Lizard Racing

Anybody seen the new Star Wars movie yet? My daughter's family scored special tickets for midnite show last night. Episode IV was the first movie she saw when she was a baby. I can't go until Saturday.

Driver, owner, team owner, builder. Junior did it all.

If not already mentioned, the Monogram '67 Corvette 427 Roadster was molded in red. At least the one I have.

Just got back from the movie. A few factual errors (speedometer in a race car?), but the general public would not notice. Really good flick.

Just saw the movie. It was really good! I remember when all this happened. There were a few detail errors and interesting story points missed or changed (like 1967 Ferrari P4s used for 1965), but a good movie none the less. GO SEE IT! I still recommend the book book Go Like Hell by A. J. Baime.

Looks like you will have a slice of Paradise when you're done.

A wonderful build of a little-known subject.

Well, several weeks ago I watched Grand Prix for the umpteenth time since it came out. I got the idea to build a 1966/67 F1 from my parts box . The car was to be loosely based on the McLaren M2B. This was McLaren's first F1 car and used a de-stroked Indy Ford engine. Teams had two years' notice of the move from 1.5 to 3.0 engines but everyone was still scrambling to find power. I had several MPC and AMY Indy Lotus kits from years past that had been made into lots of other projects. I started with an AMT Indy 4-cam with intake and exhaust from other sources so it wouldn't look so much like a Ford. The basic chassis is an MPC unit from at least two kits. I lengthened the nose and eliminated the step-in at the front. Suspension bits are from AMT and MPC kits as well as some scratch-built parts. The windscreen is a bit ratty, but it is from a kit bought in 1964. Clear plastic gets even more brittle as it ages. The engine cover is scratch built. Good old Evergreen. But at least it came out mostly like what I had in mind. Thanks for looking.

Nice clean build. Good to see one without the supercharger.

Like the "dual" exhaust, last February we rented a car (I think it was a Nissan) on a trip. It had two outlets next to each other. One day I noticed one was black on the inside and the other silver. On closer inspection, there was one functional exhaust and another welded to it, just out of sight. It was a funny, needless expense. Especially for the owner that has to replace the muffler.

You are right, it is a challenging kit to build. Certainly looks better than mine! The tires really set it off.

Great work!! I have on in the stash I should get started on someday.

I started building in the early 60's and kept it up for about 15 years until kids started coming. My collection got thinned out because of several moves during that time, but I still have some parts from the first kits I built. I then took up the hobby again in the 2000's. As in previous posts, I get an idea for a project and want to see what it would look like. Mostly I build race cars, most of them as tributes of one kind or another. Because of this, kit selection is limited. Model building is about the only creative thing I do.

This topic really brings back memories. Chaparral 2F carried its "luggage" in the front fenders. The door is barely visible in the photo. These two compartments conveniently also functioned as plenum chambers for cooling air to the front brakes. In the day, cars were turned down at tech inspection or modified (sawing away roll bar brace) to accommodate "luggage space."

Good tip for dealing with the marks! I built one back in the day. Its last configuration was an AWB match racer.

It's kind of funny, the Bentley model which is best known is the least successful. The unblown 4.5 or the Speed Six are the ones which dominated Le Mans. The blower overstressed the engine into unreliability.

Rick Mears has always been one of my favorite drivers. He was a thinker, always adjusting the car to suit changing track conditions. But he could turn it on when needed, as his six poles and four wins at Indy 500 can attest. This is the AMT Penske PC17 kit. Mears won the race from pole that year. There is good detail in the kit. It includes the option of using the flush wheels used in the 500. The photo is the all-Penske front row for the race. Note three holes in the wheels. The only problem with the wheels is that they came with six holes instead of three. This requires a modification. Here are the covers still on the sprue. The extra holes were plugged with .080 rod and sanded flush. This is the finished disk painted Model Master chrome. To be more correct, I should have glued the disk to the wheel and filled the gap.

Just imagine all the stories told of real-live race drivers driving the first of the Z06 Corvettes from St. Louis to their various destinations?

Thanks for the tips! Tom's diagram reminded me of when I was working at a computer all day. He's right: feet flat on the floor, arms at 90 and adjust everything else to fit.

Yes, the day wasn't perfect. Look at photos of the front end in the day to see there were at least two prangs. But they got the job done.

I think you see that your complaint is not unique to you. IMHO, anyone who has not screwed up enough to put the project aside for a while is just doing bone box stock kits with no paint. When I lose something, I forget about it for a while and usually find it looking for something else. If a project is giving you frustration, put it aside for a time. The problem will percolate in your subconcious, so when you do get back to it, the solution will present itself. Happy building!

I just got back to model building after a 3-month hiatus due to illness. But I have noticed that sitting at the bench for more than an hour gives me pain in my back I had not noticed before, limiting the time I can work without a break. Does anyone have any techniques/tips for this problem?

Nice collection! Are the stripes on the van decals or paint?

As I remember, they used the red-orange through the 70's. CE Red is a red-orange, as opposed to Chrysler orange, which was more of a yellow-orange. I use the Model Masters Chev red, which is close as my memory goes. In 1968 I actually had two cans of Chevy red spray paint I used on the wheels of my 61 VW. In 2007, after my parents passed, I found they still had the paint! And it still worked.

The wire wheels were part of the kit. One of the best parts. To CHUCKYG1: The seats are covered with the kit decals. The only change from the kit is the Union Jack decals on the head fairings. The photo shows them, but they may not be original. The decals are from Vintage Racing Miniatures (VRM). Thanks for the kind comments.