the spoiler, they act like a mini sheet metal brake, they work really well on sheet styrene too to make various bends. On your pressure relief vents how to you plan on cutting them? I have a accessory for a dremel tool that holds the tool like a drill press. I have used this in conjunction, with a cribbage board as a jig, It can perform some nice linear milling on the X and Y like a mini horizontal mill. looking great Chris!!! Hope you had a great Forth.....jimmy "rass"

Gene, Being fairly new to the site I have not seen this build and all I can say is awesome!!!!! What I really like is the OEM valve covers, you don't see that to often. Nice touch, great build!!! jwrass

Michael, Did you get the photos I sent? You can perform this technique (Kandies) if you need any help just ask! Mike, You are welcome! The paint is very impressive (so is the build) and a great example of not using the traditional norm of silver and gold as a base. A few years ago I painted a crotch rocket lime gold kandie over a silver white pearl base and it makes a stunning yellow. Thanks for the picture issue advice, I have a photobucket account I'll give that a try. thanks guys jwrass

Michael, First lets address the dust problem, when you rub the surface of plastics, fiberglass, composites you create a static charge (through sanding rubbing it off etc) we have this problem on helmets, fiberglass and composite race car parts. the static acts like a magnet to pull all the trash in the air onto your nice paint work. Their are commercial products that will kill the static however this is a lettering, pinstriping recipe that has been around for as long as I have been pinstriping (stone age) It's 20% Isopropyl Alcohol (rubbing alcohol) and 80% distilled water mixed by volume. (put this mixture in a spray bottle) Right before you start to apply any paint to your model mist this solution onto the project and gently wipe it off with a micro fiber towel or paper towel will do. It will kill the static charge and you will have much cleaner paint work. I know the nomenclature is different but it's pretty simple really, but I work with it on a daily basis. I have a ton of custom paint books, some good some bad, I'll go through them and give you a few recommendations. I don't have to dig to hard as I have them in the den/library/art studio/what ever she wants room!!! As Ace said it is one of the most difficult paints to apply, but it can be done easily with practice. I know this is modeling and what I do is a whole different kettle of fish. but the basic mechanics are the same!!! If you want to go down the Kandie land road I would suggest either the rattle can route or the airbrush route, pick one and learn that and then you can cross over! You have a airbrush, I would choose that route as you have much better control. That's a decision you can only make. I say yes anyone can do it, it just takes practice and experimenting. My mixes and application may not work for you! As yours may not work for me! Don't be afraid to give it a try it can't hurt you, It will frustrate you!!!! but it can't hurt you. It doesn't have to be for the advanced modeler. I saw your CMG car that thing is off the hook!!!! You have the skills!!! I have been trying to post pictures for the last week. I have had several people send me how they do it (thank you all) but either I'm a complete moron or the system won't take my photos. maybe I'll get the seven year old from across the street to help me. I have sent some of my work to certain members on the site via email and that worked. If you drop me a pm I would be happy to share! I need to get my butt in gear as I have much to do for a annual party I have on the forth. I hope things are clear as MUD now. Cheers, jimmy "Rass"

Mike, That would be really cool to see and you are right it was from the Sixties

This A.M. I clear coating some Motorcycle Tins, in between coats I checked the site and looked at the Malico Gaser thread in the Q&A section. Andy Lemble aka 1930fordpickup had posted some awesome pictures of the Malico Gasser (thanks Andy) and their was mention of Metalflake. A few months ago I purchased some various sizes of glitter at Wally World in the crafts section to experiment with adding glitter in clear to mimic Metal Flake ( old school flake not to be confused with high metallic ) When I first brought it home I sprayed some rattle can clear on some plastic and sprinkled some glitter on it and it looked fairly convincing. After reading the post a light went on and I went into the house and snatched up my glitter. I had some left over clear so I poured some of it into these small medicine cups I keep on hand and mixed some glitter into the clear and sprayed it on to some test panels. I was surprised how convincing the results were. The small glitter looked like a medium flake and the medium size glitter looked like boat flake. very close to scale if not right on. I am not aware of anyone who makes a true Metal Flake in a rattle can. Years ago ( like many) Testors or Patra had a deal with a Ed Roth and it was Marketed as a flake but it was more like a heavy metallic. I sprayed this through a production gun so I didn't have any problem moving the flake. I think a single action cheepo airbrush would work great for this with the material screw wide open, I think you would have to run high air pressures to get the material up the straw but Metal Flake was sprayed at a high pressures anyway so it would be much like a 1:1 procedure. I just may pull out my badger Wren and give it a whirl, if I can find it!!!! Respectfully submitted, jwrass

Michael, I tried to answer your question the best I could without getting to technical ( it's actually more technical than I described ) my bad, I apologize. I also failed to mention prep with primer and body work as Ace (Bill) pointed out. Body primer and prep are your foundation for a killer paint work, without a good foundation all he rest is for naught, again my bad. I guess I pee-ed before the water came. jwrass

Mike. That is a perfect example on working outside the box with base coats! As I stated in my post "any color can be used as a base. Awesome paint and build!!!!jwrass