Casey

John, I will get specs on the Goodyear tires from the Ice Patrol kit for your database. Great 'site. Looking at the wide array of tires (just the off-road type) reminds me how good we have it these days as modelers.

If I'm seeing this correctly, in Irelnad you have LHD vehicles and drive on the RH side of the road, like we do in the U.S.?

Pics, please. I'm glad they did create them when they revised the '70 GTX/RR mold, but an accurate set of 1/24th scale Mopar steel wheels would've been bettter, even if they had left out dog dish hubcaps entirely. Assuming the steel wheels in the '56 Del Ray are 1/25th scale, how do they look when used with a 1/24th scale tire and the '69 Super Bee kit? That's why the T-bolt wheels are nice- they are already 1/24th scale. Most 1/25th scale wheels do not look right when used on 1/24th scale model, especially when you're dealing with a very familiar 14" or 15" wheel diameter. 1/24th wheels on a 1/25th scale model works more often and better, IMHO. Here are some A12 cars I have pics of:

Reading about the new Revell '72 Olds Cutlass Supreme convertable kit got me thinking... When Monogram tooled up an all-new '55 Chevy Bel Air kit in '95, they did it as a convertable, and now the '72 Cutlass follows the same pattern. 1) What do you think is the reason they were both released as convertibles first? 2) Did the '55 Bel Air 'vert come with an uptop, and if not, did people complain about that in '95, too? I'm wondering if the reason for doing a convertable first is to prevent lost sales from buyers converting hardtops into convertibles, since the other way around isn't nearly as easy.

Showoff. Nice work on the working steering, George.

The original Revell '64 Ford T-Bolt kits (Gas Rhonda and Russ Davis Ford) have a nice set of steel wheels. They are not factory correct for an A12 car, or any Mopar for that matter, but they do have good detail. I used two sets of them, painted black, along with the Goodyear Steel Belted Radial tires when I built an A12 Super Bee years ago from the Monogram kit: IIRC, the front and rear wheels in the T-bolt kits are different diameters, which is why I needed two sets of rear wheels.

I see where this is headed. Not interested.

I don't see the two as being equal in any way. The U.S. Government didn't fund the development of any (well, maybe there were one or two at some point) '48+ production GM vehicles, so GM wholly owns the design rights. The designs are GM's property, and as such, they own them.

Here are some pics of the Saginaw 4-speed trans which comes behind the SBC in the AMT '55 Chevy Bel Air kit. It has good side cover detail, but overall the trans looks too narrow, the bottom of the main case is too deep, and the tailhousing too stubby. So, not that great, really. Here's the manual trans found in the 1/16th AMT '64-1/2 Mustang kit. Slightly better proportioned with a more defined overall shape compared to the Saginaw trans above: Does anybody have pics of any other 1/16th scale manual transmissions?

The best cast aluminum paint I've ever found is Krylon Dull Aluminum #1403: http://www.filmtools.com/krdual1grsho.html

Very cool. Here are some more pics: http://motorsport.com/photos/select.asp?S=DAKAR&E=Dakar/Car_preparation&Y=2010

Red or orange should cover the grey primer just fine, provided neither is a metallic nor candy/transparent color. If the paint break line is straight for the most part (no tight radius curves), I would mask the bottom half, apply the red/orange, then apply the black after masking the red/orange off. After the black is dry, lightly sand down (with very fine 1200 grit or finer) any ridge at the paint break line, apply clear coats over the entire body, then polish it out if you wish.

You could hear those tires humming a mile away if they were real. I've never seen any street legal tires with that aggressive of a tread.

