alan barton

Hi Bob, you've made a great start already. The wheel colour is very convincing for a racecar. For what it is worth, I would touch the nuts and dust cap with flat black as it would not be common to see these parts chromed on a racecar. Also, you can really improve the look of those headers without a lot of work. Buy a length of K&S aluminium tubing and saw it to about an inch long, sand the saw cuts smooth and maybe even run a knife blade around the insides to thin the edge, then cut off the plastic bits and superglue the aluminium to the headers. This will improve the look of the collectors/side pipes immeasurably with barely ten minutes work. For a baloney slice tip, just cut them at an angle. You can paint them with the headers or polish them up like chrome with a bit of Tamiya polish on a rag. I have about four or five of these slammer kits and did it to all of them. Cheers Alan

Unreal! In recent months I have been hand fabricating in fibreglass a pair of panels to go alongside the rear seat of my full size 35 Phaeton, with armrests and the like. I have designed a cupholder into them but every bone in my body is saying "Why do I want someone with a drink back there?" Glad to know it's not just me! Cheers Alan

That is looking magic! Great to see a shiny one, I'm a bit over rust! You got a beautiful fade away on those flames. I have a gloss black one on the bench as a Pro Street version with an alloy BBC but will probably buy another two of the new release. Cheers Alan

If you will permit a sleight of hand here, I built this Mooneyes dragster very many years ago with a combination of an original Mooneyes frame kit, an Attempt 1 kit and a Revell Chevy parts pack. The only issue I recall, apart from typical Revell fiddliness, was that the blower was not a very god fit in the frame - the injectors wanted to push the left hand frame rail out a bit. Anyhow, you should be able to produce something similar from the new kit, i suspect. Cheers Alan

This is like a university course on how to detail with modelling challenges! My hat is off to you, Roger, this is an amazing build. My face just twisted up when you said you were going to trim the side trim down to a narrower width. If I had attempted that it would have looked like it was done with a chainsaw! The stance is awesome and the turned front wheels are a favourite pose of mine. I will continue watching for sure. FWIW< the pearl white, maybe with a touch of blue in the chrome trim, sounds like the ticket! Cheers Alan

Hi Bill and Kit, great to hear you are progressing. I have taken a few small steps lately but nothing worth photographing. Got sidetracked this week on some ancient 1/32nd scale builds and it has been a pleasant break from the intensity of getting the Boyd P.U. just right. Should be back on the horse shortly! Cheers Alan

Chris, I would have to support you on everything you say! A friend and I bought a bunch of stuff from Ed earlier this year. There were some holdups as we ordered in the middle of a rush period for him but Ed kept us informed all the way down the line. The packaging was excellent and he neatly divided the orders up into mine and Jackson's with neat little labels so we could divvy up the order easily. For fellow international modellers, I can thoroughly recommend Ed and his products. In Aussie terms, he's fair dinkum, mate! Cheers Alan

I can hear the doof-doof from here, Dennis! many many years ago, I was displaying a large model diorama at a big custom car show. A young teenager came to talk to me about my models for a while and then walked on. About three hours later, he returned with his father to show me some of the models he had built. The thing I never forgot, and promised to do myself "one day", was that he cut pictures out of a sound components catalogue and glued them in his trunk for speakers. That might sound fairly cheesy without seeing it, but believe me, the effect was totally convincing. I asked him where he got them from, thinking they were actual painted and detailed model parts and he replied, "Nah, they are just pieces of paper I cut out!." Loving this wagon and getting lots of ideas for a 64 Chevelle long roof I have waiting patiently in the wings. Cheers Alan

Car/boats are the coolest! I have my '57 Bel Aqua in Tim Boyd's Chrysler Vee thread somewhere on here and have had this '57 Thunderboat on the back burner since earlier this year. I combined a pullback toy T bird, about 1/28th scale, with a toy cabin cruiser hull that was narrowed significantly. There is a shipload of bodywork still to be done but I hope it might help you with your ideas. I will look forward to your version as I have followed your work for a long time and am expecting something very cool! Cheers Alan

Dan, just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed your progress so far. I too am a big fan of the Monogram Edmunds supermod and while I have extensively modified two versions so far, I haven't gone close to achieving the amazing detailing you are crafting here for us all to see. Great to see this level of dedication. Cheers Alan

An absolutely beautiful rendition of a very radical design. I'm now trying to visualise this colour scheme on a 59 El Camino. Could be another new project on the bench for me - thanks for the inspiration, David! Cheers Alan

Having destroyed one f these in my youth, I obtained a re-issue several years ago but have yet to crack the cellophane! every time I see someone build one of these I home in on the details. I really like where you are going with this. You are correcting the proportional details that many leave box stock and I think you will have a much more believable wagon as a result. Mine is destined to tow a front engined rail so I love the roof rack on yours - just the spot for spare slicks! Cheers Alan

Nice to see such a refreshing colour scheme on an old truck! The '34 is probably my favourite old AMT kit with 2 build and another three on the bench. You certianly did a top class job on this one! Cheers Alan

Stunning - like every one else, I love the colour combo and the cleanliness of assembly is beautiful to behold! Cheers Alan

When I bought the Model King version of the Cougar Country funnycar, there was a totally unexpected jerrycan and a nicely rendered Model A grille shell on the chrome sprue. I vaguely remember discovering later that this was also because the Logghe frame had been converted to a sand dragster/dune buggy. Would that be one of the examples in Tim's box stash photo? Cheers Alan

