Sixties Sam

Peter, that is simply amazing work! The design is great, and the vacuum forming work looks perfect! Years ago, I vacuum formed a canopy for a scratch built 1/4 scale Rutan Quickie R/C plane. I used a wooden box and the home vacuum cleaner. After several dismal failures, I got a usable canopy, but looking through it was like looking through your car windshield in a rainstorm when the wipers don't work! Vacuum forming is not easy! Sam

Well, guys, I'm getting close to being done with this project (and these postings). I got the taillights and the side molding on. The molding is styrene angle stock that I heat formed around the teardrop side when I first made it. I taped the angle to the flat section on top, then used a heat gun and a gloved hand to slowly form it around the curves. I painted it silver, but thought the candy red might look better. I'm pleased with it. I plan to mount the spare wheel on the front like this. I unfolded a Rice Krispies box, then photographed it and printed it out to scale, cut it out and glued it to a chunk of balsa. Soup can is dowel rod. Windows and bedding are in. I'm ready for a nap! BTW, Thanks so much for all the great compliments I've received. They keep me going! Sam

Great realism! It looks like a real piece of well used equipment. Nice work!

Whoa, that's a mean Mustang for sure! If I see that in my rear view mirror, I will definitely pull over and let him by!!

Nick, there are a lot of hinges available for R/C model planes control surfaces. There are some flap hinges that have the pivot point ahead of the hinge body. They might work. Some of them will be too big for 1/25 scale, but might be worth a look to get ideas. Try Tower Hobbies or Hobby Lobby. Sam

Thanks for the compliments, guys. I really appreciate them. I hope I'm not boring anyone with a model that's not a car or truck. I like to do different things once in a while. Here's another update: I got the fenders painted and the teardrop skinned. Paint is Testors Candy Transparent Red to match the 57 Chev. The teardrop skin is aluminum flashing left over from a house project years ago. Real teardrops are often skinned with aluminum, so I figured I would skin my model the same way. The alum. goes over 1/32" balsa with maple stain and urethane varnish on the inside surface. I formed the skin by gently bending it over a piece of PVC pipe. I wanted it to match the curve of the tear's body so it doesn't try to unbend itself and pull loose. I used Elmer's spray craft glue to attach it. That stuff is STICKY! The sides will not get aluminum skin. I like the woody look. There will be molding made from styrene angle stock on the edges of the body. My wife did a super job on the bedding. Now I need her to make some curtains for the windows. It's coming along - slowly! Sam

I used to go to the Homecoming football games. I marched in the Alumni Blue Band (trumpet player) from 1972 to 2004, but it got to be too expensive. We had to buy our own tickets and even parking, plus dues for the Alumni Blue Band Assoc. I've been to a couple basketball games in the Bryce Jordan Center. Nice facility!

Wow! That is incredible work! I envy your soldering skills. I can't solder well at all! I've soldered music wire landing gear for R/C planes for decades, but they always look like blobs of silver colored Jell-O! Your joints are perfect! Body and paint, decals, etc. are equally nice. Very nice!

Wow! That's nice! I like the colors, and the photos are great! Katie and the background really make it look real!

I'm making some progress. My wife sewed a blanket, sheet, and pillowcases for the mattress and pillows, which are made of 1/2" thick soft foam. Got the spars and reading lights glued in, and made window frames from styrene angle and channel stock. It looks cozy in there! More to come later.

Nice Stude, dude! I like the two tone paint. Good choice of colors. Those pipes sticking out the back look mean!

Nice truck! Very clean, and the color is just right!

Great job, Jeff! Very clean, classic Deuce hot rod. I like it!

Nice looking gas station, Ed. Makes me a little sad, though. When I was kid my home town had five gas stations. A couple of them looked a lot like your model. Now they and others around here are all long gone, replaced by look-alike convenience stores. Kinda sad. Guess I'm gettin' old! Sam

Nice Impala, Greg! I like the blue and gold combo. The chassis is great! I like your Nittany Lion avatar. I'm a PSU grad, and I work there - drive by Beaver Stadium every day! Go lions! Sam

Now that's cool! I like the 62 Dart grille - keepin' it in the MoPar family!

SWEET! Great paint, and I like the headliner detail. Very nice model!

Minor update: Framed up the hatch from plywood and basswood. The galley counter is plywood with paper glued on with spray craft adhesive. The pattern is a 1950's "boomerang" pattern from a picture I found online and printed out. The sink is the cap from a propane bottle. Those blue wire nuts will be used to make interior reading lights. We'll soon be camping! Another small update: I made reading lights from small electrical connectors instead of wire nuts. Bulbs are pieces of clear plastic tree. Photo shows real light in my 1:1 tear and 1/12 scale light. This is fun!

Very nice, clean build. I like the color and the wide off-whites! Cool!

Wow! That is nice! Love the paint job - must have been a ton of work!

Walt, thanks for the compliments. I like to keep my models fairly clean and simple. To me, fussing over every detail takes the fun out of modeling. No offense to the guys here that do super detailing work. I stand in awe of the detailing skill I've seen here! It's just more work than I want to do. Maybe that comes from 37 years of building R/C planes. I've seen super detailed scale model planes that took months or years to build bite the dust after one or two flights. I learned to keep my models simple. Sam

Asco, Try this link to an excellent forum for teardrop and tiny trailers. http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/index.php...733cb660c6bcb83 There is a member there from Finland who is building a 1:1 teardrop. He uses the name Classic Finn. I have drawings for my 1:1 and models in AutoCAD drafting software. I can send them if you have CAD software that can read them. I have also seen some 1/25 scale resin teardrop models for sale on ebay. Sam

Walt, I built a real one and a 1/25 scale model of it in 2006. Here's a link to my Flickr album where I have many build pics. http://flickr.com/photos/12482094@N07/ Sam

Wow! Incredible detail! Very well done. You even have two restrooms. I assume the one with the toilet seat up is the men's room! Someone must have done a Dukes of Hazzard jump to bust up the front end on that rusty old coupe!

I built this 1/12 scale 57 Chevy a couple years ago, and decided to make a teardrop trailer to go with it. The teardrop is nearly all wood construction. The sides, floor, & galley bulkhead are 1/8" birch plywood. The frame is 3/16 x 1/8" basswood. Spars are basswood too. Top sheeting will be 1/32" balsa covered with aluminum flashing. Wheels are the stock 57's with backs made from hacked up R/C car rims. Fenders are steel - from an old Tonka toy trailer. They were a b**** to get off that toy - had to drill out spot welds! The fenders will be candy red. The door and galley hatch will both be hinged to open, and there will be a foam mattress & pillows inside. I have to make a hitch for the Chevy. I'm using a ball link from my R/C stuff. This is something different, huh? Sam