Alan Barton

The nose had been hacked off some time in the past, then glued back on but losing a couple of mm in the process! The window unit was permanently welded into the car and a chunk about 6mm square was missing from the lower left hand rear corner of the body. The chassis was broken at the bellhousing and anything you can't see it that first photo was gone for all time. It has taken a year or so of on again, off again work, losing interest from time due t the amount of bodywork detailing required to bring it back from the dead. Rear wheels and tyres are slot car items while the fronts are from an old toy - it was that or nothing! I am not up for scratchbuilding a set of 12 spokes just yet so I am taking the lazy way out for now and we will see what turns up in the future. The front axle and spring are scratchbuilt from Evergreen, chromed with my new favourite tool, a 1mm Molotow Chrome pen. These things are brilliant! Radius rods are shortened items from an AMT 25 T. The bellypan was folded up from a piece of printer' plate and the windows are cut from file dividers (I had to smash the old unit out and it took some bodywork with it - more work! The rear corner was repaired with a scrap of styrene and a lot of filing and sanding. Finish is Testors 1 step lacquer with Cabots clear polyurethane varnish, all from the spray can. It was a lot of work but brings me one step closer to completing my collection of 1/32 scale rods. Anyone got a Willys or 34 Screamer they want to swap?

A few years ago during the running of our NNL here in Perth, Western Australia, a gentleman introduced himself to me, said he had spoken to me about an old model the year before, and would I like to have it? He produced the relic you see here, the Monogram Fiat Topolino Altered in 1/32 scale. I have an extensive collection of 1/32 scale rods but was still missing all three of the Monogram drag cars so I was ecstatic to finally have one to work with. Course, it was a little rough........

A magic combination of parts there Denis, it just looks natural. Will be watching for sure. Cheers Alan

Peter, mate, please don't raise the back of the trans and put blocks on the rear end. Instead, add a few shims on top of your front engine mounts. Your side view looks to me like that would raise the pan enough to keep the car low to the ground. I realise you might have to play with the transmission hump and firewall but it will be worth it. Stance should never be compromised by things like ground clearance! if it doesn't look good, who will want to ride in it? I really like where you are going with this. I've got a spare Viper motor at home - will have to have a look tonight! Cheers Alan

Pleased to say my copy arrived in Perth Western Australia yesterday. As the most remote capital city in the world it takes a bit longer than most. And what a great issue for a comeback - loved Harry's wagons (I'll never build one but loved reading about 'em) loved Tim's roadsters, loved the diecast 41 Chevy mods (couldn't put a finger on why mine looked odd - now I know), loved NNL East, loved the sketchpad.... a great read and worth the wait. Thanks Gregg and all involved. Cheers Alan

I cant get to my stash to take a photo right now but go and have another look at the box top for the recent Revell 29 Ford Hiboy. The blue car has the windshield on back to front. The photo on the side has it the right way around. I'm guessing the photographer knocked it off, stuck it back on and either didn't notice or didn't know any better! Cheers Alan

Hey Bill, I have also been looking for these wheels for years. I finished my 22Jr at least 15 years ago, probably more, but it has 12 spoke Americans on the front because otherwise it would never have been finished. One thing I did notice when I photographed the car at the Petersen in 2010 was that the back of the wheel looks awfully like the back of the custom wheels in the old Revell 56 Chevy kit, with that kinda starfish look on an otherwise smooth dished back. Now if only we could find something that close for the front..... By the way, if you get started on the 22jr , give me a yell as I have a perfect fitting vacform tarp for that car., plus a heap of reference info. Thanks AFX for the great post!!! Cheers Alan

Hey Bill, I recognise that brake master cylinder and handle setup - it is from the old Revell Parts Pack chromed hot rod chassis - the one that looks like an unboxed Model A frame but with a very rounded off "Z" job at the back. Like what you are doing here - I always thought that blue Monogram body was 1/32 but it seems to fit the 1/25th scale frame just fine. Cheers Alan

James, I love my 1/32 scale collection and the boys here have provided you with nearly every source possible for 1/32 scale engines. I would like to add two more. Firstly, check out the chromed engines in diecast toy cars. Matchbox Superfast from the seventies turn up in a tatty state in swap meets, garage sales and antique shops. A lot of the engines in the drag or hot rod inspired toys are close to 1/32. Some Muscle Machines can have blowers and carbs that just might work for you And I know some people will laugh or snicker here, but the engine in the new tool AMT Ala Kart from a few years ago has a great 1/32 scale hemi in it. Most 1/25th scale modellers hate this undersized baby hemi but it looks good in a 1/32 scale car! And blunc, that 34 coupe of yours (the old Pyro/Lindberg, I'm guessing), is easily the most ambitious and beautifully finished 1/32 scale rod I have ever seen. What a fabulous project! James, I think you will find blunc has carefully cut and hinged the doors himself. Brave beyond brave! Cheers Alan.

