Straightliner59

Oh, boy! That's a whole new can of worms! By changing the color of primer, top coats can be altered in warmth and depth of color. Same thing for using gold or silver undercoats. Many builders use plastic spoons to test these different effects on colors. I hope that made sense. If not, someone soon will help you make sense of it! ?

Ver' nice!

I don't think I've ever owned a bottle of debonder. If I stuck my fingers together (that usually only happens when first opening a bottle), I used acetone or an X-Acto knife, depending on the thickness of the skin, where the sticking occurred! ?

If you want to skip the sanding, simply wash the body using Soft Scrub cleanser and an old toothbrush. The Soft Scrub is mildly abrasive and helps give the primer some "bite". I learned it from Don Fahrni, and anything that was good enough for him, is good enough for anyone!

Thanks, Dave! I hope you found/find some useful stuff you can use on future projects! Thanks for your comments, and for having a look, sir.

Pretty easy to make one, from a piece of sprue, and some odd bits. I made this one, but, it's aluminum. Still, the material doesn't matter, in this case. The plastic one here is from Johan's Roadrunner.

Richard, thank you for your input. I do appreciate it. When I started this thing (about 20 years ago), it wasn't supposed to be a replica, or really anything more than a general representation of an old Indy car--and was never intended to be this involved! When I began working on it, again, it kind of took on a life of its own. As it got out of hand (?), I knew that I was much farther along than I was willing to undo to fix it. It made me just accept it for what it is, and do the best that I could, given where I was with the project. Was I to do it again, there are a couple of pretty big things I would change. All that said, I am happy with the way it looks, as a piece of art. I've learned a lot, in its creation, to be sure, and I consider those louvers and the press something of a triumph! Thanks again for your thoughts, and your kind words. And thanks for looking!

Mark just gave you the best way to accomplish this. It's simple, and looks better than any other method I've seen.

Coming along nicely, Joe. Looking very good!

This is how figures should be painted! Beautiful work, Charles!

This thing is cool, for sure! always loved their cars. I'm going to guess this photo was taken at Wendover.

I needed a pair of seat belts so I set up the remainder of my pack of Model Car Garage PE buckles. I hate the way people just use them flat and they look like wafers in the model. I couldn't agree with you, more! That makes me as nuts as photoetched spokes on dragster wheels! ? Sometimes, those radiator hoses can be a booger. Both of them were a pain, on my current project. It's looking good, Tom!

Are you referring to Don Gay, Jr.? His crash was at Bandimere Speedway. I was there, that day. It was a horrible fire. He never raced after that. His grandmother put the kibosh on that.

Fabulous work, Tim! Honestly, I do think you're nuts--but, not really much more than a lot of us! ?The engine stand looks fantastic, sir!

I accomplish this by laying my designs across the 8.5" width of the paper, and crowd everything to the top. Then, once it's printed, I just cut off that end of the sheet and save the rest for the next project. Repeat. I generally print test sheets on standard printer paper, to double-check the size of the graphics.

I have been using their Liquid Decal Film (my bottle is labelled "Superfilm") for decades. The stuff is invaluable! Brush it on, it levels out beautifully. It can save cracked decals. I use it on inkjet decals (I hit them with a couple of light coats of clear, first). I swear by the stuff. I know that Snake does, too. Speaking of Snake, does anybody know if he's okay? I haven't seen anything from him in a couple of weeks.

Thank you, kind sir!

I made most of the major decals, for all of these models on an inkjet. My first attempt was the fender markings on the Chevy II. I am not happy, with them. The door decals on that car were made three years ago, when I finished the car. I had learned enough, by then, to create much nicer markings. I draw mine using PhotoImpact Pro 13. I paid less than $100 for it. It does vectors, and pretty much anything PhotoShop will do. I've tried both Inkscape and Gimp. Both are excellent! I would use them, if I hadn't learned PhotoImpact, first. Once you've learned some stuff, you can make some very nice decals with an inkjet printer.

I could not have said it better! And, I mean all of it.

Thank you, Brad. I'm not a very fast builder, but, I've been at it, a while! ?

Here are all of mine, except not a very good photo of my Zubaz Top Fueler. It can kind of be seen, in a couple of these. I just rearranged my display case, this morning, coincidentally.

I was referring to the "box scale" comment. No quality control issue, at all. The models were made to fit certain, standard-sized boxes.

Like a lot of those old Monogram kits that range from about 1/24 all the way to maybe 1/20?

I just got rid of a bunch of old parts kits on Ebay. I did better with them, than I expected. I know a lot of folks don't like them, but, they make shipping pretty easy.

I would say that it's about the subject. If I like it, I'll buy it, regardless of the scale. I don't buy much stuff bigger than 1/24-1/25. The old Monogram kits, in spite of all their flaws, are truly among my favorites! I don't worry about how they're displayed, really, either. I like to put my latest stuff on the top shelf of the display case.