Jairus

I agree with Mike! This drill press was purchased at a Garage Sale for $10. It is variable speed and sits comfortably on the top of my workbench. The Chuck was missing when I got it so I called a tool repair shop and they had one for.... you guessed: $10. Total cost: $20. The usefulness of this item: priceless!

Please explain how I am proving your point please? Hostility? I never used the angry face... like you did Andy! This statement suggests that those who strap bomb vests to their bodies and detonate them in a crowd of innocent people are equal to my church youth group that collect canned goods for the poor and helps out at the soup kitchen here in Salem, Oregon. Or did I mis-interpret you somehow?

Are you crazy Andy? Of course some are better than others! It is obvious due to the fact that wars are WON and lost over this very motive and the fact that life continues to exist on this planet. I am not, so please speak for yourself!

The Swastika was just a symbol and as many have said, represents many things to many people. A symbol is nothing without a “belief in a cause†behind it. In this case it is just a plastic model kit with waterslide decals. Big freaking deal!!! If you GIVE it value beyond that, then you are buying into the thought that the symbol has inherent power. Incidentally Satan has no magical power on this earth! (yet, but that is another story) Hitler had no magical power on this earth! Symbols, ouiji boards and pentastars have no inherent power on this earth! Only GOD has power on and over this earth! It’s just a stupid black and white image, it means nothing unless you GIVE it that power! If you were blind, you could not see it and therefore it would have no power over you. It’s all a matter of perspective. Seeing it as such does not disrespect those who died in the struggle unless you choose those racial views yourself…. To those who do not respect History…. The famed historian Santa Anna said: “Those who do not know their history are condemned to repeat it!†Many world-conquers depended on this fact including Adolph Hitler. What does this mean? It means that if you do not know the signs of repression, communism, socialism, loss of freedoms, condemnation and control in the name of security…. Then it will happen to you before you know enough to make changes when you have the chance. This is happening to the American people right now and unfortunately most American’ are too medicated with drugs, sex, mowing the lawn and reality TV to know the difference. So if you don’t mind paying more than 50% of your income to the government…. Keep voting for the idiots and we will have socialism in our lifetime! Mark my words. The Swastika is nothing but a symbol of a dead and now powerless movement. DO NOT FEAR IT! It’s just a decal. Is it tasteless, yes probably!? Not enough to burn the kit but in my opinion who cares? Build the bug as a Cal-look and save the decals for nice 1:48th scale German WWII Fighter because the political-correctness-nazis ARE having them banned from model airplane kits unless you have not noticed … The heat in the pan is being slowly turned up to boiling…

Virgil, You may have a point... but I believe it goes deeper than just Skulls and dark macabre themes. I am pretty sure that it is more visceral and psychological than the addition of a little skeleton figure! I think the judges at GSL are.... (gasp) "Weathered Challenged"! Yes, I strongly believe that the individuals who make the judgmental decisions have a strong bias against flat finished model cars believing that a winner in the Street Rod class or Custom class need fit a certain TEMPLATE in order to take the gold! Maybe it is a prejudice against military modelers or maybe more simply a preconceived aptitude towards shiny paint. Whatever the reason, the obvious truth is that any car not containing enough bright work to attract a crow will not even be looked at, passed over, excused and immune to any class win at the Greater Salt Lake International Model Car Contest! P.S. Not only that, but it would beat the pants off of Andy's V12 roadster right at the starting line in a 1:1 race due to his use of wire rims! Just imagine the shape those rims would be in after dumping the clutch...

You guys are too cool! Virgil and I love the fact that this dirty... rusty, and rotting piece is sooo well received. Makes me wonder why it was passed over at the GSL XXI for the inaccurate and hack piece that won in the street rod class. But that is for another thread...

I'd ask for a beer but I don't want to make a mess on your driveway.... Very cool dio buddy!

You can get "repair" packages of fiberglass (resin, hardener and cloth) at the local hardware or autoparts stores. (Not to mention the auto paint store....) The amount they give you is enough for your project but pick up two packages just to make sure. As for the engine detail..... adding an engine is up to you. However, you HAVE to included a driver or cockpit and those ribs will get in the way..... At any rate, the engine hatch lines should be included so once the interior is cleaned out, glass in a flange and screw back down the engine cover. Nobody needs to see detail you don't want to show! Jairus

Very cool project! I don't know your name.... but please keep posting progress. If you will accept a suggestion.... I would layout the body skin in fiberglass. That way you can cut open the engine cover and pull out your ribs and interior mold. The shell will be smooth and very strong, plus accept lots of rubbing for a very shiny finish!

How about a 1932 Dusenberg town coupe with the body work behind the drivers seat replaced with a flat bed and tow hook?

Very nice! Are there more pictures of other parts of this Dio... ? I will search. Suggestion: You did nothing wrong here that I can see and you may be considering this step, but I would airbrush Floquil "Flat Finish" and "Dust" lightly over any part of the Diorama that will no longer be touched. This last step blends the colors (Especially the "Dust") and flattens to more realistic finish. The work that you have done thus far is first rate! Way to go, cannot wait to see more!

