Sixties Sam

Nice build! I like the concept of a low budget racer. Paint won't make it go faster! Good work! Sam

Wow! Good thread - lots of great tips. Thanks, guys. Maybe it's blasphemy, but I'm just not as detail oriented as many of the guys here. I don't build for contests, so I don't worry about all the fine details. That would take the fun out of model building for me. I build to a reasonable detail level (for me), then call it done. I've shown my models and dioramas in a couple local car shows and gotten many nice compliments, and that's good enough for me. If I take a hobby too seriously, it's not fun anymore, it's work. I don't like work! Sorry if I've offended anyone. I marvel at the incredibly detailed models I see on this forum, and I admire the skill and perseverance of the builders, but I really don't aspire to their level. Sam

I went to a 4th of July parade today and saw this 48 Chevy pickup. The owner made it look like Tow Mater from the Cars movies. I talked to the owner afterward. It's a clever and cheap conversion. Swimming pool noodles for lips, styrofoam for teeth, eyes, and towhook, chain links of foam pipe insulation, and a tow boom from scraps of 2x4's. I thought it was really cool. He got plenty of applause and cheers as he went by!

Very cool truck! I like the wooden bed and duallies. Great engine detail, and the color is just right - seems to go well with the wood. Sam

Very nice diorama! Just enough details to make it interesting. Garage dio's are never "finished". You can keep adding details as you feel like it. Nice work! Sam

Wow! Excellent work! You have great scratch building skills. Fire trucks look like very complicated subjects - lots of little details. Looks like you got 'em all there! Sam

Very cool and creative! I could imagine finding a real one like that in an old barn, and the owner saying something like "It was Dad's. He's gone, and we just want to get rid of it. Give me $500 and it's yours!" Sam

Very cool! Brings back memories of the old 1960's TV show. I used to watch it at a friend's house because they had color TV and cable - we didn't! Nice model! Sam

Very nice! I always liked the first generation of Chargers. Nice detail work on the engine and interior! Sam

That's a mean lookin' SOB! great work! Love the burnout pic! Sam

Wow! So many creative touches, I don't know where to start! The 4-banger is cool. Road signs and license plates in the interior are great ideas! Camshaft in front is neat, and the DeSoto grille is a cool touch, too. Great work! Sam

VERY cool! A great blend of Ferrari and Deuce! Good work! Sam

Excellent build! Great color, and engine bay details! Sam

Here are a couple I built. I like the customs from that era.

Very clean Bug! Good color choice. Sam

Welcome, Tim! I'm smack in the middle of PA, about 10 miles east of Joe Paterno! Lots of great modelers from around the world here. You'll learn a lot! Sam

I'm voting model. The surface it sits on looks too smooth for pavement. Looks like gray painted plywood.

I like the red one better too, John, although both are very nice builds! The Cobra is a small car and sometimes looks too "busy" with big wide stripes, IMHO. Nice work on both! Sam

Ditto what he said. Love the 66, and the Bullitt fastback!

Very cool! I like it! I agree it looks better than the Hot Wheels version. Nice work! Sam

I build many 50's cars. They are some of my favorites. I have a Lindberg 53 Ford hardtop kit waiting to be built, so count me in. I plan to use the 53 in my diner diorama, set in 1959. I want it to represent a car a teenager on a very low budget would have bought used, and added a few mild custom touches to. Bullet taillights, lowered suspension, spinner hubcaps, bar type grille, maybe headlight scoops, fuzzy dice - all period stuff. Sam

That's cool! That exhaust pipe looks menacing - like a cannon! Great body and finish work! I don't think I would want to drive a 1:1 version with that short wheelbase. Might be really twitchy! Nice model! Sam

Very cool custom! I like the colors and the 6 cyl. engine. Great interior, too! Sam

I've been told that an original Ives set that is complete and runs can fetch about $1,000. My dad died in 1964, and shortly after that a man asked my mother if she would sell the train set. He offered her $400 for it back then. Thankfully, she didn't let it go! It's a family heirloom now. It's in my will that my two sons will get it when I'm gone. I hope they don't fight too much over it!

I still have my dad's Ives standard gauge (about the size of today's G gauge)train set from the 1920's. It's complete and in its original box. The paint is scuffed up, but it runs (with the original transformer). We set it up every year around the Christmas tree and run it. I think Lionel bought the Ives company back in the depression days. Sam