Art Anderson

Not quite true, Bill. The earliest Vee engines tended to have what were called "Fork and Blade" connecting rods, meaning that the big end of the rods on one side of the engine were made in a split, or "forked" manner, with the corresponding rod from the other side looking much like any other engine connecting rod--it's big end mounting on the same journal as the forked rod BETWEEN the two "legs" of the so-called "fork" rod. Perhaps the most notable of that style V8 was the first series Lincoln V8 engines, from 1921-about 1929-30 or thereabouts. I also believe I've read of a few aircraft Vee-engines, from WW-I into at least the early 1930's that used this sort of connecting rod layout as well. Art

Of course, in the UK, Western Europe, and here in the USA, a century or so ago, "Cyclecars" were a pretty wild fad. Basically those were very small cars, generally looking much like full-sized automobiles, but most were built using motorcycle or 1-2 cylinder aircooled industrial engines, and glorified motorcycle wheels and tires. Even Ford Motor Company built a prototype cyclecar version of the 1914 Model T--less than half the size of the production T. Art

1928 Model A Ford Tudor Sedan.

PM sent. Art

From my experience in hobby & craft retailing, there are craft acrylic paints, and then there are craft acrylic paints. Some, such as Apple Barrel, are made for price (Apple Barrel is the cheaper line from the company that also makes Folk Art acrylic paints). As a general rule, I still believe, the higher the quality of the acrylic paint, the more finely ground the pigments will be (the reverse is pretty much true as well). Art

Squadron has yet to show the Touring Car in stock. Art

Actually not sand-blasted. That "texture" is from the tool-cutting process, which is no longer done by milling cutters, but by a process called "Electro-Discharge Milling". This is a process, done in a bath of non-flammable coolant, by a minute pair of electrodes, which emit very tiny, hot arcs against the steel, literally burning away bits of that to create mold cavities. ] Art

How so? Extra text on an instruction sheet uses only a very minute fraction of a penny in ink! Frankly, the idea of eliminating parts descriptions was a fad by the late 1960's--illustrations rather than text seemed to be the thing, not just for kids and model kits, but with just about anything requiring assembly. In other words, the then popular "Wordless Workshop" idea. Art

On May 30, 1961, I got to see Harroun drive a couple of parade laps around the Speedway in the Marmon Wasp--50th Anniversary of his win at the very first Indianapolis 500.

I have, saved on a CD, the film of the first Indianapols 500. Much of the footage of that now very rare film was shot by non other than Henry Ford! Art

For me, the radiator was a dead giveaway! It's exactly the same as on the Beverly Hillbillies truck, which was a 1920 Oldsmobile touring car, with the rear body cut down! Art

Frankly, I am going to hold off until such time as I can get one of these from a US vendor--not willing to have my card number floating around far Eastern Europe in this day and age. BUT, I still do want one! Art

.030" styrene is seriously pushing the capabilities of the Mattel Vac-U-Form machine, on a couple of fronts! For starters, .030" thick styrene is seriously pushing the envelope for such a small vac-former (Vac-U-Former's platen is quite small) and it works with a hand-operated push-pump vacuum pump, which has to do it's job VERY quickly (for example, the Ron Charles Vacuformer I have still, uses the motor and impeller from a Kirby vacuum cleaner, and does its thing while the heated plastic is still just beneath the very potent heating elements!). The standard Mattel styrene sheet plastic was .015" thick, which while thin by our 1/25 scale standards, was ideal for forming what Mattel had in mind, little, approximately 1/64 scale car bodies. Now, that all said, I have two of these machines, which I bought about 1968-69. I have made numerous small air scoops, even the flared fairings such as seen on older Offy-Powered Indy Roadsters, to hold the windscreens, stuff like that--and Vac-U-Form works great for stuff like that. I also made several dozen very thin vac-formed canopies for both 1/48 and 1/72nd scale aircraft models, a subject matter of which I built a couple hundred of back in the late 60's/early 70's. In short, keep it simple, with this machine, by using thin stock for vac-forming--you'll find, with practice and experience, that it can do neat stuff, albeit small stuff! Art .015" stock works great in the Vac-U-Former, in my experience. Art

This is where an inexpensive food dehydrator really makes a difference! The relatively low heat of one of those (My Oster dehydrator runs at a constant--I measured that myself with a thermometer!) 125 degrees F, which does NOT damage styrene), and a couple of hours will cure out any enamel paintjob I have ever done since I got the thing. And it wasn't all that expensive--less than $30 at Walmart! Art

I've had the privilege to know Dave Metzner for now a good 40 years (from meeting up at IPMS contests, to working just down the hallway from him at Playing Mantis, to being called upon to help review CAD drawings and tooling mockups, to the now finished product), and I can say, I think, that this pickup project has bedeviled Dave for more than two full years now. Guys, a few bits and snippets here and there on this, and other message boards do not begin to describe what Dave's gone through on this project--a lesser man would have lost his cool completely some time ago--it has been that big a nightmare for him and his employer! Spare Dave, and me, the drivel that normally crops up on this and other boards from people who've NEVER been involved in model kit development--virtually all who post such stuff may have peripheral knowledge or skills--but as a farmer client of my Dad once observed: "If you don't have hog manure on your boots, yer not a hog farmer!" Seriously guys, developing a model car or pickup kit ain't no "finger-snapping" and it's a perfect kit project--no way. 'Nuff said, and I've got that one off my chest! Art

All it would take to do a kit of the '41 Chevy from Galaxie would be the front clip, a dash, and the chrome parts tree! The '46-48 Chevies were merely warmed over 1941-1942 cars! Art

A factoid about the original VW! Did you know that Ferdinand Porsche used, as his parameters for the Beetle, the weights, measures and horsepower of the Model T Ford--which he is said to have considered the first "People's Car"? 100" wheelbase, light weight, 22 horsepower engine, even the interior dimensions and seating capacity? Art

I was at the Towe Ford Museum in Sacramento, California in the late 1990's, and on display was a V8-60, built by Simca, complete with transmission--the latter was fully twice as long as the V8 engine! Art

The last Model T engines were built, I believe, in 1941. Biggest reason for that seems to have been that the T engine had found lots of use as industrial engines--portable sawmills, feed grinders, that sort of thing. FWIW, that wasn't unusual for Ford. Ford was still building 24-stud flathead V8 engines in Canada as late as 1980--again for industrial use, but they were virtually identical to the automobile engine. Art

I got it. Art

On May 26, 1927, Ford produced the 15 Millionth Model T, and announced that Model T Ford production was ending. However, there is documentation that Model T's were built for several more days after that, probably to build out the last complete cars from parts stocks at River Rouge. However, consider that Model T was the first automobile to have been produced and sold on every continent in the World, save for Antarctica (Penquins apparently can't drive cars?), and records exist of Model T's still being assembled at Ford factories overseas for several more months--one of the last of those was produced in Cork, Ireland in DECEMBER 1927. There's lots of information out there, in books, magazine articles, and of course, on the Web, some of it conflicting other sources of course. But this is the best information I could find this morning. Art

"weathering" all depends on the region where the actual car existed. Period, end of statement. Art

Actually, Model T production continued to late June 1927 though. Gotta hate how today's writers can't figure out what real history is!

I remember the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville RR (AKA The Monon Route) having a few of this vintage Chevrolet crew cab pickups, as Hi-Railers for track inspections and the like back in the day. Art

Geez! Compared to cars of the 1950's and 60's, today's grille openings are pretty small, clean and very simple. You want huge? Check out a '50 Buick sometime--BIG mouth, with a glaring advertisement for your orthodontist! Art