Lobo2me

Really appreciate the kind comments! Thank you

Fantastic Cobras! What a wonderful tribute and I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your brother. From one prostate cancer survivor to another and to anyone who sees this, early detection is the LIFE SAVER.

Another great job, Claude. Your passion for this hobby really comes through on this baby, and one can clearly see how much fun you had engineering and fabricating every detail and fitting it all into this amazing Lakester. Well done!

Very well done, and thanks for the history lesson. The Mercury GT, well, truthfully, the Ford GT40 is my all-time favorite race car.

Nice! Wholly concept car Batman....BAM, POW, SPLAT!

Nicely done, Steve. I get what you are saying about learning curves and honing and sharpening one's modeling skills. Fifty-plus years after I built my last model as a kid (probably around 15 or 16), I decided to recreate a vehicle that played a massive role in my life. It would require more than one relatively expensive vintage model kit. I found a few online and prepared to take on the challenge. But before attempting that, I figured I had better knock the dust off and improve my latent half-century-old modeling skills. So, before the important one, I decided to practice by building the most significant cars in my life, like a famous car introduced the year I was born, the first car I learned to drive, the first car I wrecked, etc. All that reignited my passion for this hobby, which I enjoy more than ever today!

Nothing "poor" about this bunch. I particularly like the Simca 1000. Well done all!

Very creative, imaginative, and well done! Looks like you could have driven this baby right out of Exner's studio.

Hi David, I feel the same way about "drifting" and am not a big follower. However, I appreciate all forms of racing. You should hear the discussions I have defending the NHRA with my F1 buddies. They don't have a chance! Thanks for the kind words.

Nothing says cool better than a well-done 32 High Boy! Beautiful paint!

Nicely done! I think I like it with the top even more!!!!

A few months ago, I took a deep dive into the parts bin and came up with a 1937 Ford Pickup cab, bed, radiator grill, and headlights. That would be a great place to start my next model project, but what kind of vehicle would it be? Looking for inspiration, I hopped online and stumbled upon several outrageous videos of Joey Logano doing smokey high-speed drifts in his fantastic new Drift Truck. And I was blown away by many other extraordinary renditions of Factory Five Racing’s ‘35 Hot Rod Pickup Truck. That’s it! I’ll build my version of a wild and crazy Drifter. With a few significant alterations, my salvaged ’37 would be perfect. First, I got to work on chopping the roof four scale inches, then shortened the bed by about ten and gave it suicide doors. I constructed the tube chassis with a full roll cage from different diameters and thicknesses of styrene rod, sheet, and diamond plate. Up front, the Indy-style suspension has in-board coil-overs and is posable, and in the rear is a custom four-link suspension. And, of course, this beast has to roll on low-profile, high-performance wheels and tires (from Lindberg’s ’38 Custom Ford Van kit). I returned to the parts bin for an appropriate motor and found a Chevy V8 block. Plug wires leading to Gen V LS ignition coils under vintage valve covers were added, and I put Hilborn velocity stacks on top. Tube headers send the noise rearward, and coolant lines and additional accessories make it look like a vintage drag motor. Interior features include EVO Racing seats with 5-point racing harnesses, a scratch-built shifter and drift brake, and a fire extinguisher bottle nestled between the seats. I modified the kit dash by adding toggle switches and a PE instrument bezel and mounted custom loud, whoa, and snatch (clutch) pedals to the driver’s side diamond plate firewall. Flat sheet stock with simulated tuck & roll upholstery finish off the inside door panels. Lessons learned: I should have taken better photos during the construction phase to capture the high points of the cramped interior. Dual racing radiators (like Logano’s truck) keep things cool even at negative MPH and are flanked by Semi-truck-style exhaust stacks. An Optima battery and a Le Mans-style gas cap are also in the bed. Rear shock towers protrude through the diamond plate bed to provide adequate travel. Various Tamiya and Testor’s paints and other materials and finishes are used throughout. The body is finished in Tamiya TS19 Metallic Blue over TS76 Metallic Silver, topped off with TS13 Clear. Molotow chrome pen and Bare Metal foil appear in a few small places. Custom “High Plains Drifter” Inkjet decals are applied to both doors and the tailgate, complete with Clint’s silhouette holding his trusty Colt revolver. All comments are welcome. Thanks for looking!

Hi Thomas; Firstly, Thomas, I must say your work on the Hasegawa 767B is truly impressive! The paint, decals, and photography are all top-notch. I'm particularly grateful for the tip on the Revell chrome spray. I've already ordered a can, and I'm eagerly looking forward to giving it a shot. Meanwhile, on another note, last year, I got the bug to finally build a tribute to the 1991 Le Mans-winning Mazda 787B-002. I was lucky enough to see it race that year, but full disclosure: I could only attend the first six hours of Le Mans because of work commitments. The Paris Airshow always gets in the way, one way or another, every other year. Back to the build. At the time, I couldn't find the Tamiya model, so I ordered a Hasegawa kit and a set of Studio27 decals. I figured I could make the necessary modifications. But while the Hasegawa was in transit, I found the Tamiya model. When the Hasegawa arrived, I decided to build that as practice while waiting for the other kit to arrive, but with a different made-up paint scheme. It was a good exercise to learn a lot about the finicky decals. Then, it was time for the 1991 winner. I tried to replicate the engine compartment and capture all exterior details accurately. I thought I'd share both here for your amusement. All the best, Steve

Nice interior and under the hood detail! Very well done!!!!

What creativity, imagination, and superb craftsmanship! Well done....and way cool!!!

Excellent! If the blue one took home a 2nd place ribbon, I'd think the Willow Green build should garner a 1st place trophy. Well done!

I had a 1:1 1989 Mk VII, but the paint was Shadow Blue, and the motor was nothing like the gorgeous supercharged DOHC Mod V8 you stuffed in there. However, the stance was similar after the airbag suspension failed... a couple of times! Nice job!

Nice! Your attention to detail (like the underhood insulation) and fit and finish are well done. Good job, and thanks for sharing.

I read issue #222 and enjoyed revisiting this outstanding model here. Well done Tim and thanks for the historical information.

You should build many more based on a review of your first Gasser effort. Very nicely done in all respects!

Nice save!

The Mustang's rear glass was flat enough to be replaced by a stiff piece of Lexan (or some other plastic material) from a food container package. The glue bomb body was beyond repair. Thanks for the offer, and I will be sure to reach out if I get stumped on another project. All the best

I bought four IMC kits online about five years ago. I paid between $39-$55 each. I was only able to salvage enough to build two accurate examples of my 1:1 Avenger GT12 because of damage and neglect. One box only contained an unusable glue-bomb body and a few parts. Tires in two of the other three kits had melted into the rear windows, and one body was severely warped. It was a good test!

Needed the extra clearance of the '67 427 hood, plus I like how it looks over the '63. Thanks for the great comments

Excellent! Very accurate, faithful personal recreation of a particular vehicle. Well done!