Tony , I did a blow by blow explanation of how to fix all the problems on these chassis (the Petty Dart is the worst by far) on another modelling forum. PM me and I will tell you where to find it. Don't give up on this model - it is horribly awkward but looks fabulous when finished - it is worth the effort! Cheers Alan

Just tried again but still getting 404 message. This is for the boat post on Car kits and reviews page. Cheers Alan

Sure have Dave, tried for nearly 24 hours to get some more photos posted in the car kits and reviews section, got the same pesky 404 message.

Hi Noel, Like Mike said, they all have Chevy engines - the Casey Luna Ford should have had a Ford but it just had Ford decals. What you thought are Weber carbs is actually fuel injection - Kinser brand if I recall but someone may be able to confirm that.

Thirty dollar kits would affect me greatly - that would be a twenty to thirty five dollar discount on what we pay in Australia! No discount chains at all but two LHS do give our clubmembers a 10% discount which is nice. Bought the new 48 police car last night - $49.95 and I have seen it dearer elsewhere! But like a lot have said before, I have enough to get me to the grave so it's really not a problem. If you want it you will buy it! Cheers Alan

It's a pretty simple kit but scrubs up well with a bit of love! Cheers Alan

I'm guessing this must be the first boat kit ever - I'm sure Tim will correct me if I'm wrong. This is the AMT 3 in 1 boat, close to box stock. I used an Airfix 1/32 scale Ford Zodiac seat because I had one, it fitted and it looked good! I intend to have a matching Mooneyes 34 Ford panel delivery to tow it one day. Cheers Alan

The only mod I made to this one was to fit custom taillights to the trailer. One of the things I really appreciated about getting the Model King re-issue was that the options in it enabled me to rebuild my Raysom Craft with fresh parts. It's a great kit if you can find it. On both those kits, watch out for one flaw that I managed to miss on both models - there are two honking great ejector pins on each side of the inside of the hull. It would be a good idea to remove these before you start assembling and filling the hull and deck. I must have been asleep at the time! Cheers Alan

Thanks Tim, thanks everyone! I do love my boats and have about five more on the bench at the moment. This one is the Model king re-issue of the Hullraiser. It is almost box stock but I "de-tuned" it with the 427 wedge from the Raysom Craft - I wanted a ski boat them to this one. Colour is Duplicolour silver with Testors Candy Grape for the scallop and the trailer.

This conversion is a natural if you are looking for a contemporary style ski boat. I'll try and put some more boat photos up tomorrow but after spending four hours to post seven photos, I'm all done! Cheers Alan

The taillights are scratchbuilt as are the plates on the transom.

I'm really struggling with a glacially slow Photobucket tonight but I will keep posting until it finally seizes up - it's taken me over three hours to get these posted, time I should have spent working on a model! This is one of my favourite boats. It is the Revell Bass Boat with a Monogram Chevelle blown 454 and the seats and console from the Monogram Bad Actor Chevy Delivery- these were a perfect fit. The bass boat has a great hull. I cut away the front compartment from the deck and replaced it with a vacformed "hood" that I formed over a carved wooden mould. The ehaders are solder and K&S aluminium tubing. Glenn john created the laser cut metalflake flame decal for me. The trailer is scratchbuilt from Evergreen with the bass boat trailer fenders. Cheers Alan

The trimmed Nomad roof lifts off to reveal a Revell 283 with six cars from the same kit. The tailgate was trimmed of one chrome trim from each side - that made it narrow enough to give a graceful sweep to the sides of the boat. To wrap it up I used a 57 Chevy grille bar for taillights. Cheers Alan

The first boat I ever got was a fairly thrashed hull of the Revell Hemi Hydro from my good mate Geoff Rea. A narrowed this about 3/8 inch and grafted on the hood, quarter panels, tailgate and rear roof from a squashed Revell 57 Nomad. The interior and dash came from an equally squashed AMT 57 Corvette. It was quite surprising how well the totally unrelated pieces fitted together. The trailer is a drastically reworked unit from the Hemi Hydro with cycle fenders from the AMT' 25 T. Cheers Alan

Here's a rear view. Eventually it will be towed by an Alexander styled custom based on the Model King Pontiac Bonneville EL Camino with a Westcraft go boat for a tender, sitting in the bed.

Thought I would join in here. This is an AMT Raysom Craft boat with the 427 SOHC from the later Hullraiser version. It was restored form an old builtup and is panel painted in Testors Transparent green over a gold base. The hardest part was getting a smooth seam on those ultra cool sponsons! Cheers Alan