Straightliner59

The only ones I remember, for sure, were the later Javelin/AMX kits.

Fabulous work, Francois! The brakes are beautiful!

What a great idea! Love it!

Yes, I knew he gets busy, this time of year. Generally, he'll check in, from time to time. As long as he's okay!

The next one should be shipping before too long. Last I heard, it was at the printer.

Congratulations!

And now you've explained, perfectly, why my dragster thread is 19 pages long!? I've long felt that what sets some modelers apart from others, is the fact that they/we are willing to do it again. I use to take that too far. I never completed anything. The last few years, I have learned to accept that my work isn't going to be perfect. It's helped my completion rate.

Thanks, Steve! The weight is working out, well!! Instead of going to the gym, I just move the dragster around a few times! ?I'm getting ripped! I'm fighting with the fuel pump drive and these barrel valves. I'm starting to think I may just have to scratch a new one, instead of trying to make a 40-year-old mold work!

It seems like every time you turn around, you find out how much "lots more" there is, to go! It's definitely coming together beautifully.

Cool! I'll be looking forward to your next venture, as well!

I got the yellow Surfers' tribute scoop painted. Got started on the blower blanket. Added a photoetched starter bracket. Much more to come, here. I broke three attempts at making a new drive for the fuel pump. I'll have to figure out where I am going about it, wrongly, and fix it. I made some castings of Enderle 'K'/barrel valves. I'll be needing one of those. I may just scratchbuild one, if I can't get a satisfactory casting. I've been struggling to get my printer to work. I was hoping to print the test masking templates I made for the body, but, I'll need to figure out what's going on, there, too. Anyway, here are a few update photos. I'm hoping to have the blower and hat done, in the next few days. Comments are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

MPC did the Berettas. and earlier the Cavaliers.

Thank you, John. I appreciate that!

Thank you, Ian. I appreciate that, very much! I've been working on the injector and blower the last couple of days. Krylon has a Short Cuts color called Antique Bronze that is excellent for blowers. Not that it's going to matter, too much, given that it will be blanketed. Thanks again or your comments, my friend.

I'd suggest getting some pastels, and grinding some to powder, and applying it to the underside, as well. It makes for excellent dust. I also dust it in the wheels, to represent brake dust (on vehicles that are driven hard). Here are some photos of a Mack I built using pastels for weathering. I like using washes, drybrushing and pastels, pretty much, in that order!

Congrats on finishing it. Looks very cool! I love that it's something different than a blown fuel FC.

Well, thank you, sir! It's much appreciated! The air cleaners and stacks look great!

I like styrene strip for the seams, then paint, dusted on to create fine texture. Finally, a gloss or semi-gloss clear coat (depending what you're going for). I thought I had better photos of this. If I run across them, I'll post them.

That's a nice touch! The trunk looks excellent.

Maybe this will help.

The best bet is to find something you can practice on. Barring that, just work slowly and carefully. I'm not aware of any magic elixir. You could try taping a piece of shim brass along the line you want to scribe. That should provide a more reliable stop for the tool. There are also photoetched templates for doing curves and rounded corners, etc. I have some from Verlinden Productions and some from Tri Tool. I got them long ago, and couldn't speak to their availability, now. I doubt it's likely!

Thanks! That doesn't bother me. I have Sherline stuff!?

I misread it as "The trunk is open for business." That reminded me of those guys who would approach you in a parking lot, back in the '70s-'80s, "Wanna buy some speakers? We had too many at the warehouse..." Yeah, sure, buddy.

Looks very nice! Where'd you find that vise? It looks like it might be of some interest. You know, 'cause I need more tools!

Got any speakers in there? I could use a new pair for cheap!? The trunk looks great! Nice work with the hinges and bracing.