Art Anderson

Well, for my money, it would be cool to have a 1/24 or 1/25 scale kit of a Jaguar SS100! Art

'58 Belvedere, simply because Plymouth and Dodge were sharing the same basic body structure, chassis, and once Dodge's small Hemi went away, pretty much the same engines. The Chrysler is physically a larger car, with a heavier chassis. Art

Actually no. Believe it or not, all the parts for both of the first versions have been tooled at the same time. Art

A 1946 Amphicar! Art

FWIW, Bare Metal Foil is not in the least porous. Art

Kadee HO model RR coupler springs are also perfect--already wound, very fine wire, and they can be stretched out if need be. Art

The only pics of the '54 Hudson kits you've seen to this point have been test shots, not the final production kits. Art

Why not investigate white Gel roller pens? Art

For model railroaders, "yellowing" isn't that much an issue, certainly if they are modeling older diesels, or steam locomotives, given that back years ago, those engines tended to use headlights having separate lightbulbs with polished brass reflectors--which gave a slightly yellowish glow. But, I agree, that yellowing can be a real detriment with model cars. Art

Also, in the Micron line of fine pointed artist's pens, they have both silver and gold, with .5mm tips! These are much finer tips than the small felt tip metallic markers, and certainly finer than any gel pens! Art

It's the same roofline as the earlier Brougham 2dr, as well as being the same roof as used on Hornet 4dr sedans as well. Art

Just beware of dishwashing detergents that promise "Clean Down To The Shine" though, as often those brands contain silicones to give that shine--and silicones are the worst enemy of any paint job! For that reason, I simply use a toothbrush, wetted, and scrubbed on a used bar of Dial Soap--that always works for me, getting rid of any and all surface contaminants, and best of all, it's pretty much free of cost--after all, what else can I do with a thin sliver of Dial that's too thin to withstand a wet washcloth without breaking up? Art

Doubt it was Hobby Lobby, as they really don't have that broad a line of model car kits. More than likely, a wholesaler decided for whatever reasons, to clear out a bunch of unsold stock. Art

Just as a general note: Most race car suspension systems, particularly independent suspension components, are almost never plated, due to the fact that chrome plating makes magnafluxing or any other testing process for cracking very difficult to do--so those parts are generally left in bare steel or at best, painted. Art

Detergent and hot water always did the trick for me. Art

Yeah, it's amazing what a camera lens can do to the roof of a model car!

During WW-II and for a few years after, both Dad and Mom worked, at separate jobs, clear across the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette (Mom was helping to support her elderly mother during that time frame) and so they had three cars (a '42 Desoto -- the one with hidden headlights), a '40 Willys 2dr sedan, and Mom's '32 Chevrolet Confederate coupe that she'd bought new in 1932. I rode in all three cars, in a manner of speaking: Got taken to Home Hospital here in Lafayette to get born (July 12, 1944) in the Willys, my first ride as an air-breathing kid was coming home to Battle Ground IN in the Desoto, and then as a Kindergartener, rode to school in the '32 Chevy--the envy of all the other kids on nice days, when Mom would open up the rumble seat, let me ride back there!! From 1950 to 1954, our's was a one-car family, then Dad bought a slightly used 1953 Hudson Hornet 4dr (with the 7X Twin H-Power engine and Hydramatic, along with a new '54 Plymouth (Mom got the Plymouth--by then she was a stay-at-home mother with three school age kids) while Dad drove the Hudson for work. From that point forward, my parents always had two cars. Of course, West Lafayette IN, due to the presence of Purdue University and being the upscale side of our "twin cities" was a hot bed of multiple car families pretty early on--but in all of that, there were still couples (mostly older) who didn't have even one car--neither husband nor wife had ever learned to drive! Art

And, with either a steady hand, or a simple drill press, such as Dremel's, that is a perfect way to do "damascening" AKA "engine turning" on aluminum, for instrument panels, scratchbuilt firewalls, etc.! I've done that before, back in the 1980's, when scratchbuilding a USAC dirt track championship car. Art

I've tried that, and didn't much like it Cato. It takes mere minutes to make a sanding stick, and generally mine get used pretty heavily--to the point of not just wearing out the paper, but often times I am using the very edge, which makes strong adhesion a necessity. On the other hand, I almost never throw one away until I've used both ends on both sides. Art

I've come to making my own sanding sticks, using the basswood "lumber" from the model RR section of my LHS, as it comes in all manner of widths and thicknesses for practically peanuts (Hobby Lobby also stocks numerous sizes of basswood strips, BTW). I simply cut a piece of basswood to whatever shape I might need in order to get into an area, sand around details and such. My 'trick" (if you will) is to ensure that the surface of the basswood is smooth and FLAT, which can be done by putting some 400-grit face up on a known flat surface (I have several pieces of thick plate glass--perfect for this purpose) and sand the area flat and smooth. Next, I cut a piece of 400-grit wet-or-dry sandpaper that will fit, put some gap-filling CA on the working area of my sanding stick, press that flat to the BACK of the piece of sandpaper I've cut out, and hit the glue with some accelerator. I know some might ask "why not just use popsicle sticks? My answer is simple--you can, but be aware that popsicle sticks tend not to be very flat or true, being cut from birch and while kiln dried, are prone to warping and twisting--basswood strip on the other hand, is kiln-dried before it's sawed and planed, which results in straight, true and almost always warp-free, and in the bargain, basswood cuts and sands much easier than does a birch popsicle stick. In seconds, the CA will be set up, and all that is left is to trim carefully the sandpaper at the edges of the wooden stick, and I now have a sanding stick, custom-made to fit the job I need it for. I've used this sort of little tool for any number of jobs, using them as "body files" in small areas where I need to avoid losing surface details, shaping strip styrene I've added for chrome body trim, and even as a very fine "file" to clean up mold parting lines on the edges of parts--particularly the edges of window glass etc. Inexpensive, quick to make, and disposable when done using them! Art

For starters, in the 1920's there were virtually NO all steel 4dr sedans--for that matter, very few all-steel car bodies period. That was still the era of "composite body construction", meaning sheet metal panels attached to a wooden structure, with closed body styles having wooden bows across an opening, covered with a layer of chicken wire (yes, CHICKEN WIRE), a layer of cotton batting (same thing as a cotton mattress pad), and a rubberized canvas cover over that. While a roadster, coupe, or even a 2-dr sedan body of that era could be fairly lightweight, even rather sturdy (except in a serious collision), 4dr sedans were much heavier, and their bodies tended to flex badly over time--and in a crash, they often simply disintegrated into wadded up sheet metal and a pile of splinters. Even all steel 4dr sedans, which came about in the middle 1930's were significanly heavier than their 2-dr stablemates, which probably discouraged many hot rodders for a few decades more. Art

Test shots are almost always done in multiples, for various reasons--most generally due to the fact that several people get involved in reviewing them to determine what may well need corrections. Art

Round2 (Tom Lowe) bought all of Ertl's and Racing Champions 1/24 scale & 1/18 scale model car tooling a few years back, along with all the existing AMT, MPC and Ertl plastic model kit tooling. Art

Those alterations would cost as much as all-new tooling, more than likely. In addition, there are far more issues with both of those old Pyro kits than just details and engines--both are very much out of proportion, not to mention somewhat under 1/25 scale overall. Art