OldNYJim

It’s due to economic inflation - you just don’t get as much for your money as you used to ?

Got this today - just a little fun kit to mess with...$8 on Amazon! These kits have AMT logos on the tires ? And, weirdly, a temporary tattoo! ?

Mainly for my own amusement (and to check everything will still fit where I imagined it would go) a quick mock up of the interior parts all together.

A $5 eBay find - I’ve been wanting to build one of these! Love those first generation Vipers! Anyone built one of these? I’d be interested to know if there’s anything to watch out for!

And one more little update, seeing as I’m working on this thing today - decided to make an aluminum dash (even though the kit came with two perfectly good ones AND I already made a third ??(. Used some photoetch details and some machined toggle switches (I figure this thing would need at least two switches - starter and main power maybe?) and a decal for the gauge i think this will look good with the wheel I did yesterday and those aluminum door panels. More soon, soon as I’ve done more!

Thanks for the kind words everyone! A couple of small updates - I’m at the stage where everything is waiting to be painted and then detailed...I picked up a resin battery as the kit didn’t have one (presumably because it would be hidden if I’d build this as the manufacturer intended anyway) and I’ll detail that this week and make a small aluminum tray for it to mount in...and I had the idea of doing a gas tank inspired by the old WW2 oxygen tanks that some of the bombers used to have - like this: I’m not trying to match it exactly as it’s going to be hidden right in the back of the car somewhere where all but the most inquisitive won’t see it anyway, but I liked the idea that maybe someone in a shop somewhere saw those and built something like it...this is it in progress...need to make some mounts and add lines and some more little details but it’s roughly how I imagined it should look anyway: I was also reading about old steering wheels, and how they would wrap them in string or tape, presumably to make them easier to grip, so I did something similar to mine with some Washi tape, with a couple of washes over the top to add some age and depth to it. I’m building this as if it was a modern build of an old style car (hence the paint being a bit shinier than it would have been, and no weathering of any of the parts really) but I wanted to do the wheel as if it had been on there forever and it had so much character and such a cool look that they left it on there without messing with it More soon, soon as I’ve done more!

Imagine THAT turning up at your house as a nine year old, and having to explain to your Mom what it's doing there

You know how sometimes a solution is so simple that you don’t even think of it? I guess this was one of those. I looked up LEDs for model lighting, lighting kits for sci-fi models, lighting kits for RC stuff...I absolutely should’ve just thought about under-cabinet lighting like these. Brilliant, thank you Ace! Embarassadly yours, Jim ?

So, I had an idea for a little display with a model inside a plastic case - something like the pic attached (excuse my poor technical drawing skills ?). It would probably be similar size to a regular kit box I guess - but I’d like to build something into the top part of the box to light the model nice and bright. I’m a pretty competent solderer so rigging up some LEDs to a little battery pack doesn’t worry me too much - but I’d be interested if anyone knows of any suppliers who sell something ready-to-use along the lines of what I’m thinking. Does anyone have any experience with this kind of project? i did a search of the forum and found some useful info about lighting kits for particular models but not so much about lighting a display case like this...

This past week’s sightings from in and around Brooklyn, NY

I’m usually just SURPRISED when a plan comes together ?

I’m with Steve on the Elmer’s - our local Walgreens had a back to school special on all the varieties a couple of weeks ago so I picked up the clear and purple (goes on purple, dries clear) varieties to see if any of the other varieties work any better than the white stuff (which admittedly works pretty well for me anyway)

This looks great already! I love it! Can’t wait to see more!

Another little update, seeing as I’m on a roll apparently - I love when a load of parts start coming together suddenly! Got the door panels made; I used some aluminum from the lid of a tin of nuts, added some brass rivets, made some door handles (meant to be reminiscent of those on a ‘33 Ford, although not an exact replica) and added catch straps to stop the doors swinging open and dinging that freshly polished paint ?

Thanks buddy! Next job was working on the seat...shot it with Tamiya brown acrylic, added some belts made of medical tape, and an adjustment lever for the side.

A little update on this one - got the body decalled and cleared - pretty happy with this finish after polishing it out!

I was running one, just because it's enabled by default on every site I visit, but knowing that it brings in some cash for the site I've turned it off now! I don't mind the ads at the bottom of the page in the slightest - the ones at the top kinda disrupt the flow for me, personally, but happy to help pay for the site by doing my little bit!

The Li’l Dog Catcher comes with a chrome dog bowl, a cartoony/looking dog and a fire hydrant! I shot the hydrant in the same candy Red I used for the frame, added a model-railroad bolt on the top and some scale chain on mine

Humidity last week when I painted was 80-something percent, and today my Alexa told me it was only 50%, so I gave it a shot and laid down three almost-perfect coats of clear. Makes a HUGE difference, I've realised this past week or so

If your weather's anything like NY's weather right now, that's probably due to high humidity...I shot a few spoons the other day to see if it was dry enough in our apartment with the air con for the paint to dry nicely but it blushed and went flat pretty quickly. Cool project though! I like it!

So, I'm doing a series of the AMT/MPC 'Li'l' showrods, and I've already finished the Li'l Hot Dogger and the Li'l Gasser and the next one on my shelf that was calling out to me was the Li'l Mixer. I got this used on eBay YEARS ago and never did much more than give it a quick look over and put it back in the box - it's one of the reissues from a decade or so ago: I started messing with it a little and noticed that a bunch of engine parts are missing (not ideal but not the worst thing...), but also one of the rear axles. That's a bigger deal seeing as it would be a pain to scratchbuild one and have it chromed to match the one I DO have...so it went back in the box for a few days. Then, I had an idea... What if we made the Li'l Mixer even Li'l-er! Haven't got much further than mock up yet and messing with parts - but I think I like it! The frame is scratchbuild and was meant to be a copy of the kit one so that I can make a Li'l Cashbox replica at some point (which uses the same frame and suspension as this kit)...but seeing as I was going to have to do some hacking and cutting and shutting and messing I kept the kit part and messed with the one I'd made. More soon, soon as I've done more!

A few cool (or at least interesting) sightings from around the neighb this past week...that black monstrosity actually drives around here regularly, and I suspect would have been towed if it were not for the cop badge in the window ?

Walgreens has all their Elmer’s glue for 69 cents right now - at least, the ones near me do. Works great on glass!

What a brilliant build - super fun! I LOVE it!!

Stunning work - I’ve really been enjoying watching this build come together!!