Dennis Lacy

Simplify your life. Simplify your life. Simplify your life. If you have more things in your life than you have time for you have too many things in your life. Take a long, hard look at everything in your life and figure out what really matters at the end of the day and ditch the rest of it. You can't do it all. Purging un needed weight from life is incredibly liberating! Most of the people I know that have more than one full size vehicle project never get anything significant accomplished on any of them because they lack focus, not to mention the average person doesn't have enough time and money to successfully take on multiple vehicle projects. Now, I do know a guy or two that can successfully handle several projects at a time and make noticeable progress but they are the exception, not the rule. They are also older, financially independent and don't have a wife or kids so they can dedicate all of their free time to their cars. I have two vehicles. A driver and a hobby car. Being able to draw a circle around just one vehicle allows me to focus and actually make progress and not get frustrated or overwhelmed. My Dad has been a shining example of how having too many projects (too much stuff in general) kills progress on anything. Rather than follow in his footsteps I saw the problem years ago and adjusted my life accordingly. I'm '37 and happy. He's 71 and still complaining he can't get anything done. Simple is always better. I don't get the video game thing, at all. I know people who spend basically every free minute playing video games and at the end of a game session when they turn the TV or Computer off what do they have to show for all that time? Absolutely nothing. I think of the hundreds / thousands of hours of their lives that were spent "driving" animated cars or "shooting" animated people and I just shake my head, what a waste of life and time that could be spent doing something constructive and worthwhile. Those people that I know that spend all that time on games are generally miserable all the time, too, because what they're doing doesn't actually have a positive impact on their lives. You can't spend hours and hours killing imaginary people and be happy. Those same people poke fun at me building models but at least with model building a person has something to show for their time. It's an artistic expression the same as drawing or painting. You can point to it and say, "I did this", display it and enjoy it every day. It's also makes a positive impact on you because when a model is finished a person generally feels happy and proud. And, Bill is absolutely correct about getting excersize and it comes in many different forms. I mean, even working on / in my yard breaking a sweat for a few hours in the morning makes me feel way more positive and productive for the rest of the day. The fresh air and sunshine are good for the mind, too!

Nice! It always makes me smile when I see someone build the Eliminator Coupe. Especially 35 years after the real car was built. Goes to show what an icon the car is. I was a little kid in the early 80's when the series of videos came out featuring the car and it is what's responsible for me listening to ZZ Top's music. I built several of these models as a kid. The engine and chassis are terrible but the part that matters, the exterior, is right-on.

That is how it's supposed to be, I just think it's funky the way the motor does hang out in the breeze!

Fantastic version of AMT's old Vicky. Definitely one of the cooler ones I've seen over the years! The rodded flathead looks sweet and those white letter cheater slicks are a great touch.

Clean workmanship! I like the color scheme and the painted belt line is a nice touch.

I still love this. Proportions, stance, style... it's all there! Someone needs to copy it full scale. Imagine how wicked this would look and sound passing by on the road.

Thank you, everyone, for your comments. Some of them are incredibly generous! Thank you so much, Glenn! I went around and around on color and I just couldn't settle on something so I went to my LHS and stood there at the racks and this color finally raised its hand. I'm really happy with it and I couldn't imagine the car any other color, either.

That's pretty neat. Looks like it would be a lot fun! It's ridiculous how the engine literally hangs off the end of the transaxle with no other support.. This makes me want to grab a Manx kit even more now and put my turbo Corvair parts pack motor to use!

Thanks! After WWII, column shifters were a very popular conversion.

Thanks, Brother! Next, I think I'm gonna take a break from the heavy projects and do another Revell '32. Actually, a rebuild of a chopped sedan I did years ago that I was never happy with. I broke it apart and pulled new parts today.

This is the newer Revell '29 Roadster kit with a whole bunch of modifications to make it a period-correct late 40's hot rod. Kit '32 frame option with Revell '40 Ford center "X" and rear cross member added. Revell '40 Ford dropped front axle, spring, tierod and brake plates. '29 Kit split wishbones. Modified Revell '40 Ford steering box to side steer with scratch-bashed linkage. Ed Roth Tweedy Pie T shocks. Revell '48 Ford rear axle and brake plates. Ed Roth Tweedy Pie T shocks. Revell '37 Pickup/Panel Truck wheels and hubcaps. Ed Roth Beatnik Bandit front tires, '29 Kit rear tires. Revell '40 Ford flathead, Edelbrock heads, Beehive bypass oil filter and voltage regulator. Revell '48 Ford belt drive, fan, generator, distributor, headers and modified exhaust pipes. AMT '34 5-Window Coupe dual intake manifold. Ed Roth Tweedy Pie T carburetors. Revell '32 Ford modified grill and radiator. Revell '29 Kit body, firewall, windshield, taillights and license holder. Modified AMT '29 Roadster headlights. Revell '29 Kit interior panels and seat. Modified '37 Pickup dashboard and steering wheel. Revell '40 Ford column/shifter. AMT '49 Ford fire extinguisher and seat belts. Tamiya "Light Earth" paint, Tamiya "Gloss Black" accents. Engine paint MAC's Auto Supply "Antique Engine Green". Interior painted with "Espreso" craft paint with semi-gloss clear for a vinyl look. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

