
Art Anderson
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how to make a lathe.
Art Anderson replied to prostockmodeler's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
Good idea, frankly. As others have stated, to "make your own lathe" necessarily will require even more machine tools to accomplish. I've a Sherline lathe that I bought in 1981, and even for as early a model as it is, there's a ton of machined parts in it: The motor uses a lathe-turned pulley which in itself drives another lathe-turned pulley by means of a Gilmer Belt. The headstock is a milled piece, with very precise bearings in it, turning a hollow steel shaft which in itself was also precision ground on a lathe. The 3-jaw chuck is a combination of both lathe-turned steel, with spiral grooves inside it which serve to move the jaws inward or outward (forget about using a Jacobs chuck--like your electric drill has--no way are those all that precise), the jaws themselves were produced on a mill. The ways are a long milled part, very precise angles and very straight--otherwise the "saddle" or cross-slide (the part to which tool posts of various types are secured has the same set of angles INSIDE, all done on a mill as well. Then there are the threaded drives, for both the saddle lengthwise (X Axis) and crosswise (Y Axis) which are calculated to match the knobs (cranks if you will) so that each "notch" on their dials equals .001" of movement, either lengthwise or crosswise. The tool posts available are all milled pieces, cut to very precise angles which correspond to the cut end of the lathe cutting tools. In short, it will take more than a "Half-vast idea to make such a vast project" all on your own, and ultimately, even if you are successful, the cost to do so will in all likelihood be far more expensive in both money and time than if you just saved up the $$ to buy one. I know what it means to have to wait, to wish that "If only I had a lathe" so I could make some of those projects I saw others accomplishing. But in the end, that waiting, working toward such a goal is, in my never-to-be-humble opinion, worth it. Of course, unlike 1981, today with such websites as eBay, used miniature lathes and other miniature precision, even machine, tools show up very frequently. Art -
Roof height/length differences in 56 Chevies
Art Anderson replied to whale392's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
1955-57 Chevy and Pontiac had two distinctly different station wagon bodies--the standard 2/4dr wagons, and the Nomad/Safari. Regular wagons used the same windshield frame and glass as 2dr and 4dr sedans, while the Nomad and Safari were built around the convertible/hardtop windshield frame and glass, which is approximately 2" lower than the sedans (think .080" or 2mm lower on a model). The Nomad roof is shorter, and the tailgate is sloped forward quite a bit more than it's regular station wagon brethren as well. Art (PS Bill! You gonna be at NNL East this year? If so, let's hook up!) -
Believe it or not, the biggest cost of bottled paint isn't the small amount of paint in it--it's the bottle and cap. Art
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I just had to see if I could make one of these! Pretty simple, mostly lathe work, with some final shaping with a flat file (while spinning in the lathe), and a bit of vertical millwork. This is the police version, has a smaller red light at the tail of the fairing over the electric motor: Some things just beg to be made (or at least attempted!) Art
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Moebius International Lonestar Sleeper Cab
Art Anderson replied to Art Anderson's topic in Truck Kit News & Reviews
OK OK already! I didn't to take any pics yesterday, so here are some to chew on today: Boxtop -
if this is an indicator of how the Hudson and Chrysler kits will be, I'm pumped! For a first look, this box is HUGE, and FULL. It's about 12" by 18" and nearly 6" deep, well over 2 lbs of plastic inside. Parts are cleanly molded, and I do mean cleanly molded, chrome is about as flawless as model kit chrome can be. The decal sheet is simply beautiful, almost photographic--not just the gauges for the dash, but the entire instrument panel is reproduced (small individual panels), and wood grain decals for the sleeper floor and cabinetry. But it's the instruction BOOK that shines here, and not just because it's printed on glossy paper stock either. Every step of construction is shown, not only in carefully written text with exploded view drawings, but each step also includes color pictures of the completed subassembly, with parts number callouts were they make sense. Even the engine is shown in multiple views, painted in correct colors. The last page is a complete chart of suggested colors, all in Testors, the full range of Testors paints from all their lines. And the cover of the instruction booklet? Looks as if it could be a sales brochure to tempt a real trucker into buying one. All in all, at first look, this is one fantastic truck kit! Art
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Aftermarket Kurtis Midget Decals?
Art Anderson replied to Modlbldr's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
Etzel's Speed Classic went out of business in 2002. Chris Etzel moved from here in Lafayette to Indianapolis, went to work for the very large sports team clothing manufacturer there, as a graphics designer. It would be very interesting if someone could reproduce his Midget decal sheet though. I can also arrange access to what is perhaps the largest collection of photo's of midgets anywhere on the planet--pics that date from the 1940's though the 1960's, shot with a Speed Graphics Press Camera, so you know they will be very clear, sharp images; if any decal producer is interested! Art -
What is an annual kit?
