BDSchindler

Rookie question here but on the recommendation of a good friend of mine, I've been using Evercoat Polyester Glazing Putty but the setup time is so short that it starts to lump on me and just frustrates the beejeevers out of me. I tend to use an amount about the size of a half dollar and just basically a dot of hardener and I get about 10 minutes of time to apply it before it gets clumpy and I go back for more. It feels like I am using more than I should. I know the more experienced I get using it will result in better results. I do like it as it sets up in a short amount of time and sanding is fairly easy as well as the fact I can sand it inside of an hour...which is a plus. Years ago I used squadron green but that has tendency to melt the plastic and the testers stuff is just garbage in my opinion. So... what do you use and how are the results?

Never an issue, good products, fast shipping

"MEAGER efforts"? "fairly SIMPLE shapes"???? Randy, compared to you...I figure I'm the village idiot! Just curious...where did you learn to do this?

picked these up from Steve from the last NNL

Replicas and Miniatures of MD has 3 sets of floor shifters depending on your need. I picked these up from Norm at one of Mama's Boyz club meetings a couple of months back...

So a couple of months back I was in the grocery store and passed by the magazine rack looking to see what was there...automotive speaking, that is. I noticed a different magazine that I've never seen before..."Street Trucks Innovation" and on the cover was a really striking 52 Chevy 3100 street truck in bright orange, black grill, wheels and window trim. Built by HPI Customs in Canada for the owners father. The background story is touching...and long so I won't go into it (google "Vicarious Chevy Street truck"). Here's the original art for the truck...the final product changed just a bit... Pretty much, it appeared to be a near stock 52 cab with minor body changes and the bed is from a more recent Chevy P/U with shaved sides and original 52 fenders. Here's the finished version: so with a few changes, I figured it would be an easy enough build using the 50 Chevy 3100 from AMT as a base with pirated bed sides. For stuff and giggles, I emailed HPI and told them that I thought they did a beautiful job and intended on an attempt at replicating it in scale. HPI could not have been nicer and provided all sorts of pictures from the build. After trading emails and looking at the build pics...typical with street rods, about the only thing in common with the stock 52 is the general design of the cab. After looking at the frame (below) I knew a scratch built frame was on order and while I thought I could do it with plastic I also thought...what about a simple frame in Brass? Enter Randy and his impressive soldering that makes you want to toss everything into a wood chipper and take up whittling tree branches into sharp pointy sticks to shove in your eyes (just kidding randy, really beautiful work)! We recently had our water heater take a dump on us so while the plumber was installing it, I started asking about soldering. He was intrigued with the amount of Danbury Mint diecast (don't hate...I used to collect and review them for magazines) that lined the basement (man cave) walls (especially the butter nut yellow 68 Chevelle of which he had a similar 1:1 of) and he asked if I had the brass, solder and a torch and he would show me a few pointers. Just so happened that I had brass already cut and a handheld torch. So he took 30 minutes and gave me a quick lesson in what he called "micro soldering". Fairly simple, measure the brass, cut the shape, clean it while roughing it up a bit, "tin" it, hold it together with some sort of clamp/hold down to keep it from moving, heat the brass up hot, remove the heat and immediately touch the solder to it. If it is hot enough, it will flow into the seam and hold it tight. I had solder with flux in the core and my new-found plumber friend mentioned I was better off using flux paste and silver solder for better hold. Paid his bill for the water heater and gave him the Danbury Mint Chevelle as a thank you for his lesson in micro soldering. Granted, this is a simple soldering job but it is my first attempt. what's more is...it actually held together tightly and still at 90 degree angles! Maybe attempting the basic frame out of brass isn't too far out of the realm of possibilities...(d*mn you, Randy Ditton, d*mn you!)

Scott...who makes those wheels and where did you get them from Frank...I'd seriously be interested in those wheels, shoot me a message or email me SFHESS...thanks, I'll take a look

I am attempting to replicate a Street Sport Custom truck that I saw and it uses Budnik Remington wheels like the one below from their online site. Doesn't have to exact although that would be preferred. Anybody have any leads to this in 1/24th scale or something close?

Totally speechless! I look at builds like this and then look at my own little world of projects and tools combined with my skill level and all I can think of is... "For Sale: 50+ kits Unbuilt, various hand tools, 4 airbrushes, compressor, dremel paints assorted parts" Now I know why some people collect higher end higher detailed diecast models.

Well, my first FINISHED automotive model in 30 years and I gotta say...I need lots of practice to rebuild skills! But it is officially done and just in time since my daughter's birthday is tomorrow.

