Misha

Great conversion Patrick! Perfect for the West Coast out in my neck of the woods. I truly enjoy enjoy all your various builds and the imagination behind them, thanks for the ideas and inspiration. Cheers Misha

Congrats Marcos on a beautiful build! The stunning colour combined with the perfect carbon fibre application really stands out with all the reflected light sparkles. Cheers Misha

Thanks Bill and Anthony for checking in on my progress. I enjoy scratch building as it allows for a great deal of imagination while being tempered by a sense of would it work on the 1:1 scale. When I was building 1:48 scale models of my theatre set designs the entire build was usually scratch built. One also trains the eye to see “in scale” various objects that would work in a model, for example the drinking straw. Cheers Misha

With the arrival of summer like weather my workbench time has been limited by my garden activities, yet I was able to spend a rainy weekend at work on the Camaro IMSA road racer. Most of the recent scratch building has focused on the front and rear belly pans. The larger front unit will house the engine oil cooler and brake cooling air ducts for the front discs. The rear pan will shield the civilian exhaust pipe and have an exit vent for the rear end oil cooler housed behind the rear passenger tire well. For the air ducting I’m using old plastic bendy drink straws that offer the right look and remain somewhat flexible and keeps its shape. The interior is progressing with detail painting and washes. Once the base is established the detail bits will be added to complete the “digital” cockpit. The sought after effect is to have the appearance of a road trip vehicle full of luggage and camping supplies to the casual observer, belying the actual evasive measures being employed. The various scratch built parts are being readied for primer coats followed bu detail painting. At the top, and going clock wise, is the stock steering column and wheel. The engine oil cooler was constructed using guitar string to represent the coils, it will be mounted into the lower grill opening. It is followed by a pair of fire extinguishers to be mounted behind the passenger seat. A headliner control console will harness most of the communications array on the roof. At the bottom are the dash components consisting of a digital driver’s display, the infra red radar screen for night vision, and an iPad for the copilot. The next section offers the Wink rear view mirror from a NASCAR kit with a forward video camera and the rear mount for the brake light which also houses the rear ward IR radar and video camera. The remaining two sections show the accelerator and brake pedals (running a Turbo 400 3L80 tranny) and the the foldable foot rest for the passenger compartment, and lastly the picnic cooler and fixture for it to sit on the driveshaft tunnel. The last item I worked on were the two gates for the exhaust to operate between civilian mode and wide open dual exhausts. They will be solenoid activated from the cockpit. That’s about it for now, until the next rainy days! Cheers Misha.

Cool shots and video Kurt! I know the feeling as we have also escaped into the wilds of Vancouver Island, tho’ with much different terrain with old growth forests and bubbling streams. Great to see the Blue Barge, has the Green one retired? Wishing you well, cheers Misha

Great execution of your paint scheme Lee. The scallops and fogged panels add greatly to the lines of this English import. Cheers Misha

Looks like NYPD may be returning to the green/black scheme... Cheers Misha

Well done Chuck! Your chassis weathering is especially effective for a car of this age. Cheers Misha

That sounds serious Kurt... anything to add? Hope all is well with your family, Cheers Misha

IMSA Camaro Update... It’s great to see all the builds progressing with such a variety of vehicles, yahoo! Been absent from the model bench with the summer like weather in the Cowichan Valley, yet did find time on the weekend to add more colour to the interior and chassis. Still a ton of parts to be primered though. Combining the interior with the body at this stage offers a coordinated colour scheme and lessens the starkness of the vinyl top against the body which I’m much happier with. Once more of the interior is done I’ll be moving to the L 71 motor and further chassis detail. The underside of the body still requires some paint detail, mainly with X18 in the wheel wells. Cheers Misha

Sweet ride Sam and a great save! Thanks for sharing your build, it was a terrific feat. Cheers Misha

Another great tutorial Allan! You shown a simple yet effective way to fade aways along the length of a body, the Fireball 500 being an excellent example for this technique. Also found your thread on rust treatments very informative and it has moved me a bit further to attempt such a finish as I have been a shiny finish modeller, being somewhat skittish to model a patina finish. Cheers Misha

