Misha

Beautiful effect of your multi-fade paint job, and achieved so quickly. A great addition to your collection. I've never been brave enough to attempt a quick build, that's why I have so many WIPs in progress. Congrays on a beautiful job! Misha

Yet I've heard the kangaroos can be viscous! Seriously though, I've checked out a few sources for off road roll cages and the intricacy is something else (believe I have a link above in this thread). Of particular note is the increased strength of triangles as opposed to parallel bars, makes sense, like the old three legged milking stool. It has also been a challenge to construct as it's my first attempt. Always been impressed by the work of Outlaw modellers in this regard. Thanks for looking, Cheers Misha

K5 Blazer - Entry #18 UPDATE! G'Day Mates, Haven't had as much time at the workbench, so here is an update on what has been going on. Have the body nearly ready for its first primer coat after dealing with numerous injection pin marks, deepening panel lines (added the rocker panel/front fender seam), and hopefully found all the mold lines (rear panel light and tailgate are tricky). Also getting the chassis ready, need to switch over the steering box and linkage to the other side and add the roll bar connectors. Been playing around with file cards to come up with skid plates for front and back. What has taken a lot of bench time has been the roll bar cage. Using the drawing and various sizes of plastic rod I've cobbled up what you see below. Thankfully it all fits! The cage will be connected to the frame below and have roof rack mounts as the top is just fibreglass. The cage had to be narrowed in the cargo space to allow room for the fuel cells and wheel wells. Going to mount two upright spare tires to it and have a couple of jerry cans for water. Still need to finish off the cockpit area of the cage with seat mounts and front frame connectors. That's about it for now, cheers Misha

That's looking mighty sweet! The decals are perfect for the car and colour. Be following your build, thanks for posting it. Cheers Misha

Wow Nie!!! Terrific models and amazing photography, you're talents are superb. I have enjoyed all of your postings. Thanks for sharing them on the forum. Cheers Misha

Certainly agree that these are decent kits that with a bit of work and ingenuity can be built up into very presentable as shown by Ray's work above, bravo! Have the Falcon as a long term WIP, would be great to see the AWB Olds reappear (if possible?) Looking forward to following your build. Cheers Misha

Very nicely done! Great colour combo and stance. Yes please, more photos... Also interested in your use of Luan to create the boards. Were they difficult to shape, did you seal them and what was your final finish? Cheers Misha

Looking forward to this Saturday's event! It's great to have an additional show along with the upcoming GoodGuys event in March and the Desert Classic in April. Unfortunately going to miss the last one as I'll be heading back to Vancouver Island all tanned and dry, so very happy about the Canyon State show. Here's a map of where it's being held, hope to see a lot of the local forum members! Cheers Misha

Beautiful job of a classic, plus great photos! Congrats on your build and looking good with your Chevys. What's under the hood? Cheers Misha

Congrats on a fine looking pickup! The paint is bang on along with stance and the cleanliness of the modifications and build. A great addition to your stable. Cheers Misha

I often cut off the locating pins on the part then drill a hole and use CA to glue in either a long brass or floral wire. Leaving enough length to use an alligator clip to hold the piece to paint. Afterwards I trim the wire back just enough to use it as a locating pin. That way the part is much more secure when glued. Also use masking tape to hold flat parts then attach them to file cards to make handling easier for painting. Clothes pins, alligator clips, small clamps such as the ones that come with the Tamiya paint stand are very useful. Hope this helps, cheers Misha

Thanks Ed & Bill! That's the one alright, plus thanx for the info on fitting the PL chassis, another project comes to the forefront. Would imagine that fitting the interior panels wouldn't be all that difficult, start with file cards first. Thank again guys, this is what makes this forum so useful. Cheers Misha

Growing up in the Canadian Prairies in the 50-60s the Big Three Detroit dealerships were split up Chev/Olds, Pontiac/Buick, Plymouth, Dodge (both would sell a Chrysler), Ford, Mercury/Lincoln. The foreign brands were another story as entrepreneurs often branded different makes together, though Volkswagen was always on its own. (Eg. Bell Motors from Regina sold Toyota and Mazda). The main difference in Canada was having specific makes sold here only, for example, a Meteor was a rebranded Fairlane with extra chrome and later used a Mercury platform with less trim, Mercury sold the Frontinac as a rebranded Falcon, and Pontiac sold a rebranded Chevelle as a Beaumont as the Tempest/GTO wasn't sold here till the 70s. Many GM models had different nameplates, Pontiac Laurentian, Chev Biscayne, never had the stretched Bonneville sold up here. Also Vettes before the 68 model were extremely rare, usually brought up from the States. There was one dealership in Calgary that sold Shelbys, yet they were another rare sight. The 70s saw greater convergence with the US brand and in the last decades many separate dealers merged into one, especially as brands such as Plymouth and Olds disappeared. We are all poorer because of that! Cheers Misha

In my stash I also have a couple of the first gen Charger bodies (66-67) that feature an altered wheelbase. I picked them up in a trade many years ago without the box or any other parts. Have them on my to do list, yet I would like to see the box top illustration for them. I remember that upon looking closely they were based on the MPC molds and were definitely factory issues and not someone's alterations. any info would be very welcome! Cheers Misha

Whoops, that's right, thanx Bruce, must be that Southern Hemisphere effect, even the drain runs opposite! Cheers Misha

