Spex84

Love it, in particular the various metal details. Those splash guards and the scoop are extra cool. I wish it was real, so I could hear it run Great work! Feels good to have something finished, eh?

I keep my models in the basement where A: it's cool and B:there's less dust than upstairs where activities, carpets, clothing, and humans generate a lot of dust! My bedroom and kitchen get so dusty, I wouldn't ever keep a model there unless it was sealed up tight in a case of some kind. Even in my basement, models left out over a period of months will end up with a light coat of dust on them, so I keep finished models in a display case made from a fish tank turned up on end. It's enclosed on all sides but one, and that side has a sheet of plexiglass cut to fit tightly in the opening, so it's well sealed. Too many commercially available display cases have big gaps at the edges where dust can get in, and my place is so dusty it would be "game over" with one of those cases, probably within a couple weeks. The best way to keep models dust-less is to seal 'em up tight! That way, the general problem of dust in the room can be dealt with separately.

Love it! I enjoy seeing models built in this mid-60s style. Just enough eccentricity to make 'em interesting-- in addition to the nicely finished paint and detailing, that is! The 390 looks very sharp, considering how simple it is out of the box. I dig how the stock gold valve covers work with the red paint. Way cool

What's driving me nuts is that even those Pbucket photos that are still visible, seem to be impossible to right-click save. For a long time now, I've had this problem where Pbucket images saved to my harddrive were showing up blank, and I could only get them to work if I navigated to their original location on Pbucket. Ok, fine, they want site traffic. But NOW the photos seem to be displayed in some kind of dynamic carousel gallery, can't be saved, and can't be drag-n-dropped to save them either. So if a Google search turns up Pbucket images, or I see something in a thread that I want to save, I'm out of luck. I don't understand this; it's bizarre and self-destructive on Pbucket's part. What am I supposed to do, bookmark it and return to Pbucket every time I want to see a particular image??? That's insane! I've been reduced to taking screenshots of the images instead, which I quickly crop in Photoshop and save. Screw you, Photobucket!

Crazy! This is very interesting so far. I assume you are lengthening the rear fenders to match the long boattail?

Man, if anyone is flinging their models against walls, they need a new hobby! Glad you have a good source for spares though! The narrowed whitewalls look good. How did you get the sharpie ring so perfect and uniform? Did you mount the whitewall insert to a motor tool? Use a circle template somehow?

Beautiful frame! I love the combination of CAD, creative use of tech, and plain old hand-finishing. The last time I tried to laminate a frame together, it warped badly as the glue dried. What's your secret?

Sweet! Very creative use of parts. That little rod would go like crazy were it real. Nice work on the paintjob too! I like the cast-finish centers on the wheels; I'm hoping to do the same on an upcoming project so I'd be curious to know how you tackled that. Looks like the mufflers/side pipes are from the Lindberg '34 roadster pickup kit? Like Bernard, I'm curious about the source for that cool turned dash panel. I don't know much about Bantam kits--is the grille scratchbuilt? It looks good, quite unique. I could see a similar (but slightly taller) grille looking tough on a '34 or '36 Ford.

I'm digging this. Will be interested to see where you source wheels and tires. I've been kicking around the idea of doing something like one of the Rat's Glass Speedstar cars, but the project will definitely require deep-offset large-diameter big n' little wheels.

I'm not really a Firebird/Camaro guy, but wow, that's a beautiful model! The fade, the decals, great paint...and I liked the posed wheels too. I'm sure the model will make an excellent motivational tool as you move forward with the 1:1 project. If the real car comes out half as nice as the model, you'll have a sweet ride on your hands!

The old Calloway Corvette kit had a wraparound windshield that looked a lot like your proposed windshield. Looking forward to seeing how this progresses!

Wild! I love the look. That little flathead engine might have trouble moving such massive tires though! The way the slicks are barely covered by the fenders is like a string bikini for cars

Whoa, radical! I agree that it looks like a full-on 80s/early 90s style treatment. I used to have a ball cap with similar graphics, thought it was SO cool Your daughter did an awesome job!!

Neato! At a glance, this is definitely not Frosted Ultra Detail (FUD)! Looks like Shapeways "White Strong and Flexible" material (WSF), which is much more affordable for large items, but needs considerable finishing work. If this body were printed in FUD, it would probably cost hundreds of dollars, so I'm not surprised it's the less detailed material. For very small parts (engine components, wheels and tires) I'd strongly recommend the FUD material though.

Sounds like a fun project! Quad headlights tend to be a feature of the medium-to-heavy customs. Mild customs tended to stick to lowering, paint and wheel/tire changes, and accessorizing with spotlights, lake pipes, etc. IMHO these cars need a chop, but suit yourself. I'd check out Kustomrama.com and look for customizing ideas from the era, ; there are ideas that have worked on other makes and years that you could apply to yours. The best way to come up with a unique front/rear treatment is to invent something! Chances are, though, that someone has already tried it in the past, either in 1:1 or scale form. Are you going for a traditional style custom? Or is it "anything goes"?

That's killer dude Thanks for sharing your technique with such clear photos! Your experimentation and perseverance paid off bigtime.

I love the paint! The green and pearl white combo goes very well with the chromed wheels, spotlights, and other styling choices. A fitting tribute; nicely done.

Killer paint! The blue is an excellent choice, looks fantastic with the rust and weathering. I love the doors...and the way the rust has been applied realistically to the body seams and gutters. I'm building a '37 truck somewhat in this style and couldn't decide on paint colors, had been considering "Gulf" blue and orange, and that's sort of what you have going on here. Looks good!

Love it! Reminds me of the one I built a few years back Very similar choices for the stance, gas tank, engine, etc etc. I like the license-plate transmission tunnel and brake line detail, very nice. Rat rods ARE a lot of fun, aren't they!

"I don't think the point of people wanting to make it stock is to do a 53, but instead a 56." Gotcha--I guess I wasn't clear enough; what I meant is that it might be easier to make a stock '56 out of an AMT '53 (windshield swap, grille swap, etc) than to try and reverse-engineer the Foose '56. So people could buy the AMT and the Foose kit, and transplant the '56 features onto the '53. if the Foose license expired, I could see Revell releasing the truck without engine decals (no Roush logos) and with a different wheel/tire and tailgate treatment. The interior colors, unique to the FD100, are decals--so they could be easily changed or discarded.

Kit looks great to me. The only thing I'm unsure of is the molded-in suspension and rear fenders. Can't imagine wanting to make this new kit "stock". It would be like the proverbial George Washington's axe: if the frame, engine, wheels, suspension, tires, hood, fenders, roof, and tailgate are replaced, is it still a new-tool Revell kit? Lol. Better to just start with a stock AMT '53 and update that instead.

Spectacular!

Very interesting subject; I love the weathering! The functional arm and stabilizers are cool features too. Thanks for sharing it with us

Pretty sure that's a re-box of the Testors Boyd's Smoothster. I had one of the Testors kits and found the plastic to be awfully soft; the frame got very warped in the box and I ended up using it for parts. The tires on the old kits had a habit of cracking and splitting with age. Very nice chrome though! So if the new Lindberg version is molded in better plastic, it would probably be just fine.

You nutter. This thing is awesome! I think the skirts could maybe use a larger radius on their top edge, or perhaps more pronounced roll-under like the original rocker panels. And chopping up two new kits, too.