impcon

That's a pretty car! I too have a soft spot for the bigger cars of the '60's and '70's. And it's nice to see a stock build of it - sweet job! AAAA+

Looks great! Nice colours and detailing,, does your grandfather know that you are building this? It may make a nice Christmas present for him if he doesn't...

Well - there goes my idea out the window. Seriously - that's one sweet build! I sure like that tractor!!!

My son has a 1980 Camaro Berlinetta that is his pride and joy that I really want to duplicate in 1/25 scale for him for Christmas this year. He actually has almost a dozen 1978-81 Camaros ( parts cars included ) - mostly Z28s that include an '81 Z28 convertible project - but his Berlinetta is his favorite as it was his first driveable Camaro. It's a REALLY good, dry, solid and totally rust free car that came out of Nevada to Washington State where we found it in 2004 while on a road trip. He was barely 14 at the time and he bought and paid for the car with his own money and I want to build a Berlinetta for him. Here's a picture of the Berlinetta as we found it behind an old closed down gas station - it was slated to become a circle track race car had he not spotted it hidden away as we were driving through Soap Lake, WA. AT 13, he had developed a thing for these cars and at 14, he bought his first one out of a wrecking yard in Tonasket, WA. It was a yellow factory 4 speed, air conditioned rust free car that was sitting at the crush pile and stuffed full of scrap metal and junk. The car was missing it's hood, engine and transmission and the back window was smashed out of it but it was very well optioned out ( power windows and door locks, tilt steering, air conditioning ) and otherwise nearly complete so needless to say, $100.00 changed hands that day and we went back with the trailer the next day to empty the poor car of it's load of junk and bring it home. What we found under all the junk was a amazing - a complete, dirty but very decent interior right down to the dash cluster with the factory tach and guage package. As we were coming home withthe car, we stopped for gas and a tow truck pulled in beside us. The driver askled where we had gotten the car and we told him it had come from Steven's Auto Wrecking ( now closed forever by the EPA goon squad ) and he laughed and informed us that he had hauled that car into that yard a number of years previously. Evidently, it had been abandoned in an orchard and the property owner had it picked up and hauled away as scrap. The tow truck operator said that it was already missing it's engine and four speed when he had picked it up. Obviously, the car had sat basically untouched in that yard for a few years. Here's Matthew showing his Berlinetta at the 2005 Penticton Beach Cruise at age 15. The car is pictured here pretty much as he bought it aside from some mechanical work ( new brakes all around, new lower ball joints and some minor tinkering )and a good cleaning. It still wears it's original white paint today and it has what appears to be a factory red pin stripe option and today, it sits on period correct Z288 factory wheels which really suit the car even though it isn't a Z28. He is presently rebuilding a 350 for it as the old 283 that is presently in it ( not the original engine of course, but a tough little thing that has with stood four summers at the hands of a teenager who has been far less easy on it than I would have liked to have seen ) and he hopes to have the car repainted and restriped and detailed for next summer. Here's a photo of the convertible that he bought a couple of years ago - This is at the local car wash the day after we haulked the car home from Vancouver. It was covered with black goo and slime from sitting outside in the wet but it cleaned up well. I have pictures of it sitting where it was when we first saw it but I don't know if anyone wants to see them as I have sort of gotten off topic here. It is a real Z28 convertible ( not a home done hack job ) that we found through a friend of mine who is into cars and who knew that Matt loves Camaros. It had been hit on the driver's front corner and needed a new subframe but the firewall back body was unhurt in the accident and not tweaked at all. Matt bought the car from another young fellow in Vancouver, B.C. for $550.00 without the engine ( not the originall engine so it isn't a big deal ) and missing some interior pieces. We've had the car on the hoist in my shop and aside from a wee bit of rust on one of the smaller floor braces, the car is virtually rust free and solid! GM never made a Camaro convertible back then - this was made under license by GM in California where the car originated from. Matt had another badly rotted '81 Z28 that he had bought for $100.00 as a parts car about a year before getting the convertible and it was to become the donor car for the front fenders and complete subrame. That subframe has been cleaned, rebuilt and painted and it is hanging in my shop on an engine crane awaiting instalation under the convertible. Matthew spent a few hours on the front fenders from the parts car and they are now in epoxy primer, also awaiting instalation. He still needed a correct hood and a guy who was delivering a tractor to me just happened to have an '81 Z28 hood and a bunch of parts that he wanted to give away to a good home so Matthew got as good of a deal as anyone could ever hope to have - the parts were free - just pick them up! In that batch of stuff was a really nice Z28 hood, the front plastic nose with the correct grille and grille emblem and a bunch of other bits and pieces. The neat thing was the hood having the correct electric scoop that was apparently a thing unique to just one or two years and the plastic nose was almost perfect!. He has since bought another '81 Z28 from the same guy who he got the Z28 that gave up it's fenders and subframe and it has the original aluminum Z28 8wheels on it as well as an original, rebuildable period correct small block in it with ALL of the brackets and smog junk still intact! Matthew plans to keep the convertible dead stock and so of course, the date correct engine is a good score as is the smog junk which is pretty difficult to find today as most of that stuff was removed and tossed years ago. The convertible had been repainted not long before the accident but it was originally white with the blue Z28 graphics - the young fellow that Matt bought it from gave him a folder with appraisals ( one before and one after the accident ) and photos of the car before the repaint as well as after the repaint. It sure is a [pretty car with those blue graphics that match the blue interior. Near as we can determine, there was only a handful of these cars built in 1981 and once done, the car will be a worthwhile project if ever there was one. He does still need a couple of interior pieces that are unique to a convertible and those may be hard to find. He also has a trio of '80/'81 Camaros that were used in the second last episode of the television series Stargate Atlantis. Two are drivers while the third is the car that gets shot up at the end of the episode.. He bought the Camaros from the film production company when they were filming parts of that episode here in our area. That alone is a story by itself and he has photos of himself with Joe Flannigan ( the lead actor in the series ) standing by one of the Camaros. Here's a link to a video showing two of the cars as they were filmed.. Sorry for getting off track here.. just thought that someone may appreciate the pics.. and I DO need a stock plain Camaro hood and any guidance on converting a Z28 to a Berlinetta. Thanks..

I have always used Easy Off spray on oven cleaner for stripping models but it has to be used outdoors because of the odour and fumes let off by the product. So being as how so many guys seem to find that Purple Power works well, I bought some awhile ago and now want to strip some old built ups that I have bought. I know that the length of time that the model is immersed will vary depending on how much paint is on it but can anyone tell me how long it will take to strip a model that has only been painted once? Would you leave the model in the solvent overnight or for just a few hours? Any advice and suggestions will be appreciated.

Your trucks are beautiful in their simplicity and cleanliness of build!!!!!! The tanker is gorgeous.. what kit is that? It l;ooks to be awfully long - I REALLY like that tractor and trailer - especially the color of the tractor! While I like decked out tractors with all of the chrome and extras, it is nice to see a rendition that is very true to life in a working truck - simple one color paint and a bit of chrome but not over done. In these parts, you'll see some nice, chromed up trucks but many of them are just as your models depict. NICE WORK!!!!!!!!!!!

I painted signs for years as a side line and I was taught to use laquer thinners to clean my brushes. If you have ever priced lettering brushes, then you will know thatthey are expensive ( many well in excessof $20.00 per brush ), so there is definitely some motivation there to look after what you have. I'd use a jar about the size of a baby food jar and fill it about 1/2 to 3/4 full of thinners. Immerse the brush in the thinners and swirl it around until it is as clean as you can get it. Then I'd have a second small jar with clean thinners in it and I would rinse the brush in that jar until there was no eveidence of color coming out of the brush. As the first jar became "dirty", and the second jar began to become lightly tinted from colour, I would discard the contents of the first jar and dump the contents of the second jar into it - and replace the second jar's contents with clean thinners. You'll get a number of cleanings out of the contents of the jars this way and your brushes will be clean. To keep the brushes soft, I'd use boiled linseed oil or even common automatic transmission fluid or engine oil and just dip the freshly cleaned brush into it. I have a little metal box that originally held a cheap set of deep 1/2" drive Chinese or Taiwanese sockets - and I lay the brushes flat in the bottom of the box. They keep their natural shape that way and they are easy to store. A dlooar store plastic container will work equally well - the metal box was just what I had on hand when I needed it and it has served that purpose for decades now. I have had those brushes for over 30 years and they are still as soft and useable as the day that I bought them. Before using the brushes, I would rinse them out in the laquer thinners as if they had paint on them, using the two bottles of thinners. Despite what some of you may be thinking, I NEVER had any issues with contamination from the oil on the brushes as long as I rinsed them well before using them. Oil stays liquid and preserves the brushes well - just make sure to rinse them well before using. Hope this helps...

