Cato

Skip - You are the benchmark on these; would you PLEASE do a WIP on this one?? To show us how a proper 'Wing should be done?

It would be cake these days to get near 700 pound-feet of torque from : A. An Eaton blown modern Hemi B. An old school 440 (to 500+ inches) using an ally World Block and heads and parts from Indy Cylinder Head. Then the chassis weight would not detract from the cruising performance.

Ken - more and better pictures. Details; scale / kit / difficulty? I think it's a nice model but can't tell.

OK not LI but... Anyone been to 'American Hobby Center'; 22st just off B'way and down the block from the Flatiron Bldg? Huge inventory of everything; it was like a factory loft. You had to ask for most stuff because it was so overstocked. Decent guys and one very old lady....

Larry's Hobby in Commack. Great all around shop, static and a ton of R/C. Lots for the train guys too. Tons of materials and paints. A robber too but it was like Disneyland for modelers. You couldn't resist.

Yes he's still here but largely war game and military stuff. A very nice fellow but only a few styrene kits; mostly planes. Some materials (brass / styrene) and small stock of paints.

The very same demon here Bruce. Most happy for your bride's result too. Nice to have you back; keep bringing compliments please...

Getting silly... Thank you guys, very kind wishes are appreciated. Having gotten comfortable with the 'paper wood' technique, I decided to push my luck. I never liked the cut-off bottom edge of the IP so I made a proper finished edge which protrudes similar to the top edge. Just a fanciful idea and these were custom built to owners whims anyway so what the heck... The practical side is I learned how to make 90 degree edges mate acceptably which will be useful for the door trim. There is a top edge meeting the side face on those and now I know I can accomplish that. Also the paper glues just fine in the semicircular dip in the center of the panel. More silliness when I made a plate which has slots around the pedal openings in the carpet. Gives a finished edge instead of a rectangular hole in the carpet. Some bits of styrene card and two different foils topped off with SMS fastener heads. The hard part was getting the slots in the right places; the pedals are affixed in the chassis so the floorpan had to go on and the workpiece cut and fit many times. The sharp-eyed among you may notice some instrument holes in the panel; MMC jewel-like nickel plated switches will go in those as soon as the postman rings - once. You may or may not approve but it was relative 'fun' stuff to do. I seem to be avoiding those monstrous (to me) front seats but will face that music soon now:

A joyous thank you... First for those kind comments about the direction of my Rolls. But more importantly, a very heartfelt thanks to those of you who have expressed good wishes for my bride's health. Late today we got word from her surgeon that all is well and no further treatments will be necessary. A small surgery remains in about a month's time but that will make all right again. Our joy and relief is huge. I will be on care-giver duty a bit longer but that will be a joyous task. I will surely be putting hours at the bench back on the clock to hopefully complete this epic I created of a Pocher build. I hope your patience continues. Thanks and regards, C

Taking a breath... As has been advised by well-meaning followers, I've decided to pause and do a review of where this is going. So I photoed some parts in natural light and this is very close to how they look in person. I gathered all the main elements of color and grouped them together for a good look. For better or worse, I'm now committed to this combination; fenders, running boards, cowl and hood top in Toreador Red (a deep maroon). Body sides and wheels in Sweet Cream. The cabin in gray leather with wine-colored carpet and red burl. The top is a dark cranberry-type gaberdine fabric. The chassis in German Gray. I am slightly afraid as I view this as somewhat adventurous but it IS appealing to my eye and seems to work well all together. The textures of the rubber tires, velour-type carpet and glass-smooth paint (that fender is not polished yet), set off by touches of bright nickel on the hood hinge and Landau Bars will give the visual interest I was hoping for. Feel free to disagree:

Get Skip's address now so you can send him your SLR stuff...wait - he already has all the plaids.

Ace has it right. My brand new '67 396 / 375 had the rod and arm and a 780 cfm Holley.

Scott, You'll have to Novocaine us to shut us up..................

Will we ever see it?? As you said to Harry, 'I'm not getting any younger...'