Thanks, Greg, I got another millimetre out of it over the weekend and in primer it is looking pretty good! Looking good Bill! I love the fact that everyone in this post is using a different colour scheme! ( Even if I am using the most obvious one!) A big cross-Tasman shout out to you for alerting me to the fact that I handed filled the fuel cap hole - I would have been really annoyed if I had it in colour before I noticed - seems to happen a lot lately. Also thanks for the idea of using the T seat risers - so obvious and yet I just hadn't thought of it! When we are all finished with our projects, there are going to be a bunch of Model A pickups with a bunch of similarities and a bunch of differences! Hey Kit, what went wrong? The photos show a smooth, deep, glossy paint job that I would be more than happy with. Dust? Runs? Bubbles on the bottom edge? Enquiring minds want to know! Cheers Alan

This is a great old classic, John that has stood the test of time. When I did a few forties a couple of years ago, I improved the look of the fat fenders by getting a bit of 240 wet and dry and rolling the edge of the wheel openings. AMT has split the mould along these edges leaving a sharp edge. Check some real forties and you will see the shape fo the front wheel opening in particular can take a little massaging as well. I am talking less that half an hour in total for this upgrade and it really shows when you get the paint on! Good luck with your forty! Cheers Alan

I've got the hood fitting after quite a long session at the bench and it is now primed and waiting for my return. The 1/24th scale fender unit is quite a bit longer from the cowl forward than the 1/25th scale unit. I think I have managed to avoid the Pinnochio look but still might get another mm off it. Cheers Alan

Wow, Steve, that is just stunning! You could hop right inside it and drive it away! That just might be the sweetest version of that kit that I have ever seen. And you are right abut the modifications. It really is a domino effect! I have been planning this one very carefully to avoid that sort of problem and until now I thought I was doing really well but this hood issue snuck up from behind. I did the lengthening job on the hood last night before I turned the lights out and if the modifications don't leave tell-tale shadows in the paint, it should work pretty well. Cheers Alan

I went to fit the Revell hood sides and tops but there were all sorts of issues here. The Revell hinging arrangements leave a massive wedge shaped gap in the middle but worse still, the hood would not reach to grille shell. Didn't see that coming but maybe I should have! My next thought was to try a Monogram hood. It is a pretty good fit at the cowl after thinning the trailing edge a smidgen but it is the same length as the Revell 1/25th scale hood, thus the gap is still there! I have lengthened hoods before and it is not my favourite job - keeping all the contours working , keeping a smooth, even curve to wrap around the grill, yeah, a bit of a challenge. I found a lacquer etched wreck of a hood in the Model A pickup box, might see if I can use that to make the additional length and work from there. Anyone with better ideas, I am all ears!!! Cheers Alan

It's a lovely kit, a giant leap in detail from the AMT hot rod kits that came before it. The kit comes with two front axles, stock and dropped, but they are difficult to tell apart unless you look closely. Ask how I know this! Even then, you will need to file out the crossmember and file don't most of the spring if you want to get it down a bit. If you copy and past the following link you will find a whole bunch of posts on the truck right here. Funny thing is, I couldn't find mine from this year! 34 ford tow truck model cars mag forum Cheers Alan

N worries Bob, and I have one more tip. Back a page or so you mentioned your favourite part, the windshield frame. When I built my delivery decades ago, I didn't notice the gap but I did notice that the lower frame is way too thick or "tall" - it's at least twice what a real 32 windshield would be. If you get a brand new blade and vertically slice the centre piece away from the either sides, then slide it down a mm or so and glue it back together, you should be able to file and sand it to an exact fit in the windshield opening and it will look far more realistic, even if you now have a short vertical cut line at each end. It is pretty easy to do and worth the effort. Cheers Alan

You are doing well with this sedan Bob. If you want to get it lower I would look at bending a piece of K&S aluminium tubing to the shape you want and then inserting the MPC plastic axle ends into it - that should get you lower without having to buy another kit. I don't think it is as easy as ranking model companies in order of quality. I have built hot rods from every company imaginable and some are good, some are not so good. Quality is a tough value to describe. Early Revell hot rods had some of the finest detailed parts ever put in a kit but pity help anyone who tried to assemble them! Tamiya produce superb kits with outstanding engineering but I have exactly one in my collection because they don't do the cars I love, and they don't do engines. Monogram do terrific hot rods but some people don't like 1/24th and the Beachboys 3 window coupe was an eyesore! AMT really kicked off the whole hot rod thing but their 34 Tudor was drawn up by someone who was legally blind. The Switchers kit wasn't MPC's finest hour but if you ever get the chance to build an AMT 28 Tudor, actually designed by MPC, it is one of the most delicately yet accurately presented hot rod kits of all time. And some times, with the best model kit in the history of model kits, you personally will screw up and not get the result you planned for! It's just the way it goes. Never be afraid to ask the guys on this forum for tips and tricks about any kit you are looking at buying - the knowledge pool on this board is amazing! Keep up the good work! Cheers Alan

Love the panel paint from back in the day. Can't wait to see this sparkle! Cheers Alan

Midnight blue - nice!!!! Years ago a friend had a '34 coupe, painted a very, very dark Volvo blue. He called it Snot Black, because every time someone mentioned the colour of his car, he would reply "'S'not Black!!!!!! Still psyching myself up to see if I can hang those doors...... Cheers Alan