Art Anderson

A far more accurate set of Ford '36-'39 "wide five" wheels can be found in the Revell '37 Ford pickup--same wheel and tire as the passenger car. I say more accurate, as AMT's '36 Ford wheel lost it's :"artillery" spoke pattern way back in the early 1960's, but Revell's has them, and much better done in the bargain. Also, the Revell wheel and tire are a true-to-scale 6:00-16, where AMT did their's as 6:50-15's. Art

VERY few modelers have been able to build "balls to the walls" crack out of the box with their first builds. Most all of us have built up our skills, learned new techniques "one model at a time" over time. Just keep trying to push the envelope with each build, some way, somehow, someplace. Art

1955 Studebaker President Speedster 1957 Golden Hawk (supercharged, please!) 1962 Studebaker Grand Turismo Hawk Art (Oops, someone already made a model of me! )

I believe, at least at their outset, Brookville actually disassembled a straight, rust-free original '32 Ford roadster body, and created new stamping dies from those using Kirksite alloy dies. Kirksite has been around for a couple of decades or more, and is used for short-run sheet metal stampings. Being an alloy primariy of zinc, it can be poured against existing sheet steel shapes without seriously damaging them--perhaps the ultimate in "reverse engineering"?). The deuce, particularly the roadster, was made up of fairly simple steel stampings, which would make such a reproduction possible. It seems very likely that most of the reproduction sheet metal, such as the Mustang fastback Luc mentioned above, is done in much the same manner. As such, it's probably not too likely that the companies doing this sort of work do much in the way of CAD--as that would mean actually cutting new steel dies, probably a lot more expensive to do. Art

All engines with a hemispherical combustion chamber have their intake and exhaust valves located to the sides of said chamber, with the sparkplug at the very center. This allows for the flow of intake gasses into one side of the combustion chamber, with exhaust gasses going out of the other side. It's the most efficient internal combustion engine layout--used since the introduction of the first serious DOHC engine from Peugeot in 1913. If one looks at any Chrysler Hemi, 1951-58, one will notice a raised stamped steel cover down the middle of each valve cover. That is a wire loom, itself rather common on earlier OHV V8's, for the purpose of aligning plug wires, and often hiding them from view. Take that steel loom or cover off, and you can see four individual tubes in each valve cover, having a flange at the bottom, using a gasket to keep oil from getting to the plugs. The second generation Hemi's (1964-71) never had the loom, or cover, so those holes are highly visible, although Chrysler did install neoprene rubber covers for each plug hole, to keep dirt and moisture out. Art

Of course, it's well worth mentioning that ABS doesn't bond at all well to styrene, as anyone whose ever tried gluing the original Plastruct material to an ordinary model kit can attest. That said, it likely will have some model car building applications downroad. Art

Another way to make copper wire to "drape" realistically, is to anneal the wire before using it. To anneal copper wire, all that is needed is a flame, preferably a blue flame, such as a gas kitchen stove burner. Simply turn the burner on, then, holding the wire at one end with a pair of pliers, slowly run the wire through the flame--the wire will glow red hot, and the flame surrounding it will be red as well. That's it, all it takes--when cooled down to room temp, the copper will be almost as limp as wet spaghetti. If there are any kinks in the wire, simply pulling it taut with your fingers, then drawing it across the edge of your workbench will take all the little kinks out of it, leaving a smooth, if slightly curled piece of soft copper wire. You can still bend it, and it will stay exactly as bent or draped. Art

John, Wire wheels for a Curved Dash Oldsmobile probably won't be found in 1/25 scale, simply because no 1/25 scale model kits of cars which could have been fitted with wire wheels from that era have ever been made, making this request most likely one for a set of scratchbuilt wheels. That said, the vast majority of 1902-1905 Oldsmobile 2-cylinder cars (the Curved Dash model) were fitted at the factory with wooden artillery style wheels. The next problem would be a matter of size: Automobile wheels and tires of that era were much larger in diameter than any modern-day motorcycle (or even drag car front wires)--with rim diameters probably larger than 24". It might be easier to fit your scratchbuild with wooden wheels, and I'd suggest taking a look at the front wheels from the AMT or Lesney-AMT 1907 Thomas Flyer. Those are a very believable size, and have the smooth, treadless high pressure pneumatic tires typical of the years before 1910. Hard to find? Might be, maybe, but those wheels would get my vote. Art

OK, Add in the following: 51 Bel Air Convertible 51 Bel Air Hardtop 53 Bel Air Hardtop 55 Bel Air Hardtop 55 Bel Air 2-door sedan 55 Bel Air Nomad 56 Bel Air Hardtop 56 Bel Air Nomad 57 Bel Air Hardtop '57 Bel Air Nomad 68 Impala Convertibler 68 Impala Hardtop 69 Impala Convertible 69 Impala Hardtop 71 Impala Hardtop 71 Impala Convertible 72 Impala Hardtop 72 Impala Convertible 04 Impala Art

