Snake45

I don't care how fast it is, it's fugly. I like his '57 Chev a LOT better.

Your '40 Ford with a Big Block Chevy would most like fall into either A/G or B/G, depending on how much weight was removed from it. My guess would probably be B/G, as the smaller, lighter Willys and Anglias were favored in A/G.

(Spoiler alert: Results through quarter-finals below.) Anyone else watching Battlebots? Ever since I just happened upon this about episode 3 of this season, it's been My New Favorite Thing. I LOVE watching these evil Roombas tearing each other to bits. I believe tonight is the Finals. Who do you think will win? I don't have any favorites, but over the season, I thought Tombstone, Bronco, and Huge were the bots to beat. But all three got eliminated--Tombstone (#1 seed in the finals) got destroyed by the #16 seed, who only sneaked into the tournament by surviving a 6-bot free-for-all. Who will win?

From time to time the old Man-A-Fre 4x2 induction setup gets mentioned/discussed here. They're rare these days, both real and in plastic. The AG Milner's Coupe had it, so if you want to model that car, you need it. There's a GREAT article on them, with loads of detail photos, in the new (November) issue of HOT ROD DELUXE, now available at Walmart. The only Man-A-Fre I know of in scale came in the original AMT '67 Camaro annual, now also rare. I don't think anyone has it in aftermarket, but they should. I have at least one or two of the manifolds from glue bombs, and THINK I could come up with a complete set of carbs if anyone wants to do molds for repro parts. (I'm giving thought to actually using the setup on a '67 Camaro custom I'm building.)

Not sure what to call this project. Not really a "restoration" because I didn't really restore it to a previous state. Not really a full rebuild, as I didn't strip and repaint it. Much more than one of my typical "glue bomb rescues," though. How about "Survivior Rehab?" Let's see how that works. Got this one in an ebay “Corvette junkyard” about 10 years ago, along with some other stuff I really wanted. It sat unloved until about 2015, when I dug it out and took a look at it. It's an original MPC '66 Corvette done as a drag gasser, or maybe a hot street freak--hard to tell. Here's a couple shots of the hot mess starting point; more details and in-progress pics and text (and philosophy and rationales) "On the Workbench" here: Long story short, I decided to try to see what I could do with the original paint, but ended up having to build a new chassis and engine for it. Finally found a set of suitable decals to camouflage the boogered paint on the left door in the reissued AMT '63. I'll add more decals as I find them. Have my eye open for something satisfactory for the tops of the front fenders, possibly the rear ones too, and I plan to eventually have the (scratchbult) rocker panels covered with speed contingency decals. But I'm satisfied enough with it for now to put it on the shelf and drive on. I can (and probably will) always revisit it later. I hope you enjoy it, and as always, comments welcome!

Made the rocker panels from sheet styrene and covered them with the dull side of kitchen foil and Micro Metal Foil Adhesive. Found some almost PERFECT decals in the latest reissue of the AMT '63 kit. So it's done (for now) and we're off to Under Glass. See you there soon!

I'm about to try some work like this and I'm planning to use J-B Weld, an epoxy that's VERY easy to mix and use. Ask for it by name. (I think it now comes in a 5-minute formula. Don't get that. You want the original stuff.) I think a superglue gel might work for diecasts, too. I've had the best luck with LocTite brand--it's notably superior to the no-name stuff.

What's the induction on Norm's T? That's not a Man-A-Free, is it?

Same here, as long as the shape looks right. Of course, there are a couple cars like first-gen Camaros and C2 Corvettes that I"ll buy just about anything in plastic OR diecast if it looks good. Just got a new (First Gear) '69 Camaro, even though I already have AMT, MPC, Monogram, and Revell kits, and Round 2, Classic Metalworks and Johnny Lightning diecasts. Just got back from my bimonthly Rite Aid run and scored a Welly 2007 Shelby GT500 Mustang, red with white stripes, that looks darn nice and shouldn't take much Snake-Fu to get on the shelf. It just rose to the top of my To-Do list, and I might go ahead and Snake-Fu a Johnny Lightning '67 Shelby I got a few months ago at the same time.

