OldNYJim

I'd be really interested to hear how that works out Jon!

Thanks for all the nice comments everyone! I spent most of this week messing with the front end - I think I made each part of this 6 times or more by the time I was semi-happy with it... I started messing with some brass pieces and some styrene rod... I couldn't figure out a reliable way to get stubs in there though without doing some serious engineering...so I tried a few plastic variations until I got something I was happy with: I'm going for a suicide front end with a single coil, hence the round 'cup' part in the middle of the axle. Added steering arms and some bolt detail, and made a coil spring from some wire from Michaels: I couldn't work out what to do about suspension linkages...I knew what I was going to do to mount the spring, but using round bar to connect the axle to the frame left and right didn't really excite me. I was looking at these toy grenades on my desk tho... And a little razor-sawing later and I've removed the pieces I needed... Something like this! I like it! A quick mock up, for motivational reasons... Next up - the rear axle - more soon!

I wonder if it's just one of their standard clea coats?

How weird to see Bensonhurst mentioned on here - just moved there myself! Good luck with the move, congrats!

Another of my favorites:

One of my favorites:

The Coffin Corner showrod board is having a group build for the recently-reissued Rommel's Rod kit, whereby you have to build a modified version of the kit. I had an idea in mind, and after I finished restoring an original a few weeks ago I was eager to get started on this second version. First up, hacking up the body. A LOT All I'll actually be using from the stock body is the cowl, but I wanted to use the remaining pieces to mock up what I had in my head before making it again from scratch. I'm thinking something like this: Not pretty, but enough to get me started with mocking stuff up anyway...my idea is to keep the long wheelbase of the original, but to have a stretched out front and that little tub body on the back, like so: I wanted to add some detail to the engine, but the kit block has most of that stuff molded in, so I scratchbuilt a new one from styrene sheet, along with a new oil pan: I picked out some wheels and tires so that I could start to make frame, and separated the kit trans so I could use that with my new block: I wanted to use the kit front wheels, but modify them to be skinny little drag style wheels, so I needed some tires: Found this pack of o-rings at the Chinese 99 cent store, which should work great! Then, I used my hacked-together body to make a tape template, which I transferred to brass: Bent it to shape over some round bar to get nice rounded corners: And then attached it to the kit cowl (which I wasn't about to attempt re-making with my limited brass-working skills): And that's about where we're at right now...more soon!

Thanks for the advice fellas! I picked up some new tips and accomplished what I was trying to do!

Great video Bill! Thanks! I'm thinking of making a simple t-tub style body with some brass sheet - the sides are flat, the rear is flat but there will need to be a curve where the sides meet the rear. Anyone got any good tips on shaping a curve into flat sheet like that? Aside from annealing it, should I be bending the sheet over a piece of bar, say, to get a curve in one action, or maybe tapping and shaping slowly to gradually get the shape I want with a hammer or similar? Tips on annealing at home would be helpful too...is that a job my oven can maybe do somehow?

I'd be interested to hear more tips and tricks for working with sheet brass if anyone else has anything to add!

I had a few projects here that needed engines and other various parts and just picked up these kits just for the multiple engines! I’m sure I’ll find some other useful bits in there too for my various stalled builds here

Some great tips here, thanks everyone!!

Ohhh, that's a good tip Brad! Thanks for the suggestion! That bed looks GREAT!

I made a little wooden desk to replace the plastic one that comes in the Rommel's Rod showrod kit - I figure nothing looks more like wood than wood, right? I'm trying to darken it up before I weather it with some washes and stuff...anyone have any ideas of what will work to stain it? No idea what the wood is, unfortunately...it's something I got from a hobby store at SOME point, and it's harder than balsa but more than that I'm not sure. Any ideas on what I can use to stain this without buying something especially? Coffee maybe? Soy sauce? Bonus points if you have a picture example too...I couldn't find much of relevance via a search

That looks amazing George! Are the tire marks airbrushed, or does the can of compressed air give a clue on how you did it somehow?

I guess I was saying “look out for these things - they might have something that you can use for a build” - but I like your idea too!

So, recently I've been making a special effort to check out every one of those 25-cent vending machines that have little toys and knick-knacks that they dispense in those little bubble-shaped capsules. They're outside every corner store, bodega, launderette and barber shop in NY...your mileage might vary depending on where you live, but they look like this: Usually they don't contain anything super interesting, but I've found a couple of cool ones since I've started to stop and take notice of them more. One on my block has these really cool little plastic grenades - they'd make a cool cartoon-y looking shift knob for a build, maybe a center section for an axle, or maybe a part for a 1/8th build or something? I spotted these ones yesterday too - they're a little tub of fruit flavored slime...I guess for kids to throw on the ceiling or at each other or something? ? I like building showrods, and I can kinda see some potential for these to make a cool rear tire of some sort! They consist of a little pot with a lid, and an outer ring piece that fits snugly around them: I'll keep my eye out for more, there's probably a thousand of these machines just in Brooklyn, but it's definitely worth carrying a few quarters in your pocket if you have these capsule machines where you live! Best thing is, the capsules they come in would make a great bubbletop too!

Yup! You only need a small quantity of the dye in the mix for it to work, usually but it works great!

Don't try this at home, kids

Haha, this made me laugh! I can picture exactly what you mean too! Today's irk: the (admittedly temporary) air mattress in our new apartment lasted precisely a month before deciding it prefers to be UN inflated all the time. Sleeping on the floor until we get a replacement isn't super fun

This is great advice, yes! Always worth bearing in mind. A paint booth will be a GREAT investment, and a fold-up one is a great idea if I can find a spot for it. I'm sure I have enough bad habits already that my "delicate" young lady will appreciate me not adding any other peculiar smells to the ambiance of her nice new apartment Luckily ventilation is good there, so I can minimize the health risk by opening windows and airing the place out after shooting even 'less-unsafe' stuff like acrylic - and hopefully keep future-wife happy long enough to have her still be eventual-wife

It's easy to be like "urgh, that's awful"...but if that guy said "wanna drive this?" I'd be in the cab before he'd finished asking

New place is on the ground floor - I did think of a spray booth though, yeah! Good thinking!

A Discord server doesn't mean a place to go argue - it's like a chat room.

That interior is gorgeous - super clean building!