E St. Kruiser50

Hi Raul Thanks for the comments on my thread. Can't wait to see your udates on this stunning threesome. I hope it's soon, but I know how long detail and finishing work takes, plus maybe keeping it "Under Wraps" for a few weeks until the NNL WEST is over . It'll be a big hit my friend. I wouldn't want to compete against you or jerry Cardinal Good luck at the show my friend, and say Hi to Steve for me. All the best - dave

Now who'ed a thought of that??? IMAGINATION RULES!! . VERY COOL YOU MAY BE STARTING A NEW TREND HERE. I REALLY LIKE THE LOOK. I hope you can save the front Keep us posted - dave

Latest and last pic's before painting. Everything changes after today

WOW HARRY NICE 'STANG. Haven't checked your site out for awhile. Guess I'd better visit here more often, as there's some really COOOOOL STUFF and idea's here. (I wouldn't copy any of your stuff Harry - Well, maybe one or two. ) Thanks for all the hard work and fun - dave

NOW THAT'S IMAGINATION I LOVE IT

WOW A MAJOR DONK MACHINE This style of building is really starting to grow on me. I think you guy's a perverting my brain . I'd actually like to build one of these - WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME???? Anyway, I love the colors - a thin orange separation pin stripe between the colors would look great IMHO - but looks great just the way it is too. LOVE THE WHEELS man!!!! Keep posting so we can see it finished - dave

That's because I can be VEWY, VEWY SEEKWATIVE YOU WASKEWEE WABBIT

Hey, Those are great for cell phone pic's. Thanks for posting. Keep us up to date on your other builds. I like what ya do - dave

As a design and project engineer in my career, I learned key questions to ask myself and other's about the projects. One of those "KEY QUESTIONS" was "If I do this what will happen??" , and what will the problems be. Sometimes you had to fly by the seat of your pants and be a risk taker and a problem solver in the middle of the project, because there were no answer's until you got there, and then you figured it out, and we always did somehow . We'd design and build as we went , 'cause we were never there before, but you always learned for the next time. Was very cool and challanging. Model building can really be quite the same in risk taking and designing and building, and making adjustments as you go. I sat down when I first started this and considered the fragile area's, as I would be cutting away a lot of plastic, doors, hood and hatch, and the roof panel was already a seperate piece, which in total takes away about half the car. I'd be using a lot of "Muscle" on the Ol' Girl to cut out the doors and hatch, and could see me breaking this thing in half . In the open roof area, I decided that I needed two removeable braces, and in the door area's I needed to use the jams to beef up the body, so I maximized the width and thickness for ridgidity at this other weakest point. I also added more ridgidity by adding the recessed area's for the side exhaust. That added a lot Fast forward to today and crunch - time, and cutting away the roof braces and see if the bracing was strong enough, and it is, very, very ridged. The gap on the doors didn't change, and they still work very nicely. I can move the windshield frame slightly up and down, but the body refuses to flex at the door openings. Gluing in the windshield will add even more to the strength. So now I can handle the car safely when I paint it, and assemble it.

Nice build Lookin' forward to more progress and pic's - dave

Hey Dave This looks very nice. Looks like you got some color on it , looks great. I hope to see this at the show - dave

Rebuilds lookin' great. Keep us up to date with pic's. Love the color - dave

I agree with Peter Not much left to say. I would love to see this on a contest table, as it would be a show stopper and really stand out. Beautiful work - dave

Well hurry up , we're all waiting for those pic's Just funnin'. Hope to see somethin' soon - dave

Hey John I love it when a plan comes together. You're havin' way too much fun with this build ol' buddy. Still way beyond COOOOOL. Love watchin' this all evolve, and your imagination at work at work . Stay COOOOOOOOOOOOL - dave

Hi Marcus One of the nice things about "On The Bench" is that there are many, many builders here every bit as good, and many that I look up to, with amazing skills and talents and great personalitie's, that won't be found anywhere else that I've found . Stick around and you'll learn so much, as I have from other's here. People enjoy getting along here and making friends and sharing, as I'm sure you do too. I look forward to seeing more of your work - dave

