Spex84

"Just winging it" There's yer problem I've only chopped one of these, and I don't know if it worked yet because it's not finished, but here's what I did, for what it's worth: -removed vent window post. -split the A pillars at the door cut line, cut the windshield header under the drip rail to remove windshield header and part of the A pillars as one piece. -back window cut out entirely. -determined how much vertical chop I wanted and cut strips of tape that width; applied the tape strips to the roof as cutting guides. -chopped the windshield less than the rest of the roof; took the remainder off the top of the header above the windshield (maybe a bit too much, haha). This reduces the "forehead" effect these trucks often get when chopped. -Now the vertical distances were sorted, but the top of the roof was too narrow to fit the bottom/body and had to be quartered and widened. To help with this, I laminated a small square of flat sheet underneath the intersection of the 4 roof quarters. I tried to make sure it wasn't sagging too much at this point, and that the quarters would all line up with A. the pillars and B. each other. Note: the rear quarters were aligned so the door cut lines would remain straight. -styrene stock cut to fill the gaps in the quartered roof, glued in while carefully checking to make sure roof is not sagging. -the hole in the back was enlarged and the rear window re-installed (with no chop). Note: this method makes the top of the windshield unit very fragile, and is prone to sagging. Using a second body means you could have single seams in the roof instead of the double seams seen here--and sagging might be less of an issue because there would be no gap to fill. Body filler is used to re-shape the B pillars/rear cab corners because they're quite misaligned.

I was trying to figure out why the car's color and texture seemed so familiar. Then it hit me: It looks like a dried-up Triggerfish. "Deadliest Catch: LA Auto Show".

Beautiful job on those headers!!

And Boyd's Smoothster, AMBR 1995 winner:

I'm with Casey on this one. What really intrigues me is the cars that "flip-flop". One minute, I think they're visionary. Another, I realize they're garish and ill-proportioned. And then back again. Virgil Exner's designs for Chrysler have this effect on me. As for El Matador, I challenge you to modify a '40 in accordance with the major trends of the day and get a better result. That car resolves with aplomb nearly every problem that WILL inevitably arise. It's head and shoulders above its contemporaries (Les Popo, Mark Mist, etc). It wasn't until I tried to build a scale model full-custom '40 that I realized how full of landmines the process is. And WTF Ace, is that the world's first papier-mache Thunderbird?? Gross

When you drop parts on the floor, they never bounce towards you; instead they bounce away at an impossibly shallow angle under the workbench and into the cobwebs.

Thanks for the link; this is very cool stuff. I appreciate when modelers' work is displayed online even after they've passed. CJ Hilton's site still looks exactly the same as when I discovered it as a high school student in 1998, spending my lunch hour in the library computer lab and exploring this exciting new thing called "the internet": http://www.cjhilton.com/Models/ I can't think of any other websites that both stuck in my memory and still look exactly the same as they did in '90s!

Looking forward to seeing where you go with this!

Looking forward to seeing where this goes! I have a bag full of butchered Corvette parts from a conversion attempt back in the 90s...Revell C4 'vette into '57 vette. I got as far as cutting everything up, and then it stalled. Funny, in retrospect I quite like the Calloway C4 and I'd consider buying another to build a version with more modern wheels.

Nice work! I'm loving the 2-tone maroon and white body and monochrome white engine bay. I never would have thought white-on-chrome could work, but in this case it does!! It could use a drop of thinned flat black or grey in the tailpipe tips!

This has been my exact experience. Most of the freely available 3D models online are junk, with the possible exception of cars from high-quality games like Forza or Gran Turismo.

Very cool! Glad to see 3D printing being put to good use. How did you make the new body panels conform to the kit? Did you make exact templates from the kit and scan them into the computer to help in designing the new parts? I could see it being difficult to match all the compound curves exactly. In the 1:1 world, aftermarket body kit companies do 3D scans of the vehicle to base their new designs on-- I imagine there are probably some free/cheap 3D car models available online that could be employed in a similar fashion.

Well that's cool! The Miata looks good with a flame job! Nice work converting the figure, too, she suits the car much better than the stock figure would have. The wheel design is certainly distinctive--it puts me in mind of the metal grilles that surround trees planted on urban sidewalks. Maybe if she washes the car enough, they'll sprout I like that you decided to be creative and come up with something new and interesting rather than simply dismissing the theme as "old". Flamed McLaren P1 next? Haha.

Looks gnarly so far! What kit is that? Is it a Minicraft?

I've always wondered if "Merc" (Mercedes) is pronounced "merse". I mean, it's not "Merkades", right??

I've been having problems with Krylon doing this for the last year and a half or so. It seems to be much "hotter" than it used to be, so I can no longer lay wet coats straight from a spray can without it wrinkling the plastic or primer underneath.

Watched this yesterday It really leaves in a hurry, doesn't it! I love how the car looks mostly stock, but it just runs like an absolute beast. Great sleeper. Gotta love the 10.009 too!

I would suggest wearing latex/nitrile gloves--it's not going to wear off like Alclad does, but the oils from your fingers handling it will dull it somewhat and I noticed when handling painted parts that a small amount was transferred to my fingers, which could have been a problem if I then touched other parts. As with other metalizers, it doesn't look quite the same if clear-coated (ie with Future).

Beautifully done, what a gem. The roll bar is bang-on, as are the other details. I love the faux-original box art too!!

Nope, photos still not showing up, except for the two shots of the blue broken body.

Loving the updates! The new hood side flow is perfect, and the Olds looks killer in the engine bay. Nice wiring job. I like the new '40-style X-member and the spring hangars too.

Looks like it could be done, with adjustments to the roof profile, belt line molding, A pillars, and visor. This also serves to highlight why getting the right curves and dimensions is SO critical on a model A Ford coupe. If just a few things are off--boom, it's a Chevy!

Most of these photos are not showing up for me, but the body in the first post could be Tognotti's King T by AMT?

Canada imported lots of Renaults, too. There's a derelict example in the forest across the valley from me. I was pretty surprised to find it, until I learned how many small Euro cars were sold here in the 50s and 60s. Love these old hobby shop photos. I really wish I had a local hobby shop to hang around at.

No problemo!