Bainford

Keeping the corners from digging in does require a bit of diligence. I considered stoning the corners to soften them and reduce their tendency to gouge the surface, but I find there are many uses for chisels, and the sharp corners are frequently useful. I often use the chisels for cutting stock material (sheet plastic, thin sheet aluminium, various tapes and other soft construction materials) by placing the material on a hardwood block that I keep for that purpose. Just by pushing the chisel edge into the material by hand, you can make very accurately place small length cuts. The chisel corners are also useful for getting into tight corners during some scraping/cleaning operations. In the end one must be careful when doing surface work on plastic, but in my scratchbuilding efforts I find the sharp corners very useful.

I use this set of small chisels by Veritas and find them extremely handy on the model bench. They are a high quality tool set, 3 1/4" long with blade widths of 1/8", 1/4", & 3/8", made of quality tool steel and wood handles. They are sold through Lee Valley in Canada and are not cheap at $47.50 Canadian dollars (less than $40 USD), but so useful they are well worth the price. http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=72391&cat=1,41504

Ok, good to know. That will save me from searching for one. Kind of a shame, though, because I'm really finding coolness in that kit.

Very interesting. I'm sure a little practice is required to get good results, but your example looks fantastic. Very convincing, thanks for the tip.

Man, I'm really digging that outboard motor. Very cool bed furniture for a 50s vintage pick-up.

Wow! Thanks for the heads up on these circle cutters. I never heard of these before. The DSPAIE tool seems exceptionally well made. A bit pricey but I think very useful.

Hhmmm… very interesting. It could be the right scene. I'm going to have to dig this movie up and have a watch. I thought the Daytona was able to leave the site on its own, but memories have a way of morphing over the years. Nonetheless, seeing such a car treated so carelessly as in the pictured scene is a real trip, nearly worthless as it was back in the day.

Outstanding!!

Since this thread started I have been checking the posts for a movie I saw on Lost Drive-In in the 90's but had forgotten the name, and I think it may have been Redline 7000. The scene that sticks with me is one where a guy is driving a Cobra Daytona as a road car, and at one point he is driving down the road and suddenly turns around and goes back where he came from. In doing so he jams the front aluminium body work into a ditch or embankment of some sort, probably crumpling it. At least, this is how I remembered it after many years. Can anyone confirm? I remember thinking at the time, "if they only knew what that old race car would be worth some day". The absurdity scene has stuck with me for years.

Excellent weathering. I love the overall look of this build. Very well done!

Very nice!

Castrol Super Clean is my 'go to' stripper and Easy-Off HD oven cleaner is my back-up for stubborn removals. When nothing else will work, the part takes a bath in brake fluid. It hasn't let me down yet. I have had hobby lacquer and chrome plating undercoating in the past that I could only strip with brake fluid. One particular Tamiya lacquer paint job required a week long soak in brake fluid to loosen the paint. As Ace said above, temperature is important. And remember to dispose of used stripping product properly, which even for biodegradable strippers (Purple Power, Castrol Super Clean, etc) means not down the drain.

I was not aware of this stuff. Thanks for the suggestion, going to order some up right now. Cheers

It is curious the individual tastes for tools of this nature. I purchased a UMM SCR-02 scriber last year on a recommendation from a forum member, but found it to be a waste of money. I tried it several times but it just wasn't the tool for me. I also found the quality of manufacture to be only fair. I used the BMF scriber for many years, and it is a good and effective tool, and holds an edge surprisingly well, but the score lines are a bit too wide for some purposes. I still use it when a wide scribe is needed. I considered grinding it narrower but instead found a couple of dental picks with a very good scribing profile, and much narrower than the BMF scriber. I few minutes with a stone and the dental pick was converted into a great scriber with good control. However, my favourite scriber is one I cut out of a discarded Exacto blade. The blade was ground narrow at the cutting tip and a cutting edge was formed that pulls a wonderful curl and leaves a nice square bottom to the groove. I turns corners well also. The blade has a 1" long piece of heat shrink tuning applied to the tang to act as a handle, keeping it short and light, like a pin-stripers paint brush, for good control. I'd love post a photo to illustrate but don't have that ability at this time.

I have a K&S tube cutter but rarely use it. For aluminium tube I roll it under an Exacto blade as described above, and for brass tube I use the Exacto mitre box and razor saw.

Very impressive work. I have often admired some of the painting skills demonstrated on well build low rider models over the years, but this thread provides some of the best insight yet into how it is done. You definitely have a good eye for a great line. Thanks for posting this WIP.

Nice looking model of one of the most awesome sports cars ever built. The dark blue looks right at home on the old Jag. Nicely done.

That's nice, tidy custom. Love the colours and you've done a fine job on the scallops. All round nice work on a smooth build.

Now that’s proper model building. Great looking Scarab. Very impressive effort.

The Bob Ford T-bolt really looks the business. Very clean build, and the colour and other details make it one of the best looking Thunderbolts of the era. Very tidy. I love it!

I do not know the answer to your question, but just mentioning the Monogram Cherry Bomb also has a type of bubble type, in case you are keeping your options open..

Nicely done. It has just the right look.

I think the brown colour suits it very well. Gives it a cool, period vibe. I never knew a kit of this car was made. Yours looks nice, and the door/window bar repair turned out fine. Thanks for posting this most interesting model.

I have many different sets, but my very favourite is a Swiss made pair of tweezers called Triumph, from Swartchild & Company. They are popular among watchmakers and come in many styles, though mine are straight tweezers with a very fine point. Best feeling tweezers I have ever had, though the summer humidity in my basement (where my model room is) causes them to lightly rust. They show up on ebay frequently.

My old Lotus is running 13" wheels. Good quality performance tires are hard to find, indeed. Even my 69 Mach 1 still rides on its original 14" wheels (and four wheel, unassisted drum brakes!).