Jairus

I think I'll be sitting out GSL next year.... :?

Very nice build Aaron! Scratchbuilding can be FUN! Now... you need a diorama showing a spilled coke on the ground and the hazmat guys standing around in their suits looking at it... 8) Huh? Huh? Huh?

Ismael, Beautiful work there! Congratulations on the lathe, it will change the way you look at modeling I think.... :wink:

Those are some VERY nice builds there Andy! You just shoved the level of MCM forums up a couple of notches! Welcome aboard!

Wow! Neato dude, keep working on it. 8) Oh yeah, please post pictures when it's done.

Wow, that is a high order to fill. As far as I know nobody makes any sort of scale "working" U-joints for 1/24th scale model cars. Especially for the steering shaft, which would make them roughly 1/2 the size of prop shaft U-joints. Your best bet is to make your own. I would avoid the idea of an actual scale working U-joint in the normal sense... instead make the illusion that it's an actual U-joint. For instance.... steel wire for shafts, brass or aluminum tube for the "U"s and then a tiny spring like that sold for carburetor linkage used as a connector. The spring flexes allowing movement and rotation. The brass tubes intersect and cover up the spring. It all works and everyone is happy! You could even use a piece of black rubber tubing if a spring is not available. The steel music wire is .039 and fits very tight into the spring. The aluminum tube slips over the spring. The whole affair took me about 10 minutes to find in my collection of junk. Where the springs came from… I think they were something I found in a bead store actually…. But that’s another story.

Lyle, check your link... :roll:

I see it painted hot pink with lime green flames.... but that's just me...

Thanks Ken. Forgot to mention that your photography is first rate! Welcome aboard!

Ken, Your work is first rate and I am happy to have you join MCM forums. You will make a great addition to our little "family" of modelers. As I mentioned in my email to you, please include your full name in the signature bar. That update can be found in the Profile section of this forum. Thank you very much and I hope to see your work posted often!! Jairus

Welcome aboard! No password needed unless you want one... If you have enabled your "cookies" then your web browser will log on to MCM forums automatically. Enjoy! 8)

glen, Check out the "FAQ" section of this board. All the clues to posting pictures and the mysteries of life are explained.

Yeah... more light! You can never have too much light... As for the truck, I really like the hood side trim delete. Actually, the whole truck has a neat uniform look and stance. Very nice build! 8)

I held off adding my two cents till now... however, I gotta add something. What is the purpose of adding foreign engines? Is someone really going to ask where to find, say.... a Subaru flat 4? Hmmmmm? The reason for this list... at least at the beginning of the thread was for the purposes of engine swapping! Otherwise, most kits already include the correct engine. At least that is what I thought.... Adding a foreign engine defeats the purpose unless the engine applies itself to Street Rodding such as a cool Columbo designed Ferrari V12 (arr, arr, arr). Otherwise, this list would probably be most useful if confined to some parameters such as Street Rodding or Hot Rodding.... or ? Opinions?

Welcome aboard Len! Sit down, keep your arms and legs inside the car and hang onnnnnnnnn......

That's the fever alright! There is no cure except spending all you got on cars, controllers and faster motors.... We have two tracks within an hour away... no make that three... but nothing in town. I have never left slot cars totally. Just put them away for a while when models and art, kids and life got in the way. Yes, I have the fever. Had it since 1969 actually. 8) Here's one I recently finished...

I didn't touch this thread and I am just as much in the dark.... :?:

The following illustrations are what I used for the hood of the ’69 Mustang GT Convertible. The view is seen from the underside of the body looking past the cowel toward the hood. Hinges are attached directly to the underside of the cowel. Firewall is not shown. Top illustration (A) is of a normal hood hinge. This image is show for clarity. No springs are used to keep it open however the same basic geometry and attachment points are used for the sprung hinge. Lower illustration ( is the sprung hinge and uses two pieces of wire bent in mirror images of each other. Hinge on the left crosses over the right and is attached under the right fender. Right hinge rod is locked down on the left. If the rods are bent right, when the rods are locked down they will be under tension. Thus the rod becomes the spring ala: “torsion rodâ€! This model is a custom 62 Chevy so the mounts are not normal. They were cantilevered under the windshield since there is no cowl to speak of. However, the basics are the same…. Note that the hinge is like the upper illustration (A) but with a single torsion spring pushing against one leg of the hood hinge. The latch in the actual Mustang model may differ a tiny bit from this illustration but the basic parts are the same. The actuator rod is a tiny piece of wire that pushes against the long locking rod/hook to make it un-latch. Another option is that the long rod/hook can drop below the front bumper/valance inorder for it to be actuated by the fingertip. If it is painted black it will blend with the rest of the details under the car and be virtually invisible. This picture demonstrates the “below-the-bumper†hood actuator.

