Hawk312

Thanks! I`m not a member of any clubs currently. What is CPMCC? Are they from the Lancaster area? Hopefully I can get a picture of my Plum Crazy Hemi Cuda convertible up here soon.

Nice work!! Nice touch on the firewall markings!

Thanks everyone! Hey Mark, I can definitely believe everything you said there. I actually used decal set solution trying to get them to stick and bend. Harry, I will try harder, but I gave it my best shot and that's all that Jesus asks of me. :P It`s from South Park, btw.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate it! There is a man who knows his f-bodies! As far as I can tell, the offset on the kit wheels are the same for all 4 wheels. Or at least there is not as much difference as on the real 1:1 cars.

As I mentioned in my progress thread, I am taking a break from the commissioned builds, I am starting to build stuff that I like, and always wanted to build. I am actually in the process of restoring a real 1:1 `86 Trans Am just like the one I had out of high school. At the time, when I was considering buying it, I had to make the choice between the one I ended up buying and another one at a car lot just down the street. I actually liked the latter better, but there were mechanical issues with it. Otherwise, I would`ve ended up with a Flame Red/Camel Tan and Graphite Trans Am instead of a Bright Red/Carmine Red one that I ended up with. Since the 1:1 will just like the Bright Red/Carmine Red one I had, I built the model to represent "other car". I used the `85 Trans Am and `87 GTA Revell kits for this. As you can see, the decals were *really*, *really* difficult to work with. They wouldn`t conform to the curves and wouldn`t adhere. I have a feeling that being in the kit box for over 25 years may have something to do with it. The front and rear bumpers were a pain as well, but these kits are known for that. Let me know what you think.

Thanks everyone! Just for clarification, this will be built as a Trans Am, and not a GTA. Some of yous might be able to pick out the small differences so far. Anyway, A little more progress, and a better camera. Only need to finish the bumpers and ground effects, the intake, and then apply the stripes, which should be alot of fun!

Now that I am taking a break from the commissioned builds, I am starting to build stuff that I like, and always wanted to build. You guys will probably start seeing some obscure stuff from me in the future. Some of you may know I am restoring a real 1:1 `86 Trans Am just like the one I had out of high school. At the time, when I was considering buying it, I had to make the choice between the one I ended up buying and another one at a car lot just down the street. I actually liked the latter better, but there were mechanical issues with it. Otherwise, I would`ve ended up with a Flame Red/Camel Tan and Graphite Trans Am instead of a Bright Red/Carmine Red one that I ended up with. Since the 1:1 will just like the Bright Red/Carmine Red one I had, I am building a 1:25th of the "other car". I am using the `85 Trans Am and `87 GTA Revell kits for this. I apologize for the quality of the pictures. My camera is down, and I am taking these pictures with my phone.

My first model was a `82 Trans am, back when it was a new annual kit. So I guess it was 30 years ago almost. I love hearing about you guys who started in the `50s and 60`s and are still going strong.

Thanks for the tip. I am trying this, and have had it sitting with an hour and a half or so with the baby oil on it, but no luck so far. Will this "lift" the glue off, or will it break it down? About how long does it take in your experience? I noticed it says "mineral spirits". Will that eventually strip the paint if it is on too long? Thanks

I`ll just add that I remember building that kit in the `80`s....it was the custom version as show in Bluesman`s collection. It was awful. If I remember correctly, it had weird, undersized, skinny two piece tires. I remember building other Revell kits at that time. The f-bodies (Camaro`s and Firebirds) with posable wheels were miserable as well. The struts in the front were always too short and would take some modification for the wheels to actually stay on the car. Now, today`s Revell kits are a completely different story. I just built the `55 and `56 kits, and they are awesome!

Just be careful putting those mopars in if you are going to enter the contest. One of the rules is 50% of the build must be kit parts. I am still waiting for clarification from Revell on exactly what that means, but the engine takes up a lot of a kits total parts.

I am planning on it, though lately I`ve been really uninspired. I started something, but can`t seem to get motivated. The rules and the way this contest is being held isn`t ideal for us builders who build for contests, but this is pretty huge for our hobby, and it is the kind of exposure we`ve been waiting for for decades (for those of us who have been building that long). Even if they were only allowing Prius builds, I would still give it a shot.

That is really cool! What color is that?

Thanks everyone for the tips! Unfortunately, it is about 1000 miles away at the buyer`s home, and he is unable to do it.

