Art Anderson

For those unfamiliar with "caustic soda", in the US we call that Lye, or by its chemical name: Sodium Hydroxide. Lye is obtainable in its pure form as "Lewis Red Devil Lye", generally found in the cleaning supplies in a supermarket, or most of the 'big box stores". Be sure to read AND FOLLOW the instructions and the safety precaution information on the can though! Art

Of course, a simple pair of "inside" (not sure of the correct term here!) calipers would help in determining the width available on the inside of the model kit body shell for making roll cages that fit more closely to the inner surfaces/contours of the body shell, would they not? Art

Bear in mind that the plugs in a Chrysler Hemi are down beneath the level of the tops of the valve covers. Hemi valve covers have a metal tube for each plug that is a good 2" or more in diameter, crimped into the sheet metal valve cover at the top and with a fairly wide flange at the bottom where the tubes meet the cylinder head. Early Hemi's (1951-1958) were often used by rodders without the wiring looms installed (those long raised ridges screwed to the valve covers on the first generation Hemi's (Chrysler, Desoto and Dodge), and they used no rubber boots back then to align the wires or keep dirt or debris out of the tubes--the plug leads simply went down into the tubes, and snapped onto the top of the plugs. Art

I remember those clearly even today! Used to sneak them into the house as a kid, sneaked them into textbooks and notebooks in Jr High and High School! Art

Water borne "cleaners" such as Bleche-White, household lye or ordinary bleach do not damage polyurethane resin. However, any cleaner having any sort of alcohol (such as methyl alcohol AKA methanol and just about any industrial alcohol will penetrate, soften and ruin any resin casting done from urethanes. Art

Here's the Ditzler (now PPG Ditzler) color chip chart for 1937-38 Ford Commercial vehicles : http://www.tcpglobal.com/aclchip.aspx?image=1937-fordtruck-pg03.jpg Note though, that the standard factory paint scheme was any one of the available colors shown, applied to the cab (including the firewall, and I believe all interior metal surfaces), bed, hood and grille shell. The standard color for all 4 fenders , the running boards, and the splash aprons between running boards and cab & bottom of the bed was gloss black (to have those sheet metal parts painted the same color as the cab etc. was an extra cost option (relatively few were painted all one color given the still poor economic climate in 1937). Additionally, the floor of a Ford pickup bed from the factory had no exposed wood whatsoever. Ford lined their pickup truck bed floors with sheet steel having the skid strips stamped into the panel, with a 1" diameter drain hole (for rain or snow) in the front corner on each side of the bed floor. The sheetmetal panel on the bed floor was painted the same color as the rest of the pickup box from the factory (the underside of the bed more than likely was also painted the body color, even on the exposed oak planking on the underside. Wheel and the outer hubcap were gloss black. The center hubcaps were painted plack with the raised ridge around their edge, and the stylized V8 logo were polished stainless steel. Ford chassis and running gear including the shock absorbers and bumper brackets were painted a semi-gloss black enamel. Art

The wheel on the right side is a '67 to at least '71 Chevrolet pickup truck full wheel cover. Those were standard on fully trimmed out Chevy Fleetside pickups and early Chevrolet Blazers. Both AMT and MPC included those in their '67-72 Chevy pickup kits at one time or another. Art

