Jantrix

Was I the only one who read "Another offering from Johan," and was waiting for the rimshot after?

Well most folks wouldn't consider the big 50's Dodge's, Desoto's and Chrysler's muscle cars even with their big Firedomes and Hemi's but they certainly were the predecessors to the muscle cars we love so much. I'm thinking the 4 & 6 cylinder cars you mentioned were the predecessors of modern tuners. Evolution, gotta love it.

As a natural born kitbasher since the day I ripped the celophane off my first kits, I would use the parts from the nicely done, cheap car I hate, to make the lousy and expensive kit I love, better. Period.

If you ever really want to set down for a good cry.......................www.carsinbarns.com And bring a hankie

If you normally use Super Clean or Purple Power, sand through to the primer coat in a couple spots with lacquers to allow the chemical to attack the primer. After a few days the paint will slough off like a snake skin. I have had no issues with stripping lacquers with this method.

Here's the kit. Any ideas on a build style or theme?

Kev, you are the most obvious "under the radar" guy I've ever met. And I mean that in a good way. And I'll betcha there are lots of folks that can identify kit and manufacturer just from that chassis pic.

Well the kit arrived today. Oh man.........it's fantastic. This could have come out of the box brand new today. Someone obviously kept this kit very well. The chrome is perfect. The glass is a bit scuffed but nothing a little Future wont fix. There are some issues with the body that will need to be adressed when I decide how to build it. The B-pillar name scripts look like they were added after the mold was cast as there are some wicked mold lines all around the scripts that will be difficult to correct without hurting the script. The interior bucket is very rough (front seats molded in) and makes me glad this isn't a convertible. I'm still leaning toward the resto-mod idea, but I'll NOT be hacking into that body.

Boy if you could give us a how-to on that Duval-esque windshield frame, we'd be in heaven. That looks great.

Thanks that was oddly theraputic.

I have a Johan 63 Olds Starfire on the way Kev. I'm gonna build that one too. Better to be a built showpiece for years to come, than a sealed box in a garage somewhere.

As a member there for a few years (yes, they will take anybody) I can tell you it's an excellent group of modellers and friends. I recommend it.

Jim, every mother's son on this forum has the exact same dream. Different cars perhaps but essentially the same dream. May they all come true. Big blocks and Ford 9" rears for everyone!

Mine would be Sam Barris' 50 Buick. http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=...#39;_1950_Buick

Hmm..........thanks for the info. It does have a opening hood, so I know it is a kit. I thought that most of Johan's models were based on a promo, which is why the chassis and engines were so terrible. I't looks like I'm gonna have to go the street machine/resto mod route with this one. Maybe put it on a cut down chassis from the Revell 66 Malibu wagon. It won't be factory correct but, it will look a lot better than the Johan piece. However I have no intention of cutting into this body at all. I got some brain storming to do. Thanks for the help.

Thanks to the wonderful world of Ebay, a Johan 63 Olds Starfire hardtop will soon be on its way to my doorstep. This is a grail find for me. It was one of my favorite models as a kid and I want to build it again as an adult. Since this kit is a former promo, I'm sure you know what the chassis, and engine is going to look like. So here's the question. What kit(s) would give me the best (closest) representation of a 63 Olds chassis and a 394ci or 425ci Olds V8? Any help would be most appreciated.

Whew! I quess this means it'll be quiet around here for a while. Enjoy your cloistered building Kev, we'll be here to give you a hard time when you return.

If that's a model it would have to be a very large scale.

That's some real nice work. Great work. Can we get a lower shot to check out that stance?

Bob, I'd put an ad in the WANTED section for a dashboard. The rest you can wing easily enough. I'd create a teenager's primered streetrod. A little rust in the rockers and along the bottom of the rear window. Miss-matched front fenders and a primered hood. Find any old period Mopar mill and some Cragar 5 spokes and you are off and running. And by the way, the fact that you drew a non-TRaK-able 1970 is very amusing.

MPC put out a whole mess of 1/20 scale Corvettes "back in the day" With one of those kits and some imagination, there's a real neat hot rod waiting to be born.

