sjordan2

There have been a multitude of quality 550 Spyder replicas in the US for many years (Ace the Garage Guy has one). Most of them use either 356 or VW Super Beetle engines. Water-cooled Subaru engines have also been used.

Beautiful. I would think the right front, being the chauffeur's seat, would show the most wear.

1/14 is common for some RC companies like Akai. Anyway, I just get conversions instantly online with converters like the one linked above. But working it out yourself as described above is good practice.

Yup.

Certainlywood.com has thousands of wood samples on their site that you can put on your computer, then manipulate any way you want to make your own decals.

Coming along nicely.

Great work, especially at such a small scale.

I would assume the meats have been well-brined by now.

That engine is looking terrific. Any thoughts about replicating engine-turned finishes on the firewall, engine and gauge panel? I have art that could be used as decals.

The Hubley Rolls is always available for cheap on eBay, under the Minicraft label. It was originally produced by Hubley and is the only promo ever authorized by Rolls. That said, it's pretty rudimentary. The tires are too small, the hubcaps are inaccurate, the one-piece engine top is just a blob, the Flying Lady mascot is about twice as big as it should be, and you may find a lot of flash and mold seams. Body shape is pretty accurate, but the trunk fit is kind of loosey-goosey. Interior tub is typical 50s, meaning too shallow. The kit was also issued by Minicraft as a "Phantom Squire" woody with awful wood panel stickers; this version was also issued with a misprint on the box claiming it was 1/16 scale -- not so, as I discovered when I opened the box. There never was a 1/16 kit of this car.

Must have been Allstate. State Farm gave me excellent rates on my Porsche and Corvette. Of course, Knoxville is not Chicagoland. I recently saw a TV item that reported, as usual for a long time, the Viper is the most expensive car to insure at a bit over $4000 a year.

Now, that is a classic story.

I always find the bland, cookie-cutter cars to be the hardest.

One of the best-looking seat finishes I've seen. Now make the cigar holders open and close with tiny cigars inside.

Your approach to the seat base is reasonably accurate. and here's another common one from an Autobahnkurier. Speaking of common features, this image shows something that most modelers don't attempt to replicate: chrome door jambs on the doors and in the body.

You can also use black pinstriping tape.

What do you mean by rubber caps? I've only seen triangle shaped chrome tips.

A new pop song turns a proper noun into a verb... "Let's Marvin Gaye and get it on..." Of course, back in 1970, Buckminster Fuller wrote a book called "I Seem To Be A Verb."

I always thought that, with the influence of TV to homogenize accents, regional accents would fade away. But clearly, Americans don't watch enough TV.

Impressive thinking and execution.

Very strange. The link to Pocher's Mercedes web page is now a Hornby OOPS! Page; Scale Auto Works' page for the kit has added: "Pre-orders on hold until we have more news." MSRP now listed as ? All prior info they showed looks like repackaging of an existing kit.

If I had the money and a regular salary, I would buy the $800 Pocher Mercedes Gullwing in a New York minute.

Like today. Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela are cutting back oil production to increase prices.

I just saw that the owners of the ocean liner are preparing to restore it. Might be a good time to see if there are build journals to reference.