Art Anderson

In my experience, on the tooling mockup. That doesn't mean they don't want to see the final product, however. Art

On diecasts, I understand (even if I do not like) the mounting pegs, as the manufacturers have to ensure that the lenses don't just pop out easily. But, I can tell you that convincing the tooling designers overseas that plastic model kit builders don't want those is a constant effort. Art

Those old headlight treatments were fine, back in the day when we were all 12-about 16 or so. I, for one, don't much worry about building an "old tool" kit today--as there are water-clear epoxies out there (check the jewelry section at Hobby Lobby or Michael's) that can make them look quite real. Now, on a new-tool kit, or one such as the Ranchero where probably Round2 had to do an all-new '60 Rancho grille, then do the headlights the way we like 'em in the 21st Century. Art

I use the smallest size artist's palette knife, which looks like a miniature masonry trowel. Art

I'm told that the first plastic test shots should be in the US sometime between Christmas and New Years. Generally speaking, once tooling mockups have been approved to tooling, and the steel gets cut/engraved, it can take at least a couple of rounds of test shots to get everything in a model kit to where it needs to be. Art

No, Go Mango/Vitamin C were discontinued at the end of the 1970 model year. Art

The High Impact colors used back then were the same for both Challenger and Barracuda, just different names. Art

The '28-'29 Model AA cabs were simply the last series of Model TT cabs (late 1926) which were reconfigured with new cowlings, front quarter panels, and of course the cowl-mounted Model A gas tank, all to mate up to the Model A passenger car (coupe, roadster, Cabriolet, Sport Coupe and Tudor Sedan) hood. For 1930-31, Ford truck cabs took on the very same styling and lines as the 1930 Model A Standard 4dr sedan, and got the rear cab panel which curves inward toward the bottom below the beltline molding. Art

Erik's made an excellent point! Most, if not all of those "classic" beehive oil filters were cast aluminum--back in the day when scrap aircraft aluminum was extremely plentiful (from almost half a million airplanes being cut up and melted down after WW-II). Many items, such as the beehive oil filter he shows, were diecast, meaning that the mold used was very much the same style of mold used to make the model car part--just 25X larger and made for accepting molten aluminum alloy instead of styrene plastic. That would make for the mold parting line seen on the one Erik's shared here. About the only way such a cast aluminum part could be made without any mold parting line would have been to sand-cast it, which of course would have meant a lot of polishing and finishing of the raw castings. Of course, CNC machining didn't exist "back in the day", but that would have resulted in nary a mold parting line. My thinking here? I'd leave the mold parting line on the kit oil filter, because chances are any vintage cast aluminum accessory such as this would have a mold line or two on it. Art

Agreed! When I operated The Modelmaker Hobby Shop back in the 80's, I got this question almost daily. My reply? I steered requests for good starter glue-together model car kits to the Monogram section, and then pointed out models which I knew were straight-forward in their assembly. If I might add one more suggestion: Let your grandson have a hand in picking out the model--chances are that if he zero's in on one that really grabs his attention, he'll have a lot more reason to follow through to completing it! Gotta encourage upcoming model builders, of course. Art

I've used Modelmaster Acryl paints directly on bare plastic with my airbrush, and they work perfectly for me. Of course, being water-borne, the surface needs to be clean, and free of fingerprints, but a simply washing with soap and water takes care of that. I've had similar very good results with Tamiya's Acrylic paints as well. I think a lot of confusion stems from modelers learning to airbrush the old Polly 'S' paints, which were little more than a thinned out latex paint (chemically the same stuff as the latex paint one uses on interior walls, even on the outside of the house). That stuff would tend to "bead up" on even the cleanest of styrene surfaces, which required (for me at least) the use of a "primer", such as automotive acrylic lacquer primer, or better yet, Tamiya's lacquer primers. The flat finish of a primer allows this kind of water based acrylic paint to "wet" the surface, so that the paint doesn't just "bead up". Art

