roadhawg

Thanks, everybody. I DID learn that making decals is a lot more that "scan and print", lol!

One of the top local race car drivers in the North Georgia/Tennessee area in the 50s and 60s was Smyrna, Georgia's Bill Hemby. A member of the GA Racing Hall Of Fame, Hemby won around 300 features, will forever be the track record holder at the famous Peach Bowl Speedway in Atlanta, was the 1965 track champion at Boyds Speedway in Chattanooga TN, and was the top money winner at the Athens GA Speedway in 1968. While known mostly as a supermodified driver, Hemby raced in several different divisions, on both dirt and pavement. He even ventured into Nascar in the late 60s in the Grand Touring division. I was asked by Bill's son to build a model of a 1934 Ford he raced in the mid to late 50s. Since it is the only accurate 3-window coupe, I started with an original Monogram kit...the one molded in burgandy. Like the real car, the model is very close to stock. Modifications include bobbing the fenders, adding shock absorbers, adding interior bracing, and scratchbuilding the bumpers. Wheels and tires are from Early Years Resin, and the grille is from MCG. The hardest part for me was the decals. Once I got the artwork figured out, they were printed by Joe Schulte at Diecast And Decals. Looking at the pictures, I probably should have redone the red pinstripe, it looks a little shakey, but it didn't seem that bad looking at it in person. I had fun with this one, and learned a few things along the way.....and Bill's son was VERY happy with it.

Nice, except it's the wrong color.

That reminds me.....I need to dig out that pro-street Mercedes I got frustrated with in 1994..........

How about the local hardware store? You know those plastic "For Sale" signs? ..............

And didn't certain Corvettes come with BRAIDED plug wires?

Two votes for Joe at Diecasts And Decals. Great guy, great service, very reasonable prices.

Me too, but my biggest plug wire pet peeve is realistic "droop" and routing. I cringe every time I see what looks like a huge spider standing on an engine, or wiring with 90 degree bends going around a header or something. Mike, just collect some pictures of real engines with different colored wiring, and when some ignoramus says "hey, that color ain't right", show him a real one.

That might be true for factory stock, but performance wires come in many different colors. my father-in-law's '66 Nova has blue wires..... My old dirt track racer back in the '70s had orange wires........... I've had yellow Accel wires on a LOT of personal vehicles. Now that I think about it, I see very few hot rods/race cars with plain ol' black or gray wires.

The only time wire color should matter is if you're building a replica of a real vehicle. If it's a creation of your own, hey, use chartreuse if you want to!!! I think customs look kinda cool when the wiring is keyed to the color combo.

Oh, it's not just "hot rodding" per se.......it's EVERYTHING automotive. Take racing, for instance......if someone with pink wheels on their car wins two races in a row, next week they'll be five more cars with pink wheels.

This is the only diecast I have......but I HAD to have it.........

I saw somewhere where someone made one from strips of masking tape, then painted it....can't remember where i saw it though. Should be quite simple.

As far as engines, 1970 was the last year for both the big block and the 4 cylinder.

Those fender louvers were '69 and '70 only, and they were part of an optional decor package.....if it had the fender louvers, it will also have chrome side window trim....likewise, no louvers, no side window chrome. That decor package also included body side molding, I believe.

Hey, wait....does a minivan count?

I think this is the only wagon I have. Johan '60 Plymouth.

Thats a good idea, but I wonder if lacquer thinner has a shelf life. I know gasoline will go bad after awhile, never thought about lacquer thinner....but then again, I never thought I would NEED to. I think a better idea would be to quit electing idiot politicians that cower down to the environuts....you know, just say NO. You know what they're going after now? Anti-bacterial hand soap. Yep. Congressman Ed Markey, (D-MA), who already wants government to regulate the internet, is trying to ban Triclosan, which is a major ingredient in hand soap. Why? Because some scientist (with a taxpayer funded grant from the government, no doubt) said something like a fly died after soaking in it for 3 days, so it MUST be harmful. Crazy! As far as incandescant bulbs go, federal regulations about the efficency ratings have made companies pretty much stop making them here, so guess where the ones for sale in Wal Mart are coming from? Yeah....you got it. Again....are we any better off?

And another source: http://decalsbylucas.com/MOPAR_Mod_Tops.html

I do remember a conversation here not long ago about them, but don't remember who it was. Try the search feature. Robert, this is what they look like:

Monogram made a 1/24 scale Huey, that would be your best bet.

Great. I'd be willing to bet that the new stuff doesn't work as well as "real" lacquer thinner either. Thanks the the EPA, we now have dishwashing soap that doesn't get dishes clean, "water saving" toilets that you have to flush at least 6 times to get everything down, light bulbs that are half as bright as incandescants and you have to call a haz-mat team if you accidentally break one, and now lacquer thinner that probably won't 'thin" anything. Are we really any better off?

What they said, plus I've used a flattened toothpick or a balsa wood stick to scrape at it.

Happy Birthday, George!

I don't necessarily agree with that. Think about it.....thats the same as saying the best way to earn a living is do something you don't like. To be quite frank, I think it's quite smart to take what you enjoy doing and figure out how to make money at it. I'm no "master builder" by any stretch of the imagination, but I do a few commision builds here and there....they run anywhere from $125 to $350, depending on whats needed. It's actually a good way to earn a few bucks for my own projects.