Rear panel is removed from the ’70 Boss body and a new one formed with evergreen sheet. Holes were cut so the Revell ’69 taillights would fit. Gas cap base was built up so that the GT cap would fit. Not sure where the cap came from but it does say “GTâ€! Note the fender crease in front of the bumper ends that had to be built up with evergreen. Those, along with the quarter fender “vents†are only on ’69 coupes and convertibles, were scratch built! Rear seat is directly out of the 70 Boss. It is not totally correct but… what are you going to do? The front seats however, are also out of the ’70 and the seat pattern is totally correct. However I had to cut off the top of the seat back and mold a new set of head rests. This was the last year for adjustable headrests. Oh yes, the seats fold forward in this car, even though I didn’t open the doors…. Grille is lifted directly from the Revell ’69 Mach 1 along with the outer headlights. The “sugar scoop†headlight buckets are built up from evergreen and putty. Hundreds of hours in this part of the car and I am still not satisfied with the result. I hope one of the manufacturers will someday create an accurate ’69 kit! Her name is “Dona†and she is helping me, so please be nice with the comments! Working the hood latch, just like the real car, opens Hood! It can be manipulated with just a fingertip. The hood is sprung so that it stands open with out having to use a prop rod. Later posts will demonstrate this feature along with the details on the latch. Engine is a 428 CJ out of the Revell ’69 Shelby along with the complete exhaust system however; the tips were replaced with aluminum tube. The differences in scale required a slight amount of lengthen’g behind the resonators. This is a common problem when sourcing parts from differing scale kits! That’s all for now.

I receive a lot of emails asking how do you do this or that? Well, in the interest of showing some ideas for kit modification and working features I will start this thread with the most recent question… How did you build that Mustang? Read on…. This 1969 Mustang GT Convertible was built as my dream car. Unfortunately there were only 3 GT Convertibles ever built with a 428 Cobra Jet engine and a shaker hood scoop. My chances of owning one are about as remote as winning the lottery or dating a supermodel. At any rate, a fellow modeler asked me how I built it so I thought I would post the pictures and answer his questions here so that all members of MCM Forums could benefit. This thread is for everyone so feel free to share your ideas too! The biggest problem with this project was that there are no 1969 Mustang Convertibles or no 1969 GT Mustang kits on the market! AMT had a coupe but I am not sure if it was a GT…. At any rate, the entry fee for that kit is much too high to consider using it for parts. Even so, I used a mix of parts from quite a few other kits! Starting point was a 1/24th scale 1970 Boss 429 from Monogram. The reason I started with this kit was primarily the scale. I already had a Boss 302 in that scale and had started a 72 Mach 1. I wanted them to be able to sit next to each other on the shelf. Should this have been built out of a 1/25th scale kit then it would have looked slightly smaller next to the other two cars. First step was the removal of the roof and re-sculpting of the back deck. Trunk lid opening was scribed in. Top boot is built up with two-part epoxy putty. For any other builders... I would suggest using the Revell/Monogram 1969 Mach 1 as a starting point instead. That way you already have the correct front and rear fascia. The interior panels will only be standard but if you want deluxe ... you'll also have to get the '69 Shelby. Both kits are 1/25th scale and parts are interchangeable between the two. I used many of the parts from both these kits for my car but had to totally modify all panels to convert the '70 into a '69. A LOT of work and took me many years to finish. Note the deluxe interior in the above picture. The door panels were built up using two-part epoxy putty. The wood grain inset was produced on my computer and printed out. Note that the center console has been removed! Another trick is to permanently attach the chassis to the body. This strengthens the unit to allow the huge amount of handling required for filling, sanding and painting. I would not suggest this if your building a coupe unless you like building a "ship-in-a-bottle" type model.... The door panels were cut from the interior bucket so I could work on them separate but flanges were attached inside to allow the panels to be mounted quickly and not fall into the inside of the door. Doors were not cut open on this car. The only working features are the hood/hood latch and working steering. However, opening doors would have been fairly simple and straightforward, even if it had added a huge amount of work!

Billy, what's the problem? Is it something that I can help you with? If so... PM me. 8)

Welcome Darin! Gregg is spelled with two "G"s at the end..... means he's more complicated than the normal Greg. :-)

AMT's '69 Mustang Mach 1

Mal.au, Please post your real name in the "Profile" section of this board. That way we will all know who you are and what name to put the Christmas card! Thanks! 8)

Jags, Wow, what a loaded question! Lots of good info if someone answers this question with a few diagrams and pictures but the simplest answer is look at a 1/1 engine of the car your building and work towards creating the illusion that it is real. What I am saying is that you don't need all the little coil, batt. and ignition wires that the real car has unless they are very obvious or stand out. Other than that, get a drill the same size as the wire you are using and start drilling holes before painting. (Note: The next issue of MCM has a neat tip for drilling holes. So, pick up the issue when it hits the stands!) By the way, please post your name in the signature box in the profile section! Thank you! Drill your holes where the spark plugs go into the heads or through the valve covers. Then file flat the distributor and drill holes in there too. Paint the engine block. Route your wires just like the 1/1 car and glue with superglue. Add the little ignition wires, battery and coil wires as needed. It's really that simple! Your first wiring job is not going to win awards but it will give you valuable experience for the future. Experience is the only way to make your work look better and better. Good luck!