I've been a model car builder since the days when a computer was something seen by most in a weekly cartoon in Saturday Evening Post (a HUGE boxy affair with all manner of pushbuttons and dials, attended to by wizened old men in white coats, long hair around the fringes of their bald domes, "coke bottle bottom" eyeglasses and gray beards). PC's and Mac's of course changed all that gradually but fairly rapidly over the past 20 years or so, particularly with the very internet which is going to transmit what I say here. All that said, this puter on which I write is nothing more than a tool, perhaps the most used tool in my home, but nonetheless a tool. It has replaced stationery, envelopes and postage stamps almost completely (just ask USPS about that one!), and has become more of my "Window To The World" (with apologies to WTTW, PBS-TV out of Chicago-Ch 21 on my local dial) than TV, tele- or smart phone, or either of the two newspapers I still like to read daily. While I've ordered model car kits online (have a couple of new releases on order right now), when given the choice I still prefer walking in the door of a hobby shop and then fondling the kit(s) I'm considering adding to my stash. I still prefer buying paint, glue and tools in person, with cash or card, AT a cash register. And supplies such as Evergreen? Sometimes the only way to confirm exactly what it is I need to get is to see the stuff up close and personal. For me as a modeler, the computer, with internet access, has become a trememdous research tool though. Yes I still pick up magazines which cover the types of vehicles I like to model (or at least dream of modeling), and yes those magazines still do give me pics that don't and won't likely appear online--but at the same time, I keep finding pics of grungy old relics or cars in the shop undergoing restoration that give me this or that bit of information that I would not otherwise gain sans actually going and seeing with my own eyes. In fact, virtually all the research that's going into my current model project has come to me online. The ability to enter search term after search term has turned up information that would otherwise have cost me a lot of money and time going out to find real 1937 Ford pickup trucks for example. There is a learning curve to that, of course--not every picture is correctly labeled, and most weren't shot with a model builder in mind, but they are there. However, nothing beats printed material in a book or magazine IF it has been done in those formats. Each source can suplement the others, much like my needing a left hand to wash my right hand and vice-versa. And in the bargain, the vast landscape of the internet makes it possible to do almost academic research into subjects that interest me, even current and potential model car projects. I'd be just as lost today without a computer and internet access as I would be without a well-stocked magazine rack or a good bookstore. Art

Believe it or not, most if not all the original Daytona's exist I think. I had the privilege, back in 1998, to visit a California collector of racing Fords, and he had one of the original Shelby Cobra Daytona GT's in his barn. Art

I still remember being at Auburn IN back in 2004, at the Labor Day ACD Reunion. At the Kruse Auction Grounds on the edge of town, in the car corral stood a brand-new 1927 Chevrolet Coach (2-door sedan). By brand new, I mean the odometer showed but 6 miles, and the original title was exhibited, in the name of a small central Indiana Chevrolet dealer from back then; signed over to the new owner, who bought the car in 2003. The story behind it was that the dealer ordered that car in for a customer, but in true small-town fashion, the prospective buyer and the dealer had a falling out, and the dealer simply put the car in storage, refusing to sell it! All it took to get the car looking showroom fresh was a wash and wax, new tires, fresh oil, water and gasoline, and of course, a new 6-volt battery--to me it was like looking at the content of a time capsule--that car was SHARP looking indeed! Art

From my experience (including sprayed on 2-tone paint schemes) the drying time of paint depends on several factors: Ambient air temperature, type of paint used (enamel, lacquers, or water-borne acrylics) and of course, the thickness of the coat of paint. Many model paints (Humbrol enamel being an exception here) dry to the touch rather quickly, but even so, they are not fully dry all the way through, as all paints, both lacquers and enamels, even acrylics, dry from the outside in. So, the 24 hr rule may well work for some, but not for all--so much depends on the climate in which you live--if it's the hot, dry desert, model paints will dry thoroughly more quickly than they will say, in Indiana where I live (fairly high humidity most of the year). Even though your paint may have seemed dry, it was soft, soft enough for the masking tape to actually pull at the paint which will mar the surface unless it's completely dry and hard. To make sure, I'd let that first color dry for several days, or even faster would be to use a food dehydrator, which will gently bake a thin model paint job dry completely in a matter of hours. Art

