Art Anderson

Something to keep in mind with old kits such as the Pyro Auburn: Any kit molded from tooling made 50-60 years ago is going to reflect both the state of the art for the year(s) in which it was tooled, as well as reflecting the expected market at that time for such a kit. As such, with the Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Auburn, "Suddenly it's 1955 again!". At that time, just three companies had adopted the multiple sliding core molds necessary for producing realistic model car bodies: AMT, Product Miniatures Company and JoHan. Everyone else in the plastic model kit industry was using the basic, simple 2-sided molds which required laying out the kit so as to assemble the body from individual panels. The expected market for plastic model kits in 1955? Kids, specifically from about 8 or 9, to perhaps 11 or 12 (their older brothers were (if they build any models) more oriented to balsa "stick & tissue" airplanes, with some of them into gas powered control line flying airplanes. The predominant subject matter for plastic model kits in 1955? Models of military airplanes, from WW-II to the then very exciting USAF Century Series fighters; although there were some ship models, notably the highly popular and desired Revell USS Missouri, followed by their liner the SS United States. Model cars actually started out on hobby shop shelves as more or less an afterthought--definitely in the minority. How can I offer this set of observations? Simply put, I was there, an 11yr old 6th grader in 1955, haunting the two hobby shops that existed here in those years, yearning for anything new in a model car kit (I built aircraft, even a few ships, but cars were what I wanted back then). Art

Dean Milano told me yesterday that he's going to bring his built-up test shot of the still-born Revell 84 Cutlass to NNL this Saturday. Art

On one spoon test, I used a mix of Tamiya's dark blue with some of their Silver Leaf mixed in. This went on as a flat finish metallic blue. Once I hit it with the C1, it turned to a really nice darker grey metallic, pretty close to the color and scale texture of grey cast metal. Art

Tom, I had to make the rear doors after all the bodywork, as there is some blending that has to be done, not to mention that on the "Tonneau" part of the body (rear seat area), the doors are positioned differently than they are up front, albeit slightly so. Art

Yes, there was! Ideal Toy Corporation did a very nice '56 Lincoln Continental MkII in 1/20 scale back in the day. It was actually quite accurate, with features not seen in a model car kit from anyone else for several years, such as opening doors, hood & trunk, plated parts. Trouble was, it was not only too expensive for most kids to buy on their own, along with being probably far too complicated for young hands to build. I've seen two of this one, both in the collection of the late Bill Harrison of Monta Vista California. One was the ITC "point of sale" builtup display piece, the other one Bill built up from the kit. These kits are quite rare today, seldom ever seen. Art

My fat fiingers again! The model project IS a 1925 T Touring Car. Art

It IS the same old, same old Lindberg kit from the 1960's. End of statement. Art

Strip the chrome off, leave in the stripper until the lacquer pre-coat is at least softened so you can scrub it off with a toothbrush--the engraving should be nice and crisp.

As for '32-'34 Ford roadster pickups, there is almost NO difference in the real 1:1 cabs. The '33-'34 Ford truck cabs were a continuation of the '32 unit, the only noticeable difference being that the '32 Closed Cab has an extra, wider raised rib around the back of its cab, which Ford added, due to sheet metal fatigue from having the back of the seat bolted to the sheet metal cab back. That extra raised rib would not show on the roadster pickup body. Art

It would, seeing as how the chrome tree for the '29 Pickup is markedly different from that in the '31 Sedan & '31 Station Wagon. The Winfield head (as with the Riley head stuff in the '31 kits) is an integral part of this parts tree. Art

Tamiya TS-14 Gloss Black lacquer. I decant and airbrush this stuff, NEVER a bad paint job, and seldom need anything stronger than Micro Mesh polishing compound and a soft cotton cloth to buff out. Art

120-degrees is right about the highest setting you can get from your water heater. Now, I have NEVER had straight hot water from the faucet EVER damage a styrene plastic model car body (although I would not expose a resin body to that temperature of water!). I've baked every model car body shell & hood I've done since I bought this dehydrator, and NEVER a single problem, even after forgetting, leaving a couple of them in the thing overnight. To my septegenerian mind (that's someone between the ages of 70 & 79 yrs old, OK?) it does seem to me that too many of us get far too technical, much too timid. Consider this, a plastic model kit can come out of the molds at or perhaps a degree or two below this temperature with no problems. Art

