Custom Mike

Hunter, I've been very successful at IPMS shows, but certain ones in this area are just giving us car guys lip service. When a judge has absolutely no idea what he is looking at, how can he fairly judge what you've done? If he has never built an automotive kit, and makes it clear to anyone around the "Car guys are like annoying little kids" (A direct quote from a judge at a show a few years back!), then what do you expect my reaction to be? I've built many aircraft models in my time, and have no doubt that I could build those and win, but I burned out on them quickly. I worked with the A-10 for 8 years, and know that beast inside and out, and to have some yahoo who has never seen one except in pictures try to tell me that someone did something wrong on their build (Because it was 100 times better than his A-10), it stinks of jealousy. One of my best friends while in the USAF worked in the paint barn, and I saw the Tech Orders that told them where all the markings went on the plane once the paint was finished. Did you know there is a 1 foot radius area that the tail numbers and letters, squadron markings, etc. are allowed in on the tails? Apparently neither does the IMPS, because this guy was ripping on another A-10 because the tail numbers were in a slightly different location than his, which of course was perfect according to him. I had to point this out to him, which of course offended him, because us car guys don't know military stuff, do we? I found out later that he was judging in the automotive class, guess who went home empty handed that day? But I met some really great car guys there, so it was a good day. I walked away from this contest with a 2nd and 3rd, last year I walked away with 5 firsts, 2 seconds and a third. Every time I go, there are more cars, and less bias, so it's a slow process turning a bunch of hard-core military builders into tolerant modelers. We all have tips and tricks that go both ways, and I may even break out another A-10 someday just to show 'em how it's done... Kirk, beautiful work! And you have a gigantic advantage in South Carolina, there's a man in the IPMS down there by the name of Tim Kirkland, and he is one of the biggest proponents of automotive builders in the IPMS! I met him at a contest in Sumter a few years back, and was blown away at how well received and accepted we were. If Tim is involved, it's gonna be a great show for EVERYONE!

Awesome tutorial Alyn, thanks a million! Now I can make my own, and stop digging in the carpet for the ones I lost....

That looks like a nice little challenge Kenn!

David, you have my undivided attention! This should be COOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hate to hear that Ed, but I understand completely. I've been attending this contest for the last 5 years, and they're slowly getting better at judging our stuff, but I've still got some work to do...Rivet Counters!

Alyn, Alyn, Alyn....you are really going out of your way to make this a killer build! You've got to do a tutorial on how to make that distributor, I'd love to see how you do it myself!

Don, please show every step, we've all got different methods of doing our custom work, and it never hurts to add a new trick or two to our arsenals! This should be a good one!

OK, here's a link to the Club's website with all the info you'll need. There's only 10 classes total (Which means only 1 automotive class...bummer), but it's still gonna be a good one I'll bet! http://www.lafayettescalemodelers.com/contest/index.html

Mike, it's at the Honeycutt Recreation Center, 352 Devers Street, Fayetteville, NC.As soon as I get some more info (Classes, times, etc) I'll post 'em here!

Thanks for the link to that article Tom, I'd love to see that beast run in person! Looks like you're off to a great start on this one, are you going to try to replicate the interior too?

Ed, I'd love to see that on the table, we don't see many non-military dioramas at this contest!

OK, this is for the guys in North & South Carolina, and anywhere nearby. There's an IPMS contest in Fayetteville on November 5th I'll be at, and you might want to be there too. Here's a copy of the e-mail I got from Mike at Hayes Hobby House about it, who needs a new airbrush? PRIZE PACKAGES FOR 1st PLACE IN CATEGORY AND BEST OF SHOW WINNERS I am pleased to announce our prize packages for our 1st Place category winners and Best of Show winner. The prize packages are sponsored by Badger Airbrush Company- THANK YOU KEN SCHLOTFELDT & BADGER! There will be a custom engraved airbrush for each 1st Place category winner, and a Jet Black plated "Best of Show" engraved airbrush for the Best of Show winner. That's no typo, folks. Winners get an airbrush that is a custom engraved, one-of-a-kind item. Each 1st Place category winner airbrush will have: "LAFAYETTE MODELERS" on one side, and "SHOW YOUR STUFF 2011" on the other The Best of Show airbrush will have "LAFAYETTE MODELERS" on one side, and "BEST OF SHOW 2011" on the other Unfortunately, Lafayette Scale Modelers could not fit on to the side of an airbrush. But I'm not complaining. ALL category winners- 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, as well as Best of Show, will receive a trophy. So on November 5th, be prepared to SHOW YOUR STUFF! I plan on bringing home at least ONE new airbrush!

