roadhawg

Sorry 'bout the skin....good thing it's a "renewable resource", but very nice work so far. I think you've helped me decide what color to paint a Salt Flats '57 T-bird I put away a year ago....because I didn't know what color to paint it. Lol.

It could go in either class. The Custom class, however, would allow full detailing and aftermarket parts, where Box Stock would not.

I'm sorry, BMF is Bare Metal Foil, an adhesive backed aluminum foil used for chrome trim. http://www.bare-metal.com/bare-metal-foil.html Alclad is reasonably reflective, but to me looks more like highly polished aluminum than chrome. I'm not familiar with MGM prime powder, so I can't comment on that.

If you have the budget and the time, the first choice, by far, would be having the piece rechromed. Nothing the average modeler can do matches the brilliance of real chrome plating. Check with Chrome Tech USA, and expect a 4 week turnaround. The next choice, and something you can do yourself, is Alclad II Chrome. The back bumper on this '55 Chevy is Alclad, as are the wheels on this race car: There have been several posts here on how to use Alclad, so do a search. The parts need to be almost perfect for it to look right, though, and remember....spray with LOW pressure. A bit of a learning curve, but it's the next best thing to real chrome. Next in line would be a touch up using BMF. This '61 Ford bumper had a hideous mold line right in the side, so I sanded it down, polished it, and BMF'd just the side. It looks acceptable, but if you really get close, you can see the seam.... Last, and certainly least, is any brand of "chrome" paint. If you use it, be prepared for the part to look....well, like it was painted with chrome paint. If it's touching up a tiny sprue attachment point, you might get away with it, but for anything bigger, NOT recommended.

Very nice!!! I, too, owned a 6-banger Nova, and did a conversion awhile back to model it. I used a Trumpeter 6, but that '51 Chevy 6 looks pretty good in there. Great job!

Very cool, but waaaayyyy over my head. I'm in the steam generation. I still use a rotary phone.

That would be legal.

Dave, I have one from a sprint car you can have, but it'll be a couple of weeks before I can get home and get it sent out.

The driver of the military vehicle, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Dale Earnhardt, was quoted as saying " I wasn't tryin to wreck him, I was just tryin to rattle his cage".

"Bus for sale. Needs minor repair, stain in drivers seat."

I've never seen a need to clear over BMF either. Do they clear over the chrome on REAL cars? Like Nick up there, I've got stuff I did in the 80s that still look fine. In MY opinion, it's just adding another unnecessary step that has the chance of going wrong. Absolutley no need to do it.

Thanks again, guys. Steven, I'm glad we got you interested! I grew up around race cars, so I guess it's only natural that I like to model them. I'll be looking forward to seeing your sprint cars!

For me, this is just over the top. One of the best looking '32s I've ever seen. Everything is perfect. I salute you, sir!

Simple but complex at the same time. Very effective. This is great, It just plain looks right! Doesn't get much better than this.

Really like the way you did the color break. Nice!

I'm not really a demo guy, but I must say your demo cars are great! Very realistic. That interior shot is awesome....looks like the real thing! I'm guessing you might build real demo cars too.

Lookin' awesome!! What color is the blue? I'm starting on an asphalt car and need that same color....or close to it.

Ok, I want one of those. Nice!!! And the reason it's not dirty.....it was just delivered from the factory. Yeah...thats it!

That yellow Impala..........I think I'm in love.

Best Nova build I've seen in awhile! I agree with the others about the wheels, and I LOVE the front tag....used to see those a lot, not so much anymore. Only thing is....it's a '69, not a '71, not that it really matters. Super build!

What he said is true. I don't know what part of the state you are in, but I happen to belong to a great IPMS chapter....the 2009 IPMS chapter of the year, in fact. If Cumming GA is within driving distance for you, you are more than welcome to come to a meeting and get a feel for it, and get advice on starting your own chapter. http://www.mountainmodelers.org/

Thanks so much, Y'all, and yes, the car IS "Smokeyish", which I suppose is why I liked it in the beginning. It wasn't very popular with the other competitors though, lol. A bit of trivia....the race that made this car famous, the 1980 Schaefer 200, was one of the first races broadcast on a brand new TV network at the time, ESPN. The race has been posted on YouTube in it's entirety....all 17 segments....so if you happen to be bored sometime and feel like watching a classic dirt modified race, here ya go. The first 7 or 8 segments are preliminary races, but there's some good commentary throughout. Notice how young Bob Jenkins looks, and Larry Nuber is no longer with us.....

When Gary Balough showed up at Syracuse Super Dirt Week in 1980 with this Kenny Weld built contraption, he changed modified dirt racing forever. Painted black, with it's wide, ground-effects body based on a Lincoln Contenental (wink wink, nudge nudge), it was quickly dubbed the Batmobile, and many wondered if ground-effects would really work on dirt. Any doubts evaporated when Balough qualified 2 1/2 seconds faster than the second place car, which, ironically, was the same car that Balough himself sat on the pole with the previous year. Practically overnight, the other racers tried converting their own cars to "ground-effect" cars, bolting on everything from stolen highway signs to plywood in an attempt to keep up with Balough. It was all to no avail, however, as Balough easily dominated the week-ending Schaefer 200. After Syracuse, the rule book was re-written, making the Batmobile illegal, and it never raced in this configuration again....but it signaled the end to stock-bodied modifieds, ushering in the more aerodynamic fabricated sheet metal bodies like the ones raced today. For what its worth, Kenny Weld built the car this way to disguise the REAL secret. According to Weld, the ground-effects did little, if anything, to increase performance. The REAL secret, and the reason Weld used a Lincoln grille in the first place, was a sealed forced-air induction system....ram-air.....that at the end of the straightway was estimated to be 70% as effective as a turbocharger. The radiator was relocated to the side pod, so the "ground-effects" louvers were for cooling, not sucking the car to the ground! I've always thought this was one of the coolest race cars ever, and after finding out that Big Donkey made a resin body kit, I just HAD to build a model of it. The Chassis is an AMT Gremlin modified with the wheelbase stretched 5/8". I used the torsion bar suspension from a Monogram sprint car kit. I also raised the roll cage to match the height of the roof. Like the real car, the interior is pretty simple. I added MCG gauges and a Detail Master seat belt kit. The engine is the kit engine, and like the real car, I moved the radiator to the side pod and fabricated a ram-air setup from parts-box pieces. They were very secretive about this setup, and no pictures are known to exist, so I just sorta guessed at it. Most other parts are from the Gremlin kit. The wheels and hubs are my own castings. Bumpers are aluminum rod. Paint is Testors black, and the decals are from Polecat. A very fun build, and my first completion of the year, which is sayin' something for me.

For what it's worth in the future, I make a mess even with a funnel, so for me those little plastic pipettes work really well. Do an internet search, you can find a 100 pack for about 5 bucks.

Very cool! Thats better than my two month builds!