Karmodeler2

Hey Len, I got mine about 6 yrs ago and had the same problem...where do I start and what do I make? I asked friends with lathes and not too many were helpful. What I would encourage you to do is just do it. I know that this is not what you want to hear, but hear me out. If you take a piece of aluminum, chuck it up, put on your safety glasses and just start turning, you will learn the ins and outs of your machine. (kind of like the first time you used your airbrush....intimidating, but now you have mastered it by using it and playing with different settings). Always remember that sometimes, the part you made is not for the model you are working on...meaning, you will make mistakes and this is normal. I still do after 6 years of doing it. Get you a altoids box or something similar and keep your "mistakes". You will find use for them on models you have not made yet. Play with different speeds while you are turning parts to see what effect this has on the part. Don't try to take too much off at one time. I have a weird habit of holding a vacuum cleaner hose in one hand while turning parts. This keeps my work area clean, but causes you to be called a "geek" by your friends. Also, don't be afraid to machine resin. If you cast, you can make molds of different rods, and your excess resin can be poured into these molds, so later you have different sizes of resin rods you can make parts out of. I suggested the glasses earlier mainly for your safety and for one other reason. If you do brass, and it gets in you eye and you can't get it out, it will start to corrode from the fluids in your eye and it is very painful and expensive. It's cheaper just to get in the habit of putting glasses on each time. I have had several parts hit me in the eye area, but I had glasses on. Each metal acts differently. Brass comes of in little pieces where aluminum comes off in spiral strings. You can email me and we can talk on the phone if you have questions. I have gained alot of knowledge from people like Mark Jones and Dirk Joseph, whom I consider to be some of the best machinist I know. They are always willing to help me in anyway they can. Also, if you don't have it, Joe Martins book is well worth the paper it's printed on. It will give you a TON of knowledge on the equipment and how to use it. One of his sayings has always stuck with me too. "They don't make a 'put on' tool". You can always take off the material you don't need, but you can never put it back on. Keep this in mind when turning a part...sneek up on the actual measurement needed....don't try to turn your part to final tolerances the first time. Augie got me started down this path. His words were,"just try it and experiment with it...you'll get it". He also recommended Joe's book to me and he was right. I just started machining and someday I hope to have the hang of it. I cut my thumb open the first day by not respecting the speed of the machine. Just remember, when it's us against the machine...most of the time we lose...unless we are turning it off or unpluging it. On final bit of advice if you're still here, .......get in the habit of tuning the speed to zero AND cutting the switch off every time. This will save you down the road when you are tightening a piece in the chuck with the bars and you accidently hit the on switch...if the speed is zero, no problem.....if not, look out, the machine will win. Good luck and I am serious about helping you. I learned alot from others who were willing to do the same for me, so I will pass along as much as I can. Also, Dirk told me to get a set of files, and I thought he was crazy, since I was machining parts and what good could a set of files possibly do for me? He was right...and I use them frequently. Most machinist do as well. David Morton

I appreciate all of your comments and thanks for looking. I'll be done with it hopefully next month and toss it over in under glass. David

I know many of you knew Ricky Couch and it was he who convinced me (more like threatened…j.k.) to compete at model shows and for the many years that I knew him, he always motivated me and inspired me to build better models. His work was amazing to me and his creative thinking was something I envied everyday. After his death, the model world just didn’t seem the same to me. We all miss him. Then someone planted an idea in my head (thanks Larry & Mark) to do a tribute model to him since resin copies of Ricky’s “Bad Fish†were available. I jumped at the chance to come up with something that I thought he would like and that I could enjoy building while remembering what a great friend he was to me and to all. I hope you like the shots, and I hope to be done with it soon. I’ll post it “under glass†when it’s done. The car itself is the resin body with about ½ inch added to the front fenders forward of the front tires. It was hard to get that Allison motor in without the mod. I did shave off the molded on rear bumper, scored some lines for doors and cut some holes for taillights. I will put the glass in from the outside. I used the 71 cuda kit, cut out the grill and grafted it onto the resin body. I cut the interior some, and the seats/dash…but from that the interior is basically stock. The pipes are brass that I bent up and soldered, then nickel plated on the stove with the Caswell plating system (VERY EASY). The headlights are brass that I made and did the same way. The snake skin is a temporary body tattoo that you apply with water (very easy too). I have hidden a rattlesnake on the trunk…I will hide it a little more before the PPG clear coat. The color is Alclad copper with a copper pearl on top. I still have some decals to put on the rear quarter panel that say "Allison V12" and a few other touches. Ricky called his “Bad Fishâ€â€¦a play on the name of the car. I am calling mine “Bad Snakeâ€. There are a few more out there with there on themes that you will probably be seeing soon. If you lost someone whom you admired, you will find pleasure in you memories of them when you do something like this. Hope you enjoy it. Sincerely, David

Hey ken, I made the mirror brackets from .015 or .020 stainless wire (that I glued together with Krystal Klear) and the mirrors are that plastic made by MidWest Products. If you hobby store carries it, get some or search for it online. It is awsome and it's the closest thing I've ever seen to mirror (been doing this since 5th grade..about 33 years) They also have it in gold. It is thick (about .040). But, it is worth getting...I have found many uses for it!! The truck took about 2 years (on and off) and I had to make alot of stuff just cause I wanted a certain look. I was just getting into machining so the stacks, tanks, lights,horns,handles,cleaners and the like were machined out of aluminum. The rig I just completed had turned rims that took me forever to do. I could go on, but I think all this type would bore you. IF you have questions or want to know more, email me at Karmodeler2@aool.com and we can exchange numbers and I can share some tips and techniques if you need some. I'm normally an 'out of box" type builder, but trucks have always held a place in my heart since I was about 7 years old, used to build them, started building cars, and now am just starting to get back into trucks. Hope all this is useful.....somehow? David

