Mike Young

Hey guys, resurrecting this one again. What about using this thread to post images of crate engines, engine assemblies, engine parts, transmissions, etc., for reference? To be honest, I thought that's what this was supposed to be when I clicked on it. I was disappointed to see it had devolved in to a debate over semantics rather than it's intended purpose, yet it's still a sticky. I like to take the crude rudimentary representation parts we get in the kits, and turn them in to something more accurate. I know I'm not the only one. This could maybe be a good place for a drive train reference resource. That, or drop it off the sticky list and put up something more useful. Just a thought.

So I've been trying the embossing powder for the first time after getting back in to the hobby. It works really well! I've been using the 'wet paint' method and so far have had good results, albeit I've only done a few parts to my Barracuda build. Since gloss colors tend to dry the slowest, that's all I've used, but even at that there's a short window to get the surface covered and not have dry spots. The parts I've done are for a '66 Barracuda. The console has a lot of carpet attached to the bottom that drapes over the trans tunnel. I made that area out of .010 sheet and used a fine embossing powder. I have one that's a little more course, but it gave too high a build for the application. I think for parts like this console, or the carpeted bottom of door panels, or any other carpeted area that's not the floor, I'll be using the finer powder. For the floor, I'll try the courser stuff. I've also been experimenting with other powders for other textures. For the top, plastic part of the console, I used all purpose flour. I tried that, as well as baking powder and corn starch. The flour had the best texture. A lot of 60's Mopars have a more 'pebbley' grain on all the surfaces so it looks really good. For other types of grained surfaces, it may not look as good or to scale.

Agree with all, it's getting built! ......some day lol! You guys will all have to forgive my trepidation. It's been 30+ years since I've touched a model cal. Back then, I wouldn't have thought twice about doing whatever I wanted with these things. I didn't know if the temperature in the room had changed over the decades. I only just dug all my stuff out of my storage shed back in December. I've now been prowling Ebay and finding all kinds of stuff I couldn't back when. It's been a lot of fun getting back into it, and the timing couldn't have been better, what with being stuck at home and all. Next up, I need to try and be more conscious about taking photos and posting up some builds! Thanks for all the opinions, and not flaming me for sounding like a noob.

Yeah, I've seen your build. Truly inspiring, I envy your talent.

That's That's a good point. Although, I have to admit, maybe 5-10% of what I build will ever see a display case. I have a bad habit of getting into all the difficult custom scratch building stuff, then lose interest at the final paint and assembly stage. To be fair, I think the only things I've ever finished were box stock builds, go figure. lol!

Or........this is another possibility.

I saw a cheap vacuum pump at Harbor Freight I'm going to try. Usually they're pretty expensive, the HF one was like $36. They also sell a line of sealed cases like the Pelican cases. I want to check those out and see if I could cut the top and attach a piece of thick plexiglass. The sealed cases usually have a vent port, so that would be a good place to attach the vacuum line. Might be able to get the whole thing done for cheap. It will depend how well the case could hold up to the vacuum pressure.

I think with the right amount of patience, and plenty of other projects to work on in the mean time, I can wait for the seats to show up on Ebay. The rest can be sourced from a '66. The only part I would have to make is the tail light, but at least I have the one to copy. I do still need to take a copy and turn it into a Ranchero tail light as well, that's going to be fun. My biggest problem is one I'm sure I share with a lot of guys. The old ADD. Too many shiny spoons around the work bench. Lol!

For some perspective on where I'd go with the Fairlane, here's where I've gotten with my '66 barracuda build. '71 Duster for the chassis and engine compartment. Some GTX front seats, a Dart console, some Fireball 500 seat inserts, and the rear seat, arm rests, door handles and steering wheel are all scratch built. The steering wheel started as a Corvette wheel. I still need to make the rear armrests, but otherwise, the interior is almost finished. It takes a lot of donors to make these things happen, but it's all worth it!

Nice replies! Yeah, it's not the purest of starting pieces, as '67 Fairlanes go. I just had this feeling like I'd be committing the old sacrilege if I started hacking on it. To be fair, I would still build it as a stock build of a GT, but with better looking parts than what they had to offer 53 years ago. Here's my jumping off point. As you can see, it is missing a lot of parts and it needs some repairs. Looking at it again, this is probably what I should start with for a sacrilege build. lol!

I searched for a C4 for a while and couldn't find anything. The closest things are the bellhousing from the Starsky & Hutch Torino, and the C3 in the AMT Pinto's. I took the C3 and made the center body longer, but had to make the rest from scratch. I have resin copies that are experiments(read; not perfect in any way), but could be made useable. The trans ended up a little on the long side, closer to 1/24 scale, but compared to the varieties of lengths I see for any given trans that are supposed to be the same, it looks fine in a 1/25 application. I haven't made a pan yet. You can see my pile of resin failures. My next project is a vacuum chamber. lol!

Hey guys, still new here and haven't posted anything yet. For my first real post, I thought I'd get some opinions on something I am struggling with a little. I have a few older original issue cars I've acquired since getting back in the hobby. Nothing too crazy, mid 60's stuff, but kinda rare. I am wanting to take more detailed modern kits and kitbash these older ones for a more detailed finish. I have already started on one, a '66 Barracuda I'm building as a replica of my car, and am really happy with the results so far. But now I've acquired one I'm not sure I should change given it's rarity. In the 1:1 world, where I've been playing for the last 30+ years, the same thing happens. You find some old 60's car you want to make into a hot rod, but you then decide it has too many rare options, or it's just too clean to modify. There is the old saying, "Anyone can restore a car, it takes a real man to cut one up.", but even the most inclined to hack away can find themselves questioning that philosophy once in a while with certain cars. My current apprehension in the model world involves an older built, '67 Ford Fairlane I just acquired. I really needed a few '67 specific parts to make resin copies of for a '67 Ranchero project I'm getting ready to tackle, but then I'll have this Fairlane wanting attention. It's missing pieces and is kinda rough, but there's enough '67 specific parts there and it's totally savable. My first inclination is to pick up a '66 and upgrade it, but now I'm not sure. Looking around, it appears to be more rare than the others I've picked up, maybe I shouldn't bastardize it. What would you guys do?