Straightliner59

That would be my guess, too. I was being a smart arse!

Wait, what?! Gold doesn't tarnish! :-D By the way, I grew up not too far south of Calgary, just south of the border, in Browning, MT.

Yep, Snake, I just need to take a little off the bottom! I'll bet you're right about that Chevy digger, in the background! Pretty funny! Actually, Bernard, the one you can see in the foreground in a couple of those pics are from Speed City, and you are correct, they lacked the detail (that thin lip) I am looking for. You are also correct in that that thin lip is the major pain, here! At least I'm closer, now! Thanks so much, Tim! And thanks for stopping by! I'm a huge fan of your fuel altered, as well. I'd be interested in any ideas you may have, regarding making those things, because I haven't dubbed them complete, just yet!

I am falling in love with this project, all over, again. Here's the thing that stalled it, so many years ago: fuel injection. My inspiration for this model originally came from an article in HRM's Yearbook No. 8 (I think) entitled "Junior Isn't A Bad Word". The article features three or four different cars, and a few action shots of some of the real "hitters". It seems that the majority of the small block Chevy cars ran these rather squat Enderle stacks. Enderle also made sets that were taller, yet still tapered. Hilborn's stacks were simply straight tubes, siamesed. The stacks I wanted to use had never been kitted until the Slingster--and those aren't any good (I'd begun my quest several years before then, anyway.). In the opening post to this thread, you can see that I had thrown some stacks together, that were some bastardized version of the taller Enderles and the Hilborns. Below, are photos of Enderle's short stacks (pancakes, anyone?), and where mine stand, as of now.Casting them has been hit-and-miss, but, I should have four usable sets, before too long. I'm using acrylic nail powder and liquid to cast them, as it's excellent for casting small parts. The "hit-and-miss" is due to my questionable mold-making skills, although in my defense, this is my first try at two-piece molds. The manifold in the photos of the model isn't the one I'll be using. I'll use the one in the other two photos, provided I can find it! I've seen it in the past few months, so, I know it's not gone, altogether. I also tacked on another shot of the first wire wheel I made for it, using the refined technique. The new method of construction not only looks better, it creates a much sturdier wheel.

Yessir, Roger. I annealed this. In the attached photo, you can see the discoloration left behind, from the burnt coating on the flashing. After that time, I've sanded it off, first! Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you like it! Thank you, as well, Ed. Your comments are much appreciated! Here's the body I'm attempting to replicate. I will probably just scribe the lines for the axle panels, since I've no need for removable anything, beyond the cowl.

At the time I started building this car, the AMT Blue Streak slicks didn't exist. Since I put it on the bench again, it hadn't dawned on me, until tonight, that I had the tires in my stash. It may result in having to do a complete new pair of wheels, but it'll be worth it. Anyway, once these babies have the treads sanded and they're flat-coated, they are going to be beautiful. I can't begin to say how fond I am of those AMT tire sets. They're just fantastic! I am going to install a pair of tabs for the front motor plate, and cut the plate, so that I can get a little of that "Tampa Dump" on the engine. It's been so long since I built an engine, that, I hope I can remember how!

That P-47 looks great! You can never have too many ways to simulate/replicate metal finishes. I bookmarked that. It's going into my bag of tricks! Same goes for the grey-black spectrum--the more options you can create texturally, and tonally, the better. Thanks for the link.

Hmmm...

Which one was that? The Sacketts or The Shadow Riders?

"There are two kinds of people in this world. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig...You dig."

You might be onto something!

I'm pretty sure I sprayed it with Testors semi-gloss clear. That metalizer is way too frail to be handled, without some sealer coat. I knew the red was iron oxide, I just wasn't sure what the yellow was. Oh, well, it's taken a purple bath, and rinsed off, now!

I had Tamiya clear do that on a Bug I did, back in the '80s. Chevelle looks good!

Hahaha! It does!

Looking at the engine for my junior fueler, I noticed this on the front cover...it's corrosion/rust! I didn't put it there (obviously, the cover would be aluminum, so, why would I? ). I sprayed the part with Testors metalizer, many years ago. I'm not sure what the yellow is, but, the reddish-brown is rust. Therefore, I have concluded that some of the pigment was iron. Anybody ever seen this, before?

I am kind of thinking what Ray said. If you could sand/polish it, just through the decals, it would be an awesome effect. Change the name to "Cacklin' Rose", and you're off to the races, so to speak. It would be a dadgum shame to have to start over, given what a beauty she is!

Thanks, Gordon. I got the near side of the body drilled and pinned. Made one of the front wheels and leaned it against the spindle. It looks pretty cool!

Here are some shots of the new cowl, more in place. As soon as I've drilled and pinned the other side (as you can see, it's askew, here), it snugs down against the firewall. Danged if it doesn't look almost like a real dragster body! Also included is the beginning of one of the front wheels (I've never cared for the flat faces of photoetched spokes), and a comparison shot of the old and new cowls (old on top). The difference is subtle, but, the new one looks better, to me. Thank you, Stu, Phil and Steve, I appreciate the kind words. I'm on it, Snake!

Well, that explains that! :-D

I agree with that. Nothing else looks like metal. I remember that digger!

Thanks, Bernard! It's much appreciated! Thank you, as well, for your kind words regarding the Monza. I'll be building front wheels for this, too, which I failed to mention above. My favorite thing about working with aluminum flashing for dragster bodies is, unless you end up creasing it, it's not ruined. You can just keep tweaking it here and there, until it fits! I'm leaning toward just smoothing and cleaning up the body, and putting any markings over the bare aluminum, What do you think?

I've always had great luck shooting Testors metalizer over the bare plastic, then shooting the primer directly on top of it (no sealer over the metalizer). This Monogram Kurtis Kraft was molded in red, and treated as I described, and twenty-plus years later, the car is still as yellow as the day I shot it!

This model, like many of my models, has a long story. Begun in 2000 or 2001, it has been near completion perhaps a couple of times. The first time it stalled due to my dissatisfaction with the first body I built. That body was built from tooling aluminum, which, although very malleable, doesn't have much tolerance for compound curves--at least as far as dragster cowls are concerned. Then, while I pondered building a new body from aluminum flashing, I decided I didn't like the Hilborn injection setup, as compared to Enderle's. So, I tore the engine down, and began to explore possibilities for Enderle stacks. Turns out,there aren't any good ones from a kit (this was still several years before the Slingster was released. Those are the best kitted versions, but those leave something to be desired, too). I began to make sets of stacks, hoping to come up with a pair of tubes that were good enough to mate into a single unit and have them cast. That turned out to be relatively fruitless, until, within the past year, or so, I made a mold of one of the units I made, in which one of the stacks was a bit "off". I used two of those castings, and cut them apart, and mated two of the "good" stacks into a single unit (small, cropped photo below) that makes me happy enough to believe I can complete four units, and finally finish the injector setup. I may use the pictured resin manifold (it's from one of the better known casters, but, I can't recall where I got it from, at the moment), or, I may use one of the manifolds I began building. At any rate, I think I see the light at the end of that tunnel! Now, I am working on a new cowl. I like the older one--it fits decently, and is well-formed, but, I've always wanted it to be a bit "taller", at the rear of the cowl, so... I found an article in an old Hot Rod Magazine Yearbook that features several junior fuel dragsters, and I collected the ideas I liked from them, and began to conglomerate them into my own version of one of these bad little rides. Here's where it all began, and, where it is, today. As always, queries and comments are welcome!

Thank you, Richard. It was love at first sight, for me. Thanks, Bob!