The Modeling Hermit

To be fair, this would have been in the mid-sixties, probably 65-67. I would have been 11-13. The cars were called super modifieds at that time and came to our track about twice a year, usually at county fair time. Not all of the cars carried the fancy paint, but there were quite a few that did. One that I loved in particular was a medium blue, and when you looked down into the paint, it looked like thousands of diamonds. Under the track lighting, they were a mindblowing sight. I was told that it was crushed glass, and always assumed that I was told correctly. I can sure identify that the expense was over the top, but one sure noticed them.

Welcome to our addictive hobby of model truck building. This is a great kit to start with. Highway is right about the drom deck, and I'd say go for it.

This is a beautiful build of one of the coolest trucks ever made.

Thanks. I've requested information. My dates have changed to July. My son's deployment has been extended until late June.

It's a shame that Mercury will not get the response that Pontiac gets at it's passing. Mercury was another great car in it's time. It never did get the recognition of other makes, even though it turned out some pretty cars and some potent ones. I didn't have a lot of Mercurys; only two 69s and a 64, but they were good cars. Many people didn't like the styling of the 59s but to me they were beautiful. Mercury's fall comes from some of the same reasons as those of other companies; cookie cutter cars that are nothing but name badges. It's my personal opinion that Mercury died in the mid seventies. I'm sorry to see the name disappear, but not surprised. R.I.P. Mercury.

I miss Pontiac, but not what has been coming out lately. I owned two 55 Pontiacs, a 61, and a 73 Lemans. My family had several with the last being a 74 Catalina and 2 74 Lemans. There are a lot of people that didn't like the styling of the mid-seventies Lemans, but I always thout it was cool. The fifties through the mid-seventies cars are the ones that I will miss. After that things just progressed farther downhill to be nothing but name badging. That's just my opinion, and I don't want to demean somebody else's favorite.

"Big sleepers"...Maybe somebody's trying to compensate for something. LOL

I'm glad I'm not the only one that has to share his man cave with a model railroad.

I'm planning a trip down to Washington state this summer. I would like to do it in either May or June. Do any of you know any good Blues Festivals around the Seattle/Tacoma area? I have a son and daughter-in-law that live in Seattle and he will be off deployment (Navy) about then. My wife and I want to visit him, but tie it in with a blues festival. Thanks

Back in the late sixties, the Super Modified (pre-sprint car) racers came to my hometown a couple times a year. Many of them had crushed glass paintjobs. They stopped running as Knoxville got going strong. When and why did they start using the fancy paint, and when and why did they stop?

Greg thanks for posting this, otherwise I wooden have known about it.

Thanks for your service to the country. Be safe, and know that we're thinking about you and praying for you.

There are some options that you might consider. One is to contact the auto shop at the high school, also the college if they have one. I've done that before, but it usually ends with me doing some volunteer work for them. One year I was asked to help the first year students with their models; something that I really enjoyed. Another suggestion is to contact an auto repair shop. We know what the answer will probably be, but I have known some who were modelers themselves, so it's worth a try. Ask around at the local hobby shops. Often they will know somebody that would let you use their paintbooth. The next thing that I would suggest is to go with a water based paint. Those that I know of have to be airbrushed, but there might be some that I'm not familiar with. Many of these have no, or very minimal fumes, and can simply be sprayed into a cardboard box.

Jeff I did notice that site has some great reference shots for those needing car ideas for the racer's wedge.

American Industrial Truck Models and Spaulding Trading and Shipping are two that come to mind. Both are excellent to deal with.

On May 23rd it will be 30 years that I've been married to my fantastic wife.

I'm guessing that by over the top you mean strange or bewildering, which fits me. I once got carried away with a 53 Corvette.

A polishing kit can be found at most hobby shops. It contains 8 separate grits of "sandpaper" from 1800 to 12,000 grit. You can also get plastic polish. I have two different types. One is sanding cloths, the other is sanding sponges. I prefer to use the sanding sponges on windshields and glass. Both types can be used wet or dry, but I prefer to use them wet. Follow the instructions, and often they're actually better than new. I've been restoring old models for something like thirty years, and I'm still amazed how how well these things work.

Thanks for sharing this. The information leads to many variations.

Brian You've really captured the weathering well.

Johnny You are expected to get pictures for us. Some with that Freightshaker apart would be great for detailing models.

It's great to have the 61 Ford and 76 Caprice back. I want to turn the Caprice into a four door hardtop. I love those early 60s Fords, and that 61 Hardtop just had formal class. I'll be giving this one a four door sedan treatment.

When I start using a model car hood for a guitar pick, then I'll know that I crossed the line. Actually, I wonder if it would work.

I do a little weathering. One thing to remember is that some trucks have aluminum bodies or body parts, some have fiberglass, and some might be all steel. One of the problems with weathering is knowing which has what.

I'm doing the same thing with one that I'm working on. What I'll do is just use plastruct tubes with a metal wire down through it; in other words a piano hinge affect. That's simplified, but there are several tutorials for it. I'm thinking that there might be one on this forum.