David G.

I was kind of surprised to see this one come back out into the daylight. Coincidentally, I've been thinking about this build over the past couple of weeks. It's the one that started me building again after more than twenty years. Unfortunately, I ran into some obstacles that, at the time, I lacked skill and patience to overcome. Now that I've had some time develop some new skills and polish what skills I once had, I feel a bit more confident about approaching this project again. I never really gave up on this project, it's just that it's important enough to me to want to do it the right way and with a minimum of compromise. Thanks for all of you kind comments and encouragement. I'm beginning to feel a renewed desire to fire this one up again. First, I've got one build to finish up: It's Monogram's "Car Show" 55 Chevy Bel Air Hard Top. I've decided to build it as a mild custom, replacing the stock 265 V-8 with the 348 Tri-Power from the '58 Impala. I'll be using "Keystone Classic" style wheels sporting G-60's on the front and street slicks on the rear. In the vein of the classic 70's customs that I saw in the car shows of my youth, the front will be lowered just a bit while the rear will receive a moderate lift to accommadate the slicks. I'll add some side pipes if I can find them and the paint job, which I've nearly finished is (are you ready for this?) pink and white. I was trying to decide on a color for this one and I'd grown tired of the standard blue, white, red and black that I've too frequently used in the past, when I saw a can of pink spraypaint that was left over from some other forgotten project and thought to myself, "Hey, this is perfect, I hate pink! Let's see if I can make this into something I can like." So I decided to take a step outside of my comfort zone and do something I wouldn't normally do, build a pink model car. I'll post some pics as soon as I get the paint to where I want it. Thanks again guys, for giving me a boost on the Proton project, you helped me to kick it to the top of my to do list. Regards, David G.

I realize that you're probably kidding, but that's just the kind of thing started many of these companies' seek and destroy departments in the first place. As I understand it, there were companies overseas that were producing shoddy parts with major brand name logos on the packages and parts. When customers used these substandard parts and began to complain to the companies of their parts' poor quality, the companies tracked down the sources of the parts and worked hard to eliminate these sources. What started as an honest effort to protect their customers and their own corporate image has grown into a monstrosity. This is only partly due to greed created by a previously unrealized revenue source. There is also a legal aspect to the pursual of individual and "microcorp" misuse of trademarks; If they go after one, they have to go after them all. Once discovered, any infringement would have to be stopped or licensed. To do otherwise would open the door to countersuits from entities that may be using or wish to use the trademark. Any examples of current unlicensed trademark use cited as an example by such a company as a precedent would then have to be licensed or stopped. By protecting their trademarks in the manner we've been discussing, the companies are establishing a history of "due diligence" effectively closing that door. Unfortunately, it's usually the little guy that gets trampled in the process. It's hard for me to imagine that this is the "American Way" that Superman was fighting for

Got mine Thursday too. As always, it's well worth the wait.

I have one of the Testors 1.75 oz paint thinner bottles that I've had since I was a teenager. I've cleaned it out and have been refilling it with a mineral spirits paint thinner. It smells kind of like kerosene, but works well enough. When my current can of mineral spirits is used up, I plan on getting some laquer thinner to replace it. It cuts both laquer and enamel paint and can be used to thin paint for air brushing, when I finally get an air brush.

I haven't made seat belts for any of my builds yet, so I can offer no personal points of experience. But, from what I've read on this forum, masking tape is one of the two most commonly used materials for making seat belts. The other is cloth medical tape. I'm sure others will be able to post more detailed information or even a link to a tutorial. Hope that helps for now.

I strive for accuracy, but I've built both ways depending on the end I want to achieve. For example, the nuclear powered car that I've been working on for a while now; I have very little knowledge of how a small nuclear power plant could be made to power an automobile, but I've seen enough science fiction movies to be able to fake it. At the same time, if I decide to wire an engine, I'll verify the firing order and take the time to do it right. Even the builders who strive for as much mechanical accuracy as possible are doing it for fun. So I guess we all build for the fun of it no matter which path we take.

Well done! I enjoy seeing forgotten, unique or unusual cars modeled, and I think this particular one falls into all three catagories! Thanks for sharing it with us.

