mikevillena

Slow progress: Finished carving the floor details. Will have to re-prime to help me even out the grooves. Also modified the tunnel cap for the hand brake based on my reference photos.

Got my shipment from Tower. Should keep me busy for some time:

A little more progress on the build. Since the cockpit will be bare sans carpeting, the floor will be completely visible. After checking my refernce photos, I realize that I'm going to have to engrave a lot of the missing details. I first had to scrape and sand numerous ejector pin marks on the floor. I then used a small ball cutter with my flex shaft toll set to almost stalling to do the engraving. The details are slightly wonky but I think they won't be too noticable. I just wish I had a set of riffler files to make the job easier and get crisper lines. I've also started building up the area over the rear axle: The molded fuse box was ground off of the firewall and I started marking off and planning additional surface detail to be added;

Thank you Mitchell. I am curious about the number decal....did you use an old one from a Chaparral? Your Alfa is an absolute little gem. The wipers are so well done! Thanks, Bill. I hope I can do a decent job with this.

Well, very small incremental progress. Since the trunk will be hinged (along with the doors) I'm going to have to add alot of missing details. I built up the opening around the fuel tank cutout and it will ultimately accept a scratch built ATL fuel cell. I also added the spare tire mounting bracket as this is supposed to be a marginal "road" car capable of carrying a spare. I also drilled out the drainage holes and I will leave them unplugged. Anyway, I wish everyone a Happy Easter!

Thank you Tommy. Ah, you are correct as I didn't even look at the instruction sheet

Thanks Lee!

@ jb - Heller made a 1/24th scale kit of the Delahaye 135 . Pretty rare kit. I had one unbuilt but sold it along with the massive collection that I had. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1947_Delahaye_135_MS_-_green_-_rvrT.jpg

BTW, can anyone else spot what's wrong with this picture? Also note the slight misalignment of the mold halves and the flash around the parting lines.

Managed to find a few reference photos of a GTA being restored from the frame up. Since I'm modeling a stripped down bare bones car with just the drivers and front passenger seat, it looks like I will have a ton of work duplicating the internal structures. The area behind and under the rear seats on the model is totally inaccurate since it was intended to be covered with the rear bench. Time to start hogging out the plastic: I have forgetten what an incredible mess it is to grind and sand styrene as there is work dust all over the place. After a fair amount of grinding and sanding, I managed to level out the rear platform so that I can start building out the rear structure. I will also be detailing the trunk and installing a scratch built fuel cell so I had to cut out the stock fuel tank: I also decided to detail the instrument panel and add depth to the instrument facia. I drilled and reamed out the shallow instrument faces as I will install a backing plate that will carry the decals and will be topped off with a thick clear coating to add more depth. Time to stop and vacuum up the workbench as there is styrene dust all over!

Andy, they do have "tiered" licensing in Britain. You are restricted to a certain amount of displacement at every tier. But that will never happen here in the U.S. because we Americans don't want anyone telling us what to do. So the carnage continues. Besides, the economy here is driven by automobiles and it's attendant support industries. Imagine what would happen to the economy if we pulled all of the morons off the road? Gasp, that would be at least a third of the country's population!

Harry, scrape all of the paint off and turn it into a "rat rod"......

Well it has literally been decades since I last attempted to scratchbuild anything in 1/24th scale and what little skills I had are long gone so things are crude: Everything will be blended in with some spot primer and additional surface details will be added to the hydraulic pump drive housing. The functional oil dipstick was fabbed out of some cheap necklace wire I bought at Wal Mart whilst everything else is styrene. Back to the bench.

I wonder how the accident rate due to texting compares with other countries. I also wonder how "educated" or disciplined our drivers are compared to other countries. I know for a fact that it's incredibly tough to get a driver's license in England where it's the norm to fail the road test two or three times before you pass. Compare that to the ridiculous ease that we are cursed (or blessed) with here in the U.S. where you'd have to be a complete and utter moron to fail short of ramming another car during the road test. I also shudder at the joke of a licensing structure for motorcycles (as I am a rider myself). Most states you only need to complete the BASIC RIDER COURSE (which involves riding around the parking lot and weaving through plastic cones) and you can get an "M" endorsement. I've seen way too many young newbies go out and get 600cc super sport bikes and barely make it through a few months before crashing

Venture Hobby!! Yes, thank you Nick. It is sad that most of those hobby shops that we once knew are now long gone. Sure, you can buy any kit you want on the internet but I think part of the lasting appeal (and personal memories) is the character and ambiance unique to each hobby shop. Add the personal relationships that you cultivate whenever you talked to the folks working there if you are a regular customer. I distinctly remember the sights and sounds especially Stanton especially when the r/c guys would be breaking in a nitro motor on the bench for a customer's plane. Man, the smell of nitro still lingers in my mind. Long sigh....

