charlie8575

Crock-pot turkey is your friend, Jim. Easy way to do that: take some turkey breast, cooked or not, and cook under some cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup in a saute pan for about an hour if cooked, a bit longer if not, usually less than two hours, on medium heat. Fork-tender and very easy to chew. Tastes pretty good, too. In any event, best wishes for the surgery and a speedy recovery, and a Merry Christmas from our house to yours. Charlie Larkin

The black looks good on that. I agree a wash on the grille would improve the look overall substantially, but you've done a great job overall. Charlie Larkin

EXCELLENT work! What is your age group if I may inquire? Charlie Larkin

I never cared for brake fluid. Here are the ones I've used with some success: 1. Super Clean (although they seem to have reformulated it, last time I tried it, it was SLOW.) 2. Fume-free oven cleaner works as well as the fumes-included, and doesn't stink nearly as bad. Also much safer for you. Yes, you will need to use a couple of shots, but it works, and is the preferred method for stripping resin. 3. Whestley's Bleche-Wite whitewall cleaner. A little slow, but works well. As it's not as caustic, it's also very safe for most models. 4. Ammonia. Stinks to high heaven, but effective, make sure to use it in a sealed box to both prevent evaporation and fumigating your house! 5. I haven't tried alcohol, but may next; I have some very stubborn paint, and from what's being said, it seems to remove almost everything. Charlie Larkin

The interior of these cars is very roomy. The Step-Down design has a lot to do with that. With the frame outrigging the perimeter of the car, including being outboard of the rear wheels, a great deal of extra room was created, especially when compared to most of its contemporaries. The Step-Down was essentially a unit-bodied car, although built in a way like a conventional chassis, as the mock-ups of the model have shown, the frame members were bolted and welded into a roll-cage, much like a Volvo, with the sheet-metal either bolted or welded on to the roll-cage. The rear quarters on the 1948-'53 cars were actually bolted on, making them very easy to replace when needed. The floor and roof were were welded and bolted to the cage, partially for security, partially to re-inforce the cage. The frames can be removed from the upper part of the cage, enabling what is seen as a frame-off restoration. Step-Down Hudsons are genreally acknowledged, even now, as a very safe car. Unfortunately, some inconsiderate driver in a modern Brand X will hit a Hudson even today. And usually, the Brand X, even "safety cars," like Volvos and Saabs, loose the battle far worse than the Hudson because it's so grossly overbuilt. Yet, most body styles still weigh under two tons. Charlie Larkin

This says, if nothing else, "we care." Even if there are a couple of small flubs, I'm buying at least one of these simply out of appreciation for the monumental effort put into making this a great kit and thanking Moebius for something different! I noticed. And it had confirmed we have a Hudson, not what I saw described as a "Mercury knock-off." I'd like to remind all of you that the Step-Down was introduced for the 1948 model year. While there is some similarity, you'll see a little bit of similarity in a lot of the cars of that vintage, although, unlike today, they're readily distiguishable from one another. I been trying very hard not to bicker, but I've been reading this thread with great interest. I'll just say my opinion: I've been a member of the Hudson-Essex-Terreplane club for ten years, until a few months ago when I had to let my membership lapse due to lack of income; I'll be renewing it next year. I've been around Hudsons for a little longer, stemming from my senior capstone research project in college, dealing with the Hudson Jet, and from that, was introduced to the wonderful world of Hudsons and the people that own them- by far the friendliest bunch in the hobby next to perhaps Rambler/A.M.C. folk. In short, I've been around plenty of Hornets, and other Step-Downs. I was a little unsure about the rear window, but not enough so that I would refuse to buy the model over that. What was there looked like it was pretty easy to fix. I saw none of the roof-line and door issues some people have pointed out. In other words, I saw nothing that wouldn't require, at most, more than a thin strip of styrene you could probably get off a sprue to fix. And that's if the minor revisions don't fix what needs to be fixed. The pictures I have seen have satisfied me that this is a good kit. Perfect? Maybe not, but certainly very good. No product of man is perfect, perhaps we as modelers will someday understand that. By no means does that intend to suggest we should have to suffer with totally unacceptable or poorly-done. We do not have this here. We have an excellent representation of a car that should've been kitted years ago. I'm satisfied that is a faithful representation of a great American automobile. With the small tweaks that will be made to the mold as Dave has suggested, I think it will be even better. While I'll reserve my final pronouncement until I can actually see one of these in plastic, I like what I'm seeing well-enough to be ready to purchase one, which, considering how limited my income has been this year, and looks like, barring some positive cash-flow, it's going to be for the foreseeable future, should say how I think on this. Seriously, if I buy one kit next year (which may be more reality than not,) it will be this. My reservation has already been placed with my hobby shop. Charlie Larkin