I've used CA glue for attaching chrome AND clear parts for a good 25 years or so now, and never have a problem with the "fogging" mentioned here. I discovered, when I owned The Modelmaker Hobby Shop here in Lafayette, a line of CA glues from Carl Goldberg Models, called Jet and SuperJet. SuperJet is a medium-viscosity CA glue which is a bit "syrupy", so that it doesn't just run or flow all over the place. In addition, I discovered an "accelerator" for CA glues (SuperJet is rather slow setting, so an accelerator is needed for quick setting up) from Bob Smith Industries (BSI), which comes in small spray bottles, BSI Accelerator has made it possible for me to use SuperJet CA glue whenever and wherever my heart desires, and in addition to setting the SuperJet in seconds, ABSOLUTELY prevents the "fogging" which often happens when CA glues set up (CA doesn't set up by drying, it does so by going from liquid to crystalline solid). In addition BSI Accelerator does not mar or damage any paint I've ever used on a model, nor will it mar or damage "chrome parts", and it does not affect styrene plastic (colored or clear) at all. In fact, when the Accelerator dries, it doesn't even leave any marks at all. In addition, BSI makes a line of polyethylene accessory tips that fit tightly and leakproof onto the nozzle of a SuperJet bottle. My favorite tip is the BSI 302 tip, which is a capillary tube which puts the CA exactly where you want it, from tiny drops to puddles. A quick spritz of BSI Accelerator, and the part is there for the count. Many hobby shops carry both SuperJet and the BSI products, both accelerator and the tips. In addition, Tower Hobbies (and likely other mail order and online hobby suppliers do as well), and the prices of both are quite reasonable. I highly recommend both these products--I never work on a model without them. Art

Some things that might help you in all this: AA Ford 1.5 ton chassis were all the same '28-'31, and did include an arched rear cross member which was used to hold a heavy transverse rear spring when a conventional Ford rear axle (in design this axle looks very much like the smaller passenger Model A rear end, just a good deal larger) was installed, for "Express Truck" use (large panel deliveries and the Express Pickup, which is the truck used on the "Waltons"). Model AA trucks, when introduced in 1928 used the same basic worm drive rear axle as the TT, through midyear 1929, when that was replaced by a full-floating ring & pinion rear axle--and that remained almost exactly the same unit for 1 and 1.5 Ford trucks all the way out through the 1952 model year. The early AA truck wheels (1928) were "wire wheels", in the same spoke pattern as the Model A Passenger Car wheel, but with much heavier spokes, and were 7:00-20 split rims (7:00-20 was also the most common size passenger car wheel used on large luxury cars such as Packard, Cadillac etc.--in fact early Classic Car restorers had to use truck tires most of the time until companies such as Denman Tire, Petit Jean Mountain Tire Company, and finally Coker Tire began building correct-looking passenger car tires for such cars, beginning in the mid-1950's). 7:00-20 tires were the common US size for this class of truck into at least the early 1950's as well. The 1932 Model BB truck chassis remained the same basic design through 1938 at least, with only minor "detail" changes in order to accommodate the changes in cab and front fender styling, shapes and dimensions. Ford, when they discontinued "wire wheels" (actually "welded steel spoke wheels" on the AA, went to using the 5-hole pressed steel wheel, made by Kelsey-Hayes, who also supplied the same style wheel to Chevrolet, GMC, Dodge and Studebaker, among others. 1929-31 AA trucks used the earlier style K-H wheel, which had a smooth center with the standard Ford 5-bolt pattern (that bolt pattern remained the same through at least 1952 from my reading over the years). For 1932 and the BB truck, this wheel design got one visible change, that being a "raised" center (where the bolt pattern is), that "stood out" about half an inch, looking almost like a very large "washer", but merely a stamping change. The wheels were, of course, the then standard "split ring" rim, the split ring rim "bead" being on the convex side of the wheel, which made it easily visible on the front wheel, but it is there on all 6 wheels when the truck was mounted with dual rear wheels. For the safety of the mechanic mounting and inflating tires, the valve stem, mounted in the center of the rim, angles to the "inside" of the wheel when you view the front wheel, so that it pointed to the concave side (inner side of the front wheel, outer side of the outer rear wheel in dually setups). This made it possible to inflate the tire without the mechanic being in "the line of fire", should the split ring blow off due to being inproperly seated on the rim before hand (a split ring coming off in such fashion can do so with enough force to decapitate and unsuspecting person. As for the BB truck, there were sheet metal changes between the 1932 Model BB, and the '33-'34, in than the '32 Ford truck grille shell stands absolutely vertical, with the hood panel fitting that vertical position at the front. For 1933, the grille shell was angled back (the AMT/Lindberg '34 Pickup shows that clearly), but the louvered hood side panels had no emblems or badges on them, as does the '34, so the louvers on the '33 are all the same length across their tops. A cool body for a '30-'1 AA truck would be the 131" wheelbase Panel Delivery: For 1931, Ford went slightly nuts in offering all manner of variations of this body: Conventional panel delivery, a canopy style variation using rollup side curtains and wire screens, an ambulance version (two variants here: rear loading and side loading), and a hearse (essentially the same as the ambulance version, but with the finer interior appointments associated with funeral coaches), The Panel Delivery body and its variations used rear fenders styled very similar to passenger cars, but much larger, to accommodate the much larger diameter tires). Another near body variation would be the "Service Truck", which Ford introduced in 1930. This body used the standard Model A/AA closed truck cab, with a smooth sided "pickup" style body carrying the lines of the cab side all the way to the rear, and was bolted directly to the rear corners of the cab (same as with the '31 Model A Deluxe Pickup that closely predicted the look of the 1932 Ford Ute produced for Australia. This body used the same style rear fenders as mounted on 1-ton panel delivery bodies as well. Ford originally intended this style for use as a service truck for Ford and Lincoln dealers, giving them a stylish Ford truck for on the road service, even as tow trucks. Art

