BDSchindler

I highly recommend Steve Zimmerman. great wheels easy to work with.

Been a minute or 2 since I posted an update on Project Novacam. Still have a way to go but I put the interior in and mounted the chassis to get a look at it. The grill and from bumper are not permanent installed yet nor is the rear one... ...nor the glass ... very dusty ...a few odds and ends to tidy up but here are some mocked up pics. The exhaust is aluminum pipe, “Z” wheels... more later!

Thanks for the info. I used to write for Toy Cars and Models and later for the mis-managed The Car Room Magazine where I reviewed mostly 1/24th scale diecast cars from Danbury Mint, Franklin Mint and a host of other manufactures with the occasional feature articles on other scales like 1/12th, 1/18th and so on. Like yourself, every model I reviewed, I got to keep as well (at one point I had over 3,000 diecast cars and trucks and a somewhat unhappy wife!). While the manufactures wanted favorable reviews in exchange for the models, I told each manufacture up front that I would photograph and ONLY give honest reviews. George Bojaciuk can attest to my honesty in every review. It was fun to do but it ended up taking so much of my free time (Yes, I also have one of those pesky 80 hours or more a week jobs! ?), that I had to stop. Add to it the fraudulent activity (my opinion) of the owner of The Car Room Magazine, soured me for doing anything else like that (I took him to court for Breach of Contract among other things and won). Like Daffy Duck would say, he was despicable! You're doing a heck of a great job on these and I know the manufacture is proud to have you doing these. Love the paint on the Toyota! Keep up the great work, you have a follower/admirer here!

I'm not up on just how many of the GTO's that were drag raced by Royal Pontiac back in the day but I had to opportunity to meet and interview Milt Schornack a few years back at a presentation ICONS Inc. was making ain front of Walt Hollifield's amazing GTO Car Collection In NC.

Great build, Bruce. Question for you, how did you get started in building these for DeAgostini?

I just read your trials and tribulations with the paint. Glad to hear that my buffing tips saved the paint. I love that '55!

I got my copy in the mail today and I have to say, the relaunch is nothing short of great! I used to write a monthly 1/24th scale diecast column for a couple of popular hobby magazines so I understand when problems with a magazine develop. I also recognize when a publication listens to their followers and it is more than obvious that all those involved with MCM have, in fact, listened! Love the new products and how to articles and how you set the bait for future issues in continuing these builds down the road. I have only one question now...Has the next issue mailed yet? ? Great work by the whole MCM Team!

I did this and works very well! http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/155649-micromark-cushioned-sanding-tool/?tab=comments#comment-2296834

I haven't rec'd the latest issue yet and I no longer have the bag the last issue was mailed in but I know my subscription still had outstanding issues. I can't remember when it runs/ran out. Is there any way of checking the status of my subscription?

The one rule prevails...and it hold true for collecting anything from buttons to fine automobiles... ...Something is only worth, what somebody else is willing to pay for it.

Randy... I was amazed with the Hot Rod Wrecker... ...You blew me away with the GT-40 ...now this? This is just an amazing work of art!

I used a dimmer switch as well for a number of years but took it one step further. I bought a 2-gang blue plastic electrical box, a high end knob type dimmer switch, a 2-gang switch plate that accepts an outlet and switch, an outlet and a short (3') heavy duty 3-prong (with ground) extension cord. Most outlets are wired together or you can separate them by removing a bridging. I removed the bridge. I cut the outlet off the extension cord, ran that end of the extension into the box to one of the 2 outlets to provide constant power to one of the outlets, Then from that outlet to the dimmer then from the dimmer to the other outlet. Screwed on the switch plate to prevent accidental electrocution ? and done. Now I had one outlet with constant power and one that I could vary. Worked great. Cost less than $10 and about 1/2 hour to make. Eventually, I found a brand new dremel 4000 variable speed complete set at a yard sale for $30 (right place at the right time ? ) and no longer needed the box I made so I tossed it (it was bulky anyway!).

I reviewed the WIX Cobra's back in the day in my then standing column in Toy Cars and Models Magazine and the FM Super Snake Cobra was in my column in The Car Room Magazine years later. The WIX Cobras were actually done by a small company out of North Carolina called ICONS Inc. They were very good especially for $40 retail in select WIX auto parts stores (as opposed to the $130 retail for FM's version). The target was actually the #98 Cobra that George Bojacuik did when he was at Franklin Mint. The #11 Cobra below in the triple Cobra pic was supposed to be done as the Elvis Cobra from the Movie "Spin Out" but FM already had the rights to it (FM Release a poor copy of it years later that included the bogus "Elvis" signature that was tampo'd on the body. YEECH!)... As for the Franklin Mint Cobra "Super Snake" (that was what FM called it which was wrong), it was better that a lot of the more recent diecast that FM did, but nowhere near close to the one that G'Bo did...

Cripes I wish I had 10% of your talents, Tim. All I can add is... DAY-UM!!!!!!!

Oh boy! Randy's back at the bench!

