Wolf

Yeah Dave, It’s always the simple stuff that gets us. I wish you quick healing Dave. Then back to the Dart and the Bug. Cheers, Wolf

Judas H Priest Dave! Please tell me it wasn't while you were removing the unnecessary voltage regulator from the fan housing? I once had an Xacto knife roll off my bench and bury the blade into the top of my foot. Definitely not as bad as your injury. Is there anything I can continue building on the Bug for you while you recover? ? What colour are you planning on doing your Bug in? Cheers, Wolf

Boy, you're not kidding it's cursed! What did you punch after the Dart hit the floor? ? Cheers, Wolf

Nice little 1300 Beetle engine. I’ve worked on a few of those (I mean a lot!) in a former lifetime. Dave, if I may make a suggestion? The voltage regulator attached to the fan housing should be removed. It already has a voltage regulator attached to the top of the generator so you only need one. Why Tamiya provide the kit with two is something of a mystery. Just fill in the hole left on the fan housing afterwards. The ‘66 Bug was the last year for the 6 volt electrical system too. I have this same kit in my stash and was going to build it as my first contribution to this forum. Somehow the ‘71 Hemi ‘Cuda called out louder! Cheers, Wolf

Boy, I don't know how old or new your BMF is but yours looks like it lays down perfectly. The stuff I have is relatively new Ultra Bright Chrome Foil. If I'm in an different room than my model and I sneeze the stuff falls off if it even stuck on to begin with. As I said before, Beautifully done Sir. I suspect though that factory fresh paint didn't look as good as yours. Cheers, Wolf

Beautifully done Sir! Cheers, Wolf

Thanks John, I’m not sure what colour the other exported ‘Cuda was but this one is the one and only in Winchester Grey. If I’m not totally mistaken it’s now back in the States. It’s just a gorgeous looking car. Cheers, Wolf

Hi Joe, It’s not really all that hard to sort out the headlight issue. It has been a bit time consuming though as I’ve deviated from my original plan plus I’m doing the modifications for two kits. The other thing I know needs attention is the poor kit supplied steering column which is moulded integral with the dash. It would also have been nice if Revell had supplied the option of having the Rallye instrument cluster as well. There’s always something to do but I’ll address these things as I work my way through. Cheers, Wolf

Thanks Carl, I’ve used theses CMT headlights on a couple of occasions before. They are really really nice and they make a big difference in the look of a rather simple detail. If I remember right the CMT headlights #24106 are slightly larger in diameter and may have worked a wee bit better. Cheers, Wolf

Thanks Dan, Yes, Winchester Gray, black interior with a bit of wood grain and chrome trim, and black billboard patches. Just like this one below. I’m also going to do a Coupe in Red with white billboards to compliment this one. At least that’s the plan……? Cheers, Wolf

Ouch! The outer package suggests a more aggressive adhesive but clearly that’s not at all a good thing. Wow. That’s really disappointing. I would do what you suggested and start over but what a PITA! Cheers, Wolf

Thank-you Keith. I’m hoping my Model Car Garage photo-etch bits, heater hoses, and spark plug leads arrive soon. Then I can cobble together more of a game plan for this build. I’m also waiting for Joseph from Fireball to contact me as I have a number of his items on a “want list” as well. I have decals for it already but may have to order more. Should be fun. Cheers, Wolf

Humble beginnings, While waiting for some aftermarket items to arrive I’ve been browsing through the forums here and searching the ol’ inter web for images of the real deal. I’m trying to get a sense of where I want to go with this build. It’s been a very long time since I’ve built a car, not counting Tamiya’s big Africa Twin motorcycle, so looking at references and my Revell kit I’ve decided there’s a few obvious enhancements I can make. The first thing is the headlights on this kit. Aside from the odd distance between the high and low beam lights the lenses supplied in the kit are awful. To replace ‘em I’ll be using these: These lenses are convex on the front and flat on the back which gives them a very authentic reflective look. They come in a number of different sizes depending on their application. To fit them in the kit headlight housings is really quite easy. The lenses are just a bit smaller in diameter than the housing they’ll fit in to so I took advantage of the holes in the back of the kit part and used wood skewers to adjust the depth they sit. Here’s what I mean in the above photo. I had to sand the skewers diameter down but just enough to have a nice friction fit. The lens was dropped in place and then the exact height set permanently by adjusting the skewer length and securing them with some thin fast setting CA. The lenses will be permanently affixed with 5 minute epoxy giving me lots of time to ensure they’re centred and aligned properly. The image above is really too large but you get the idea. Once the lenses are installed the outer rim of the housings now become the headlight retaining ring. I’ll move the low beam headlight slightly inward and the high beam headlight slightly outward and use a larger brass tube thinned at it’s outer edge to become the black bezel surrounding the headlights. That should resolve the headlight position and size nicely. I also played around with the turn signal/park light assembly. Revell could have made this much easier if they had moulded what is supposed to be the lens in clear plastic! I used a couple of round burrs and drill bits to create the concave housing for the amber bulb. For the bulb itself I’m using an MV lens from the model railroad section. These are tinted a pale yellow but a small dab of Tamiya’s clear orange gets me what I’m after. I’ll make a mould of the chrome kit piece and use clear casting resin to make a new lens so I can retain the star shape on the lens face. Then I’ll drill a couple of small depressions on the lens face and fill ‘em with photo etch Phillips head screws for the fasteners. At least that’s my plan which should work out well. It’s a little difficult to see but the one side has been done, without the lens of course, and the opposite side remains untouched. I have a few things that need clearing off the work bench and some stuff to get in the mail before this project gets going but it feels good to have at least started. Cheers, Wolf (who loves his ‘Cudas but will likely never be able to afford one)

