swede70

Greetings again, Though slated to vanish from the Internet come August 2015, something called the Diecast Pub maintains (for the moment!) a list of 1:18th parts sources that may be of interest. http://diecast-pub.com/community/index.php?/topic/794-list-of-websites-to-get-118-parts-for-modding/ I do some parts myself in 1:18th in terms of parts, although (and very predictably) the slate 'o stuff I do closely reflects my own interests. I'm somewhat reluctant to sell to people who collect $150 pre-assembled and pre-finished models matched to an underdeveloped plastic kit skill set (sales to such people equal trouble I fear), but otherwise I can be persuaded to do copies of that which I do. A great many diecast collectors are reluctant to modify their models convinced that they'll surely depreciate! So few do (as a percentage of all produced) that oftentimes I think the topic is moot, whereas I just want to create what I want for whatever tool I embrace. ...anyways - a samping then. Just scroll down to read what I've written below each photo image to understand what is explained in brief: ...this would be a '70 model Chrysler Rallye wheel. Hwy. 61 didn't really excel in terms of what they fitted to their many E-Body releases in this regard, hence I tried to do better for combining parts across diecast releases. ...what is seen is a Hwy. 61 wheel center stamping combined to wheel center/lug trim surround that was cut out of a separate wheel to ensure the perimeter edge would be visible after painting it. I thought the Hwy. 61 center tip too shallow, so this was built up and further, I added the tip contour sourced from an ancient and awful ERTL Challenger T/A release in 1:18th. All the associated other stuff in the photo constitutes my paint mask, whereas I used dealership-sourced Chrysler muscle car argent cap paint. Some wet urethane was used for the brass rod lug masks. ...post-paint, post-masking. Again, dealership-sourced Chrysler musclecar argent wheel paint was employed, this time for the center stampings. All seen is made using hand poured two-part resin into urethane molds. I further have a plastic vacuum plater nearby, hence the center bits received the treatment before being painted. ...backside slots opened up to disguise the thickness of what I use. ...Hwy. 61 mounts reused to render reassembly brainless. ...GMP '70 Roadrunner trim rings cast in resin and then chromed. GMP never chromed them, hence I felt the need to do so. ...ready to go. The trim rings are a bit narrow of diameter to use with the Hwy. 61 tires, although masking the same to paint the outside edge blending into each respective tire black helps matters immensely. ...installed then on a B5 Blue 'Cuda with a blue interior that was swapped in from another model. The track is increased a bit (desired this), whereas the model looks far better I do think. One of my molds has a tip that is too long - see the left rear in particular. Seems I'll have to fix that! Chrysler Corp. Shaker scoop silver (a flat pearlescent shade from what I can make out) was further employed here. Fishing line hood pin lanyards are to come. Thanks... Mike K.

Really beautiful and certainly an inspiration to so-plunge in relation to the larger scales. Certainly worthy of many a repeated examination. Kind thanks for the sharing of your lovely work. Mike K.

Beautiful builds and very inspirational to us all. All I can do is work on my own and hope that such will compare. Thanks for sharing... Mike K.

Greetings, Maybe relating what I'm planning will indeed kick start your efforts to complete here. If funds allow, maybe just quickly assembly a hack chassis painted all in black to put your expertly finished shell on wheels, and then in a low key and low stress sense attack a duplicate chassis for buying another kit? As many people tell me, it's supposed to be fun. Perhaps I'm just revealing more of my own makeup than I am yours, but all the same we're all extremely impressed with the work you did on the stripes in particular. I don't know - it just seems that I'm also given to making things so complex and literal that I dare not mate some very nice assembly with something I fear won't match the quality of finish or fabrication seen elsewhere. In short, my Daytona Yellow Z/28 will be done almost box stock but for wheels and tires. A second Olympic Gold Z/28 might be done with thing simply not on the planning cards for the simpler predecessor in the form of things most of us could identify as matters crying out for addition on the very good 1:12 Revell/Monogram 1969 Camaro tool. Kind regards... Mike K.

