OldNYJim

My Taig lathe arrived! I got the basic Micro 2 starter kit, which comes in at a hair over $500 shipped - has enough to get started for a beginner, which is fine by me seeing as I don’t know what I’m doing ? It’s almost infinitely upgradable as my skills progress, but doesn’t cost the earth to get going with so I took a shot and hoped it would work for what I’m hoping to do... Some assembly later... And after doing my level best to get everything aligned nicely and figuring out what all the cutting bits are for and triple checking everything was tight, I fired it up and did some machining! I know this is kindergarten stuff to a lot of you seasoned machinists, but managed to make a little oil filter first time out without breaking anything or losing any fingers...success! Can’t wait to practice some more and start working some nice metal parts into my builds!

Oh wow, check out the resolution on those hexagons! Killer!

I started to collect them thinking the same thing...but then this post ruined that: ? I’d like to do the whole set as nicely detailed as Eric’s build there...I'm not quite the builder he is but I think a row of six of these nicely finished like his would be cool! Someone on Instagram had one they were using for painting too, so they could reposition whatever They’re painting easily. I can see this thing becoming invaluable to be before too long and I’ll wonder how I worked without one!

Got one of these circuit board holders from Amazon today - I’d seen other people use them and thought “meh, I’ve done this long without one”, but then the project I’m working on right now involves a bunch of Alclad’d parts that are going to be tough not to damage when I’m assembling them to the frame... Seems super study and well made for $11 - I’m happy! Also picked up a couple more of the MPC trike series - I’m planning on building all six at some point in the next year or two so I’m grabbing them now whilst they’re easy enough to find: And, whilst I was ordering stuff anyway, picked up some aluminum bar...ordered a lathe last week so I figured I should grab some material to make chips out of ?:

This is really cool - I love it! So the body is 3D printed? Is it for sale anywhere?

Bring on the pastel tones! ?

Nice work Dennis - I especially like the wiring loom! It’s coming together - can’t be too far off being ready for paint?

I just ordered a lathe last week if it’s any consolation...the dehydrator was MUCH cheaper ??. Thanks buddy! I feel like I’ve been messing with little bits of this thing all week and didn’t really have anything much to show for it, so here’s an update to prove I wasn’t asleep over here ?... Polished out the frame, added a fuel line and did an India Ink wash on some of the chrome bits to bring some detail out: I just ordered one of those circuit board holders that people are using to help with assembly - whichever way I’m going to assemble this frame there will be SOMETHING top or bottom that has Alclad on it, so being able to suspend it will be helpful whilst I get everything in place for good. Wired up the engine with a MAD distributor - need to get those plug leads sagging a little more but spent some time trying to get the routing neat for once: I hadn’t figured out what to use for brakes on the front OR rear yet - I think I settled on the nice drum backing plates from the old Monogram 32 Ford but I didn’t have any spares that weren’t earmarked for a future project so I’ve got a little RTV rubber mold setting up as we speak: Had the idea of mixing up some black embossing powder with gold, white and red flecks in it to add a little visual interest to the carpet in the interior: Pro tip: it doesn’t look good, don’t try it ? Stripped it off and laid down a nice neutral gray instead: It’s still drying in this pic, hence the dark spots, but it set up ok after a few hours... And finally, inspected the clear on everything I painted last weekend and wasn’t 100% happy with a couple of little bits on the fenders, so buffed them down, reshot them with another coat of enamel and they’re just on a timeout in the dehydrator until they learn not to have imperfections next time: More soon - hopefully something more interesting ?

What can you tell us about the quality of the detail on this one Pat? Seems like it’s a high parts count for 1/32 scale!

Not the same as what? I was just pointing out that they’re not NOT putting Maltese crosses on the decal sheets for these trikes - so the Black Max / Torque Trike might have them too

The Milk Trike from the same series has some on the decal sheet, so...

These cars are so pretty - it makes me think of if Fiat made a Miata! I’ll be watching!

Those seats look great! I’m envious of your 3D modelling skills! I’ve been doing 2d industrial design (mostly in Illustrator) for YEARS, but never really messed with 3D stuff properly. Guess I should start!

Wow, what an impressive build! And aside from the obvious craftsmanship displayed here, the overall look of the car is GREAT. Love it!

Looking great so far! I've been collecting the whole set of these to build this year - I'll be following along!

Awww yiss! ?

