David G.

That is just wonderfully bizarre!

Good choice, those colors work well together.

That's awsome. You really know how to set a scene, and you have excellent scratch building skills. Your photography is very good too. What camera and settings are you using?

There was no snow, the roads were wet with just those little slush piles between the lanes. That was the only vehicle I ever had such a problem with. Apparantly those old Camaros aren't even supposed to be driven on wet roads at 60 mph!

diymirage, That car looks bad, did you come out OK? That was cool, thanks for sharing it! I miss my Bugs One of my earlier Bugs (I've owned four over the years) had a dealer-add-on gas heater in the front... mounted right above the gas tank When I described it to my Volksie mechanic, he said, "Get that damned thing out of there!" I asked him why and told him it seemed to work well, he said "You've got an ignition source above a gas tank that is notorious for leaking fumes. If you don't asphyxiate yourself first, you're gonna blow yourself up!" The couple of times I did use it I got some funny looks sitting at a traffic light with exhaust billowing out from under the right front fender! I never had much trouble with the heater boxes on the engine, it was the channels behind the running boards that always rotted out in NE Ohio.

I had a transportation company in the early 90's and we used CV's for our VIP sedans. We bought them with a police package that had beefed-up suspensions to increase weight capacity and improve handling. We got the idea from Super Shutle's Execu-Car branch and bought them from the same source. I'm not entirely sure what Ford did to beef things up, but I could absolutely tell the difference when I drove one without the police kit. Without the police package, the CV's seemed lighter and more "floaty." They also bounced a bit more and didn't seem to corner as well. As the company was based in Phoenix, I can't comment on snow drivability, but they did seem to do better in the rain than the vanilla CV's. I could also tell the difference by looking at the car from 20 feet away. The ones with the police kit seemed to sit differently, they were just a bit higher than stock and had more of a "square" or solid look to them. On the fun side of the cop cars topic, a friend in high school had a '72 Plymouth Fury that was retired from the OH Highway Patrol. The speedometer went up to 140 mph and I believe the car would probably get at least close to that. One night in the early '80's at the "Stop-Light Derby" a couple of guys in a new IROC-Z started revving next to us. Before the light changed, my pal started power breaking his Fury. Instead of peeling out, the big Plymouth began to shudder and the body lifted up about six inches on the suspension. The eyes of the guy in the Camaro widened like saucers as he looked over at us. My friend side-stepped the brake when the light changed and the mighty Plymouth launched foreward leaving the Camaro lagging behind in the growing cloud of white tire smoke. When they caught up to us at the next light, I leaned out the window and yelled, "Dude, you just got beat by a motorhome!" Ahhh, fun times!

The worst winter driving car I ever owned was a '74 Camaro. Long ago on a winter morning in north-east OH (snow belt country) I tried to back it out of my driveway. The gas tank sloped upward from the rear axle to the bumper just enough to allow the snow to pack under it and actually lift the rear wheels off the ground. I was able to pull it loose with my '71 Pontiac Ventura. Later that same winter, I was driving the Camaro to work on the freeway. The roads were wet and had those slush piles that accumulate between the lanes. As I made a lane change at about 60 mph, despite having snow tires, the car began to fishtail as it crossed the slush pile between the lanes. The back of the car swung to the right and the to the left as I began to correct for the skid. It must have slid for more than a quarter mile at an angle that had me trying to slook around the A-pillar to see where I was going. The car eventually encountered a dry spot on the road that pulled it straight. That was the first and last winter I drove that car in the snow. Over all, I'd have to say that that Camaro was the least road-worthy car I've ever owned. The best winter driving car I've owned was a '71 Super Beetle. If you've ever owned a Bug and drove it in the snow, you know just what I'm talking about.

Pinky.

Looks like the real thing. Did you work from movie stills or memory?

Very Cool! It would look great in black.

I put my vote in for a white and/or off-white interior. For the scoop maybe some "428" or Cobra Jet" decals on the sides to set it off, and/or a chrome strip or paint stripe edging the opening. You've picked a cool color for the body, I can't wait to see how the whole thing comes out.