Bill, Essentially, Ford passenger car frames are the same from 1933-1940, in that while the overall length of Ford cars in those years did change, most markedly in 1938 with the introduction of the 1938 Ford Deluxe series, which very much predicted the '39 and '40 Ford bodies with their much greater rear overhang--the wheelbase stayed the same at 112". Additionally, the essential shapes and design of those frames were very much unchanged, except where alterations in suspension, ride height and such dictated different front and rear crossmembers. And some parts did remain the same as well, except for the shapes and sizes of say, the lightening holes in the legs of the center X-members over those years. That is a Ford characteristic from that period: Pretty much like the old VW Beetle ads in the early 60's, many major parts from newer Ford cars would fit older ones, certainly to a much greater extent than other makes of cars back then. Certainly my statement earlier was not meant to even imply that those frames were completely identical, just that their basic design, and a great many dimensions did not change from 1933 through 1940. While I seldom (if ever!) suggest comparing one model kit to another for say, accuracy or the lack thereof, somethings were learned from studying the '37 Ford VS the '40 Ford, at least in kit form: the outside width of those frames is the same, and the X-members are the same length front to rear, which made it possible for me to substitute the far more detailed, and "accurate looking" X member parts from the Revell '40 Ford coupe for the very crude version in the middle of their '37 pickup frame. Art

Some more progress: After almost taking a very wrong turn with the brake system, I finally discovered that '37 Fords did away with the older "pull rods" to carry the action of the brake pedal to the wheels, in favor of a much less reliable system of steel cables, which were partially housed in armored flexible conduits from the frame rails to the brake backing plates. After studying what few pics are available online, and not having a Ford service manual for 1937-38, I decided to use the brake backing plates from the Revell '40 Ford, as in appearance, basically they look very much alike, the major exception being that '37-'38 backing plates have a very prominent raised almost-box-section shape which captures the ends of the flexible conduits--so those were made from bits of modified Evergreen .100" half round styrene stock, with a .020" hole drilled in them at an angle for locating the outer ends of the conduits. Making the flexible steel conduit was actually one of the easiest jobs--simply wrapping 28-gauge soft copper beading wire tightly around a length of K&S .020" brass rod stock. Along the way, I kept bending that brass rod stock, but not to worry--the actual conduits are curved when installed, so maintaining a perfectly straight piece was not an issue. For alignment, I decided on drilling a hole at the beginning of the rear kickup on each frame rail, at an angle matching that of the rear legs of the X-member, then using some 1/8" Contrails (long discontinued stock) styrene tubing. That was installed with gap filling CA glue, and then the outer ends were filed and sanded smooth with the outsides of the frame rails. On the real frame, the tubing would not have been needed, given the fairly thin section of the steel channel frame rail, but with a model kit frame, it gets a bit more complicated. On the finished frame, there will be the sheet metal splash shields covering that exit "hole" and it's alignment tubing, and that will be visible once the running boards and rear fenders are installed, just as they are on the real Model 805 platform stake pickup. I built the actuating brake shaft from 1/16" Contrails styrene rod, with the brake arms made from the same material, with bits of .020" X .040" Evergreen strip styrene to make the "ears" of the clevises themselves. It's a rather tiny assembly: In this pic, it's the rod with 4 arms attached, the other arms were spares just in case: (The excess shaft ends were trimmed down for mounting in the frame) For the brake cable, I found, at Hobby Lobby, some excellent thread--Coats & Clark upholstery thread, which is a synthetic thread looking very much like miniature steel cable. Being synthetic fiber, there aren't any stray fibers sticking out, unlike with say, cotton sewing thread. This was glued in place into the sections of tubing used for locating and securing the flexible conduits to the frame rails, then pulled taut, and cemented into the clevises with a drop of CA. All this leads to the next pic: The chassis, with the basics of the cable actuated mechanical brake system: Link to larger pic: http://images46.fotki.com/v295/filevKxT/51f82/4/43743/3168549/omviewwithbrakecablesinstslled.jpg And, a pic of the chassis taken at a high angle from the side: Link to larger pic: http://images14.fotki.com/v218/fileezk4/51f82/4/43743/3168549/wshowingbrakecableinstallation.jpg Next up will be those splash guards, then the steering system; and then it's on to the engine. Art

