jwrass

Mike, I'm not trying to be confrontational and I agree we are all entitled to our opinions, You make some good points with regards to resins! and even though solvent based paints contain resins they are of a different type than say the resins used in resin casting. So it's Apples to Oranges. I will admit I am not a expert in resins used for castings and inert gas purge may be great for that process. I do however know a great deal about the chemistry behind Custom Paint Finishes and I would have to say will blowing inert gas into the container hurt urethane well no! Will it help prolong it's life, I doubt it. Would I do it, no as I don't feel it's necessary. This we do agree on!!! Put it in the frig and let it live. Spirited debate is a great thing as I believe that's how we learn from one another. I respect your opinions and it is my hope that we will chat again soon. Respectfully Submitted, Jimmy "RASS"

Great looking build!!!! It would not be in the class of Pro Stock as the NHRA did not make this a official class until the 1970 season. If I'm not mistaken when the class started it had to be 1970 model year and previous years were not allowed. I ran a 1970 Challenger in 1971.72 & 73 in a class that was called Modified Production. It was a full on Race Car. It was basically one step above Super Stock and one step below Pro Stock. From what I recall that car could have run in Modified Production, However your build is far more sophisticated than what was available back in the day and would not be period correct. I would say no to even Modified Production. I would go with some type of outlaw class or run what you brung. Not many High Rise Carbureted motors in Pro Mod anymore unless they are sprayed and that is even a rarity. Mostly Supercharged with the trend leaning towards Turbos on the bottle. You might say you are in a class of your own, in a good way!!! Again Great Build!! looking forward to following this one

Geez!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you posted a update like 3 minuets after I posted. Now I can sleep well tonight. Chris do you have a picture of the show card next to the car with the particulars? On your seam it looks like you are getting massive shrinkage. I know you want to keep rolling on the build however, you may want to consider leaving it alone for a few days and let the solvents calm down! Haze a guide coat on what you have in a few days sand that and see how it looks, if you need more filler so be it! I think I would let it settle down for a bit Chris. I will never be as skilled as you are at modeling but I am a expert on 1:1 custom paint. Man you have come so far on this amazing journey!!! Step back from that portion of the build for a few days. I think you will be glad you did! I give you this advice because I care!!!! You have so many in awe of this build and your skills!!! I think it would be safe to say that you have fans (including me) that anticipate the next update. We can wait!!!! We all know the final product will be off the hook! Peace My Friend. Jimmy 'Rass"

Chris, I'm jonesen for a update!!!! this build is like catnip looking forward to the next update!!! Cheers my friend!!!!

Being a 1:1 Custom Painter I don't use any modeling paint because ( I've tried them all) they have to much plastisizers and not enough filler in their formulas for my taste. I am used to having primers powder up nice and not clog the sand paper when I block sand dry. The model paints just don't do what I want them to do because of the high content of plastiziers. I have found a few rattle can products that perform like 1:1 and can be found at NAPA under the Martin Senior Brand. They are Lacquer based true primer surfacers with a fan spray head and come in 15 oz cans for $12.99 they are # 7283 Red Primer Surfacer, 7284 Hot Rod Grey (it's really black) and they have a lite grey which I don't have the # for. These lay on so nice, dry fast and sand like 1:1. No reaction to top coats!!!! Do yourself a favor and step back from the model paint primers!!! You and your builds will Thank You for it!!!!!

Mike, There is a book titled Fuel Altereds Forever / Author Steve Reyes that was published by CarTech in 2008 (www.cartechbooks.com) This is a must have for any Altered Fan! You will not find a better book for reference material and the History of those Wild Machines and the Warriors who drove them like Wild Willie, Mike Sullivan, Dale Emery, Rich Guasco, Dave Hough and the rest of the cast of characters with stones as big as bowling balls. In the trading post section I have for trade A Wild Willie and the Bantam Blast. Both kits are factory sealed. if you are interested give me a shout! Most Conversion resin bodies I have seen recommend The Wild Willie or Bantam blast kits for the chassis, However you could modify a Funny or build your own chassis from round styrene, brass or copper I personally have a Fiat, 23 T and a 32 Bantam resin bodies from Competition Resin. Even though the kits come with the 23 T and the Bantam bodies I find the resin bodies to be more realistic. Slixx Has some great decals for some of the major players, I have Nanook, Pure Hell and two Mike Sullivans. I look forward to seeing your builds!!! Fuel Altereds Forever!!!!!!

Dump the instructions and Knead as the others have stated! This is a common task done in body shops on a daily basis. Hardeners are a mixture of benzoil peroxide and fillers (talc) the solids separate from the liquids and if not kneaded you can have (and I have had) dye back, pinholes and a whole host of problems. You need to Knead!!! That's the best poetry I have

You could go to your local fire house and get the paint code number off the build tag. I live in a small community with a Volunteer Fire Department and do traditional Gold Leaf Lettering on all of our Fire Fighting Equipment. One thing Firemen love second to fighting fires is showing off their rigs. Stop by with some treats and I'm sure they would accommodate you!