Thanks for the great tutorial and for including photos to illustrate you work Allan. I’m an old dog learning new tricks, your tip to drill all the way thru the interior and chassis to help adjust the height of the roll bar assembly is a big help. Although when it comes to the interior glass, I would tend to trim off the excess runners, especially when the windshield and rear glass are connected to allow for a tighter fit between the top of the roll bar assembly and the roof. Always enjoy seeing jigs that are created for special tasks, thanks again Allan. Cheers Misha

Thanks Rusty, here is the link to the WIP thread on the Phaeton, the Vicky WIP thread has already lost its photos. I haven’t posted Under Glass threads on either, so perhaps I’ll do that soon. Both Deuces were built for two separate Deuce Days in Victoria at which our club hosts a display of scale versions. Cheers Misha Sent from my iPad

My Triple Crown!

Congrats to all the participants on this round, it’s great to see such a high percentage of completed builds! I’m really enjoying the BOYD thread, having completed two long standing projects and I’m on for the next round. I would like to complete a build that was last touched in April of 2014, seven years ago, of a Chopped T Altered. It is based on the DD kit utilizing the altered chassis with the Hemi and mounting the chopped T body with a candy red paint scheme. Been awhile since the above photo and I don’t remember whether the silver base was enamel or lacquer, so to be safe I’m leaning to using an enamel base for the Alclad candy red which is also enamel based I believe. I had some trouble with the initial silver coat and that was what brought the build to a stop. So count me in Snake, cheers Misha

That has turned out great Sam. All your patient work is paying off, congrats! Cheers Misha

Being chased by javelina at nite!

Hi Kurt, actually there will be two systems in place with a civilian single exhaust exiting the rear fascia being switched with a wireless solenoid gate between the open exhausts, which, to help “stealth” are exiting on the passenger side. Also note tow hook attachment, just in case! The plan is to appear like a “secretary’s ride” from a distance. Once stopped, the time spent is a huge penalty, so evade detection by modern means (including a spotter aircraft) and go like stink when it’s safe. To help night time high speed runs the car will be equipped with forward and rearward infra-red radar. Cheers Misha PS watched B-J auction yesterday while at the workbench, made me home sick for Scottsdale...

An overdue update on my IMSA Camaro build... Been spending time scratchbuilding and modifying parts for the interior of the Camaro. As stealth is a key component the car will be equipped with cutting edge electronics to detect and evade! In addition the bare bones interior requires some greater detail, such door panel armrests and road going amenities, such as a cooler for drinks and snacks! Most of the time has been spent masking and painting. The body now has its Champagne Gold colour with a light yellow vinyl top. The engine bay is in semi-gloss black awaiting more paint detail. The chassis plate received a panel wash before the grey primer coat and is on its way. The primed interior also had a wash applied before the colour is sprayed. Overall I’m pleased with the progress. While I have used Tamiya masking tape in the past, this is the first time I have used it exclusively, avoiding the green and blue tapes and found it made for a much better seal with no paint creep. Just need to stock up on it. I’ve also switched to using Tamiya paints exclusively for bodies and Vallejo for interiors, both brush and air. Cheers for now, Misha

Isn’t this the original old Aurora kit, certainly looks like it on the sprues. Monogram had a one piece shell of the 904 which did double duty as their slot car as well. Seems odd to see the Hasegawa label attached to this re-release. Cheers Misha

Perhaps the most recent offender of flat earth reflectors is the 63 Nova wagon, the only real major defect with that kit. Good to see the various remedies, thanks Misha

Another option for the engine, following up on Josh’s suggestion, would be to use the premixed washes from Tamiya (enamel based) or the range of Vellejo washes (acrylic based) that are applied with a brush. It would deepen the recesses and create greater depth to the engine. Cheers Misha

A great build Jim of an iconic roadster! I have always thought of doing one and similar to Alan have been collecting bits and pieces. Seeing your build has spurned me on, even have the Scott blower on order from Norm. This is a challenging build to create a replica and you are very inventive with your solutions and techniques, a real inspiration. Cheers Misha

Francis, your work and artistry just blows me away! Wonderful to see the photos all together, please do continue to display your other builds. All these years I have marvelled at the machining skills and equipment required and even now in my late 60s the thought comes up of trying to have a go at it. Merci & Cheers Misha