Scott Colmer

Looking good, John. Can't wait to see the porcupine nest all chromed up. It was good to see you at the GNRS yesterday. I'll bet you did pretty well. Take care. Scott Colmer

Wow! That is a killer model. Excellent proportions and detail. AWESOME!!!!

FYI - Aside from being the most original Sketch Pad artist out there - Jairus Watson also built a light tan GSL winning Woody. It was a lightly weathered surf rod. Wish you would build more, Jairus. Scott PS - The Fred issue was the first SAE I found. Jarius was in that one too with a 49 Ford Sedan delivery. I bought the back issue with the Jairus GSL winner very soon after that.

This thread was my lunch entertainment and I finally got home to play too. I was also blown away by a back issue of SAE. It was in the late 80s? It was a GSL contest issue that featured a light tan woody as the winner. It was amazing and - I was not longer building alone. I bought a bunch of back issues, I have bought every issue since and even used the club directory to join the local SAM chapter. I also have just about every magazine I could find since then, which includes Plastic Fanatic and all the MCM issues. They are all kept on shelves and I reread them constantly. I can say that SA did hit a slump recently, but the quality has picked up. They are getting a lot out of recent crop of high end builders. I also liked Jim Haught's article about making mistakes and how to correct them. We all blow it. It's the good one's that go back and fix it. One thing I really miss is the in depth features on one outstanding model car. Not just a center spread with bullet points, but the story and description of the build. The first one of these I remember was Don Fahrni's PS T-Bird. I must have read that article 20 times! It's been said before in the thread that MCM is more of a people's magazine and I have to agree. That is the charm. The family atmosphere that shows in this forum is also apparent in the pages. I applaud the great contest coverage that MCM has been providing. SA seems have gotten back on track with that too. It's also pretty clear that MCM is putting a lot of effort into how-tos. I really like that. Do I want to see more consistency - Yep. Would I like to have MCM NOT be the only magazine that arrives damaged. More than you can imagine. (I have tried to help figure that one out.) I'll always subscribe to both because I Iove almost anything to do with model cars. Some years ago I did the newsletter for the SAM club. It was a photo copy 4 page item with scanned photos. I used a macintosh to put it together. Guess what... It was a lot of work just for that. I applaud the efforts of anyone who is taking the time to put together modeling entertainment for to enjoy. Scott

Ohhhhh Boy!!!! Gettin' the details right. Way to go, John!

I taught my kids how to build models. One prefers Mario Kart, the oldest likes to build legos. He makes his own creations. You can be sure I am going to show him this. I think it's killer!

Very, Very Clean. I have the old Heller kits. Makes me want to dig into it. Yours is a great build! Scott

I am so stoked to have a place to build again. A few of my projects have been un packed, while the collection says boxed up waiting for the time when I can build the shop we have been dreaming of. Here is a history of work spaces. Wish I had a pic of the drafting board in the converted closet I used after college. 2011 Hosted on Fotki 1999 - 2010 Hosted on Fotki 1968 - 1982 (The desk stayed, but the walpaper changed in 1978.) Hosted on Fotki

Watch Topic engaged. Go get it, John!

Cool: Getting a masters degree in english while working nights. Uncool: Still making typos and getting teased about it by my family. Cool: Attending the Bob Bondurant four day road race school Uncool: Rolling my own car one week later. Cool: Teaching 6 kids (so far) how to build a model. Great thread.

Finally! After six months with no place and no time to build, I finally got my work area set up and got a few hours in. It's not quite as roomy as my last space, but it will do fine. So far I laid some Alclad on wire wheels for an update to an older project and made a throttle pedal assembly for the current project. Scott Hosted on Fotki

Nice looking ride. The twin turbo/ blower combo pays homage to Rick Dobbertin's Nova and J2000 1:1 cars. Keep going. Scott

Hey Mark, That is also one of my favorite Dios. I have seen it in person and was blown away. It was featured in some Model cars magazine coverage. I wish I could remember the name of the builder. It is an incredible piece, loaded with detail. The welding tip has a fiber optic tip. I think the first name of the builder was Al. (Not for sure.) Scott

Excellent work! I really like this. You did a great job with the functional details and the overall look of it. The latham blown hemi is killer. Great stuff! Scott

