redneckrigger

I learned to drive in a 1962 Willys Jeep station wagon with a three speed. I have never looked back.....I LOVE manuals, but it is hard to find a manual today, except in performance cars. I had sticks in my GTO's, Mustangs, several other nondescript cars and still have a 91 GT Mustang with the 5 speed. We just went to Europe, and we rented a car in Caen to drive out to Normandy for a few days..................since I was an American, I got the third degree as to whether I could drive a stick. I still don't think the rental girl really believed me. It seems that almost every car we saw in England or France was a manual.......................amazing that our country has gotten so lazy!

Love the little details.....................I can remember the fallout of having my dogs run free around the body shop I used to own! LOL! Great work!

Yes it is, and having purchased items from each and every one, (and LOTS from many), I can say that their quality is unmatched anywhere!

If you can find a First Gear diecast IHC S Series Service Truck in 1/25th scale, it has a very nice DT466 engine in it. Sure, it's a diecast, but it is a superbly detailed one. I found one on eBay that was not in the greatest of condition, but had a perfect engine. I have a friend that is presently using it to see if he can make a resin replica of it.

Last post before vacation...........maybe the help will continue work on her while I'm gone! LOL! Mockup with both drums in place..................now the hard work!

Good luck sir! ENJOY!

That is one of my three lathes............and the one I like the most, a South Bend 9A. I also have a Clausing 14x36 and a Micro Mark 7x12, along with the other requisite machines such as a Clausing milling machine, drill presses and grinders and sanders etc.

Good one! I'll add water to the drum, but I'm NOT painting it red! LOL! Making the rear drum, the smaller of the two. Going to make the front one tomorrow, then will be gone on vacation for two weeks. More to come on our return.

Finally got all of my stuff I got at NNL sorted out................MAN it is hard on the wallet to go there! But, oh, what fun! Got great stuff from Jamie Rahmoeller, (Mo' Luminum), KJ Humphreys, (Double Take Replicas), Gary Wallace, Dave Natale, (AITM), Model King, Detail Master, and many other vendors that ALL have superb quality products! Spent an ungodly amount, but, it was WELL worth it.

I have all three sizes of the pens and love them. They work great for touching up sprue attachment points as well as trim detailing. I have found that it is not as touchy as some have said when you touch it, but I avoid doing so anyways. The refill chrome also works VERY well through the airbrush. I modified a front bumper from a 1984 GMC pickup into one for a 1985, without the directional lights. I filled the lights in after stripping the chrome. Then I airbrushed Molotow Chrome over the bumpe, over a coat of Mr. Surfacer 1200. First, let me say, it is very thin, and will show EVERY flaw in your bodywork, so I had to do it over again after fine tuning the filling spots. But, it then looked superb. I dare say, it looks more like real 1:1 chrome than the kit chrome does. I am totally pleased with it, as I don't have to wait for my parts to be chromed by a rechroming shop. I DO hope to try it on a sample piece with a coat of Future to see how it stands up. This is as exciting a development as I have seen in years!

Thanks for the GREAT photos! It sure was a great show, and I wouldn't miss it for the world!

Thanks for the good words, guys! Since I no longer can check out the real one, out of necessity, I'm building this one from the outside in. Kind of a different approach, but it sure will look good when done. Mike, the prototype for this is in your backyard. It is parked in the lot owned by Maxymillian construction on the corner of Putnam Rd. and Rt. 7. It is just behind the fence on the edge of Putnam Rd. I ran that shop for years, doing truck and equipment repairs, building equipment, and painting everything they owned, until 1991 when I got injured, and couldn't do that work any longer. The old girl was still parked in the same place, last I looked. she probably has grown roots by now!

Years ago, I built a White 3000 tractor, with the intent of building a Galion tandem roller and lowboy to go with it. The truck was done almost 30 years ago, (as seen in my avatar)...............the lowboy last year, and finally, I started cutting parts for the roller tonite! I have not been able to find a lot of reference material, but did find a manual, and lots of photos of the outside of the roller. I used to work for a construction company back then, and we had one in the back lot. But, i never got to take detailed photos of it, and can no longer access it to do so. So.................a little bit of artistic license will be taken with the innards of the beast, but outside, it should look pretty good. Time will tell how it turns out! I laid out the skin on a big piece of plastic sheet, and drew details on it from the manual I had, scaled to the proper 1/25th size. Cut it out, fabricate a frame for the bottom, put a belly pan on it, and I have a reasonable semblance of the real roller. I chose the gas powered model over the diesel, so I used a Chevy 6 cyl. block with a stretched flathead head on top. so far, so good.

Yeah Bill, it certainly was sensory overload! I own a gun shop and have gone to the SHOT show, (Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade show), in Las Vegas several times. It is a 4 day show and has over 1600 separate exhibitors.............allowing an average of just over a minute to spend at each one. I reach sensory overload there VERY quickly, and it is impossible to see everything. NNL East reminds me of the same..............first place I go is to the vendor halls, and then to the display hall. I reached sensory overload after about ten minutes in both! But, wow, what an overload it is! It is a rush, and as said before, certainly one not to miss! The quality and variety of work seen there is unparalleled!

Thanks, John.............yer builds ain't too shabby either! Glad you enjoyed the NNL!

Thanks guys! It was a labor of love, fueled by extreme regret at having to have sold the real one! But, this one is a lot less expensive to keep around, and does not take up as much space! AND, it evokes great memories of the real one. To me, it has the right look!

Nice looking Chevy for sure! Looks every bit the part of the real car!

Nicely done Huey.....................love it!

Yup, this year's show was absolutely mind boggling. I got there at about 0830 and got in line, a VERY LONG line. Show staff goes through the line selling passes in advance of opening to speed entrance to the show. I was the very last person in the line to get an advance pass, as they stopped doing so at about 0850, and set up the ticket table at the door. Even then, they opened the door at 0900 and I was inside the show at 0903. THAT is absolutely great crowd management! And it really IS a superb show, WELL worth attending. I spent the entire day there, wandering about the show hall and the two vendor halls, and thought I looked at everything. And then today when I looked at Mr. Obsessive's excellent photos, it became apparent that I had missed a LOT. It almost seemed as if I was at a different show! There is that much to see, and so little time! Not a show to miss, if at all possible!

THAT is VERY cool! Great imagination and execution!

GREAT info.......................THANKS!

Yup, have used that wire as well. But I find that the solder works very well, as it is available in several different diameters. 1/16 = 1.58", 3/32 = 2.38", and 1/8 = 3.17. Since all of these are outside diameters, they equate well to 1 1/2, 2 1/4, and 3" pipe.

I'll keep an eye out for you...............LOL!

Thanks, the Hydro-Boost was just a piece of SOMETHING from the parts box. At least I still have my old girl, a 1985 K3500, but now it's in 1/25th scale! Thanks, it WAS done, but then the "what if" bug hit me, and I put her back in the body shop for a bit. Finished up a conversion of the '84 front bumper to an '85 without the lights, chromed it, added a forgotten coolant overflow tank, buffed the paint, redid the entire exhaust system out of solder and made the correct oval shaped resonators, new scratched exhaust clamps, added a receiver hitch, and a few other items. Gonna be done just in time for NNL.

Yeah, it's different, but it's an oldie, and so am I!!!! It's still a WIP, but gets a bit done here and there. You'll see it soon!