Nice! Hi Dave. Good ol’ scotch tape burnished over top the current decal on the air cleaner should make short work of removing the decal. If not that, you could always place the new decal directly over the old one. I’d just make sure they’re the same dimensions so wait until the new ones arrive. Got to love a big ol’ Hemi eh? Out of curiosity where did you source the alternator mounting bracket for the Hemi? I might need one like that. Regarding the BMF, yes, it takes a bit of practice to apply. If it’s an older batch it tends to loose it’s ability to stick. If it’s the new ultra bright chrome it’ll take wailing, gnashing of teeth, and lots of cuss words. I have an almost full sheet of the stuff and it’s essentially useless. The only thing it sticks to is the backing paper it came on. I’ll likely have to invest in BMF adhesive to make it work or toss the remainder. Cheers, Wolf

Hi Dave, These will help for the 383 emblem on the air cleaner. They give you quite a few nice engine compartment data plates as well. https://rayskits.com/detailupdecals/#uhanchor Cheers, Wolf

Ah, yes……. I know all too well about how things can move at the speed of life. Cheers, Wolf

Jason, Was this build ever completed? Based on these photos I’m looking to order Scale Finishes Winchester Grey for my own build of this kit. I also have the MCG photo etch set coming. I would love to see, if it indeed did get finished, how it came out. Cheers, Wolf

Spectacular! Love the colours on this car and that beautifully tinted windshield. Cheers, Wolf

Just out of curiosity, where did you get the ‘53 Buick Road Master body or was it a kit? That’s the first car my father owned when we came to Canada in 1960. Dark Green on the roof and light green on the body. I loved the waterfall grill and tons of chrome on the car. Cheers, Wolf

Nice paint job! The term “land yacht” certainly applies very aptly to a ‘60 Lincoln Continental. First time I’ve seen a model of this car and it’s impressive. Cheers, Wolf

Very Sharp! As a Pacific Northwest logging truck you’re going to have to get her real dirty unless, of course, she’s still brand new and hasn’t been in the bush yet. Recently I’ve been working on the Challenge Mixer kit. I’m building it for a friend who drove for Lafarge for more than 25 years. This current kit is definitely not as nice as I remember when I built the Kenworth many years ago. There hasn’t been one single part that hasn’t needed serious reworking. Not one! I have a rolling chassis now and started work on the exhaust when I finally walked away from the build. I will get back on it eventually but the condition of the exhaust parts, particularly the muffler and stack assemblies with moulded on heat shields, is so bad it’s barely good enough for the garbage bin. They don’t even assemble in to something that resembles a round cross section. I just bought some very nice looking aftermarket exhaust which has very nice mufflers, exhaust stack, mounting brackets, and PE heat shields. Good luck with the rest of your build. You either haven’t mentioned the condition of your kit or I got a really bad example. Cheers, Wolf (who’s just a wee bit further north from where you are).

Hi Tom, Yes, the Honda Africa Twin is the 1/6 Tamiya kit and the Fokker Dr.1 is the 1/32 Meng kit. Cheers, Wolf

Wow, The first thing that strikes me is the absolutely gorgeous colour scheme. Then the angle of the photography that highlights the exquisite build and bone stock look of the car. Just sublime Sir! Cheers, Wolf

Pure magic Pascal! This build and Chris’ are an absolute joy to behold. Just WOW! Cheers, Wolf

Wow! That is simply drop dead gorgeous! Absolutely love what you’re doing Chris. Cheers, Wolf