I think the styrene is too thick to properly flow into a mold under gravity pressure alone. That's why the kits we buy are "injection molded." The plastic is forced into the molds under pressure. Resin on the other hand can range from water-thin to almost as thick as silly putty depending on it's intended use. What you suggest is an interesting thought, but if it was something that was easy or practical, I think there would be a lot of people doing that instead of casting in resin. If you do try melting and recasting styrene, be careful. It burns readily, gives off really nasty, toxic smoke and fumes and when it burns, it turns into a flaming liquid that can be difficult to keep under control.

Excellent body work. It does have a European look to it, almost like a Ghia design.

The warpage seems to be symmetrical. Have you considered using it as a custom feature? Maybe kit-bashing a grille with a set of those slanted Chrysler Imperial headlights?

Thanks Guys! I can always count on an abundance of information when I post a question here. Autozone came up empty for Duplicolor Chevy Engine Red, so I wound up with Model Master Chevy Engine Red enamel in a jar from the LHS. I've used the Model Master Acrylic in a jar and found it far superior to the old "square-bottle" stuff. I hope the same holds true for their enamel. Though I am really beginning to develop a dislike for most enamel paints, I'll give this an open-minded try. Since I've pretty much decided to swap the stock 255 ci single carb V-8 engine for a 348 tri-power I have left over from the '58 Impala kit, the Model Master C.E. Red should work out fine. But all these little tidbits of information aren't wasted. They lodge in the back of my brain where they wait for just the right moment to ambush me with thoughts like: "Wait, didn't Chevy paint one of their engines green in 1957? Which one was that?" Thanks everybody for the input! David G.

I N V U !!! I would have felt a little guilty getting all that for $10. Just a little, but I would have gotten over it very quickly! Hopefully you also have a three day weekend to play with the new toys!

Hi Everybody, Happy Independence Day to all my MCM friends in the US! I received a Monogram '55 Chevy Bel Air Hard Top as a gift yesterday, and I realized that I don't have a good Chevy Engine Red in my standard "paint kit" yet. In the short time since I've started building again, I have yet to paint a Chevy engine. I would like some recommendations on paints and colors that would work for duplicating that warm red that GM used on their engines back around that time. I prefer Tamiya "TS" type spray cans, but I also use Model Master, Dutch Boy, Krylon, etc. For an engine block "off the shelf" brands like Krylon may even be preferable. As always, thanks for your time and consideration. Regards, David G.

That's really clever, I'll have to try that. I have a number of those foam florist blocks that I used to use for the hydrator in my old humidor back in the day. Currently I have a couple of 1 X 2's about eight inches long around which I wrap strips of masking tape with the sticky side out. After removing the the small parts from the sprue and cleaning and de-flashing them, I stick them to the tape strips and place the board on my paint table across a couple of spray can lids. I found that lifting the board a couple of inches above the table surface seems to reduce dust problems.

I got my August Scale Auto on Thursday, but no MCM yet. They usually arrive within a few days of one another, so I've spent the last couple of days thinking "Today's the day!" as I approach the mail box, then... disappointment. Hopefully, today's the day!

Some folks just aren't used to seeing that much steel in one place at one time.

Wow, if that's their DeLuxe, I'd hate to have to settle for the base model!

Excellent paint job on the '58, but it seems to break up the lines of the car, almost like a camo paint scheme would. For me, it's kind of hard to see the car under the paint.

I guess that would make this one an actual "Rat Rod"! This is probably the only time I've seen kit-bashing and skull-bashing occur at the same place and time! Very well done, the whole build works nicely!

Awesome! It looks like some kind of preditor.

Not quite a hearse, more of a removal car, but cool none the less. I'm just curious, is there a roller deck in the back? If so, to the right person, the roller deck might be worth more than the rest of the car.

The snake skin paint looks good on that body style. How'd you do it?

Looks good, especially for a slap-together build!

That's ok, I'll just continue buying the Dolly Madison Zingers instead. Those metal flake ones would just irritate my thoat anyway!

Very nice outcome on this one. The paint looks super smooth and shiney, and the PE bits always make a big difference. I'll have to try using those some day.