Very beautiful!

Greetings, In the larger scales one obviously must be creative. Here I'll try to articulate how I do it, whereas in practice it just becomes an outlook when viewing materials online and at shows. I mostly work on 1:18th period road racing conversions, hence maybe I can lend value to the board for so replying. Mostly I'm forced to do my own graphics or rely on a firm known as Patto's Place situated in Australia. Slixx has some 1:18th sheets in a drag racing vein, whereas I like their 1:25th vintage drag racing tire sheet given that some of the larger slicks have lettering that can work on 1:18th topics if cut up and spaced appropriately. The R/C hobby affords some things, but given my vintage focus their isn't that much overlap. I shop avidly for items registered too large on the usual 1:25th waterslide sheets (usually in person at regional scale hobby shows), while I also collect 1:1 period vinyl decals in the hope that I might scan and reproduce what I require either for sharing data with someone more technically capable. Sometimes I'll go 'low tech' and simply printing such on the highest quality paper I can find. Rough prototypes of this and that factory-produced diecast model seen online are often decorated such, hence 'no shame in my game' so to speak. Exterior make and model identification is typically hard. Some Fred Cady 1:25th silk screened waterslide sheets bear such markings and are available for little even given the fact that he is now retired, whereas for artful reemployment of where this or that marking is placed and how large such has been rendered, some modest hope exists. If your budget will stretch, consider ordering all relevant 1:25th (presuming such is all that can be found) plastic kit photoetch kits to determine what might be recycled and added to your project. As an example, the interior door panel identification on their 1:18th 1970-71 Hwy. 61 'Cuda range is abysmal, being halfheartedly reproduced with a decal displaying prominent carrier film. For analysis of a 1:25th photo etch kit of the same topic, it was noticed that the Shaker scoop identification (provided multiple times in the form of 'Hemicuda', ' 'Cuda 340', 'Cuda 440+6, etc.) provided on the product was correct for scale on the door panels in 1:18th and cost effective too. Prior to examining the photo etch sheet in question, I thought only the single tail panel identification would work, and yet maybe four pairs of markings could be had from each sheet. In short, without application and examination of the goods, it's impossible to strictly tell what's on offer. More on the conservation front, there are times too that I'll do almost anything to mask a tampo print to do paintwork given how tough it is to find replacement stuff. I recently picked up some odd semi-gloss metallic oyster/pearl spray paint to refinish a Hemi 'Cuda Shaker hood scoop, and discretely taping out the 'Hemicuda' i.d. seemed the only way to go. Further, some time ago I did my best to respray the top surfaces of a Yat Ming/Road Legends 1970 Rebel Machine in some color-matched blue, while taping out the 'REBEL' identification done as a tampo print was my only hope. Moving on, it's proven good practice to visit multiple boards in search of build threads consistent with your interests. Some builders and modifiers have deep pockets and are incredibly capable in terms of what they not only can do on a skills basis, but what hardware backs their efforts. Some have very large script and font libraries as well as ALPS printers and the like to supply what they require, whereas duplicates can sometimes be had when a build thread is being actively elaborated upon and the bloke is smiling his broadest if the reader understands my meaning. Most serious builders and modifiers won't prioritize something they have little direct interest in, hence sending a flattering note with a discrete inquiry as to whether duplicates of this or that can be had (presumably for a fee) when a project is 'hot' can yield nice results and be the stuff of friendship formation too! Keep careful notes on all that you see, for in the end it may be you who learns the technique, invests in the hardware, and eventually produces the goods. As older builders and suppliers retire or withdraw from the hobby, some of us must step up to provide what many might treasure. Best of luck and be adaptable as you dare. I hope this reply helps someone! Mike K.