Thanks guys. @ Skip - I know I'll never get to own one, let alone a real GTA as those are rarely on the market and those that do fetch six figures. Made a quick trip to Hobby Lobby and snagged one of these for 38.99 using their 40% off coupon: Should work a little better than the Harbor Freight one that I bought last year. Did more research and decided to check working clearances for the hydraulic pump: Looks like there will be enough room for the supercharger system after all. Next step is to modify the front engine cover to add the cast pump drive.

Yep, they claim to have Chicago style dogs here in Peoria but to be honest it doesn't come close. I used to frequent the Portillo's in Schaumburg when I lived in Rolling Meadows. By then I was driving around in my '86 5.0 GT with the excellent Borg Warner T5 and straight pipes. Waitress told me that I rattled their windows whenever I would pull up or leave. Actually, it was barely perceptible at idle. Full throttle was another matter.... BTW, those hinges for the folding wings on Monogram's 1/48 scale naval planes are fragile. I kept breaking them on the TBF Avenger PS. There was a nice hobby shop in Wheeling that I used to go to...can't remember the name. There was also Squadron Hobby shop and Al's (Elmhurst?).

2 bucks for a kit....ah I remember those days Harry. Back then I was impartial towards model aircraft so I ended buying and building all of the Monogram 1/48 scale series. I had to save a little bit more to get the 1/32 scale Grumman F3F which was I thought the coolest ever airplane kit because the landing gear retracted into the fuselage by turning the prop. As to hot dogs, don't forget the neon green relish and the celery salt. Ultimately, a friend took me to Superdawg and I got to see some real hot rods for the first time in the parking lot. What a time that was....sigh

Hi Pauli. You probably built the original issue kit that was made in Japan. I once had that same kit but I never got around to building it as it served as reference for my 1/10th scale r/c project from 1999: Sadly, I sold off the huge collection of kits and projects around 2001 as I was moving away from Chicago. This current kit was purchased about two years ago and was manufactured in the Philippines. I'm not bashing non-Japanese manufactured kits....it's just that the tooling seems to have worn down and the styrene isn't of the same high quality as the original.

I too think that IMC made a model of the original Mustang (powered by a Ford of Cologne built V-4 engine). I remember seeing several MIB kits when I visited my buddy's collection room. But then again I've been known to spray lacquers without a respirator so I could be wrong

Tamiya and the other Japanese kit manufacturers had the clear advantage for quite some time once they got over their "motorized" phase but don't be in a hurry to dismiss American manufacturers as they are slowly catching up. You also have to consider scale, kit price, subject matter and target market. I'll let you in on a little secret.......in the end, it's not about the kit but how skilled the builder is.

While waiting, have fun listening to the wonderful little alloy 4 cyl. engine

I was able to pull my old workbench together and while waiting for the MG TC kit to arrive, I went through my miniscule collection of kits. I've always had a soft spot for Alfas and I personally think that the Guilia Sprint GTA is one of the best looking cars ever made. I have two of the Tamiya kits which I held in reserve for a future 1/10th scale project so I decided to build one of them up. The intent at this time is to build a present day restored street/trackday weapon that's lightweight without bumpers and a throroughly sparse interior. I'm also thinking of scratchbuilding the rare hydraulic super charger (sovralimentata) that was installed on the GTA SA. Onto the build. I was rather surprised at the mediocre fit quality and amount of ejector pin marks and flash on the engine parts as this is supposed to be a Tamiya kit. Although I must admit that it has been 20 years or more since I've actually assembled one. It took a fair amount of sanding and blade work to get the parts to line up properly especially around the finned oil sump. I also tried out Tamiya's White Putty and I like it very much. It is certainly finer grained than the Bondo Spot Putty that I have used. I've set the engine aside for now to allow all of the putty work to cure and I started tackling the hood. More to follow.

Drooling over those Jo-Han Hearse kits. Actually had several of them at one time but never built them. Well, my addiction begins anew as I have ordered the Minicraft 1/16 th MG TC and Tamiya's 1/24th scale Mini Cooper from Tower Hobby. Now to take on the "Pavlovian" mindset: start drooling in anticipation everytime I see a UPS truck

Doh! I should have used a respirator when spraying lacquers