Misha

Been busy past while with the airbrush, getting parts into primer and paint. Also been planning out a lot of the details to add to the engine compartment and interior. Scratch built the water pump, dual oil filters and a switch box for the battery jumper cables. The chassis construction is close to complete, then finally, primer and paint. I’ll be starting on the body next, getting it ready for primer. Above photo shows the axle with the brackets to attach it to the engine cradle so the axle isn’t just floating. Here we see the underside of the engine cover, dash with locating holes for switches, the injector scoop, rear engine plate with the in/out box, and the parachute pack that will be further detailed with the release cable fitting to be added. Scratch built the switch box for the battery cables that will run to the booster plate at the rear of the chassis. Below is the dual oil filter assembly Here we see the moon tank being mocked up in preparation for routing fuel lines and the water tank still to be painted in polished aluminum. Last shot shows the scratch built water pump that will be located on the firewall to circulate the coolant through the engine and tank. Progress remains slow, mainly due to health issues which hopefully will clear up soon. As Betty Davies said “ Getting old ain’t for sissies”. Cheers Misha whoops, forgot about the following…

Wow Cale, that is truly impressive work! Looking forward to seeing the Toyota develop. Cheers Misha

I too would like to see Fujimi continue their rerelease program having picked up a number of their recent Porsche reissues to great delight. Having the Morgan come out with enhanced parts would be great, as well as the KarmanGhia! Cheers Misha

My choices, apart from reissues, would be contemporary vehicles such as Tesla, especially the rear folding gull wing doors, the hotter Caddy models, a detailed Vette with some varying models in one kit. Though not a big fan of the new trucks, it would be neat to have an EV detailed chassis to kit bash with earlier gas trucks. Who knows, it may attract younger modellers. I recently gave my grand-nephew the snap Raptor for his B-Day after showing him my workbench and spray booth…. I think I may have hooked him! Cheers Misha

That is really slick! Another reason for me to add soldering to my skill inventory, as I have been rather skittish to try it. Yet I’m seeing more and more uses for it, perhaps I’m not an ole dog yet…? Cheers Misha

Congrats Kurt on combining the various elements to produce a truly stealthy competitor for the cross country dash. Bravo! Cheers Misha

That’s really coming along nicely Phil, always been a fan of Rancheros and El Caminos. Your fabrication is looking bang on and is very informative in creating a much desired model. I had originally misses your post and now I be following along closely. Cheers and Happy New Year! Misha

Hey Dan! You don’t know what you’re missing, but don’t worry, I just mailed you a big box of it… ? Enjoy! Misha

Yup, we’ve got snow in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island! In past years we’ve been betting a dusting of snow, yet the last couple of years there’s been more and it’s been staying longer. This year the West Coast has been having record low temps, though not as bad as the Canadian Prairies where it reached down to near 50 degrees Celsius! Usually wait for nature to melt away the white stuff, today getting ready to go shovel for the third time… Happy New Year to all! Cheers Misha

A long standing tradition for the past sixty-one years has been to receive a much anticipated model kit! Still stands true this Christmas with the unwrapping of the Ken Miles Ford GT… pretty happy gearhead! Merry Christmas to All, Cheers Misha

Over the past month or so, I’ve been able to get this project back on the work bench in bits and pieces. Majority of the parts have yet to see primer while a few engine bits have gotten their metallic finishes. The interior has been getting its bits of detail. The stick shift is connected to the in/out box by a flex cable running to the rear mounted engine cradle. The front discs are controlled by the tall handle connected to the master cylinder allowing the pilot to keep the clutch in while building revs with the gas pedal, leaving his right arm on the brake lever, and his left on the steering yoke. The steering column ends with a scratchbuilt steering gear to transfer motion thru the idle arm to the drag link. The chassis itself has been further detailed with Grandt Line and Meng bolt heads. Acorn nuts will be from Norm Veber of R&D. The underbelly pans feature strengthening beads accomplished with Evergreen half-round strips with the ends curved and sanded down. Further detail was added with frame connectors to tie in the floor pan in and adding rear axle connectors to the engine cradles so the axle doesn’t appear to be held in place by magnetism. The pivot points of the cradle to the frame were also further enhance, to make it look look we meant it ? by adding half round stock and bolt heads. At the rear of the cradle is a panel to be used for boosting the small on board battery to power the electric water and fuel pumps while a magneto will furnish the spark for the engine. The interior of the body is also receiving its share of detail with bracing for the fiberglass front end and side door panels made of aluminium that replace the stock door cards. At the rear there is a an interior lip running around the trunk rim to support the lid. My original intent to have a basic kit to build as a break has gone completely off the rails now! I have a fair amount of priming to accomplish, get the chassis completed for priming, as well as the main body. The BBC will now begin to get assembled with all the bits and pieces that will entail, wiring and plumbing. Can’t wait to get the body paint on the go, a combination of Candy Red with red Meatlflake panels… Thanks for checking in! Merry Christmas ? to all! Cheers Misha