Steal away guys - glad you approve. I WILL make front seats after; A. I have an opportunity. B. Figger out how the heck I can.

I did my 1/16th nearly exactly this way only using sprayed-on body color British Green enamel and damp swabs of reducer. Fairly easy at this size.

Next short-cut... Again looking for a subassembly that wouldn't be epic in length, I decided to try my hand at the cabin carpet. Have to pick and choose my available time to work. I had previously purchased a great fabric carpet from a doll house supply house. It's a cotton / velour blend with a low nap and nice sturdy backing; perfect I felt for 1/8 scale. The color was close to what I wanted for my combination. To start, I made a tape template of the floor pan area which would be carpeted. Then I made a stronger but thin (.016") template from ply: While working on the tape, I came across the 'secret' to this brain-storm; electrical shrink tube. About .075" wide, I saw it had two folded edges. I wondered if trimming close to those edges but leaving the 90 degree fold would give me carpet edging or binding. Prior to this I had nightmares about folding a strip of leather or worse yet, piping around that edge of carpet. Don't get me wrong, I've seen plenty of RR's with beautiful leather or piped edging; done by far more skilled builders than myself. Since I'd already set a precedent for slacking with my 'wood' IP, I was more at ease cheating here too. I experimented with widths and settled on 2 - 3mm as what I could reasonably work with. This gave me a roughly 5/8" 1;1 size which I thought was acceptable. Toughest job; cutting mitered corners that matched. Best glue to use; Loctite Gel CA: Here is the combination mocked-in place; nothing glued yet as the step plates and door jambs still require paint (c'mon warm weather) and some small final trimming around the pedal openings. The carpet will lay completely flat after gluing as I trimmed off the Pocher locating ribs in the center and back edge of the floor pan: Same view only with seats blocking all that hard work. I will NOT use these Pocher front seats which I never liked in any models I've seen; too upright for my taste: Seen up close, the color combinations are close to what I wanted. I found that a light rubbing on the shrink tube with 320 grit (or gray scuff pad) produced a gray very close to the seat leather and not a harsh black edge. The tubing has a nice supple black finish which sands easily - a happy accident. Some touches of burl wood on the door tops and maybe near the rear seat sides will carry the theme through the cabin - I hope:

Well not to get serious on you but you're right; spending time close to your important ones is something we all need. I am deeply involved with catching-up on care and love after a 40 year career and a 27 year 1:1 Cobra passion project.

Taking vacations, renovating your house, surfing ebay, buying smaller scales - soon you'll say that sleeping is necessary! You even took the time to have TWO kids! You've got to get your priorities right Man!

Scott, waiting patiently (pun intended); what's up with this one?? You're getting on my new posting schedule....s-l-o-w.

You must. It's a combination of a car and a stagecoach. And you've done one of those!

Bring it on Harry...

Great to see you back in action Harry. Your comments most appreciated. Your quote above was the thing I was most worried for; letting-down anything good I might have done before. I want an even over-all presentation of detail and feared paper might let that down. If others like the technique, feel free to use it. It's not 'simple,' but tons easier than marquetry. And the results apparently get by. I'm currently trying another brain-storm and it's a corner-cutter too. Show you in a day or two......... EDIT: I am mildly surprised by your acceptance of my faux wood idea; You famously stated earlier in my thread that 'nothing looks like wood more than real wood' - or words of substance. I think it was where I did the underside floorboards in ply. Wacky; the cabin where you see it is fake and the bottom which you will only see in a mirror is real...

Bruce has me correct; I'm my own worst enemy and own worst critic. You other guys are great too; the encouragement and support is welcomed. Thanks

You were misinformed by that enthusiast. The box art shown in Greg's first post is a 427 Comp car. It was 2"" wider than a 289 car with a 4" main tube chassis as opposed to 3". The nose is narrower on your small-black example here; the front fenders have the street car flairs and the rears are the wide-hipped 427 style on these 289 Comps. Note the improved roll stiffness on late vintage raced Cobras.