...a small succession of ideas then: My first experiment with gel pens is seen above. I noticed that when viewing a '69 Camaro close-in that the tailights are quite dark nearest the tail panel. Hoping to 'get the toy' out of the scale replica, I thought it might be a good idea to try to mask off the edge of each taillight lense casting from the outside to effectively reproduce this look. I only noticed this detail on a '69 Camaro inspected this past weekend as I write this, but it seemed a sound idea. I hope to add headlamp bulbs too for as nice as the headlamp assemblies were designed they look a bit dead in the center. Material to add then... ...not every Z/28 had full exterior chrome decollage. The Car Life '69 Z/28 in particular has no drip rail chrome or wheel arch chrome trim for that matter; i.e. something like a base Nova or maybe a C.O.P.O. then. I really didn't want to bother sanding the raised wheel arch trim down on the body, hence I cheated a bit and simply radiused each opening until they effectively disappeared. The contour hardly changed, hence I think I got away with it. ...the crossram lid provided did not have the correct carburetor linkage clearance 'pockets' across the top - hence I tried to add them. Just free hand etching, and so not perfect this. Maybe notice that I opted to pour a considerable quantity of Tamiya Transluscent Blue into my Tamiya Chrome Silver in an attempt to mimic Silver Cadium Dichromate for the attachment hardware. Silver with a touch of blue then; i.e. subtle and nice to have. ...the model as it come has a 'steel' hood without the underhood ducting - although we get the fresh air seal beneath. I suppose one could just fabricate the base of the filter as seen here (a bit oversized - yes), try variants in the form of a taller Purolater filter element (a common period mod.), or introduce wafers of material to replicate the top and bottom of the filter. Sort of like the large Liberty musclecar engines, painting the filter element ivory works better than employing off white. ...the base of the as-delivered kit fresh air seal is a mess of ejector pin marks and holes in uncomfortable places. Here I cheated and fabricated a fill panel to overlay what lurks beneath. ...riding a bit high, although I could substitute thinner material to bring it all down a bit. Floquil Grimy Black was used on the seal, although efforts seen online in this regard look very nice indeed and in the main. Thanks for reading... Mike K.

More then... Though I don't own a hobby lathe, happily I was able to lend time on that owned by a friend. Here will be seen the back half of my Rally wheel taking shape. A '67 Corvette wheel has been scrubbed of the cooling fins and recycled, while two of the very handy '57 Chevrolet wide whitewall tire inserts have been cut apart to yield two spacers to more or less afford me a zero offset wheel. The 'center stamping' is simply the base of the standard '69 Camaro wheel sanded down along the perimeter to 'finish' the shape of what was already there in terms of material. O.K. - look down! ...looking fairly good, with the cleaned up item seen right. ...where and how to get the 'spacer' material. Look for chewed up glue bombs to source same. ...one spacer atop the center stamping and one situated below. ...back side of wheel less center, to speak little of hub and brake detail to come. ...still requiring finish work to thin the five individual slots consistent with disguising the material to appear a bit thinner, but largely good to go. All items to be cast in resin and subsequently vacuum plated if and as required. Thanks... Mike K.

More haphazard updates all in a row... I wished to create a soft mask between the bellhousing and the engine block proper to replicate the factory finish, hence what is seen below is what I came up with. Cheap and simple, and no airbrush is required. I employed a pair of cocktail sauce containers and connected them end to end, whereas one side was opened to permit the placement of the transmission more or less inside with a single toothpick employed to center the assembly prior to painting. It seems to have worked well enough, so perhaps something for the reader to try. Thanks... ...the setup post effort. The plastic rod is positioned simply to demonstrate that the bottom has been opened to allow the engine/transmission assembly to be squeezed into it. Note the strange and severely tapered oil filter has been cut free here and straightened top to bottom with a modest additional lip added to the bottom to good measure. For later placing the AC oil filter decal in place, it seems the shape of the decal is reliant on the filter being 'straightened up' for sanding if the image is going to line up from top to bottom. The instructions call out that the filter ought to be painted blue, whereas for my reference it is revealed that white is the correct finish. I used Tamiya Matte White and can relate that the finish is a very good match for the white employed on the decal provided; i.e. one can't sense that Revell/Monogram used anything but a clear decal with the AC markings. If my meaning is muddled, know that the pair of discrete double lines in blue on the decal won't line up where they meet up on the backside if you don't reshape the filter entire. Given the AC logo wouldn't by chance be perfectly positioned to scream out it's identification on an actual vehicle, I'll align the same a bit to the right or left. I should relate that the bottom of the block nearest the oil filter position should be patched and trued up before applying paint, although I'll have to fabricate something and blend it in post-paint for my oversight of such here. Be alert and do it better than I! M.K.