This one is a perfect example of something I've maintained for better than 20 years now: A resin transkit (or complete kit for that matter!) is only as good as the master model made to cast from. For that reason, the really top resin casters are very careful about accuracy, and work diligently to make sure that any model they cast is as accurate as possible given the limitations that can be inherent in such a project. Art

The fluted stainless steel cladding on a bus body is one of those surface details that cannot be replicated by decals--it's pretty nigh impossible to capture the shiny polished stainless steel fluting that way (ask anybody who ever saw the Burlington railroad's "modernized" 1920's era dining cars that were painted to look like fluted stainless steel--the effect was less than stunning!). Fluted stainless (some busses have been clad in fluted anodized aluminum as well) generally had a contour looking very much like a series of tubing shapes, as if bright stainless tubing had been sliced lengthwise at about 1/6 of a circle, the "slices" laid side to side, with the inside surface showing as the surface. About the only way to duplicate that surface would be with a vertical mill and a ball-shaped end mill (cutter), but it would take a LONG milling table in order to make the cladding for a 50-55 foot long bus body. Minnesota modeler Joel Dirnberger did just that, when he started scratchbuilding a 1/25 scale model of the legendary General Motors Futurliner, the transport vehicles for the traveling version of the GM Motorama's (the rigs were originally built for the 1939 New York World's Fair, mothballed during WW-II, then updated and used in Motorama service through the 1950's. Of course, the Futurliner is just under 40' long, making the long milling table for Sherline's mill adequate for such lengthy pieces. This style of fluted stainless was also used by GM Coach for the busses they built for Greyhound from the first postwar "Silversides" through the iconic Scenicruisers (and their single deck stablemates), and subsequent intercity busses to the end of GM Coach (picked up though be successor companies and of course, GM's competitors). Now, it would be possible (albeit time-consuming and probably nerve-wracking!) to scratchbuild a master for casting such cladding in resin, using Evergreen styrene half-round strip stock. That's far more complicated than can be explained in a forum such as this, but PM me if you are interested, I'll give you my thoughts as to how I would tackle it. Art

Charlie, For all their basic simplicity, Model T closed-body cars did have a few amenities! While Model T open cars (roadsters & touring cars) used "art leather" (artificial leather) which was somewhat akin to vinyl, coupes and sedans used real wool, in a broadcloth weave for the seats, inside door panels, upper quarter panels and rear panel, and of course, the headliner. The wool fabric was (working from memory of seeing several all-original 1920's Model T Fords when going to college in a small Iowa town in the early-mid 1960's. This was dyed a medium greyish brown. The basic floor covering was black rubber, in a ribbed pattern, but for a couple of dollar bills, coconut straw matting not unlike a natural fiber doormat could be had. Metal parts, namely the dashboard, steering column & steering wheel spokes were gloss black, with a very dark wooden steering wheel rim. The only instrument would have been a speedometer, no ammeter nor temperature or oil pressure gauges. The handbrake/neutral-high gear lever to the left of the driver was gloss black as well. Art

Monogram first issued metal bodied car kits in the fall of 1977: 1948 MGTC, 1953 Corvette, and the 1956 Thunderbird. These had diecast metal bodies and hoods,, with pretty well detailed styrene everything else. In 1983, recognizing the rather poor reception these kits (as well as with the 1980 release of the '48 Jaguar XK-120, '32 Duesenberg Boattail and '31 Packard dual cowl phaeton) got with diecast metal bodies, the company reworked the tooling so that the body shells and hoods could be shot in styrene, which resulted in the kits we still have today (of the second set of metal bodied kits, only the Jaguar XK-120 was ever reissued with a plastic body). Of the Styrene plastic '53 Corvette kits, the AMT glue kit is probably the least attractive, having been tooled in a very trying period for AMT, and first released in 1974 or 1975. It just doesn't look right in the eyes of a lot of modelers. Monogram's, while 1/24 scale, just has the look, as does the AMT '53 Corvette snap kit, which itself is an unassembled version of a "retro-promo" that AMT/Ertl did about 20 years ago, to mark the 40th Anniversary of the first Corvette--this one is quite nicely done, but of course, is a curbside--but like the Monogram kit, it just has "the look". Art

I, along with another modeler were privileged to be asked to help evaluate the Ford F100 pickup tooling mockups this weekend. All I can say is WHOA NELLIE! Dave M. and the factory have really done their homework. Sure, there are a few little niggles which need to be corrected for accuracy, but those are matters of this detail or that detail, a slight alteration to an opening, put a bit more finesse in something like a grille--that sort of stuff--no having to go back, completely recarve a body shell, nothing that major. So, pickup truck fanciers, even fanatics--you guys for whom ONLY a 67-72 F100 will make the sun rise in the East, hang in there, good times are comin'! Art