Incidently, Moebius isn't doing those 3D printed parts themselves, but rather they have apparently entered into a relationship with a shop which can do that sort of work--almost like a model company hooking up with an aftermarket resin caster. Art

The more I've thought about this subject, I've come to at least one conclusion: All model kits, no matter the medium, come at a cost. The lowest up-front cost model kits were those early ones that came is bits of wood, pieces of Strathmore Board (a very fine quality cardboard if you will), a few bits of wire of various thicknesses, and a few metal castings (even early injection-molded plastic parts, believe it or not). When plastic model kits began hitting the scene about 1950 or so, the upfront cost went up by quantum numbers, but that was absorbed quickly by produciing kits in mass numbers, spreading the cost of tooling across vast numbers of any one kit. About 35 years ago or so, resin-cast body shells began to show up (and with a revived model car press they got pretty wide exposure). Now, in almost a direct opposite to injection-molded plastic kits which could be produced in mass numbers in a very short time-frame, resin kits were, and are, made from molds that are quite expensive to make (price RTV rubber sometime) using a material that is also many times more expensive than a comparable volume of styrene plastic pellets, in what is likely the most labor intensive (which translates into more costs, BTW) process in all the world of model car kits. What changes? The upfront costs (capital investment) goes way down, of course, but is more than replaced, on a per-unit basis by the extremely high tool and material costs, along with the much greater labor expense (I don't know a single resin caster--myself included--who works for free, doesn't require food, clothing, shelter along with all the other accoutrements of life), to make available model kits and/or projects that likely would never see the light of day as mass-produced injection molded products. I see 3D printing as being in the latter category for the near-foreseeable future: If one thinks of it, were a model car kit, done to anything at all like the standard we've come to expect today--100+ parts and lots of surface detailing, will require equipment (computer--with the capacity of handling HUGE files, software--and that software, in order to be at all capable of producing comprehensive model kits and parts will be expensive--and of course a 3D printer with the capability of making the resulting parts), the raw plastic material. All that is upfront cost, whether it is done in a factory setting (and given that 3D printing surely cannot keep up with the 90-120 second cycle or "turnaround time" of a modern injection molder, to produce mass quantities of kits will require a pretty fair number of 3D printer setups), not to mention the obviously much higher wage scales for people solidly versed in the operation, care and feeding of such equipment. Or, just as with a resin-caster, the upfront cost of all that equipment, perhaps only one, perhaps two 3D printing setups--again, upfront costs before that first 3D printed set of model kit parts comes off the end of the line, packed, and ready to be sent to the factory loading dock, or the aftermarket person's shipping desk. And, I haven't yet mentioned the necessary maintenance and repair services that will be required by anyone using such equipment, be they a large busness, a small operation, or an individual modeler wanting to create his own model car kits. For an individual modeler wanting to do his own 3D printed model car kit, the upfront investment necessarily would include all that the above two commercial examples would need to have, along with a learning curve AFTER he/she invests the money in the needed high tech machines, not to mention the operating software, along with the necessary files of information from which to print out their own model kit. So, what would that "upfront cost" per home-printed model car kit be? Say the entire project, all the hardware and all the software, plus the raw materials set the building back $1200-$1500 (probably not out of reason--good business sense is to always overestimate the costs), then the first successful kit will have set back that modeler the total purchase price of everything needed. Two kits? Each will have cost half the upfront investment, and so on. Pretty expensive model car kits, if you ask me! OK, so now you have all the equipment, and you've bought the necessary files for the kit(s) you want to have on your build pile--suppose you want to "run off a few copies for your friends", they paying you money for them? Where does that leave the person who did all the work to create those CAD files??? Unless the creator of such figures in some bit of code to stop the software from making more than one kit, that person winds up with absolutely no incentive to do all the work in the first place, does he? Of course not. And, don't say that such schemes won't be tried, because they will--how many times have we all seen someone copying parts from an existing kit, in resin--"Oh, just a few extras for my closest model car friends"? I think you can see the picture there. And that would be a major problem for anyone trying to sell the 3D printing files, be they a sole operator, or at least a moderately large small business. I've not even addressed the learning curves involved beyond figuring how to work the equipment, use the requisite software--what about the learning curve that almost assuredly will come for a model builder trying a 3D kit for the first time? If styrene cannot be used in 3D printing, that will mean learning to work with new glues, perhaps new kinds of paint, all that--and I think we each know more than one other modeler who won't be very happy to have to be the "old dog learning new tricks"--in short, there will be a good bit of resistance, certainly at the outset--again, I draw from my 12 yrs of casting polyurethane resin kits--I started that 24 years ago--and resin wasn't completely new, and yet how many times on this very set of forums do we see the same old, same old question: "How do I work with a resin kit?" The very same thing more than likely will happen with 3D printed parts and/or kits: "How do I work with this stuff?". Do I see possibilities? Yeah, of course! But do I see it replacing tried and true methods and media in this hobby anytime soon? No--for all the reasons I've laid out above in this already too-long missive. Art