So many great things in the thread, makes a guy of my skill level go "who the hell was I trying to fool!" I have posted this in other forums but prior to getting back into this hobby again I was heavily involved in diecast collecting and reviewing 1/24th scale diecast. After an unpaid 3-year stint for The Car Room Magazine, I took a serious look at the hobby and created this diorama. It has a whole 4 page background story to it but the bottom line is that the dumpster is filled with items from different companies that were a part of the diecast industry/hobby that once had a dream before going out of business. Hence the name of the diorama..."Broken Dreams" Not everything is scratch built but the 1/12th scale dumpster, decals on the dumpster, diecast boxes and the Magazines are photo-reduced to 1/12th scale included in the trash are.

Well, this helps to rectify the situation. I received an email from Matt at Gravity Colors. I had sent an email recapping the transaction much like the initial post in this thread. Matt apologized as the transaction was just bad from the start and even though I have not received the product yet...HE REFUNDED THE ENTIRE ORDER INCLUDING THE SHIPPING! Granted the order was less than $60 with the discount but that, my friends, speaks VOLUMES for Gravity Colors and shows confidence and passion in the products they offer not to mention just GREAT customer service. I'm impressed and will be back.

After I read a few things including publicity articles in both SAE and Model Cars Magazine about Gravity Colors, I decided to pull the plug and make a purchase using their first time purchase discount. About a week later I checked the status of the order and the site said it was still pending...so I sent an inquiry to see what was going on. No answer. My second inquiry 5 days later was replied to and I was given a USPS tracking number told on February 11 that the package was shipped 6 days earlier on the 5th . When I checked the tracking number, the items purchased were not shipped yet but USPS was notified the item was ready to shipped but not rec'd yet. I was given the excuse that the tracking software they use was having issues but when I tracked the package at the USPS site, it told me the same thing as their tracking software. Now they tell me that the package was dropped off at 6 pm tonight, Friday 2/12 (a full week after they originally told me it was shipped) and I won’t get it until Tuesday although it was supposedly shipped 2-day priority mail. As a former writer for Toy Cars and Models Magazine and The Car Room Magazine, I recognize the excellent press that Gravity Colors has gotten in magazines lately, based on this transaction...I’m just not seeing it. I'm not saying I was lied to but...well draw your own conclusions. My opinion, buyer beware.

We have an 8-year old Great Pyrenees (Harley) that still thinks he's a puppy. I couple of years ago, I was building an N scaled diorama for work involving a Grain Silo (8 silos) when he swiped off the desk and ran off in an effort to get some attention. Harley is certainly Mommy's baby and garners more attention than everything else in the house combined...that was just him being a huge goofball. Like your Newfy...excellent guard dog. Fortunately, I was able to use paper towel tubes to repair the silo's he crushed.

I was a huge collector of 1/18th scale at one time and over the course of 3 years, sold nearly 500 on ebay. I never ran across this issue but having been involved in the hobby between collecting, reviewing for Magazines and working with the manufactures, I have seen the end result several times over. One of the cars that I sold on ebay nearly 15 years go suddenly developed the problem. It was a rare car that went for large money. The guy that bought it (remember, 15 years ago) messaged me through ebay as I have had the same handle on there for YEARS and wanted his money back. I told him 1). I did not remember him but I do remember selling the car and 2) he had to talk to the manufacture as it was a manufacturing issue. It sucks, especially if you paid an enormous amount of money for something that is rare.

Jeez...I have an 18 year old who isn't at all interested in getting his license.

I've been picking up a couple of insignificant kits lately (read: CHEAP!) to practice with and get my skills and (most importantly) patience back up to par. Especially painting skills that weren't always so great anyway. Well, my daughter's 14th birthday is this Valentines day. She is obsessed with the color pink and recently, she became doubly obsessed with the new Mini Cooper. So I seized the moment and picked up Revell's Mini Cooper and tonite, it got painted...pink. I figured I'll build it for her Birthday. And boy is this thing PINK! Going to be a standard build. The kit I picked up I didn't realize it was a curbside model but just the practice I wanted. I also picked up the Photoetch kit for the Mini from MCG. Should a fun build. Besides, how many guys can say they bought their little girl a new car for her 14th birthday!

Years ago when I wrote for Toy Cars and Models Magazine, I did an in depth article on Revell-Monogram's Creative Masters 1/20th scale diecast cars. This line was top of the line in so far as detail went in the mid to late 80's. I was fortunate to interview 4 of the executives that were behind the line, Roger Harney, Ed Sexton, Ken Merker and Bob Johnson. Bob Johnson was one of the founders of Accurate Miniatures. When he and I were talking one day about the model kits that A-M did, he also mentioned that they had intended on doing a 427 Cobra to include in the line but funding was an issue towards the end and it never made it to fruition. About a week later, Bob sent me one of the original kits out of the blue complete with the higher end decals and photoetched and strict instructions to contact Harold Bradford at HRM to get the aftermarket suspension pieces from HRM. Also picked up the oil cooler from Norm with Replicas and Miniatures at the last MAMA's meeting. Now I just need to figure when I can get this one started!