OK, that does change things a bit for sure! A couple of things will be necessary to get the essential measurements: First, the wheelbase of the short box version, and second, the BBC (Bumper to Back of Cab) dimension. The latter should be fairly easy to find, as virtually all light commercial sales literature (beyond the smplest sales brochures) back in those days (and probably still do) will show that dimension, for prospective buyers of a cab & chassis version for mounting an aftermarket commercial body. However, even without that, just having the overall length of the short bed pickup, along with the wheelbase, will give the essential information. In any event, doing a proper short box conversion will involve shortening the box and chassis forward of the rear axle, and with the camper special, there still could be some alteration of the rear overhang needed as well (but that would not be known without the two dimensions I mention in this paragraph. No matter what, it should not be an insurmountable task though. Art

Pickup boxes from that era came in two standard sizes: 6.5 foot, and 8 foot. As a general rule (until later in the 1970's), the difference in length was 12" in front of the wheel arch, 6" behind it. Art

Superchargers ("Blowers) also were not particularly popular for street use back then either. While supercharging for automobile engines was thought of, even installed on a few cars just before 1910, supercharging, either by Rootes Type units (used by Bugatti and Mercedes by the end of the 1920's) or centrifugal types (made legendary by the likes of Duesenberg, Auburn, and Cord, along with Graham Paige starting in 1932) those disappeared from production cars until Kaiser tried them in 1954-55, in an attempt to pump up sales of the then-failing Kaiser Manhattan, in what Kaiser called the "Dragon"--this done to try and negate that company's stodgy reputation of relying on a rather anemic flathead inline 6. It did not work, did not save Auburn Automobile Company (who also produced the Cord and owned Duesenberg), nor did the idea save the Kaiser automobile either. Of course, Studebaker installed a Paxton (made by McCulloch--the chain saw people) supercharger on the 1957 Golden Hawk, and then made Paxton (centrifugal) superchargers available on the Avanti and Larks in 1963, but that was too little, too late. Latham built a curious, "axial flow" supercharger for a few years, which used the turbine technology of the turbo-jet aircraft engine--namely the compressor section of those and the then-new gas turbine concept, but it couldn't be turned fast enough to create much boost--not that very many automobile engines of the time could have withstood much in the way of supercharger boost--they just weren't built for supercharging. GMC "rootes type" superchargers were, for the most part, far to large for street use on automobile engines. If not too large (Detroit Diesel built supercharged 2-cycle engines in configurations from 2-cylinder to V16, covering all points in between), but being "positive displacement" superchargers, back off the throttle quickly, you could blow the supercharger manifold to shrapel rather quickly. Art

Actually, neither were very popular on hot rods in the 1950's. Consider that pretty much the only aftermarket fuel injection system available through most of the 50's were the systems produced by Hilborn, and even those were really only practical in constant high speed action, such as AAA/USAC Midgets (for which cars Stu Hilborn developed his first FI system, 220 cid Offenhauser AAA/USAC sprint cars, and of course the setups developed by Hilborn for AAA/USAC Championship Division cars used at Indianapolis and on the so-called "Championship Trail". It wasn't until Mercedes-Benz developed their fuel injection system for use with the W-196 Grand Prix cars and the 300SLR Lemans-type sports car followed closely by the 300SL series of streetable sports cars, along with the Rochester fuel injection system introduced by Chevrolet on the 1957 Corvette and Pontiac on the '57 Bonneville that FI systems became practical EVERY diesel engine from the gigantic Cleveland Diesel V12 and V16 railroad prime movers used by Electromotive Division of GM, Detroit Diesels, Cummins, and everyone else who built diesel engines from the early 20th Century onward were at least "available", but the learning curve to adapt such to ordinary gasoline engines by home mechanics probably was very daunting. In addition, the price of buying such a system was well beyond the pocketbooks and bank accounts of the vast majority of hot rodders back then. Not that they weren't talked about, and wished for though! Art

