Dragline

I've found that vinyl tubing reacts well to boiling water. What i have done is boil a pot when I am ready and dip the ends in. And, as Sam mentioned the tube will retract grabbing on for dear life.

That kit actually looks good with those wheels. And this is coming from a decidedly NON 20 inch wheel guy.

Those last two pics are just awesome!

I too like these old Monogram kits. There really are quite a lot of them. Yours came out very nice, and you didn't paint it red [which is what I would have done "Faux Pas"..]

Those who know me know I can be vain. But that's just next level stuff.... Thanks Tom.

If you guys saw the way I treat my comic book/magazine collection you'd know what obsession to archive truly means. I may have more just in archival material than some have into the actual books in their collections. And while it is a large collection it doesn't go unloved. I take boxes out and read valuable books all the time. it's just how you treat them and replace them back in their boxes. My point being nothing is too good for something you care for and plan on keeping, either for yourself or future generations. We are merely caretakers after all.

This needs to happen everywhere all at once. Perhaps kids would put down the PS3 for a second and come up for air.

You guys with wives who give you lip for your stash should show them this pic.

My mother has always said. "There are no stupid questions. Only stupid answers". Since she is a PhD Psychologist and Author I've stuck to it.

I will most likely take most of the warm days to get out and enjoy things. I do make forays to the workbench and always paint bodies and clear them for the colder months. I still skateboard so I'll be doing lots of that this spring to shed a few unwanted winter pounds as well. Of course kids look at me like I'm a nutcase skating at 51. It wasn't so bad until the grey started showing up with a renewed effort this last year.

Pics......

This is on my "To Do" list for certain. What a beautiful job you did. Absolutely stunning and I hope i can do it justice when my time to build it arrives. I have the movie in my stash for reference and i think I have to get a body pretty soon or they will be all gone. I too was thinking Pirhana chassis at the beginning [have one in the stash for this] but scratch is going to play a big part in getting it right. The duct tape looks great BTW. Bob

Not only are they a great resource of when and where they will also have future value. Keeping them "mint" is an excellent idea.

After Senna, he is my favorite driver all time. What a beautiful build.

So much better.....

As much as I dislike Disco era Vette's and Vette's in general you have won me over with this friggin thing. Color, stance and execution are all waaaay off the charts. Totally stunning.

I for one know the healing of community. Let's hope you continue to heal and that boy comes home to you soon.

Looks scary good.

That "Roll Tape" thing. I may have seen it early in life but I swear I invented it for my Oreo Cookie Dale Jr build. Now, no man's an island and I'm sure it was not new but it occurred to me is all I'm sayin. And Speed City's belt is out of scale. Go with tape like we do.

I can nearly remember when I started doing it. I seem to recall a top fuel car I was building and certain parts just looked wrong. I took em apart sanded em straight and they looked a BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH sight better. I am fairly certain I never trusted those pins ever again. And like you Bill. I too have sanded things past where i should and ended up with parts that simply no longer worked. It took some practice but I do it these days with no ill effects. And I HATE filler. Even though I have Tamiya putty here [the best IMO] I'd rather not use it if it can be helped.

For perhaps 25 years I've been removing locator pins on things like 2 piece axles and engine blocks. I like to run the flat sanding stick across the surface in almost a machining fashion to square up mating surfaces. I also makes ridges which provides excellent gluing strength as well. After reading one of Harry's WIP's perhaps a few years ago in which he explained he likes to use the glue as the filler to eliminate any putty use if possible. I was doing the same thing at the time and might have even commented that i did. So the question is. Do you dump the locators? I've yet to be burned by it so i will probably do it until one day I can no longer build models. Sometimes they are in the wrong place as well and burn YOU!

That's a beautiful build in honor of such a great racer.

Block = Maniac

I had both race trucks but due to outrageous prices sold them to fund other ventures. Good to see them back but a sad day for those with originals. But it's only for the moment for originals. There are only so many original kits out there. There are hardcore collectors who have to have an orig kit. this may be where you can slide in and get a value for it you hope for. I have collected and dealt in comics for more than 40 years. i know markets and collectors. these are tried and true conclusions.

I will be there and am looking forward to putting some faces to names.