Scott Colmer

Welcome back to the hobby, Dave. I look forward to seeing your progress.

Hugh! I have been trying to figure out a method for centering holes in rod and hex rod for a long time. I literally lay awake picturing a tool like a dual head pin vice. And here you come with a stunningly simple solution. I will have to give this a try. Now if I can get my Chop It to cut an even slice I can make easy nuts! Thanks! Scott

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments and the mention of the articles. That you enjoyed the journey and "stole" some ideas from the series is a great compliment. All very much appreciated! Scott

Hi Chris and Bill, I posted the how to in Tips and Tricks. I lost the files from the original article so I had to use the pics from my fotki site. A few less pics and more text than I wanted, but I think the process is pretty clear. Have fun and good luck. Scott

Use the scissors to trim OUTSIDE the guide line. Hosted on Fotki Next use a sanding stick to size the disk to your line. Take your time and work your way around the edge. Check you work to your rim and tire that you are covering once it is a fit you are ready to mount the disk on the chuck. Mounting the disk is a bit tricky but very doable. Go find an old large face grinning bit like the one seen below. Put liquid tape around the outside edge. Let is sit for less than a minute. Then put the the disk on the grinding bit. Try to center it as much as possible. Now put the bit with the disk attached in your hand drill. Turn it VERY slowly and nudge the disk until it turns perfectly centered. Carefully Remove the the bit and centered disk from the drill without disturbing the alignment. Turn it over and lock the disk in place with a heavy coat of CA glue around the outside edge of the grinding surface, Let it dry completely. Hosted on Fotki Now you are ready to turn your hand drill into a lathe. Secure the drill and use 800 grit sanding paper on a block to do the final true on the disk. Also work the surface a bit to flatten any light embossing that may have shown up on the face of your disk. Finally go to a 1500 grit on a soft sanding block to get your spun surface. Hosted on Fotki To release the disk from the grinding bit without damaging it, flood the attachment point with CA debonder found in any hobby shop. Let it sit for a bit to work against the CA glue, then careful pry the disk free. If seems still stick apply more debonder. You can clean the mounting area with lacquer thinner. The first disk is the pattern that can be used to size the rest of the disks. Hosted on Fotki If you want to think outside the box a bit, consider adding styling holes like the example below. Or you can color them with candy paint. Or experiment with sharpies. Mistakes can be wiped off with lacquer thinner. Hosted on Fotki Scott

Spun aluminum wheel covers like the product made famous by Dean Moon are a great addition to a street rod or LSR project. Parts by Parks makes an excellent set that work in 1/25 or 1/24 scale. You can also make your own if you need a special size or just like making parts. Here's how to do it. First you need to find 4 soda cans. The bottom of the can is what to use to make the disk. Hosted on Fotki Look for the cans that have the laser printed numbers. I have a good collection of 7UP can bottoms that have this feature. Hosted on Fotki Watch out for the cans with the embossed numbers. The embossing may show up on the convex side. Depending on how deep the embossing is, you may be able to sand the embossing flat later in the process. Hosted on Fotki Use scissors to cut the bottom of the can free. BE CAREFUL! the edges are sharp. I were gloves to get the stage seen below. Then trace the inside diameter of your tire on the the center of the can bottom. In this case I made my own LSR tires from ring sizers. Hosted on Fotki

Hi Bill and Chris, I did an MCM article on making these some time ago. Let me check with Harry to see if it is OK to post a version in the How to section. I'll follow up soon. Scott

Hey Tom. I hear you brother. I did the exact same thing in that I recaptured my youth by replacing all my TD models. Yep - Some were pretty expensive grails. I never got to meet TD in person but... As a kid I wrote TD a letter at Monogram with a drawing of a trike in it. My Christmas Story dream was that he would see my design genius and make me the sorcerer's apprentice. I did not know was that Tom was gone by then. I got my drawing back with a letter from a marketing manager. (Don't remember the name) I was crushed. Then 40+ years after that TD was a judge on the Showrods site contest. He acknowledged my entry and we had a brief e-mail exchange. A dream come true. That was a grail experience. Back to grail kits. Scott

Lee is right about the numbers on he bottom of the can. I found that some 7up cans are OK. (I have a pretty good collection of can bottoms saved up.) Or... If the numbers are embossed with the high side on the convex of the curve you can sand them flat. This is what I was able to do using a common drill as a lathe. They are mounted on an old stone bit using CA glue. To remove them use debonder. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Parks makes a great product if you want to skip the work. Making your own allows you the option of any size you want.

Wow. Just amazing! The engineering on this is inspiring. Scott

All of these are awesome! The bar stool has to be my favorite!

It took at least two years to get this one done. I was planning on doing a repaint, but I can tell that will not be soon. Getting it in MCM was a dream come true. The base kit is the Scorpion. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Scott

I agree with everyone else. What a great subject and excellent execution. The weathering and extra details like the dent on the valve cover really make for quite a show.

I've been pretty lucky chasing grail models. Most of them were favorites from my childhood. The Flameout seen below was the first one I chased. I had no luck even finding one on e-bay. A friend actually got me one in the box from another source. I had to build it. The background matches the Flameout box art. Hosted on Fotki One of the grails that was not from my childhood was the Supper Digger. I lost a lot of bids on that until I finally stepped up and spent the $$ to get one in the box. Then they reissued it two years in after.

That was exactly what I needed. Thanks to Mike and KJ. I'm off to the internet!

Greetings, I am am replicating a Peterbuilt Hot Rod truck in 1/25 scale for FXI Trucking. Louie Force is the builder. The AMT body had to be widened to become to a true match for the 1:1 car. Now I have to replace the body rivets. Has anyone used the scale rivets from Archer to perform this task? If so, would you be able to share the size you used and the experience you had with the rivets? Thank you in advance for anyone who contributes. Scott Here are a couple pics of the project. More progress has been made since the bottom pic was taken. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

Art hit on a good point. 3D rapid printing should be able to help a model company fine tune the CAD drawing before going to the mold stage. That can be done state side and should be affordable. I would also like to add that is not easy to replicate a vehicle in scale. I have been replicating a hot rod Peterbuilt. I was able to get in on the ground floor when the frame was constructed. I took lots of measurements and pictures. I had to go back to the 1:1 project many, many times to re-measure or figure out some detail here or there. Then there is the issue with plastic body thickness vs real body thickness. This is not to excuse a company that puts out a less than accurate product. It's just an acknowledgement that it is not easy. I think that ultimately the buyers will decide with their money if a kit is up to par. Would you rather buy a monogram 69 Camaro or one from Revell or even AMT? Scott

Bobby = Scratchbuilding artist.

This 40 is clean and really well done. The door handles are excellent. I'll be watching.

It was an Uncertain T. I bought my wife a Golam figure as a trade. Both were splurges and expensive for us.

The more I look, the more I see. What an amazing model!

An Edsel.

Add one more WOW to the group. That is a stunning look!

Do a search for the Kit Bashers forum. They have a club. Really nice guys and good builders too. They put on the Citrus Nationals and The Route 66 show. Also the show at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona. I would post the link, but I don't think it's kosher to do that on another forum.

That is just CRAZY GOOD!