Mike, I'll agree with as well. I do only this one show becasue of the excellent group that are running it and it's local. I build for myself first and foremost. But if I take my creations out once a year it's still nice to bring home a trophy. I have no plans on ever attending a GSL or NNL level show as a participant. I'm just not at that level. And frankly don't care to be.

Wayne thanks so much for posting these. My camera battery was dead when I checked it that morning. It was great to meet you and BWMeyers18. It was a great time. Brian I will be shooting you that email soon!

It’s been a couple of years, but due to the benevolence of my wife (it was on Valentines Day) I was able to attend IPMS Jaxcon this year. I’m an on-again, off-again member of one of the clubs putting on the show and I was asked again to help out with the judging. Usually I end up judging the sci-fi or figurines or something, but this year I got to judge the automotive categories that I wasn’t entered in. I got partnered up with two other members that are doing national level work and have been judging for a long time. Needless to say, I learned an awful lot. I was approached afterward by several people who wanted to know the whys and wherefores of the judging criteria, so that they could improve their work for next year. After chatting a long while I figured I might write this to help out any folks with plans on competing someday. FIRST IMPRESSIONS As important on the competition table as elsewhere in life. A gleaming paint finish. It is the hands down the first thing that draws the eye and will make or break you. A gleaming paint job with a clean build and no extra detailing will beat a super-detailed car with dull paint near every time. Also glue marks, scratches, haze, orange peel and miss-matched paint on separate panels will kill you. Cleanliness. If you took an uncased model off the shelf, dusted it off a bit and brought it to the show, you just shot yourself in the foot. Dust gets everywhere, and we will see it on the inside of the model if not outside. Cases are $4.50 with a 40% off coupon at Michael’s. Get one. Decals. Yellowed, badly placed, peeling or covering a bad spot in the paint will get noticed. Using a setting solution is highly recommended. Pitfalls and no-nos Once we are passed the first impression stage and get on to the in-depth examination, we get down to brass tacks. Here is some stuff that will get you knocked back a spot or two. Mold lines, and injection pin marks. These two seem to be the big unforgivable sins. Paint or chrome missing where a part was cut from sprue. A lot of folks paint parts right on the sprue, snip them off when dry, and touch up paint after. That can bite you later if you miss one. Missing or broken parts. Usually gets a ??? look from the judges and a “That’s a shame.†Road weary. Some folks do a lot of these shows and after a while the cars start to show it no matter how well they are done. The BMF will start to wear off at the roof edge from getting handled so much. Same with wear marks in the chrome bumpers from its time in storage containers. Also grills, bumpers, rear views and wings that have been re-glued multiple times may be noticeable. Poorly done detailing. This includes BMF, wiring, detail painting, aftermarket goodies etc. Please don’t wire the distributor with thread. Please. 3-Wheeling. Unless your model is supposed to be on only three wheels, all four better be on terra firma. Wheels rubbing the fenders. I’m sure this one would vary from judge to judge, but for the guys that I was judging with, the wheels better look like they could spin/ front wheels turn unimpeded. These are models of cars after all. Paint chips. Lacquers especially dry hard and tend to chip if your not careful. Too much glue or SA glue haze on parts. Nuff said. Scratched windshields and other windows. Now I’m not saying that if you have any of these issues, don’t bring the model. By all means do bring it. If for nothing else than the fun and experience of competing, and socializing with your peers. Besides a third place trophy is still better than no trophy. Things not to worry about. This is a pretty short list. Accuracy. The judges don’t care if that isn’t a factory color for that year car. Or that the rally wheels for that car should be aluminum and not chrome. They don’t care that Rusty Wallace didn’t have a Champion Spark Plugs sponsorship that year. They just care how well you did it. Making judging difficult. Those super duper revolving, mirrored display stands with the strobe lights and the disco ball are all great for getting your car noticed. But it makes it darn hard to closely examine the work. So do yourself a favor and either get rid of it prior to judging or use a stand that has no back and does not revolve so that the judges can turn the stand 360 and be able to clearly see the whole model. An additional note. If you are using a large display stand that takes up considerable room and the table is pretty full, it would appreciated by the rest of your fellow competitors to take it down so that everyone has equal display room. All in all I had a great time. I won some awards and learned exactly what to work on for next time. So next time the 1st place trophies are going home with me.

Baking soda applied over some thinned white glue?