Speaking of which, today I was going thru the shelves and came upon the Airfix 1/32 250 LM. Upon looking at the details, apart from the wheels, they are decent considering the age and scale of the kit. Separate flip top gas caps, delicate knock offs and an accurate appearing body and interior. Cheers Misha

That’s going to be a sweet ride Scott. Too bad we don’t have a current kit, you lucky to have a decent looking resin one coming out of the stash. Looking forward to seeing your progress, cheers Misha

Hi Jeff, I found the thread by Tim Slesak on his build of an Ardun V-12… Here is a shot of his head design altered to accurately match the intake manifold… Cheers Misha

Whoops, thanks for spotting my mistake! It’s the engine from a Willys that I had posted in another thread. Thanks Andy for your keen eyes, cheers Misha

Thanks Trevor, As mentioned before I’m quite excited with these vintage road racers. Interesting how much interest there is currently among fellow members with all the builds of Ford GTs, Ferrari, Porsches and others; a revival of sorts. Design wise there is a much cleaner look to them without all the added aero treatments on current racers. Thanks for checking in, cheers Misha

Thanks for the kind comments, it’s always great to hear from other modellers from all over especially during these times when club meetings are held via Zoom and there is a lack of shows and contests. Cheers Misha

Hi ?, Great execution on the the 275P, gorgeous paint job and interior detail! Recently I’ve been constructing more of the older slot body based kits and really enjoying the results. Over the years one develops techniques that really add to the scale fidelity, such as thinning the plastic around the wheel wells, opening up grill and inlets, and vastly improved paint skills. The result are first class models of these epic road racers, and your work exhibits this very well; eye candy. Also had a look at your 1/43 Cobra, another jewel. Great to see your work and looking forward to more… Cheers from across the Strait! Misha

Nor sure about specific resin parts, yet with parts from R&D and inventive scratchbuilt bits one could come up with some of the following… I’m planning to build an Ardun head for the V12 for my Connie. There is a thread on the forum, I’m unable to recall, of a modeller machining the heads for his which gave me the idea to scratch build a set using the R&D Ardun head as a pattern extended by two cylinders. Hope this may be helpful to you, cheers Misha

Hi Ryan, Your GTO is really striking, one of the best I’ve seen! Great interior work and the engine bay is a knock out. I’m going to use your paint process on one of my upcoming builds, hope it comes close to your final finish. Also like your shots of NYC. Cheers Misha

A rather neat street version at the Goodguys Spring Nats 2018 in Scottsdale…

Welcome back into the hobby Aaron, judging by your work you’re not a novice. Great work work on one of the iconic F1 racers, always been a favourite of mine especially in the black livery. It is amazing the detail included in the 1/12 Tamiya kits, and while offering a challenging build, you have surpassed it with your paint and decal work. The Indy Cal decals are a great addition. Enjoying watching your progress, cheers Misha

Hi Gerry, I might be mistaken, yet I think we might have met at the last Deuce Days in Victoria, along with Phil Dauphinee and our Club, SPAM (Scale Plastic Auto Modellers). Hopefully next summer we will be hosting the model show in conjunction with the 1:1 guys. If you could make it is a super gathering of rods right downtown around the inner harbour.

This is a great release combining all the past reissues into one jam packed package! Especially for the younger set (I’ll be 69 in a couple of weeks) this current reissue will indeed be a surprise harkening back to the days of 3 in 1 kits, by being actually a 4 in 1 ?. Also as has been mentioned the decal sheet is another bonus… feels like I’m back in the mid 1960s. Cheers Misha