Spex84

This is demented, I love it

Oh son of a gun...the parts stash I acquired had some other Enterprise parts. These little bits just looked SO much like '60s customizing accessories that I never even considered the possibility that they might be spacecraft components. Wow. Nice detective work, that's a pretty bizarre and niche discovery, haha! Thanks Chris

I love the idea, and the initial impression is positive, but I feel like that body is just very toy-like. Overall I think it has lots of attitude. Might as well build it!

I read about the Mahindra on Jalopnik a while back, really neat stuff. Interestingly, Jeep tried to block Mahindra from selling the things in the USA, claiming that the shape of the vehicle infringes on Jeep trade dress (flat fenders, etc etc etc). *eye roll* Maybe they should have thought of that decades ago. Cat's outta the bag now! But if you want a highway-legal mini-SUV with 4wd, limited slip, body-on-frame construction, and no-nonsense but contemporary appearance....you want a Suzuki Jimny. I know I want one! It's the only thing that comes close to being a spiritual successor to my XJ Cherokee. And it's under $20k new. Like a Jeep Renegade that isn't lame. Of course, it's not available in North America. Nuts.

I'd agree with Richard's assessment. That Porsche 904 was one of the first model cars I ever built. It was WAY too difficult for me at the time (fiddly engine parts and thin engine cover struts), but apparently it fit together just fine, as it's still on my shelf. It's a great looking car and I'd love to build another someday.

Paramedic was definitely my favorite Star Wars character These are new to me. Cool!

I would much MUCH rather that the roads be filled with interesting (if ugly) creations. Accordingly, my next model car will be upholstered in squirrel hide

I'd love to see a Studebaker 2R, 4E, etc. They look good stock, lifted, and slammed as kustoms. I saw one listed for sale several years ago that the owner had outfitted with an International grille instead of the stock horizontal slat grilles. It looked great!

I love a terrible idea, executed well That charger roofline actually looks awesome with the '60 Chrysler fins and taillights! The rest of it...well, I'll just appreciate the builder's ambition and sense of humor!

Ah yes, that's hilariously tasteless. I imagine there will also be slinky Titanic dresses available for the Halloween crowd. There's a video clip I want to link that sarcastically addresses the way historical events become fodder for comedy as all living memory of the actual people involved in the event fades...but the title of the video wouldn't fly here, haha. Here's a quote, anyway: "I suspect the answer is, it happened a long time ago, so it's funny. Even the most radioactive material has a half life. The first World War is due to 'go hilarious' in 2040, with World War II to follow in 2090! " --comedian David Mitchell, from "David Mitchell's Soapbox".

I love this idea; the truck and tractor are both looking great so far!

That Cad-vette-illac flows better than it has any right to!! I think the stacks are a little much. I'd like to see it with a pile of Webers with shorter stacks. Based on the appearance of the rear quarter, I'm going to say it's a Photoshop job though. The GTO is straight-up Mad Max stuff, which I also happen to enjoy

Thanks Tim--I actually have some old Rapidographs. I'll have to try the acrylic paint trick!

Wow, I didn't know Compusoft had kits! But that can't be a recent photo...there's still a Revell '29 on the shelf!!

I really dig this! Cool concept and well thought-out execution. Is that air cleaner from the AMT '53 Ford? It matches the finned 409 valve covers nicely. The Buttera suspension looks right at home, and the custom-fabbed frame and floors are very effective. I like the exhaust routing too, very clean. The wheels look like Ferrari and give it a tough, high-end appearance. very nice! This is probably a good time to bring this model back out of hiding; the 80s-90s look is gaining traction again in other areas (if not street rodding) and people are recognizing the merits of the style again. Kinda makes me want to build a monochrome rod with centerlines and slatted headlight covers, haha. Blasphemy!

Love this! Great wiring and detailing, and I'm especially impressed by that double pinstripe on the beltline and reveal. How the heck did you do that?? I also like that you scribed in (or drew) the missing cowl seam. I normally build hot rods, but seeing this makes me wonder if maybe I should try a stock model A for a change. Inspiring work!

...and maybe that's why the shelves at Michaels end up empty. Lol!! //Mike, is that a photo of PM Hobbycraft? So many nice kits....

I gave up on Michaels a long time ago. At the time they were selling kits at $35 each, when the local hobby shops were at $25 or so. I think everything in Michaels has an inflated price to compensate for those coupons everyone is so fond of. The poorly stocked and worn-out products (markers, paints etc) bothered me too. I last visited Calgary's Model Land in 2011 or so; I thought their prices were maybe 15-20% higher than Chinook or PM Hobbycraft but they had a ton of interesting stuff sitting around. My go-to for the last decade has been PM Hobbycraft. It's a 3+ hour trip for me to get to Calgary, so visits are infrequent. Now that kit prices are so high, I find it's easier and cheaper to just order older kits online instead of buying new releases for $45+. I wish I had stocked up on Lindberg '53 Fords and Testors Smoothster kits when Chinook had their "clearance attic" section. They had a waist-high stack of Smoothsters for something like $5 per kit. Nobody wanted them. Now I see the exact same kit selling for regular prices online. Insane! I'd happily trade a pile of 'em for some new releases, haha. But yeah, Michaels. A last resort, IMHO.

I've experienced difficulty doing a wash on that particular part...AMT '55 Chevy grille. Is it the Nomad kit? Anyway...I found the grille bars shallow enough that I kept smearing the low areas when I tried to wipe the wash off the bars. That, and a too-thin black wash tends to cling to the edges and leave bare spots in the middle of each recessed rectangle. I can't remember if I used acrylic/water or india ink, but in the end, it required several applications and very, very careful wiping of each bar with the tip of a lint-free cloth.

This is awesome stuff Makes me want to design and build my own car. When I was super-keen on drawing cars as a teen, I learned that while a French curve was good for doing dramatic, pronounced curves, the more subtle curves seen in the bodysides of many cars could be more accurately scribed with the aid of a set of "ship curves":

Your re-purposing of the '50 Ford PU dash into a Lincoln-like art deco center cluster is inspiring. Why didn't I think of that!!

The Toyoda looks surprisingly good on those donk-style '40 "woody" wheels! With the ribbed bumpers and side pipes, it will have a custom/lowrider hybrid look, which seems about right for Japan Very cool idea. I was surprised to hear that kits were cheaper in Japan than Canada. Too bad I can't just warp over there and grab some!

This thread is not my cup of tea.

Really cool stuff here, thanks for the link!!

Fantastic! These are beautifully done and the box art is both convincing and appropriate. So cool. They look SO good on the shelf as a set.