seeker589

Greetings fellow plastic hackers! I wanted to invite my favorite modelling community to check out my new blog. It isn't too extensive but I'm planning on adding to it regularly. carbabble.wordpress.com Thanks all! I know I don't have to solicit feedback - I trust you will honestly let me know your opinion!

I know it may not be cool to promote auctions (especially mine) but if Mr. Moderator could please make an exception? They are on eModelcars! I am current out of work on medical leave (herniated disk - L5) and the disability isn't cutting it and I need money. I also needed to thin my collection due to space needs. I just started 8 different auctions for 46 different unbuilt kits (they are being sold in groups). Please check out www.emodelcars.com for these really reasonable sales. Thank You!

I was just thinking the same thing. Well, not really. I was thinking about how many models I do have in comparison to how many I have started in comparison to those I have finished. I haven't finished a model in years - like 15 of them. I own well over 150 unbuilts. I probably started about 20 of them. But I still love this hobby. I still love interacting with other builders and friends. I will organize my workbench one day. I will build again. Will I finish one? Who knows - I'm having fun!

That is a great way to store evergreen and plastruct stock! The car-ish thing is cool, too. Everyone has taste and there are plenty of flavors. Fear no art.

Greetings! After realizing there is a major gap in decal availability in grassroots racing and in autocross markings in particular - I have decided to master some decals on my own. I have an HP inkjet printer with some good resolution when printing. I have some questions. What software is best for mastering decal sheets? I have MS Word and have tried to arrange logos on a document - but can't seem to get them close enough so as not to waste decal sheet material. I also have Photoshop Elements 6. While not the most powerful photo-editing program - it has many features I am still discovering. I am sure when I have more experience with it - it will yeald some great possibilities for getting what I need. What is the best way to scale them so they don't look too big or too small? Trial an error may be one way but I would think it would be a bit of a waste of time and resources. Decal fixative is another unknown. Are there any blank sheets available that don't need it? How does the ink not get softened or disolve when the decal is soaked on the sheets that claim they don't need it? I've looked on youtube and have done searches but they don't spotlight the printing and scaling as much as I was looking for. Any help would be great and I would truely appreciate it! Thank You!

Great thread! I have found blister packaging from variety of products useful. It is a plastic. I have used a curved piece of this packaging to make some hood scoops on a kustom '49 Mercury hood. I have seen scoops, fender flares and other various body parts in the shapes of blister packs. If you wanna see what could be possible - wander around Wally-mart. blister packs are clear - the very clear and flawless blisters can be used as glass.

Quite simply Brilliant! Thank you far sharing the build and the finished product.

I'm unsure of the make-up of a surfboard core. I am aware that some some foams and some resins are not "friendly" with one another. You are correct that that method is not welcoming to compound curves. To solve that problem - there are large blocks that can be shaped and also foam kits where you are given the ingredients of the foam and you make it yourself by mixing a two part compound that then expands. I have not seen it in action - but it sounds good.

It was a 1955 Chevy. Bought new in '55 and the Aztec was completed over three years and finished in 1958. The original owner was Bill Carr. The Barris Kustom Techniques of the 50s series of books chronicals some of the most Iconic kustoms of the time. Great reference! Or you can look at Mr. Handley's outstanding links.

I was also thinking the budget challenged scenario also. When I read about the method they built it - I was puzzled also. i would have thought they would have tried fiberglass/foam composite method. No need for a mold - the foam gets surrounded by the fiberglass. The finished product is much stronger than the fiberglass itself. Check this link for a more detailed build: http://www.rqriley.com/frp-foam.htm I believe hot rodding needs more creativity, also.

You missed the insane Pro Street cars (Dobberton J2000?) in your listing of illogical hot rod trends. But seriously - it is good to look back and speculate what these historic builders thought of when they created their mechanical expressions. We're just bench racing - no harm in that.

OK - Um - WOW! Now we are diving into sacred Barris territory. Pretty much anything done by the Barris Brothers after the Hirohata Merc is very "LOOK AT ME". I seemed to me that after Sam Barris died - George's imagination went wildly unchecked. Check out the Grecian (pictured) and tell me that that is attractive in "beautiful car" sort of way. But I do think the Aztec was built when Sam was still with us. The trend toward brighter colors also followed paint and paint application technology at the time. Could the trend toward brighter customs be due to experimentation of those painting and building? Yup - I said it. We are delving into Kustom and Hot Rod philosophy. You definitely have my attention.

Holy carp! I hope so! They have some Minilite looking wheels with slicks that I would really love for my Autocross Lotus that I'm planning.

A topless Lil Coffin! I have been wanting to build something like that in 1:1 for years. You might be onto something!

I still have some problems with Ed's designs - but when I take into account the time in which they were built - I makes much more sense. While the idea/concept of this car is outstanding - the design isn't exactly mainstream - just like Ed's creations back in "the day". Ed was the original Weirdo. Ed always represented the counter-culture -- even the counter-culture of the automotive sub-culture. People shook their head then...

