iamsuperdan

Looks like I forgot a coupel of things. Did some testing of the truck in late May. Drove it to the top of two ski hills/mountains here in the Canadian Rockies. First up was Marmot Basin in Jasper. Ski season ended abotu two weeks before these pics. Aired down to 20 psi and made it to the upper chair with ease. They usually only take snowmobiles and groomers here. Then we drove down to Sunshine Village. Elevation is about 2000ft higher than at Marmot. Ski season ended the day before we arrived. We easily drive everywhere their existing maintenance vehicle go. Then the VP of operations asked if we could see how far we could go.So we drove to the top of the hill. He's been there almost 20 years, and says this is the first time a wheeled vehicle has been able to get to the top. The snow is what they call mid-packed, and is about 6ft deep here. Found the units they normally use here. Coming down was fun. That's the same route we took up to the top. Was a fun couple of days, and fingers crossed, will translate into some business. Have quoted out a total of 6 vehicles to these hills. And once the ski industry as a whole learns about this... Also, it was my daughter's high school grad last weekend. The boy has his college graduation on the 24th. Then in July, my daughter turns 18, the boy turns 21. And then in early August, it's our 25th anniversary. Busy summer!

Maybe a little bit of orange peel in there, but will still look great on the shelf. I like the black more than the yellow you had picked out.

Aliens. Duh. Either that, or it's the speakers/PA for a football stadium. You just can't see the cables supporting it.

You're 100% correct. Engineering could easily lighten that car significantly. But here's the rub. Your typical Mustang owner wouldn't buy that car. I'm not talking about car guys or enthusiasts. I'm talking about the typical Mustang buyer. If you were to de-content and lighten the car, those people would go away, because they NEED all the stuff. Plush seating for 4, thick sound deadening, thicker and quieter windows, plush carpet, power everything, all the speakers, touchscreens, heated seats, vented seats, auto transmission with paddles, tilt and telescoping steering, 20 inch wheels, spoilers, fog lights, etc. They need the comfort and the luxury. Then the regulations come into effect. Crash structures, a dozen or so airbags with pre-tensioners, blind spot monitors, rear cameras, etc. Then add all of the emissions items required. Not to mentioned the miles and miles of wiring needed to run all of the electronics and computers. All of the above adds a ridiculous amount of weight. I would love to see ford bring out a lightweight Mustang. Leave the safety stuff, leave the emissions stuff, strip out the features. Porsche used to do that. Go back a few years and compare my dream car, the Carrera RS to a standard 911 Carrera. All the luxury features went out the door. Heck, the doors became literally a flat panel with a pull strap to open it. No power steering, no AC, no stereo, no cruise control, no back seat, no sunroof, thinner glass, no sound deadening, thinner carpets. The car was significantly lighter, and far more fun to drive. Alas, the only way to do that now would be to do it yourself. Buy a Mustang, and "ruin" it. I'd love to do that.

It doesn't take much to make a rear drive vehicle break loose. I had a 1985 Volkswagen T3 Doka. Rear wheel drive. Even before the engine swap, these van/truck things only had 90hp max. Mine was the 83hp version. I could get the back end to step out. Even more so after doing the TDI swap. Only two cars have ever truly scared me. Both were turbo Porsches. The first was a Porsche 930 that has been tweaked by Andial Racing. If I recall, the car had around 700hp, which was mental back in the mid 90s. The clutch was basically an on/off switch. I knew it would be insane, but nothing could prepare me for that massive turbo kicking in. The second was a Porsche 951, aka 944 Turbo. The car was an '87 and came in on trade. The client didn't inform us that he had done some tuning on the car. Normally, the 951 has a decent amount of turbo lag, and if you know where it kicks in, you can plan your drive. There was one corner on our normal test drive loop, where I knew that if I entered the corner at a certain speed, downshifted, then floored it, by the time I was pointing straight, the boost would kick in and I'd be gone like a rocket. So I did the same thing with this seemingly stock looking car. Entered the corner at speed, downshift, floor it...no lag. The boost kicked in and the car got sideways immediately. I still don't know how I kept it on the road. I might have screamed. Probably would have looked impressive from a spectator POV.

Here's the awesome thing with 3D printing. Now that he has the files, he can print up multiple copies for very little cost. So do an original colour scheme, then something else, then something else. etc. I have a couple of "kits" that I've printed several copies of, for just that reason. 👍

Crazy wind here over the weekend. So yesterday, instead of spending a relaxing afternoon at the workbench, I was at my MIL's house, rebuilding the fence that blew down. Two posts snapped, so I had to dig out and remove those, which had post stumps a good 2.5ft in the ground. Then I got to buy two new posts and some bags of concrete and get those in place. Everything went well, now tomorrow night I go back to actually start rebuilding the fence sections. Ugh.

