alan barton

Rusty, it doesn't look quite as thick in real life as it does in the photo but I take your point. I definitely don't want it looking heavy. Les, that is an interesting idea which I will try when I am next at the bench. I think this will take a few goes to get right. I do have several of those Meteor grilles so I am prepared to sacrifice a few if that is what it takes! Thanks guys Cheers Alan

Here it is. It was almost impossible to mockup for the photo so please be mindful of the lack of finesse here. I'm thinking to use the custom Mercury taillights and the custom Meteor grille to put a high end treatment with a Ford flavour on the back of the car. I have already sanded off most of the ribs but am not sure how I will deal with the handle so for now the centre rib is staying til I make that decision. I also have the Vicky trunk emblem but they may be overdoing it. I am aiming for a Ford factory look here and the car is destined for a factory style two tone paint job, lowered, maybe on stock caps, maybe on chromies and white walls. I have thoroughly enjoyed everyone's inputs so far and could really use a few now. This thing has taken on a life of its own ( it was originally just about the boat!) and I am getting close but not quite there yet. Fire away!!!! Cheers Alan

I'm ahead of you this time! The grooves are going to disappear from the roof, possibly replaced by longitudinal ribs instead and the Nomad ribs on the tailgate will be replaced by something really sneaky. I hope you will like it. Should have it up in the next post. Thanks for the input. Cheers Alan

Here's tonight's update. No dramatic changes but we are moving forward. After our extensive chat with my fellow club members last Wednesday I wedge sectioned the roof. Turns out you cant pull a stiff section of plastic down to a thin section - the thin bit goes up instead. Doh!?!?! How did I not think of that? Anyhow, apart from kinda messing up the drip rail line, it actually fit a lot better so I reached that point where I just glued the thing together and then I'll deal with it when it is dry. As espo suggested, I lowered the rear tailgate line and this definitely helped. The big surprise was when I retired the Crown Vick trim. Looks like we've got just a hint of Vista cruiser there as the trim manages the slight difference in crown of the two roof profiles. Next step will be to file off the existing drip rails and fabricate new ones from Evergreen. Then we'll be cooking with gas! Meanwhile, got a cot of primer on the boat tonight - bodywork is very close to final primer. I'll see in the morning. Wishing all the Aussies here a happy Australia Day for the 26th! Cheers Alan

Interesting! So it is a cool truck but not really fitting where this thread is going! Still, I do have three or four of these so there is no reason why I couldn't do the Jacobs truck later. Maybe an all Boyds red job with five star billet wheels? I think i will have to sleep on what my version of an 80's build would look like - but it won't be pink, fuschia, pale magenta, light red etc etc etc. ( I do have three such hues in my collection, just don't need any more!) Cheers Alan

You never cease to amaze me, Tim. I have that kit in my collection - someone just walked up to me and handed it to me one day. To be honest, I'm not sure I have even opened the box! I had no idea there were so many changes. Gotta go and have a look now! Cheers Alan

Loving all of them guys! I particularly like the 37 and 34 dashboard installs - they look perfect! I have sooooo may projects on the bench right now but I know exactly where my box of Revell closed cabs are.....hmmmmmmm. Was Jim Jacobs lime gold truck with the little shingled house on the back a 70s or 80s build, does anyone know? Cheers Alan

I would have to agree about the temperature! I love it when we have a summer day around 100 degrees - the paint just flows beautifully. My favourite is Testors Classic Black straight from the can - comes out like a mirror! I try to do bodywork in winter so that I have things ready to paint in summer, or looking at it the other way, I try to paint in summer so I have plenty to assemble in winter! Love the angled chop by the way - this is going to be mean! Cheers Alan

I have promised myself I am not starting my 1/8th scale kits, about eight or so, until I lose a lot more of my eyesight and 1/25th scale will be out of the question. When I see work like this it makes me question that plan. You have really improved the Lindberg T to well beyond examples I have seen before. Looking forward to seeing the low one done. Cheers Alan

That's pretty decent. Someone put a lot of effort into gracefully combined two bodies separated by 10-20 years. It would be interesting to know whether they started with a roadster pickup or closed cab, either looking for better weather protection or more style. Or to replace a damaged or rusted cab. Either way the transition between the two lots of sheetmetal is very professional. Thanks for posting it - I have studied Model As all my life but have never seen this conversion before. A friend once showed me photos of an unusual Model A four door sedan. We were trying to determine if it was a Murray body or a Briggs body when I suddenly noticed that it was, in fact, a 32 four door sedan body! Aussie bodies were wooden framed like Chevies until 35/36 so it wouldn't have taken much cutting to fit it up. Cheers Alan