Ken, I built the Daimond T 950 and it turned out pretty nice. The Diamond T's that Dave has (AITM) are nice kits and you won't be disappointed. I did a few extra's to mine, like cutting and hinging the doors and adding some "bling", but you will enjoy the kit. Some of the kits, (the Diamond T's I have are this way) are a single casting, meaning the grill, hood, fenders, doors/cab are all one piece and you have to seperate them if you want the hood to come off or the doors to open. I enclosed a link that will show my Diamond T 950 in hopes it will inspire you. Good luck! David http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z83/Kar...mond%20T%20950/

If any of you may know where I can get a resin copy of a 1950's Autocar sleeper cab (that is where the sleeper and cab are all one unit with no break in the body work between the back of the cab and the front of the sleeper), I would be very grateful. I have seen them assembled online at pics from shows, but could not tell where the entrant got it or the entrants name. Any help would be appreciated as it will keep me from making one if one exist. Thanks, David Morton

Thanks Ryan for the nice comment and I believe your dad won the next year. I appreciate him not bringing anything that year cause it gave me the chance to win BOS. He would have smoked me if he had brought something!!

Thanks Bob for the kind words and for thinking my work is as good as Carl's. His work inspired me to the EXTREME and I'm glad I had the chance to see his work. I would love to see some more (or the same stuff) of his work. I have several books on the D types and if you need some, let me know. I will be in Greenville for our show in May if you don't need them before then and you should come up to our show and diplay (read "compete") and I'll bring the ref books for you. How about it? And no, I'm not running away.......there are still more trophies to be had!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you very much for your kind words.

Thank you for your kind words. I think anyone can do the work that I do if they had the time that I have. I spend alot of my time at work doing this and that probably is a big advantage for me. I always enjoy the reactions (positive and negative) when I put my stuff on the table. I enjoy building things that make others smile and sometimes say, "Man, you're crazy!!!" I always say that I know that I am crazy, and after all.....recognition is the first step to recovery!!!! And nobody says you have to go to step 2!!! (and you're one step ahead of those who have yet to recognize they have a problem!!!) Thanks once again........and if you liked the Diamond T, you will love the one in ATL for 08!!! It makes the Diamond T seem like child's play.

I do have some and when I get back home on the 20th Dec, I'll send you some. Email me if you haven't got them and I'll send them. Karmodeler2@aol.com

Yeah, you caught me Jay, this was the "BOS" (best of show) at the Atlanta NNL in 2000. I built it to compete against a guy whose work had just stunned me the year before. So, I said to myself, "If he can do it, so can I!" So I built this in 7 months and made almost every working feature I could think of (glove box, ash try, sunvisors, armrest..etc) so I would have a chance at beating him. He never showed (and still hasn't to this day) and I wish he would come back. His work was absolutely unbelievable!

This is suppose to be a 1/24 scale kit, but keep in mind that this was one of the largest class D trucks built from this period.

Hey Steve, Thanks for the comments and the kit came as one complete piece of resin consisting of the cab, hood, grill and fenders. I seperated everything, cut and hinged the doors using brass hinges (scratch-built) and magnets (one in door and one in rocker panel area) to keep the doors closed when in transit. Try your hand at it... building trucks is alot of fun too!!

HeY Steve, Thanks for the praise. Dirk's work is absolutely awesome and he is my inspiration when it comes to machining. To have him think my work is outrageous really makes me happy. I hope that one day I can machine like him!

This is a tricycle I scratch built. Hope you like it. Sorry I don't have better pictures.

This is a project completed several years back. I'll post comments on what was done later. I hope you guys enjoy the pics.

Some of you have seen this project before, but I thought I would post some pics. on the Model Cars' forum. Hope you enjoy the pics. I will post some of the details of what was done later...

Good question Bob. Being computer illiterate, I responded while I was at Mark's house (I'm out here on a trip with work) and he told me NOT to do what I did, but I was stupid and forgot to check what people were saying under MY name, not his. The following two responses were from me, not Mark. I, David Morton, being of sound mind and, well....not sound mind, but, somewhat older body.....well, anyway, before I digress further, I built the d@#$ thing. Posted: Thu 28 Jun, 2007 8:09 am Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey Simon, Thanks for the kind words...This one was easy 'cause of the suede paint job...didn't have to spend hours of buffing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: Thu 28 Jun, 2007 8:12 am Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for the kind words, I actually got the idea from the metal master himself...Morgan Barclay. He has been an inspiration to me, but I work in plastic...cause it's easier!

Thanks for the invite and for allowing me into your club (and your kind words about me). I don't think I'm as good a builder as most of you think I am.

Hey Bob, the rear window is tinted using Future and a black resin tint and the front one is tinted using Future and a green resin tint. It's the only thing that I have found that is compatible with Future. The dash is the SAME color as the car and seats, but the front glass, with it's tint, causes it to look different. The wheel is white and the seats are an almond color.

AMT Pacer Wagon, chopped rear and made into "El Paso Pacer". Steelies, wood bed (painted), curved rear glass, windows are lightly tinted.