Uncle Mike
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Posts posted by Uncle Mike
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You are not alone, my friends, and if you are building at 60 like I am, it doesn't go away as you get older and more "mature". Tell me if I am or a few of us are alone in these areas. You buy more kits than you will ever build, at my rate, I will need to live about another 300 years, and I know there we are all alike.
But i have this hope that every kit I buy will inspire me to have a plan. Some plans are total imagination, some are kitbash inspirations, some are builds to use some spare parts, some are just to scratch an itch, but my mode is to plan a car just like everyone else here does. Only to get it out of my mind from obsessing over it, as I can do, I will take a piece of paper and try to draw or trace the model, do the mods, and write the plan down. Sometimes my plan is written on a paper plate, as when I am eating lunch, I get the itch, and start drafting right there over the crumbs.
I am planning probably my ultimate 40 Ford coupe, a ittle beyond the coupe in the movie "The Hollywood Knights", and even farther out of the box than the Matador. It was an incredible itch, so I took a Sharpie and scratched it out right there. Life can be so cruel sometimes.
One last thing, and maybe I am a little nutty as I get older. I will blame the meds. Ever since the sixties when I was a kid, it was like going in a Disney ride or show when I opened the box. I not only check the box art. instructions, tires, wheels, body, parts on sprues, and spare parts, but I take a whiff to smell the plastic and vinyl on the tires. Full immersion into a kit. And as hard as I try to force it, not every kit inspires me to a particular build. For example, I bought a Revell '56 Ford Pickup, wanting to make a copy of Foose's ride, but the new Model Cars came out, and I sharpened my knife to build a similar '53/ Why, because Jarius's drawings just hit me like an atomic bomb.
At our club meeting last night, I realized I wasn't the only one inspired by Jarius's pickup trucks on the Sketchpad. Every guy there was planning a build, and one of our premier customizers has done all of the body work and is now mocking up the motor and chassis. Those drawings were the talk of the meeting.
We sort of informally voted Jarius in our Admiration Hall of Fame, as a designer and a builder, as during the gossip talk we all agreed that Brad was pretty good and came up with some good cars on paper, but Jarius never designed something we didn't like. Hit the bullseye with all of our guys all of the time. Considering our bunch, that is quite a chore.
Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
Ken, I have the Real Story on the "Hollywood Knights" '40 Coupe. It was built right here, (its second build after the rescue from its first build!) A great story, I assure you! -Uncle Mike. melauerman@aol.com Email me. I'll reply with the lengthy story.
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Tom thats so koool
Thompson, that is Icy! Now I build my woody. Now. What I put behind it (trailerwise) is next, but I am inspired.
When a journeyman Ford specialist in '64, I was asked to look at a friend's little brother's '47 Merc Station Wagon. He was going surfing daily, a 32-mike trek over the hill (highway 17) to Santa Cruz, from our home base in Santa Clara, CA.
The Merc had a 5/16"X1/4 flattie, (276", '49 Merc crank) Edelbrock Super intake, 2 Stromberg 97s, Edelbrock 9:1 finned heads...it was getting warm running uphill at 60, with a full load of "wharf rats" and their boards.
A recent black-laquered restoration, I passed on the 'latest rage', the small block Chevy...instead, I swung a 364 inch Cad, with a 'ring' adaptor, and retained the Merc tranny. Dual exhaust and the factory Carter 4-bbl netted H.P. and torque sufficient to pull the steep hill in high gear, no strain.
"That's No hot rod", the sidewalk critics said. I thought it was classic and beautiful. It was right.
Tried and proven. And it remained 6 volt. Pure.
Lucky me, there are 1/25 Cads galore, many sources! And they fit the Woodies like they were meant to go in there. Hey, there were Caddies in there before Chevies ever saw Ford engine rooms!
And there were Oldses...but that was another story...God, I love this hobby!!!
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DOES ANY ONE KNOW WHERE I MIGHT FIND THESE BUDD WHEELS FOR MODEL AA FORD TRUCK?
RESIN OR PLASTIC IS FINR OR EVEN INTERESTED IN CHOPPING OFF TOY OR DIECAST IF I HAVE TO
Think it was Ron Cash for the resin ones. I got a set from a pal, believe that was where he got them.
Hope this helps...
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sOUNDS GREAT CANT WAIT!!!!!! CANT IT BE BUILT FENDERLESS???
YES! Same '32 rails as the 3-window and the Highboy '32 Roadster. And it fits those frame rails just as slick.
Tim Boyd built an introductory version, and those wire wheels are fat-spoked for Kelseys! Plastic molding process would be difficult to get them scale, as the real ones are 1/4" diameter! (that, in 1/25 scale would amount to: .250" divided by 25=.010".) Ten-thousandths inch. Nice for wire size, but styrene?
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Hi...m408...you are right....the number 1-3/4'' is wrong it must be 3.5 (3-1/2'') it is not necesary to enlarge once more..thanks for your observation . I will post tomorow photos of the backdrops I purchase today at Colonial Hobby Shop ,Orlando. And the enlargements I did at Office Max...have fun...Barbo
Hi, m408 and Barbo! If building in 1/24-1/25, here is the tip: Get a 6" machinist's rule. A good one will have inch scale on one side, and metric on the other. As there are 25 milimeters to one inch, and we are working in 1/25, (1/24-close enough) there are 25 milimeters to one inch. Therefore, one mm. equals one inch.
