torinobradley

I'm playing Fallout 3 right now and it has both the slow and really fast zombies, but also has glowing ones... easier to shoot in the dark...

I don't know anything about that specific kit. I have worked on a few of their older 1/43rd scale kits and have one word of advise. Don't bake the paint... I used to use a light bulb to cure my paint and when I came back, the car looked like it was in a side impact collision. Looked like the car wrapped around an embankment or pillar. Live and learn. The 1/43rds seemed to have lots of body and interior detail but were curbside style with minimal chassis details. Hope this helps.

I did a maroon-ish red interior on a silver streetrod that came out really nice (wife picked the color). But that may be too American. The florescent lights tinted it orange but it is very red. This one is more true to the color.

Now, where have I seen this car before..... Oh yea, in my DRIVEWAY! I guess I will be ordering one pretty soon... Thanks so much for actually coming out with a car I own...

You can replace the pegs with a tougher medium like aluminum or brass rod, just drill a matching hole in the spindle and ca/epoxy in place. Though, this won't stop the tab from snapping off the control arm... After one incident where my brother hit the wall opposite my model shelf, which promptly tilted and most of my entire collection hit the non carpeted floor, I do not have rolling tires on my kits. Steering is another matter. Even if it doesn't work box stock, I tend to pose it as if it works or make it working.

Hey! Those weren't Bulk-Up pills, they were HULK-Up pills!!!

Looks great and I can definitely agree with the ill-fitting part! I have one of these on the bench now but converted it to a tubbed, ground hugging pro-stock with a big block. This has long been one of my favorite kits for some reason. The paint looks awesome in the sunlight! I was planning on simple red/white combo for mine but you got me thinkin'...

Here in San Antonio, they have a few of the Chargers. All are stealth cruisers with the pearlescent police markings, tinted windows and hidden lights. They don't even have the exempt tags police cars have. There are also Impallas, Suburbans and Ford & Dodge pickups. They like to sneak up on them darn speeders... A couple of the small towns in San Antonio also have the marked Chargers like Leon Valley and Balcones Heights. Gone are the days we only had to fear the Crown Vics... Now, when the fuzzbuster starts beeping, everyone in the car plays "which one is the cop"... As for the kit... Seriously, how many light bars are in the kit??? How about some stealth markings? Talk about an interesting time putting those on the kit.

It's called "Cheating" eh? Well, it was the only way that 350 was going to fit in my Vega. Had to get a notched and extended oilpan and pickup to clear the frame and tie rod. Had to run one of the header pipes through the fender well too. Oh, wait, that was my 1:1 scale hot rod that did start when you turned the key... I guess they have been "cheating" for years and not just on little plastic cars (okay, my Vega had lots of plastic and was little but...)

I saw an article a while back about using thread stretched across a flexifile frame. I would also suggest the braided fishing line. I don't think that stuff would ever break and it is much finer than the monofiliment.

Considering the last two builds I finished, one being a fully polished and primped Smoothster and the other being a beat-up, rusty, faded, chipped, repainted, worn and rebuilt hotrod flatbed, I would have to say both take lots of work. Many coats of primer, color coat and clear all polished to a mirror like shine with 6 sessions of sanding the entire surface, not to mention all the cleanup and detailing of the parts as opposed to actually making the model look old with all the coats of primer, paint, faded paint, wear, salt, rubber cement, paint, decals, wear, washes, rust, sanding, chipping, etc... They both have all the bolts and nuts in the right places, they both got wires and all the associated goodies. I got the same satisfaction of having such a shiny smooth car as I did with the beat-up junker rod. Bottom line, they were both lots of work. BTW, the messier my fingers got, the better the weathered model looked but the worse the shiny one looked... I think what it comes down to is the details. You can make any car shiny or rusty, but does it look like it's supposed to? Are the details where they are supposed to be? Does it have the right engine/panels/bumpers/wires/etc... Do you see glue, paint flaws, out of scale items, items that just don't look right? In my opinion, they are all apples, just different types...

Every kit I have, unbuilt or in the junk box is grok fodder. My son (8yo) even gets into the act by taking the bodies and my boxes of wheels and see's how they look with the different wheel & tire combos... Seriously, groking is sometimes the only modeling I have time for... Not only that, it helps with the kit bashing obsession some of us seem to have. I just never knew there was a name for studying the parts of the kit and building them in your mind. That, and I didn't think there was anyone else that did the same thing I did. You know, imagineering the kit together in a unique way... How's that for a new word???

Am I the only one that recognised both Vin Diesel and the car he was driving (The Hammer)? Is there anyone else like me?

I can vouch for the work in progress name. I can't tell you how many of us drove or drive around in a car with a semi rough body sporting new wheels, tires engine, trans & other mechanicals. They used to ask me if that was my old car ('68 Torino GT Formal with faded paint) and I would tell em "no, that's my new car. I have a glovebox full of reciepts to proove it".

These were made by using a piece of aluminum tubing big enough for the tubes to fit into and then crimping them between the tubes with an old, rounded screwdriver tip until it conformed with the tubes. These were on plastic tubes but I have used them on other material too.

I think there is a different motor in the 66 and the 69 also. By 68, the cars were limited to 5.0L displacement. Earlier cars had a 427. But then again, this would only be a factor if you were doing a full detail GT40. HRM has both the full rear end detail conversion for the Fujimi as well as a webber Ford 289. To make a long story short, lots of research is your best friend.

I've used dye to color the nylon parts for my radio controled cars and have read where some dye their light colored hot wheels and die casts. I am sure it would work with raw unpainted plastic but I don't think the color will be as uniform. The plastic and nylon parts I have dyed and seen dyed have had subtle variations dependant on the shape of the castings. Edges tended to be different colors than the flatter areas and so forth. When you dye the paint, it is different because the color is more uniform and not dependant on penetration of a semi-translucent material so much. I guess it would also depend on how much white pigment/material is actually in the plastic parts. Possibly, the more opaque the part, the more uniform the color. All I can suggest is to try it out. If you don't like it, grab that can of primer and it's over... In any case, if you guys try it out, post pictures and methods for all us curious folk...

Very nice!!! Was looking at this body today and thinking about dropping a few bucks on it. One question regarding the cooling lines. I am working on a '34 Ford LSR and am planning to put this motor into the car but was stumped on the colling lines. I see you have upper and lower radiator hoses in the traditional place but to my knowledge, there is no water pump. Where did you get the info on hooking the coolant hoses? I was figuring on two upper hoses connected to fittings on the intake where the water boss on the heads are and two lower hoses connected to the water pump bosses on the block, then running an electric pump in line to the radiator. I asked about this in a post a while back and got crickets... Beauty, by the way... I can just see it gleaming in the sun with all that white spray on the sides and rear quarters...

AMT also put out a lighting kit a while back that had both bulbs and fiber optics. Might be worth a look. It has all the battery boxes, switches, wires and even some mounting plasticware. It is mostly designed for spacecraft but can be used as your imagination dictates. I got the Tilt Pantera years ago and it has working head and taillights, I also did a Ferrari 308 with the same but both kits were set up for lights.

I saw these two here in San Antonio last month and can tell you, the pictures don't do them justice... They ate the competition... Two entries in their category were gone with just gnawed plastic remains left where the missing cars used to be...

Hey, what happened to this little racer? Everyone clued into the steamroller but not the car... What is it, man???

Awesome start on that A. I was starting a T Bucket but it was going to be just a parts box throw together. OCD has fully taken over and that all simplicity went out the window. She'll be a full detail every nut and bolt accounted for. This is major inspiration you got going there!

You know, you saying that brings back memories from when I was a kid (70's) and my dad said the same thing... Back then, I couldn't tell the difference between a 32 Ford, Chevy or Dodge and all the 50's cars blended together, but I sure knew the difference between Mustangs, Camaros & Chargers... I wonder how long it will be before I say it to my son. All those euro-tuners are starting to look alike to me...

I got to see this one on it's first day out of the poke (I think) at the Model Fiesta here in San Antonio. It's even more impressive in person. Amazing work! First time out of the poke and it takes a prize! Congrats!

I have a couple of these Corvettes and one of the MCG detail sets for it. I am sure I will enjoy working on it and have an awesome model(s) when I am done. Nice work so far and it is very inspireing. Every time I see someone working on one of these, I wanna pull mine out and start gluing plastic... Maybe I'll do a vingette that shows the Grand Sport in it's first race... being passed by a little, almost stock AC Bristol with a Ford 260 in it... (I know the AC lost due to breakage but it's still funny)