sjordan2

You'll like her, and she knows what you like. Lots of rusty, smashed-up stuff. http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&q=kelli+khrome&gbv=2&oq=kelli+khrome&gs_l=img.12..0i24.1585.4866.0.7991.12.7.0.5.5.0.138.385.6j1.7.0...0.0...1ac.rOBpTb9o0dU

Yes, it's quite good, with many helpful tips and a good airbrush article that covers the basics - this stuff needs to come up from time to time. But I've gotta wonder about the page on Kelli Khrome, apparently an exotic dancer who builds models. Is this part of Gregg's therapy? I can hear the conversation in the bar now.

Photobucket is a free site where you can upload and store your pictures. Once your images are on Photobucket, this is where you go for your source for copying and pasting images into forum posts, just about anywhere. Go to www.photobucket.com and register. When you're registered, you need to click on New Album and name it. Later on, you may need to open your album on that button at the top of the page. You can create multiple albums for different subjects, but let's not go there just yet. After that, you will see a green button that says Upload, which will open a window to select an image from your hard drive, folder, desktop, wherever you have the image - (it needs to have been downloaded to your computer, not just on another website). Click on your selected file. It will pretty much walk you through the process. When the upload is completed, click on Save and Continue. It will take you to your album page where a copy of the image now resides, shown as a thumbnail. Put your cursor on top of the thumbnail picture and a menu of fields will open below the picture; click on the bottom IMG field and it will be automatically copied (you'll see the word Copied appear). You are now ready to paste the image into your post-- go to the line in your forum post window where you are composing and where you want to put the image, then paste it in by holding down your control key and hitting the letter v. You will see the letters and numbers of the link, not the image. Then hit Post under the window. After you try this, and if there's a problem, go back to the Photobucket tutorial on this site to make sure you're doing it right. Again, you won't see an image in your post until AFTER you have hit the Post button under the window where you are composing your post. There are shortcuts and other options, but this is pretty basic. If there's still a problem, send me a PM with your phone number and a time when I can walk you through it.

What photo uploaders? From the site, or elsewhere? When in doubt, use Photobucket. Remember, you won't see an image until after you hit the Post button.

I just went back and looked at all 16 pages of John Teresi's build. This is what I meant when I said I was glad I didn't have too much reference to go by. If I'd seen this build, I would have taken my box and put it back on the shelf. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=50534&st=0

I can't tell you how great your support makes me feel, and how much it inspires me to get off my butt and work on the kits I've researched for so long, like the 1/16 Mercedes SS. If there would be a couple of things I would do to update this kit, it would be to replace the headlight stone guards and the tonneau. I'm looking for 1" diameter PE stereo speaker grilles for the headlights. It's too hard to cut out like I did before and make custom O-rings. I thought I was being so clever to take the "plastic" leaf bag for the tonneau and use it instead of more iffy fabric (plastic glues to plastic, right? Better than fabric? Wrong.) But the trash bag is different plastic and does not like liquid glue as you can see from the bubbling on my overhead shot, and over the years the tonneau has collapsed, its original shine has reappeared as the 3M dullcote wore off, and you can see all its cardboard backing segments. I would also do what I've been working on with my 1/16 Jaguar SS 100, which is to use needle files to thin out the outer parts of the wire wheels (looks great so far). The insides don't need it. No way would I attempt working with individual wheel spokes à la Pocher. (Do you hear me, Harry? I think you're stalled because you don't like the wire wheels.)

I just built it the way I saw it from my reference, and my only original touch of Brit character was to make the sump look like it was leaking oil.

What!!? After 3 pages, no one admits to building even one General Lee, not to mention more?? Hey, even the TV producers used about 200.

Interesting part of the video - there's been a lot of debate about the pronunciation of "Willys," and I see the video narrator (who should know what he's talking about) goes with "Will-eez," while I grew up hearing it "Willis." A check with Wikipedia reveals: "Willys (correctly pronounced "Will-is", but almost universally as "Will-eez")..." I guess tradition determines correct usage.

