charlie8575

Jon, I know Jeff at Missing Link has been actively soliciting new products, you might want to talk to him. I don't remember if you were at MassCar this past March, but he was there. He's a very nice guy, and his work is absolutely first-rate. I'll go so far as to say he walks away from Don Holthaus in quality simply because of that beautiful resin he uses. Had I not known better, you could've told me it was old AMT or Revell styrene, and I'd've gone along with you (the new non-spec Chinese garbage material feels and looks skizzy.) Jeff- as a thought: perhaps you could supply photo-etched trim and scripts so the builder has the option of building either a 1957 or '58 Savoy, Belvedere or Fury, as all three came as the sport coupe. I always liked the Savoy side-trim any way. Here are some picture links. An Australian '57 Savoy, which is identical in trim to the U.S. version: Here's a Fury for comparison. This is a Belvedere. Note all the above are 1957s posted as a comparison. This body has a lot of potential for us modelers. I know the rest of the kit is good, but they screwed up the body royally. Perhaps someday, Round 2 can be talked into fixing it. Charlie Larkin

The Black Widow was substantially-new tooling last year, mostly the chassis carried over from their very nice '55 Bel Air Sport Coupe, and the just-released 1957 Bel-Air 2-door sedan is based on the Black Widow tooling, with a new body and I believe interior to correctly replicate the Bel Air seat pattern. Beyond that, I get as lost as everyone else. Charlie Larkin

Gee, I always thought you were up more towards Berlin/Colebrook. So you are nearer to civilization than I thought! Quick rule of thumb: 1 milimetre= about 1/32". Charlie Larkin

To make a Commodore 6 or 8 will be a challenge. The Hornet used a unique "wide-block," where the other Hudson engines had a wide lower part of the block, making the block to look something like an upside-down skeleton key. Come our next Hudson meet, I'll take a few pictures and post them so you can see what I'm talking about better. For those wondering, Pacemakers, Super 6/8 and the Wasp were on shorter wheelbases with shorter overall lengths and slightly different interior patterns. And for the record, the Hornet in 1953 had interiors in green, brown and blue. And yes, red with a green interior was a legitmate scheme. We have two Hornets around here in Toro Red with a green interior. The green interior is best achieved with Testors Beret green lighted about two shades with white. Testors flat brown will work for the brown interior and Testors Sea Blue, also mixed with just a hint of white to lighten it just a little will work. Charlie Larkin

That looks great. Very nice build and definitely something to be proud off. Charlie Larkin

If someone did a Coupe Express, I'd be first in line to purchase- resin or plastic! Charlie Larkin

Jon, I don't know what you have way up north, but you might be able to find something like that at a good hospital pharmacy. If worst comes to worst, you can always try Bouvier's here in Marlborough, Ma. They're a very full-line hospital equipment dealer and dispensary. Contact them here Charlie Larkin

It looks good, Roger. That looks like the right side trim for a '59 to me, though. Your work is always a pleasure to watch. Charlie Larkin

Simply amazing! http://www.asylum.com/2010/09/02/phillip-warren-builds-royal-navy-warships-out-of-matchsticks/?icid=main|main|dl7|sec3_lnk1|168075 Charlie Larkin

1953 Hudson paint chips And for the rest of the colors... 1952 Hudson paint chips 1951-52 Hudson paint chips And, because there are very few differences between the 1951 and '52s, you could use '52 colors, too. The 1951s had some trim differences, and the 1950s had different grilles. Also, the Hornet didn't exist, however, with a little ingenuity, you could do a Commodore 6 if you wanted to. Lastly, here's the 1953 brochure. 1953 Hudson full-line brochure Charlie Larkin

I have one of these as well, and will be building it stock. I can't decide on a color scheme, though. I'm leaning towards what around here was very common two-tone of white with green. New England probably by proportion, had the biggest number of Rambler wagon sales. Even now, mostly as antiques, you see a good number of them. Charlie Larkin

The 1949-51 Ford and Mercury wagons were a little different. While wood wasn't as structural, it was still a major component of the body. The 1951-53 Buick wagons were similar in that regard. As were the 1949-50 Chevy, Olds and Pontiac wagons that used wood (which were very few, they're quite rare now and very desirable.) Packard's "Station Sedan" was also a wood/steel composite where most woodies were wood or wood/canvas. Charlie Larkin

Looks just right, Wayne. Nice job. Charlie Larkin

I think I follow where he's going. Ex-teacher stepping in now to clarify. Brett's picture of the aftermarket gauge package helped me see what he wanted to do. Let me try to clarify this. 1. Cut a small piece of material from an index card to form a base. This will be determined by the number of gauges you'd like and the diameter of the sprue you're using. 2. Cut the sprue into small sections and touch up with sandpaper if needed to make them round. (ed. note: alternately, you could use small pieces of round Evergreen stock or aluminum rod.) 3. Glue the sprue or rod to the cardstock. 4. Paint the entire assembly black or chrome silver to finish it to your desired appearance. Paint the gauge faces black or white as desired. 5. Attach where desired. A side note- The ideas presented here to help explain writing a tutorial were good and well-done. Remember, though, many people through no fault of their own, have never been exposed to proper expository writing, and reading it (for example, a tutorial,) doesn't always make up for the lack of instruction. Some people, let's be honest, are also just not good writers or typists. That presents its own problem. The only thing we can do is ask for clarification and ask questions if we don't understand something. By doing that, we all learn. Charlie Larkin

Always use lacquer primer. I like Plasti-Kote, Michael's sells a lacquer primer under the Valspar label that is essentially the Plasti-Kote gray sandable primer. It's a little thinner and works just as well. I never cared for Dupli-Color. Your Tamyia primer might work. Try it first on some scrap. As a point of reference, a Badger 250 starter airbrush is about $25, and with an inner tube, you have a cheap supply of air. Charlie Larkin

If, by volume, you used more glue than paint on a model, you might be a young model builder! (oops...I think I just did one of those...) Charlie Larkin

Scale Finishes, which makes acrylic enamels, has a pretty good how-to guide. ScaleFinishes.com Charlie Larkin

Good to see this one up an around again, and it's coming out nicely. Charlie Larkin

Woodie- Station wagon made with wooden body parts. Panel van/truck- steel-bodied truck, solid rear area, except for the door(s) on the back. Charlie Larkin

Another helpful tip if you don't have a good computer or photo-gluing capacity is to find a panoramic camera in 35 mm, which, when placed properly, will scale out nicely for a backdrop. to use this, though, you must use a tripod. Also, make sure you indicate that you used a panoramic camera when you take the film to be developed, or they'll make a mess of negatives. Another option if you have a friend who's a well-heeled photographer is to use a Linhof Technical camera, which has an adjustable depth of field, in case you can't adjust your position. Charlie Larkin

Great work, hopefully I'll have the Valiant ready to go. Charlie Larkin

Nice job, Roger. That's one I'd like to see reissued, or somebody do in resin. Charlie Larkin

How simply perfect. Perfectly simple. Charlie Larkin

Nice job. Charlie Larkin

A very interesting concept. I like the execution and that black looks sooo good on it. Great concept. Charlie Larkin