I was on Micromark's site and came across this little gem, It's a cushioned sanding pad with peel and stick surface for sanding disks, It comes in 1" and 2" radius and you can get either 120 grit or 220 grit sanding disks. This is just like the cushioned pad I use on my orbital buffer for my car with the same peel and stick backing. So I wondered if I made a 1" buffing pad cut from a 6" one, would it work in my variable speed dremel? So I bought it, took a used pad and measured and cut a buffing pad specifically for the dremel... then mounted and shaped it I got out and old Franklin Mint police trailer because it had a smooth top. Removed the dust and put a piece of tape down the center and grabbed my bottle of Mcguiar's #7 wax, I put a small dab on the left side of the trailer, set the dremel to 7,000 rpm so I didn't burn the paint. A little hand buffing after a couple of minutes of machine buffing and you can see the difference... Next up, Orange enamel over plastic and repeat the process (there was some orange peel and minor scratches on this hood)... so I'm very pleased with this...helps to remove orange peel and minor scratches. Best part is that you can change the shape of the pad to get into tight spots. Works great!

Not a whole lot new but I did pick up an LS3 with an Edelbrock crossram on Shapeways. Stealing a trick from Steve Guthmiller, I BMF’d the emblem, paint the intake and removed the paint from the lettering.

last I heard, the NNL North tri-fecta was cancelled

This wo'n't be the "popular" vote but I was looking for a dehydrator and was skeptical of using a household appliance potentially capable of cooking food to dry paint. So I bought a Dr. Dry Booth from Micromark based on a recommendation from George B . Here's the review I posted on Micromark: Great drying booth I’m usually not one for writing reviews but this was an exception for an exceptional product. I had toyed with the idea of getting a cheap dehydrator for painting but I was always afraid of potential issues with too much heat and having to modify racks so it would actually hold a model and/or parts. Not the case with Dr Drybooth. Yes it is a bit pricey when compared to modified food dehydrators but the confidence of knowing the heat is adjustable as it the drying time, I am glad I spent the extra money for a quality product! I put a thermometer inside and cranked the heat. It warmed up in no time and kept a constant temperature until the timer ran out NEVER going higher 110 degrees. Simple to use right out of the box and it is everything that the description says it is and MORE! Try it once is all I can say, you’ll be glad you did! AND, the price has dropped since I bought mine. For those that need a longer, larger dryer...Micromark has one of those too...

ah... yeah ... right... More like: "For Sale: EVERYTHING! Various model kits and parts, tool galore, 4 airbrushes, 1 spray booth, assorted paints and lots of frustration!!!!!!" Absolutely beautiful work!

Here’s a couple of things I incorporated into the Crown Vic I built earlier this year tach fuel tank cobbled up the inner door panels of the Crown Vic and inserted the armrest from a 2014 Mustang Inner door panel. Scratch built? More like morphed together... completely scratch built custom console...

Thanks all for your feedback, greatly appreciated!

A little dab will do ya! Dab of black wash that is...

You're correct, Rex...most of the diecast companies DO believe the difference won't be noticed...or they just don't care. Most of them believe in the "Close is good enough" theory. GMP comes immediately to mind as they were always the biggest offenders of the "Close is good enough" concept. I wrote for a couple of different hobby magazines focusing on diecast reviews in a variety of scales. With much of the diecast manufacturing community like Maisto, where the price point is less than $30, you expect inconsistencies. Drive that price point up and collectors expectation go up as well. This is what killed Franklin Mint. When the attention to detail stopped being what it once was under the old guard, collectors complained. Even when I wrote about it in my articles, they did nothing to improve themselves. Even the then Director of the FM Diecast division called me to ask what could be done to save it and turn collectors around, I told him. I mean a '63 Corvette Stingray with a ride height of a 4X4 for $160? Really? So many of the GMP products were done with the idea of subsequent releases (variations on the existing or original tooling) was done in the Close is good enough design concept. In many cases, current iterations of a tool were done in a way to create subsequent releases as easily as possible. When I reviewed GMP's 1/24th scale white Mustang Shelby, the operations Manager for GMP, Mark Sanderson, called me with every sob story possible and finally blamed it all on the factory in china. The only company that understood from the very start was Danbury Mint. Excellent diecast but even at that, had issues from time to time. What killed DM was not the devotion by collectors or inconsistencies in accuracy...it was the manufacturing process where the factories in China drove the price through the roof. In the end, if you buy it, the company has your money and most people will not send it back. Modelers will fix issues for themselves and collectors (as in the case of diecast) will put it on their shelves without complaint. This is how the "Close is good enough" concept works.

Well, it’s been a minute or 2 since any updates were made. I looked at the grill and wondered if I could open it. 5 hours later (after a ton light sanding) here we are... back side...this was seriously thick plastic. The resulting grill work is paper thin. Not perfect, but after a black wash, I think it’ll be fine. Next up, paint. 3 coats of rattle can Tester’s Extreme Lacquer deep blue (I forget the name of the color). H Set it up in my Dr. Dry Booth for a couple of rounds of drying, then a little wet sanding and clear it. I’m thinking of doing the trim work in black BMF as opposed to chrome. Thats it, so far.