To my eye, Mike, that looks a lot like the blue vinyl GM used in its trucks at that time. It's a pretty color, too. Charlie Larkin

The work you've put into this is outstanding. I am curious though, the murals seem to be somewhat lost under that dark maroon paint. Do they show well in light? This is wonderful. Not my style of build at all, but the workmanship is fantastic. Thanks for sharing it with us. Charlie Larkin

So far, that interior looks fantastic, Ian. Keep it coming! Charlie Larkin

Very cool Mike. This is going to be a great build when you're done, and I'm happy to see you doing it. Hawk's BMW up next? Or the Jag from the books? Charlie Larkin

I don't know what you had in mind for a tent or something like this, but while poking around at Walthers, I came upon this: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/590-45215 It might be a hair oversized, but could still prove handy if you want to give it a shot. Charlie Larkin

Nice job so far. I have most of the Minicraft-issue Highway Pioneers I built when I was in 5th and 6th grade, and I'd like to rebuild them someday. Or perhaps get some new, unbuilt ones and try 'em again. I do have most, if not all, of the Pyro 1/32 brass cars and a fair number of the Life-Like ones, many of which were simply re-issued Pyros. I'd love to get them built and make some kind of nice display, and you're giving me an idea as to how to do it. Thanks for that. Charlie Larkin

Virgil- you took astounding and made it even moreso. This is without question about as real as it can get. I think I speak for all of us when I say thank you for choosing to share your incredible capacities for creativity with us. Charlie Larkin

Sorry to hear of this, Jeff. I hope your family isn't endangered by this at all. Advise your daughter to alert the police so they can invalidate her old driver's license number and if she had any charge cards to call the issuers at once and make sure they're shut off. She should also alert her bank and ask them to monitor the account for any suspicious activity. Even if there was no bank account information (debit or ATM card, chequebook, etc.,) if a thief is sophisticated enough, they may still be able to get access to that information. Charlie Larkin

Nice work, Mike. The polished plastic looks as good as paint. Charlie Larkin

My ideal modern car is a Magnum R/T with no sunroof and all-wheel-drive. I thought they were very cool when they came out, and was hoping they'd continue to make them. Perhaps a return will come someday. Nice build-up, Rick. Charlie Larkin

Very nice work on all of them. I especially like that sedan delivery. Charlie Larkin

Nice job, Ian. Looks great. Charlie Larkin

Very nice build, Sam. And thanks for the tip on the paint. A lot of the G.M./FoMoCo red interiors were a very similar shade, and that'll do a nice job of replicating it. Charlie Larkin

I like that boiler, Virgil. Where did you find it, or how did you make it? This is truly a masterpiece, and what modeling is all about. Charlie Larkin

Belated happy birthday, Jared. I hope you enjoyed it. And nice work with the hinges on that. Charlie Larkin

Any major-brand airbrush is generally going to be a safe purchase. I have an Aztek 320 which is a nice product; easy to clean and works well. I've considered trying a Paasche, as everyone I know who uses them likes them. I've tried a Badger before, and haven't been real thrilled with them, seem to be tough to clean and keep working right. Charlie Larkin

Very neat, Mike. You wouldn't happen to have any sample of rapid prototyping floating around? This is an interesting topic, and I think we as modelers would benefit to learn a little more about it so we can see how newer models are created. Charlie Larkin

Great job on the interior, Adam. I'll enjoy seeing the rest of this come together. Charlie Larkin

I really like this, Wayne. This is coming out spectacular. Charlie Larkin