AmericanMuscleFan

Very nice job on the scratch building Andy, you're certainly a skillful guy and the pictures speak for themselves! I also love the inline 6 cylinder as powerplant, different for sure and very interesting subject! You're on a great start... well done sir!

Thanks for the comments Dave! I still have many machined parts to make but they might be produced at a slower pace during the next weeks. I don't usually build during summer but this year is a special one (because of that virus) so we'll see if I can still progress a little bit during the nice season... Thanks again for showing-up and take care, Francis

Hello Mike, glad to know that... so it's like living surrounded by potential aluminum model car parts... Please tell me if you know the contry where brass material is hanging on the walls, I might be interrested to move there...lol. I'm sure that life is great in Germany... I do love beer too so there are certainly some great to taste and not only during the Oktoberfest! Take care, Francis

It's perfect Brian, a real time capsule! It smell cheap gasoline prices of this sadly gone era... Well done sir, you must be proud of this superb build!

Thanks Brad, I do appreciate your sentiments about all these machined parts! I'm not done yet with this thing and it could take a different twist that I hadn't envisioned at the beginning but something sure, the pictures should be always visible on the forum to see them separately! Fortunately I didn't use Photobucket as a photo sharing option...lol Take care, Francis

Thanks for the kind words Daniel, I'm very happy how it looks on the engine and it was fun to make too! Take care, Francis Thanks John! I am myself surprised if I managed to impress a modeler of your caliber, thank you for visiting and commenting on my work, it is very appreciated! I can't wait to see and enjoy your next project sir! No pressure here, I think you are a very prolific builder sir! Take care, Francis Thanks Mike, I enjoy the play on words! I agree that many parts will be barely or not visible at all but I made 'em for the sake. This build is a first for me in several aspects and a practice in some way for the next project... I do have so much fun making all these parts and I really appreciate if it can inspire or put a large grin on someone face! By the way, have you find a reliable source for the T6 aluminum in your area? You can check with a machine shop in your area if you haven't yet, they often have leftovers that are too small to be reused but most of the time the perfect size for our projects. Take care, Francis Thanks for the compliments Tim! I remember that you used some of those watch gears on the Henry J engine and I think that they are quite a time saver (even if they are not 100% accurate) instead of making all the teeth on the milling. I had thought of displaying the parts outside the car but I do love to see an ultra detailed model with all its components in place like your Bantam. I must agree that installing all these parts in the model will also be a good challenge but the final product should be interesting to watch. It is always gratifying to see all the attention that a very detailed model commands when you open the hood to show all these parts gathered! Even if you planned to keep the engine out of the Maverick's hood it surely a feeling that you haven't finish to feel with the quality of your builds sir.. Take care, Francis

You're probably right Tommy, but most of my buddies were having big fun with their van until 1985 with long parades to the next camping or festival all around the province. Everything come later here in Canada including cars new trends and hot weather...

I also use this "chassis stop" technique for the floor pan on my builds and it works great. This is a very cool build Ken and it bring back some very good memories when these van were immensely popular back in the early '80. I can hear the Bee Gees singing Stayin' Alive! Have you yet decided on the bright color you mentioned at the beginning of the thread? Good job on the sun roof, this will be a very fun build to watch.

Hello everyone, This year is a special one (an not just for good reasons) and the coronavirus has changed a lot of things in our usual habits. I don't recall me building model cars this late in spring but because most of the activities and festivals are cancelled I might have even more time on the workbench. This build is also a first for me in many aspects so I will continue to add some details that I never done before. Since I opened the interior of the bellhousing, I will try to make a convincing clutch and flywheel system, knowing that most of the parts will be barely visible. I will make an opening in the bellhousing, kind of inspection or maintenance acces that I will leave open so some of the details will be visible from under when the model will be exposed on a display stand equipped with a mirror. Comments and questions are welcome! Take care, Francis Flywheel on the rotary table 3 parts flywheel. The gear ring is from a wristwatch that I removed the center rays (part on the left). I machined a shoulder so the gear ring is in sandwich between both aluminum pieces. Crankshaft end on the rotary table. Crankshaft end final. Crankshaft end in the engine block. Crankshaft end with flywheel in position. You can see the pillow bearing hole in the center of the crankshaft end.

That metal flake paint job is superb Eric! The flakes size looks very good and in scale! This is a killer project... Well done!!!