Well, the L-88 has a glue blob about the size of a pencil eraser on the door. For those of you that haven`t read the article or thread, it was finished in duplicolor lacquers. The glue has dried. Does anyone know what to use to get crazy/super/CA glue off of lacquer without damaging the paint? Wet-sanding and buffing is not an option.

Nice work! I like the color choice. The turbos and supercharger together would make for some serious boost. Where did you get the turbos and intercoolers from? Can you tell us how you modified the rear wheels?

Thanks again everyone. The compounds I use in order are 3M rubbing compound, Meguires scratch and swirl remover, and Tamiya "finish" compound. The Metalizers are made by Duplicolor, and come in red, green, blue, orange, yellow, and purple. You should be able to find them at any auto parts store. The clear is also Duplicolor touch-up sprays. If you are going to use these paints, I highly suggest testing them on a spare body. I hade some issues with the Metalizer burning through the color base, and the clear making the Metalizer "crinkle". I think the best solution is to give plenty of drying time between each.

I`ve been thinking about this for a while, and I think this is exactly what our hobby needs. For the past decade or so, the future of our hobby has been a frequently discussed topic on the boards. With the popularity of gaming consoles and computers, it is hard to get younger people interested in our hobby which takes alot of patience and little immediate gratification. And by younger, I mean anyone under 40 at this point. Most people associate model building with the "glue bombs" they built as a kid, or others had built. With exposure on national TV, people will be able to see what is *really* possibly with model building. Honestly, if most people saw the work by many of the seasoned builders in here, they would be shocked. I think there is a very large group of viewers who will see this, and realizing they can`t afford to do a full size project, will attempt a model. I also think that alot of younger viewers will see this and think "this is much cooler than my die cast 'toys'", and maybe many others will realize they have been wasting time with car games on XBox when they could use their time to create something tangible, lasting, and something to be proud of. This is a big step toward reaching a large general audience likely not thinking about modeling. The contest isn`t perfect according to our preferences, but it is a start. Maybe next years will be better. As far as Revell being greedy, I could care less. I am tired of the concern about the future of our hobby because, face it, Revell is the top dog as far as domestic kit manufacturers. Do you really want to build only AMT models, when AMT has no competition and no reason to improve? I hope Revell makes boat loads off of this! It can only serve the good of our hobby, which is what I really care about. I plan to enter the contest, even though I know next to nothing about hot rods compared to others here on the forum. Also, I hope the full list of rules clarifies "hot rod." Does this include more modern "street rods?" I hope so, as I think that will bring more interest as far as the younger viewers. Does anyone have clarification on this? From the gearz site, it looks like this guy works mostly on older hot rods, and not street rods so much.

Ha....do I build multiples of a particular kit..... I really don`t have much disposable income though. I just keep my eyes out for deals on that kit. It is a great kit, and being 1/12 doesn`t hurt. Plus, combining it with the Camaro kit gives you lots of options. This and the Camaro kit are the only ones I really "collect" (maybe "hoard" is a better word) though.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the kind words! Thanks Harry! Knowing that you have seen so many others over the years, that really means alot.

These were both built as a Christmas gift to my parents. They are celebrating their 40th anniversary just after New Year`s, and they are going with a 50`s theme for the party after the ceremony. They asked me to bring some 50`s era models, and I decided to build these as gifts that they could display. Anyway, they are pretty much built box stock. The only modifications for the `55 were the addition of the Torque Thrust wheels from `58 Corvette kit, the exhaust tips made from aluminum tubing, and of course the typical addition of wires, hoses, carpeting, etc. I decided to go with the Torque Thrusts because I thought they looked more like a street rod wheel as opposed to the kit aftermarket wheels which look a little more "classy", and thought would be more appropriate for the `56. For the `56, I decided to use the `55 kit`s wheels, and made exhaust tips from aluminum tubing that are identical to the ones one the 55. Hoses, wires, and carpeting were added to this one as well. The kits went together fairly well, although the windows and bumpers were very difficult to line up properly and it was difficult to know exactly where the bumpers mounted. However, they are both very rewarding and convincing once complete. Paint on the red one is Duplicolor light metallic red followed by several coats of the clear red Metalizer, topped of with about 5-7 coats of clear. The white is Testors Classic White lacquer. The paint on the purple one is Duplicolor Bahama Blue followed by several coats of purple clear Metalizer. It actually looks much more purple in person as opposed to the blueish color in the pics. The black is Duplicolor Universal Black. After a quick color-sand, 5-7 coats of clear were applied. Both were rubbed out with 3 grades of compound. Let me know what you think!

Nice layout!! I like the new look!

Nice work. Nice color scheme too.

Thanks guys!