bobss396

It comes down to who is doing the judging and how much experience they have. It can be very intimidating if you have never done any judging before or don't understand what you're looking at. A very small show like that is probably judged by people who work in that store or they recruit people who know less about what to look for in a model car. I got beat in a recent contest that was not judged by car people, it was at a military show. I had a laundry list of modifications with my entry, nice paint, etc. The cars that placed 1-2-3 said "box stock" on their table card, they all did have nice paint jobs. I probably will not go back there next year. So my advice for entering small shows, don't always expect to be recognized for your efforts. They often have a very small budget to work with and there are no "experts" on hand to do the judging. You or others who know about cars could volunteeer to assist with the judging, but that could exclude you from entering the show. Bob

Like I said, we had fun with the pine cars. Some kids totally built theirs, some of the dads built them for the kids, some of the moms helped their kids. I saw one father, his son wasn't allowed to TOUCH the car. It was shaped like a 1/2 of a hard boiled egg cut the long way and had this onxy black finish. The car had a custom built case with it. I told my kids, play with it before the race, but if you crash it or drop it, it won't be fast. Some kids had demo derbies in the hall BEFORE the races. The best thing I ever saw was a father and son who came into the school on pinewood derby night at the last second. Obviously this guy just got in from the city and still has his suit on. The car was painted with poster paint, they used the numbers that came with the kit. The two of them sat at the table and assembled the wheels right there. It wobbled but the kid was happy. No weight added, no material removed, talk about box stock. The car was a winner in the first round! But wound up losing in the next one. Bob

Ohhhhh Pine Cars! They were a blast for us when my kids were cub scouts. I built a total of 10 cars with my boys over the years. It was during the last 2 years where I was able to build killer cars, but my kids still had a hand in them. They did all the body mods and paint and final assembly, I took care of the wheels and weight placement. I had a Hardinge lathe at work and made up a nice arbor to true up the wheels, they were all within around .0005 of each other, concentric to the axle by the same amount. I beveled the wheels so they ran on a stripe in the middle. The backs of the hubs were radiused slightly so if they rubbed the body it was no big deal. I milled out a pocket in the bottom and used those pine car weight sets. If possible, check the accuracy of the scale they'll be using and make it heavy but be able to take weight off. The scale our pack used went out to like 4 places, but they taped it up so it would just show one decimal place. my kids cars always weighed 5.098 ounces. The center of gravity should be 1.5 inches in front of the rear axle. You can see how the car balances on a pencil or anything round. I have a chassis jig that I made from 1/4" thick aluminum bar stock. I clamped the block in place and drilled my own holes. The axles were a nice easy press fit. The car sat higher than stock in case the track was bumpy it wouldn't bottom out. I picked up the right front so the car ran on 3 wheels, not much, it was somewhere around .020. Now you know MOST of my secrets, please disregard and go out and have fun with your nephew! Bob

I'm doing a project now that's using the '29 Ford chassis and I cut out the front cross member, widened it and put it back in. I'm using a NASCAR Ford engine and wanted to get the headers between the frame rails. Bob

I'm doing a project now that's using the '29 Ford chassis and I cut out the front cross member, widened it and put it back in. I'm using a NASCAR Ford engine and wanted to get the headers between the frame rails. Bob

When my kids were little it was almost impossible to even THINK about anything model car related. I worked 2 jobs, my wife worked a few evenings a week and Saturdays. Between baths, dinner, reading stories to them, I was spent by 9:30 most nights, it only gets better from there! Bob

The part in question is a surge tank. They came out on mid-1960's Fords due to the lowered hood line which dropped the radiator down. Lots of Ford kits have them, or you can easily make your own from scratch. Bob

I chopped a '58 Chevy and of course the compound curve kit glass no longer fits. A simple "little off the top" won't make the grade for my case. From what I've heard, the only way out is to make up a wooden form, take some clear plastic and vacuform it to the form. I'm willing to spring for a vacuform tool, anyone have any other suggestions or a "how to" on a wooden or form made out of other materials? Thanks, Bob