I think those wheels are also in the AMT '70 LT-1 Corvette, currently in reissue and stocked at Hobby Lobby, and the MPC '75 Corvette reissue, currently available for $9.99 at some Ollie's stores. If I'm wrong about this, I'm sure I'll be corrected.

IIRC, around 1966 or 67 Don Emmons did an article in Model Car Science on how to build a "Kooky T" from the Monogram Little T kit. He wasn't going for a strict replica of the Kooky/Grabowski car, but a build that was obviously inspired by it.

Wasn't that reissued a couple years ago? I seem to remember it was.....

Here's my review/writeup of it:

For several years now I've been using--and singing the praises of--the cheap Walmart "Color Place" primers. They used to be available in the stores in white, gray, and black. Price was something like a buck for a 10 oz can. They used to be available in the stores. Couple years ago the gray disappeared, but white and black were still stocked. Within the last year the white (flat white) vanished from the shelf, though they still have plenty of gloss white (check the label--you don't want the gloss). My store still has black. I discovered a few weeks ago that you could order the stuff online. You can either have it sent to your house (shipping extra) or pick it up at your local store in a couple of days. I put off ordering any until two weeks ago. When I went to order, the white was showing out of stock, but gray was available, so I ordered 6 cans of that. Last week I checked the site again and white WAS in stock, so I ordered 6 cans of that, and took delivery of both orders last week. Yesterday I test the new paints on a Camaro interior I'm working on, just to make sure it was the same stuff as the old. It is. Good stuff! Right at this minute, only the Gray is showing on the site--black and white aren't even there, though my local store still has plenty of black. The moral of the story is, if you want some of this stuff, keep checking the website till it shows up, then order a bunch of it. (Six cans of each might last me the rest of my life.) Here's a link to the Gray, to show you what the can looks like. The can looks the same for all three, just the cap color is different. Current price is $1.97 https://www.walmart.com/search/?cat_id=1072864_1067617_1091547&facet=brand%3AColorPlace||brand%3AHOMESHADES||color%3AGray&ps=40&query=color+place+spray+paint&typeahead=color#searchProductResult You can search by brand name (you want Color Place), color, or both. The gray is also sold under the name of Home Shades with a different label. It is exactly the same stuff (I tested it last year)--same color, same texture, same smell, even same SKU number. These are GREAT primers for model use. All three colors have been safe on every kind of plastic I've tried them on, including some of the tricky Chinese stuff that's supposed to be hard to paint. All three colors cover VERY well. I've covered notorious red plastic with one thin coat of the gray and then one semi-wet coat of the white, with NO "bleed through" of the red color. The primer is thin, sprays well right out of the can, dries fast, and can be sanded, although it doesn't necessarily NEED to be, as it actually goes on pretty smooth. The black is actually not black, but a VERY dark gray, like the old Pactra Hot Rod Primer some have lamented and missed. This is NOT a "high build" primer, so you probably won't want it to fill deep scratches or pinholes, though several coats of it might work for that. Is the Walmart Color Place White as good as or better than the famous Tamiya White Primer? Can't say, as I've never used the latter. Considering how well the Color Place works, and the BIG difference in price, I can't imagine that the Tamiya could be THAT much better in any way. I like the stuff. Try it if you can get it. If you don't like it, at least you're not out too much.

That looks a lot better.

Same thing happened to me last night, and again just now. Something went wrong. Error: 118 - ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT

Tested the new white primer yesterday. It covers, smells, dries, and looks like the old stuff, so should be good. Full writeup to come down in Tips & Tricks soon--hopefully today. Good stuff!

PREACH IT, BROTHER! Can I get a AY-MEN from the choir?