Well, that's high praise coming from someone who more than nailed this kit (and everything else you do) and showed its highest potential. I'm not suggesting that it's anything extraordinary, just trying to show what an average builder like me can do with a box-stock build of it, in regard to the recent Airfix reissue. Thanks again, John.

Yeah, but most of them are beyond my budget - and so is hiring a cleaning lady these days . But it now resides behind a glass door in a stereo cabinet.

Just a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that at that level of experience, I could have messed it up by adding too much detail. So I just blundered ahead, learned a lot through trial and error, and it came out better than I expected. In fact, if I knew then what I know now about the car and the kit, and better building techniques, I might have been too intimidated by the challenges to build it.

A bit of irony. But sometimes, discovery that begins with ignorance, through experimentation, can be more valuable than book larnin'; (the illumination of following the journey vs. the destination). I honed my ability to make educated guesses on this one, and most of them turned out to be right. Thus have I seen it, grasshopper. "The journey of a thousand miles begins without a set of instructions." - Lao Somebody

Everything I've built since then I've given to neighborhood kids during my many moves, because there was no place to put them or a reasonable way to pack them. This is my sole survivor.

Thanks, guys. I think anyone who wants to build this should go to the bottom of the previous thread where I posted several reference links. If you need more than this, you should go find a 1:1 4.5L Bentley. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=62024&st=20

COME WITH US NOW TO THOSE THRILLING DAYS OF YESTERYEAR (1972). NEW SHOTS TODAY. When was the last time you saw a 40-year-old build on this forum? Not often, I bet. But this is my favorite kit I've ever built. It makes a great display model for the average builder (me), can introduce them to the opportunities for extra detailing, and presents an unmatched canvas for experienced builders like Harry (when you gonna finish it, Harry?) and John Teresi to superdetail. The 1/12 scale makes all that so much easier. When I saw "General Mills" on the box label when I bought it in 1972, I expected to find corn flakes in the box. But nonetheless, despite its somewhat high parts count (around 280) it's a simple kit that goes together beautifully for anyone. In any case, here it is. Built with next to no reference except for 5 pages in a wonderful coffee-table book ("The Great Cars," by Ralph Stein). This is way before the Internet. It's a great kit, molded with aluminum part finishes and even has outstanding plastic plug wires molded in a realistic way. My build is with mostly old-school Testors stuff - spray paint, tube glue and a bit of liquid glue, with no sanding (except for a bit of X-acto work on the superb open louvers), no primer or clear coat. I wanted it to be a tiny bit rough due to its heritage and even worked on adding orange peel to the frame rails (not accurate, as I later discovered). I used artist's acrylics for the seats, for the right finish (the kit awesomely molded the seat bottoms to make them look like they've been sat in). Just some extra washes and that's it. I would point out, however, that yesterday's brush-applied Testors liquid glue does not hold up very well. I was a bit confused about the gauge instrument decals being totally black, but I discovered the decals were printed backward to be applied to the clear lens part, which is attached from behind the dash. Some builders make their own dash lenses because of the sink marks in the clear piece. My reference showed a wrapped steering wheel, which I thought was leather, so I used tan plastic wrapping tape slivers. It turns out it's cord, so use thread or twine. I also didn't know to wrap the leaf springs in cord. Today, it's a bit worse for wear, (especially thanks to the cleaning lady who snapped off two fenders and the exhaust pipe while dusting the shelf). A headlight stone guard is long gone, and some of the wire strands on the grille mesh have disappeared. I cleaned off some of the dust, but left a bit for a certain je ne sais quois. So here it is, 90% box stock with the exception of adding flyscreen mesh to the radiator, the headlight and windshield stone guards, plus a full tonneau made out of a Glad leaf bag, and wheel weights made from sprue attachments (the windscreen mesh needs to be very fine - use a plastic drip coffee replacement filter). I had no reference for the necessary gas tank meshes or the carburetor screen. I made a feeble attempt at adding a tachometer wire, but didn't have a clue about any other wiring - as you'll see, the space between the back of the dash and the firewall cries out for it. It needs handbrake linkage, but I couldn't tell anything from the pictures I had. I would recommend that the ENTIRE body including the fabric main body shell should be painted the same dark green; then the body shell should be dulled down quite a bit. I wouldn't bother with clear or polishing on the gloss parts; it looks period correct without that. I know everything that's wrong with the authenticity and detail of this build, and I have gathered tons of new reference to make it just right. There's simply a ton of stuff I would change or add. But I decided I ain't gonna spend $140 on the new reissue, or even an older kit, to do it again.