I personally don't buy into the inert gas theory, It may be a great sales tool to sell a product but I would not do it or indorse it!! As someone who works with thermo dynamics on a daily basis the only way you could remove all the air would be to evacuate the container by pulling it into a vacuum less than the atmospheric pressure of the region you live in. I have the distinct pleasure of calling Jon Kosmoski founder of House Of Kolor (and now consultant to Valspar) as personal friend as I did beta testing in 1983 on the first version of his striping urethanes. Jon actually turned on the 1:1 custom paint community to the refrigerator trick years ago as the complaints of hardeners gelling burned his phone off the wall. Jon is like a modern day Mad Scientist and found this trick through experimentation. One of the reasons HOK is the leader in Kustom finishes is Jon is a hand on guy! He is in the booth on a regular basis. I have witnessed Jon Paint Kandy and he is truly the Master of the craft All the containers of hardener are packaged and evacuated by the vacuum process, that's why when you open a fresh container you hear that hiss! That sound is not purging air out of the container it is actually the sound of the negative pressure in the container seeking equilibrium I personally find the purge theory to be a Barnum and Baily act and not based on any scientific data. Respectfully Submitted, jwrass

I have been working a tutorial on how to apply leaf, I need to edit it and take a few more pictures. I will be posting it sometime this week! This will be my first post of any pictures or tutorial on this site. It is my hope that you find it interesting and that it can be added to your arsenal. I'll be honest!!!! I'm a bit nervous about it!!!!(I don't know why) I just want it to be worthy of the fine talent on this site Respectfully Submitted, jwrass

Love The Build!!!!!Considering the theme it would really awesome to see "We Support Our Troops" or something like that on the deck lid. Again Great Build!!!! jwrass

Greetings Plasticators! Tired of going to your hardener and finding it hard or gelled in the can $$$$$$$? This is a 1:1 tip we use all the time. Place your Hardener in the refrigerator (make sure the cap is on tight) this will prolong it's life. I have had hardeners stored for at least a year and it is as fresh as the day I opened it. Bring to room temperature before mixing. There is no hazard to health as long as the cap is screwed on tight!!! So NO you and your loved ones will not glow in the dark

Buzz, Rodger, Jesse. Thanks so much for all of the information!!! I most likely won't post until Sun or Mon as me and the little woman are going on a weekend get away lol. The post will be a tutorial on applying composition silver leaf vs BMF. I have been doing Custom Paint, Pinstriping, Lettering, Airbrush on 1:1 for some 40 years. I do various leafing techniques on a regular basis. I think builders will find this to be interesting. For me it's easier than BMF and I think it looks better. After a 30+ year hiatus from modeling I'm back at the bench. I have signed up for many of the modeling sites out there. I am fairly new to this site and I have found this to be the best one for me!!!! I have found everyone to be so helpful and kind. I am starting to make some new friends which is always a plus. Again thanks so much!!!! Jimmy "RASS"

This is my first attempt to post some photos and a tutorial (fairly new to the site) I watched the video on posting photos to the forum in the how to use this board section. I took the photos with my Iphone (5s) and I get a error message that the file is to large and it was only one photo. Do I need to compress the files? PLEASE HELP!!!! jwrass

I keep mine in a old body shop style vented cabinet that my local jobber was tossing out. I keep all of my urethane hardeners is the refrigerator, as it extends it's life!!! I have had some that has sat for up to a year and is as good as the day I opened it. Bring it to room temperature before mixing.

Russ, If the craft paint is water based (which I assume it is) paint the enamel first and follow with the water based. That way if you make a boo boo you can wipe the water based off of the enamel with no harm! The other way around not so much. jwrass

Billy, Looking good!!!!! Did you do the paint on the Demon? Flat out BOSS 70s era paint!!!! Did many of those on 1:1 Back in the day! Great job!!!!! Give me a shout, Lets talk paint!!!!! Looking forward to the build!!!! Jimmy 'Rass"

It works!!!!! I glued my fingers together.....................................again

Stan, From where I'm sitting it sounds real healthy to me!!!!! looks great! Jimmy "RASS"

Mark, Great Build!!!!! Smokey was way ahead of his time, a true innovator!!!! Smokey didn't cheat! He worked in the grey area...... Very grey

Stan, Looking really great Mate!!!!! Something to consider......With the Race Car/Pro Street theme you are going with I would consider removing the lower molding on the body vs paint or foiling it. If you shave it,it will give the illusion of the stance being lower, If you keep it and leave it the same color as the car it will more or less give you a shadow line. If you paint it a different color than the body or foil it, it will give the illusion of the stance being higher. I have done shaved molding on 1:1 many times and it does make a difference on how the car looks. Same thing with custom paint. Darker colors on the bottom give the illusion of the body being less tall vs lighter colors on the bottom make the body look taller. Look at some race car paint work and you will see what I mean. Again this is just food for thought!!!! I love this build great job Stan. jwrass

Billy, You are really going to dig this video!!! I should have mentioned this to you before! Robert (Black Dog) was a great guy!

Chris, Outstanding!!!! Keep em coming. I could watch this build all day and never take it all in. Blows my mind

Mike, By your first post I figured you were in a technical field of some description. I'm a Mechanical Engineer and have spent all of my career in in the Commercial HVAC Industry (37 years in Aug) I had a bug as a second car in like 1983 and froze my ass off in the Winter!! On sub zero days I literally drove with one hand on the wheel and the other with a ice scraper, scraping the inside of the windshield. But it was a fun car!!! My neighbor at the time was really into Bugs he would buy beaters fix them and I would paint them ( been doing 1:1 custom paint for some 40 years as a side line) If I remember right they changed wheel profiles in different years but they never changed the body style except for the bumpers when Gov had the mandate on energy absorbing bumpers some time in the 70s. The picture you posted of the blue car is not very clear on my end but the slots look elliptical in shape to me. I think you could make these with the Dremel (It's a great tool to add to your arsenal anyway) but you may have to fashion some type of jig or you could make additional indexing marks on the template and give them a slight twist to make them elliptical. You may want to make one good one as a master and cast the rest. I do this with INDY car type wheels and have had great success. I hope this helps, let me know how it go's. jwrass " I'm a engineer but they never let me blow the whistle"

I bought some of that a few months ago and have not used it yet. Thanks for the review!!!