They are a pretty looking truck - strong and proud looking. I have always liked the design - but then, I see some charm in most all big trucks. They work hard and have short lives and are far too under appreciated in my own ever to be humble attention. They each seem to have a personality of sorts when I look at them. It amazes me always at how many miles many of them travel in their short life before they are relegated to the salvage yard or go into secondary duty...

It looks like a movie car from some futistic science fiction thing - it's actually neat! I like it! I wonder what it's history is.. what it started life as?

That's just SO not right...

Thanks for responding. I'd have to guess thatthose are for a bigger truck and older too. I know that some big trucks back in the '40's and early '50's used 8 lug wheels. Someone could probably sell a whack of the proper wheels like I am looking for if they could be bothered to cast them as a lot of guys are building or would like to build one tons but the proper looking, stock wheels are an issue all the time. I may have to use the Ford one ton wheels that are available I guess.

Does anyone know of a source for resin 16" dual wheels for an older Chevy one ton? I want a set to convert a '72 Chevrolet from a pick up to a one ton. Any suggestions are welcome...

Business must be slow... Given the economic situation out there, I have to wonder how many aftermarket and resin suppliers will be closing their doors in the next year or so? I have a feeling that there will be a few of them..

Just came across this auction - http://cgi.ebay.com/1965-Chevrolet-Impala-Station-Wagon-1-25-Built-/290491165606?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a29f6ba6 - and no - I am in NO way associated with it nor do I know the owner. It looks like a really nice build of the Modelhaus resin kit.. 4 bids and it's at $247.50! I mean, it's nice.. but holy cow! Some people have deep pockets I guess... I couldn't live with myself if I ever paid that much for one model... but that's just me, I guess. Just one observation -one question - do the rear wheels on the model appear to be too far back in the wheel opening or do you suspect that it is just the angle of the photographs that make it appear so? Just wondering.. BTW, wouldn't that be a stunning build in Evening Orchid with a white or black interior?

Maybe you are like me - the truck stuff always goes high until I stop looking at it. *sighs* I can be watching auctions and the prices creep up to where it is more than I am comfortable paying - unless I forget about the auction and get side tracked. Oh well.. I still make the odd good score on models but prices for the most part ( on the good stuff anyways ) seem to be up. I made some really good buys during this past Spring but when summer came, prices sure seemed to me to go up. Maybe it's just my imagination..

Sure is a pretty truck - sh elooks proud sitting there like that - ready to give her all for her owner.. the color scheme is perfect.. a VERY nice job!!!!

Maybe some of this will help.... http://www.1966batmobile.com/background.htm http://www.1966batmobile.com/background2.htm http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z1727/Lincoln-Futura.aspx

Wow!! They are ALL nice but that smashed rig on the low bed REALLY looks to be VERY well done! Nice builds.. thanks for posting them!

Nah - he's the one who is crazy. At the very least, just tell the clown that it takes one to know one.. As for who is goofed and who isn't - It's sort of like saying - uh - UFOs are real - the Air Force doesn't exist!

Got a few goodies today - more on the way but I really stoked with these two.. The little Ford had cruiser skirts glued onto it ( gee - isn't that a surprise ) but when the person glued them on, the glue must have been already setting up because there is NO glue residue at all on the car! I have a few '59 annuals but this one is probably the cleanest.. the "washboards" behind the rear wheels are almost always gooped up with glue and destroyed... on this car, I peeled the skirts off and then by using just my hobby knife, I picked what little glue was still on the car off leaving pristine, bare, white plastic! I am one happy camper! Now, I hope that the scoop comes off of the hood that easily.. Also got this one - I have plans for this one - probably not a unique idea but an idea that I have never seen done - should be a sweetie when it gets completed..

I would think that 1 '50 F8 would be about right.. with the conversion that we see above of course. I have to admit that the sleeper cab is starting to appeal to me more and more.... maybe Santa Claus will have one of thoise in his bag this Christmas. After all, I have been good this year and he knows who is naughty and who is nice - right?