Spooker

Nice job on that old kit, magicmustang! The Etzel kit that OldNY Jim posted above is a USAC Dirt Champ Car (gorgeous kit, by the way, one of his best), not a midget. I'll try to dig out one of mine and take a pic or two.

The late Chris Etzel did a resin and white metal midget kit in his "Speed Classics" line. They came with a great decal sheet to do multiple cars, maybe 8 different ones if memory serves. I have two in my stash somewhere. The Revell kits are a full detail kit while Chris' were curbside, but super accurate as all his kits were. The Etzel midgets pop up on e-Bay occasionally for $75-100.

Just my 2 cents. My main gripe with the old Aurora kit and its reissues is the fact that the leading edge of the nose only has TWO nostrils rather than three. I have never seen a pic of a 250 GTO with two nostrils. Otherwise a pretty good kit, especially considering its age. I think I would go with the Fujimi with aftermarket wheels, tires and decals.

Czech company (Smer) had the molds last I knew. They re-issued the Talbot and Alfa Romeo maybe 20 years ago. With some P/E wire wheels, modern techniques and paint, the old Merit kits can look pretty nice. I've got a Merit Gordini on my bench now, going to be Fred Wacker's 1953/54 GP car. He was involved in the accident that ended the street course racing in Watkins Glen in 1952. Interesting guy.

I can relate to 90% of the things mentioned, either tools or materials! I was also a model railroader and slot car guy (HO, still am) and learned to solder and wire controllers, control panels and layouts. I used tons of the Testors square bottles, still have quite a few, some with 12 cents price on them that are still good! One tool not mentioned that I still use with those pesky square bottles (and others) is a nutcracker, the pliers kind, to open the dried on caps, works like a charm. Fun thread!

Those appear to be the 1/32 scale version, geared towards the slot car guys. The 1/24-1/25 sets didn't have the rollbars and steering wheels on the trees. These days e-Bay is your friend when it comes to finding figures, whether they are new, 3d printed or vintage.

Pretty happy with the paint on this AMT '66 Buick Modified Stocker. Tamiya Green and Yellow out of the spray cans, MCW Lime thru my airbrush, first use of the air brush in 20 years. Kit decals and Future. A little "battle damage" on the nerf bars. Will post more of this one in Under Glass soon.

I've had good luck using lacquer thinner to degrease resin bodies and parts. Most resins can tolerate at least a short exposure to thinner. Of course, always test first! A quick rinse in thinner, then a thorough wash with a dish detergent with lemon and a warm water rinse.

Thanks, everyone! Glad to be here! See my post in 1:1 Reference Photos for the real thing.

Just posted a pic of my version of "Frankie" in my intro post. I REALLY like the shading/highlighting you did on his clothes. I'll have to work on that on my next figure!

Thanks, Mike, good idea. Easy to reverse or modify if it doesn't look right. I did something like that as a kid with a fire extinguisher, just didn't remember!

Excellent build! Neat idea for the CF, I'll have to try that. I'm glad McLaren has gone back to orange cars, any other color for them seems wrong!

Hey Rich, I felt bad not bringing all my F1 kits to the last swap, but then again, I think you are the only guy that even looks at them!

First pic is me at 18 with my 1st car, '66 Chevelle body on '57 frame rails. Built by me during senior year lunch hours and finished over the summer after graduation. A tank, great first car, couldn't hurt it! Handled like a tank, too! Next 2 pics are the next chassis with two different bodies over 4-1/2 years. The car had some serious offset, tube chassis from bellhousing back (per the rules), and kept getting lighter. The white Camaro body had front aluminum front fenders, trunk lid and doors fabbed by me, with only hand tools. Long pause due to marriage, kids, jobs, life in general (32 years, to be exact). Then in 2012 I met a guy I knew, retired hobby shop owner, who had a vintage modified, was unhappy with his driver, so we struck a deal. I would maintain the car in exchange for the drive, he would pay the bills. Sweet deal, right? First race with him, we missed warm-ups (32 years since racing, remember?), I went out cold in the heat, did OK, then about 6 or 7 laps into the feature, the motor went BANG going into turn one. So, I had to rebuild a motor. Went on to win a few races for him, all the while working on my own vintage car. Here is my first vintage ride: Now here is a pic of the REAL car I replicated for my vintage modified (again, with only hand tools, an old Monkey Ward AC welder and oxy-acetylene torch - I am nothing if not old school). A car I saw at the first racetrack I attended, maybe 11 or 12 years old. Car really stood out in a field of home built coupes and sedans: Finally, my ride since 2018. Won its first race and last race (so far) and a fair number in between. 1969 IH Scout frame, first generation Gremlin body, 355 SBC, Holley 2bbl, 1959 Ford pickup front axle, Chevy short 3 speed and 1970's Frankland quick change. Had a couple of surgeries over the last two years that have prevented me from doing any racing. Hope to get back at it this coming summer.

Another kit that suffered a cruel fate at my then young hands. Picked up a re-issue and some aftermarket decals and tried to do it justice this time around. Still trying to think of a good way to do some clouds over the globe.

Hello everyone. Joined here a few years ago but never participated. With the demise of the Randy Ayers board, I've joined a couple of other forums but a few days ago, I thought of this one and tried to log in. Bingo, my old account was still valid! So here I am. I recognize quite a few names from other places, Ayers and the Short Track Forum mostly. Hi Rich, didn't see you at the last southern tier swap meet! Anyway, I used to be a dedicated race cars only modeler, but now I'll tackle whatever appeals to me. Figures, a ship or two, space stuff (both real and fictional), anything interesting. I'm retired, but as I was warned by many that preceded me, I am busier than ever. So be warned, I build VERY slowly! To top it all off I built a 1:1 vintage dirt modified to race, which takes up way too much time and money. So don't expect any long, detailed WIP's from me, at least not right away. I've really enjoyed browsing the great builds on here, not sure I can compete, but I'll try. Here is a small sample of a couple of things: My take on the old Edmunds Super Mod: Aurora re-issue Frankenstein's Monster: Sonney Seamon Asphalt Pinto Mod: