Dr. Cranky

J, and to think you probably don't have THAT picture! I'd pay to see it!

Chris, I go through about six or eight of those bottles a year. A single Diorama like this one will go through a bottle in no time.

Here's a fun thread topic (I hope) and I wonder how many of you have pictures that you've taken with famous car builders in both scale and real that you keep for inspiration by your work bench. Don't be shy, please dig up your photos and post them here. Of if you've gotten autographs from your heroes, I'd love to see those too. A few years ago, I had the distinct pleasure of attending my first model car show in Birmingham (an experience I will forever treasure) and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting two of Doctor Cranky's building heroes: Mr. Ken Hamilton and Mr. Pat Covert, about the two nicest and most generous builders I've ever had the honor and pleasure of calling great friends and mentors:

Andy is probably not too far off, but I heard they also had to tweak some of the formulas. We need a good chemist on board on this forum!

I think so, that's what I was told, and it wasn't an issue with the other States, just dear old Cali! You don't know how I was sweating it out. This is the workhorse adhesive at my work bench. Close call. I also couldn't get my hands on my two favorite colors: Hull Red and Buff, but everything has been resolved, so no more having to get stuff directly from Japan.

Just when I thought and feared I was going to run out, this arrived today and made my day! :D

Thank heavens all the issues were resolved with the State of California and Tamiya paints and glues are back on distribution! Doctor Cranky's happy, happy and he will never have to sweat it out fearing his last drop of Thin Liquid Cement was about to be used! :wub: All their liquid products are available once again at your local hobby shops throughout the land.

Amazing, John, when I weigh myself every morning and realize I'm putting on weight, I am going to blame you. It's all that eye candy and all the popcorn I am consuming watching you build!

Rick, I am still looking. And like the U2 song says; I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

Darren, you are still possessed. I love it! Another round of amazing eye candy headed our way. More popcorn, please!

Here, again, are some recent examples:

Donn, I've had the light play the same trick on me. I have a drying room where I keep the freshly painted bodies with overhead flourescent lights and sometimes I think the paint is drying a bit thick at first, and then a few days later after it gasses out, the paint dries flat. I think that's also the effect of the lacquer thinner. Even the gloss. I haven't had a body I've painted yet look out of scale, then again, for the most part, I've worked on a Nova, several 32s, several 41 Willyses . . . and they all look fine.

Ryan, that looks freakin' cool, man. Nice work scratch-building what you need and will look great on your build. Joe, thanks for the updated list, I moved it to the first post. 84 folks in the CARAVAN. I am just floored by the level of participation. Wonderful! Keith, that's a great vehicle and a wonderful contribution to the SQUAD! Mark, thanks for helping out with Judgeman's build. Excellent. Goes to show how generous folks are on this forum!

Some great posts, folks. I am very excited about learning so new tricks. Terrific. Keep 'em coming. Thanks for the contribution.

Bernard, love the pictures and the background story. One of my biggest regrets in this hobby (I could not help it) is that I didn't keep any of the first models I built when I was a kid. I either destroyed them or my mother threw the last of them out when I went away to college. She gave away my entire collection of N gauge locomotives, but that's another story. I think keeping your first build around is a great morale booster and a constant inspiration. By the way the last photograph in black and white, is that a model you still have in your collection? I ask only in that I would love to see recent pictures of it now.

Amen to that, Bernard!

And the results always mean more eye candy for us. You keep feeding us our daily allowance and I thank YOU for that.

Stay home, safe, and build more eye candy for us! Hope you are well and thriving, Niko.

Ira, you know what I am going to say, right? Take your camera, bring us back lots of eye candy. Thanks in advance!

I too am sorry to hear it. I love their early Gasser decals their rat rod ones too. I've been thinking of getting into the aftermarket decals, but this might be an indication for not doing so . . . it's a very expensive process as you all know, and then you have to have good distribution and good word of mouth, and if that doesn't seem to cut it, then it's best not to get started.

And let me also clarify that Scratch-building is not just strictly defined by that which you build out of metal, wood, styrene. Case in point, here's one of those instances when you hit your head and say: Why didn't I think of that?! Again, to a great source of information and eye candy, Mr. Ken Hamilton. Check this out: http://public.fotki.com/khamilton/models/model_how-to/how_to_make_a_mexic/

Chuck Most, you mentioned shears and it's the one tool I seem to be missing in the lot. I guess a good metal shear will also work on styrene sheet. Or a pair of scissors. Did you see Chuck Doan's dremel turned lightbulb? Boy, I love this hobby! Sometimes it's just pure eye candy!

Thanks for tuning in, Chuck, and you are one of those builders I know who is constantly fabricating stuff that doesn't exist! The Dremel Stylus is tool Art as far as I'm concerned. What can I tell you? It was love at first sight!

Andy, you've got to cut yourself some slack and also give yourself a pat on the back for not only trying but for being here learning everything you can. When I was your age (I know what you are thinking, OH NO NOT ONE OF THOSE STORIES!) there were not such places as forums, and so whatever we learned as model builders we learned mostly through trial and error, by ourselves. Sometimes with an older family member, dad, uncle, teaching us what they knew. Now the learning curve is sped of because of this wonderful forum community where you can pick up all sorts of tips, techniques, and inspiration round the clock, 24/7.

Thanks, Daniel. Well, I'm hoping we can all get back to focusing on the joys and pleasures of building model cars and using, like Dave Z would put it, our hands and brains. I'm also hoping those of you who are seasoned veterans of the art of scratch-building (oh, you know who you are!) will chime in and ad to the conversation. I'm hoping this will turn into the kind of thread that when we hear someone knew say, "Hey, I need help scratch-building . . . ?" we can guide them in the right direction.