Way too large, unfortunately. Micro-Mark sells a brass strap hinge (think the door hinges on an old barn door here) that is much closer, and can be bent to make the offset type hinge that Ford and virtually every other automaker used as door hinges through the early post-war years. An even better, closer to scale hinge can be had from Phoenix Model Development, and English supplier. I've gotten some of their hinges, not cheap, but no more expensive than dollhouse hinges, and certainly a lot more scale appearing, and a lot easier to use, according to Charlie Rowley, noted Massachusetts model fire apparatus builder. I'll take a pic or two of the hinges I've ordered from them and post them, along with a link to their website when I get home (doing this from work). I will be using Phoenix hinges on my '37 Ford pickup cab as well. Art

FWIW, there are more horses in the US today than at any time in our past history. We still write letters, albeit just not on paper. And radios? They are still everywhere. The automobile replaced horsepower for the VAST majority of people, but horses are still around, for pleasure. Pencils are still being made the same old, same old way--a rod of graphite encased between two sticks of cedar. Stationery and pens can still be had as can postage stamps and the mailman. And, we listen to radio still--in ever evolving ways. Art

Brett, Agreed. And, another thing: Present day computer technology relies on information in, and then spits information out. Computers as we know them really do not think for themselves, at least not yet, and certainly not to the extent that a truly realistic small scale model would require. An excellent video, "Design and Development Of a Plastic Model", put out by Tamiya nearly 30 years ago said it very, VERY well: "It is possible to make a scale model numerically correct, but it may not 'look' right". Yes, I know that dimensions should, and can be made, exactly numerically correct, but it's the subtle curves and contours that may very well NOT look correct to the modeler's eye IF they are exactly numerically perfect--due to the characteristics of human vision. Now, with a model kit of type of car that almost no modeler has seen up close and in person, nor ever will see in it's 1:1 incarnation (say that forthcoming 2016 Pungs-Finch GT Prototype -- a fictional car of course) I can see this sort of technology coming into play--but an model of an iconic mass-produced automobile (you can fill in the blank here) I have to wonder, given that thousands of modelers likely will have seen the actual car, each with his/her own opinion (and perception) of just exactly how it SHOULD look, say in 1/25 scale. I am well aware that 3D printing has seen some fantastic uses--consider that just within the last year, a little boy was implanted with a 3D printed "windpipe" to supplement his real one which kept collapsing as he breathed, and that kid is now thriving--stuff like that. Where do I see 3D printing of finished model parts? For the forseeable future, I see this technology entering our hobby in aftermarket parts and accessories, perhaps even limited run kits--but in mass production? For that to be viable, successful, the process would have to be speeded up by quantum factors--given the relatively slow speed of any printer compared to the 1-3 minute cycle of an injection molder, which itself can produce a complete kit in that period of time. Also consider that printers can suffer failures--be they 3D or the inkjet or laser printer at your own computer, failures that can be as small as a munged area on the page, or of course, complete and total stoppage. That kinda makes me think of the "widget machine" which when working went Ka-Chunk, Ka-Chunk, Ka-Chunk, until one day when while nobody was watching it, started going -Chunk, -Chunk, -Chunk, -Chunk. How many defective parts might be made before someone notices that? Again, a further problem that will have to be solved. But, for those added pieces that some modelers will want, but that whose potential sales don't warrant the expense of steel tooling, yeah--bring 'em on. But, I'll not hold my breath waiting for that $25 3D printed 120-piece kit of an actual production car in scale? I don't think I would look very good in cyanotic blue. Art

