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

My main emphasis is on building at least four Deuces for the upcoming Deuce Days gathering of 1:1 rods in Victoria this summer. Our club, SPAM (Scale Plastic Auto Modellers) will be hosting the model show at this event and we are encouraging all to join in! On the workbench is a chopped 5 window on an early dragster frame, a Bonneville roadster, a vintage three window hot rod, and a Vicky built for the strip. If planning a trip come join us in the Pacific Northwest on Vancouver Island (our Canuck Buck is worth nearly $1.50 US!!)

Wow!!! Your chassis and engine compartment detail is a real knockout. Hard not to think it's a 1:1, congrats. Any further info on detailing would be much appreciated. Cheers Misha

Thank you for all the comments and encouragement. Bernard picked up on the theme of the display as being a "Show & Go" which accounts for the white walls. The Precision Engineering Company out of Chicago wanted to get involved in the local race scene and built the Super Mod not only to compete, but to use the car as a rolling advertisement off the track as well, entering many of the early 60s Rod shows on the east coast. When displaying the vehicle they would swap out the comp tires for the fresh white walls to complement the cleaned and polished racer. The model lent a certain amount of simplicity from the subject matter and also being an early Monogram kit. This allowed for detailing with modern day techniques and parts to really jazz up the kit. Further plans are to build a small diorama of it on display at one of those early rod shows complete with roped stantions, display tools, trophies and the such. It was a very enjoyable build and has helped me to get back more often to the workbench. Thanks again, Cheers Misha

Terrific collection... and growing? That has been a terrific year for you Phil, plus all the work you perform for our club, SPAM, thank you. Hard to pick a fave, Lotus Falcon sure catches one's eye sneakily. Looking forward to Duece Days this summer. Hope to have some done for the show, been WIP for awhile. Cheers all the best! Misha

Have so many projects on the go, getting them finished becomes a special event. Our annual club display is a real motivatator and for this year I finished the old Mongram Super Modified. Changed the induction to the FI unit from the new Ala Kart engine. Wired and plumbed the engine, switched to steel wheels, PE seatbelt hardware and instrument panel, opened the nose and redid the chrome with Alclad. Enjoyed the build and quite pleased with the result. Thanks to Phil Dauphinee for the photo. Hoping to have a larger collection to show this time next year. Wishing all a happy New Year, filled with happiness and plastic! Cheers Misha

The Island Classic this past Saturday was a great event with a very good turn out of automotive and other subjects. All the automotive categories had a number of entries, with the major "Orange" theme proving to be a delight for the eyes and laugh button. A big thank you and congratulations to the SPAM organizing committee and especially Phil for the photography (please check out his Fotki page listed above). Cheers Misha

Great news! Getting the Model A is perfect for all the gearheads! Plus the Porsche 914 reissue after all these years. Thanks Tim for the details on the 29 and glad to hear about the Nailhead. Always liked the Buick in the Trophy kit of the Willys/Duece Sedan as it had matching valve and plug covers, yet it seems that might have been missed in Revell's offering, which would be a shame. Yet the rest of the kit sounds bang on, especially the two frames. Can see how this will be a hit just as their Duece has been. All this news on the heels of recent threads here regarding the need for a 29 and the great build of the 914; this will surely ignite many of our imaginations! Cheers Misha

I'm certainly behind you on the idea of having a 29 roadster issued that would ride on a Deuce frame. When one looks at the success Revell has had with their varied Deuce kits, one would think they would be the natural manufacturer to issue the 29. It's a no brainer as such a kit would appeal to all the gearheads who have built the previous kits. By the way, when can we see the original 32 roadster reissued as my supply has been used up. Hope the molds still exist and weren't eaten up to produce the rat roaster version. Cheers Misha

Wow, just saw this added to your previous two posts, again congrats on enhancing this kit. As before your paint schemes are bang on! Plus adding the plumbing really makes it sizzle. Thanks for showing your work, looks fabulous and your output is commendable. Cheers Misha

A great companion piece to your dragster Jason, wonderful paint and decal choice. Looking forward to more of your work. Have a look at some vintage photos to see the fuel line hookups, as you've done well with the ignition wiring and the next step would be to add the fuel lines too. Fairly basic set ups back then and it add even more realism to your great work. Cheers Misha

Great job Jason! Very clean build with all the bits lining up nicely. I especially like your paint treatment with the chrome firewall. This vintage kit has always been a favorite of mine right from the first issue back in the early sixties. All the extra parts have always been useful and I'm glad AMT saw fit to reissue it complete. Congrats on your rail, Cheers Misha

Speaking of vice-versa, while searching the web for Corvair engine details, I was surprised to see that they are a hot commodity for small aircraft and home built planes! Cheers Misha

Congrats on another beautiful build Phil! My favorite style of racing with favorite vehicle, a Duece. Bravo! Cheers Misha

w Hi Brian, Still a WIP, although I'm away from my workbench at home on Vancouver Island while I spend the winter in Scottsdale, AZ (escaping the rainy season). Ought to be back in about a month and will post an update. It's a good kit, allowing for greater detail through gizmology! Thanks for asking, it's great encouragement. Cheers Misha