Spex84

I'd say Al nailed it...I counted the snaps along the side of the roof for the canvas top; 22 in each photo. The only difference I can see is the mirror on the survivor car, and the missing trim rings and hubcaps. Everything else is the same. The hood-side emblem is obscured in the survivor shots (it's behind the fender marker light). The fender-top indicator lights seem like they're missing in the vintage photo, but they're actually there, just drowned in glare from the sun. Someone painted the headlight rings black at some point. What a cool rig! I can also imagine it on a stretched modern frame with a diesel and a lift, something kind of like the Red Bull Sugga:

Thanks for the kind words Craig. I bet you can make those parts shine! At your suggestion, I have created a version of the quickchange rear with crossmember to fit Revell '32 Fords. All it required was widening the crossmember to 38mm from the previous 34. Both versions are now in the shop, so to future shoppers: please pay attention to the title and description of the product, it will tell you whether the parts fit Revell '29/30 or Revell '32! https://www.shapeways.com/product/2C9MDJHN5/quickchange-rear-with-crossmember-fits-revell-32 I've also added a 3-pack of plain rear crossmembers in the same 38mm width to fit Revell '32 frames: https://www.shapeways.com/product/T3HQUKQ66/3pack-model-t-crossmembers-fits-revell-32-ford

I'm very excited by this release and delighted with the changes made to the Rat Roaster tool. Like everyone else, I kinda wish they'd gone further towards making it 100% traditional but I understand the limitations the kit designers were working with. I could definitely be convinced to offer a 3D printed QC that fits the Revell frame, but in the meantime, Craig, you inspired me to stab the 3D printed QC setup into a Revell frame...and it works out pretty much as you described! I removed the kit crossmember by scoring with the back of a knife blade and dropped in the 3D printed QC and crossmember combo. Once the upper shock mounts are resting against the floor, kit-stock ride height is achieved! Easy peasy. Two small problems: the crossmember was designed for the narrower Revell '29/30 frames (so there's a gap on each side) and placing the axle in exactly the right location pushes the QC right up against the gas tank, so if it were a real car there'd be no room for suspension articulation. Solutions: just add 2mm spacers to each side, and if you really want to be trad, notch the gas tank for the quick-change. *Edit: I should mention, this is for a '32 roadster build inspired by the Kessler roadster. I was going to just put the Revell 9-inch in it, but...now it will get a QC! https://public.fotki.com/LOUD-PEDAL/1932-fords/famous-1932-fords/75-years-of-the-32-ford-/gary-kesslers-roadster/gary-kesslers-clone-10.html

Glad to hear it, Larry! Thanks for choosing MLM...and be sure to post some pics if you use the parts in a project. I love seeing the stuff actually getting built. Hmm, it's been a while since I posted in this thread. Here's a mockup of the QC setup that I printed at home...it's packaged differently from the Shapeways version (that version has bigger sprues) but I've had a couple Shapeways customers report successful results so far, so I'm pretty excited about it. This was posted to Instagram a while back and I still haven't painted the parts. I'd better get in gear!!

Loving this build so far, it's so cool to see 3D printed traditional hot rod parts in use!

Nicely done! The end result is very convincing. I can just imagine that van hauling painting supplies in Mexico or something. Ditto Mike's comments above!

I agree that hand-drawn or painted art tends to have imperfections that make it feel richer than digital art. That said, some digital artists have become SO good at mimicking traditional art media and techniques that you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference through a computer screen! It's crazy what's possible these days. Gimp has a variety of tools, including ones that allow you to draw from scratch. RE: digital drawing/painting apps that are free, I should also mention Krita. It features some awesome digital drawing and painting tools and is set up a lot like photoshop. I downloaded it fairly recently but haven't dug into it yet, so looking forward to that!

Love the color, and that interior is looking super classy!

Beautiful work! Love that fade job and the modifications...you've kept all of the cool features of the car and ironed out the weirdness that it suffers from in stock form. I particularly like the bladed bumpers.

Now that's eye-catching! Very nicely sorted. I'd love to get my hands on another AMT '63 vette at some point. I've always loved the design.

Looking fantastic! Nice oxygen tank, btw.

The effort going into this bellypan...wow!

Glad to see the updates on this one, it's been a while since I checked in! That chromed grille is going to look absolutely wild once it's in place. This car has that perfect 1940s pulp magazine "Automobiles of the Future" vibe. I'm truly impressed that you have followed through and it's so close to completion!

Fantastic work! The paint is luscious. Nice job getting all the grille components straight and level...that's always a tough challenge for people building replicas of this car. El Matador is one of my all-time faves and you've certainly done it justice!

Mmm, nope. I just checked the instructions and some online auction listings that show the kit components and I was incorrect. The '57 Ford seats are different; more pronounced bolsters and a different upholstery pattern. But I DO have a couple sets of those seats in my stash! Hmm...what the heck are they from? I'll keep looking.

Cool project! That seat looks like it's from the '90s issues of the AMT '57 Ford, which featured a selection of 2-n-1 features. I think this version has those seats?:

Sounds like that body must be a super-high detail mesh. Good luck. There are a couple ways to optimize or re-mesh objects in Blender, but it does tend to result in undesirable changes to the mesh. I look forward to seeing what technique does the trick!

Meshmixer might do what you need. If I was going to split that body in Blender, I'd make 3 copies of the body and use Boolean modifiers with a large cube to remove the rear 2/3 of the first body, the nose and tail of the second body, and the front 2/3 of the third body. The result, once the modifiers were applied, would be 3 chunks: nose, center, and tail. The body probably needs to be a contiguous "watertight" mesh in order for the Boolean modifier to work well.

I dig all the ways you're deleting some of the toy-like features and making the model look more like a 1:1, namely the floor tab removal and door panel modifications. Mockup looks tuff!!

That's what we're paying up here in Canada, fellas. eBay shipping these days is frequently $35 per kit. Whee! Best to bundle your purchases and combine shipping!!

You're a man of honor, I see As a designer of 3D parts I find it encouraging to hear this sentiment expressed. It's why I don't sell digital files...yet. Eventually 3D printers will become so ubiquitous that the tide will turn. And dude, those louvers are spectacular!

That grille is a thing of absolute beauty! I'm loving this build so far. My parents had a "Winnie" briefly that looked a lot like this. Mechanically it was a lemon, and smelled funny. I distinctly remember feeling very carsick sitting at the dining room table while were underway. I think it had a 318 or a 360 in it?

Well this is exciting! Awesome work so far. I can't wait to see more. I also have a pile of parts stashed away, waiting to become a Carroll-esque coupe (Ed's chopped '32 5w body, a flathead, yada yada). My direction for the project might be swayed by this beautiful machine, Simon Gluckman's "Little Eve", which is basically the Carroll coupe with a blown OHV instead of a flattie. it might be of some interest to you too!

I clicked on this purely because of the brilliant moniker It looks very functional! Would be awesome if the name was included somewhere, as a punchline people will discover if they look closely. It could be printed on a banner, or an event poster, or a photo-reduced magazine cover, or...I don't know.

Oh, whoops! I've sold several and thought you were one of the buyers. No worries, it's the thought that counts haha.