2002p51

Here ya are Chuck: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Piper+%2B+Monogram&_sacat=1189&_odkw=&_osacat=1189 Go get one!

No Terry, I don't. I've got one or two out in "The Stash", but this is first airplane I've done in probably 20 years!

Rob, it's 1/48 or close to it, and Ray, this one came out much better than the ones I built back then too!

Yea, they do Harry. They're kinda clunky and out of scale but they do open.

Interesting place, thanks for the link.

I was cruising around on eBay a couple weeks ago when I came across this Monogram Piper Tri Pacer kit. It struck a chord with me so I bought it. The kit has a copyright date of 1957 and I remember building several of them back in those days. (I've sorta always had a thing for general aviation aircraft) Anyway, this was a lot of fun and nice change of pace from cars. I had no intention of building an IPMS National contest winner, just wanted a nice, out of the box, model. The only problem I had were the decals. This was an original kit and being that old they just wouldn't work at all so I've been cruising around on aircraft modeler boards and searching the web for a company that makes FAA registration number decals for models. The paint is Testors Light Ivory and Guards Red. Monogram did a Cessna 180 as a companion to this kit. Building this was so much fun I may have to get one of those too!

No, actually I worked there at the time. "Drew" was the last name of the family that owned the dealership. From time to time I had a lot of fun with my customers over that.

My user name is simply the license plate I've had on my '02 Mustang through two states. The avatar is me and our roadster in our normal car show/rod run attitude.

For me it was when Don Emmons started doing articles on models in Rod & Custom magazine in the very early sixties.

Maybe a better word than lazy would be expedient?

Just a bunch of junk on mine this weekend!

Great effort so far. What did you use for the frame? Evergreen rod? What sizes?

Nice!

Another great kit that can be built dozens of different ways is the AMT Tommy Ivo dragster. It's great raw material!

If you consider the Monogram NASCAR Cup cars from the '80s and '90s as one kit, I currently have 65 of those on the shelf and probably that many more unbuilt out in the garage. This is just one set of shelves in the model room: Another group would be the Revell '70s era funny cars in both 1/16 and 1/25, I've got a bunch of those too! The old AMT Grant King sprint car is another versatile kit that can be built several different ways. I've got a few more of those to build.

Does this count, or are you just looking for the stock version of the kit?

A real car guy wouldn't be driving a car that needed artificial sound.

Is that some sort of CNC machine or are you doing all that by eye! Simply amazing how good those parts look.

Really?

If you have your copy of the Aug/Sep 2009 Model Cars mag you should remember this car: Skip produced all of the special decals on this model. He worked diligently over many back and forth e-mails to get these just right. Making his own decals was a sub-set of this hobby that he really enjoyed. He also did this one that basically amounted to a complete decal "wrap". He wouldn't take a dime for any of this work saying only that seeing the finished model was all the payment he needed. I have a total of seven models in my collection that simply would not exist were it not for Skip's desire and effort to make the decals for them. Before I moved to Tennessee, Skip and I lived only a mile or two from each other, and since the move we still kept in touch via e-mail. He was a good friend and a great, and dedicated modeler, and he will be greatly missed!

Carburetors are gone in the Cup Series this year, Harry. Still in Nationwide and truck series though. All Cup cars now use a spec EFI system. (More trouble and cost than it was worth if you ask me, but that's a whole 'nother rant!) The engines are designed by and cast by the manufacturers, so they differ in detail. Like some above have said, the 2013 cars will have a little bit more brand identity but that's it, still all the same under the skin. The big deal from the manufacturers is money and/or engineering support. That's why Joe Gibbs racing switched from Chevy to Toyota several years ago, they got a better deal. Penske is going from Dodge to Ford for 2013 for the same reason.

The only thing I can make for dinner is reservations! Oh, I can fry an egg if I have to but I will avoid cooking if at all possible.

Yes, I do. And it has been my experience that, in many cases, the so called "judges" knew less about the 1:1 subject than did the builder. I could site many cases of models of "NASCAR race cars" winning contests with the most bizarre features and details that never would have passed the most basic NASCAR tech inspection.

As the photographer for the UARA-STARS late model series, I was at Caraway Speedway in North Carolina this past weekend. One of the support series racing with us was the East Coast Flathead Racing Association. I think one of these would make a fun modeling project so I thought I'd post these photos here. The cars must be late 30s to 40s coupes and sedans and, of course, they must be flathead powered. They use more modern cages, seats and other safety related items than would've been in these cars back in the day. The frames and basic suspension must be stock type but, as you can see here, they are allowed to use upgraded parts like sway bars, shocks, and disc brakes. I love the original style wedge bolt on this car though. If you want to learn more about this series and see more photos, here's the link to the ECFRA web site: http://eastcoastflat....org/index.html Now let's see, I think I've got a Revell '40 Ford coupe somewhere . . . . .

The basic engine is a 340 from the AMT '71 Duster. The intake is from an AMT Winston Cup car which also gave up it's headers. (They will have to be installed once the engine is in the car.) The valve covers came from my parts box as did the air cleaner. Those little breathers are from Monogram. I debated with myself about adding the plug wires or not as they will be nearly impossible to see in the final product and as it turns out, it really was a waste of time. The headers will completely obscure them on the sides and the distributor will be mostly hidden under the cowl. Oh well.