Where did you get those coil-overs Derick, I want some! Those look perfect, even if they were a pain to get installed!

OK, here's some more progress, we're almost ready for paint! The top side is almost perfect at this point, just two tiny flaws (They're little scratches) I think I can sand out, hopefully I'll be in paint tomorrow night!

I like the way this one is going Matt, keep it going!

OK, a bit of an update on the hood. So far, I'm sitting at the point where I think I'm ready for some paint. There are still a few "bubbles" on the top side, but I'll deal with them in the resin copies. The underside is in great shape, even though I had a slight accident with the primer. The primer went on "dry", leaving a texture all over the underside. But I looked at it, and decided it would work in my favor. I let it cure for a few days, then sanded it smooth wherever it was supposed to be metal, leaving the "dry" primer to represent the under hood insulation. Yup, lucky again, and proud of it! Here's the pics, the next time you see this hood, it'll be in some color! The underside, a happy accident for sure! Another angle, it should look great once it's in paint! I had to add a bit of filler to correct a small dip at the edge. but nothing serious... That's much better! And hopefully the final coat of primer. Total time so far: 12 hours, 45 minutes

Thanks Bill, I never was into Chevy Trucks too much, so i wouldn't have known all of 'em anyway. I knew there was some strange thing about the 402, but couldn't recall it, I depend on guys like you clear up my foggy memory! I had no idea the 502 was actually available form the factory...they should have shoved it into a few passenger cars for fun!

Thanks Mark, I know my memory isn't perfect, there's gonna be a few I missed. Rodney, you missed the 413 Max Wedge, a beast of a Mopar Motor!

Patrick, it's kind of confusing, isn't it? The Chevy 409 came from the 348, they look identical on the outside, the size difference is internal. Same with the 396, the 427 looks just like it, and I believe the 454 is very close to a 396 visually also, but I may be wrong there. The 400 is really confusing, one is based on the old 265 block, the other isn't. One Small block, one Big block, same cubic inch designation, I don't know what brought that on....some good stuff at lunch in the engine shop one day maybe....

Not too sure what the A/T would stand for other than Automatic Transmission, what make of car was it on? R/T would be Road/Track. I'll give the Chevy Small/Big block list a shot.... Small Blocks: 265, 283, 302, 305, 307, 327, 350, and 400 (Which came in Small and Big Block varieties) Big Blocks: 348, 396, 400, 402, 409, 427, and 454. 572 is also available, but was never put in a production car from the factory, it's available as an aftermarket engine only. So Bowtie guys, did I get it right?

Jeff, what color/brand of Red is that on the washer bottle? This is looking really good now!

Pull up a chair Ladies and Gents, the Master is about to amaze us with his prodigious skills! Alyn, bet you never thought I knew big words like that, did ya?

Bill, that has got to be the baddest Refrigerator on the planet, I hope you kept it! 5 feet of water, floating, AND STILL RUNNING?????? Who makes that beast, I want one!

I'm getting them now, seems like your profile contains some new boxes that need some checking. My e-mail was loaded with stuff from here this morning. So got to your profile and start digging, you'll find 'em!

Am I the only one not receiving any notifications from this site? I'm subscribed to a bunch of topics, but get no notifications at all. Is there something I can change on my profile, or is it a software bug?