curt raitz

"ditto"

Thanx Well RoG are mostly 1/24th scale and can be a might bit tricky on parts fitting... Fujimi tends to have a lot of itty-bitty peices, they all fit, but require extra care when extracting from the sprue Tamiya's body panels are a little more forgiving - Fujimi' body panels can be a "tight fit" as I found out on the Ferrari Tamiya's newer kits are approaching Fujimi with the number and size of the parts, both are exceptionally engineered and fun to build

Just a little of work on the nose...love milliput a work in progress photo for ya

I just sent in the table reservation for the NNL West...one table-4 vendors Working on a few cars for the "Racecars of the 50's" sub-theme table...Alfa Romeo 159 (done), Talbot Lago (almost done) and the Bardahl Experimental Ferrari (just finished painting) plus will be building the 1964 Mercury Marauder that Parnelli Jones drove in 1964 for the "Cars from 1964" theme table

It might've got "scraped" a little while it was being "scrapped"...

Hey John still hangin' with the same girls, heh! I heard you started up a new project, took awhile to find it lookin' good and I love it...right up my alley it is one weird lookin' truck though just curious...was this hauler used in Europe or the States, cuz it says "Maximum Speed 105 MPH"...me think the Euros liked their kilometers!

Tamiya's most recent Ferrari color TS-85 Bright Mica Red over Tamiya's Fine White Primer seems to be a good match - photo wise anyway, but photos can be misleading definitly is a very nice red...

Hey Bernard...lookin' good!!! hope to see it in February... what's next? Curt

2nd of two F1 models I built for a collector in Germany, 1st was the Sauber C30 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=82118&hl= This is the Fujimi's 1/20th plastic model kit #422-8033 This model does have an engine, but I was unable to get a photo of it...after painting, I popped the engine cover on - but the fit was so tight I was afraid while removing the panel I might damage it...plus the guy I'm building it for doesn't care about engine detail, just wants a clean shelf display model. This is an excellent kit, very precise and well engineered. The paint is Tamiya's Bright Mica Red TS-85 thanx for lookin'...

Thanx, I had to do a little fiddling with front suspension...

Peter thanx You are right about the front wing...over 15 parts to it and very delicate, just hope I can pack it safely for it's ride to Germany! the tires were another adventure...thru trial and error found the best method was to first apply the "P Zero", then both of the "arc stripes" followed by "Pirrelli" centering it between the stripes...did a little trimming on the stripes for fit. I didn't like the finish so brushed on a little Microscale Clear Flat to even it out again thanx Curt

Yep another Formula One Model This is Fujimi's #422-8033 1/20th scale model of the Sauber C30 Sergio Perez drove inj the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix. One of the guys who purchased a few of my built F1 models sent me this kit and Fujimi's Ferrari F2012 to build for him Very, very nice kit, curbside, excellent decals c'ya thanx for lookin'... footnote...I've fixed the excessive wheel camber on the right front wheel since these photos were taken - ooofta!

Found some pictures of my 1964 Ford Econline... Messing around in Colorado circa 1973... brought back a lot of memories...

Non Contest: NNL West every year since it started, only exception was the first year Contests: Silicon Valley IPMS last year, enjoyed it...will do it again Will finally make it to a couple of the Goodguys Car/Model Car Shows in Pleasanton, CA in 2014 Plan on going to the Santa Maria Car Show in May with a few guys from the club I truly believe exposing your work in either a contest or NNL type show makes you a better modeller. plus it offers a good bench mark on your or modeling abilities or lack of'em (usually my case) compared to other modellers p.s. I do get a much bigger rush having my models being chosen to be photographed by those magazines in attendance at the contests/shows than a trophy it's a hobby, have fun with it...what ya gonna do with a bunch dumb trophies anyway

Back in the early 70's I picked up a 1964 Ford Econoline Van from Pac Bell with left rear quarter panel damage, I think I paid less than $300 for it. The strange thing about this van was the drivers side was all panel (no doors/windows) while the pax side and rear had doors/windows...must been a special order for Pac Bell. My brother Keith and I repaired the quarterpanel, rented a spray gun and painted the thing in my parents garage...try doing that today! Put in a couple of Pinto high back seats, built a bed along the panel behind the driver, closed off the rear with a counter and a propane stove, insulated/covered with wood paneling, mom made curtains and hung a California State flag hung behind the seats Power came from a little 200ci six with "3 on the tree" tranny. Overheating was a constant problem with the mid engine, had an extra core added to the radiator plus a tranny cooler... Threw in an 8 track stereo, later replaced by a cassette player In the summer of 1973 drove it to the east coast from California and to Colorado in 1974. I worked for a charter bus company in Colorado Springs both summers, ended up selling to a friend who rolled it in on US 50 between Tahoe and Carson City. I'll have to dig up/scan and post photos of the van I would love to build a model of my old van, so'll I'll be following this thread with good memories thanx

Love the last photograph...you and Photoshop have a good relationship going, don't ya!