Congratulations Don! Lifting one in your honor. Lee, that post could be taken negatively.... or humorously. Maybe you want to clarify?

The lacquer paint you have is made by Practra for spraying on the inside of Lexan RC and slot car bodies. It is fairly thin and can be sprayed without thinning... but I usually thin it anyway. However, you cannot brush that paint! It has to be sprayed... Practra lacquers won't stick to metal items or styrene. It is not really hot enough to attack styrene and will peel off with little provocation but sticks wonderfully to Lexan. Best primer on the planet for models is Plas-t-kote gray. You can sand it and spray either lacquer or enamel over it. And it goes on thin enough that you don't need to worry about details getting filled in. My suggestion is to prime the "springs" first and then spray the Comp. Orange with an airbrush..... or mix up some Testors enamel bright yellow with a tiny bit of Italian red and brush that on. Ciao!

Thought you might ask.... Slotforum is basically a European forum and includes a lot of German and Swiss slot racers. Some of their abilities to scratchbuild rival a lot of model car sites I frequent. Slot Car Illustrated? is another good site for 1:32 scale racers. Both are good sites to watch and many of these guys spend a lot of money on 1:32 scale cars while building up their home tracks to the level of a master Train layout in the basement. I belong to both of these plus a couple of others but one is mostly Vintage stuff and the other are Wing car and Eurosport racers primarily. Jairus

Jody, There are only two classes of slot racers that use plastic in 1/24 and those would be Drag and NASCAR. Drag is because they are not concerned with a high center of gravity and scale appearance is very important. NASCAR because it is scale appearance thing but it makes the cars slow in the turns unless you add lots of weight to the chassis. Resin and plastic are huge in 1/32 scale and that is their primary material used for even chassis scratchbuilding. The market is very big here in the US and monsterous in Europe! However, what to produce is going to be a matter of dedicated research for you. Best method is to find the sites where most of the guys hang out and just read. Then buy something new and HOT from Scalectrix or Fly and see what you can come up with for it like a Replacement body, detail set, etc. Frankly, I think the market in 1/32 scale slots may be a more lucrative market than scale models in 1/24th.... But that is just me...

Finished the "Ride of the Rat" this evening.... ! Eventhough I love building vintage racing slot car stuff, my secrete desire is to build neat cool little thingys like this: The ol'Fink himself looks quite comfortable in there.... Side windows were removed so the big injected rat motor can breath! This vintage DuBro body comes pre-painted. The front headlights were cleaned of paint and new vac-formed reflectors added for realism. A side note is that I, like others, thought that these bodies were painted in a clear tint and then silver... NOT the case! These bodies were formed in colored Lexan, Byuterate or Acetate and then painted silver. Very interesting! Under the sheets we find a Dynamic chassis and K&B Bobcat 36D motor-vation with paintbrush ferrels used as for a duel stinger exhaust! Some parting notes as the "Fink" drives away.... This project was built with all vintage or repro parts. The decals and engine details were from MPC repop's of Roth trike kits (Thanks to John at Retro Hobby!) The Fink was from a key chain toy... and no more need be said.... Ciao

I contacted Norm at Replica & Miniatures of Maryland (Thanks Bill!) and he sent me a set of his resin "Flip-open" gas caps. The question came up on a Slot Car forum and I asked here because.... well, this is the best place to ask scale questions! Norm responded very quickly and the product is smoothly polished, well packaged and finely detailed. I highly recommended it to the person who asked me the question and I post the same info here just incase there is someone reading this looking for the same. The first picture was two of the caps painted with Testors Model Master polishing aluminum: The one on the left was lightly polished with the Q-tip, the one on the right.... not. These were treated to a glossy coat of black and then alclad. Very pretty huh? Norm makes some nice stuff! Norm's email is: replmincomd@aol.com or call at: 410-768-3648 to order a catalog for $4.00. Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Md. 317 Roosevelt Ave SW Glen Burnie, MD 21061 P.S. Thanks for all the help guys and thanks for the offer Brendan!

Anyone here know of a resin or aftermarket manufactuer offering a flip open fuel cap? The cap was very popular on Indy cars from the 60's and even found it self on the tail 1971 Mustang Mach 1! As far as I know, nobody but Mini Exotics lists anything close but the listing for Mini Exotics shows not picture other than the word "Small". What the heck does that mean? An example of what I am looking for is found in the Monogram Shelby 427 Cobra kit.

Thanks guys! I am touched... which might explain a whole lot.....

That would be a MAJOR modification to the body mold Bill! However, being the master craftsman you are... that would be a simple fix for you to accomplish! Sounds like a great kit there Larry, thanks for the information! (Pictures would be nice tho....)

The Victoria uses a Convertible windshield frame and roof line. The 2 door sedan, 4 door sedan and Stationwagon use a slightly taller roof line. The Lindberg kit is a Victora, therefore if you are going to add 4 door, door lines then you need to add posts and raise the roof slightly. This is a 4 door wagon master that I did for Jimmy Flintstone..... ... and yeah, I raised the roof!

Raise the roof!

Duh

I wonder why they didn't run a headrest on that one? The styling is very similar to early roadsters and a headrest would flair into the body very nicely. All in all a very beautiful build!