atomicholiday

That is seriously cool…?

I’m pretty excited about this. I just finished making my first ever resin parts! No clean up has been done. These are just test pieces because I honestly thought the first attempt would be a fail. But success! I only had one small bubble on each piece. I’ll take that as a win.? Now I have an old set of five slot rims I want to make copies of.

I’m going to try plexiglass first. I think I can rig it so it sits where the screen goes. Then I can leave it in place and just open and close the window as you would normally.

Thou shalt not stink up the house with paint fumes??

I just picked up those drill bits Saturday.? I also got a contour gauge I’m hoping will help with a scratch building idea I have. Bought the same head band about a year ago or so. I don’t use it all the time, but it’s great when you need to get up close and personal with your work.??

This looks way simpler than I had envisioned. Thanks for posting pictures. Now I have a pretty clear idea of what I want to do. Nice booth you have there! That looks pretty cool. Lots of space. I just ordered a 22” double fan booth from Amazon. It’ll be big enough for most of my needs I think.

Anyone here venting your booth out through a casement (crank-out) window? How are you sealing around it? All the options I see on Amazon look like cheap plastic sheeting with a zipper. I’d like to find (or maybe make) something a little more solid.

This might just be the best build up of this kit I’ve ever seen. The NMF is fantastic. Great idea by the way.?

Your grill looks great! And the finished build is sinister. Looks awesome.

Very minor update. Got the wheel backs done today.?

That red & black is just cool. Looks great!

Got some paint on the interior. The seats, dash and door cards are all shot with my go-to for vinyl, Krylon satin black. I’ve used it many times for this in the past and been very pleased, but for some reason, this time it came out a little glossier than I would like. Not sure if it was a different batch, or weather or what. It’s not terrible though, so I think I’ll let it go.

Go figure.?

So let me ask you guys this. What are the really small lathes you see watch makers using ? Maybe I’m not even thinking of an actual lathe? I saw one recently that was belt driven, and the motor sat behind the machine.

Looks pretty aggressive with those wheels. I like it.?

@Aaronw Wow, thank you (and everyone else who chimed in too) for the very comprehensive reply. You guys have given me a lot to think over. I may be over my head, but I think I may start looking for one of the brand recommendations above on the used market for a while and see what turns up. Working as a metrologist in the automotive industry since the early 90’s, I’ve learned that one of the most important and undervalued people in any plant is the tool maker. It’s always fascinating to me that these guys can take a chunk of metal and turn it into just about anything they want. I’ve had the pleasure of working with several really good tool makers over the years. Might be time to get my hands dirty.

Could be. I don't know what the science is behind the effect, but if it didn't work the way it does, I'd probably have to quit the hobby.

Anyone here have a lathe that you’re using for model building? I’ve been thinking of looking into something small and reasonably priced. Thoughts? Opinions? Recommendations?

My wife is glad that I have a hobby and that it’s one that keeps me home. She also enjoys looking at my stash and all the cool box art. She’s not as happy about my spending. My fault. I’ve gotten a little crazy with kit purchases over the past year or so. She won’t stop me, but I can tell when she’s mad about it.

The reason I will build a specific kit varies all over the place. Subject matter is important, but not the only reason for me. Lately it’s been more about skill building than anything else. I might pick a kit because there’s a feature I want to learn how to handle. I also get bored building the same genre, so one build might be a muscle car. The next might be an exotic, then maybe an F1 car, then an airplane, then another muscle car, etc. Sometimes I’ll build one because it was a gift and I want to show appreciation. Sometimes it will be for nostalgia sake. And sometimes a kit will just grab my attention for no particular reason. I can never really tell, so I just go with it. Of course, I’m talking like I actually finish projects. Bigger problem for me is attention span. Too damn many squirrels…

I went through the same thing about a year ago. Picked up some 3x readers and my detail work is the best it's ever been. Total game changer. Those readers are hands down my most important modelling tool. I'll let you in on another advantage of the glasses. I don't know if this happens with everyone, or if I'm just imagining it. I have hand tremors REALLY bad. It was very difficult just typing this. For some reason, the readers "trick" my brain and the shakes are far less when wearing them. No idea why. I still shake when I have them on, but it scales the shaking WAY down. Even if my eyes were great, I could never do the detail work that I can without the glasses. My builds would just be a big sloppy mess. (ok, sloppier?)

Was a little warmer today (49 F), so I took advantage and got some paint on the engine. I’m trying something I picked up from another member, and went with black primer to try to get some added depth. It's hard to see in this pic, but I think it worked out ok. The air cleaner was done in lighter primer in an attempt at making the orange pop a little more than the block. The transmission and other details will be painted after this cures.

Yeah, that engine looks great. Nice work!

Thank you all for your generous compliments! I appreciate you all! It was a fun build, but I'm glad to be done with it. I'm ready for the next challenge! ('71 GTX, I'm looking at you)

Every time I see this build, I’m in awe of that paint job. Great job Joe! You nailed it.?