Straightliner59

True enough!

Ever try to have sex in the back seat of a car while watching a movie on a tiny, hand held screen? Now, that'd be some accomplishment! ?

Yep! I have all four of the magazines, from the year I was a member.

Revell did have a modeling club. I think it might have been called ?Revell Master Modeler's Club." I may still have a couple of the old club magazines around here, somewhere.

Agreed! Different materials work better, for different situations, as you noted. That two-part epoxy putty works great for heavy applications, like fender flares. Options can't be too plentiful! ?

Epoxy micro balloons can be used with either epoxy or superglue. Used with super glue, you can begin sanding, pretty much immediately. They are used mainly by R/C aircraft modelers, I think.

I would call both John MacGowan's GSL winning Willys Pickup and his '37 Woodie trendsetters, and iconic.

Thanks, David. I still need to sand the ball ends down, but, those should work! I remembered doing something similar, when I built The Bug, almost years ago.

Another, heavier, coat of clear on the 'Bird. I should make it, this time!

I needed to make the little brackets that mount to the axle ends of the rear shocks. They have a little ball on the end that the shock arm attaches to. It's a tiny piece of plastic, and oddly-shaped. I ended up making it by stretching some .060" plastic rod, holding the ends at similar angles, as I pulled, since the needed to bend in. Once i had those cut apart (leaving some of the long, thin end attached), I fitted them with the shocks in place, to get them close to where they belong. Next, I used a lighter to melt the thin end, carefully, to create the balled end. I still need to clean up the balls, a little, but, I am happy with them! It's kind of cool that they will be readily visible, on the finished model. Here are a couple of photos of the brackets, themselves, and with them, and the shocks, sitting in place. I've also included an overhead shot of the chassis, as it edges toward completion. As always, comments, critiques and questions are welcome! Thanks for stopping by!

I have two coats of clear on the Firebird. A couple more, and I will wet sand with the pad and cloths from an MSC polishing kit, before more clear. I don't like clear-coating race cars, but, I don't want it to be super bumpy, either!

Thanks so much, David! Scratching those little details is one of my favorite aspects of modeling. Thanks for looking, and for your comment!

I got the front suspension back together. The shocks are new, not yet "bolted" to the eyes on the springs. Next up will be putting the rear suspension all back together, with shocks, this time. After that, I will probably move to the clutch/brake pedal assembly...

I did further work to the front suspension. I made the u-bolts and the retainer plate. I have a start on the steering box, as well.

There are a lot of excellent modelers, "out there". There is something about your work, that sets it apart. I can't describe it, but, there is a realism there, that I have never seen anyone else achieve--I mean, not even, say, Francois Ver Linden. I think a part of it, is that you have built models in many different areas. I mean, didn't you do a big, vinyl Godzilla figure? Anyway, I've been awed and inspired by your work, since I became familiar with it, back in the old SLM days. Oh, yeah! Then, there's the McLaren!

I just bought some strip stock from them. I had it, in three days. Given your experience, I will definitely buy from them, again!

Glad to see you posting some stuff here, bud! This is still, easily the best Orange Crate I've ever seen.

I dig the color! No reason all Porsches need to be red, silver, yellow or black. I did Monogram's old snapper 911 RSR in bright pearl pink! I've heard a few choice comments, over the years, for that. ?

Thanks, JC! It's a pretty cool looking setup, I think. Assembled, like that, it should make for a pretty foolproof mount, too!

After posting the update on the Model A coupe, I made new shocks for it and got started on the steering box. Next up will be mounting hardware for the springs, so I can re-assemble the suspension, and locate the shocks.

I took this apart to rectify some issues I hadn't yet addressed, and thought I'd post a photo of some of the sub-assemblies. I soldered the flange to the header, and inserted pegs into the intake manifold. Now, the manifold and header fit together! As always, questions critiques and comments are welcome! Thanks for looking!

Let Guy post! He is truly one of the best modelers around!

I did some more burnishing of the aluminum radiator shell for the Model A, and sectioned a radiator to fill it with. Still work to do, but, it's progress! This assembly leaves plenty of room for the pulleys and fan. I wasn't too confident, before! ?

I got the chipped out area smoothed out, and got some color on it, before I ran out of paint. Time to call it good! I also went over all the stripes with good ol' One Shot. Now, I'll let that cure for a couple of weeks, and there's a nice day, and I'll shoot clear on it, again--a bit more carefully, this time!

Thankfully, I have never had this problem! ?