foghorn62

Just a sweet little ride Claude! Nothing wrong with taking “a few little liberties”, and making it your own. That is my preferred approach. Replicas are challenging in their own right for sure, but originality has its place as well. As for your watchmaker friend, he is absolutely correct. I see lots of guys going to larger scale and cramming as much detail in as they can, but the jewel like appearance of the smaller scale still impresses me the most.

Thanks for stopping by Joe, and thanks for your kind words! They are very much appreciated!

Thank you very much Trevor! Hopefully I’ll have some new stuff to post very soon.

Thank you David! I appreciate that very much!

Thanks Mike! This is 1/25 scale.

Thank you very much Bob!

Hi Francis, I use mostly .010 sheet brass for sheet metal work that requires any shaping. It is thick enough to be workable and not wrinkle like thinner metal would tend to do, and also can be stretched and shaped well. I use a small shaping hammer and pound into a sand bag for my initial shape, then against a hardwood buck, or a small anvil to smooth it out. I do use a little heat sometimes, if I am doing any stretching, with a micro flame torch, but very sparingly. Usually, only if I am working on a small area. Too much heat can cause real problems with warpage. In corners, and edges, I solder a piece of solid brass rod like 1/16” or so as a backer, so I can round over the edge with a file. Of course, If you are trying to do anything radicle, you may need to snip some cuts into your metal here and there and solder in other pieces to fill the gaps. I see your friend Randy Ditton doing that quite a bit on his birdcage Maserati project. His work totally blows me away! I can only dream of doing something as challenging as that some day. As for chassis rails, I use a lot of rectangular box tubing. I don’t use any heat when forming a chassis rail. I simply bend the tubing with my fingers, for gentle curves, or over the horn of my little anvil for for more aggressive curves, making sure to go very slow, bend a little at a time, and allow the metal to rest frequently. For extreme curves, and corners, I will use several pie cuts depending on how sharp of a curve I am trying to make. I can’t wait to see what you come up with when you start doing this kind of work Francis! With your talent, and perfectionist approach, I know you will be blowing us all away in no time at all.

Thank you very much Pat!

LOL!!! I guess until they get the border a little more open, we’ll just have to settle for drooling on our own builds, rather than each other’s. You know me Francis, I’m a sheet metal guy, while you’re the precision machinist. It would be fun if we could share each other’s strengths on a collaboration, although I doubt I could live up to your perfectionist standards. Thank you very much for your encouraging words though, they always inspire me!

Time flies when you’re having fun! Not! It’s hard to believe that when I took what was supposed to be a fairly short break from my favorite hobby to get some things done on my wife’s honey do list, it would be over nine months before I had a chance to return to my model car bench. Well that’s how long it’s been, but yesterday, I was finally able to open this box and refresh my memory as to what I was working on when I put it away last February. I know I had just about wrapped up the rear suspension, and started on the front. I made a new front axle, but the rest of the front suspension still needs to be made. I will be making quarter elliptical leaf springs, wishbones, new dropped spindles, tie rod, rod ends,… I’m planning to make four new wire wheels, and most likely drum brakes. Before getting started on all that though, I decided to go ahead and poke a hole in the hood for the velocity stacks to breath through. I also decided to install new motor mounts that would raise the engine about 3/64”, which is pretty close to 1” in scale. It gave me some much needed ground clearance, which allowed me to adjust the stance a little bit. I also like the way the velocity stacks look better now. Before this build is done, I intend to machine twelve new aluminum velocity stacks to replace the ones in these pics. I really hope I will be able to stay with this build now and see it through to completion, although I expect it will be some time before I can call it done. In the mean time, I promise to check in from time to time and post some updates as I make significant progress. Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoy!

Well Pat, sadly at this point in my life, the possibility of me ever making it to an event that involves more than a single day away is pretty slim. My wife is unable to travel, and I am dedicated to her as her full time caregiver. Having the opportunity to share ideas and builds on forums like this one, are what make it all worthwhile for me.

Hi Tim! First of all, I want to apologize to Pat. Pat, I really didn’t want to step on your thread with my build. I was only wanting to share what I had done of a similar nature in support of your fine efforts, and say that I like your build better than my own. Mine is still unfinished on my bench, so I haven’t been able to get some decent pictures of it to post it’s own thread. I should point out though that mine is a toy hauler, meant as a showcase for my little Baja buggy that I built a couple of years ago, not a Suburban and boat. I do agree though that it would be very cool to get the various Suburban and ???s together in one setting. The Suburban lends itself so well to the concept of tow vehicle for outdoor fun. I’d love to see what others have come up with! Here is a pic of mine in its full configuration.

