RancheroSteve

Yes, the HRM resin body is beautiful!

Indeed! I was at the Oakland Roadster Show about ten or so years back when my buddy pointed him out to me and hipped me to his work. Good to see him getting his due - one of the greats!

I built this one a few years back, using the re-issue as a base. As I recall I used the wheelie bar set-up from the panel truck kit.

About 5 years old. I think it must have been an AMT 1/32 Thunderbird - brush painted it red as I remember. Pretty much hooked after that, although I laid off for a while from late teens until my mid-thirties.

My Ranchero had a small camper shell on it when I first saw it, but I didn't really ever think I'd use it so I let the seller have it. I've hauled a lot of various loads over the years, but I'll second what "TooOld" said. In my case, a Ranchero is just a Falcon station wagon with a little less sheet metal and glass.

Yes, from what I understand the Garlits Museum car is the original. The other one you often see at vintage meets and so forth is a very fine recreation.

I'm guessing this is the replica, not the original?

siml'R also recently released a 2011 Pescarolo/Judd. Looks pretty nice, 126 pieces, but again, not cheap. http://www.similr.fr/gb/pescarolo-judd

Great work on a tough kit. From what I understand, the Cheetahs had a number of problems. While they certainly had plenty of power, they also suffered from chassis flex and difficult handling.

Very nice - can't have too many Cheetahs!

Nicely done as always, Mark. I really wish Tamiya had done a 1/24 version of this car.

Yes, it's a very basic kit, but the proportions are decent. 1. I made new wheels by casting the wheels from the LS Chaparral 2C. The Monogram kit wheels are too shallow, especially the rears. 2. I added the scoop and oil cooler on the right side. This was a crude, last minute addition to the car when it raced at Daytona, which is the version the kit represents. 3. I added the top portion of an SBC and made some stacks from aluminum tubing. 4. I opened up all the molded in screened areas and replaced the plastic with metal screen. I replaced the exhaust pipes with aluminum tubing. 5. I replaced the goggled driver's head with an un-goggled head from a Fujimi driver's set and painted him to look like Jo Bonnier. There might be a couple of other minor things, but that's all I can remember right now.

The old Monogram curbside kit with a few upgrades. Comments & questions welcome - thanks for looking.

Wow, great thread! I'm going to try that. BTW, beautiful models and paint jobs, Marcos.

Just got an email back from Norm - he says, "Did you mean Lotus Elan type wheels, like those in the Gunze Sangyo Elan kit? If those are the ones you mean, then I have not done those." So I'm still mystified - maybe they're from another caster?

I don't know if there's anyone who does this kind of work on a custom basis. You might want to read through this topic and consider doing it yourself: http://www.modelcars...topic=52974&hl= It's bit daunting at first, but it opens up a whole world of possibilities.

I like this a lot - just the right amount of "ratty! Nice clean build & excellent photography.

I heartily approve - beautiful work, nicely photographed - a great save! Only because you asked though, there is only one very small thing I'd change (if you want the car to be more "correct") - the rear window surround is actually a black rubber gasket, not chrome.

Hey, Brian - any chance you'd have a part number for those wheels? I'm not seeing them in the catalog I have (not that the R & M catalog is the easiest thing to navigate).

Thanks for the tip! I'm going to order a set.

I've got one of those kits and that's always been my plan. The show came on when I was about 12 and I was instantly hooked.

I've got this far: body cleaned up (I'm thinking it would look good in red) and I've got some heavy duty wheels for it. Still unsure of how to build it. Stake bed, tow truck, beer wagon . . . ?

I'm not sure that it's possible to over-clean the metal. The MicroMark kit has a 3200 grit pad and it's also important to not get any grease from your fingers on the metal. I try to handle the peeled photo-resist as little as possible once peeled and get it laminated onto the metal as quickly as I can, but even then a few dust spots are probably unavoidable. In most cases they won't affect your finished product. I've been exposing in the noon (or near noon) day sun and generally letting the laminate expose longer than suggested. Also, when developing, it's easy to over-develop and remove all the laminate if you're not carefull - 30 seconds per side is usually plenty long enough, but better to err on the side of under-developing at first. Finally, given that this is a "home version" of a fairly meticulous industrial process, perfection is certainly something to shoot for, but you won't get 100% of your parts turning out - even GSL winner Randy Derr has told me as much.

I've got a few: http://public.fotki.com/Roullier/model_cars-1/shelbys_cars/

I've got a Mill City (?) resin '40 Ford cabover that I started years ago. Kind of a stalled project at this point -I should get back to it.