bobss396

I think that the car culture is just not as strong for today's kid than it was with us. I grew up in the '60s reading all the car mags, learned how to read on them in fact. One of my neighbors had some cool cars to grok at. I started collecting tools at age 9, worked on cars shortly after. I had to laugh a few years back. I was working on a model at home and one of my son's friends was over. He asked me if that was a skill level 3 kit. I looked at him (I was not having any fun at the moment) and said, "kid, this is a skill level 16". He nodded wisely and moved on. Bob

I have 4 airbrushes, one new in the box as well. So what do I paint with? Rattle cans of course. My model area is a bit close quartered and I have no spray booth yet. I agree on the HOK (not the W-Mart KK line), Duplicolor, Plastikote (for 1:1 cars) and of course the Tamiya sprays. I'm not a big Testors or Model Master fan. Bob

Oh yeah, on 1:1 cars it works GREAT, and in seconds too! Just ask my ex-landlord who held my security deposit on me. Bob

Thanks, a lot of work has gone into it. The floor pan was removed and I put in a smoothed one, available from Mark Budniewski. The 427 is from the AMT '65 Ford, resin carb, turned aluminum oil filter (my own), lowered the rear some more, used parts of the MCG '39 Ford PE set. I have to finish up the paint and get it assembled for a show next month. Bob

Polly Scale Reefer White (for trains, not pot!) works well for me. I've even used craft store semi gloss or flat white acrylic. Just wash the tires well with a plastic brush and hot soapy water first. I scuff them with scotch brite as well. I've never had one crack on me, and I puddle it on. Sometimes it has to be thinned a bit so it flows a bit better. I've had it take like 4-5 coats so the black didn't show through. I give it over night to dry between coats. Bob

I'm buying very little lately, running out of room to stash kits. The main floor and upstairs closets are off limits! We have one kit vendor that comes to our LIARS club meetings, he has the latest at the greatest prices. My LHS is so jam packed with DIECASTS blocking the models that I have no clue what he has, doubt he does either. So I'll buy maybe 2-3 a year there. I like the Kay Bee outlets, one is close with few models, the other is an hour's ride but has a better selection. I grab a couple at Michaels Crafts with the 40% off coupon, I'll do a hit and run at WalMart if I'm going by. I'll maybe buy some at shows if they're a good deal. I used to be big into evilBay but since the shipping costs are so high (sellers looking to retire off shipping gouging), there is little attraction there. Bob

This is such a great source, I'm surprised so few tap into it. Find out where your local slot car tracks are and go there on race night. They often use 1/25 kits for just the bodies and most are more than willing to sell you the remains for a few bucks. Bob

I also agree with the '57-'64 Olds or Pontiac rear. I'm not sure if the housing would be solidly mounted on a chassis like that. The tube chassis builds were a little more sophisticated by that time. Or if in doubt, WWWBD (What would Willie Borsch do)? Bob

Kit is AMT, wheels are Arrowhead Aluminum, tires are Modelhaus, engine is '65 Ford 427.

The body is the Flintstone '30 Ford, chassis is '29 Ford. Rear is a combo of 9" Ford, '29 spring and Winston Cup trailing arms. Bob

That was impossible to see, try this one.

This is the Z on my '30 Ford, might be hard to see but you get the idea. Bob

Great tutorial Patrol! This should be a big help. I might still snip a touch out of my chassis to get the interior to lie in a better place. I'm planning on going suicidal with my front axle. I used .080 X .125 stock for mine, I have lots of Evergreen on hand here. It matched up with the chassis nicely. But beware that a deep Z will push the rear way up, so you may have problems with the rear radius rods hitting the chassis rails, etc. All sorts of fun stuff. I was stuck for a few minutes and dove into the parts box and came up with a Ford 9" rear, Winston Cup kit rear trailing arms and retained the buggy spring from the '29 rear. I used a piece of 1/8" angle to locate the front of the trailing arms. Bob

A traditional Z job will lengthen the wheelbase. The Z is put in on an angle to give it strength. You can do a Z at a 90 degree angle, but will have to gusset it to put the strength back. I'm doing one now on a '29 Ford chassis. So far I have the back done, slanted back on about a 20 degree angle for a 8" scale drop. I should have chopped a tad out of the frame rails first, but I can adjust it elsewhere. I should have done something on graph paper first, but it'll work. I'm doing a lesser Z on the front frame rails with maybe a 3" drop, but will be keeping it more towards the horizontal. This will extend the front rails and give me more engine space. In your case, I would lay out the chassis on graph paper and use that for a guide. Locate the wheel centers where you want them to wind up and slice & dice accordingly. Always reinforce the Z with a piece of wire held in place with CA glue. Bob