Welcome to the forum, there are some very talented modelers here and the atmosphere is very relaxed. There are some clubs in your area, check out the club section of the forum. If you can make the NNL East on 4/12, you will be meeting up with a who's who of the local modeling gurus. Bob

I always designate a "safe" area for models that are in final assembly. It can be a box upside down on the table, or a spot outside my normal spatter zone that keeps the model safe from harm. Too bad you had to go through that. My beloved sister is one of those that is oblivious to things on chairs, a blob of ice cream on the table. She has no kids so she's not used to having to navigate various hazards about the home. I guess there are more like her out there. Bob

So far, I prime with trusty Duplicolor, do the metallizer spray and leave it as is. I've been using their stainless steel and aluminum and it looks good. I'll have to try buffing it a little the next time I use it. Bob

I also do a careful trimming but use BMF to do most of my chrome fixits. Bob

I'm not big on putting clear right over the color coat, too much solvent too fast for my level of comfort. I do the color coat, toss it into the dehydrator and do the clear once it is dry/cured. I've broken every "rule of thumb" and have disregarded every "old wives' tale" about using the Tamiya sprays and have never had a bad result from doing so. Some would call it luck, but I have too many success stories to fall back on. Bob

Very cool, very different too. I used to see those as a kid, usually not running next to gas stations! I see real ones on various auction sites now and then. Bob

Thanks, that was during my "black" period. And finding a flat black that lays down nicely is a chore. Bob

It looks good from here. As long as you learn something and take it to the next build and so on. I don't do factory stock builds, they never look right for me and somewhere I digress from what it should look like. But test fit, test fit and do more test fitting, with the glass in place! I'll trim the chassis so it fits without a fight, do the wheel wells and between the rear most quarter panels and it fits a ton better, you'll never see where you trimmed. Pin things in place rather than relying on the "factory" glue points. You use less glue and it will (should) be a guaranteed fit. Overall you're on the right track, what's the next project? Bob

Thanks Frank, it was a relatively quick build. The paint was done in less than 24 hours of course for a show deadline. I should be there, but later in the day probably around 12:30. My brother will be going and I'll get him to take my cars for me. Hope to see you there. Bob

I really don't know, I'd have to have a loose one to try in the Revell kit, maybe MCG has one for the Revell kit? Bob

Good question, I've been workin' 65 hour weeks lately so it will be close. There's not that much to do though, just some minor assembly and get the windshield to look right. The achilles heel of the kit is the freakin' windshield as far as painting/foil and the installation go. Bob

Yeah, but can you pull up to the drive-in window at DONKin' Donuts? Looks cool, where do you stash the step ladder so you can get out? Bob

Very cool ride, nicely done. It sits just right. I have some Powerslide decals to try on a current project. Bob

'40 Standard coupe converted to a Deluxe, a bit of work but came out ok. Used donor parts from the yellow '40 convertible kit. Lots of flattie parts from Norm and MCG, '53 Ford truck hubcaps, I made the coil and shifter boot from aluminum rod as well as the trim rings which were nickel plated and sets off the brown nicely. Paint by Duplicolor. Bob

A few of my '39 Ford from last year. Engine and master cylinder stolen from the '66 Riv kit, MCG grille and other PE parts, Parts by Parks distributor, Modelhaus tires, '62 Pontiac wheels, black paint is Duplicolor Universal Flat Black and Tamiya Turquiose. Aluminum fabbed parts incluse the coil, radiator tank and gas cap. Bob

Good show, I would have Googled, "Is it a full moon tonight or what?". Bob

Ther place: The Freeport Recreation Center in Freeport NY, the same place as the November LIARS show. Free easy parking, access right off a major parkway, good eats on the premises. This show is put on by a primarily military model club, the Long Island Scale Modelers Club, aka LISM. They put on a decent show and we bring cars to bolster up the gene pool for the car fans. Depending on who goes, there can be anywhere from 15 to 50 plus cars on the table. Below is the link to their site. Hope to see y'all there. Bob http://longislandscalemodel.tripod.com/