bill-e-boy

Nice build Makes me green with envy

I 2nd - Is that a photo of the model, or 1:1 vehicle? Seriously - I thought I was looking at 1:1 scale. Only after I started looking more carefully at things like the wiper arm, the cowl vents, and the shape of the water pump, I realized it is a model. It looks great

Yonks ago a local rodder - Royce Fisher - built a closed cab from a cut down 26 T Tudor sedan. The build started in the early-mid 60's and was on the road in late 60's. I remember seeing it in 69 at a gas station. I lived about 45 minute drive away from the city where the Royce was based. I eventually moved there too. The NZ Hot Rod magazine article attached is from 73 and I remember attending that show. The club that Royce was a founding member of is having their 50th anniversary this year. Unfortunately Royce passed a number of years ago but he is remembered and the profile of his pickup is often used in club monograms and letterheads. I started the build a number of years ago and it is now at painted stage but I am not happy with some colour choices. The chassis and running train are a bit lighter hue of metallic green than the body - I will redo this The stumbling block when I first started the build was the chrome headers but we have a work-round for that now The kits used are the Lil John 26 T Sedan and the 29 Pickup - both Revell The sedan was cut as shown More pix later

I have used a number of different sizes of copper wire for winding springs. Typically if you strip some electronics type wire they have 3-7 cores that are fairly small. some are even tinned which looks a bit like zinc plating. Also the local electronics store has small rewind wire in small rolls. Small electrical wire can be used for allsorts - hoses, battery cables etc - and is available in all sorts of sizes - most people chuck a lot of it out You need to wind the wire around a former such as 1/64 piano wire. The scale size of a lot of throttle return springs is about 3/4-1" dia = .75-1mm in 1/25th See pix of latest build - linkages are as from the kit but the spring pops out from under the air cleaner when added later

I wasn't happy with the 6V battery so found one in the parts box and detailed it up I am impressed with the tail light detail - looks very real More work getting bling added. I now have parts A and B With a bit of work A+B+C Some more work yet before I get it "Under Glass" but it will be soon

Getting along with final assembly. Firewall and radiator support installed

A fine job Dennis - captured the era well I too have most of the Street Rodder magazines stashed away. These and the other model mag articles that Tim has done has always been impressive and at time inspiration.

Al - looked at a Viper V10 but felt it would be better with a modern Hemi or as I finally did go with old school but modernised early Hemi - I did not have a late Hemi to hand which went a way to deciding with the 392 Your take on the 300B looks great The Mobieus kits have lots of sharp and good detail but the work to get rid of the mould lines on the body take a bit of time Thanks to the other guys for the kind words too

Thanks Tim Looks like you Z'ed the frame at the rear to get it down. And a 4 banger to boot - a Pinto 2ltr? A Pinto would struggle to rotate the slicks let alone make smoke. LOL

I pulled a Lil John 34 coupe build up and compared it to the 29 closed cab. Wheel based on the LJ chassis will need to be lengthened a tad but this should be fairly easy As I consider Lil John to be the originator of the billet phase the use of one of his chassis for a closed cab build up would be fitting. A wheel change to some blingy directionals, a bit of chassis work - too easy View of LJ underside Even has a Ford in a Ford to appease the faithful View to show how much the chassis will need to lengthened The 34 kit body is way out of scale and does not look right - but what a great chassis

And a background shot of my workbench and environs

A bit of an update Interior complete, engine wired and detailed, mounted in chassis. Chassis complete with suspensions and exhaust added. Some lines added to chassis It is low, real low - not even bagged. I lowered rear with lowering blocks and spring relocation. Front end lowered with dropped spindles Paint done and rubbed out and waxed. Presently foiling and getting ready to detail badges and other little things

Been following this and I am impressed with the builds and the positive comments from all the hobby heavyweights (sic) I have stashed away a box with a Lil John 26T chassis and running gear with a closed cab pick up body waiting for a build up. Parts are left over from a 26T sedan cut down to a pick up with an A chassis that is a staled project - need to get back to it ASAP

The Tamiya Mica Red is a stunning colour choice I have just finished rubbing out and polishing a Chrysler 300B that I painted in the same colour and I am mightily impressed with it

With Testors paints I have always thinned it 1x paint 1 1/2 thinners - Testors thinners or laquer thinners - Airbrush is Badger 250 running at 22-25 pound I have a hot box where the paint and model sit before, during and after paint - just a big 2ft square box with a 40W lamp - and dimmed for a couple of days to post cure Generally orange peel is light and easily rubbed out with polishing kit One other trick is application - a couple of light coats, a couple of wet coats and progressively add thinner with a couple more wet coats - watch out with metallics as you can get tiger stripping when using over thin paint My method FWIW

Brass Grab some Tamiya brass and mix in some flatting agent (also Tamiya)

Nice set of 56 models in the groups Partial to the 56 Dodge as I have the real thing. Same model Custom Royal Lancer 2 door pillarless

A modern equivalent would be the OHV Ford engine in the Tamiya Lotus Seven Those old Thames and 4 door Prefect cars were dire. Under powered and fell over easy if cornered too fast. 0-60 in about five hours because that how long it took to find a long enough steep down hill run with a tail wind. And then you were lucky to get to 60. LOL

AMT 32 Sedan, chopped with slanted back A pillars, XKE Jag front and rear, kit Ford 427 with C6 from spares box grafted on, scratch built headers, card and air cleaner from 69 Torino Cobra, custom mixed Humbrol enamels with clear coat. Built around 79/80 before it was known that the dies were missing. Windows tinted blue clear film to match running gear colours. Wire wheels are from a Monogram kit with the rears widened. This was the flavour of rodding at the time - retro rod with modern running gear. This is the mid 70's reissue.

AMT 32 5 window that I built about 30 years ago.

One thing I have to say is I had to spend an awful amount of time cleaning up the moulding lines on the body. They are faint but they are there all the same and need attention

Yup, as usual tossed about a few colors as well. Nearly chose two tone but decided to stay with the mono color. There is a nice build up of this car by one of the name builders and that is a nice color choice too.

Got some paint on The chassis is semi-gloss black. Pix shows splash apron top masked up for body color on the top as it shows through the grill and I wanted it to match up with the body color. The other pix a body and underside getting color on. Paint is Tamiya Mica Red laqueur in the little jars. All color clear coated with Tamiya as well. Its a nice product to use and I get good results. What am I going to do with all the Testors enamel jars I have.

The 55/56 Chrysler is way bigger than the Dodge. In 1/25 and in real life See pix below where I have piggy backed the 56 300B on top of the 56 Dodge and a chassis shot I did a build up of a MCW 56 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer earlier this year. The interior is tub style so I cut the sides off to detail them then glued it all back together I did not go much further with detail upgrades and stayed with the resin chassis and built it curb side I modeled it after the full size car I own The 55 and 56 Dodges were very similar and were the last of the old style chassis. The 57 is a totally different beast. I suppose the 57 Plymouth "Christine" may be considered as a donor but there are a lot of differences. Same deal between the 56 P and 57 P cars as for Dodge Doug - the rendering looks awesome

Without eyeballing the kits side by I would look an AMT 53/4 Ford for chassis an a starting point for the interior tub The Poly-head motor is an issue as the only one I know of is a 3D print. The 6 banger from the 41 Plymouth is correct and so would the drive train be if that was used If a Hemi is wanted an AlaKart Red Ram motor would be the one one to aim for I recently completed a 56 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer resin kit and I looked at the 56 Ford Vicky as a donor chassis - they are amazingly similar in real life