G'Day Mates, It's great to see the entry list growing for this mad escapade! For a bit of an update on my K5 Blazer entry, been busy on the web looking for info on Roo Bars and off road roll cages. Quite a bit of controversy over the various bars on the front of vehicles due to pedestrian safety, still looking into it. For this build I'm looking at utilizing the push bar and grill guard from the Chevy tow truck. It certainly fits the Blazer grill design. Going to add mesh behind it as an image search showed most Roo Bars with it. For the roll cage I found a great site with lots of design principles for a custom installation. Here is the link: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/rollcage.shtml Worth a look! Sat down at the drafting table with pencil and ink and came up with the following design. Also began converting to LHD. The colour codes make it easier to see the various sub assemblies. Blue illustrates the roof portion joined by the green for the bed portion and red for the cockpit. It was interesting to see how the seats will be part of the cockpit cage. The entire structure needs to be tied into the chassis rather than just into the floorboard, so added structure will be required to achieve that. So that's about it for now, need to start bending plastastruct now. Cheers Misha

Now that's a winner! The colour, stance, bumbers, and tire and wheel combination really make it sing. Great job Joel, thanks for sharing your build. Cheers Misha

The hobbico.com site has the instruction sheet for the kit. In addition to the mentioned windscreen and racing seat, there are mods for the engine including comp exhaust. Here's the link to it: http://manuals.hobbico.com/rmx/85-4378.pdf I remember building it in the red R. Ginther version when it was released so many years ago. It was a challenge yet it was possible to have a pleasing result. The trans kit is great to have as well. Worth checking out the original build of that in the forum. Cheers Misha

Tovarish, Great colour combo! Your work is always very impressive, both the models and photographs. Congrats, Misha

Wonderful job on a beautiful car! Your roof paint lace is really an eye catcher. This would be a great addition to any collection. Cheers Misha

Great to see your build of this kit! Always been intrigued by the unibody. I picked up a cleanly built example of this kit many years ago, it's in great shape as it was only assembled with no paint on it. My thought has been to shorten up the bed; yet would that be sacrilegious to do that to a rarity? I too would like to see this reissued. Enjoying seeing your save of this kit! Cheers Misha

Very sweet ride! Been following your work with great interest as I'm a fan of the mid 50s Chev pickups. It'll be exciting to see the clear orange on it! Great work, thanks for sharing your build. Cheers Misha

G'Day Mates! Would like to join in this chase across the Outback! Decided to modify my 1972 K5 Blazer so it can seriously tackle this challenge. The kit comes with some great off-road goodies such as twin shocks, extra fuel tanks, knobbies, driving lights, etc. Yet need to change a few things and add some items. After taking care of some serious flash and ejector pin marks, I was ready to give the chassis some increased height by adding roughly three inches to the suspension bits and lifting the body by two inches. The engine from the kit exhibits some oddities such as a rather longer short block as there is a bit of space ahead and behind the heads, a huge oil filter, and rather soft detail all the way around. Decided to stick with it anyways. Going to add an air box with an external snorkel to deal with all the dust when passing all the other competitors! Again all the engine bits and tranny pieces needed a lot of clean up before cementing. (Think this was repopped without cleaning up the molds?) Going with the headers and side exhausts, hoping the authorities won't mind the growl. Need to upgrade the cooling system with larger rad, overflow tank and an oil cooler. Inside the seats are going out the door to be replaced with comp style buckets, the dash is being modified to RHD, easy on this one as its symmetrical side to side, and installing a roll cage to stiffen up the chassis (not planning on rolling it). The body is quite nice, though to features deluxe trim on the sides and tailgate. These were quickly sanded off so that the K5 becomes a base model. Need to add the separation seam along the rocker panel for the front fenders. Plans include a decent Roo Bar on the front. Going with the Fiberglas top ( wish it didn't have the vinyl texture, yet think I'll keep it that way) and plan to add a roof rack. That's about it for now... Have to find that billibong and kit bag... Here are a few mock up shots showing the Blazer kicked up into the air. Cheers to all, looking forward to seeing you on the trail, Misha

Have always liked this kit (have two in the stash waiting their turn). Really like your rendition Chuck, stock on the outside yet with a mouse under the hood! The S10 air cleaner and hose looks perfect. This mini Vette would surprise any street racer, what a sleeper! Great job, congrats, Misha

Splitting our time between the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island and Scottsdale, Arizona we have a specific vehicle for each home. Back in 2011 we bought our Wrangler, perfect for the wilds of the Island, 4 wheel drive for when it snows or gets muddy and last year we got our ragtop Bug, perfect for the Arizona climate! The longer wheelbase of the 4door Jeep provides a much nicer ride and the ragtop is just too much fun!!! Been wanting to swap out the factory wheels for Torq Thrusters from American Racing, yet it's been difficult to find info on their availabity (a few years back there was a SEMA show Jeep with a set; want the Jeep to look more like a cruiser rather than a jacked up off roader with beaded rims) and the Bug is going to get white walls with red steel wheels with baby moons. Fun vehicles, each suited to their locations. Interesting side note, we can drive the Jeep down to AZ without issues at the border, yet being Canucks we're unable to bring the Bug into Canada as it carries American plates! Also note our plate, SOL BUG, a Latino sun bug. Cheers Misha