You can build a decent looking engine just by using the kit engine as is, but you need to put in some work to make it look more realistic. As suggested, always get as perfect a match between the engine block and/or transmission halves as possible when gluing them together. I always remove the locating pins on the one half, then sand both mating surfaces flat to ensure lots of contact area. Once it's all dry, sand so both sides are even and the joint disappears. You'll need to get into the crevices with some sandpaper or a Flexi-File, but it makes a huge difference when that seam is gone from sight. Try rounding out the starter motor if it's cas integrally with the engine block, as on Monongram's 1/24 muscle car kits. It'll never look as nice as a separate piece, but it can be made to look less blob-like. Round or bevel the inside edges of the fan belt slightly- this visually thins the belt. Thin the bottom edge/lip/flange of the valve covers. Place the vlave covers on a sheet on sandpaper on a flat surface, apply light, even pressure, and remove some material until the flanges are of a more realistic scale thickness. If you attach the cylinder heads to the block and find the heads are a bit too far apart, remove a bit of material from the bottom edge of the intake manifold and check to see if the gaps are now closed. If the heads are too close together, remove some material from each side of the intake manifold until you get a good fit. Test fit the mounting points for the kit-supplied radiator hoses early on- these are a known "not-so-exact" fitting piece on older kits, so you can fine tune both ends as necessary for a better fit before you're ready to glue them in place. De-chrome that alternator! Unless it's a show rod, odds are good the alternator is supposed to be cat aluminum, not chromed. Test fit the exhaust manifolds, and if there is precious little suface area for gluing the exhaust manifolds to the cylinder heads, apply one coat of paint to the engine assembly, then scrape away the paint from the exhaust manifold mounting surface and glue on the exhaust manifolds. This will ensure a tight bond between the two, and you'll probably be bumping the exhaust maifolds when the engine is installed, when the ehaust stsyem is assembled, and so on. A solid, secure bond between the exhaust manifolds and cylinder heads saves a lot of trouble during later assembly. If you're building a kit like the Monogram/Revell '70 Challenger T/A with its huge air cleaner assembly, don't sweat the carburetor nor distributor detail, as you can't see either one once the air cleaner is installed. As suggested above, research where the spark plugs are located in the engine you're replicating. HEMIs and SOHCs are easy and obvious, others may not be.

It looks like the Monogram bucket T kit might have a set of lanterns which would work for you.

The Monogram Boot Hill Express kit might be able to supply the lanterns you seek, Jody, and the Revell '32 ford Sedan (Saints series, Street Demons series, orginal Orange Crate, etc.) kit has a set of cycle fenders.

Hmmmm....

Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous... ...but I don't see a Protect-O-Plate inside the owner's manual in the glovebox. Seriously, though, it looks beautiful. Very clean and well-detailed without appearing overdone. Nice work.

Click HERE for a photo evolution of this kit.

Maybe the AMT '69 Pontiac Firebird 400/Trans Am kit, too.

I think we all go through this at one time or another. When I get burned out, I trade some things away to build something else that excites me more. Finding that "new" thing can be tough, but it eventually it comes to me, the fire is re-fueled, and I'm building again. I have no problem trading away or selling kits or projects which once really inspired me, nor do I worry if getting rid of them is a mistake because I might be re-inspired to continue on them in the future. That can be a problem for some, and I think is one reason people tend to get many projects started, but few completed. I'd rather have a single project on my desk which I'm 100% into building than a few which I'm only partially committed to.

I can't wait to see what else you create in 1/16th scale. I humbly suggest a BB Chevy w/single 4-bbl intake, exhaust manifolds, a Muncie 4-speed, a also set of American Torque Thrust D wheels. I am really looking forward to seeing how quickly RP technology takes off, and it looks like the four of you are off to a great start (I just read Gregg's article in the November '09 issue of MCM a few days ago). I'll be honest and say price is going to be my main deterrent from buying, but I know that will decrease in time and as more subjects are available which I'm interested in (especially in 1/16th scale) I know I'll evnetually see something that I am powerless to resist.

No, the current version is true to the orignal release with red tinted 'glass', molded in orange, and the 3/4 roof length sunroof panel.

I agree that close isn't good enough, and I'm all in favor of someone doing a grille correctly, so that it accurately replicates the 1:1 grille. That said, if someone can't see or notice the basic shape differences between two grilles in 1:1 scale, how could they accurately replicate those differences on a 1:25th scale grille? I can't see any detail in the pics you posted, so there's really nothing to nitpick.

Humilty is clearly not one of your stronger traits. Don't feed the trolls and accept the fact that there will always be someone on the internet who doesn't like what you build or is comfortable telling you exactly what they think of your builds. Are they right? I don't know, but tooting one's own horn from the top of the mountian sure makes one an easy target to knock off. Listen to those who critique your builds- they're trying to help you build better models, and that's the goal, right?