Art Anderson replied to SuperStockAndy's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
Andy, To "flesh" this out a bit more: While the roots go back to the late 1930's, with promotional toys made for the auto industry by various toy companies, in the late 1940's, the idea of a 1/25 scale model of a new car clicked in the minds of both marketing people in the auto industry, and with the then-new startup companies wanting to get into the business of making fairly realistic scale model toys of the then-new cars. Companies such as Master Caster and Aluminum Model Toys (best known by their later acronym AMT Corporation began by producing 1/25 scale models of new Fords for 1947-48 as both toy store items, and something that car dealers could use to "sweeten" a deal (Dad's looking at a new Ford, son's along for the ride--son gets given a toy of the new Ford Dad's looking at, deal closed, signed-sealed-delivered. By 1949, AMT had started producing these in injection molded acetate plastic (chosen because acetate was the one plastic available that was pretty much shatter-proof), Cruver Plastics in Chicago did an iconic 1/25 scale model of the 1949 Oldsmobile 98 4dr sedan. Within a couple of years, AMT was joined by Ideal Models (later known as JoHan, as Ideal Toy Company objected to the use of "Ideal" by any other manufacturer), and Product Miniatures Company (PMC), these three producing all manner of plastic promotional model cars for display and sale at new-car dealerships. These came in a myriad of factory color schemes as well, PMC even making several body styles of some cars, notably Fords and Chevrolet's, so that the much smaller car dealers of the era could have some sort of 3-dimensional collection of what was available--new car dealerships back then were MUCH smaller than what you see nowadays. There were several attempts at making model kits of current-year cars by the middle-1950's, Revell being the first serious producer, in 1/32 scale, of kits for 1955 Ford, 1955 Mercury, 1955 Buick Roadmaster, 1955 Chrysler New Yorker, 1955 Cadillac Eldorado. These were successful enough for Revell to remake them as 1956 models the next year. But, the real push came in early 1958, when AMT Corporation took the tooling for their 1958 Promotional models, added styrene chassis (to replace the stamped steel chassis used in promo's), adding customizing and race car parts to them--then calling them "3in1 Customizing Kits". The cars they did this way were the 1958 Ford Fairlane 500 hardtop and convertible, 1958 Chevrolet Impala hardtop and convertible, 1958 Pontiac Bonneville hardtop and convertible, and 1858 Buick Roadmaster hardtop and convertible. They were INSTANT hits in the hobby shops and other stores that sold model kits back then. But, they were produced ONLY the year the actual cars were being made. In the fall of 1958, AMT (and their sister brand SMP) introduced the all-new 1959 promotional models, which were followed, by January 1959 as 3in1 Customizing kits in hardtop and kit form: Ford Galaxies, Chevy Impalas, Pontiac Bonnevilles, Buick Invicta's, Lincoln Continentals, Imperials (Model King commissioned a reissue of the SMP 1959 Imperial kit 5 years ago), Thunderbirds, the Corvette--suddenly a HUGE hobby was born that we still know and love today. Also, for 1959, JoHan did exactly the same thing with many of their promotional model car tools, all in hardtop form: Oldsmobile 98, Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special, Plymouth Sport Fury, Dodge Custom Royal Lancer, Chrysler New Yorker. Both companies did exactly as AMT had done at the end of the 1958 Detroit model year--discontinued all the '59's, and started anew with 1960 cars, adding two new subjects: 1960 Chevrolet Apache long-bed Fleetside pickup, and the Ford F100 long bed Styleside. By 1965, Model Products Corporation had entered the fray, and for a number of years, virtually every make of US automobile was represented in model form this way. But why drop models only to bring out next year's? Easy answer: For most cars back then, given that Detroit was on a 3-year styling cycle with facelifts of a new car for the 2nd and 3rd model years of it's production, and it seemed that nobody had much interest in "last year" model as a plastic kit. Model car kit sales were simply phenomenal in the years 1960 to about 1970 or so. AMT Corporation was noted by none other than Wall Street Journal in 1065, as the largest automaker in the World that year--having produced nearly 100 million model car kits (yeah, that's one HUGE number!!!), JoHan, MPC, Revell, Aurora and Monogram contributing a MUCH smaller volume of kits, but still there, and reasonably profitable as well. I think it can safely be said that the early model car building hobby was driven by the Baby Boom Generation--then seeing its leading edge at the ages of 10-15 or so by 1960, and the industry responded, by encouraging kids in this age range to buy and build, build and buy more (until they reached the stage of discovering girls and real cars anyway. With the passing of the Boomer kids into their late teens, and as the baby boom birth rate dropped by the late 1950's or so, the age group most interested in model car building also declined, and given that our's was seen as primarily a hobby for late-preteens/younger teenagers, so did model car kit sales. Simultaneously, the idea of having promotional model cars in new car dealer showrooms also dropped way off--this serving to diminish the number of promo tools that could be adapted to model kits, and the concept of customizing parts began to lose its luster as well. But, that is what Annual Series Model Cars were, and what they meant to us now old guys in the hobbo--the vast majority of us got our start at say, 9 or 10, most (not all, and certainly not me!) dropping away from them by about age 16 or so. But, thousands upon thousands of now adult Boomers began to return to the hobby circa 1980 or so, as they saw their lives stabilize, their kids no longer in need of constant care and supervision--they wanting to relive a fun part of their youth once again. Hopefully, this long essay will help you understand the whys and wherefores, and give you some appreciation as to where this hobby started, and how it grew, along with how its "morphed" over time. Art -