Very clean and an excellent color choice. I seem to remember seeing cars of this period in movies painted similarly.

Have you had a chance to work with the Bare-Metal Foil, and is it noticeably better than the Testors? Once again, thank you all for the kind words.

Very cool, nicely composed.

I finally got the interior done. I cut down the '56 Nomad interior and added a rear bulkhead. The colors are Tamiya Coral Blue and Racing White form spray cans. They seem like a good color combination for a '50's car. Being a nuclear powered car, I felt that the standard automotive controls would be insufficient to manage the reactor's functions. Therefore, I manufactured a center console by kitbashing some controls borrowed from a model airplane kit. This is also my first attempt at working with metal foil. I used Testor's brand Model Master foil and I'm a little disappointed with the results. The biggest problem I had was with the adhesive on the back of the foil. The foil seemed to cut well enough, but when I tried to separate or lift the unwanted foil from the work area, the adhesive wanted to continue hold the foil together. When finally separated, the adhesive became stringy and tended to ball up like rubber cement. Yuck! I hope the snaps are worth the wait. "Beauty Shot" I thought that managing a mini nuclear power plant would require a more complex control interface so I cobbled one together using parts from the same aircraft kit. Thanks for taking the time to look. David G.

You might have nailed the next roadster fad. The younger folks already make compact pick-ups into roadstersby removing the bed and cutting the roof off, this might be a next logical step. There aren't many more Ford Model T's to be discovered behind barns these days but there are plenty of pick-up beds around!

Yes, but they're not paying the shipping, we are. They are making more money by reducing the manufacture cost and passing the shipping cost on to us. Of course, they may just trying to stay in business and avoid shutting down like so many others have had to do. Hmmm. This must be the new "Kit Modder's Series" kits I've been hearing about. Yeah, right. But it does sound like a good bonus for the ol' parts box.

That's wild, those tubs might leave just enough room for a seat!

I usually listen to the Conan Soundtrack by Basil Poledouris on the Win. Media Player. It really seems to start the creative muse! I found the suite on youtube, it's a fairly goog sampling of the entire soundtrack.

Welcome! There is plenty of good information on the forum. You can just browse the Tips and Tricks section or search by topic for whatever information you're interested in. If you don't find what you need that way, you can always post a question. We have some very knowledgable people here who are very happy to help. Again, welcome and have fun!

I think CA might have some issues in a hot, dry climate like Phoenix, where I live. It may be due to a lack of prep skill on my part, but it seems that after a few years, the CA sometimes just lets go. Not all of it, not all at once and it's mostly very small parts. I know that it cures faster in warmer temps, maybe that has something to do with the adhesion failure. But like I said, it could also be a result of my prep.

Even though it would be mostly fiberglass a real vehicle like that would probably need a 454 to deliver the expected 'Vette performance. Now if you could get ahold of a dual-quad 427... hoo boy!

Juergen, A very imperssive build, and excellent photography. I remember seeing one of these trucks as a young man and just fell in love with its appearance and styling. I particularly like the way the body and wheel colors you chose work together. David

I've been away from building for a while, and I'm just now learning to use both flocking and foil tape. Patience and practice are indeed the operative terms when learning to use them. On my current project, I've flocked the floor twice so far and I'm trying to decide if I want a third go at it. The flocking went on well enough but, shortly after applying it, I started painting the gas pedal with some Testors flat black and the flocking picked up the paint. All I could do was sit back and appreciate the beauty of hydro-dynamics as the black paint wicked up into the gray flocking. I blotted much of the paint with cotton swabs and removed the tainted area before the white glue had time to completely set. The whole event is kind of funny now that I see it from today's vantage point; an example of patience and practice at odds with me. I'll patch the flocking today and see how it looks, and remember to do any spot painting before gluing the flocking in place.

Very Cool! It reminds me of Barris' Batmobile from the TV show in the 60's.