It looks very good Craig, I love that yellow color! Maybe I had been building alone in my basement too long, but I didn't know that Pledge (floor wax or acrylic?) could be used as an overcoat instead of the usual clear coating. Is it as shiny as the usual clear coat or is there an obvious reason that I obviously don't know about this technique? Interesting however!

That's a very nice and rusty Chevy Pat! I can easily imagine all the clicking and attention it would have when passing in front of a patrol car. I do not know about your corner of the country but it would not pass the inspection in Quebec... Sad, it's so beautiful... I love it from bumper to bumper! Well done sir!!!

We can't say that you have no imagination and lack of ideas Daniel. It's resourceful at its best and this blanket will be the only one of its kind! Maybe a sombréro on the seat to go with it? Ingenious in its creation by the way sir!!!

Thanks for your kind words Daniel. It is always a pleasure to share when you feel the interest in a given project as you have just done ... and you will always be welcome my friend!

Hello Claude, I also found a good source for small pieces of T6 aluminum not too far from my home but I'm not that lucky with brass... I checked with several machine shop in my area but they dont use this material very often so it's pretty scarce I would say. I would be interested to make more of the large parts (large being relative at 1/25 scale) so I will have to find a solution or pay the big price on shipping (this material is heavy) if I want to refill my inventory of raw material. Thanks for the compliment on the Lenco by the way but I will need a very good (out of the ordinary) summer building session to have this thing ready for the Quebec show so I will continue to hope for the best... miracles can happen! Can't wait to see you my friend! Take care, Francis

But they are looking good Mike! With another background it would look like the 1:1 car. I love it... well done sir!!!

Leave it alone Steven, in my opinion, I think that this subtle flaws on the paint will be less visible when all the details including the bare metal foil around the windows mouldings will be done on the car. You focus on the sole thing on the body right now... the paint. There are plenty of superb modifications on this car that worth to be appreciated but as other have mentioned, you are the owner and your decision will be the good one!

So this is where you hide Kerry! This Peterbuilt wrecker will have plenty of towing power, certainly way to much for your 34 Ford but as you know, there's never too much horsepower in play... You're a versatile builder sir... well done so far... I'm impressed!!!

Gorgeous paint job Joe, looks like the paint is still wet... the color is so bright and intense that it pull my eyes! You nailed it buddy!!!

What else could I add that hasn't already been said about this fantastic truck? Probably this is the sexiest log truck in existence even if the term sexy is strange for a work horse like this! A feast for the eyes from every point of view! Thanks for this superb build Brian!!!

Thanks Joe! It's always a pleasure to see you stopped on my thread my friend! Take care, Francis

Thanks Brian, I really appreciate your kind comments. Your own builds are exceptional and the Transtar log truck you build drive me crazy! I Still have a lot of parts to do so feel free to come back anytime! Take care, Francis Thanks for the compliments Martin! I make a lot of internet searches for the measurements of 1:1 parts in order to make them as realistic as possible. Anodising is new to me and I do love the rendering and the possibilities of this process not counting that it doesn't hide any details, its like machining a part in already colored aluminum. Take care, Francis Thanks Jim! I work hard to make all these parts and I wish to deliver the best build I can. I continue to learn a lot and I already have ideas to improve some of the parts I made on my next build. I love sharing and I learn a lot from watching the work of other members on this forum, it's an endless source of ideas and motivation! Take care, Francis

The pictures speak for themselves John! The result is simply amazing, the paint and the decals are superb along with the stunning job of scratch building on each parts you made. The original owner will be stupefied!!!

That's a good one Tim! I take it as an approbation... speaking transmission, I can't wait to see what kind of amazement you will bring us for the Maverick because amazement will be... again! Take care, Francis Thank you John, I feel very honored to receive your compliments, your reputation is well established as one of the best model car builders so it's very special to me to see you commenting my work, I do appreciate! Take care, Francis Thanks for seconding John's comments on my build Al! Take care, Francis Thanks for your support Brad! No problem for «more» because more and more to come, I'm not finished with that thing! Take care, Francis

Thanks for the compliments Mike! Glad to know that you found this information useful, you will see on your first try how different 6061 aluminum is in comparison with aluminum. On the other side it's also more difficult to work with this hard aluminum especially when you want to make a lot of fine tuning manually, but the finish is superb. Take care, Francis