That looks amazing. The "metalwork" looks exactly like a diecast. Excellent job making the plastic look like aluminum. Try some outdoor shots in the garden or something. I'll bet natural light makes it look even more realistic!

Yeah, that car has lived a hard life and has gone through many iterations.

That was the Nardo Grey Mk4 known as Project X. I followed that build. Was pretty crazy at the time. Although, it was kind of a hack job. Great concept, some pretty crap details. There's a few of these around now. What's crazy is that car was built as a two door, when it was basically new. Only a year or two old. Not many people willing to chop apart a basically new car!

Around 1994, when VW launched the Mk3 Golf for North America, they had a 3 door version. Apparently, it started as a mistake at the brand new factory in Mexico, where a 3 door panel was somehow installed on a 4 door car. As the roof line and wheelbase is identical, it fits with no problem. It was discovered almost immediately, but VW decided to finish the car and showcase it to demonstrate the importance of quality checks or something. I had pics of the car when it came to our dealership. Darned if I can find them though.

Well, it's been a LONG time, but I finally got back on it. Took a while, but I've carved off enough plastic that the Mercedes V12 now sits where it should. I do need to shape a new center tunnel for it, but that shouldn't be too bad. It's not reflected in the pics, but I have the stance nailed down for it too. Pics have it sitting a little high.

The Gambody kit is excellent. But you'll need to play around with the scaling to make it fit the MPC kit. With a bit of work, it shouldn't be too challenging to make it fit.

Tamiya Rubber Black XF-85 works for me. It's available in the jars still. We can't get the spray cans in Canada anymore though.

There are so many T3 variations I want to build. First and foremost is my old Doka. Had a TDI swap from an 04 Jetta, lowered suspension, Mercedes knock off wheels, South African grille, Tristar sliding rear windows, and some Vanagon Wolfsburg front seats and front spoiler parts. I still miss this truck. The Doka is available to 3D print, but it's not compatible with the Revell kit. White Chocolate 124 makes an awesome transkit for the Revell kit. Works on any of their T3 vans. https://whitechocolate124.com/product/vw-t3-t25-big-bumpers/ I just need to find the SA front grille/light set up. And if we're dreaming, I would love Revell to make a kit of the Doka Syncro Tristar.

When assembling AMT big rig frames, I use Lego bricks to make a jig to keep everything square. Glue together the two fram rails and the 4-6 crossmembers, then put it in the jig. Perfectly straight. Or as straight as one can get the typically warped AMT truck frames.

I'm not a huge Mustang guy, but I really like the early Fox bodies. The wheel upgrade makes sense, and personally I'd upgrade the brakes too. I see that blue patch on the passenger door. Has this been repainted at all? Seems odd, considering the inside of the door is the factory silver. I think a major clean and detail would be the first thing on my list. I do that with all of our cars before I ever start working on them.

I'd like to know why Stormtrooper armour does nothing to protect against a single blaster shot. What's the point of the armour if it doesn't protect the wearer? Other than looking awesome.

As far as I can tell, Walmart in Canada doesn't stock kits at all. Having said that, about 15 years ago, I happened to be in our local Wal and and end rack had a bunch of Polar Lights Nascar kits. The old cars, circa early 70s. They were only $10 CDN each, so I grabbed 4 of them. A couple of Richard Petty cars, a Buddy Baker Charger, one other one. Cale Yarborough maybe? Ended up trading them away here to someone...for something. Haven't seen a kit in any Walmart since.

This looks fantastic. The weathering is bang on, although...with being that weathered, there should probably be a few dings and dents too. Still, awesome work.

I love it!

Excellent work. I like that when you weathered it, you also dented it. Have seen a lot of builds where people weather and rust, but on a perfectly smooth body. Although it's not normally my thing, I built one of these too. And one thing I've noticed is that everyone that posts it here has done something different. Work trucks, show trucks, colours, wheels...everyone is different. I don't think I've seen any "twins" made from this kit yet. And that's excellent.

Really like the colour choices! Nice work!

Personally, I'd strip it and save it. I have a few of the models I built in the late 80s, and turning them into something nice while retaining the original parts has been a good feeling. And who cares if it's easier and faster to just buy a new one? Same could be said for all the guys who restore real cars. Why bother fixing that rusty thing? Just buy a new one! It's easier!

HBC just went into bankruptcy and liquidation! All stores closed. End of an era.