I built a couple of Revell 29 kits last year and really enjoyed them - I did one of each variation, the Highboy on the Deuce frame and the channeled version over the stock Model A frame. I wanted to do a box stock (ish) version of each before getting too crazy and changing everything around too much...but now I’ve done that I think I’d like to change everything around too much and build something more interesting ? Swap the engine out, add a bunch of detail, make it a Highboy but use the Model A’s frame instead of the more commonly used 32 frame - I’ve got a bunch of ideas. A bunch of old traditional parts, some crazy paint scheme with flames and sparkles and glitter and fades and airbrushing...I wanna build something FUN! 60s showcar style with all the bells and whistles - a real eye-catcher. It doesn’t hurt that over Christmas I read every build thread on the site by @John Teresi and @Impalow (two of my favorite builders) so I’m feeling pretty inspired...not that I’m going to hit the levels those guys reach, but it gave me some brain-fuel anyway. Quick mock-up with some parts I pulled out of my stash: I like the idea of running a Flathead, and getting this thing nice and low, but making it look like it’s still running a stock Model A frame without the body being channeled. That’ll require some trickery to get it decently low - I don’t mind the rear being zeed but I wanted those rails to look standard and un-modified in the front through to the rear arches at least. They WILL be modified, but I’m going to try and hide that as best I can. First up, the rear - kit frame front and what I think is an older Revell Model A frame rear in the pic below. To get the back down lower, and because I wanted to, I’ll be swapping out the rear end for something with a buggy spring...and likely some kind of Quickchange but we’ll get to that when we get to it: Some cutting and glueing later - this will help a LOT with getting the back down further. Then, on the front, rather than zee at the cowl like I would normally like to do I made the cut as far forward as possible - I’m hoping once the wheels and suspension and grill are on there this thing will sit a bunch lower but it won’t be quite so obvious HOW I got it that low: Next up, went parts-digging and dug this out of my stash - I guess it’s an AMT Flathead...in fact @Dennis Lacy and a few others on my Instagram gave me some pointers as to exactly what year it represents which will help with detailing it but mostly I liked what Indian Larry called the “gizmology” of it - Flatheads look so good and I love how this one looks in front of this Revell body: Plenty of work to do before I can even get a real mock-up together, but it’s a start - thanks for looking!

I think if you’re not used to doing it, I’d take the slower but safer route before bringing out the motorized tools...rather slow and steady than ruin something. That said, if you feel confident in your Dremelling skills - have at it!

Nah, I just misted it on until the coverage built up, over three or four coats of their own primer, no less. It still attacked the Revell body I was trying to paint at the time and ruined it - they may have changed their formula since then, but I used their products and followed the instructions to the letter and it still did the same as Kurt experienced above so that kinda soured me on ever trying that again...

I’ve never understood why these companies specializing in paint for models would mix it with strong enough solvents to damage model plastic. I tried Zero paint from Hiroboy once and it was the same deal - even with multiple primer coats as soon as I got a decent coverage of color it attacked the surface of the plastic.

I wanted to give this thread a little bump after seeing a few comments about their new year’s modeling resolutions. Two of mine, and part of my goal to keep trying to improve my craftsmanship, are to further improve my painting technique and to learn some basic machining. To that end, I started using a dehydrator recently for drying my paint - not only for purposes of speed but also quality of finish...I watched a Donn Yost video where he mentioned that they also help level out orange-peely paint to a nice gloss by helping the paint flow out a little with heat, giving you a better starting point for the polishing process. Seems to be working for me so far! And, I’m about to pull the trigger on a little lathe setup...I’ve always admired people on here who make their own metal parts and I’d like to make a start on learning some of that process for myself. Anyone who’s looking to improve their craftsmanship and model building skills this year - I commend you! And thanks to all the builders who post inspiring work for those of us not at the same level to appreciate and learn from!

Meanwhile, my projects aren’t as cool as Bill’s, but I got inspired by this thread to think through what I really want to build this year - although my mental to-do list changes pretty frequently. SQUIRREL! Just started messing with number one on the list today, in fact!

??????? I REALLY hope there will be progress updates on both of those! ?

Is that the Splash paint etching into the plastic?

Thank you Steve! The woodgrain thing kinda IS easy, I can’t claim much credit for that...just need one of those fan brushes and give the suface a few light passes with just enough paint on there to make the grain pattern. Appreciate the kind words! Ohh - interesting! I like the idea of a matching boat! ?‍♀️ Thanks buddy! A little more progress today - first up masked that ‘wood’ from yesterday... ...and shot some black - came out ok I think! Not totally sold on the interior floor yet, need to mess with that some more... Meanwhile, the dehydrator finished it’s dehydrating so I could finish off the clear coating (it was easier just to do some parts in two stages). Got some pretty glossy clear laid down! The dehydrator definitely helps smooth this clear out and removes any orange peel before it gets to drying: And finally, shot some Spazstix on some of the mechanical bits...I’m still getting the hang of this stuff and I need to redo one of the headlights but I like it so far. No better or worse than Alclad I don’t think, just different! More soon!