2002p51

If this forum had a Facebook style "like" button, Jesse, I would like your post!

This is kind of a slap in the face to some of us. I've used lots of photo etched parts and other aftermarket products over the years. I no longer use much of that stuff any more because I'm over it, it's a PITA, and an expense I don't need. About the only aftermarket stuff I use anymore is ignition wire and braided fuel lines. But, for example, I don't use any of those turned metal A/N fittings 'cause, well, see above. As far their use in helping you win contests; I was a judge once and I examined a car that was loaded down with photo etched stuff and aftermarket details and it really looked pretty good. Until you noticed that not all four wheels touched the ground. I passed it over for any award and the builder was irate! One other time I won the "Best Engine" award in a contest with a factory stock engine that had no other aftermarket details but plug wires and heater hose. A couple of guys with loaded down race motors weren't too happy about that, but in spite of all their effort, mine just looked more real.

Very nice work all, I especially like the '32s! The 5-window is outstanding!

Vicci?

Nice work and congrats on the little Sox & martin fan!

It's a Challenger but it's not for Trans-Am. It's a Saturday night short track style late model stock car.

still more And the lone airplane. There's one more car that I finished just this week but haven't been able to photograph it yet since my "studio" has been converted over to a guest room for family visiting over Christmas.

. . . . more

Well, since it's highly unlikely I'll finish anything else in the next two days, it's time to look back over the models I completed this year. 2012 was actually a pretty productive year for me. In spite of a full slate of traveling around the East coast photographing races and working on our 1:1 scale cars and a model railroad, I managed to turn out quite a few model cars (and one airplane). So, without further ado, (whatever "ado" is?) here, in no particular order, is the Class of 2012. More in a minute. . . .

No, Charlie, I don't, sorry. A convertible would require an entire new body. The sedans had a different belt line and windshield height and more rear seat leg room than hardtops and convertibles.

Lots of little bits of blue tape!

Could be the F.I. engine. It was an option in all models for '57. All engines were available in all models, I've even seen a Bel Air convertible with the 235 six in it! That was a strange car in other ways too; six cylinder, three on the tree, radio delete, and clock delete. Basically a stripped, no options, top of the line car. Very odd.

Have you got a link to it?

Well, here it is, the Garlits' SR-13 built from the current re-issue of the MPC Young American dragster kit (Which is actually the Garlits SR-12C) In case you missed the Workbench thread I'll go over the basics again. The frame from the engine forward is made from .062" Evergreen rod to stretch the chassis from the kit's 120" wheelbase to SR-13's 220". The steering linkage is also made from Evergreen rod, .040" diameter. The engine is mostly from the AMT Tommy Ivo kit with the blower and injector from my parts box. Headers are MPC from the base kit. I've added enough wiring, etc. to make the engine look more detailed than it really is. I could add lots more but . . . well, I'm lazy! The body is from the kit with the side panels below the engine made from some .010" Evergreen sheet. Paint is Testors Model Master Classic Black. Wheels and tires are from the MPC kit. There are lots of little scratch built bits and pieces all over the car like the center steering linkage, throttle linkage parts, push bar, fuel tank brackets, etc. etc. The decals are conglomeration of stuff from other Garlits kits and lots of digging around in my decal box. The markings are not correct but are as close as you can get without having custom decals made. As I've said many times in the past, it's not my desire to build a "perfect" model (whatever that is?) but instead, like a painter who doesn't paint every single leaf on a tree, but when you look at his painting, you see a tree, I like to capture the look of a car in miniature. I think I did that this time around and I'm happy with the way this model turned out. You can see the work in progress thread here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67823 And photos of the other Garlits cars in my collection here: http://public.fotki.com/2002p51/model_cars/don-garlits/ As usual, your comments and critiques are encouraged.

It's "Garlits Black", a very special blend that I had custom mixed so that it matched perfectly.

Roger, thank you. That's the highest compliment you could give me. That has always been my goal in modeling, not to replicate a car down to the last tiniest, perfect detail, but to capture the essence of the machine in miniature. I want people to look at my models and say; "Yea, that's the ____________ car!" Thanks.

I learned over the weekend that the decal sheet I pre-ordered for the Swamp Rat 12-C project won't be ready to ship until late January so I decided to concentrate on on Swamp Rat 13. So here's the progress so far: The engine is about 90% done, still needs the barrel valve and linkage and a few other details. I made the weight bar on the front axle from some .080" Evergreen rod and the wing is from the MPC Garllits rear engine car. The body is in paint and still drying. Like I said earlier, the markings will be the hardest part as there is nothing exact available, but I think I can get close. Maybe Slixx will do this car next and then I'll re-do the body.

