BigGary

I hate to disappoint you foreign car nuts but NASCAR is continuing to grow and become more popular, especially with the addition of Danica Patrick to ASA and Nationwide series, even though to a limited schedule. You can be sure the country will be watching. Juan Pablo Montoya didn't join NASCAR so he wouln't have to be in the wind anymore. Gary

When I took my '73 Charger to Michigan in '76 I bought snow tires a.s.a.p. The skeptics said "All you need is radials" before radials were very common like now. I laughed at them as I sedately drove away while their radials were spinning in the snow. Driving in snow with RWD is a different ball game. How did we get on this topic? Gary

Now that's really off topic! Gary

We're thinking about you Andrea! My wife works at an AFB near here. There was a house fire last week. The father is deployed and everybody in the AF community and the town made sure the family's needs were met (2 kids), but Mom was a basket case, (Gee, do you think?) and Dad came home from Saudi Arabia to hold everything together for a while. He'll be going back, but because of the kindness of many people they will get through this. You will too! Separation is the pits, but can be done. We're praying for you. Gary

You practice on scrap so that you don't waste over-priced car bodies or engine blocks, and save a ton on Super Clean so you can do a really good job on your paint jobs. Airbrushing engines is not like airbrushing bodies. Unless your airbrush is the Badger paint gun, practice is essential. Anybody can do a messy job. Gary

It is important to clean you brushes immediately after use. I have found that dried acrylic is harder to get out than dried enamel, especially out of an airbrush, but also regular brushes. For still wet acrylics I use alcohol, Fantastic, or other strong cleaner. Gary

Ken is correct. Walmart buys at a negotiated margin. If they can't get that price or margin, the item is no longer sold. When you've gone to WM expecting to buy an item you've bought there before and they don't have it, this is probably the reason. It may also have gone into history because it wasn't selling well enough. Walmart, and most other large retailers, negotiate to buy a certain number of an item, and if it doesn't sell well enough, they don't buy any more. Notice that Sam's root beer and other Sam's soft drinks are no longer available, so if you were addicted Mountain Thunder, you are out of luck. These Sam's branded drinks are gone. Gary

As was said in earlier posts, spray paint is avalable in small cans by Tamiya, Testors, etc. These are especially good for special colors, lacquers, etc. A search on painting will reveal the wide variety of paints that modelers use. Many use Tamiya and Testors paints, but also Dupli-color, Krylon, nail polish, & other off-the-shelf paints. Most of us have tried several and have our favorites. Gary

Tom, Let me see if I can consolidate some of this info and add a little. First, take the kit out of the box and wash all none chrome parts in warm soapy water and air dry. For your already painted kit put it in the "purple pool", that is Castrol Super Clean or Purple Power, available at Walmart, auto parts stores, etc. Leave it about 24-48 hours, put on rubber, latex or nitrile gloves, and scrub with a toothbrush until all paint is removed. Rinse off and let dry. Next, sand off any defects, mold lines flash, etc. Put the body on a painting stand of some kind, I use a bent clothes hanger. Spray a light coat of good quality primer, followed 15-20 minutes alter by a second heavier coat. I use Walmart Color Place, others us Dupli-color, etc. When dry, about 12-24 hours, sand again with fine sandpaper like 320, 400, or higher. If you sand through the primer, touchup with primer. Priming will reveal defects not previously noticed. When you are satisfied with the smoothness of the primer, you're ready to move on to paint. First a light misty coat of color, followed 15-20 minutes later by a heavier coat that covers, and later, a third or more heavier coat for smoothness and coverage. You may want to practice praying on scrap plastic or corrugated plastic signs to learn how close and how fast to spray the paint. Always warm the paint can in very warm water (NOT boiling) for better spraying, it works best that way. After the paint has dried several days, then polish it if needed with a good polish. I use turtle wax. This is kind of a summary. Do a search on this forum on painting and you'll learn a lot more. Gary

Walmart stopped selling kits almost 2 years ago. Big disappointment for those with no hobby shops around. Michael's 40-50% off coupons come in real handy, but as someone said, the selction is limited. Hobby Lobby has many kits and high prices, and not near so generous with discount coupons. It was stated that Walmart killed hobby shops. While they may have been a factor, a larger factor is online purchasing. For example, the supply of resin bodies at even the best LHS is limited, but you can find anything online. Same with other parts, supplies, kits, etc. My personal experience is that I will buy from a LHS if I can because of outrageous shipping rates from most online sellers. I can ship a kit anywhere for about $7, but most online retailers want at least $10. I recognize that boxes, packing labor, and postage are legitimate expenses, but some I think are trying to make most of their profit on shipping. I was going to order sanding pads from Micro-Mark, but cancelled the order when the shipping was more than the items that weighed only a few ounces. Outrageous! Gary