Revell-Monogram's Jeep pickup is an old Revell tool, and I believe it was done in 1/25. Art
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60's ford falcon
Art Anderson replied to spad007's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
AMT did the 1960 Falcon as a 2dr sedan, in both promotional model and 3in1 kit form. The model kit was curbside, same as the promo, but with plastic pan-style chassis. AMT also did the same format kits for the 1960 Chrysler Valiant (Valiant didn't become a Plymouth for another year or so) and the 1960 Corvair, both as 4dr sedans. Art -
Front cab bodywork (such as it will be) basically done now, composite of both styrene and real wood (1/64" Finland Birch Plywood and some basswood strip stock). Made my own .030" half round (Evergreen half round starts at .040") for the molding on the edges of the plywood pamels. Art
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Cadillac in 1:24?
Art Anderson replied to Mr.Zombie's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
Your '60 Cadillac is a Fleetwood 6-window sedan. Johan did this body style as a promo and an annual series kit in 1960, but as the upscale, seriously up-trimmed Fleetwood 60 Special--with a lot more chrome trim, and a vinyl top. X-EL, JoHan's series of revived promotional model cars, had this one in the early 1980's. X-EL promotionals were molded in styrene, rather than the prone-to-warping acetate plastic of the original issues. However, it does have serious scale deficiencies, both in overall length, and width. This was due to a GM requirement that ALL promotional models to be purchased by General Motors had to fit the same standard-sized boxes, regardless of the make or body style. So, JoHan shortened the front clip, the trunk area (the "greenhouse" or roof structure is the correct length for 25th scale though!) and the body of the Cadillacs was a full 1/8" (3 scale inches) too narrow, all in order to fit the prescribed box. Shawn Carpenter Scale Models produced (may still make it) a resin transkit of the 1960 Eldorado Biarritz convertible to fit the Revell-Monogram '59 Eldorado. This would work, but would require the use of the JoHan roof, along with the windshield frame and glass, from an AMT '59 El Camino (to get the correct higher windshield and roofline of the sedans vs the hardtops or convertibles. And, of course, it would require widening the JoHan greenhouse by 1/8", which I have done (for a '59 Chevy Biscayne sedan--same body as the Cadillac sedans, BTW) using some .040"x,125" Evergreen styrene strip. The back window glass would have to be widened by this same dimension as well, which would make vacforming new glass for the rear necessary. Art -
info needed on this model 52 plymouth wagon
Art Anderson replied to wvsm's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
Promotional model, made by PMC (Product Miniatures Company) out of Milwaukee. Art -
E.T. A. of Moebius kit release?
Art Anderson replied to 62rebel's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
Close, getting VERY close, on all three kits. Art -
Lindberg '34 Ford 'Custom' Pickup
Art Anderson replied to Chuck Most's topic in Truck Kit News & Reviews
The 390 6bbl engine in that kit has been plated every run since the original issue kit in early 1963. Art -
Lindberg '34 Ford 'Custom' Pickup
Art Anderson replied to Chuck Most's topic in Truck Kit News & Reviews
Absolutely correct, Ken. When it comes to licensed product, Coca Cola is just about the biggest one there is out there. In 2003-2004, I was responsible for all the Coca Cola licensed Johnny Lightning diecasts--and it was actually a fun enterprise! For starters, while Coca Cola, as a licensor is extremely demanding (or at least they were back then), they were also the most helpful of any with whom I was called upon to work, bar none. Need logo artwork? No matter the era, they had it available. Need to know the correct shades of yellow, red or green (yeah, Coca Cola bottlers' delivery vehicles up through the late 20's were yellow and dark green, with red lettering and accents), I was able to get that within a half hour of an email (most such licensors took their own sweet time with stuff like that). I developed a grand total of 42 different Coca Cola projects in 1/64 scale, along with 6 1/24 scale miniatures, and two 1/18th scale pieces as well in about 15 months. And, the sales rates on all of them were off the charts compared to our other lines and programs. On the other hand, we continued to be able to use Firestone and Goodyear tampo-printing on our tires well past the larger model companies dropping theirs, due to our having licenses with a much longer duration. But in any event, licensing doesn't cover just the vehicles and any decorations on them, but also aftermarket stuff that may appear on the models themselves. Companies such as CRAGAR, Edelbrock and Halibrand all require at minimum, the right of approval for the use of their designs in miniatures or model car kits. Perhaps the most interesting license we had at Johnny Lightning back in those days was a 100% exclusive license for the use of Halibrand and CRAGAR wheel designs in 1/64 scale. And with both of those companies, the license wasn't terribly expensive, and approvals of a new wheel tool? Sent them pics of the proposed wheel mockup, approvals back within mere minutes! But, regardless of how any modeler feels about it, licensing and royalties have been a part of the model car game for decades, and they aren't going to go away, so it's really not something worth getting all exercised about. Art -
