Jantrix

Thanks CB, this is a bit of a departure from my usual builds, it's my first curbside and my first lowrider. I'm going to do my best to make the paint just pop on this build. We'll see. If you see no further updates then odds are excellent, that I've botched it horribly.

Well I got to thinking about building this a while back, and I talked to Evilone about starting my first lowrider. So I got the kit out and started looking at it. Then I saw some really smart shots of a 59 Skyline over on the TRAK forum. Done by a guy named Zed. Here's a pic from his Fotki. http://public.fotki.com/Zedskustoms/my-mod...p/dscn8631.html Zed, if you mind me posting the URL just holler and I'll remove it. I'm going to do this in a series of silvers and blues. In any case, I got the 69 Riviera out and got started, totally insprired. I know this isn't what you had in mind Kevin, but this is the style lowrider that trips my trigger. The tires are from the Monogram 56 Thunderbird. Everything else is from the AMT Riviera. The chassis is junk in the purest sense of the word so I'll just make this a curbside. I also plan on adding a 50's Buick-esque chrome strip on the sides, and maybe some portholes. A 50's style kustom on a 69 Riv, heresy?

YEAH! I like it! Somebody went to the George Trosley school of auto art and I apporve.

It's on Valantines Day this year, and I'm working on the wife to let me go without the dirty looks, so I'll say yes at this point. I'm planning on bringing 6 models. EDIT: Whoa just checked the work schedule, and its on my work weekend, so I'm gonna have to look into a vacation day.

I have a work bench in the garage which I use from Oct-Mar. And from April-Sept (when it's too bloody hot to use the garage), I have a small card table that the wife allows me to set in the dining room.

I saw your PM Kev, don't worry I won't embarass anyone. I'll be doing the AMT 69 Riviera. I have a set of Fugimi 15" (i think) wires in gold. My $$$ for building is 0 so I'm going to have to make do with what I have. I'm not going to go overboard with it, but I'll likely hinge up all the doors, hood, trunk etc. And try some new techniques out for painting. Maybe some lace. I'm not sure when I'll start it, I may be moving soon and no telling where I'll land.

Thanks for the info Kevin. I've been lurking over on the LiL forum for a while, but I haven't participated yet. I may do so soon as I'm building a pro-touring Super bee and have my first low-rider in the planning stages.

I've seen folks on various forums with a MCBA (Model Car Builders Association I believe) avatar. What is the MCBA? Who's in it? How do you join? Who's in charge? Is there a website for it? Thanks in advance.

Well I build whatever trips my trigger. If you folks like it- very cool. If not, I'll still be able to sleep just fine. I will say though, the internet and the 6 or so forums I frequent has given me a sense of community and fellowship that has enhanced my enjoyment of the hobby exponentially. I am totally adicted to CBP's for this reason. I have done some contests in the past and may do so in the future, but it's not my focus when I build. As I've said before; build the model until you can set it on the mantle and say, "hell yeah". If you can't say that, get back to work.

I'm not a big Ford guy, Mustangs, Torinos, Mavs , Fairlanes they're nice but they don't trip my trigger. Those Aussie Falcons? That's a different story. In my opinion they are the coolest muscle car to roll out of an FoMoCo factory anywhere in the word at any time. Hands down.

I see hints of T-Bird and the Pontiac Banshee concept.

Here' s a Batmobile project I'll get to someday.

Hey Jim would you mind giving us a step by step on how you accomplished that Nova? It looks incredible. Should the base coat be wet sanded (roughed up) first? What brands of paint, temperature? Please.

Looks great Kevin. That's something I haven't tried yet.

This was built by my 15 year old son, William. 99.9% of everything here is his own work and his own design. The only thing I did was photo-reduce his license plates for him. The car is powered by a blown BBC and is four wheel drive. It was entirely built from the parts box. The passenger side reads "Fighting for our loved ones and our K.I.A." (killed in action). He found my stash of dry transfer lettering and when to town. My favorite detail of the build is the diamond plate racing "stripes". We both hope you like it.

Thanks guys. That's high praise coming from you three. Much appreciated.

Although a bulk of my older models were stolen during a military move, I am lucky enough to have this build still with me. This build is important because it is what I built after discovering a scale auto magazine when I was 17. This was what vindicated my beloved hobby because "adults" were doing it. It wasn't kid stuff. And to such a degree of detail that I was inspired like never before. I still remember the picture that inspired the build. The magazine was largely black and white then, and the car was a 68-69 Chevelle that was built gasser style. My first attempt at wiring. I used some random wire off my Dads work bench. I guess this is about 22+ years old now and I've proud of it to this day.

But it still pales in comparison to most of the work on this site. My 2008 Cannonball racer Monza. Lots of scratchbuilding and modification. A quick rebuild brought a poor model to new life. A fun build. The "Rat" Packer. 69 GTO for my wife. Over 15 years in the works, finally done. MPC 67 Charger with AMT 70 Super Bee pro-street chassis & OHC hemi. My Stephen King inspired Cougar. A real fun build. This has been my best year for modeling since my teens. However due to financial problems I may be losing my home so I doubt 09 will be as good. Good luck to everyone in the coming year.

Hey those look great. I don't think pro-street is dead, far from it. They're just less.................gimicky. They are more purpose built street-stip cars than the show rod trailer queens of the past. That's my opinion anyway.

Wow Dennis, you were a pretty tidy builder at 14. Darn clean work for a kid.

Tough choice. At your age I'd have rebuilt it. Not because it's bad or could be better, but because it was there and I was bored. At my age now, I'd rather have it to look back on and say check it out. Then and now. It helps you appreciate your level of skill better, when you have one from back then. But that's just my opinion.

Sure, but that's where he always gets lost. Directions- turn off the paved road.......................

Wow I would not have dared to try a two tone paint job at 8 yrs old, but you pulled it off nicely. Well done!

What an excellent little roadster. Fantastic work.