I've been using a Paasche H airbrush for over 35 years now, and find that it does a great job giving excellent paint jobs, plus being just about as bulletproof as airbrushes can be. In addition the H, just as with any similar external mix single action air brush, is the simplest to clean, to maintain. Should I need a replacement part, both Hobby Lobby and Michael's stock the most often requested part, the material control (paint delivery) unit, as do many local hobby shops, along with Tower Hobbies and Walthers. It's an excellent beginner airbrush, and for that matter, one that a great many modelers continue to use for years. Now, if one "graduates" to wild custom paintjobs, or serious "weathering" of models, then stepping up a notch or two to any one of the more sophisticated internal mix, dual action airbrushes may well be in order--but for most people, the Paasche H is an excellent beginner unit, VERY easy to learn to use. Art

Hey, it's nothing but a "digital" technique! Art

Oh great! A safety razor for dizzy people! Art

Tires tell me it's a model, given that there is no "squish" where the rubber meets the road (unless those are real tires grossly overinflated!) Art

Actually, decals are made with three principal products: clear, or colored lacquer for the basic decal film (any colors on top of those are printed in a slow drying lacquer), the "glue" (which almost always is nothing more than clear gelatin (There's always room for Jell-O!), on top of blotting paper (which readily absorbs water, allows the gelatin "glue" to be softened from underneath. I've had the occasion, over the years when seemingly a decal would not loosen on the paper. For starters, always use warm, nearly hot water, as that seems to penetrate the decal paper more quickly, and the warmer the water, the quicker it will soften and liquify the gelatin. Almost always, I have been able to get them to release by wetting a thumb and forefinger then pinching the decal sheet (soaking wet already, of course!) and squeezing it hard between those two digits. More often than not that seems to force water completly in and through the blotting paper backing, allowing the decal to be slid off the paper and onto the model. As for yellowing of old decal film--that's the film yellowing, not the gelatin--many older lacquers and most clear enamels will yellow over time, all on their own, again from 60+ years of building models. Art

To add a bit to this thread, often dissimilar metals or metal forming techniques of the same metal often present somewhat minor but noticeable color differences. I'm not that conversant with Corvette IRS setups, but at the very least, the universal joints are made are steel forgings, which will be a bit different (often darker in color) than the tubular steel used for driveshafts or half-shafts. Also, often U-joints, certainly before the age of permanently lubricated ones, were generally left unpainted at the factory, to lessen the chances of flakes of dried paint working their way into the bushings, which would hasten their eventual failure--so those parts would be grey iron in appearance when new, but rusty after a couple of months on the road. The tubular half shafts, if steel, quite likely would be painted black--if aluminum, the half shafts would be somewhat brighter due to the extrusion process by which aluminum tubing is formed, with hard aluminum alloy cast U-joints, or perhaps even cast steel ones. In other words, some color variation before any highlighting can help those details stand out even more, yet be very realistic looking. Art

Tom, Even the panel delivery, as well as the pickup, were built on passenger car chassis, all the way through 1940. Art