FWIW, I've been using BMF since the early 1970's, and what Tom G. points out is still excellent advice! I have done very much the same things all along. If nothing else, a number of years demonstrating the stuff to "newbies" by doing short "clinics" at club meetings (I've been a member of IPMS Souders-Earhart since its founding in 1976, and Lafayette Miniature Car Club since it began in 1991), and in the hobby shop I owned for a number of years here--I think I've learned a thing or two along the way as well. One thing, Harry, that you mention is the tendency of BMF to lay down with a bumpy, or slightly grainy look to it. As near as I can figure out, that's the adhesive, which as you no doubt know, is a low-medium tack adhesive, not unlike that used on Post-It notes. Over time, I've had good success in smoothing that down, simply by polishing the foil down (once laid on, burnished into details and trimmed) using an old COTTON tee shirt (note I said cotton, as cotton-polyester blend tricot -- that's the term for the type of knit pattern used in Tee's--as polyester will leave scratches behind, while cotton won't), and polishing with a pretty firm pressure. I know that I've done the job thus, when I see the foil smooth down, which it does in this, and I have a blackish "stain" on the cotton knit from polishing the foil. Another little "trick" I have is using an ordinary "push-click" mechanical pencil that uses .5mm lead. The "lead", which of course is actually graphite will work the foil into the finest of surface details, and since graphite is itself a dry lubricant, the pencil lead slides very nicely over the foil and very rarely does it tear the foil. Art

Old fashioned vent wings have an inside rubber seal forward of the pivot points, and a visible outer black rubber seal on their trailing edge, next to the chrome plated vertical "post". Seldom do they "wrap" visibly to the outside, all the way around the opening. Best to check for pics of the real car just to be certain. Art

The kit is a repop of the MPC kit, which was originally produced circa 1967-69 as an annual series kit. So yes, it does have a one-piece chassis pan, which was very typical of model car kits of that era, but it really is far from what I would call "crude". Just that it was made for hands far younger than the age range of model car builders of today. Art

It's called "Styling", and 1969 was just about the absolute height of optional colors and accessories for new cars, including Camaro's. Art