A Paasche H operates almost exactly the same as a Binks Wren, or a Badger 350, with these advantages, from my years of experience: All three are external mix single action units, and give great paintjobs on model car bodies, although they really cannot do really fine custom paintwork (they don't have the fine, small spray patterns necessary for really delicate fogging or flame paintjobs. On the other side, they are extremely simple to use, given that being "internal mix" (that is, paint and the airstream come together outside of the body of the airbrush, as opposed to internal mix units, which blend the two inside the front of the airbrush body). As such, they are also quite simple to maintain, to clean up after use. As for durability, Paasche H beats the other two, hands down: The H may seemingly weigh a ton, due to its heavy, brass body, but it also has a very forgiving nose to it, the venturi chamber being plated brass, the material control (the nozzle if you will) being made in Nickel Silver--which alone makes that part very resistant to splitting or cracking. Binks Wren and the Badger 350 have their material control nozzle (two part unit, a sharp, long, hollow "needle) surrounded by a very finely machined "cone" which meters the material (paint), all of which is adjustable, made from brass, which can crack or split easily. The Badger 350 has it's hose couplings and material control/venturi merely pressed into a plastic body, while the Binks Wren has a soft, cast aluminum body, which has it's venturi cast in place on the body, and is very prone to damage if you drop it on the floor (easy to do with any airbrush, BTW. Price-wise, all three are in pretty much the same ballpark, with this additional: Over the years, Paasche H-series has great replacement parts availability, where Binks has sort of fallen by the wayside (Binks is much more into professional spray equipment for industry and the autobody trade), and Badger? That all depends on where you are. Just my .02 cents worth as a very satisfied Paasche H airbrush user for nearly 40 years now. Art

I second this emotion! However, rather than putting the model in a plastic bag, I place the car, on its wheels in the box, and then use pieces of tee-shirt knit cotton (AKA Cotton Tricot) which you can get as cleaning rags in a lot of stores, or just cut up old tee-shirts) to pad gently around the model, sides, ends and a soft roll of the stuff on the hood and rear deck. I use this whenever I travel by air with model cars, simply packing the models I am taking in a fairly large backpack (the one I use when biking to work and such)--they sail right through TSA's scanners, with nary a question (but often lots of favorable comment from the people doing the scanning!). Only problem with this is that some cars are too tall for this sort of box, so a similar, but taller box, called a "mailer" gets a call there. Art

RRR--Real Rolls Royce Art

Harry, virtually all American aircraft manufacturer's engineering drawings since the very early 1930's exist someplace. For example,Boeing Aerospace (who also bought out North American [builder of the P-51 Mustang] and Vought-Sikorsky [Vought produced the F4U Corsair series]) maintains a very complete historical archive of their aircraft drawings, as well as drawings from the companies they absorbed, and they are available for a price. The same is true of Lockheed and Northrop-Grumman. Many of these drawings have been published in aircraft enthusiast magazines over the years as well. Art

Danno, Just two basic trucks though! 131" and 157" wheelbase. And, for 1932 and beyond, Ford's body offerings were much fewer than in 1930-31: Gone were the hearse, ambulance bodies for example, as well as the 1-ton Express Pickup. Of course, there were any number of truck body builders around, even in the very depths of the Great Depression, so a lot of variants were available aftermarket. Of course, the BB truck stayed in production with only minor detail changes to the cab through 1934, and only a minor change from vertical to slightly slanted backward for the grille shell for 33-34, with corresponding changes to the hood sides. Art

Of course, William... That TC would be cool with the V860 from a Revell Kurtis midget up front! Oh yeah, and it would likely have become a "flying potato chip" of a car in the bargain. Art

Actually, This generalization works only for cars manufactured in the robotic-painting era. In the decades before our modern era, car bodies for "body on frame" construction were painted by humans, using hand-held spray guns, the car bodies almost universally being moved into the spray painting booths in the factories on steel carts, the bodies themselves being positioned perhaps a foot or so above floor level. Depending on the car, and the simplicity (or complexity!) of it's styling, a crew of 2 or 3 painters did the work of adding the body color. Of course, prior to this step, from at least the middle 1950's forward, newly welded up car bodies were dipped in vats of primer (and by the 60's, rust inhibitors--such as they worked) first, baked dry, and then sanded smooth. This setup precluded painting the undersides of car bodies with color, but the painters, in "ducking down" to coat the underside of rocker panels, and when painting the firewall, did leave a swath of overspray on the outer sides and across the front of, the floorboards. Automobile frames pretty much have been painted a semi-gloss black (and a cheap paint at that) before hitting the assembly line, as were other painted components, which meant that bolts and nuts (along with little brackets and clips for holding wiring, brake and fuel lines, and the like were raw metal (generally cadmium plated), and of course, gas tanks were galvanized sheet steel, with unpainted, raw steel exhaust systems. The above painting process was, I believe, pretty much the case with unibody cars as well, certainly well into the 1970's (it sure was the case with my brand-new 1970 Barracuda!). One thing about unibody cars however: Depending upon whether or not subframing was welded onto the body shell (AMC, along with Chrysler and Ford's Falcon and Mustang) or bolted on (front subframing for certainly 1967-later Camaro's and Firebirds, along with the Nova). Bolt on front subframes more often than not were painted black, where welded on subframing generally got the same color as the outer surfaces of the body shell. The first car I ever owned that had its undersides painted body color was my 1986 Plymouth Voyager, and I would suspect that this is very much the case today. Art