Thanks Jurgen I didn't know "diddely squat" about wire wheels until I started to make'm myself. I got tired, just like everyone else of the "out-of-scale" wire wheels out there. The method I've been using has the spokes centered between both rims, good for bikes and old dragsters May not be accurate on some applications, but better than what comes in the box. There are a multitude of wire wheel patterns and levels as Jurgen has pointed out I'll be giving his method a try and see how it works c'ya

Thanx for the comments, but I gotta give forum member Yad' credit for the wire wheel jig I used...here's a link to his initial post: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6659&hl=%2Bmaking+%2Bwire+%2Bwheels#entry808443 I just developed a little further by adding a jig to keep the hub centered when joining the rims

"ditto"

No - No don't do that...you can make it work!

OK, now on to how I build the wire wheels... Start with this jig using 4lb monofilament fishing line and a center hub built up with aluminum tubing Hub with rear spokes laced: Hub with front and rear spokes laced: front and rear rims ready to be joined by superglue.... completed wheel ready to be removed from jig... completed wheel cleaned up and painted... Complete set ready to go... Thanx for lookin'...

Ok here we go...more stuff ready to join upper and lower body parts... Body joined with the stuff needed to add the extra lower body width found on the 159... body now ready for paint, masking of the cockpit area...just like the aircraft modelers do it Wheels and Tires along the way how they got there...to be continued...

As soon as this kit became available, I jumped on it...have always wanted to build both of theses cars. It is the 1/24th Merit/Smer kits re-boxed by Atlantis. The NNL West Sub-Theme is "Racecars from the Fifties" so naturally I will be building both of'em. Both kits are fairly accurate but very simple...with the wheels being the biggest hurdle. Of course I decided to build the Alfa first, it being the one needing the most modifications. I based this build on an excellent article in Issue #6 NOV/DEC 1991 "Motor Racing Replica News" magazine. The magazine is no longer in publication,but I do have all of the issues stored on pdf.files. Found a nice set of decals for the 1951 Spanish GP Race Winner Juan Manuel Fangio at Pattos Place: http://members.optushome.com.au/pattosplace/home.html As for the Wheels and Tires...I have been making a jig to make my own wire wheels. The tires are from Norm at Replicas & Miniatures. They are the Dunlop Big & Littles he used to have in his catalog for the racing Jaguars. They spec out to be the same size as the tires in the kit. After talking to Norm he sent me the Dunlop Big & Littles for $6.95 a set. Norm is a great guy to deal with. Will start this thread backwards...showing the completed model, then back-stepping on how it got there I added the Dion tube and brake lines to the rear suspension, which I cut in half to be inserted after painting the body... Here is the start of the construction process: note the tubes mounted on the rear suspension bracket... to be continued...

In the #6 Issue of "Motor Racing Replica News" Nov/Dec 1991 is an article on how to use the Herb Deeks photo-etched wire wheel inserts with the Merit Alfa Romeo kit. Would be the same procedure for the Talbot. Problem is the magazine has been out of production for a long time. I do have a pdf.file of this issue I can send you via email...just message me if interested. Herb is a cool dude even though he lives in Southern California, he sells them on his eBay store for $19.00. Here is a link to them: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wire-Wheel-trans-kit-1-25-photo-etch-Dayton-style-/161030046446?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item257e2382ee You are not gonna ever be happy with the clear spookie-thing!

I have always wanted to build these, just picked up the double kit of the Alfa and Talbot by Atlantis...re-pop of the old Merit kits. Almost finished with the Alfa...will be posting the build on the forum later As you've noted,,,the wheels/tires are fairly "lame" For tires, I picked up a couple sets of the "Big &Little" Dunlop Tires from Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland. Norm doesn't have them listed in his catalog, but he will sell ya a set for $6.95. They are the same size as the kit tires. For wheels, scratch-building them with a jig I put together, not easy but can be done Good luck