stump

LOL, full agreement on the chassis. ? Thanks for the headsup on paint too, I'm sure someone down here will have the Revell chrome. I'd have thought that a chrome tree would be a given, bumpers, headlight buckets rims...? ? I'll sort it. Stuart.. spider comment. ? I haven't dived into the Kingswood yet mate, but I'm guessing these basic chassis are across the range? ? More kit-bashing. LOL I hear ya about the Mad Max Coupe..a stock version would've been sweet. ? Was your resin Torana from Cavalier? Do you recall. They came out about 20 year ago, a hatch version as well. I built my Cavalier Torana back around that time. (just checked, it was 21 years ago ?) It needed work, plus a 69 Camaro chassis to help fix things. Being curbside, it had nothing aside from an interior. I used the seats, console and dash, I build my own inner door panels and made them fit the Camaro tub. The bonnet (hood) was cut open and I fabricated the entire engine bay, adding brake booster and accessories from the parts bin. For the "308" Holden motor, I used the basic block and gearbox from the Camaro, I added SB Ford heads (similar shape) and modified Ford 289 rocker covers.

Hey Stuart, cheers mate, I'm sure most have had tough times the last few years, specially with COVID thrown in. ? Advance apologies for my crappy pics, I'm a little out of practice. ? So, I've explored the Torana kit a little further as it will get most of my attention once things get rolling. The flares are definitely undersize. ? So I hope my idea of exchanging them works. The body looks pretty accurate aside from them. The chassis will end up in the bin, it's horrible...very diecast in origin. I'll need to source a more accurate chassis, probably a Chevelle? It will require a 4-link whatever I choose. Interior should build up nice, the seats are a rubberized compound, very flexible. (bad photo, sorry) The distributor and wiring......where do I start. Looks like it would be more at home in a marine diorama as a giant squid. The leads must be at least an inch in diameter. ? In tha Bin!!! The wheels look okay and will hopefully look better when I'm done. The plan is to add some width, I love the look when these are fitted in staggered fitment on 1:1 Torana's. ? My biggest gripe is the lack of any chrome parts??? Not even the bumpers. Oh well, I'll find something to fix that.

Hey gang, been a while since I've posted anything here, and progress on these won't get under way for a bit yet... I've been away from the hobby for a good few years, life and general has just kicked me around. COVID was thrown into the mix, I lost my dear Mum and a brother just two years apart. Adding to the horrible life mix was a huge flood in 2022 which inundated my home of 63 years, totaling my hobby room, along with enormous loss of personal memories. Life goes on they say. The old homestead was stripped, freshened up, refurnished and painted and put on the market. After selling, I bought myself a small 2 bed unit and have just started to convert the second bedroom into a workshop. ?? Building small scale? Yep, I've been working on large 1/12 stuff previously and love it, these two projects however are both 1/24.....Hmm, hope the eyes can handle them. Now, my only reason for dropping down in size, both cars are "Aussie icons", both from Holden, our branch of GMH. A HQ Kingswood sedan, complete with an Aussie 6-banger motor. (this might get swapped) I'm toying with the idea of swapping in a legendary Aussie "308" V8 or an LS. Make for a nice sleeper. ? Second in line, a 1977 Torana A9X SS hatchback. I owned an original black SS hatch back in my day, not an A9X, but I loved it anyway. This will be a box stock kinda build, with lots of added detail....yeah, probably not box stock. ? The Torana has factory fitted wheel arch flares which look undersize. ? I saved an old build from the flood and hope to use the flares off it. I'll graft them onto the new body. Early pics, more will come but please be patient, my hobby room is a little way off yet. ?