Making the 1/32 upper rod longer than it's movement. You can paint everything seperately, hood and body, then just slide the shocks together. As you can see in the drawing the alum. tube is mounted off center, so if necessary the pivot fitting can be drilled all the way through so the rod can be most any length you want and slide past the screw that the unit pivots on. That's what i did on the "Retro-Vette". To center the hole for the 1/32 rod to pass through, I cut a short length of alum. tube and glued it in for a drill guide, drilled the hole, then replaced it with the full length tube. Just a suggestion for your question - dave

Hey Plum Here's a little something you may want to try that's a little challanging, and could work as you say the engine sit's pretty low, so may not interfere with this sliding/ tilting/pivoting shock type hinge design, mounted on the inside of the fender panels. This design allows you to pull the hood straight up, pivot forward, and tilt to whatever angle you want, with 2 pivot points. I used a modified version of this on my "Retre-Vette" for the hatch. There is a construction sequence near the end of the thread, I believe on the final page. This kinda stuff is fun to play with when it's done, and it's fun to WOW your buddies with. Fun stuff . Whatta ya think - dave

If you're talking about lacquer's, they're a totally different animal. I have my own system of polishing lacquer's that I have used for years. I have several brands of rattle-can lacquer's that I stick to, one clear that seems to work over everything, and polishes beautifully, and a three-part auto polishing system, that always give me stunning results. They're a little spendy at the beginning, but they last a long time. I like having different systems that work well, and have had no problems for years.

Hey GB Lacquers and enamels of various types evaporate their solvents and dry, where as catalyzed urethanes continually cure, (like an epoxy), a chemical reaction, for some time, faster to begin with, and then slower as the process comes to an end. As the paint cures, there is a toughness that evolve's where polishing becomes extremely difficult and require's a lot of "elbow grease" . Most mabufacturer recommendations, including HOK, recommend this process of polishing in the first 24 hours in their 75 page "Tech Manual". I've found over the years there's lots of way's to make mistake's with paint, but usually only one way to really do it right. I READ THE INSTRUCTION'S and talk to "Real" car painter's . Saves me a lot of headaches. Hope this little tid-bit helps - dave

Kinda funny how this topic went this way and that . I feel pretty grateful to be in the company of such good builders and good people. Started this thread just tryin' to encourage "ALL" the builders here, not just the "obvious" one's. Lived mostly quite a while with an attitude of gratitiude for the things in my life and don't think much of myself as a complainer - lifes too short for me. Was for Bob Paeth too. Got some of that from him. Never really considered myself that good at this model thing. Got some nice compliments and a few nice awards, but figure I still got a lot to learn, and some new skills to acquire. I appreciate the kudo's, and getting to learn more from all of you, and it's nice to share what I enjoy with all of you too. I'm glad there's so many here with such a variety of taste's in car's and styles. Thanks all for "Chiming" in here - dave

Hey all Well I think the "ol' girl" is just about ready to start the painting process. It'll be all urethanes. Got the yellow mixed for it last week. First it's the catalyzed primer. Next is a coat of gloss white, so the yellow really "POPS", then the yellow, then some natural pearl mixed into HOK inter-coat clear, I mix this myself, and lastly, 3 coats of HOK catalyzed clear coat - wait no more than 24 hours - 12 to 16 in this case, and rub everything out, otherwise the clear gets too hard. I'll take pic's, and then post them probably later next week - dave

WELCOME I agree with George. Some of the best modeler's here, and some of the best people. Very friendly and helpful. I think you'll enjoy it here !! (Nice Outhouse build). Look forward to seeing more of your work - dave

Hey Plum, or is it Nutz LOL This is shaping up very nice . Cool the way everyone has their own idea's of what they like, and then make the picture in their head. As Ajulia would say - "Keep on wit' da keepin on", as this is one sweet build - dave