bobss396

It will be back more in the grille shell once it gets installed. It was a nicely cast piece that needed almost no clean up. Bob

No skirts on this one, figured I'd try something different. Bob

Thanks. The chassis was shortened a scale 8" between the engine and firewall. The oil cooler was cut off sn old NASCAR kit radiator. To those less "enlightened", it is in fact a NASCAR modified. Bob

This is from the previous clean up. Basic set up is the same, the stove is gone and has a refrigerator in its place. Bob

Flintstone resin body, AMT '66 T-Bird interior, '66 Bird scoop grafted to hood, Modelhaus wide whites, aluminum trim rings, '68 Chrysler 440, Replicas & Miniatures DeSoto grilll. Hope to have it done for the NNL East. Bob

If the pictures show up, these are some of my '37 Chevy modified from LIARS member Andy Behrens Fotki site. Bob

I started a stash of un-used kit lights that has helped me out quite a bit. Since I do a stock car now and then, the lights go into the stash. You might trying asking if anyone could save you some at one of the NASCAR builder boards, Randy Ayers is probably a goood one. Bob

I just re-arranged around 300 kits of my own at home. I had to empty my storage area when I had a new heating system installed in the summer. Finally got things out of boxes and on the shelves again, even sprung for a new shelf unit at Home Depot. I also cleaned up the model building area and now I can work like a human being once again. Bob

Scuff up the paint with something like 220 or 280 grit to crack the surface, of course keeping away from obliterating any detail. I swear by oven cleaner that I get at Big Lots, or any dollar store should have it. Skip the lemon scented ones and go for the full-strength product. Bob

Mixing brands of paint is like starting the evening out drinking wine and switching at some point to scotch. The results are not always what you want. So get that scenario out of the way before it happens. Bob

I like the thicker CA gels for attaching resin pieces. Sometimes the epoxy doesn't set up as hard and as fast as I like. Bob

If I don't like what comes in the kit, I'll make one out of styrene rectangular stock for the tanks and Evergreen rail road siding for the finned area. I use either .030 or .040 stock back-to-back. It winds up looking like a Griffin aluminum radiator. Or I'll sometimes crop a NASCAR kit radiator into a smaller radiator, just add the tanks. Bob

Real men paint outside year round. I need to get a spray booth going myself, just too much sh** to juggle when I airbrush outside. I saw a neat one made up from a cardboard box and a stove hood that actually worked. So I'd be living on the edge with sparks from the blower motor, crossing the street every day had some degree of risk. Bob

"I'm holding them for a friend". Bob

The annual LIARS Model Car Challenge is being held on Saturday November 14th at the Freeport Rec Center in Freeport, Long Island, NY. The address is 130 East Merrick Road in Freeport, NY 11520. This is a jugded show with at least 24 classes of awards for places 1-3. Also master awards for various categories. Very reasonable food on premises, lots of parking, plenty of vendors will be attending. Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland will be there. The show starts at 9am, the entry cutoff time is 12 noon. For directions, use your online map service of choice. Or go to the Freeport Rec site. The best way once you're on the Meadowbrook Parkway is: Take the Merrick Road (aka Route 27A) exit going West. Get into the LEFT lane as soon as possible, at the light make a left onto Mill Road, which may or may not be marked. Follow Mill Road South for about a 1/4 mile, the Rec Center will be on your right. Hope to see you there, Bob

The worst xacto mishap I ever saw was my bro Will slicing his left thumb from the tip, through the nail and well up his thumb. Arguably one of the most ghastly wounds I have yet to see. It was on a non-modeling project, he was cutting against a scale and the knife slipped off the scale. Bob

I'd like to see a generic '32 Ford hot rod with all sorts of traditional rod options. Make it a blank canvas for us to have fun with yet keep it simple. I like the Olds engine option, I believe that the small block Fords and Chevies have run their course. Make the kit simple enough for the kids to build as well. I almost hate to say it, but if they followed the old AMT Trophy Series 3 in 1 format they couldn't lose. Bob

3" is a little big for roll cages. Most real race cars are between 1.625" and 2" diameter tubing. If you can find some .093 styrene tubing or .125 even that would be more realistic. Get some floral wire from a craft store to put inside the tubing. It helps retail the bends and can be used to peg pieces together. Bob

Fred is a good guy and very easy to deal with. I see him every year at the NNL East and spend some bucks and time with him. Bob

I'll be there with my bro Will, we're making the long trek from Long Island, NY (60 miles). I'll have one car to show and a couple of primer projects. Bob

I do the sub assembly thing too. I tend to do the engine first, then the interior, chassis and save the body for dead last. There is nothing harder than keeping a painted body looking fresh when test fitting and having the body off and on something like 50 times. But all my projects tend to be frankenstein in nature, everything has to be MADE to fit. Bob

I see the newer kits as being better planned out so you don't have the problems you describe. Of course the molds are crisp and clean. I like the chrome trees where some thought was given to where the part breaks off the tree, so it won't show when the part is installed. I cringe when people get excited about re-releases being brought back from the dead. It is a mixed blessing, nice to have the kit again, but oh that horrific flash and parts that have fit issues. Bob

I was thinking of going as late as Thursday evening, but wound up with an awful cold that got worse by the hour. I had a horrible cough that no one would have appreciated. I hung out at home with a big box of tissues and worked on a couple of models. I did like the videos, a clever concept I hope will catch on. Bob

Thanks for the tip on the panties, I'll have to try that on some big biker type. Drop a size 6 set of frillies into a cart of a 300 lb 6'7" Hells Angels type. If I don't get caught, it'll be a Kodak moment when he gets to the checkout. Or the obituary of the local paper if I do get caught. Check the dollar stores for the beat bargains. As long as the ingredients have nitrocellulose, butyl acetate in them, it's all the same. Bob