Hi Pat! I just came across your thread, and I love it! Your Suburban looks fantastic, and the boat is going to be awesome! I’ve got a few pics of a build that I did using the same Suburban kit, and a toy hauler trailer. I did a trailer hitch/jack that looks quite similar to yours, and a hitch receiver for the truck. I wound up taking the spare tire, making a cover for it and putting it inside agains the left rear wall of the interior, in order to make room for the trailer hitch underneath. Also, I’ve got a boat project that I’ve been working on using a 62 Tbird. I’ll use a matching tow car to pull it. the Jack wheel and stem slides down and locks using the handle position, to support the trailer tongue when uncoupled from the tow vehicle.

Hi Tim! Thanks for your as always excellent coverage of one of the best model car events of the year! I continue to be amazed at the outstanding quality that has come along in recent years. I only returned to the hobby about four years ago, and what I see is very inspiring indeed. Shows like h this one, the ACME Southern Nats show, and the Eastern Nats show, and others certainly don’t disappoint. There is undoubtedly also a sizable number of very impressive builds as a result of the COVID imposed shut ins that have or will come out to be seen recently and in the near future. I also look forward to seeing our northern borders opened up so that our Canadian friends can once again participate. I know for certain that there are quite a few very high quality builds by masterful artists, just aching to step into the light. Fun times!

Simply gorgeous as always Francis! I share your frustration with not having time to work on your hobby due to summertime projects and commitments. Everything has its time and place. I look forward to a little snow flying so I can get back to my hobby bench, but in the mean time I try to follow your progress as much as possible, in order to stay inspired for whenever I do get back to it. Enjoy the rest of your summer and autumn Francis! This beauty will be awaiting you whenever you are able. tcottc

With that engine sitting under it, anything will look right! Have you thought about turning the scoop around so the tapered part faces front and the opening toward the rear? Just a thought. TCOTTC

Well, I guess I’ll throw my bagged and tubbed shop truck into the mix. I couldn’t stand the fact that the AMT kit didn’t include a Ford engine of any sort, so I decided to back half a 2013 Boss 302 frame and stuff a Coyote under the hood.

Sweet work as always Francis! The more this build comes together, the more I marvel at what a thing of beauty the whole assembly becomes. The individual parts are each amazing in their own right, but seeing them assembled together, each with it’s own function yet in concert with the others just boggles the mind. The sum of the parts is far greater than the individual. Each member of the orchestra is a master, but the symphony is the true work of art! TCOTTC

Not insignificant by any means, and when done well, it stands out as one of those details that sets an outstanding build apart from a merely really good one. Yours, like every other aspect of this build is a thing of beauty. Photo etch brake line clips, flair nuts... Nuts! I have said before that final assembly is my least favorite, and most terrifying part of the build. That loss of patience is probably the most likely culprit. I know you’ll persevere in grand style! TCOTTC

Not much chance of that. My biggest challenge is to learn from your demonstrated mastery and apply that newly learned technique in such a way that doesn’t completely embarrass me when compared to your original. Currently, those hood hinges have got me very frustrated. Try as I have, I just have not been able to come up with something that I would consider acceptable. Forget about comparable. TCOTTC

Wow Craig!!! If that’s what you call “junk”, I’d really love to see the stuff you’re happy with! Nice custom work, and beautiful paint! The long winters up there in the UP must have given you plenty of time to hone your skills!

I don’t think I was really “aware” of your mastery of this hobby until the August 1970 issue of Car Model Magazine came out with it’s coverage of the 1970 show. In that issue, I was amazed that this 15 year old was building such advanced models. You won Best Detail for your entries that year with things like working drivetrain, throttle, steering, and dipstick. Who does that at fifteen years old anymore? I made sure that I hung around the MPC booth as much as possible the following year, in hopes that I could get to meet the legendary Tim Boyd. I’m proud to say that we developed a friendship after that meeting that although went different ways as life developed, still invokes fond memories. So now I’m wondering, about getting you to design me a house.

I’m thinking that there is at least one, if not more books just dying to be written about all of the “special” items included in various kits over the years. Bicycles, motorcycles, boats, surf boards, camping gear, garage gear, trailers, figures... the list goes on and on. Now who would be knowledgeable enough to write such a book? It should be someone that has familiarity with the kits, has writing experience, and has time on his hands. Perhaps this person has already written several books about various aspects of the hobby. Hmmmm...

Gerald, I agree that the changes that you made turned this into a much more believable trike, but you also have to understand that the original inspiration for the Tiki Trike was the work of a fellow by the name of Denny Johnson, who was also the creator of the Zingers. Denny won Best In Show at the 1970 Detroit Autorama MPC Model Car Customizing Contest with the T’Rantula trike. That was the same show where he introduced three little builds that caught the eye of the MPC management, called the Zingers. Believability was never a requirement in those days.

This thread could indeed go on and on. There is a FB group for the Pharoahs Car Club in which I and several others noted here are members. Don Graham is a VP of the club, and although primarily a 1/1 car club, many members are builders in all scales. The great Gene Winfield is a frequent guest. For those who aren’t aware, Gene was a board member, and influence behind the now defunct International Car Modelers Association (ICMA), back in the late 60s and early 70s. TS