Another piece of advice, practice, practice, practice. Foam core board or plastic corrugated signs,(the back) are good to practice on. Acrylic paint is very cheap at Walmart to use for practice. Clean Acrylic with Alcohol, 91% and laquer thinner, thin with alcohol, 71%. You can also thin acrylics with water, but distilled is best. Never let acrylics dry in your air brush. Its enough to make a grown man cry and says words you didn't know were in your vocabulary. This is a question that is frequently asked, so do a search of the forum for all kinds of advice & info. Gary

Have you noticed that the nail files you find in the cosmetics dept. are in various grits? They are great for model work. Black is the coarsest grit, about 100, and pink is the finest, about 320. They are less then $2 at most stores and alot more at your LHS, Michael's, etc. Gary

I bought a 1 gallon compressor & regulator at Lowe's Home Center for $80 dollars. It works great. I also have 3 airbrushes from Northern Tool, similar to the Harbor Freight version. I also have 1 real badger I've had since Christmas '78. I use 4 at a time, using 1 and putting it in thinner when finished. That way I can spray 3 or 4 colors without stopping to clean air brushes. When I finish, I disassemble and clean all 4 air brushes. Its a lot faster than painting, cleaning, painting, cleaning, etc. They are all the equivelant to the Badger 350. I also have a Badger 150 double action, but I rarely use it for cars. Gary

It is quite likely that your missing part could be found on a Badger airbrush specialty site. Take a look around on the web. My Great Aunt, who lived to be 101, said the lessons we learn and the price we pay for it are called "tuition", so what it costs to replace that part is "tuition". Gary

My first model car was a AMT '61 Merc Comet given to me by a classmate in 6th grade. First model ever was an F-86 fighter airplane. I've been going back and forth between cars & planes ever since. Gary

For the 4 banger guys, remember the Dodge/Plymouth turbos from the 80s? I don't know of a kit for it, but it was a power house, especially when massaged. The Mopar list didn't include the late 50's 350 & 361 B block, but as some pointed out, how do you tell the difference between a 361 & a 440, especially in model form. Gary

I got an e-mail from Round2 today annoucing the re-release of the "TV Tommy" Ivo front engine dragster kit. List price is $19.99. I wonder how many places will put $24.95 prices on it like the latest Revell kits are going for. I've never been a big fan of rear engine dragsters, but the old AA/FD dragsters from the 60's stir my soul because I remember them and smelled their nitro. Gary

Losing 30 lbs is a good excuse to buy new clothes, if that's important to you. I know it is to a woman. My wife was losing 2 inches every 6 months for awhile. That was about $400 for a new wardrobe every 6 months. She was loving it, the budget was taking a beating. The local thrift store that got her "too big stuff" was loving it too. There is no down side to healthy weight loss. In '85 I lost 75 lbs, had more energy, felt better, got a new girlfriend, lower blood pressure, and got rid of another 200 lbs. of ugly fat that wasn't on me. Gary

Time to go back to the body shop! Gary

How about Monster truck fodder with Al Gore inside? Gary

Seems somebody needs to go back and read the rules again, carefully , especially the part about 2 doors and 1960-1980. That leaves out modern Chargers, Impala SS from the 90s, and anything else with 4 doors. It seems like all pre-80 Challengers, Camaros, Mustangs, etc would qualify. I wonder though, if my Camaro came with 6 cyl and I put in a 427, is it a muscle car? Gary

I'm with lee. the Prius with a blown Hemi would be great, kind of like the Citreon with a blown 351 that somebody built. The aerodynamics of the Prius would be great, and make more than 130 mph on the salt flats. Bet they didn't do that on the battery. Gary

All the 50's Hemis (Red Ram, Firepower, Firedome) came with those wire covers. Most racers removed them to make plug changes easier. They're strictly decorative. Gary

Seeing your Mustang brings back many memories of my drag racing days. that's a gorgeous Mustang. What fit of madness caused you to sell it? Gary

Definately like your second wheel choice. The '58 Chevy has always been in the shadow of the tri-five cars, but has its own beauty and style that the tri-fives don't have. I have this kit and stripped the chrome where needed for gluing, but that's as far as I got. I'm looking forward to starting it again in the future. Gary