Brian Austin

1:25 scale seems to be a standard scale for outdoor miniature displays in Europe, such as Madurodam in the Netherlands. They even scratchbuild model trains and vehicles in that scale for those parks.

The chart leaves out 15 and 14 inch wheels, two common sizes. :-P

Well, FWIW I am fascinated by '60s sports roadsters, and so enjoyed the ones recently posted. I even hadn't been aware of the 1962 Oldsmobile F-85 X-215 roadster so I learned something. :-)

There is also a Google scan of that book as well, but the quality is not very good IIRC, so it's nice to see it available in a better version at archive.org.

Fun project. For woodgrain, to make a scale acoustic guitar, I loosely mixed Testors yellow and Turn Signal Amber (and perhaps something else such as brown as well) on a piece or cardboard or similar for a palette. The idea is to let the paint streak and vary in color as you brush it on the model surface. For a woodie's framing, I'd try a darker mix.

Those Grahams got some interesting bodies in Europe.

Horseless carriages for sure! Pages below from Horseless Vehicles by Gardner D. Hiscox, from 1901, a volume still in circulation at a local library! Most vehicles in this period appear to have been completely open to the elements. Brrrr. In some examples here you can see a driver's perch that mimicked that of the horse-drawn predecessors.

Another factor I've heard of is some kits had clear granules blended in with the colored ones, and that clear plastic is more brittle.

A few more pictures can be found here. https://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=49492&country=us Gotta love the description: It began with replica parts for a Cord and Auburn. Then this stunning creation became a one of a kind work of art with no expense spared. Only the best professional craftsmen were used in each stage of building. It is now complete and has only 156 miles showing on the odometer. From top to bottom. bumper to bumper. the body and chassis have all been professionally treated to the best of the best. The rebuilt 460 Ford engine and automatic transmission propel this jewel smoothly down the road. The deep cream and green finishes and high grade luxurious leather interior attract crowds wherever it goes. I have seen factory replicas starting at $68. 00 that do not come close to this one. I have simply gone to far now having more cars than space. I am proud to offer this car for sale and feel confident it will be a complete joy to its new owner. I didn't claim this to be the prettiest custom, but posted it as food for thought for those considering kitbashing Lindberg's Cord and Auburn kits. I'm not sure what the 1:1 kitbashers used to make the custom. The hood's contours differ quite a bit from stock, and yeah those wacky vents make no sense. For fun, here's what a real Cord looks like stretched two feet. It's an older custom, mounted on an apparent Chrysler chassis. https://www.undiscoveredclassics.com/sport-customs/1937-longwheelbase-supercharged-cord-phaeton-part-1/

For fun, here are a couple of pages from a book dating to 1922. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015002942632&view=1up&seq=259&q1="town car"

Replica body on Mercury Marquis chassis.

Thanks, I spliced two Deora body sides together. Project stalled when it became apparent the body was slightly skewed in relation to the cab. What are your thoughts for your chassis?

I was reminded of a picture from a sales site from many years ago. No information or further pictures were provided. The other picture is a long-stalled car hauler project.

Those little diecasts look fantastic. I'm no longer in the market for these, but I'm sure a bunch of model railroaders will be happy.

No pics (I was driving) but just the other day I saw an '80s Toyota Van (windowless panel version) with a ladder rack on the roof that seemed a little out of proportion for the little van. It appeared to be someone's work truck, and in good shape. Then later in the day in another town I saw a GM "Dustbuster" minivan. Crazy!

Sometimes miniature engines are installed in miniature vehicles or boats. The miniature-engine hobby appears to me to be an outgrowth of the model engineering hobby from a century ago or more, where engines were powered by steam. Craftsmen made parts from scratch, and later raw castings were made available. Later still one could order plans and raw castings to make 1/4 scale I.C. engines, often of aircraft of nautical design. Inline-four engines were popular. Over the years, I have been to model engineering events, and it's always fascinating and educational to see these machines in action. For as long as I can remember my family has been involved in a club that runs miniature trains large enough to ride on, often built from scratch and running on steam. Operating miniature steam stationary engines have been exhibited, and the craftsmanship is always amazing. So in reference to the original post from two years ago, what's more impressive, a fully-functioning miniature engine that may be demonstrated to the public, or one made from bits of plastic glued together that most people won't even get to see? :-P

This might answer some questions regarding how the bed floor might look with these T-Birds... https://www.deadclutch.com/2020/02/12/1961-ford-thunderbird-custom-pickup-ranchero-conversion/

It all depends on how people want to organize their images. Fotki's album organization ability is handy for showing a large number of images. If you only want to show a small number, then using this board's uploading tool may be better.

Portraying Godzilla was amazingly physical work for Haruo Nakajima, the guy in the rubber suit. His costume was heavy and hot inside.

Very informative article, thanks for posting.

https://www.stlouiscarmuseum.com/vehicl e s/28/1950-ford-f5-tow-truck

Non-round headlights are kind of interesting. American cars sporting CIBIE lights can be interesting. Square lights on a custom van are cool.

Neat idea for a layout. Is he replicating the passenger station? That would make an impressive model.

Juergen, you are very welcome. One thing I forgot to note in my post was that for the frame I'd recommend starting with the one from Revell's '50 Oldsmobile and rear axle from AMT's '62 Pontiac Catalina and a pair of leaf springs from somewhere else. IIRC the '55-'57 Pontiac trunk area is different from Chevrolet.

Since my family had an HO model railroad layout, we had an Atlas hobby saw to cut rail and such. It became my entry into model car hacking (1980s or so). It looked an awful lot like this one currently in production, just in an uglier color. https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Model-Railroad-Super-Saw/dp/B0006KQI0A (Atlas Tool Co. went on to become a major player in the model railroad field, and magazine ads used to poke fun at their name by listing the various track, rolling stock and other items they produced, and yet they offered only one tool, the hobby saw. Later on they changed their name to better reflect their hobby products.) So, anyway, here's a lesser-known alternative for hobby saws to consider. Do any of you use coping saws?