foghorn62

Thank you David!

Thank you all, for taking a look, and your nice comments! Your interest is very encouraging to me and greatly appreciated! TS

Thank you Carl!

Thanks Bob!

Thanks Ian! Yes, if you are familiar with Auto Air, you will have no problem with Wicked. They are the same company, and the paints are the same base. The wicked line has wilder colors and pearls.

Thanks Rusty! Believe it or not, there is no flake in it. There is however a ton of pearl that really makes it sparkle under the lights! TS

Took over fifty three years, but I’m finally able to call this one done. Started with a MPC 69 GTO Convertible screw bottom kit. Found a chassis and engine bay parts pack for a Revell 68 Chevelle on EBay, and it fit perfectly. Up top and windshield frame from a Revell 72 Olds 442 kit, also fit perfectly. Pontiac 400 and interior are original MPC parts. Wheels are 3D printed centers, with Dancing Bear turned outer rings, and scratch made aluminum inners. Paint is Wicked Pearl Orange water base, Wicked Gold, Cosmic Sparkle, and a dash of ground dry pearl, with three thin coats of House of Color clear urethane.

Hmmm, does that include 1/1s? I don’t know how many you have currently, but I’m sure there is at least one. Maybe they could just put my stuff in the garage with me and set it on fire. Nah, that would be too messy. We’ll have to come up with something else. TCOTT

Claude, I’ll admit, I am one of those that has spent time wondering what will happen to my builds and all of my stuff when I am gone, but recently I have begun to ask myself why I care. I enjoy building these things, so as long as I like to do it, I might as well go ahead and do it. Once I’m gone, I certainly won’t care what happens to them! As for this build, well Claude, your creativity is unmatched! As an organizer and judge national championship model car events, I learned that there are four basic things to remember. Paint, and cleanliness of build will get you noticed. Originality and detail will get you trophies. You must have a room fill of trophies my friend! TCOTT

As I review your work on this thread, some 59 pages and counting, my mind wonders, where and how you keep all of the tiny pieces that you have made until you are ready for them? Like so many tiny precious stones, each a masterpiece in its own right, waiting to take its place in the final symphony. Are they each wrapped, labeled, and carefully preserved, or are they all in a box together to be dumped out and sorted? After all this time, your skill level has undoubtedly improved. Do you ever find yourself wanting to go back and remake parts that you have already checked off, because you have discovered ways of doing things that you previously assumed were beyond your skill level? Is anything beyond your skill level? Just my mind wondering on a snowy Saturday morning. TCOTT

Very exciting to see it coming together Francis! That color really pops! Really does a nice job of showcasing all over your beautiful craftsmanship! I can’t imagine that you still have more parts to make. You have so many individual pieces of jewelry. The time and craftsmanship that you have put into each tiny piece is astounding! The final result will need to highlight each little piece. TCOTT

Thanks Tim! That is very high praise, coming from such a gifted machinist and fabricator as yourself! I enjoy mostly sheet metal, hammer and dolly, and solder fabrication, but I would love to have just a portion of the machine skills that you and others one this board have! Be that as it may, I am excited to share this build with anyone that is interested! TS

Thank you very much Dennis! TS

Thank you Bruce! I highly appreciate your good words! TS

Thanks Jim!

Wow, that is high praise indeed! Thanks for that! TS

Yes, Tim Boyd introduced me to Chuck at the 1975 Detroit Autorama, when I was running the MPC Contest booth. Chuck, with a big grin on his face, handed me a wide body IMSA style Corvette, which went on to win Best In Show at that show. Tim Boyd, and Tom Woodruff (that’s him that started this post above), and Chuck were good buddies, and the three of them later got together to form NNL, which Chuck named.

I just received this news a short while ago, and I am stunned. I’ve known Chuck since the early 1970s, when as a judge and organizer of many of the MPC shows, I had the pleasure of examining his awesome models under a magnifying glass. In 1977, I along with two others had the distinct pleasure of awarding Chuck with the National Championship title. I am proud to call Chuck my good friend, and I am saddened by the news of his passing. I was thinking just yesterday that it was getting to be time for him to head down to Florida for the Tigers fantasy Spring Training Camp, where he loved to go to work out with the team, and had done so every year for as long as I’ve known him. Farewell my friend. Clear the bases and take a victory lap! We’re all cheering for you! Tim Slesak

If you haven’t seen any of Doug’s YouTube videos yet, you owe it to yourself to check them out. His series is called “Model Car Muse”, and can be found by searching that name in YouTube. Doug’s approach is very professional and serious, and covers a wide variety of topics related to our hobby, with an adult’s perspective. From the people, to the events, and the “how to”s I have learned some new things, seen some “old” friends, and enjoyed his topics in each addition. We are fortunate to have a person like Doug, with his professional expertise combined with his level of personal interest and ability in our hobby, to apply his talents to these videos!

No, the ramps are not included in the recent kits that I listed above. I scratch build a couple of ramps to go with my trailer. Pretty easy scratch build. TS

Well, make one! I expect nothing less than a ratchet with interchangeable sockets.?

“I added some red color to simulate the armature. Maybe I'll do one on the next one...?” Maybe you’ll do an armature on the next one? Sure why not? How small can you get? .020 end mill??? Do you break many of those? Seriously Francis, you already have me babbling, and then you pull something like this! TCOTT

The trailer that I show in my pics above is identical to Kits trailer, as well as Tim Boyds restored “glue bomb”. It came from the Fireball 500 kit, and the only difference is that it came as a tandem axle, and included no ramps. They converted the single axle to tandem by adding a pair of “duel wheel brackets” as seen on the instruction sheet above. It can easily be converted back to single axle by simply eliminating those brackets. The same trailer can be found in the much more recent issue Piranha Street N Strip Drag Team, and the Grand Prix D’Amerique Cobra Racing team combo kits.

That same trailer came in a lot of different AMT kits. I don’t know when it was first issued, but I know that it also came by itself in one of the plain box kits. I’m guessing that it was first issued sometime in the late 60s. It currently shows up in the various race team kits, and also in the Fireball 500 kit, which is where I got the one in these pics. It came as a tandem axle setup, but it is simple to convert to a single axle. I also moved the axle back to improve balance, and added a couple of fenders scratch built out of a cap from a shampoo bottle that my wife gave me. The Fireball kit didn’t include ramps, so I scratch made those too.

Hi Francis, You know I’m really excited to see that you’re starting your finish work! But then, I’m really excited to see every phase of this project that you share with us! What brand/s and type/s of paint/s have you decided to use for your exterior paint job? Do you have any issues with painting during wintertime there? Have you considered water base paint? Always anxious to see what you come up with next. TCOTT