A very beautiful build - thanks for the inspiration and ideas. Lovely to examine your work. Mike K.

Greetings, A bit of web research and following up leads afforded by friends turned up a means to secure 1:12th sidewall tires markings appropriate to this topic. It seems early in the production run Firestone Sports Car 200's were fitted, and then a changeover was made to what are termed Goodyear Wide Tread GT's. Joseph at Fireball Modelworks affords us a comprehensive range of ALPS-printed tire markings in 1:24th and 1:25th, whereas I asked nicely if his Goodyear Wide Tread GT art could be blown up to 1:12th as per my request. The answer was in the affirmative, hence some news to jot down if you find yourself in like need. Thanks... http://www.fireballmodels.info/ Mike K.

Greetings, The following is a short run down of what will be a composite wheel intended to facilitate clean paintwork as well as add needed dimension to the standard 15X7 Chevrolet Rally wheel on this application. Most of it is simple, although molding the tire as well as the assorted bits and pieces might take a little time. I'd expect to fill a standard 1967 Corvette Firestone with clay on the inside, effectively cast two-thirds of it face down in two-part urethane, combine two castings to alter the section width, and finally scrub off the sidewall tire markings prior to the creation of a final two-piece mold. From left to right then may be seen the as-delivered Revell/Monogram Rally wheel, a solitary trim ring, next a spacer cut from the back of a Revell 1957 Chevrolet whitewall tire insert (also in 1:12th scale), a solo Rally wheel cap with a thicker and more rounded bottom aspect, a Rally wheel 'center stamping', and finally - a Revell/Monogram 1967 Corvette finned aluminum wheel positioned upside down (you may now catch your breath!). Below from left to right may be seen a standard Firestone tire from the Corvette kit, a later 245-14-70 Eagle ST, whereas to the far right will be found a wider Firestone made up of two vinyl tires with two added tread 'ribs' to mimic a Wide Oval section. Given I am sitting on about twenty of the thin 'stones, I thought I'd cut up two just to see if meshing a pair was possible, if the resultant tread patterns might be coherent, etc. What is afforded is a fairly convincing Wide Oval period pattern. The spacer is employed to create a gap between the base and the center wheel stamping proper. The outer extent of each of the five wheel stamping ovals punched in stand to be finished next. I want the outer extent of the stamping to smoothly fall away with the white spacer solely responsible for holding the trim ring up and level too! 1:1 restoration specialists afford Rally wheel paint in the correct silver with just the slightest green tint, whereas soon I hope to purchase such. ...difficult to discern, but the tire is wider, a slight gap is seen between the trim ring and the center stamping, while the center cap rides higher than before. Try if you will to imagine the five slot 'pockets' cleaned up. ...side-by-side then. ...some material has been added to the top of each front bumper end to differentiate the shape of part from the standard chrome-plated steel bumper that is the more typical fitment. This would be the option VE3, while it helps to sand down the mounting hardware slightly in addition to rounding the top corners looking back. Thanks... M. K.

