VW Dave

Nice pictures, Gary; thanks for sharing them! It amazes me that I keep seeing cool stuff that I missed on the tables.

I use BMF pretty infrequently, but I always use a brandy-new blade when I apply it. After being 'retired' from BMF duty, a #11 gets a good long life as a general hobby blade; I'm pretty sure the blades in my two X-Acto handles have been in there at least a couple of years. After a blade has become less than optimal for general hobby use, I keep them for putty application. Cheapo emery boards make for quick cleanup of those.

The 25th NNL East is now history, but I grabbed a lot of pics while there....just over 450 of them, so I'd recommend pulling up a comfy chair for viewing. There was a little something for everyone, comments are always welcome, and thanks for looking. Here's a few of my favorites, followed by a link to the whole album: NNL EAST 2011

I just finished filling my Fotki album with pics, and that's where I'm posting it.

I just rolled into the homestead a little while ago, and I must admit I'm pretty wiped out. I have to work tomorrow, but Monday morning I'm planning to upload all my photos and put them in a new Fotki album...that might take a while, as I snapped nearly 500 of them Speaking of taking pictures of models, MCM photographed one of mine today

While gathering pieces for his '32 roadster build, my buddy Matt saw this pattern in the foil cover of his daughter's single-serve applesauce cups....and he made a very cool firewall out of it. Like I always say, it pays to shop outside the model aisle.

Arrangements are final as of today...I'm there. See all of you on Saturday

I'm a big fan of soft aluminum 'armature wire, which is avaiolable at most craft stores; it's originally intended for use in sculpting, and is available in a few sizes. It's as flexible and easy to polish as solder, but lighter. I used it to make the headers on my V Bucket:

Adjacent to my vat of purple stuff, I have a similar container of Scalecoat II; that's my backup plan if the first one doesn't do it. I agree with Rob, however, for lacquers you would be hard pressed to beat the 91% isopropyl.

I think you mean 'Arena red,' no?(code L84, if memory serves correctly) That's one of my favorite Porsche colors from that era, and the 993 twin turbo is also a favorite....I got to wring one out when I worked at a Porsche dealer around 1998, and it still makes me smile thinking about it today.

I posted a tutorial on channeling on another board, and after another visit to the hot rod exhibit at our local museum the inspiration hit me to make the 'test mule' a finished car. I won't divulge too many details yet, and only one picture...I'm shooting for the NNL East to finish it up. Here's a little teaser for now:

It's not necessarily my favorite, but it is my only completed wagon thus far...my "Boyz n' the Wood" phantom/slammer '64 Impala: After a lacquer crazing incident that messed up the roof and trunk areas, I cut away most of the kit body and went to town.

Thanks!

Can't stop looking at this one - righteous, totally righteous!! I really like the engine work, and...I'm a freak for little details...the finish on the master cylinder really caught my eye. Where'd those FirePower valve covers come from, RepMinCo?

'67 & '68 are my favorite Shelbys, and this one looks the business indeed. I really like the Halibrands on it, and the color scheme is über-cool!

Back when I worked at our local Porsche dealer, I remember seeing that somewhere....it was either offered through Porsche, or some high-end store like FAO Schwartz, and it carried a price tag in the 5-7K range. I Googled and found more images of it:

I agree, and I do my part whenever possible

I agree that's a fantastic kit...but he has a VW Type 1/type 3 engine & trans setup, so it wouldn't be accurate. Mike - Since you mentioned the Type 3 engine, I seem to recall the old Monogram 'Sand Crab' buggy kit had a Type 3 fan shroud on the motor.

Pics are always more helpful IMO. Thanks for the tutorials either way, and I am also a fan of low-buck tips

Mike - If you have a swingaxle trans in your trike, I'd recommend either the Tamiya '66 Beetle or Ghia for the engine & transaxle; IMO you won't find any nicer out there. If you have the later IRS trans you are out of luck, because no kit came with that setup...but most folks don't know the difference between the 2, so you could easily get away with the Tamiya parts then too. **If you do pursue a Tamiya kit for those pieces, feel free to drop me a line regarding 'disposal' of the rest of the kit.

She looks mad....better get the motor back in her 356!!

I agree 110%; most white interiors aren't a real 'white-white,' and Tamiya's TS-7 racing white is the thing to use IMO. The top body is white styrene, while the bottom one has been shot with TS-7:

I stopped doing 'contract' builds for many of the already-mentioned reasons; I still, however, build the occasional gift model - if you can keep it a secret until the presentation, I assure you it makes for a great gift. If I were to do another contract build for a person I don't know personally, I would for sure ask for half of the agreed fee up front to cover the cost of materials....especially if it's a kit I have no interest in being stuck with.

I always like to say that 'DONK' is the sound of an overstressed balljoint breaking.