The airbrush is the Paasche H-series, which is as good an airbrush as there is for starting out (Heck, I still use one, after about 50 years of airbrushing model cars!), three sets of delivery "nozzles" #1 (for fine spray pattern using very thin paints or inks), #2 (my favorite for painting model car bodies, and most everything else), and #3 (for spraying larger areas where a larger spray pattern is desired). The air compressor in this set is a diaphragm type compressor. While some don't like the slight "pulsing" air flow that comes from this type of compressor, I've used these types of compressors all through my painting experience, and never found it to be a problem with the H. I would suggest strongly though, that you get a moisture trap with the extra length of hose to go between the trap and the compressor (your airbrush hose will connect to the outlet side of the moisture trap). The reason for this is very simple: In any area where humidity is present, compressed air heats up slightly, and when that air pressure is released, particularly through a hose to any sort of spray gun or airbrush, the moisture (humidity) can (and often does!) condense on the inside of the hose. The moisture trap captures any moisture (water), preventing it from reaching your airbrush. Nothing spoils a nice paint job worse than occasional little droplets of water! While others may suggest fancier, more highly technical types of airbrushes, the Paasche H gives very good results--I've gotten several paint awards over the years, a number of 1st place trophies, even a Best of Show or two along the way--which is why I recommend it for a first airbrush. In addition, the Paasche H is quite easy to disassemble for cleaning, and replacement "material control units", which is what the paint comes through, are readily available (Hobby Lobby and Michael's both carry them, as well as many hobby shops. Art

Unlike so many, better-known-to-the-general-public-at-large, whose knowledge of say, sports heroes, hollywood stars, musical artists--the VAST majority of model car builders are relatively unknown outside of (1) their local or regional area, or (2) COMPLETELY unknown and unheard of unless someone, somewhere, sometime "outs" them either through a chance discovery by the news media or by having been "discovered" by other modelers (generally without the modeler(s) in question here having suddenly decided to "come out of their closet/model room" and enter a contest someplace. Those of us who frequent this and/or other online message boards, enter contests, go to NNL's, or even belong to a local model car club are, in my belief, a rather small "tip" of a very large "iceberg". This alone makes it pretty difficult to recognize more than a handful of modelers, simply because of a relative invisibility of so many others who probably have moved or shaken our hobby (but remain little-known to most of us, and probably those responsible for the Hall of Fame. (?) As for "Industry Insiders", I do find it interesting that the Gowland Brothers have yet to be recognized--yet those two Englishmen did an awful lot to put the concept of injection-molded plastic to model car subjects WAY back over 60 years ago--more so than any other model kit designers of their time or even earlier. They were the ones who made it possible for Revell (for example) to get into the business of making model car kits (Highway Pioneers) 3 or more years before Revell even got into making model kits of planes or ships, even their own in-house researched and designed model car kits of then-more contemporary model car kits. While I'm at it, why no recognition of the founder(s) of the likes of Tamiya, Hasegawa, Fujimi, Heller, Airfix? Hmmm, in a number of ways those pioneering plastic model kit entrepreneurs really are the ones who acquainted us modelers here in the US with current (for the years they were introduced) "foreign" exotics, Formula 1, and Lemans-type cars in plastic kit form. So, in this area at least, it gets "curiouser and curiouser" as to why no such recognition, IMO. Art

1956 Buick Roadmaster hardtop, first issued in 1956, run for perhaps a year or so and then dropped. It was reissued about 1960 or thereabouts (before Revell got serious about model car kits as we've come to know them in the early- middle 1960's as a custom version only. Art

I can still remember the considerable controversy over Renwal's (and Revell's too) George Washington Class Polaris submarine kits. Admiral Hyman Rickover, the "father" of the nuclear submarine spoke out before a congressional committee on the "wrongness" of such model kits being produced--they were giving away top secrets! (known staffers from the Soviet Embassy in Washington were seen scouring hobby shops all over the Washington DC area buying up those kits to send back to the Soviet Union as well!). Of course, over time the controversies died down, and those Renwal subs were staples of the Christmas season at hobby shops for the next 5 or 6 years or so. Art

I get kits and supplies wherever I find them. Art

However, just as it is out in the real, 1:1 World, the effect of anything newly or recently introduced (and that includes everything we modelers deal with, from kits to supplies, to concepts/ideas, even to the people with whom we interface in the hobby) seldom is ever really known the instant that such happens. Rather, it can take years before the true effects of anything or anyone significant at a given moment in time to be known, along a range line from "ho-hum" to a true, significant "game changer". Art

