Casey

Yep. I'm planning to attend.

I'd hate to think how much an Auraora Racing Scnes display base would sell for. http://cgi.ebay.com/Monogram-1932-Ford-Sport-Coupe-PC57-Store-Display-/140518038375?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b7871b67

I haven't seen them on eBay for months, and the Completed Items search only goes back 90 days. If you remember when you purchased your most recent display and would be willing to let me know what you eBay user ID is (via PM, please don't post it), I could search for the seller that way, too.

It appears the "too small" tires you pictured are the old Monogram 1/24 scale Goodyear GT Radial tires. The Cutlass' optional wheels (the 18"-19" American Racing 200-S Daisy knock-offs) are meant to fit the large and larger low-prifile tires included with the California Wheels kits ('60 Impala, '66 Chevelle wagon and El Camino, etc.), which to my knowledge were created after the entire removal of Goodyear, Firestone, etc. tire letting thing came about. Did Revell simply not include the optional lo-pro tires in your (or the, if there are others experiencing the same thing?) kit? The Revell snap kits have some of the best tires in kit form, but they need to be modified for use with the lo-pro CA Wheels tires mentioned above. The tires and wheels in the snap kits are way too narrow to be realistic when used as is IMHO. I'm not sure which tires are included with the '69 Camaro Snap kit, but I suspect they are the same tires included with Revell's '68 Firebird 400 kit, which are horrible. Quite honestly, all of the 'blanked off' newer tires are horrible, even if you're a fan of using decals for tire sidewall lettering. There is a noticeable ridge where some material was removed from the sidewall, some of the 'blanked off' Goodyear GT Radial tires are unrealistically bulged out, and some of the sidewalls on each side of the same tire do not match.

William, do you recall the ebay sellers ID?

This is about as close as you will find:

I've seen a few vintage model store sales display bases on eBay and there was an article in SAE a few years ago about them, but I hadn't yet seen this T'rantula version. Very cool! There was a seller on ebay who sold reproductions of the original display bases, and I think someone here purchased to display his Model A built up upon, but I haven't seen them listed for quite a while now.

Which brand/make/model/size/scale wheels are you looking for?

I'm sure price is a major roadblock to people purchasing a 'Big' kit. $100.00 for a kit is a lot for most people, and with some extra parts you'd be up to $120.00 or so. That might be too far beyond the ideal price limit.

Use a coiled tubing bender to bend warmed tubing.

I always got the feeling the Big Drag is the kit most, serious, adult modelers wanted the most out of all the "Big X' kits from Monogram. They've released both the Big Deuce and Big Tub kits, so why not the Big Drag next? They might as well re-issue the 1/8 parts packs, too.

I found this 1/15 scale R/C Hitari A-Team van and am curious if anybody here has one? It looks to have fairly decent/accurate wheels and tires, and the body doesn't appear terribly toy-like, so I may end up purchasing one. I'd love to see a close up pic of the wheels and tires if anybody has one and is willing, as all I've found are a few scant videos of it on YouTube. Here's one on ebay: CLICK HERE FOR A-TEAM VAN

If anyone here has this kit and would be willing to take and post a picture or two of the rear wheels and slicks included with this kit, I sure would appreciate it. I noticed the Chi-Town Hustler kit has M&H markings for the tires, which I assume are decals? I don't recall if the Hawaiian kit includes any tire marking at all, though.

Tha small block Ford in either the Revell Matt & Debbie Hay Pro Street T-bird or Pro Street Lincoln LSC kit is not too shabby, either, but it's got sa motor mount plate IIRC. It does have some very nice Ford Motorsport valve covers and a nice set of headers, too.

Saturday April 9, 2011 Excellence Center Waukesha, Wisconsin

Considering there never was, and probably will never be, anything else like the Aurora Racing Scenes, I don't think $999.00 is crazy, but eBay isn't always an accurate barometer for kit prices.

The green car appears to be a custom '86 Chevy Monte Carlo SS, made into a sedan delivery of sorts.

Witty plate...but off by twelve hours. Nice score, Rodney.

Whoa, a mini-box included inside each box!? Love it.

Casting a windshield washer fluid reservoir in white resin would be a big improvement over either a molded-in-and-painted or a clear molded part, but you'd still need to address the fluid issue. The nice thing about casting parts like this is you can fill the mold part way, then either wait 'til the part has hardened to add some resin mixed with colorant (blue, orange, yellow- whichever washer fluid you're replicating) or add the colored mix as the resin is hardening. I believe washer bottles are made from the same plastic as plastic milk containers, High-density polyethylene (HDPE), so they both have a similar opacity, which is not easily replicated since it's neither a 'solid' color nor competely transparent/'clear'. I'm going to experiment with some white and clear resin in an attempt to get the correct look, but so far all I've done is cast this Mopar reservoir in white resin, which IMHO, looks better than both a painted or clear-molded part, but still isn't totally correct looking:

You can buy both casting resin and mold rubber in larger quantities, which will save you money in the long run. I happen to like Alumilite products, but others like Smooth On and other brands, so you have to try different brands and models (faster setting, slower setting, different hardnesses, etc.) until you find one you like and get good, repetitive results. As Jeff suggested, casting a bi-scale car body uses a good bit of mold rubber and casting resin, so you should probably start with gallon quantities. Shop around, but if you stick with Alumilite products, www.hobbyengineering.com has great prices and they ship very quickly in my experience. It's around $100.00 for a two gallon kit (one gallon each) of two-part casting resin, so while the upfront cost is greater, it will cost you less per part when you buy in bulk.

Whazzat??

You just had to go there, didn't you?

If the second version you desire is stock, you're going to be disappointed. If it's a second custom version, prepare to rejoice. Steve G shared lots of pics of Revell's future kits from last October's iHobby show here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=36420&st=0 Maybe this thread could be moved and/or combined with that one somehow? I fear these new pics are goin to get lost in a few weeks...

Pics up over at www.policecarmodels.com http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-12496200801054_2146_42380553