RancheroSteve

Body is on the chassis and the interior is done. Thanks again to Casey for the boot. I'm on track to finish it this year!

After learning that the Pierson coupe used a lot of '40 Ford components (suspension, brakes, steering), I figured I'd add a little more detail and picked up one of these for parts: In case you haven't seen one, it's a beautiful kit, extremely well done. One thing led to another and I soon realized the frame and interior pan is a near drop-in to the '36 body. Here's the frame assembled and painted. The only alteration is adding a battery box under the seat (the stock '36 location).

Yes, they are called "tunnels", although F1 cars these days are only allowed to use rear diffusers. https://www.symscape.com/blog/secrets_of_diffusers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect_(cars) Great work, Claude!

I just started building one of those this week. Not going to build it clear, though.

Beautiful! Looks full size.

Another thing to check might be your printer settings. I've used the Expert's-Choice ink jet paper (made by BMF) and I seem to remember at one time they recommended that the printer to be set for photo paper (if your printer has such a setting), although I don't see anything about that on my current pack, hmm.

Looks like they're just white crosses? Shouldn't be too hard to just cut them out of white decal paper, or even mask and spray them. Either way, I've got some different ideas in mind for mine.

Hey guys, in case you didn't see it, the Torque Trike is scheduled for this month!

Nice - I see the "Torque Trike" (Black Max) is due already.

Replicas & Miniatures has them (RM-152). Five wheels with separate lug nuts.

I built the Italya version about25 years ago, which I believe is the same kit with different decals. Hasegawa did a bunch of versions of the F3000 Reynard, some have engine covers, some don't, but I think they're all pretty much the same kit otherwise. Scalemates listing here: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hasegawa-23003-reynard-89d--320822 I don't have any pictures of my build handy at the moment, but from what I remember it's a very nice little kit. Goes together well, almost Tamiya quality. It has a good Mugen engine and ample potential for added detail if that's your thing. Let me know if you need any more info, maybe I should pull my build out and shoot a few photos.

Perfect trades recently with Sam I Am and Modlbldr.

Of course, the Beretta was raced in IMSA GTU and SCCA TransAm in the late 80s-early 90s and won championships in both: https://bringatrailer.com/2017/10/02/first-v6-trans-am-champ-canepa-restored-1990-chevy-beretta/

Wow, thanks, Tim - your words mean a lot! I had your SA article near at hand while I built this; very helpful and inspiring. Agreed, it's a great little kit with all kinds of potential for added detail or customization, but goes together very well right out of the box and only has a few minor discrepancies - the often-mentioned lack of nerf bars on the rear radius rods being the only really obvious one. The only reason I can suspect for the lack of appreciation for this kit would be due to the subject matter - midget racers of this type had their heyday long before most of us were born, I guess, but that shouldn't stop some of us from digging them. BTW, the trailer is done - I'm just waiting for a set of tires from Reps & Mins to balance the thing out, then I'll post some photos of that.

Yay!

Any word on the Black Max "Torque Trike"?

Absolutely no offense taken - I always welcome constructive criticism when it comes to getting it right. One of the great things about this forum is the ability to connect with folks that have knowledge. One small point though - I painted the radius rods mounting points steel-colored because that's how they look in the photo of the the car I have (see my "Under Glass" post).

Richard, thanks for your input and for the history. Based on the research I did, I recognized that there were some inaccuracies with the kit, especially as you point out in the firewall area, but also decided that most of it wouldn't show too much when completed and I didn't want to get overly obsessive with this one.

Much appreciated, Art - and thanks for sharing that story.

Ahh, good tip - thanks!

Best looking one I've seen yet! I'm hoping to make some similar improvements when I build mine. How do you cut the hypodermic needles without crushing them?

Whoa, amazing work you're doing on this - looks real, and I've ridden on one. Truly sorry for your loss - I lost my mom last year and my dad this year. This is a beautiful way to honor the memory of your mom.

Just to be clear, I say this in fun. I was born in the UK and my first (and dearly loved) car was a Hillman Minx.

You do understand that this is a British car, right? ?

A little back story on this build: a few years ago I started getting fascinated with the cars of Frank Kurtis and discovered that the Los Angeles Public Library had this now out of print book in their system. Inside, I came across this photo of a midget driven by Sam Hanks at Milwaukee in 1950. Some of you might be aware that I've also been working on a replica of the Kurtis Sport Car (yes, I know - for ages). It was around this time (1950) that Earl "Madman" Muntz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman_Muntz purchased the rights from Kurtis for what later became the Muntz Jet, so that probably explains the sponsorship connection. Anyway, with the Revell Midget kit on the bench, I began trying to build a near replica of the Hanks driven Midget as depicted. Decals had to be made, of course, so using my mediocre Photoshop skills, the scan of the photo above, and a few images found online, I was able to print out the Muntz lettering, logo and the number one on inkjet decal paper (both white and clear). The few contingency decals under Hanks' hand had to be guessed at and approximated (apart from the Champion spark plug logo) and came from a variety of sheets I had on hand. Other modifications include reshaping the cowl and adding louvers, making a windshield, adding the bubble over the intake trumpets, adding the rear nerf bars, modifying the front bumper, converting the three-eared rear knock-offs to two-eared, and re-working the steering link. Since I was working from a black & white photo, the colors are my best guess. For a better look at some of what went into it, "work in progress" thread here: Thanks for checking it out - comments and questions welcome.