I didn't even know this model existed till I found it while looking for a First Gear '69 Chevelle SS in Fathom Green. This particular example is a Black & Decker tagged promotional item, and only cost me $23 including shipping--such a deal! I was particularly attracted by the steel-gray color, which is remarkably similar to the color I had my own first 1:1 '69 Camaro painted in 1978. I had to have it! The Good: It's true 1/25, not 1/24, and overall body shape is very accurate. The details (grille, lights, etc) are very sharp, right up there with M2 and maybe a little sharper than the Classic Metalworks (which has the grille and front bumper molded as one piece, which is just wrong). Interior detailing is nice, with faces (decals, I think) on the faces of the two main gauges. Underhood detailing is VERY impressive, with plug wires, radiator hose. heater hoses, and even vacuum tubes running to the power brake cylinder and between the PCV and carb. One engine gig is that the exhaust manifolds have the ports spaced equally, like a BBC, and not * ** * as they should be for a SBC. The Z/28 stripes are early pattern; later in the year the rear ones were moved farther apart so the rear deck Camaro emblem could be entirely on the stripe, not half on, half off. The side marker lights are separate transparent pieces, but all four are amber (front should be white, rear should be red). The tires, while lacking sidewall detail, are pleasantly large. The fake "gills" ahead of the rear wheels are separate chromed pieces, which is nice if you want your model to have that optional Style Trim Group (and Rally Sport) goodie. The Bad: Door gaps are large. The transition line where the roof goes from horizontal to vertical on the sides looks a bit sharper than it should be. The otherwise nice Rally Wheels have six slots instead of the correct five. (Only way I can think of to work with that is to paint the steel portion black like some early '67 Rallys.) No representation of the backup lights in the taillight lenses (easily dealt with). The Ugly: The finish on this thing is the worst of any diecast in my collection. It's a grainy semigloss, almost matte, like the Model Master "system" lacquers without the clearcoat. It reminds me of the finish you might see on a toolbox or something of the kind. I wonder if it was so cheap because this was a factory second? Overall: A very, very nice diecast of the '69 Camaro that doesn't quite live up to its potential or achieve greatness, due to the finish. I was going to leave it alone, only removing the Black & Decker logos, even though mine didn't have stripes (the portions under the cowl hood overhang would be nearly impossible to remove), but I can't live with the finish, so I'll be disassembling it and repainting it (Walmart has a Rustoleum metallic gray paint that's very, very close to my old car). While I have it apart, I'll fill in those rear fender gills with epoxy and smooth them over--I had them filled on the real car because I hate fake junk. Going that far with it, I'll have to grind out the rivets no doubt holding the hood in place. I might remove and re-hang the doors, too, maybe. That's a lot of work to "Snake-Fu" a cheap diecast, but in this case, I think the results will be worth it.

I agree about reducing the lip, but disagree about raising the opening. It already comes up farther than on the real car. The kit rear openings are HUGE and it's difficult to find a tire that comes anywhere near filling them as it is. I think the rear of the car could stand raising just a hair. In the photo of the mockup, the bottom edge of the body appears to run right through the axle centerline. In the real pic, the bottom edge of the body would appear to run an inch, maybe not quite two inches above the axle centerline. Actually, the mockup looks fine as it is, and most people would never notice that trivial discrepancy at all.

Then you'll make me a good swap on the figures?

I believe it's called Color Place. My store hasn't carried the white or gray for a while, but still has the black. But all three are available online. I'm gonna do a writeup on the stuff down in Tips & Tricks soon. But I want to test one of the new White cans to make sure they haven't changed the formula in the year or so since I've bought it at the store.

Great "sit!" You could have achieved the same thing by mounting the front axle on top of the springs instead of underneath them. I didn't discover this until I had my chassis SOLIDLY glued together and painted. I ended up dropping the front of the body over the frame a bit by taking a "pie section" out of the sides of the interior.

Wow, that would be a good looking 75! In fact, I know women in their 50s who don't look that good.

Many, many photos of shiny '70 Chevelles show reflections that look exactly like those bumps in the kit (and in Monogram's). But it doesn't look like that in real steel.