Oldmopars

So do we know yet if this will have the back windows? The rescue van has no back windows cut out. If the rear windows are there I may have to buy one of these and use it, save my rescue van for another project.

I think its cool. I would like to know what meds they have you on, must be some good stuff. I love the tracks, where did you get them? This thing looks like it would be a blast to drive if it was real. Light weight, lots of power, fun fun fun.

I see that I am not the only one to go with the flat black hood idea. I have made more progress on this, I am rounding the finish line. As you can see the hood is black to reduce the glare. I added mud flaps, I think the rules say you have to have them. I added a small skid plate under the oil pan. Got the decals on the doors, but still need to do the smaller ones. Roof rack mounted and rope added to hold everything in place. Working on making custom shocks, the kit ones are too short with the raised suspension. A few more details like the mirror, etc. and it will be done. It is starting to look the part.

Cool truck, I love it. I looked into a larger truck like that, but my insurance company will not insure anything bigger than a 1 ton. So, I found an Ex-Rescue Fire truck, like the 1 ton paramedics truck used on Emergency. Its a 84 Chevy K30 with the Medic service box. I love owning a truck that was former public service/government. Good luck with the restoration of your very cool truck.

For me this is easy, I have had a dream van (1:1) rolling around in my head for years. Now I am going to be able to build it in scale and have it on my shelf. I was going to build it no matter what, this just gave me a reason.

Well this weekend we got snow, so I couldn't do much outside, not that I wanted to anyway. So, I got more done on the Plymouth. I got almost all the BMF done, I did my best to match the photos of the real car and how the chrome is on it. I wanted the hood to be flat black, like you see on some school buses and trucks, it reduces the glare from the sun. I figured this would be good on a Rally car. I still have a lot of details to finish up, but here is a mock up to show where it it headed. No bumpers yet or headlights. They will be added shortly. As well as the door handles. It is just mocked up, so it is not sitting fuly down on the frame, that will happen during final assembly.

I have had this issue with brand new CSC and an AMT Corvette. The chrome just would not come off. I put in chrome from another kit, it came right off. Some AMT kits have a chrome coating that is just super stubborn. I left it in for 2 weeks and still had to scrub and scrap to get it as good as I did, and all the chrome did not come off.

You do know that MEK is what Model Cement is made of right? Plastruct Plastic Weld says MEK right on the bottle, Testors and Tamiya solvents are MEK. So, if I wanted to stay away from MEK, I would get out of doing models. I am only doing this for fun, I do not have any grand plans to start making hundreds of parts this way even if it does work. If it does work and I can get decent parts out of it, it will be more like 5 parts per year, hardly the exposure level that will kill me. I will get more exposure to MEK with every model I build.

I am aware that this would never work for anything of any size. But, for a small part it may work. Making a mold out of silicon and casting it is a fair bit of work for one small part. I am hopeful that this could work for real small parts and be faster and easier. If nothing else, it will be fun to play with. Only loss is an oz. of MEK and some old sprue. I have plenty of spare time.

Well, I got some paint work done on the cab. I fought me a lot. O got everything done, then hit it with a clear coat and the red wrinkled. I had to sand it down and redo it. Royal pain, but it looks better now. I have a lot of details to add, but its getting there.

So, the other day I bought a can of MEK to use as a solvent to join styrene (AKA model glue). It "melts" styrene. This gave me an idea. I took some sprue and chopped it up into real small bits and put it in a jar with the MEK. I stirred it till it all melted. I now had "melted" styrene. I did not have modeling clay handy, so I used some silly putty. This is where the part failure came in, I did not know that Silly Putty reacts with MEK. However it did give me enough positive results to want to explore this further. I could only cast things like hub caps or other things that are one sided. The melted styrene needs to be exposed to the air to off gas, so I can't pour it into an enclosed mold. But, it shows promise for replicating small items. I could mold in 2 halves and glue together. This is no replacement for Resin casting or 3D printing, but could come in handy to make a replacement for a missing hub cap, valve cover, etc. I think I need to try this with Modeling clay, or some other non-chemical based clay. Something organic would not react with the MEK. Anyway, here is the first try with a silly putty mold.

Here are the cars that I have found with the same type trunk lid. So it is more than one, and clearly OK by the rules. Maybe it is for weight savings?

So, I have posted a few pictures before , but I have made some more progress. My 1941 Plymouth. The engine is a 1941 Desoto 242, because it looks just like the Plymouth engine and has a lot more horse power. I have added a roof rack, made some sleeping bags, tarp and tool box. I made 2 spare tires as well. On several of the P2P cars from this era, I have seen that they removed the trunk lid and replaced it with one made out of canvas(nylon). So, I did the same thing. I took the stock trunk lid, after cutting it from the car, and added some ribs to simulate the construction of the ones I saw. Then I covered it with fabric to give it the right look. I have painted it black now. Wheels and tires are from the AMT rescue van, they have been widened to better fit the wheels. I will be building the van for the Cannonball and it does not need the wheels or tires. A nice forum member gave me an extra set of the rear tires so I have 4. The interior is done. I have added a center console to hold the SAT phone and shifter. The trans if a Tremic 5 speed from a Mustang/Thunderbird. Seats are out of a Plymouth Prowler, steering wheel is from the parts box. Roll bar is from the 57 Ford I think. I removed the rear seat from the interior to allow for more storage and to save weight. Suspension has been raised to allow for the new tires and give more travel over rough roads. Skid plates will be added later. Fenders have been trimmed and the running boards removed for clearance also. First picture is the inspiration for the color choice. I have had to redo the paint, the first time had some bad spots and was not smooth. I have corrected that.

