Spex84

Oh, ok...looks like the waxy supporting material (normally removed by Shapeways) wasn't entirely gone yet. Once its fully removed, you get that white-ish grainy surfacing where the support material was attached. This model appears to have been printed horizontally, face-up. I tend to buff those grainy areas with a toothpick to knock the grain down. Then I primer and figure out how much sanding or filler I'll need to remove the texture/deposition layer lines (the "woodgrain" effect)

Those Camaro styling studies are gorgeous! I don't know why, but it made me think of the Facel Vega. Maybe it's the "American muscle with heavy Euro influence" look...

Behind the Camaro Kammback, on the wall, is that leftmost drawing a rear-engined Corvette concept? Looks sweet!

Anyway, I'm excited to see this one getting built!

I'm a fan of the Invader! I've never built the Eldon/Doyusha kit, but judging from photos of other peoples' builds I've always felt that the carb scoops in the kit left something to be desired Kit Parts on left, the real thing on the right. Here's a discussion of alternative Cal Custom scoop sources, both kit and aftermarket:

Whoa! That's a beautiful model right there. Can't wait to see the rest of it :D

Example sources for a Spalding Flamethrower distributor: Revell '55 Chevy, Revell Parts Pack Ford 427 and Pontiac 421. Here's one added to an MPC '57 Chevy engine. Example source for a Vertex magneto: AMT '53 Ford PU (on the custom Desoto Firedome V8 optional engine). For the mag shown below, I cut the top off the AMT '53 PU part, fixed the bad seams, and dropped it on top of a piece of aluminum tubing to form the cylindrical casing. Drilled 8 pinholes in the cap and stuffed the wires in to match the 1:1 inspiration.

Ah yes, the kustom-haters are out in force. You guys have no idea what an ugly custom car looks like. There was some stuff built that makes the Sahara look like a model of taste and restraint. And if you do...how 'bout let's put them in a different thread and keep this one about the Golden Sahara. Thanks!

This speaks to me...I honestly like doing research and mocking up new ideas more than finishing anything. Once the idea is solid and it's down to bodywork and struggling with paint problems, the fun is over! And when it's done and on the shelf, the main reward is that now I can get back to the fun of planning/starting new projects :D

Love the fusee chain hinge! Very trick.

Clever work on that bucket! This model has excellent proportions so far, nice fabrication.

The "no fancy packaging" idea reminds me of the AMT Blueprinter series parts packs, in their minimally-marked white boxes. I love buying bagged kits if it saves me money!!

Love the color combo and those tasty Indycals tires! The kitbashed/scratchbuilt turbine is darn cool too. It may may have been a sow's ear but you turned it into a silk purse. Well done! And thanks for the WIP photos, it was a lot of fun to follow along.

Hmm, I've never seen this before. I'd definitely complain...seems like a bad batch of resin or something of the sort.

Love the concept and excellent execution! The photos are exceptionally well done too. If I squint, I can almost believe it's a real car.

I bet that Mustang didn't have the movie-accurate engine though I actually have the Supra on my shelf. Got it because it was cheap, but one of these days I might even build it! I also wonder what's going to happen to those enormous kit stashes. People are probably going to buy them up for pennies on the dollar at estate sales and re-sell them at full retail, if today's practices are any indication of what the future holds.

This is an exceedingly enjoyable thread Thanks for posting all the WIP and development shots! The 3D modeled and printed parts are inspirational, as is the more traditional hand-sculpting work.

Holy moly those are cool!! Definitely keep them as-is. Folk art for sure, and creative too.

I've got the warm fuzzies over here. Thanks guys :) Chuck, that's a mighty clean model right there! The 2-tone is excellent.

I like this kit and plan to build another at some point. While it has its issues, the body "feels" right to me, which makes me happy to work on it!

Beautiful model. I love all the work put into the detailing and engineering, and of course the paint combo and wheel/tire package are both fantastic. The real car is a stunner, and you nailed the scale version. What a kick, having the owner of the 1:1 purchase the model

That vette-a-bird streamliner is pretty creative! Gotta love how the engines are potvin-blown (with carbs) AND fuel injected. Heheh. Somebody pulled out at all the stops, thread for wiring and everything. I bet that model was built in about '64 or so!

Nicely done; that Slingster engine looks great in the engine bay I'm surprised at how well it works having 4 equal-size tires on this hot rod!

Wicked! It looks hella mean. I love the Y-block/chrome stamped valve covers (and those headers) with the twin mushroom-style air cleaners. Killer rubber rake :D My only critique would be that the back wheels look like they could stand to be a tad deeper, considering how fat those tires are. *shrug* I know that's a tall order! I can't wait to get mine :)

I've never experienced Johan plastic, but I've seen original AMT, brittle old Monogram tinted styrene, soft grey 90s Ertl plastic, and of course the soft, almost translucent white plastic some of the newer Revell kits seem to be molded in. I like carving up that Ertl plastic, but yeah, hot paints really mess with it. Looking forward to building some of the vintage AMT stuff though!