My point was in the price reference from Brian's post regarding a 1/8th scale model to surround the subject of this topic. While not 1/8th, Tony's 1/10th diecast does hit the ballpark of what Brian suggested. The quality of an Exoto diecast car was not the point of my response nor the point of this topic.

Well, not 1/8 but Exoto did a 1/10th scale diecast (fully assembled/painted) of the GT-40 that while it had issues, is/was nicely done. To that, prices range from $1,798 for the 1966 Exoto Ford GT40 Mk II #2 (Shelby signed version for $2,7470) to $4,495. They have retired models of the MK II for just under $9k. tHE 1967 Exoto Ford GT40 Mk IV in a variety of liveries runs $4,495 ($5,495 for a Shelby Signed Version). The owner of the company has a history of replicas of cars without doing the licensing, however. Exoto Website

Thanks Bill. I appreciate it as I said, I had no idea of what scale so I just assumed it was 1/8th.

I know people are familiar with the Revell 1/8th scale Big T but I am looking for one that was recently released. The one I am looking for has the name "HARNEY" on the decal sheet for the license plate. Here's why... I was a former writer for Toy Cars and Models and The Car Room Magazines. My standard column was reviewing 1/24th scale diecast cars and trucks as well as a number of Feature articles...one of which was on Revell-Monogram line of Creative Masters 1/20th scale Diecast Cars. These were highly detailed for their time (early 80's to early 90's) and consisted of only 7 models in just a handful of liveries. One of them was a Yellow 69 Z/28 Camaro that reportedly only 200 of them were done and sent to Germany. This model drifted back into the US and some sold as high as $6,000.00 (I know someone who actually paid that much for it via Ebay). Many collectors never knew anything about the line so there was this air of mystery about it. Before long, many tales and stories of industrial espionage and outlandish stories started to rise out of the woodwork. Many dealers took a lot of advantage of the folklore and used it to bring in enormous amounts of money in secondary sales. I loved the line and my thirst for it sent me on a fact-finding mission. I did the research and found the 4 men that were the backbone of the line. One of them was Roger Harney. Roger started with Revell when he was very young and spent his entire working career with them spanning 57 years. He started as a model builder just building models according to the directions to ensure there were no issues. At the time of his death in 2014, he was the Sr. VP of Revell-Monogram Inc. in charge of Manufacturing and Tooling. During his tenure, Roger was responsible for designing a majority of the models we all love in a variety of scales both military and nonmilitary. Roger and I became fast friends and even though he was in Chicago and I was Maryland, we talked often mostly about nothing at all...just sharing a friendship, one that I miss tremendously. Roger's wife sent the yearly Xmas card to my family and in it she enclosed a note that Revell did a 29 Ford Hot Rod and in the decal sheet, enclosed the name "HARNEY" as a tribute to the man that was a modeling legend. But his wife never mentioned the scale so I am trying to find it. The reason I pinpointed the 1/8th scale one was when the original Big T was designed, it was actually a fluke. Roger was tasked with designing/building 1/8th scale engines kits for display and eventual Marketing when he mentioned to his then boss that it would be better if there was a complete car to go with it. His boss told him there was no budget for the R&D to develop the car. Roger being the ever creative modeler went home on that Friday and returned to work on Monday with the Big T Chassis and complete drive train totally and 100% scratch built. The executives loved it so much that was immediately approved with the kit being released less than a year later. When he told me this story, the hair on the back of my neck stood up as I built that model when I was younger and here, 45 years later, I was talking to the man that designed it. Roger was one of the most kindest and generous men I ever knew. I want to find this kit with the license plate name of "HARNEY" to build as a tribute to him and present it to his wife as my thanks for sharing her husband for so many years and bringing so much joy to so many people for so many years. Without him in place, I doubt this hobby would be where it is today.

Not a model of mine, mind you, but hot rod and Beach Boys fans will rejoice over the new Hallmark ornament available in the Hallmark Card Stores for $17. it's roughly 1/25th scale. Push the tail light and it plays an excerpt from the Beach Boys Xmas Classic "Lil St. Nick". Since everyone at work knows I love Hot Rods, this will be a good mix on my desk for the holiday season...also somewhat inspiring in so far as modeling goes.

so I did another for hand tools like cutter, pliers and a section to hold files.

using the 6 foot rule, yes it does...hold it in your hand and see the issues up close, you'll think twice, especially for the money