I am suffering the same problem. I have all these ideas, I am collecting and ordering parts, but the kit and all parts ordered are still sitting in the box un touched. And its killing me. However I am enjoying the planning.

I know this is getting off the subject, but I bought a 1986 Yugo GV when they were new, right from the Yugo dealer in Salem Or. I had that car for a few years and absolutely loved that car. It had 50K miles on it when I moved and sold it. I had customized with Fiat parts and some custom made stuff. It was a fun little car. The Alternators were junk, replaced 4 of those. I was young and I abused that little car and I wish I still had it. But I am odd that way.

OK, I stand corrected, $8,000 for a YUGO? https://jalopnik.com/5368942/worlds-nicest-yugo-for-7999

I am all for someone building kits of new cars, but Revell and Tamiya are the only ones doing that. Italeri has come out with a few trucks and cars too. If the kit makes would build models of the new stuff I would buy it. I think there would be more interest in the pick-up, SUVs and sports cars, but I would buy and build a Taurus if they made one. But how many of us would be interested in a bunch of modern jelly bean cars on the shelf? A New Dodge truck 4x4 with a 6.7L Cummins? YES, all day long, Chevy Silverado sure, Ford F350, yes, Meng seems to have done well with that one. Maybe they should build more of the Tuner type cars, Honda's, Evo's, Scions, etc. Then sell a bunch of tuner parts to "trick" them out. No, it would be really cool if 3D printing get to the point of good quality at a low price and all we have to do is order the file and print at home or a local printer. Maybe that is the future. However it spells disaster for your local hobby shop owner unless he can make a go of R/C cars and other stuff. They will have to change with the times. Oh, and just kill me now if a Ford Tempo or a Chevy Celebrity is ever a "Collectable" Can you imagine someone spending $100,000 for a Plymouth Aries K car because it has become a collectable? Though I bet right now they are more rare than a 55-57 Chevy.

For what its worth, I am not part of the Grumpy Old Man set you are talking about, I am far younger than most on this board. I don't think resin casters going away is the end of the hobby, I do think that interest in Cars and Trucks in scale is fading. When was the last time MPC or AMT put out a completely new kit, not a rehash? Most of the stuff from USA based model companies now is repop stuff through Round2. Military stuff still seems popular, but very little US based support. Most of the model companies are overseas now. Revell USA clearly was struggling to stay afloat, hopefully they will be returning under new ownership. I am in no way here to declare the "Sky is Falling", but you would have to be stupid to not see the fact that what the Auto scale models were 20-30 years ago is gone. Interest is fading. Could this be because most of what Detroit is building is BORING? How many people want to build a model of a Ford Edge or a Jeep Compass. The hobby if anything is shifting to more of the Sci-Fi type stuff. And if you don't think that the modeling hobby is struggling, go ask your local hobby shop, if you can find one. Nearest one to me is 1.5 hour drive. I am hopeful that 3D printing will revive the hobby, but I am thankful for what we do have and know that I need to enjoy what is here, while it is still here. Things change and life moves on.

Fantastic, love the inside of the trailer and how the plywood sides are mismatched, very realistic. The cargo is awesome with the plastic wrap and the pallets. Very nice job on this one.

That's pretty crazy, I like it.

Like I said, I could be wrong. These are the best pictures I can find and they only show the area that could be painted through the engine compartment. Hard to say if it was painted beyond that. So, I would go with primer and overspray unless you can find better pictures. Keep in mind I have been under 1000's of cars/trucks over the years and could very easily be remembering Chevy's, Ford's or even Toyota's.

As it was stated, vans rolled off 2 different lines, and my memory is just that, a memory. I recall the floors being painted on the bottom, but the vans ran for 20+ years and could have changed. I suppose the only way to know for sure would be to find a factory picture of one and see what it shows.

I think 3D printing is great, however, I have used a 3D printed hood and grill from Shapeways. It was nice and the guy that designed it did an outstanding job, but it took me several hours of sanding and filling to get rid of the 3D print lines. This part was printed on their best quality setting. I was thrilled to get it as nobody made the parts I wanted, now I can go back and order more if I need them for another project. Is 3D printing going to save the hobby? I don't think so. Yes it will help those of us that are in the hobby right now, and help us to get the parts we want for the project we are working on, but I do not think it will in any way draw young people into the hobby. That is the biggest problem, young people are just not as interested in the hobby as us more mature adults. Aftermarket parts for this hobby will always be a labor of love, nobody is going to get rich. If they are lucky and have a good customer base and quality stuff, they may be able to support their family with it as sole income. Even if Resin goes away and 3D printing becomes the holy grail of aftermarket parts, nobody is getting rich(other than Shapeways). Now look at how many guys on this board are over 65-70. We don't live forever. We have to put the hobby down at some point. Without the young getting into the hobby, it will die off with those that are currently keeping it alive. With the cost of 3D printers going down, quality going up, more people will be able to own there own 3D printer and make parts for them self. They will no longer need the resin casters or people to make it for them, they will just do it them self, or ask that buddy that has one. I say enjoy it as long as it lasts, the end may be a few years or 20 years, but I don't see a bright future for resin casters.

I have never been a fan of Mad Max, but this build is Awesome! I love what your doing and your build is great.

General Idea of where I am headed with the paint: