samdiego

and now I'm wondering how I could get one of those in my Miata probably have to weld two Miatas end to end.

Many days later . . . The stickers for the hull tops took special care but wound up going down as well as could be hoped for, considering that they are 33 years old at least. After practicing on excess material I layed them in the sun to soften and warm the glue. I still stretched one getting the liner off and it shows in a slight color change. Since these were blemished a bit when I got it, it didn't bother me much. My paint problems stemmed from not having bought enough Tamiya Matte White when I could have and now I can't, but I muddled through. Of course this guaranteed that painting the red scallop and stripes would go badly, but, again I muddled through. I also had some problems getting a good join between the hull uppers and lowers. Removing the locator pins was required and there were some shape differences. Now for the ancient decals . . .

I've got more in on the workbench under "This summer's grail get"

um, I hate it when the guy who says "read the work order, moron" is right. Now I'm wondering two things, Where did I get the impression that Miss B had an Allison and why can I never produce this fog when I need it? I guess I saw V-12 and ran with it. At least I knew that it was an aeroplane motor

What are these and why are they different? Both kits simply label them as Allisons but there are obvious, radical differences. Are these evolutionary or are they completely different motors? The parts pack motor shows a two exhaust valve config while Miss Bud just has fat pipes. Do the fatties cover the same layout? The valve/cam/whatever covers are very different as is the delivery of the supercharge. I'd heard years ago that the PP version was Packard based but didn't they help build Allisons for the war effort?

I use Nato black as Skip said, where a real black is too much. A muted shade looks more natural when scaling things down. I also like it for tires when painting tires is called for even though it leans a little toward the blue side. Drew Hierwarter has been preaching for decades that tires aren't black. The distributors on top are Nato while the carb base is semi matte black (both tamiya) I have 6 different blacks on this motor and it's not even a black motor.

oops

That is Tamiya Pearl Green. The Franklin Mint LS has more blue in it but I had the Tamiya on hand.

Yeah, trash trucks set off three year olds, too.

Bite the bullet, guys. The only absolute method of getting the lost part back is to complete an exact replica. Only then will the Universe spit the original back from the black hole as it is no longer fun to have it if you have one too.

I found these in the discount pile at the LHS. The Indy car bears no resemblance to the box art but builds into a nice replica of something. The Buick was great until I got to the tailfin/ rear bumper treatment. Very wrong. I'm pondering what to do next

Mostly it was just a look. They can be fun if you're 17, I had one on top of an ex Phone Co. '69 Dodge van. (Strange config, windows on the curb side, slab on the street). There were a few companies that made fake Appletons. It's almost hard to think of any AMT kits from the 60s or their re-releases that don't have a set.

That Vista Cruiser is bitchin' on those rally Rims!

Day Four: The interior is done. the gauge engraving is a bit light. I foiled the whole instrument panel, shot it with Tamiya Semi-Gloss black and took the paint off of the high spots. Needles were done with an old bottle of Testor's Fluorescent orange. Old and thick, I use a toothpick and let a string of the paint out over the indicator. It adds dimension to the needle. Then Future Floor stuff on top. After bouncing around in this box since '77 or so, a little bodywork was needed at the rear. One of the small tailfins was missing a 1/4 in and the other was a little mushed. The body was cracked at the base of the boattail also. Racing White will be changed to Pure White as soon as I get to the LHS. Then the decals. I've scanned them and am hoping that an overcoat of fixative will let me make the transfer. They aren't in the best of condition to start with. The tops of the hulls are to be covered with silkscreened stickers, just like the STP stickers used to be. Mine are a little curled and have some scuff marks but I think they will work. I'm still thinning the washes on the motor, too

After about 46 years of building I really don't get angry anymore, just frustrated or disappointed. Anger is usually a waste of time and energy.

Yeah, it pretty much comes down to a dependable battery and solenoid combo. I've seen some pretty cool places to hide the button. They can be part of the outside mirror or activated by pushing on a piece of trim. I can't think of many cars that don't look better without the handles.

Thanks Those are the Modelhaus tires. An improvement over the originals, for sure, but they respond strangely to sanding. I pulled the Firestone decals from the Revell '55 sheet. I've heard that this was patterned after a real car but I can't remember who's. The front mounted blower must be correct. Wasn't the Sling Shot an early Swamp Rat?

about this big or for those who have left their inboard runabout in their other suit, it's 14 in. I remember seeing these boats on the Detroit River in the early 70s, they are kinda huge.

Oops, I guess I should paint the push bar.

End of day two

Aw c'mon. It wasn't terrible (ok, not really, really terrible). That was the 60s. It is hard to believe that this was prime time fare and it was on twice a week. It's like Captain Kangaroo, a staple during my childhood but try watching one now.

There is another Bat Factory outside of San Diego. I saw two in the late 90's, one in primer, the other finished and supposedly headed for Eddie Vedder. There are a few basic differences between the two featured in Motor Trend Classics and the one in the link provided by sjordan2.

I modified mine a little. The added exhaust was part of a pen and I coiled my own phone cord. Good detail for a snapper. The included figures lean a little toward the cartoony side, more closely resembling the comic book art.The factory finish and red trim are both acceptable though they missed the chevrons on the trunklid. Great to finally have this in 1:25. MOtor Trend Classic did about ten pages on one of the Bats in the Summer '10 issue. Really good reference photos, but it turns out the subject was actually built for the TV special "Back to the Batcave" in the 80's.

A little progress. Most of this stuff is white glued while I wait for the testor's to cure.

BareMetal Foil. Kind of a difficult app. It's really easy to flex the windshield too much and produce flex cracks.