Paul Payne

Great to see rods built from salvage- just like the full size ones!

Just curious, what are your bases made from?

Got a little more work done. The Tbird hood was glued in place so that it can be cut for the new hood opening as well as allowing strength for the new front wheel openings and the cutting away of the old radiator/screw mount area. This will be replace by a new cross piece mounted to the forward bulkheads in the aircraft halves. The chassis was also cut apart to lengthen the wheelbase. A patch piece will be installed adding about 5/8" to the length. The top of the chassis plate will also be the interior floor. The shape of the interior opening is beginning to be roughed in. This will have a center dividing strip similar to a Corvette and extending forward on the driveshaft tunnel to the underside of the dashboard. I was also unhappy about the shape of the hood so I cut a pie wedge at the back to reduce the width. This will allow me to extend the side contours up into the front cowl and windshield area without an angle change.

Patrick, this is possibly the best diorama I have seen. The figures especially are very expressive and really tell a story. If the diorama is loaned out, please package it well!

This one needs to be built full size! Really great proportions, build quality, and it just plain looks great!

Reminds me a bit of the Chrisman coupe- excellent body work- looks real!

Really believable! Let's go kruzin!

Alan, that sounds interesting, but I think I will save that idea for a future project. Thanks for the ideas and input- that's what keeps this project rolling!

With results like this, who needs easy?

The weathering, the imagination, the workmanship are all amazing! On the Vettejet, don't forget Spaceley Sprockets for the sponsor decals! How about Lucas Junk Yard? Lots of fun possibilities!

Personally, I like a somewhat wider side wall with a simple wheel like a 53 Studebaker or even an Avanti wheel, especially on late 40's and early 50's cars. It sounds like the wheels in the pix just aren't floating your boat (landyatch)?

I think lengthening the rear fenders a bit would enhance the roof line. Moving the rear widow closer to the trunk opening would allow more length for the roof. Just my two cents, I know whatever you come up with will work fine!

Martin, I had thought about that but the nose profile will match better with the grille profile when installed upside down. This is definitely a series of mini projects and trying this and that to see what works!

Bubble top cars can get very hot inside, and can also be claustrophobic. Keep it open and enjoy the breeze! I'm enjoying this ride- you are doing things I would not have thought of.

Well, progress has been a bit slow due to way more puttying and sanding than I anticipated, as well as how much slow, patient, (tedious?) work is required to continue building the egg crate grille! This project is a bit different for me since there was a vague idea of what I want to achieve, then letting the parts dictate construction. I decided on a rounder nose for the hood, so I cut it in two, added stock (not very symmetrically as it turned out), and a lot more putty than I really wanted- I may still sand away the putty and try to use plastic. I got one half of the airplane body in primer, still puttying the opposite half- I suspect the primered half will still need some work. When I extended the boat tail to the passenger compartment, there was quite a gap between the Tbird body and the new plastic. I decided to try filling this with short lengths of sprue and some scrap that will be worked into final shape. I plan on a divided passenger compartment with a seat divider and console running from the back to meet up with the underside of the dash. Here are some pix so far- more will come!

Are these ships too early for deck prisms? If not, must have been really dark below decks!

Martin, I cut the doors out of one of these some time ago- be very careful of the bottom door frame area since mine wanted to break- might be good to figure out some reinforcing asap! Great job on the cutting- very smooth and even- really like what you did on the chassis. Looking forward to more!

I think the deuce rules. Plenty of A and T hot rods got deuce grilles. Looking at the old hot rod photos in Don Montgomery's books, most were deuces, especially if they were both raced and street driven. The A-V8 hot rod was built on a deuce frame with an A body.

WOW! Let's get in and take a drive! Absolutely love the color- been looking for a deep slatey blue. The intake system you chose is choice- everything about this build is a gem!

Great mods- I think you nailed it! I remember from the tv show that the car rolled over to hide it in the garage- I assumed a dry sump system which would drain the oil and then pump it back in- can't have fouled plugs ruining your fast starts!

Claude, glad you are enjoying this project! I have been using liquid styrene cement for the initial bond, then, after this sets, reinforcing the joints with superglue. I have puttied up the fuselage halves, sanded, the re-puttied, then sanded again, then re-puttied again- maybe this will be the last time! I wanted to do as much work as possible with the airplane parts unattached, to reduce stressing. Once they are attached, there will probably be considerably more fill in pieces and putty to get final contours, which are still somewhat undecided. I am using a one part auto putty (red stuff) which I have used in the past without shrinkage problems (yet)! Right now I am gluing up more modules for the egg crate grille as well as working out the interior opening and hood. I will post more pix soon!

Can't beat a DOHC engine.

Looks great! more! more!

A little more progress- using plane wings, I extended the boat tail up to the passenger compartment. The hood has been split and a more rounded section for the nose was found and trimmed. The fuselage halves have additional patch pieces grafted in and are almost ready for initial sanding, then putty, then sanding, then putty...you get the idea! Haven't done much on the grille- need to devote some time to it and make it start looking like something!

Subject matter is paramount- if I don't like the car, it won't be purchased. Scale is also important- I only build in 1/25th and 1/24th. I don't like kits with white metal parts although I have built a few- plastic or resin would look better and be easier to work with. Metal bodies on plastic chassis are a joke- the plastic (especially axles and suspension components) parts break from the weight. Again, I have built a few. I appreciate good box art, but it won't sell me a model I don't want. Part count isn't as important as part quality. Lately I have been doing more kit bashing, junker restoration and repurposing. I like 40's style hot rods, sports cars, Bugattis, and big luxury cars of any era. Here are my seven full size rides: Bugatti T57SC Atlantic (borrow Ralph Lauren's)? Fully hot rodded 1932 Ford roadster Fully hot rodded 1932 Ford 3 window coupe 1961 Lincoln Continental 4 door convertible 1961 to 1963 Thunderbird convertible Jaguar XK120 roadster 427 Cobra And don't forget the Duesenberg SJ, Bugatti Royale, Bugatti T35B, !956 Continental MK2, 1953 Studebaker hardtop, 1936 Ford 3 window coupe, Matranga Mercury, Jaguar XK-E coupe, Harley Davidson knucklehead, Miller front drive Indy car, and my latest project- a boat tailed 2 seat 40's idea car with an egg crate grille and a dual overhead cam V-16!