GrandpaMcGurk

Sorry you've had a bad week Andy, but I'm glad you've enjoyed the thread and we were able to give you a giggle. There will be more to come, I like to have fun with my builds as it prevents burn out.

No worries Rob......one of the last things I'll do before I call it done is to scuff up the tires and whites. Then I'll add a little road grime around the wheel wells. Thanks for all your kind comments and suggestions guys, I really appreciate it.

Finished up the body today, replaced the hood & trunk lid with transparent green plastic film, also cut a chicken bone hole in the roof.....needed a way in & out for the driver and it comes in handy for tossing out those greasy KFC bones. Anyway...I'm experimenting with paint at the moment, not sure what I'm going to call this color but it's getting close to what I want. I spayed an old paint cap as a test, on the actual body it'll fade from almost black at the bottom to burgundy then black cherry...........I hope! Here's an extreme close-up...... This will be my last post in this thread....the next time I post this car it will be in the Under Glass section. My next project will either be a "Deuce" limo or a strange '25 T.......... Yeah, I'm that twisted.

Lookin' good Roger.

Man these rats are hard to put down....thought this one was dead 'cause it's got no arms...... WRONG!!!!! It still jumped up and tried to take a bite out of my camera!

Started working on the body and did a quick mock-up for eyeballin'. Mad Max should have had this rig!

Here's a few more...... couple shots of the bottom side...I put some rust on the skid plate just in case EYEGORE checks.

Whoopeee...the chassis is just about done! All that's left to do is finish up the brake lines, the hydraulic hoses for the front and rear steering and add a little more rust and grime. This has been a ball to build so far.....I was curious to see just how much detail I could add to a small scale kit.

I haven't seen it mentioned in this thread but I've found that "wet sanding" with a very fine grit is the only way to go especially with "softer" paints like enamel. Enamel doesn't cure, flash over or gas out like lacquer. The surface of the enamel dries but the paint underneath that skin layer remains soft for quite a while. That's one of the reasons for baking enamel. Wet sanding allows the surface to be smoothed without the paper loading up and scratching through or rolling up the enamel.

Here's a link that explains a little about the frame, rear fender skirt etc. http://ateupwithmotor.com/family-cars/193-step-down-hudsons.html

Getting close now.........I just had to have wide whites....still have to stretch the body a little and put on some bling but she's gettin' there. I was considering doing the body in O.D. green but now I'm thinking I'll go traditional with with a gloss black body & silver top. That way It'll blend in an urban setting....yeah right! I think this is my favorite view.....

Absolutely Gordon.....being it's a '57 Caddy I may even lay some wide whites on the the monster tires........ohhhh my, it just crossed my mind that the wheels are going to be red.....I hope EYEGORE doesn't confuse them with fire hydrants!

I'm in no way defending evil bay nor "some" of it's sellers, however if you are careful there are still deals to be had. Here's a Pocher kit that looks as if it could be restored and the asking price is very reasonable. http://www.ebay.com/...227890678475822

Here's a few more, it's almost ready for the body......woooooo woooooo!

Had the whole crew working on the rig the last few days trying to get it ready for some serious rat dispacthing. The crew chief grinned and said "guess we should give her a name". One of the guys, as he was installing the frosted bullet proof panels quipped "let's call it the ARK". I said......"Huh....why the Ark"? He responded......."A.R.K. (Alien Rat Killer)". So be it......from now on it'll be referred to as the ARK. Here's a few pics of it with the wiring, plumbing, bullet proof shields, firepower and suspension in place......it's hard to see but in the photo of the bottom side (if you look closely) you'll see a mural of the Statue of Liberty.....those rats don't stand a chance.

Your imagination is showing Doc........I love the thing, good stuff indeed! Everytime I look at it I want to move the tranny back and stick another Hemi in there just for giggles.

Well Virgil, I'll do a little strategically placed rust here and there just to keep EYEGORE happy, not much though, the troops like to keep their iron well maintained and battle ready. Terry, I like the idea about the cheesy body....but I'd want to use aged Swiss and I'm not sure I want to spend days drilling all those holes........it would make it easier to get rid of all these pesky sink holes though.....LOL.

Time to put some bite in this puppies bark........here's a few mock-ups of the quad M-60s and rocket tubes mounted, wiring, hydraulic lines, weathering etc. are now underway and I've started piecing together the body. Man, this old Revell Caddy kit has more sink holes than Florida. It's a multi piece piece body and it is waaaaay long in the tooth...oh, well, I'll just toss it in the pretty tank for a few hours.

Dalton, if you're looking for an early Willys or Anglia body, TDR has both, they are cast in fiberglass and very accurate as far as scale goes. They also have an number of highly detail engines, blowers, carbs etc. Wheels are also available. Contact them for more info.

Virgil, did you know that Eyegore showed up at my digs late last nite or did you send him? He was quite polite actually.......a little hard to understand (he doesn't speak clearly) but he was babbling something about I needed a bigger cat! Anyway, had to do a mock up to fit the engine into the chassis and snapped a few pics. Due the the graphic nature I have to recommend that small children be sent from the room and not allowed view them. As the RPV was being fired up for the first time, an alien rat was spotted in the hanger.........the vehicle wasn't battle ready yet so we just ran over it! And yes...I will have all the tire treads going in the same direction on the finished vehicle.

Thanks guys, here's a few pics of the turbine, trans, hydrostatic pumps and transfer case for the RPV. She's got quite a few hard hours under her belt but still puts out plenty of power for alien rat crunching. Almost forgot the safety wire. Looks like that exhaust pipe got pretty hot a time or two!

Hang tight.....been detailing the turbine and slinging clay at more rats....they're everywhere!!!!! May have to call in reinforcements or even a gun ship. More pics soon.

Virgil, you're giving me far too much credit assuming I had a "brain" to start with, hee, hee. It's interesting that you posted that "escapee" photo......good stuff bud! Would you mind if I borrowed a few ideas from it? And yes.....I'm taking my Cranky meds. Jim you're getting ahead of me as this will be a small dio by the time I'm done. I plan on using the face of a hanger for the backdrop and the sides will be chain link fence and barbed wire. In total I'll probably make 3-4 alien rats. Just when you thought we had the situation under control a rat showed up riding one of these giant spiders. It will be carrying some heavy armanment so we may be in for more than we bargained on. The rat patrol vehicle will be blasting over a small pile of rocks (front wheels in the air- squished rat under one of the rear wheels) and I have put together a small circuit board with alterenating (flashing) red and blue lights that I have to hide somewhere on the RPV. Small scale...grumble, grumble, Can you imagine if I tried to do this in 1/8th? I'd have to add another room to house!

Yeah, buddy.....

Well Joe.....guess you're not alone. 'Bout the only things I watch on the tube are the Sci-Fi & Speed channels. I figure as long as I'm building an area 51 "Alien Rat Patrol Vehicle" to dispense with the nasty critters, I'd just as well give 'em something to focus on as they are being dispatched. There's a smiley face on the front and rear differential covers. So, coming or going that's the view they get. Here's a sneak peek at one of the alien rats and his ????? weapon in progress....I'll post a few more shortly.