I had the chance yesterday to run out to the local Hobbytown USA and pick up some more Evergreen rod that I was out of so I decided to get started on the second Garlits car that I'm building from this kit, "Swamp Rat 13". Garlits built this car to be long, light, and fast. It's 220" wheel base is 5" longer than SR-12C so a new frame is necessary. This isn't a bad thing as the kit frame rails are not perfectly round and are inconsistent in size with the diameter varying from .052" to .072" and several sizes in between! Like I said above, I covered how I do this in MCM, April 2010. I used .062" diameter Evergreen rod which scales out to 1-1/2" and is just about right. The original frame is close enough to 115 scale inches that I simply made this come out to 5 scale inches longer. The uprights are .040" Evergreen rod. The black roll bar is from the MPC Garlits rear engined car, "Swamp Rat 1-R" I use it because it has the molded on padding.

I only get five? Cheap Genie. Okay 1. '56 Ford Crown Vic 2. '63 Ford Galaxie convertible 3. Any year 2-seat T-bird 4. Any version of '32 Ford hot rod 5. '39 or '40 Ford coupe hot rod 6. Oh, . . . I'm done? That's all I get? But there are so many more! Current rides: '13 Mazda CX-5 (Wife's daily) '95 Ford F-250 (beater for chores) '02 Mustang convertible '47 Mercury coupe '28 Ford roadster hot rod

The release of the MPC Young American front engined dragster was a big huge bit of great news for me. You see, this kit is the same plastic that was originally released as the Dan Garlits car way back in the Dark Ages. And that is a kit I have been searching for for years and years. On the very rare occasion that one did show up on eBay, the price immediately soared up into the 1:1 scale car payment category. Too much for me. So, of course, first chance I had to get these new re-issues, I immediately bought two. (More about the second one in a minute) This is a photo of the car as it sits in the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida. I have the 'scraps' of several decal sheets from the original kit, enough to do the car, but they're pretty old and brittle and I wasn't sure if they would work or not. And so, just on a hunch, I checked the Slixx decal website and what to my wondering eyes do I see? They have a new sheet for this very car coming soon. I placed my pre-order immediately. So, here's a photo of the mock-up to show the progress so far. Mostly straight out of the box except for the engine. The engine that comes in this kit, like most MPC 426 Hemis, is notoriously poorly done so I've replaced it almost entirely with the engine from an AMT Tommy Ivo kit. A much better representation. The blower and injectors, however, are from my spares box. (They are both available in resin too) So that's where I'm at with this one. I will finish the engine and then wait for the decals to arrive from Slixx before going any farther. Oh yea, that second kit. This kit can also be used to built SR 12-C's successor, Swamp Rat 13, shown here again in the museum. This one will require building a new frame from the engine forward but that's easy and something I described in the April 2010 issue of Model Cars Magazine. The big problem with this car will be the markings because none of the decals from any previous Gralits kits are exactly right. Maybe Slixx will come through for me on this one too!

Hardly starting anything. Both Chevy and Ford did the same thing in the sixties. Chevys had similar two or three small round taillights on full size cars, Corvairs, and Corvettes, while Ford went with large single round taillights on Galaxies, Falcons, and T-birds.

That's very true, Barrett-Jackson is certainly not indicative of the, real life market in general. But even there on the first day, that usually is not televised, there are some good deals. But remember, I was talking about "driver" quality cars, not the ultra-perfect museum quality cars you typically see at Barrett-Jackson. You can still buy really good, fun cars from the '50s and '60s for a lot less than you have to pay for the current crop of boring cars at the new car dealership. And then what you have is something unique, different and more fun to drive than every other car coming down the typical street.

If you go to an event like the Charlotte Auto Fair with, say, $10,000, you can have your pick from literally several hundred really nice classic cars in driver condition that will need virtually nothing to drive it home. Can you buy a 90 point concourse '57 T-bird for that? No, but you might be surprised to learn how many nice cars from the '50s and '60s that go for that price and less. And for me personally, I'd rather have a beater from the fifties than that new Corvette.

I'm actually glad there's no way I can afford one of those things. Meh. 1962 was the last time GM made a good looking Corvette! I'm just sayin'.

Even though I'm a Ford guy through and through, the Corvette Grand Sport is a fascinating story. There is an excellent book by Lowell C. Paddock and photographer Dave Friedman that was published by Classic Motorbooks. (It may still be available on Amazon or directly from Classic Motorbooks.) There were only five of these cars built and the truth is there were almost no production parts used. The body was slightly smaller than a production Vette and was made in one piece (except for the doors, hood, and deck lid). It was hand laid in three layers of fiberglass and was only .006" thick. All of this was done to save weight of course and the entire car only weighted 2,000 pounds.