Greetings, Formerly believing that Tamiya aerosol tints were best reserved for McLaren Can Am windscreen or perhaps Lotus F1 topics, I was slow to try their products on an otherwise ordinary production model kit 'glass'. I feared it would go on too heavily, be difficult to control for even application and perhaps etch the surface of the clear plastic I'd wish to apply it to (understood as something other than an R/C shell). Not really a problem in practice, although the front windscreen had to be redone multiple times for the sunscreen along the top was less evenly applied than I desired. Thanks... Mike K. ...not terribly out of line even if it first appears dark. Something to recommend then. M.K.

Greetings, My hope is to reproduce the 1969 Z/28 tested by Car Life magazine in their August '69 issue, it being an example featuring the JL8 four wheel disc brakes, the dual Holley cross ram intake, the chambered exhaust system option as well as a front Endura body-colored bumper. Definitely eyeball searing, the actual vehicle was finished in Daytona Yellow w/black stripes combined with a yellow Deluxe interior w/black hounds tooth inserts. Things I want to achieve here are limited, with emphasis placed on coming up with better standard wheels and tires, proper four-piston caliper detail all around, a reshaped front bumper to reflect the Endura issue contour, along with other reasoned changes and updates. I'll try to skip explaining reproduction of the obvious, reserving attention for those aspects of the project that seem unique. Mike K.

Greetings, If it helps or if it might be of interest, I think TSM is doing a series of BRE 510's in 1:18th resin. Delays have been encountered time and again, but it's said these prefinished diecast/sealed shell resin models are coming. Maybe visit the Pete Brock website/page to find updates. Thanks... Mike K.

Very neat wheels and tires - tricky I understand in 1:12th given not too many options exist. Looking very nice... Mike K.

Greetings, Sold for not so much money on eBay, try searching for copies of a special thick softcover annual done by Petersen's Publishing in period titled simply 'ENGINES'. Within each they break down Detroit's then-hot V8's and such consistent with relating the nuts and bolts of each design, and multiple bare block and cylinder head shots are afforded. Also consider plugging in 'AMC block' into a Google image search and you'll not fail to find multiple shots that can be saved and put in a particular order to help inform your scale efforts. Hope this helps... Mike K.

Greetings, Just a guess for also being Michigan-rooted, but I recall the urethane bumper surrounds (or fill panels) being painted silver. I know I could be wrong here, but if such a remembrance translates into further application to find the truth (ha!), then maybe scribbling in response wasn't so terrible a thing for me to do. Neat topic - good luck! Mike K.

Greetings, Mostly 'known' elsewhere as 'Swede70', here I pop up on what surely seems the most active kit board I've examined. Ex-librarian with a passion for print reference research in-depth to support the building of what I hope are accurate period road racers and relevant homologation specials. I'm always willing to share notes in relation to technique and the pooling of reference resources to serve the common good, and am generally accepting of all interests championing technique and process above all. Whatever I do won't be a secret, whereas I'll try to lend reasoned value for my presence here. Although hardly a prolific builder, most of my time to date has been spent on select 1:18 diecast rebuilds consistent with doing what I want in the larger scale. Indeed - a lot of 1:18th models of domestic musclecar topics simply aren't well tooled, although for refinishing this and scratch building that there is much to recommend. I do cast items in resin, hence if something is obliquely spoken of within the space of my infrequent posts, indeed a chance exists that I do a few clones for those so-inclined to attempt matters similar. Please feel free to contact me if mysteries exist in relation to tearing down specific tools, if refinishing mysteries confound, etc. for I'd be pleased to lend value thus. Topics interests: '68 - '71 SCCA Trans-Am racers. Homologation specials as suggested above. Police packages in a contemporary vein. BMW Neu Klasse anything (i.e. BMW 2002's, CS 3.0 coupes, etc.) American Motors high performance oddities (i.e. Rebel Machines, SC/360 Hornets, etc.) Mark Donohue anything. Kind thanks for acceptance of my registration here... Mike K. Fraser, MI.