Straightliner59

Thank you for your comments, and your kind words, Alan! I appreciate them. Ah! Well, we're in luck, as the photos from August 30 were taken while it was actually sitting on the wheels. The latest was just a "perspective" shot, in which the wheels were just placed at the ends of the axles, while the car was sitting on the deck! ? However, it's not as long and lean, as it should be, and the cowl's too short, thus the "(Sort Of)", in the heading. There was a time I couldn't have imagined saying this, but, these old, classic Monogram kits provide me with a different perspective on my building. To me, they have a sense of "folk art" about them, and I have come to accept their shortcomings, dress 'em up a little bit with items of visual interest, and throw 'em out on the dance floor! I don't expect to build replicas from them, although, I think my Cook and Bedwell dragster (Slingshot) comes fairly close. Thanks for looking! Thank you, Steve. I used a paint I found at Michael's for the base color (it's called Modern Metals Metallic Taupe--I know you're in the UK, so I wouldn't have a clue as to a substitute!), then shot them with matte clear (Testors' Dullcote). I followed that with a wash of India ink and water, and, finally, gave them a very light "coat" of Rub N Buff silver. The effect on the tires is very subtle, but it does create a visual difference! Thanks for your comments!

It's the molded on lettering that I dabbed with a small piece of rubber eraser, lightly coated with a mixture of oil paints. Any paint should work, of course!

It's getting there. I've had issues with the wheels/tires, but, they are getting close. Still need to letter the rears, and add a small amount of wash to the knockoffs. I did tape off and spray the padding/coaming around the cockpit...

This showed up on my doorstep, today! I am pretty happy, to see it!

Very true! In spite of delays, I have finished at least three (I think), that may have continued to languish, had I not put them here. It's certainly given me extra motivation to get them done. So, it's all good. I think this thread has been inspirational for many of us! Thank you, for it!

Yessir! I hear that, loud and clear!

I don't have any of the spray cans left, but I have a lot of bottles of it. They're still good!

I can attest to this fact!

I just got up, for my day, but, I got a ton of stuff done, yesterday! Got both sets of tires painted for the Indy car (two shades of black, on each). Got the finish on both sets of wheels. Broke the rim on a front wheel, so, made a new casting, for that. Made a mold for the front wheel inner rims and covered the seat back with tracing paper and white glue. I don't need to install a master cylinder, since its under a metal "pan". Work, tonight, then I will see what the weekends brings!

Now, with the aforementioned treatments applied to the wheels, and the knockoffs installed. At this point, the wheels are simply sitting in the tires, as it's a tight squeeze, and I want the oil paint to set up, before I attempt to insert them into the wheels...

I repainted the front wheels. They are painted with Modern Metals Metallic Taupe. I think it's still available at Michael's. There are several colors in that line that can be useful to modelers. I still need to install valve stems, and apply a wash, along with a little bit of Rub N Buff. I tried something a bit different with the tires. First, I shot them with Tamiya Tire Black. I then taped off the treads, and shot the sidewalls with Krylon Ultra Flat Black. I like the subtle difference in color, between the two surfaces. Next, I mixed some titanium white artist oils with a dab of Permasol black, and a tiny amount of yellow ochre, and applied it to the lettering with a small piece of rubber eraser. I have to be careful with it, for a couple of days, since the oils take some time to dry. I still need to add wheel inners, as well. As always, questions, comments and critiques are welcome! Thanks for looking!

I repainted the front wheels (going to add a wash, and some Rub n Buff and a valve stem), and painted the front tires. More details about that, on the build thread.

Sure! I built the header board, as well.

Here are the wood bows for my Model A coupe. They still need a bit of work, but, they look pretty good.

I've noticed, that, given time Super Clean will begin to etch the glass, but nowhere near enough to cause alarm.

Indeed, it does!

I bought a Pyrex casserole with a plastic lid. Works great! I also keep a jar, with a little bit of it on the workbench, for small parts.

Well, thank you, Art! I appreciate that! I've noticed that some of the bodywork, where I lengthened the car has shrunk, pretty badly. I must have still been using Acryl Blue, when I did it. I'm going to live with it, because I don't want to undo everything! Thanks for looking, and for your comments!

Thank you, JC. I repainted the wheels, last night(again!). Next, I will probably paint the tires and finish detailing the wheels, so I can get them all assembled and mounted. Thanks for your comment, sir!

Never! Thanks for sharing that bit of knowledge!

I sanded the seams from the tires. I also cut down the centers of the rear wheels and added centers cut from castings of the front wheels, so they somewhat match. I had to do a little repair to the steering. I covered the seat bottom with tracing paper over a coat of tacky glue, and shot it with some Krylon chalky texture charcoal grey. I will use it to cover all the leather/naugahyde surfaces, and to make the cockpit coaming. Once the wheels and tires are finished and mounted, I will begin work on the cockpit details like the master cylinder, clutch, throttle, etc. As always, questions, critiques and comments are welcome! Thanks for looking!

Ray, that's how Model Car Builder is published, as well. I have two copies of its September issue on the way. Kind of excited about it!

Excellent work, Francis! Do I understand, correctly that the eyes/rod ends are brass rod that you drilled? I often use my lathe as a giant hand drill for making fittings from Plastruct hex rod. Glad you found some time to "hit the bench"! Always enjoy seeing your fine work, sir!

With Testors' Stainless Steel metalizer, straight from the can...

Well, I had to take a little detour, of sorts. I couldn't/can't find the old Krazy Glue tube that has my knockoffs in it, and all I could find were two. I looked at kits I had, and came up empty. That left me with having to mold and cast one of those I had. I sanded the stalk from the back, and mixed up a ball of mold making putty. I placed the wad of putty on the piece of granite that I build flat stuff on, and pressed the prepped knockoff into it, so it was just flush with the surface. I let it cure then cut a hole in it, to help index the mold halves (I should have done that while it was soft, and cut two of them!). I then coated it with mold release. I mixed another ball of putty, and pressed it down onto the other half of the mold. Once that was cured, I washed the mold halves, and cast new spinners using acrylic nail compound. I got the stuff in the photos from Sally Beauty supply, but, I also found a small kit at the local Walmart. I've been using this acrylic as a casting medium since the middle '80s, when Don Fahrni acquired some from a dentist he knew. At that time, it was used to make bridges, thus was dyed pink. Its odor is distinctive, so, the first time I smelled the acrylic nail medium, I knew what it was, and knew I had a ready source for a casting material. One of the things I like about it, is that I can flow the liquid component into a mold, then add the powder before closing the mold. Mixing is not necessary, and the liquid tends to flow well, to the nooks and crannies. That said, had I begun this project when I could have worked straight through, I could have made a set of knockoffs, beginning only with the kit part, in about two to three hours. As you can see, they still need to be cleaned up. There's really no excuse, nowadays, not to at least cast some of your own parts, given the ready availability of the materials needed. The mold putty is available at Hobby Lobby. I use the same stuff when I make "pre-drilled" distributor/mag caps.