Len, the 68-69 is indeed a rare catch these days. One can only assume that original production numbers were quite low? Maybe not many got built because of the stated "lack of details" put forward by a few.....Now finally, I can add my two cents to that argument. ? After what seems like half a life time searching and wanting one of these kits so badly, I was ready to give my first borne....but, without such bargaining tender, I had to resort to cash/card. ? The quality of the body appears quite good, as for accuracy, I can only say that it looks good to my eye. I haven't done measurements to compare to a 1:1 68 Corvette. The Monogram 67 chassis will fit without too much effort, which is a huge plus. Using the kit chassis even as a starting point would require massive mods....Lucky for me I have a 67 rebuilder in my stash, so at least I didn't have to folk out any extra on top of my purchase price. While the "box stock" model would probably build just fine as a shelf piece, even with inaccuracies...I would recommend looking for something else, because if like me, you are after an accurate piece to display...this kit will leave you asking many questions... I would highly recommend kit-bashing it with a Revellogram 67 kit. ? Can't believe I've truly had mine for over 4 years......

It had been pretty much clear sailing until about this time....I did a test fit with the head tacked in place and realized that I had made it too fat. No custom work is without its headaches. There is absolutely NO info anywhere on the net regarding physical sizes for this motor, so it's all been eye-ball engineered....Guess my eyes need adjusting too. Anyway, I trimmed around 3mm from down the centre of the head and rocker... Once I had that sorted, I could move on to the exhaust system. 3.2mm solid solder for primary tubes, into home made 3-pipe collectors. And that's where we sit for now...Some painting and on to assembly soon. Comments and critique welcome, cheers guys.

The battery received a bit of detailing too as I wasn't keen on the way it looked. New base with hold down bolts were added, home printed battery logo and some 1/16 aluminium posts added. And.....locked in!! Also printed off some body ID tags. Started to add some grime down under...New fuel line and pump fitted to boost performance. New fuel distribution block installed into engine bay. Another home printed decal for it too.. Continues...

One aspect of these kits I have never come to terms with, is how they divided the radiator support panel and the firewall between chassis and body.... My remedy has been to separate the top section of the firewall from the body, then add it on to the chassis. Add some extra braced ridges...done! The radiator support scored a complete new top section plus added detail. Moving on, I made some brake line components, "T" piece, proportioning valve and distribution block. Splashed some colour around and started laying down some brake lines and fuel lines. Clamps were fashioned from flattened soda can aluminium and attached with either 0.8mm bolts or simulated bolts. Continues....

Early stages of the special twin-cam head. Twin-cam rocker cover with lettering from Plastruct, and a test fit in the engine bay. (Early attempts at engine mounts....Changing angles of the motor was a drama. LOL ) Continues....

Hey guys, another large scale 1:12 Tamiya Datsun on the work bench. This one is actually a fantasy build of one of Datsun's rare cars, the Z432. The name was derived from the engine specs, 4 valve, 3 carburetor and 2 camshafts. It was a 2 litre inline 6 cylinder. Started with a Safari edition for this one as it has the standard body without the longer G-nose. I will use parts of a 240ZG kit for interior bits like seats and dash. Only addition will be the ZG over-fenders, because I like 'em. As the majority of the work is going to be around the motor, I chose to start there. The 2 litre and 2.4 litre are about as different as chalk and cheese, so I started by deleting ALL the molded in details from the kit 2400 motor, then started to add detail to resemble the smaller 2000 motor.. This motor also slants the opposite direction so the sump will also need to be altered. New water passage along the top edge of the block. Early prototype of the water pump. Continues.....

Dann, thanks so much mate. Bruce, cheers mate. Jesse, thanks mate. Wheels set here. https://www.hiroboy.com/112_16_Watanabe_8_Spoke_Wheels_set_of_4--product--11836.html Thanks Rob, not many pics from under her, but I have this one. Thank you Bill. Thank you too Trevor Myrus, Donald, Bo, Trevor, Jason, Ray, Ismael, Anders T, Matthew, Tyler, Bruce, Chris, MARTY, Peter, Oscar, Cliff and Steve. LOL, thanks WIlliam, pleased you liked that sticker. Ashley Jones, cheers mate. I've actually kicked off on another one...About to start a WIP for it. Started a little while ago. Thanks so much Dave, Check, Atin, Steve and Art. Thanks everyone for looking and your wonderful comments.