Moebius, Revell, and Round2, all three to be at the NNL Nationals this weekend (Friday & Saturday). Why not at "i Hobby"? I Hobby, just with what it was named previously, "RCHTA", is and always has been, oriented to the R/C hobby (it's manufacturers and wholesalers), with not all that much consumer traffic, and certainly not that much traffic for plastic model company's booths. I learned this back in the fall of 2004 when I was part of the RC2 display there, representing Johnny Lightning and Polar Lights (this was after RC2 had bought out Playing Mantis, the manufacturer of both JL and Playing Mantis kits). I stood around for two whole days, maybe talked with 50 interested retailer parties. This is also why Revell, and to an extent, Moebius and Round2 have set up at NNL-East, to interface directly with model car builders and enthusiasts who are, of course, the end-users, the consumers, of model car kits. In today's world, at least here in the US, it makes more sense to pitch new products, make new announcements directly to the hobby itself, in hopes of creating what economists have always called "Demand-Pull" interest (back in the days of HIAA, it was to create the other incentive, "Supply-Push" interest to hobby retailers and the wholesalers who were then prevalent, complete with "sell sheets" and catalogs for hobby shop owners to take back to their stores to entice you then-young model car builders, THEIR customers. That got followed up by "Demand-Pull" advertising in real car magazines, most notably the Petersen Publishing Company mags such as Rod & Custom, Car Craft, even Hot Rod Magazine. Unfortunately, the advertising rates in real car magazines have gone "Off the Charts" where model car kit mfr's are concerned--but with the spread of the Internet, the Web, and forums such as this one and others, better to go directly to the consumer (us modelers) whenever possible--the news of upcoming releases spread like wildfire! I'll see a lot of modelers, many of whom I've known for years, at Sylvania, where I'll be a guest of Moebius. Art

The only time I have ever used the oven in my kitchen stove was back in the day of ovens (stovetop too) relying on a pilot rather than electronic ignition. I found back then, that the pilot flame inside the oven maintained a constant 100F temperature, which is well within the range of safety for a plastic model kit body shell. Only disaster there was when my then-wife turned on the oven, without checking to see if anything was in there, with predictable results. I now use an Oster food dehydrator,which carries a constant 120 degree temperature, with a fan circulating air through it (in at the bottom, out at the top). It's worked without incident since 2010. Art

To carry this a bit further: My oldest nephew owns and operates the largest furniture restoration and custom cabinety/furniture shop here. For perhaps 20 yrs, he used an ordinary 30" exhaust fan in his spray booth (he shoots clear lacquers as the finish on his work), until about 2 years ago, the fire inspector walked in. End of that fan, enter a proper sealed and sparkless exhaust fan and hood due to fire regulations. Art

Stop for a moment, consider where in your house you will be doing this. If noise is a problem because your model room is in the house, then a good diaphragm compressor, such as the Badger 180-1 works quite well, as it is fairly quiet already, and by setting it on a cushion of some sort (mine has been used on an old beach towel, folded up to a pad about 2" thick, to prevent its "drumming" on the floor (l live in an upstairs apartment in a frame building, so this is important to keep the neighbors happy!) to silence it--and mine runs literally whisper-quiet. As for a pressure regulator, when I need to reduce the air pressure at the airbrush, I simply open the drain screw on my moisture trap just a little bit. Years of doing that by fit & feel gives me such control as I need. Another thing about moisture traps: While I know that a lot of folks mount those right at the compressor outlet, but consider that an airbrush hose is like a 6' cooling coil--air will come out of the compressor at least slightly warmed, and it cools quickly when moving through the airbrush hose--which can act as a condenser, allowing the potential of droplets of water reaching the airbrush head. I ran into that problem quickly with my first compressor back over 50 years ago. Solution? A second 6' hose, which runs from compressor to moisture trap (which I have hanging from a cup hook on the front of my painting workstand), with the airbrush hose connected to the outlet of the moisture trap. Even in the worst of humidity, never a problem with condensed water getting into my paint jobs since. As for the airbrush itself, if this is your first airbrush, you may want to think "simple". I would suggest any of the decent external mix airbrushes for that first one--simple because they are single action (the spray button controls only the airflow through the airbrush, the amount of paint emitted being something you pre-set your self. A double action airbrush will require learning a bit of coordination, which may or may not frustrate you. In addition, an external mix airbrush (such as Badger 350, Binks Wren, Paasche H-series--even Paasche now has a lower end, less expensive external mix unit that works exactly the same as their H, but lacks the braided hose in the package), as those all are very simple to disassemble for cleaning, and very easily adjustable for a beginner. And, you can learn to get great paintjobs with any of these as well. But all of this is your call, comes from my experience, and others may well differ in their opinions. But this type of system has served me very well down through the years. Art