Straight out of Car Craft! That colour screams 1965! Cheers Alan

What a beautiful Vicky, Tulio, great to see your impeccable work back here on the forum. It's funny, I'm a hot rodder through and through, but two of my top five builders on this site are you and Steve Guthmiller, both showroom stock guys. I did a 40 Convertible over a year ago and I was channelling your thoughts the whole time I was building it - it is nearly showroom stock! Cheers Alan

A very imposing build. Can really appreciate the detail you have put into this one. Cheers Alan

Big John, we need to see LOTS more of these!!!!! Talk about knockout concepts! The Bugatti is off the chain! Cheers Alan

Wow - you nailed the colour scheme for the car. I have a very similar colour scheme on a 30 Woody and it really pops! Stance is looking really good as well. I have a Jimmy Flintstone body somewhere to be built in a near identical theme to this but in my head it was going to be dark metallic green with apple green wires and grille - sad thing is it is still only in my head! Cheers Alan P.S. never knew about that trailer in the Attempt 1 kit - i got several of the 80s/90s version but not this one. Another trailer to hunt for! Cheers Alan

Very true, Tom. I was very fortunate that the calendar I used for this one included technical details including length, width and wheelbase. With those measurements and the photos, it was a straight forward job. At the moment, my real job, model column commitments and a 35 Phaeton in the shed that is screaming at me to finish it is using up most of my waking hours so I would need to get ahead of these commitments a bit before I tackled the Speed Demon. I saw possibly the first version of it on Bonneville in 1992 and photographed it at the time so I do have some personal interest in the project. I guess I was hoping that someone out there might have some of these dimensions at hand to reduce the time required to get involved. Still, you have me thinking....... Cheers Alan

Your woody is superbly finished Valeri! I am amazed at how delicate the weathering is on the chassis and floor. You have done this model justice! Cheers Alan

Thanks everyone for the replies, this thread has turned out to have revealed lots of interesting information that I could never have anticipated. I had seen the 59 boat before and I love how the shape of the boat suits the outboard mount perfectly. When I first built my 57 Bel Aqua boat, there was a huge website called, of all things, Finny Boats and it was a goldmine of information about boats from the fifties and sixties. Last time I checked some years ago it seemed to have vanished. Might have to search again. Walt, you are dead right. I absolutely did consider a Vista Cruiser style and it is not off the table yet. I took the project to our model club on Wednesday night and a group of about five of us studied the thing in every detail. We have arrived at the conclusion that the drip rail line of the 56 roof has already started to drop, something I thought I had avoided but turns out not, and that the side profile of the Nomad roof is wedge shaped and might need to be pancaked to get a more natural line. None of this is simple work but it is all doable and I do have a second Nomad roof if things turn bad. Hopefully I will make some progress this weekend. Thanks again everyone for all your support. I am really enjoying this one and it is great to have so many people along for the ride. Cheers Alan

Got home from work tonight and there in my letterbox is the latest MCM. So pleased to have it in my hands, and really enjoying what I have read so far. Looks like it took about ten weeks to get to Western Australia. Cheers Alan

60's showcar, absolutely. Far more attractive and eyecatching on your shelf. Cheers Alan

Will be following closely on this one - lots of ideas here! Cheers Alan

I think you're right there, David. I will check it when I get home from work. So far, the fit at the waistline is far better than the fit on the roofline but it is do-able! I have already filed down the original trunk opening line at least three mm but may take more off tonight. I want to get the waistline locked in first then consider what needs to be done to the roof. Thanks for your input, it is appreciated. Cheers Alan

Thanks for that photo, Russell, I had forgotten about that trailer. I saw a turquoise combo at Hot August Nights in 2010 and photographed it from all angles. It would make a great model! Just a small update for today. I have been massaging the yellow bits to match up with the grey bits. Revell's revolutionary no-impact styrene makes that challenging! It looks like when the waist line matchup is aligned, the roof made a millimetre or two high so there might be a gentle chop in the near future. Very happy with the tailgate area and I have come up with an interesting alternative to the Nomad ribs. Stay tuned! Cheers Alan

Nice to see the blue variation. I have the original dark red plastic version and it is simply to nice to paint! Cheers Alan

Love the darker colour, a real touch of class Ray! Cheers Alan