Spex84

A note on purple power--I found that when mixed with water it goes "bad" and doesn't work after a while (I thought I'd save money by thinning it out with water). I suspect that exposure to the air/humidity could potentially have the same effect. I've had my Purple cleaner stored in a zip-lock bag for quite some time now, and it still works well.

Nicely done, very convincing! I like the color combination, too.

I see these for sale fairly frequently online...in similar condition! Sometimes the photo is upside down and the ad simply reads "Car". Those are even sadder than the pimp-on-a-budget examples with terrible chrome wheels. I lusted after the 300 when it was new, but now....they don't look classy so much as bloated and cheap. Perfect for stuffing a viper engine into, haha! I'd take mine in flat black with some big matte-finish halibrand-style slotted wheels and whitewall tires. Just like what you've built here, but maybe slightly cleaned-up. Very inspirational, thanks

Crazy!! Looking forward to seeing more of this ambitious project. I'm keeping an eye out for a used toaster oven, thinking of maybe building my own small-scale vacu-former.

One of the first car models I ever built was a 904. I still have it sitting on the shelf, ill-fitting hood and all. Very tempted to try another, but build it Outlaw style this time!

The tucked-in tail is very effective, fixes the awkwardness of a stock '34...very cool engineering here Did you dullcote the tires? They look very realistic.

Love it! The taillight/trim treatment is especially cool. It definitely captures the spirit of the 49-er retro concept.

Happy birthday and congratulations, the Porsche looks spectacular. I've truly enjoyed watching this one come together. Ditto on the comments about the fender protector helping the proportions out back...lots of unusual features in this car but they all came together beautifully! Feeling inspired now...

Cool!! I never found the '46 Lincoln very attractive, but the work you've done makes a huge difference! Can't wait to see it with chrome installed, sitting on some wheels

Some really stunning stuff goin' on here. Love that fire extinguisher, and the decals, mesh, lights etc are all looking really good. Nice license plate??! lol.

Cool idea, I love the lengthened proportions!

Turned out great! Nice hinges on the doors, by the way! I also like the V'd spreader bar.

That's the car known as "Truly Rare" isn't it? Gene Howard? Pretty sure it's a Buick. No idea on year so I'm gonna guess '53 and then go check Kustomrama to see if I got it right

Incredibly cool!! Love the concept, fabrication, opening doors, and detailing. Very creative. A question for you--how do the door props function? Do they actually collapse as the doors close, or do they unhook and fold away? The reason I ask is I have a gullwing-door '63 Corvette project that needs exactly the same kind of door prop, and I've run into a bit of a snag trying to make it functional enough to hold the weight of the door without seeming too obtrusive when the door is open.

I agree a truck like that would be a great thing to have available. Might have to go shopping in Mexico or Brazil to get one, though

Nope, this was years earlier. I should have made the point that far from being annoyed, I was absolutely OK with the order arriving "when it's ready". It blows my mind when people freak out about not receiving things 2 days after they've ordered them, having never personally experienced shipping faster than about a week's time. Seems to me people need to be more patient. I understand there are vendors who drag things out and make customers wait longer than is acceptable, but I didn't realize this topic was specifically about that, considering there are a number of other threads that touch on the same issue. In that case...no-one has ever taken me for a ride, thankfully.

Took me about 3-4 months to receive a Modelhaus order once. Stuff ordered online routinely takes 3 weeks to arrive, or more. If we include video games in the hobby category, then how about the video game I pre-ordered, and it wasn't finished for 4+ years? By the time it was complete and "delivered", I wasn't interested any more, haha.

Nice work Richard!! Great design and technique. I'm impressed by the attention paid to the adjustment angle of the mirrors! Was that the contest where the winners would have their entry drawn by a "pro" artist? I seem to recall submitting an entry to a similar contest. Not as well drawn as yours, of course

I've always like Harry Bradley's awesome illustrations and renderings. He could draw like crazy, but I'm struck by the absolutely unimpeded exuberance of many of his designs. That's both good and bad...very fresh and creative, but also lots of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" going on, especially in cars like The Californian. Artists tend to get worn down by people telling them "no, that's nuts, we can't do it", but Harry Bradley apparently had the freedom to keep pumping out crazy ideas, probably with the idea that every so often he'd land a solid punch. It must have been rewarding to him as an artist! This has to be a rare kit, right? I can't imagine they sold very well, haha!

I use an x-acto saw with medium teeth for cutting quickly through thick plastic (the miter box is pretty useless though), x-acto saw blades held between my fingertips for tasks like chopping roof pillars, and occasionally a jeweler's bow-style saw when I need to make curving cuts. Another method to use in a pinch when saw blades won't fit, is to use a piece of very thin cord with handles tied on either end, and draw the cord back and forth against the plastic until it starts to melt/cut through. This method generally requires a clamp or something to secure the work piece.

Nicely done! The Sidewinder wheels and tires look perfect on it. Might have to track down one of those kits for myself, now.

I had a quick look in the reference folder for my own (stalled) M/SP project, and found this pic of the Brian Chuchua landspeed 'vette in 1960. I saved the pic because it appears to have dual electric water pumps, which would get me out of the same jam--want a radiator, but with a blown engine that has no provision for a water pump in the stock location. Also, I think the AMT "Mr.Speed" '53 Studebaker has a snail-style pump (part #15).

Thanks for the recommendation, but oooof. Not confident I could do anything at all to improve that design!

Cool. I've always found die-cast cars are immediately identifiable by their soft panel lines and chunky panel gaps, even when re-built by excellent modelers. That has led me to wonder--is it possible to build up the edges of the panels (say, with JB weld) and sand/re-scribe them to get sharp, in-scale panel gaps? It could make a big difference in realism, especially on the hood and doors of this Viper. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

I'm a fan of that one too. It's insanely over the top, and when I look too hard I start seeing proportional issues, but if I just let myself enjoy it...it's a lot of fun I'm sort of hoping to eventually track down an MPC Street Fever/Street Shark/Mako Shark kit in order to build something in this vein...fender flares, super fat white-letter tires, heavily chopped bunker-slit windows, and a tunnel ram or blower with dual quads and velocity stacks punching through the hood. I was even considering cutting the "point" off the 'vette's nose in order to create a flat-front design somewhat like the Star Trek Coupe. I'd have to play around with the kit a little in order to determine if that's a bad idea, or just a terrible one. Either way, the idea of building a Hot-Wheels style hot rod is appealing!