David G.

They do look good in black, don't they? Did you foil all that trim? I painted mine with Testors Metalizer, it's not bad but it's not as shiney as I would have liked. If you're interested here's a link to mine. Looks like your paint came out better too.

Wow! Very nice. What kit is that? I'd like to get one of those.

Great work, especially the bottom, rear bumper and engine bay. Subtle shade and tone variations within a particular color pallet are the key to convincing weathering, and you've nailed it!

Do you have an extra guitar string? The B string is usually best. I'd offer to send you one, but I play bass and all the strings I have are wound strings. Even the thinnest flat-wound string I have would be about as thick as a 1/25th scale garden hose. In the right guage, steel bailing wire might work. There's also bead wire, though I've never worked with that. If I come up with other options, I'll let you know. Regards, David G.

Brian, that antenna is huge! You might want to think about replacing it with wire or something. Seriously, it looks like a sidepipe on top of the fender. Other than that, what you've done so far looks really good.

Must be the boss. A very cool concept well executed. It looks like a set for one of those "how to" shows.

Very Cool! The more I see these, the more I want to build one. You said the pics are old, do you still have the diorama?

Excellent engine detail! I love these old cars.

Same here, but I could never wait a week for the car to dry completely. In N.E. Ohio where I did most of my work, there was always water, mud, rust and/or ice falling dripping and/or pooling under anything I pulled into a garage or work bay- especially after a pressure wash. Trying to clean it sometimes just made matters worse. But here in Phoenix, it's a very different story. Things stay clean and dry and don't tend to rust. I think back when I was working on cars in OH, I would have gladly put up with the 100+ degree temps here in Phx to not have to deal with the damp, dirty, gritty, rusted cars. Now I'm not so sure. The point I think we're trying to make Jim, is that there are always options to explore when you're trying to tell a story. As long as everything works together to advance the plot, then it works! Let's give Monte his thread back, now.

That would work, but there'd be dirt and water on the floor!

I have to agree here. The body looks great, but the engine and surrounding bay are waaaaay too clean. In a car this old and beat up, the engine would be little more than a black, greasy lump. Also some dirt on the floor under and around the car would add a bit more to the realism, It's a very cool concept. For years, I've wanted to do a series something like this. The vaguely formed plan was to get 10 identical model kits and use them as 10 "snapshots" that would follow a complete restoration on a car. Much like what you've got going here. What you've done with the body rust and paint is excellent! David G.

Rules Rule! See, I knew I couldn't have said it better!

Try some liquid latex mold making material. In model railroading we use it to make castings for rock faces and other things, you should be able to use it to cast resin side moldings. I have a 16oz. jar by Woodland Scenics I picked up at the LHS a couple of years ago for $13.95. Regards, David G.

I was able to attend on Thursday, I got there early and spent all morning roaming among the vendors' tables and just having a good time. There wern't many contest entries set up on Thursday, but I was quite impressed with what I saw. The automotive entries were fantastic, but the bulk of the entries on display were military, aviation, etc., and I enjoyed all of it. Let's face it, a good model is a good model and of everything I saw on those tables, "good" was at the lowest end of a scale without any apparent upper limit. I also had the opportunity to meet Gregg and some of his staffers in person. It was a true pleasure to meet the "man behind the magic" as it were, and to thank him personally for all the work he does to advance and promote our hobby and give us misfits a place to call home on this forum. Thanks again, Gregg! Thanks also to everybody who had a hand in planning, operating, promoting and supporting IPMS 2010. Regards, David G.

I got this as a birthday gift last month from my wife. I had some trouble deciding what color to paint it. I was tired of my typical chosen colors, blue, red, black, etc. Then I saw a can of pink that was left over from one of my wife's gag gift projects. I thought, "Pink, this is perfect, I hate pink!" I decided to step out of my comfort zone and do something I wouldn't normally do. Build a pink model car. I've spent the past week or two adjusting the suspension and ride height. I have to lift the rear of the body a bit to clear the racing slicks I want to put on the back. This is just a mock-up, nothing's been glued at this point. That's why it looks a bit wonky. Another view of my home made lift shackles. Thanks for looking. As always, comments, advise and suggestions are always welcome. Thanks, David G.

You've really captured that "fresh from the Outback" look. The the mud is very well done, as are the details you've added.

I plan on going Thursday, From what I've seen on the IPMS web site it looks like everything is set to start at 9:00 AM on Thursday. Is this the case or is there other information that I'm not aware of?

It took us a while, but, for the most part, we seem to have finally met in the middle. I'm still not sure I agree with you on the second point, but I do see your reasoning behind it. Personally, I would still refer to your second example as a kitbash, but that's just me. No hard feelings, I hope. Regards, David G.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but this is a very important subject to me. As a model builder, artist and musician, I've had IPs stolen, misused or misappropriated on different occasions. To have someone else receive the credit for something I've created is one of the worst feelings I've known. David G.

I'm sorry, but I, along with most of the modelers I know would define this as a kitbash. Though you've added some panels and beams to the sleeper, the majority of the unit's character is defined by the end pieces which came from a kit. Had you used raw styrene to form and replace the blue pieces provided by the kit, that would be scratchbuilt. Please understand that I'm not trying to detract from any of the work you've done. There's a lot of work involved in a modification like that, but, as I see it, when most of the identifying characteristics of a model come from pieces that were provided by a kit, that's kitbashing. David G.

Good start on the dragstrip! How about starting on the laundry! Just kidding, the dragstrip will be a cool and clever way to photo and display your builds. I've been thinking about building some type of diorama myself, but I haven't settled on what yet.

I have four built and on display, two that I've given away and one packed away in a box. Unbuilt, I have six boxed kits and four or five bagged kits I've picked up at swap meets. There is one active WIP and two others that I've stalled on. I feel like a light-weight here.

Looks good, Brian. I've always thought this would be a fun kit to build, and it looks like it is. Thanks for posting the pics.

Excellent work, I love the gritty detail work you've done. I'm curious though, why three header pipes per side rather that the typical four I've become used to seeing, is it a V-6 engine?

Excellent work. I particularly like the shot with the rusted-through fender and the brake detail.