I'm the last guy that wants someone to mess up a paint job or model. The bottles have the caps on them, the water keeps them from falling over in the dehydrator. I fill them up less than 1/2 way and it works well. My dehydrator is 10" deep so small plastic water or soda bottles are the ticket for me. Bob

24 hours is a long time in a dehydrator, even 10 should do it for enamels. But if it works for you, keep it up. I usually don't run mine more than 6 or 8 hours at a clip. Sometimes I'll shut it off before I go to bed, not that I don't trust my wiring modifications! Bob

Not to interrupt the jovial thread here, but has anyone else given the tip a try?

Its always nice to see a '59 ElCamino project. I agree with the mild custom route, getting rid of the trim is cool, less to BMF in my book. Condider doing the roof in white again, especially with some pearl thrown into the clear which would really set it off. Bob

I initially allow them to roll. I build some metal axle (through the OIL PAN sometimes, yeah!) cars which roll very easily. That used to be a sign of a successful build in my early modeling. Those I now "hobble" with a dab of CA glue in the right place. The one benefit to having them roll, maybe not freely, is to be able to "adjust" the wheels to dial out a tripod condition. This is where one wheel is off the table for some reason, usually with a frankenstein build for me. Take a mix of kit bashed wheels, some resin tires, a home grown chassis and you may wind up with a tripod. If you firmly affix the wheels, they are impossible to adjust out. If they still can be turned, you have 4 chances to get the car to sit with all 4 wheels on the table. Bob

I have a Magic Chef from Walmart that has been heavily modified. I use just one tray and made a new surround for it out of chimney flashing. I wired in a house dimmer for temperature control. It will go to 135 F unless I throttle it down. The top has a vent, I usually turn it on with the vent closed, wait 10 minutes and open it up. I have a permanently mounted thermometer that stays with the lid, it goes through the edge of the lid horizontally so I can see it across the room. This one goes to 200 F, check candy making supply shops. US General makes one too. I have a few stands that I use in it. Since the new surround is 10" high, I get lots of things in it. I like to use old plastic soda bottles with some water in them. I tape a disposable plastic cup upside down over the bottle and the car bodies stay on with little tension. I hold small parts on toothpicks, alligator clamps, etc. I hold those in tweezers, the handles fit into the bottom grate nicely. I'll post a link to some pix I have of mine when I get home later tonight. Bob

Thanks Matt. I'll have to email Norm and order up everything for the Model A flathead. I thought I saw an engine detail kit at a show last year, hope he still makes it. I've seen the RM-113 header and liked it. Bob

I slow down in warmer weather months due to distractions like the beach, pool and enjoying outside activities in general. Plus my hobby area is a little hot at times and has no AC. I'm currently on a street rod binge, cleaned up my area, put things away and I'm back in business. Monday evenings are an open house for anyone local that wants to pop in and build or hang out. I'm trying to do something every day now, even 15 minutes can help. So total I'd say i'm doing around 4-6 hours a week modeling, subject to change for show deadlines! Bob

I'm looking for the '29 Ford 4-cylinder Replicas & Miniatures parts. I know the headers were separate at one time. There was another set that may now include the headers but had a different intake manifold, head, etc. If anyone can rattle off the part numbers and prices, I'd appreciate it and will place an order with Norm soon. Thanks, Bob

I made the mistake of buying the Model Master foil for my first attampt some years back. It would curl up and not be usable, so I gave up on foliing. Then someone turned me onto the real deal BMF, a big difference! Practice on some old built-up bodies first. Look at real cars to see how the trim is pieced together. You can't do the average windshield in one piece. I use 2 xacto knives, one to cut the foil from the backing, the other for use on the car only. I'll sometimes use surgical blades for that. I tend to hold the blade flatter on the car. If I have a long cut to make, I leave the blade in the cut and reposition my hand. Takes some practice to be comfortable with it. For burnishing, I like the industrial q-tips with the wood stalks, only one end on those. They hold up longer and don't defuzz as much. I'll bevel the wooded end to help burnish the foil into recesses. Just take your time and realize that often you can't foil a car in just one sitting. Bob

Thanks Dave. I might even have a '32 kit in my stash somewhere. I'm going to be doing a combination channel and "z" job on the frame. Too deep of either causes all sorts of grief fitting the engine and conjuring up an interior for it. I might be going with the '29 Ford frame with a hot rodded 4 banger if I can find the instructions for the kit. Too soon to make a definite decision, but I appreciate the help. Bob