I know what I would do. Build a replica of Brock Yates's Cannonball Challenger. I love that car! Here he is leaning on it:

Ed Roth's kids are building cars. This one's called the Street'nik Bandit. It seems to be built on a GM metric G-body (Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, etc.) chassis with the front frame horns cut off and the rear frame section bobbed just behind the rear spring perches. The engine seems to be int the same place (no setback) and lifted in the frame. The body is built using the same techniques that Ed used - Spit-wad plaster plug to mold to finished product. I really like the concept and love that Ed's kids are doing stuff. My observations are that while the body is as radical as it gets, the chassis is surprisingly stock. The engine placement baffles me - I would think they would have moved it back in the chassis and lowered it. The last thing - The wheels are very 60s - while the crome reversies with baby moons is iconic - I would have liked to see something more shocking - like some indy car wheels and tires or some modified (widened) version of a factory wheel. Something more outragous than the baby moons. I really do like the car. *Note* - I wrote this while half asleep - the views of the author may not reflect himself or some such hogwash.

What are the retail outlets that sell the aluminum duct tape? I'm assuming the large retail lumber/hardware outlets are a source?

If that is what has been delaying this game for over a year-and-a-half, I'm downright ticked-off! I'm a bit of a Gran Turismo Fan-boy.

Crushed glass? Are you sure that some racer wasn't pulling your leg? Or a racing announcer wasn't trying to fill in some "dead space" by making some stuff up just to keep talking? I know a few announcers - they do that. Some of the stuff they tell the attending crowd are outright lies! Crushed glass is pretty much sand. Paint additives have been known to be metal flake (in various sizes), crushed mica, and crushed pearl. Sorry - I had never heard of crushed glass as a paint additive.

Thanks for the Sept issue. On page 16 - lower left picture of the Time Trial Corvette (TTU) showing the various uses of solder. Where did he get the Grassroots Motorsports and NASA decals? Just about EVERY current 1:1 autocross, TimeTrial and RoadRace car in the USA has a Grassroots Motorsports Decal somewhere on the car.

Bill - I am NOT saying the Cobalt is a rebadged Civic in any way. A AM saying that GM evaluated the Civic's design and build a better car in the Cobalt. While the Ion came out almost a year before the Cobalt - GM had already planned the release of the Ion, Cobalt and the Pontiac relative (the name escapes me) from the beginning of the design. Oddly enough - the automotive press loved the Cobalt and the Cobalt SS much more than the Ion and Ion Redline. The larger door opening on the Ion (it had that stange suicide rear half door - great idea but not for a performance car) that caused the chassis to flex - therefore, making the "feel" of the car numb. I read articles about the Cobalt when it was new. The design team tore apart Civics and Acura Integras (as well as other Sport Compacts) and evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of the designs - then designed what they thought would be a better car. The drivetrains are quite stout. Sport Compact Car Magazine put a turbo on a stock base model Ecotec then boosted it to over 300 horsepower with a stock bottom end with no breakage. Stock output is around 135hp - give or take. Also the stock trans and axles from a Cobalt SS is said to be able to take 500 horsepower without breakage. You would be surprised to know how many manufacturers buy, test and evaluate their competition learning from each others mistakes and design breakthroughs. This is what is reverse engineering. I was reading that Porsche had Nissan Z-cars and Corvettes in their garages for teardown and evaluation. The HHR is a fine car. I have some friends that liked the first one they bought so much that within the first year of ownership - they had to buy another! They now have two and love them! The Cobalt is a fine car. I would have one if I could afford one. Child support has taken the wind out of my car-buying desires.

I really liked the Common Items, Uncommon Uses article. Very good article. I was just wondering how to simulate rivits - he answered that question! My question is: On page 16 - lower left picture about the various uses of solder. The Time Trial Unlimited Corvette with the beautiful long-tube header/sidepipes. Where did he get the NASA and Grassroots Motorsports Decals? Just about every Autocross, Time Trial, Road Race and Rally car in America has a Grassroots Motorsports decal on it. I know mine did!

Awwww! Just leaf it alone! But maple he doen't want to.

Is the car for anything other than getting from point A to point B? What is your budget? What is your lifestyle? Do you have wife or kids? Pets? What are your other interests - I.E. Autocross, Camping, Sports, cycling, etc? What cars appeal to YOU? While I have seen LeSabers go for miles and miles - the repair bills can be very expensive if you are paying someone else to work on it. The Honda Civic has been mentioned. I would also recommend the 1994 to 2001 Acura Integra. Good mileage and fun drive. Tons of aftermarket and web support. Parts are plentiful for both the Civic and Integra. Also don't leave out the Honda Accord. Subaru Impreza, Legacy or Outback are great all-wheel-drive alternatives. The Chevy Cobalt is a reverse engineered Civic. But I'm not sure of their track record. These cars can be had for anywhere from $2000 to over $20,000. Just buy the best example you can afford.