It would be in either one, actually. When Revell did the '31 Model A kits back 50 years ago, they came with both the station wagon AND the Tudor sedan bodies, but with exactly the same chrome tree. Thus, that chrome tree is a part of any reissue of either body, considering that those are the only two 1931 Model A Fords ever done in 1/25 scale. Art

Apparently not every Ollie's--was at our's here in Lafayette earlier today, none, nada, zilch.

There is at least one video on Youtube about the original tunnels on the original stretch of the PA Turnpike as well--don't remember the name of it, but watched it a couple of months ago, interesting! Art

And, the concept of mouting a Rootes-type blower on the front of the engine, driven off the crankshaft was just about the earliest setup--most notably on the Blower Bentley's of the late 1920's/early 30's. Mercedes and Mercedes-Benz also drove this style of blower off the nose of the crankshaft all the way from the first SSK to the last 540K, as did the 1930's Auto Union V16 grand prix cars. Bugatti was another maker who used this sort of setup. So, it does seem rather natural that postwar hot rodders would have at least looked at that sort of setup. Art

I second Bill's thoughts here: While AMT's '40 Ford kits were the first, having been tooled and introduced now 55-56 years ago (Lindberg's is a repop of a poorly done Palmer do-over of AMT's Coupe), the modern Revell '40 Fords are the standard of excellence for 1940 Fords. Art

One of these days, I am going to take the example of my late friend, Bill Harrison from Monta Vista CA, who while he had a HOUSE FULL of books and magazines about cars, clipped articles on the cars he wanted to build someday (primarily flathead V8 era Fords, but also the Classics of the 1930's), and put those clippings in file folders, stored them in a couple of filing cabinets. It's getting time for me to do the same, as while I still love digging through several hundred pounds of old magazines, it's really rather tedious--so I plan on doing exactly the same thing--create file folders on cars that I might build, collect reference info into such specific folders (there is still far more information on many cars in print than online), then supplement that with printouts of such pics and historical info as may be online as well. As for the rest of each of those magazines--getting time to contribute to recycling, by whatever channel and/or means makes sense. Art

Cool! Now all that would be needed is for a resin caster to come up with the engine, and other necessary parts to convert this one into a Ford 8N Art

I suspect that it's a reissue. It's doubtful that a new model kit of the Ferguson, or even the Ford-Ferguson 9N or 8N tractors would sell well enough today to pay for the tooling. While the Ford-Ferguson N-series tractors were widely seen, certainly here in the Midwest when I was a kid growing up, the later Ferguson (Canadian-built version) that was in many ways, that company's continuation of the tractor built by their partnership with Ford) saw just limited distribution here in the US. FWIW, while I, in no way, can speak authoritatively on the N-series Ford tractors, essentially those grew out of Henry Ford the First's passion for farming, and Harry Ferguson's development of the hydraulic 3-point implement hitch (which greatly improved the safety of row-crop tractors, by limiting to a great extent, the problem of those tractors from "rearing up" under hard pulling, to the point of flipping over backward, often injuring or even killing the operator. While a neat tractor, the Ferguson-Ford partnership never really panned out for Ford Motor Company--was barely profitable from the outset, and by 1947/48 became a financial burden, so Henry Ford II terminated the relationship with Ferguson, who then went on to produce the tractor with a different engine. Where Ford engineered a new flathead inline 4cyl (based on flathead V8 internals), Ferguson went to an OHV 4 when the split happened (Ford was to build the N's in North America, Ferguson in the UK). I can remember the vast farm tractor and implement displays at the County and State Fairs as a kid growing up in the 50's, and Dad explaining to me why the Fergusons looked so much like the newly discontinued 8N's. But, I WANT one of the Fergusons! Art

The best, most accurately done Model A Ford wire wheels in 1/25 scale were done by Revell, bar none. Art