sjordan2

Well executed on the tubular wiring harness. I'm scratching my head on how I'm going to pull that off on my 1/25 Maserati GTi – a 6-cylinder engine with 2 plugs per cylinder – which has 14 wires running through a single tube. The distributor and wires in the kit are just a one-piece glob.

That second picture looks like it's got a rocket mounted on the side. Ready to smoke the competition?

There's a short documentary on the 1911 Indy 500 here, with some interesting film footage. I was somewhat surprised to see that each car had a cut-out circle, mounted on a pole at the rear of the car, with the number on it. http://theoldmotor.com/?s=lozier

BINGO!! I believe I found the car that Ian Fleming had in mind for James Bond – or at least the closest example. This article by the car's owner, with fuzzy pictures: http://www.carsablanca.de/Oldtimer-Youngtimer/bentley-blower-4-1-2-litre-supercharged

Was the convertible coupe really what Ian Fleming meant? Probably so, since he was an avid car enthusiast and owned many glitzy cars during his life (his favorite was the Avanti). But one can't be blamed for mistakenly thinking he meant the Le Mans version. A 3-litre racer was driven by David Niven as Sir James Bond (one of three or four Bonds played by Woody Allen, Peter Sellers, et al) in the satirical 1967 version of Casino Royale), and he posed in what looks like a Le Mans version for the cover of LIFE magazine (though the fenders and windscreen indicate it may actually be a convertible coupe): Plus, the illustrations for his "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" were clearly based on a racing Bentley: Is this thread thoroughly hijacked yet?

Yeah, at whatever scale it's going to take a lot of kit bashing. From the cowling back, it looks like the Revell 1/16 Phantom II, and the 1/32 Sedanca might be just the ticket, since it's so similar. The best donors are probably all in 1/24. Too bad there isn't a 1/16 Bentley, because the radiator shell is the biggest issue. On the other hand, here's a totally scratchbuilt version of the Bond car in the book

Actually, I removed the Bentley post because the deeper I got into it, the more it looked like the Bond car really wasn't a Le Mans Blower Bentley like the model kits. It turns out it was a convertible coupe version like the image below. I'd thought for many years, since it was described in Casino Royale as a 4.5L Blower Bentley that it would be like the kit or John Steed's car. Here's a 4.5L Blower Bentley convertible coupe, probably the kind described in the first 3 Bond books, though it should be a shabby battleship grey project car...

Great authenticity. At first, I was questioning the lack of chrome trim on the "B pillars" and the ride height on the front suspension, until I checked out 1:1 versions and saw you totally nailed it. Good show.

That's going to be a nice truck, Mike. Keep us posted on your progress.

Aha, so I see.

Question: How is a transaxle part of the engine piece since it's at the back with the rear axle? Is it molded as a single part with the engine, driveshaft and transaxle?

Many of these, but not all, are available in kit form. Of course, it would be wise to check on how much detail is available in a given kit. Maybe someone else here could give you tips about that. * 1964–1968 Ferrari 275 * 1963-1968 Ferrari 330 * 1968–1973 Ferrari Daytona * 1972–1987 Alfa Romeo Alfetta * 1974–1987 Alfa Romeo GTV/Alfa Romeo GTV6 * 1976–1988 Porsche 924 * 1976–1991 Volvo 300 series * 1977–1985 Alfa Romeo Giulietta * 1978–1995 Porsche 928 * 1982–1995 Porsche 944 and Porsche 968 * 1984–1987 Alfa Romeo 90 * 1985–1992 Alfa Romeo 75 * 1989–1991 Alfa Romeo SZ * 1992–2003 Ferrari 456 * 1993-2002 Toyota Supra * 1996–2005 Ferrari 550/575M * 1997–up Chevrolet Corvette * 1997–1999 Panoz Esperante GTR-1 * 1997-2002 Plymouth Prowler * 1998-2005 Shelby Series 1 * 2003-2006 Chevrolet SSR * 2003–on Aston Martin DB9 * 2004–on Ferrari 612 Scaglietti * 2004–on Maserati Quattroporte * 2005–up Aston Martin V8 Vantage * 2006–up Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano * 2008-up Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione * 2009–up Lexus LF-A * 2010-up Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG [edit]

The Volvo 760 sure looks close for the roof. Here's an Italeri build journal with good shots of the body... http://maquetas.mforos.com/480446/7161736-volvo-760-gle-1-24-italeri/

Nobody says you have to choose one over the other. You can have them all!

Yes, indeed. As I mentioned in my posts, we don't need this kind of vague science with unsupported conclusions to alarm the public.

You're just learning how to use an airbrush? You must have done it in an earlier life, because this is pretty sensational, especially for a beginner.

That looks at least as good as - and maybe better than - the 1/16 Lindberg 1914 Stutz and Mercedes racers, as well as the 1/16 Aurora Mercer and Stutz kits.

Man, you've really got these little Pyro kits down. You wouldn't know they're 1/32 just by looking. Too bad Pyro had such struggles making larger scale kits. Of course, brass-era cars may be a bit more forgiving in terms of strict accuracy, but these look dead on.

Ditto to just about all of that. Maybe the main question would be if there's a long-term issue for very active modelers, who do a lot of sanding that creates styrene particulate matter. Wear a mask and gloves while doing so? I don't know. But I do get tired of health warnings that that only have vague conclusions behind them without a lot of proof. Here's my main conclusion: The number one cause of death is life.

Another health alert from government scientists (also warning about formaldehyde) from today's New York Times: "Styrene is mostly a concern for workers who build boats, car parts, bathtubs and shower stalls. Studies of workers exposed to high levels of styrene have found increased risks of leukemia and lymphoma and genetic damage to white blood cells. There is also some evidence that styrene increases the risks of cancer of the pancreas and esophagus among styrene workers, the report found. Consumers can be exposed to styrene from the fumes of building materials, photocopiers and tobacco smoke. As for styrene’s presence in plastic utensils and other consumer products, Dr. Brawley likened the risk from such products to that of coffee and cellphones — uncertain and slight." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/11/health/11cancer.html?_r=1&hp In other words, here's something scary without much proof behind it, at least for consumers.

Not to mention Jeanne Crain, who was in many popular movies and had been nominated for an Oscar.

That is SO COOL. It's stuff like that which makes the hobby so much fun – whether it's building or collecting models or being a rabid motorsports fan. This is usually a very solitary endeavor, and enjoying it together is a big fat deal.

I am definitely interested in the homemade approach since I build in larger scales with bodies and chassis parts that are typically around 14" to 16" in length.

I think Dr. Cranky could do some major (and literal) steampunk on this kit.

The story of "The General" was also well done in the more dramatic Disney movie, "The Great Locomotive Chase," with Fess Parker. Spoiler alert: Unlike the Keaton comedy classic, all the rebel train hijackers die in the Disney version (except for the Union pursuers, who received America's first Congressional Medal of Honor). The train has been available in kit form and as a working model railroad version. The kit is available now on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.com/AMT-ERTL-TRAIN-MODEL-THE-GENERAL-STEAM-LOCOMOTIVE-/260798076732?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb8c6d73c Just needs some donk wheels. The real train is on display at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw,Georgia. http://airbornecombatengineer.typepad.com/in_decatur/2010/08/expert-on-.html