The major problem with installing someone currently "on top of it" as a model builder is simply that in any sort of HOF environment, that person may not be considered "on top of it" ten-fifteen-twenty years out. Note that the HOF in Salt Lake City has ensconced not just model builders, but people from the industry, both major model companies and aftermarket, who by the time they were voted in and inducted, had made major contributions to our hobby--not simply just someone who happened to have won some "Best of Show" awards in the past say, 10 years or so. In my mind's eye, there is a good deal of difference between that and someone who's really moved the hobby forward over a longer period of time. Of course, it is almost a given that any "Hall of Fame" anywhere, be it MLB, NFL, NBA, NHA, or any of the major motorsports leagues, even the auto industry itself, can be very subjective in how nominees are selected--all one need do is pay attention to the sports pages during the "Hot Stove Season" (meaning now, going into winter, until the snow stops flying) and read the articles and commentary about who should or should not be considered for the upcoming respective Halls of Fame Take baseball for example: How many great players, managers or other long-time personalities get ignored due to their alleged or actual transgressions either on or off the diamond? So, any such recognition in the model car fraternity likely will always be at least somewhat subjective, but in any case, that is an honor which should not be accorded lightly or likewise rejected simply "out of hand". And to my way of thinking, if one looks at the list of inductees into the Model Car Builders Hall of Fame, and takes a bit of time to read up on, or otherwise find out about who these people were/are, and what their contribution to our hobby has been (and some are still making those contributions to the growth, excitement and pleasure I'd like to think we all appreciate!). Art

Check me if I'm wrong here, but here goes: Any race car (or any vehicle period!) running a "locked rear axle" (no differential whatsoever), when turning, particularly at a very low speed (such as in a garage, or garage/pit apron) has the characteristic of one tire (the inside tire when the car is turning) trying to "slow down" while the other tire (the "outside" tire trying to turn faster due to the different radius each tire is being rolled around in any turning of the car. (All one need do is be present, watching and listening when a crew is pushing such a race car by hand!). With the low air pressure in wrinkle-wall slicks, it seems to me that just about any dragster, shut down, after having been moved in such a manner would exhibit sidewall wrinkling on one slick as though it were hooked up at the starting line out on the strip, while the opposite slick's sidewall would be wrinkled at least slightly as though it were under power in reverse, would it not? If I'm correct here, then this seems to me to be an answer if one were positioning a model as if it were in the pits, or perhaps just after turning onto the return road before the push truck or other tow vehicle were starting to roll it back to the pits (the same would be true if the model were being posed as coming out of a staging area, but before it was rolled down toward the starting area in a straight line. Of course, for say, display at a car show, it would seem likely that dragsters and funny cars get positioned in their respective display areas in such a manner (or the slicks aired up a bit more, to allow the sidewalls of the slicks to be more or less unwrinkled, or at least such wrinkles as appear would not be in a pattern showing any tendency of the wheel rim to try to twist the tire against the pavement surface. As for weighted tires, and their "squish" area above their "footprint" or "contact patch" (where the rubber meets the road), it would be difficult to tool automotive tire treads at all easily with that in mind. As it stands currently--model car tire molds are done on fairly sophisticated milling machines, which make them by rotating a round steel "hob" against whatever milling cutters are used, be they old-fashioned "side mill" cutters, or even the more modern electro-discharge milling units. It's just one of those things that any model kit designer or tooling engineer would have to consider as "cost VS benefit", from what I have learned and observed over the years. As for realism, while I am well aware that a lot of scale aircraft kits do have tires exhibiting a squish pattern to them, if you look at them, they are generally molded in hard styrene, as opposed to the softer PVC or even synthetic rubber we model car builders tend to prefer. In addition, few scale model aircraft kits have tires with much, if any, very well-defined and complicated tread patterns. In addition, many such model aircraft tires with weighted squish appearance do seem to have that visual feature rather overstated. As I said, "check me if I'm wrong". Art