Dennis, thank you so much mate, your kind comment is very much appreciated. Casey, thank you too mate. Yes, I do have multiples. lol James, thanks so much, that's a sweet looking ride too. Sorry for the late response too, I hope you see the link which Casey so kindly put up for me. They are amazing wheels. Haha, thank you Bruce. You might be pleased to know that the build you pictured is still "in the works"!! LOL. Hope to get more done on it this year, though that's closing in quick too. I have started another......dare I even say that.

So, this is kinda new to me, don't recall ever finishing a build and adding it here. lol Tamiya 1:12 Datsun 240Z.....with a twist. LS3 motor printed by Shapeways, drawn by a good friend. Custom Queensland registration plates printed on my home computer. Also added a Queensland Transport "mode plate" into the engine bay to cover the motor swap. Enjoy. Thanks for stopping by, the whole build process can be viewed here. Greg

Thanks so much Jim, Ashley, Dan and Oscar. Well, paint got sprayed, though not entirely happy with it, I am happy. Been way too long since my last large scale....lol Also made some of my own decals for it. New exhaust getting a trial fit. New completed photos will be in the gallery section shortly. Thank you for stopping by.

Anticipated there may be an issue fitting the hood....but I had a contingency plan. Finally on four wheels... And with the over-fenders fitted. Hoping to get some colour thrown at it in the coming weeks. Comments and critique welcome, thanks for looking.

Some mods were made to the manifold before installation... Ready to drop in... Wheels and tyres freshly made by a good friend in Japan. All 3D created, cast in resin. Continued....

Hey guys, been a while since I last visited, still gluing parts and no, still not completed a build in about 7 or 8 years..... This particular Datto was started around 3 years, eight months ago....It's been an idea of mine ever since I saw a real one get built. The "other 3" are still in a holding pattern.... Heart of the build is of course, an LS3 motor. Had to make all the accessories as mine was the first motor sold and it was before all the extras were drawn up...Oh well, good practice. New OBX cross-ram manifold. Exhaust headers custom made... Continues....

Still one of my favourite builds Jim, love this car so much. Outstanding finish on the paint work too.

Hey Ralphy, I'm back. The green beast looks amazing on here mate, the pics are nice and easy to see.

Chris!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See, I knew you could get this done without me hovering over your shoulder all the time. I have no words mate, only reason you're seeing this is because I still have limited use of a couple o fingers......can barely type anyway, hard to make out the keys with all this dribble covering them. SUPER! Unbelievably ultra realistic build man.

Well Chris, I was going to say, you just don't stop do you.....but reading thru what I've missed I can see you've had your share of drama and issues along the way mate. So pleased you're over the hump now and are back on it bud. Everything...........EVERYTHING looks just mind blowing, ridiculously over the top, super-duper AMAZING!!! Congrats on your determination and will to strive, to achieve this goal of #1 (which is right where you're heading, trying or not ) BTW, I'll be planning a trip over in about 5 years......I expect to see this sitting in your display case on TOP SHELF!!

Watching and waiting here too Jordan, looks like a beautiful car you've chosen to replicate. I'd be interested in seeing the wheels when you get them done too, I have a "stock" Yenko on the go at the moment. Another guy has made (3D) some similar wheels, but they're not exactly the same as these.... Any chance you could attempt some "period correct" Good Years in F60 and G60 ?? THAT, would look truly amazing.

Binning stuff?? Ok, I can take the Camaro AND the rod for you, will that help? Seriously, loving the Camaro Kenneth, the paint is just enough and doesn't look stock, and I really like your weathering technique...the under side and those exhaust headers look amazing mate. I'm a bit of a Camaro nut and love this build very much. Thumbs up!!

Like it? Um, YEAH!! Great work Kenneth, I see someone said not to sell yourself short.....Man, this is the BEST graphic-paint work I've ever seen on a model, hands down. And just in case no one else tells you, I'll give you a couple of these....

Haha, yep..was hoping the mailman was going to bring a box of goodies today, but I guess he got side tracked. Maybe tomorrow. Then the work will begin in earnest.

Dave, shouldn't you be working on a certain Camaro? Kidding of course... Man, I have missed so much in my absence and am truly amazed at what you've done here in the passed 12 months mate. AWESOME!!!