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I've noticed the same thing. PE nuts are way too thin. Cutting hex shaped rod ( which is not easy in itself with such small sizes) is not easily seen by the naked eye. But moving up a size or two can look odd I have noticed on other's builds. It's the same if the wires and hoses are to big. Looks kinda goofy and toy like. I think the PE nuts probably look the best except from an above or side position. The actual miniature nuts and bolts available are very expensive so it seems the PE nuts are a better deal cost wise. Maybe one should get some of each and mix and match?

Those are both great tips guys, thanks.

Thanks for the reply Treehugger Dave. I'm not even thinking about giving up. In fact I'm planning a couple of curbsides just for ease and fun. But the little tiny things is what gets me. Putting fuel lines on a fuel injection with little throttle linkages, adding details that involve a nut that is less than a mm insize etc.. These sorts of things I find difficult to do. I was wondering if anybody has found any tools etc. that might make working on such itsy bitsy things more easy? When I first got back into the hobby about a couple of years ago I saw all these people using aftermarket parts. I thought it was expensive for one but also I thought it to be more skillful to scratch build everything. Now I can see me buying more aftermarket parts just to make my builds go a little smoother. You know, like seat belts buckles , headers flanges ,maybe some pE nuts. But... I won't buy everthing aftermarket because it would be very expensive and too easy. I like to hear some tricks people have found to make the tiny details more managable. I'd also like to hear other people's thoughts on aftermarket vs scratchbuilding. Or should this whole thread be in the "General" section?

I'm always scratchbuilding and trying to add extra detail to my builds. However; I find it very difficult to work with such tiny pieces. Nuts made out of hex styrene that are less than a mm in size (really hard to glue), scratch building throttle linkage, seat belt buckles made from stryene or pop cans. It drives me nuts and I'm wondering how some of you do it or are most of you just opting for aftermarket parts now. Any advice/ comments?

Not raced hu? How about those slicks on the back. Looking good. This is a fun build to see. Old school rules!

Good job 59 Chevy. If I weren't looking for it I don't think I would have ever noticed. Sometimes the Alclad seems to be on the dark side while the BMF tends to be a little bright. Your bumper and trim seem to be more closely matched. I was thinking it would look better to have a front end ( and back )done with Alclad rather than kit chrome. But... I can see where it would be hard to Alclad the trim on a car even though I know some people have done it. Imagine doing all the trim on a 58 Impala with Alclad. It would be a heck of alot of masking. BMF would probably be the easiest thing to do on an old car with lots of chrome trim.

I just realized I forgot to put the adjustment buckles on them. OOOPs. Have to have them on the finished model. I think that will help keep them from looking so simple.

Well I tried to make aircraft style belts but they are too complicated for me to make so small. I was going to use wire but I find it so difficult to work with in scale. So I simplified them a bit. It will probably look okay when the model is together. Next time you see this it should be in the under glass section. Thanks for looking.

Has anybody here ever mixed the two on the same model? For example doing the grill and bumper Aclad and the trim with BMF? I'm Thinking the BMF would be brighter than the Alclad and look a bit off. Maybe I'm wrong and you wouldn't notice it so much when the build is complete. Anyone have pics. to share where they may have done this. Thanks matt

Nice look. The white walls suggest early 60's and the tunnel ram suggest later 60's. You should try to get the book "Gasser Wars" by Larry Davis if you want to do more Gassers. It will give you a good idea of how Gassers changed over the years. Fun book. I like the fact that your car is a 4dr. I keep saying I wish there were more 4drs and wagons on the market. I can see where you had fun with this, Gassers are a gass aren't they?

Thanks for the reply Helipilot. So the only external difference between these early Olds engines was how many bolts were in the timing cover? Not sure what you mean by a Ford box tranny. Is there a name for this particular tranny they are trying to replicate? If not what would be a likely candidate do you think for these engines in the years they were produced? If I can narrow it down maybe I can do a little scratchbuilding on the existing tranny to make it look like something.Thanks.

Thanks for the comments guys.

Another question. What is the tranny attached to the Olds ( also the Nailhead in the background)? It looks like the tail end is missing. it looks kind of stubby. Any help appreciated.

Helipilot, did all the engines from 303 to 394 look the same? I have an Olds engine out of an Amt 39 Ford sedan that I want to use in a mid 50's Gasser. A 394 I think would be too new. Could the engine out of the 39 sedan ( or Anglias as far as that goes ) pass as any engine from 303 to 394 ,or were there distinct differences?

I wonder if some of you experienced Alclad chrome guys could help me out. Twice I've shot the chrome on these parts. As you can see the second time I had the same results as the first. The window trim looks pitted while the valve covers looks as if the chrome just didn't take so well. What do you think is my problem? Could it be too much pressure (the compressor I'm using has no pressure control or gauge)? I used Duplicour black (gloss not flat) without any sanding or polishing. I did let it dry a few days. Could that be the problem? Treehugger Dave already stated that the chrome should be sprayed before the black fully dries. Any thoughts?

The seats look great. You know I think you may be the first person I've ever seen to open up the doors on a 32. Is this thing going to find it's way to the 1320 on the weekend?

I've made a few changes to this build since I started. Like I say I'm not going with the worn look now. I did one already not long ago. I felt this should be a little nicer paint. now I realized the steering was not going to work with the seat in the drvers position. So I took out the steering box and scratched another type of steering ( not sure what its called). And the drivers seat will now be to the back and in the middle. Proper for an Altered isn't it? Thanks for looking.

I agree, Bill you've got to finnish that top. It's way to cool to leave sitting in a box.

That looks great Bill. Very convincing.

I like to build drag cars like this sometimes. Guys with limited funds get an old car and spend the money they have on go fast parts. Worry about the body later. The cars you usually see pictures of are the big name pretty cars with serious $$$ put into them. Thats because those cars could draw alot of fans. Myself , I like the little guy who brought his old Chevy with primered fenders because that is what he had. These are the unsung heros of drag racing ( or any other racing I suppose ).

That doesn't sound easy..good luck. You'll have to post it when your done. I was hoping someone made a resin one. I know making one from scratch with some real material of some sort would be possible. I don't know if thats over my head or not.

I was just wondering if anybody made an aftermarket top to go on the Trumpeter 63 Nova convertible? If not, how hard would it be to make a ragtop? Has any of you ever done this before? Thanks in advance.

I know the nuts are a bit small but I try to keep in scale somewhat. If I had used 1.0 mm rod ( which would translate to 1" in 1:1 scale ) it would have been easier to see but a bit out of scale in my opinion. That stuff would be great for a dump truck! I got this stuff from Plastruct. The real miniature nuts and bolts you can get would be better for sure, but also much more costly.

I went through the trouble of making nuts and bolts for the suspension. What I did is take small o.8 mm hex rod and cut little pieces to act as nuts. Then I glue a smaller diameter styrene rod to place on top as the bolt. The sad part is that ( found this out the last time I did it too ) the naked eye can't really see it . In fact my camera on macro setting still can't even pick it up that well. Here is a pic. I also made the shocks. And another.

It looks good sitting there. I love steelies as they always help with the period look. Keep up the good worlk.