By popular demand of one (Cato), here's a teaser shot I took today, almost 40 years to the day since I built it, without the disadvantages of much reference or experience. I have several more shots, but I'll need a couple of days to write about its assets, my deficiencies, and other info that may be of help. NEW THREAD TODAY: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=62237

For build reference, I highly recommend the following magazine, currently available as Buy It Now on eBay for about $10 USD. Contains a history, double gatefold with complete exterior shots, etc., and a large color cutaway drawing. You might also contact magsbackissues@aol.com http://www.ebay.co.u...&#ht_500wt_1156 More helpful reference at geraldwingrove.com and in Vol.1 of his Complete Modeller book. Totally scratchbuilt for a client in 1/15. http://www.wworkshop...Build/Menu.html You can also find some great kit builds online, such as John Teresi showed here (and maybe Harry will finish his soon...?), and one like this.. http://www.scalemoto...turns-does.html Kit instructions here. It would be interesting to see if the new kit still has accommodation for installing an electric motor, which fit inside the engine block with special gear wheels, and a battery box under the rear seat. This was included standard on the very first Airfix issue in Britain, then became a mail-order option, then dropped altogether, though they never changed the plastic parts for them. http://public.fotki....x-1930-bentley/ I wish reference like this had been available when I built mine.

If it had a blue interior, this would be one that just sold last year for over $9 million at auction.

It's only the modern Ferraris and Lamborghinis that burst into flames. Let's not even go into the more mundane problems of 60s supercars. But they had great interiors.

My vote goes with all the 60s Rivieras, especially the ones with hidden headlights, and the original Toronado. The Toronado would also have made a hugely sexy 2-seater GT in a smaller size. But while they're winners in design, they're losers in the quality of interior materials and finishes. European luxury cars of the era used much less plastic.

24 shots. Coming up for auction at Monterey. http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/1599/Ford-GT40-Mk-I-Gulf.html

Come to think of it, they may have. It occurs to me that many countries have lighting and reflector regulations for cars to be driven on the road. You'll see non-original taillights and rear reflectors on a lot of vintage cars, many of which can be removed for shows.

Exactly. You can see that on the Jo-Han 1935 Mercedes 500K coupe, which was based on a late 60s restoration that had made many modifications from the original. On the other hand, I think the original Bentley kit was most likely based on a fairly original survivor when it was released in 1971; Ralph Lauren has made quite a few revisions to that original car since then. Plus, the Birkin Team Bentleys weren't exact clones of each other and, as usual for race cars, modifications were probably made from race to race. Correction to an error I made earlier - the Birkin Team had three cars, not five.) And there were about 55 of the 4.5L Blower Bentleys built besides the Birkins for homologation purposes, some very similar, some looking quite different. (For example, the Blower Bentley in the James Bond books was a Converitble Coupe version). Here's an interesting Road & Track comparison of a homologation car and the #9 Birkin car. http://blog.roadandt...blower-bentley/ James Bond's Blower Bentley would be a battleship gray version something like this...

This one. Beautiful photography and fascinating text on some of the most legendary cars ever made.