Now this is a Honda Civic the way I would build one, if I were into Honda Civic's. So tastefully done! It reminds me very much of a guy who was in my senior class back in '98. He and his older brother built a factory no-option a/c-delete (HX?) Civic hatch that was very tasteful and pretty quick. It had a worked-over 1.8 Integra engine n/a that was good for low - 12's on slicks (pretty good back then.) The exterior was completely stock, plain white with tinted windows, lowered just right with a camber-correction kit out back, Integra directional polished wheels and a modest 2.5" stainless exhaust tip. Speaking of exhaust, I don't know what it had but it was also the cleanest sounding, least obnoxious Honda exhaust I'd ever heard. The only Civic I've ever liked.

Awesome project! To replicate the DOW-7 coating put on magnesium parts in the 60's I have found that Testor's Model Master "Jet Exhaust" does a pretty convincing job. I first prime the part with Duplicolor Gray Sandable Primer which is a dark gray. I then brush-on two coats of Jet Exhaust. I let it dry 24 hours then clear with Tamiya Semi-Gloss clear to give it a bit of sheen. Here's an example on the wheels on this Dragmaster I finished last year. Hosted on Fotki

Still one of my favorites!

Absolutely full-length, lowered to line up with the cowl. Exhibit A: The infamous Tom Branch channeled '32 Roadster. Hosted on Fotki

UPDATE! Took a break from chassis work this week and focused on some hot rod body mods. I want the car to look like it has a louvered aluminum roof insert panel so that meant adding louvers to the separate insert from the kit. I started with some louvered hood sides from Revell's '32 5-window, trimmed them down on every side, butted them together, cut a matching shape in the roof insert then glued the louvered piece into the hole. Hosted on Fotki The piece I installed wasn't as thick as the original roof insert so I laid in a piece made from .020" sheet. This worked out good because it acts as a backer for the hood halves that were butted together. Hosted on Fotki To go with the roof louvers I cut out the trunk lid then trimmed down the louvered lid from the same Revell '32 5-window to fit in the hole. Hosted on Fotki Then things got stupid. I was originally going to glue the louvered trunk lid in place and didn't have the slightest intention of make it functional and detailing the trunk. I got to thinking that I had never yet tried to hinge anything on a model and talked myself into trying. I had to learn as I went but took it slow and thought out what I was doing. It ended up all working out on the first try. I made the trunk jamb out of strips of .020", made an inner trunk lid skin also out of .020", made some blocks to hang the hinges from inside the body and bent up some hinges out of paper clips. Hosted on Fotki With the trunk now visible I had to build a cover over the hole that the frame rear cross member pokes through, I made the sides from .040" sheet and capped it with .020". I then laid down a sheet of .020" on the trunk floor to make it nice and smooth then added some raised locating tabs made from .040" sheet that fit exactly the inside shape of the kit provided gas tank and battery box to precisely locate them. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Here's the whole shebang mocked together with a toothpick prop rod. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Still plenty more to do! Comments welcome!

Thanks, guys! I really need to stop being lazy and glue the last couple of pieces on it. Haha

Fantastic and double fantastic! Very authentic hop-ups that would fit the atmosphere of TROG perfectly. Similar real "A" Roadsters have been built but man, a "T" Roadster just like that needs to happen full scale. The color scheme is sweet! Knowing some people involved in the production in these events personally and hearing the inside scoop, Pismo will not happen again. Dealing with the bureaucracy in California is a nightmare. Something on the coast of Oregon or Washington are being looked into as a future possibility.

You know, you really should have chopped it...

Usually later 30's cars don't lend themselves to being fender-less but this works pretty good!

Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that... Nothing too shiny, that's for sure!

R.R.R.'s Opus!

You're off to a great start with a good combination of parts. Those Flintstone bodies are a bit rough around the edges but with some cleanup they come out pretty decent.

Thanks for the super nice comments, guys! You're all too kind.

Here's some mock ups. Wheels and tires are from the "A" Coupe kit. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Lots more to do! Comments Welcome!