Lindberg '34 Ford 'Custom' Pickup
Art Anderson replied to Chuck Most's topic in Truck Kit News & Reviews
Harry, Very simple answer! The Coca Cola license and royalties covered just this kit, where tire company names (such as Firestone or Goodyear) go on, and on, and on, and on, to the level of obnoxity of the Energizer Bunny. Note, though that Lindberg's rendition of the '34 Ford pickup kit has ARMSTRONG tires, so named right on the side--but they missed the "ounce of prevention" that Armstrong Tire claimed made them 'GGGRRRRRIP The Road". Art -
free stuff from work
Art Anderson replied to sobpinstriping's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
Yup! I work in Physical Facilities at the university here, and see the architects, engineers and interior decorating people all the time. Lessee, old outdated offset printing templets (very nice thin aluminum sheet), all manner of plate glass samples submitted for approvals then discarded (perfectly flat building surfaces, among other things!) wood veneer wall covering (real wood, on a backing, all manner of exotic wood too!), samples of aluminum extrusions--great for working up in my mill), and the other day, a very large sample of pure copper roof flashing (now, all I gotta do is carve out a buck so I can hammer out a real metal body shell in scale!). All of this stuff gets given to me by those guys, once they are done with it. Art -
"Waxing nostalgic"
Art Anderson replied to Greg Myers's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
If only MPC had tooled up a '32 Chevy roadster! That kit is the Cabriolet, not nearly as neat as the roadster. FWIW, there have been but tow '32 Chevy roadsters modeled in kit form: Pyro did it in 1/32 scale, Hubley made one in 1/20th scale, diecast kit with plastic detail parts. Still waiting for one in 1/25th scale plastic! Art -
Bondo on resin or metal
Art Anderson replied to sjordan2's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
I'd definitely fill the holes with JB Weld, then if needed, a glaze of any catalyzed spot & glaze putty, to smooth off any surface imperfections. Art -
Sad News - George Toteff passed away
Art Anderson replied to Danno's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
It was men like George Toteff, from the legendary WW-II Generation, who gave us kids born during WW-II and of course, during the postwar "Baby Boom" the makings of a hobby that is something which helped define our age group, just as much as we defined the hobby itself over the years. Art -
The possibility of "No Chrome" Kits
Art Anderson replied to Dragline's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
As for "no chrome" kits, that was tried 30-some years ago by Revell--during their last gasp as a freestanding company, before their fateful buyout by CEJI, the now failed French toy company. It did not work then, would be no more successful today. As for "parting lines" and attachment points--those are engineering issues. With simple bumpers as say, on a '40 Ford, it's pretty easy to have the mold parting lines along the edges of the bumpers, but once car bumpers became a matter of multiple die strikes, to create those complicated, fully rounded shapes of the 50's, then there is NO WAY whatsoever to avoid having mold parting lines in very visible places. As for attachment points, again these are as much an engineering issue as anything--given that attachment points are also "flow channels" though which the molten plastic must move in the molding process--they have to be where they have to be for that to occur. It's one of those compromises that have to happen when complex stamped or pressed sheet steel parts are translated into injection-molded plastic--all to often, you can't have one without the other. Art -
How long have you been modeling?
Art Anderson replied to wvsm's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
First model ever was a Strombecker solid white pine Aeronca Cub (forerunner of the Piper Cub), sanded on that one impatiently, under the tutelege of my 8yrs older brother for a whole day, painted it red with Comet Dope, assembled it, added the wing struts and the window decals, brother helped me get the landing gear on straight and solid. That was in July 1951, kit was a present for my 7th birthday. I guess that makes it almost 60 years since I built my first model, huh? Art -
Chevrolet 55' Del Ray
Art Anderson replied to ajulia's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
Well, For starters, an "honest-to-gosh" 1955 Chevrolet Del Ray would be RARE!!!! (Chevrolet first introduced the Del Ray as an optional trim level in their "210" series for the 1956 model year. Are you sure you aren't looking at the Revell 1956 Chevrolet Del Ray? Art