I feel you can stop adding detail when you reached the look and detail of a real car. For me the fun is not only in the design and concept, but in clean and in-scale detail. That can include tricks to add that last element seen on a real car. It can be done with illusion or photo etch or plastic or even decals. Check out the steering wheel on Mark Jones's GSL winning superb 7 if you get a chance. The threads that laces on the leather steering wheel cover are visible if you take a look. He added them with a custom decal. In fact, if it is on a real car, it's on the "7" but you have to look for it and even know what to look for. Mark is by no means the only one out there making 1:1 detail realistic models. There are others. These guys use some clever tricks to add realistic detail. If you catch them by thier model, take a look, find something you like, and ask them how they pulled it off. To me, that is the most fun. Not to say detail rules all. I also enjoy looking at a cleanly executed less detailed builds, especially if the concept is unique. Ricky Couch and Winston Mitchel are good examples of this type of model artists. When detail is not clean or over done, is when I loose my enthusiam for the model. Seeing a model where they added all the PE they can find to every open spot and then anchored the seatbelts to fender tubs takes away from what could be a better model overall. Also, if a modeler went to the trouble to make a bunch of small detail parts (which I think is a very fun thing to do), it is noticeable if they took the time to prep them and air brush them. Brush paint almost always adds thickness, rounds edges, and makes flat surfaces lumpy. And it is also noticable if they took care to glue them on straight. With the exception of overloaded PE, I have made most of these mistakes myself. But the next model is the next opportunity to do it better. Scott

Thanks Larry. Please keep us posted on your project. It's a great subject. Scott

This is a great thread. I've always liked looking at in progress stuff. Here are mine main ones. My apologies if you have seen them before. Most are stalled for 15 years or more. I actually do have one project at a time on the bench. The problem is the desire to just see what an idea looks like pushes projects aside. Sometimes, I commit to a favor or contest and then my current project looses it's spot. All of these are in line to be finished as spare time permits. I stalled on this one when the bodywork got tiresome and I had an engineering problem with the front suspension. The suspension problem is figured out. It's 4th in line for the bench in 2011. Hosted on Fotki This was an asymtrical styling project. The engine is 1/2 a hemi. Each side will have a diffrent look. The side with the blower will be wilder than the other. It stalled when another project took its place. Hosted on Fotki This one stalled because I could not figure out how to make the finned valve covers I wanted. A while back Mike Flynn explained how to make them. Once I have time and a photo etch kit, I'll try again. Hosted on Fotki Failed valve cover. Hosted on Fotki This one is at least 20 years old now. It's third in line for 2011. The chassis is scratchbuilt because I wanted it to be unboxed. It stalled and got revived and stalled again when another project took it's place. Hosted on Fotki Thanks for letting me share. I am looking forward to seeing more. Scott

I was hoping to get these two done, but as they say - Life gets in the way. The land speed Vette was moving along pretty well, then got sidelined by one project then another Vette project. That's the second pic. Then we decided it was a good time to move. It was, and we got a what will eventually become our dream home. But my building stuff is still packed away. On top of that I am working on my teaching credential. So these two will sit until 2011. The Land Speed Vette will follow the Drag Vette. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

Here is what I was able to put together. It is scratchbuilt, but not a huge amount of work. The base is all styrene shot from a distance with flat alumninum to make it look cast. The fittings are hex styrene. The bolt in the bell crank was shaped from a pin head. Note the wire across the top of each post. Add tube injectors and they look like throttle plates. Scott Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

The aluminum tape is a calssic 1000 and 1 uses materials. It takes surfacing. It can be punched out to create rivets. Below is an engine-turned dash with rivets. Rivets can be made by simply twirling beveled brass tube on the tape and then pushing out the rivit with a dowel for a flat head rivet or a pin for a blind rivet. If you go too small (1/32") the gum adhesive works agianst you. You are better of using thick aluminum foil and clear acrylic to stick it on. The engine turning can be done with a homemade device detailed in a Model Cars article. Also think of making some special scuffing pattrerns to look like flames. You can also create an anodize look with Sharpies. That would make a great inset for a 57 Chevy tail fin. Score straight line on the backside and you have a bead rolled panel or wheel tub. And so on and so on. Scott Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

I feel your pain, Ismael. I found this mess sometime last year when I was digging for parts. The little monsters had eaten through the back of the cabinet and were working their way though my collection box to box. They LOVE decals and of course got to the Tamyia stuff first. Amazing how they also found the ONE kit - a Sauber Mercedes wit the circuit board pattern - that I bought just for the decal. This is what they they did. Oh I also had to have a little termite damage repaired when I sold that house. You may want to get an inspection. Good luck Scott Hosted on Fotki

Well, it's nice to be remembered. These disks were made with from the bottom of a 7up can. Parts by Parts are nice, but they are limited in size. I needed a larger disk, so I made my own. It only takes about 15 minutes per disk at pennies each. They sell back issues somewhere on this site. Scott Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

Great stuff, John. I really like watching you crank these out. Excellent work. Scott

Great stuff, John. I really like watching you crank these out. Excellent work. Scott

I had to laugh when I read this one. I spent at least an hour trying to figure out how that set went together. I think you are missing a part of the instructions. I can tell you this much from memory. The short pieces all loop though the adjusters and have buckles on the ends. The trick is getting two section of belt threaded correctly into the adjusters. One section of belt just loops through, then fold over and glues. The other actually threads through. It's a real pain in the butt, but the results can be worth the effort. Hosted on Fotki