Your house "man-door" will be 78 mm high. A typical car tire will be about 25" tall (25 mm in our scale)
Six-foot tall guy: 72 mm. Five-foot tall girl: 60mm. The guy's feet are 12 mm long...
Car steering wheels are 14.5"-17" diameter. Make the model car's the same, only in mm.
Chopping a top? 4"=4mm. Neat, and handy. Sears, Orchard Supply, Harbor Freight. Just make sure it is Metric at least on one edge!
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DAVID!!! Where did you get that '32 Ford frame and grille shell in 1/87 laying alongside the Servicing Station? I'm Looking for some of those, saw some pieces in a casting of an HO trackside "Junk Pile" long ago. There were '32 Victoria bodies, grille shells...but no frame rails.This is my first full blown diorama, built in HO scale, (1/87);
The barn and tractor servicing station to the side are scratch built out of styrene. The trailer is also scratchbuilt from styrene, wood and brass. The truck is just an HO diecast made by Model Power, I changed the wheels and tires and detailed the interior and added a bed lid. The '53 Chevy in the garage is an Alloy Forms kit. The old tractor in back is a Jordan kit.
David
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The Big lots here in Grand Rapids didn't have ###### IMHO anyways but I did score on a 34 ford and a 57 ford
all they seemed to have were the 300c, 61 ranchero, the early 70's chev p/u, escalade and some newer chev p/u
and the 57 flip vette would like to have seen some of the other kits mentioned above!
A pal called and said try Big Lots here...(merced, Central CA) I burned some '55 F100 rubber, when I got there I had missed the '63 Galaxies, but there were two 'Bigfoot' trucks left, and 12 or so Merc Topaz (?) and 2 display cases, which I snagged. Got to watch the Big Lots.
Michael's Arts & Crafts stores carry AMT/Revell also. Last year, they had a sale and AMT kits were $6.
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After masking I like to use Future floor wax before adding the paint, works similar to the clear, dries quick and it's self leveling!!!!!!!!
Ever tried 'Parafilm'? The late Bruce Treadwell gave me some of that prior to his death, I used it for a 2-tone job (yes, cleared around the parafilm edges!) and it was great. Someone is marketing this under a different banner, anybody know which?
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Hi, all.
I'm "Uncle Mike", not new to much of anything but this great board! My bud Don Graham sent me a posting and I had to join in!
We are in the Central California (Merced, 60 miles North of Fresno) area, and are hangers-on of the infamous "Yosemite Area Model Car Ass'n", or "YAMCA".
The 'Uncle Mike' handle is one that was hung on me years ago for much of my assistance to fellow hot rodders and Drag Racers in the San Jose area (1960-1985) [they would be heard to say'I got a rich uncle']
My model building began in 1953 with the Revell Highway Pioneers series, in 1/32 scale. I built everything from the Renault Town Car to the Stanley Steamer. When the 69-cent Hot Rod was released (same series) I built it, then about 5 more, all different. Finally, I bashed one with the Highway Pioneers 1920 Center-Door Model T Ford sedan...Chopped 7 scale inches with a hot needle, same hot needle removed the hood, bobbed the rear fenders, and stuffed that flathead V8 in there, along with the hot rod axles, and the Big & Littles.
My buddies were building too, and came up with some cool stuff...They all recognized my butchered Center Door Sedan as the Art Chrisman "Torrid '29 Tudor", as coined in Hot Rod Magazine.
Around '56, Norm Grabowski built a T-bucket and it was featured in Hot Rod. I cut up a Renault Town Car body to make a '22 T bucket, mating the body to the 69-cent Hot Rod rails and upholstered seat.
The '56 Revell El Dorado gave up its Cadillac engine, and the rest was done by hand, with Pactra
'Namel! Firewall and pickup tarp were cut from a playing card, with the "7 of Clubs" marque on the tarp. My buddies said it was "Real Zorch!", 'cuz that was THE new word then, man...we were 14, and way cool... Har, har...
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I like the wagon. My dad bought a new white Star Chief in 1958. It was a real mover. You ae correct that the shape isn't exactly flat. Is there a particular brand name or type of clear plastic sheet you used? Did you have to do some heating of the clear to bend it on the sides? Thanks.
There's a 'way cool method we use for Control Line model airplane canopies: cut & sand a male 'buck' from soft pine wood. Heat a piece of a clear 2-litre soda bottle in the oven, remove it when warm and pliable; place the plastic piece over the wood buck and pull down. Trim off excess...
For the back window of a station wagon, I'd do the same thing...maybe a 1"X4" piece of pine, 3" in length, end-fitted into the window area of the wagon. Sand until the end of the board fits loosely into the cutout, from the inside. Now c/a glue the 'buck' onto a longer piece of wood, so you can vise it, pulling the warmed soda-bottle material down over. When it cools, if your 'buck' was accurately 'undersize', the window will fit like a glove! Polish the finished "glass" and you're done.
I used this method on an AMT '56 Ford, cut into a convertible, to replicate my old ragtop. Looked much more like a windshield than the AMT thick plastic in the kit!
Toledo Barn Find
in WIP: Model Cars
Posted
I think you hit it, James. My brother and I take pains to 'accurize' kit offerings, yet we both admire the efforts made by the early kit mfrs. (otherwise, we would still be building with balsa, right?)
We both have built some of these old Monogram kits, pre-'60; the '32 Sport Coupe and the two different '32 Roadster models...All these projects got Super-detailed, without changing the old lines.
Only a few members recognized what they were.
Is there a "one-page seminar" on posting pictures?