mrmike

My Police cars that I have built over the years and you can tell by the "workmanship" that they possess, I have improved over the years. The first was the '92 Caprice followed by the '96 Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptor New Hampshire State Police. My '70 Ford Custom was next modeled after the Danny Williams car from Hawaii 5-0, the '00 Crown Vic Police Interceptor Highway Patrol, and the 2005 NYPD Police car. I have the Lindberg 2008 Dodge Charger to build as a New Hampshire State Police Car.

The Story McNally goes over to the bar and introduces himself to Supt. Connolly and buys him a draft and invites him over to the table with DC Ashley Campbell. They chat for a few minutes and then McNally asks about DC Campbell being taken away from him as his guide around London and the Metro's procedures and the UK's laws. Supt. Connolly will reassign DC Campbell to him and have a serious chat with DCI Ashenbell about the Crumbelt case. They continue chatting about the case and what evidence that McNally has found, or lack of and the possible interference from Scotland Yard. Connolly says if McNally has any issues with DCI Ashenbell, to call him directly and he hands McNally his business card. The following morning, McNally and DC Campbell are summoned to David Crumbelt's flat by Scotland Yard. The garage door is open and his Jag has been pushed out of the stall by someone and was found with the hood and driver's door open. McNally asks DCI Ashenbell if he can take a look and is sternly told, "This is a Police matter and you don't. Stay out of our way!" DCI Ashenbell directs DC Campbell to help the other officers and McNally stands back out of the way, making his way to the street and back to his rental car. He knows who might have been involved with the possible heist of the Jag and he is not telling anyone from Scotland Yard. The Build I went and grabbed my new sheet of BMF the other day, only to discover that the adhesive had dried up and was starting to seperate itself from the carrier sheet. I went out this afternoon and bought a new sheet of BMF and some Micro Metal Foil Adhesive by Microscale from my LHS. I was hoping to be able to finish foiling the body today, but that'll have to wait until tomorrow. McNally will return...

Thanks Carl! The wheels did not come in the kit. They are the optional wheels from the Revell '62 Corvette kit.

The Story Since Lt. Det. Macklin is in charge of this operation, Lt. Det. Troy and McNally will wait until they are given the OK to enter the body shop. A group of officers from Auto Theft, Homicide, and off-duty patrol officers will make up the force entering the body shop with a smaller group of officers arresting the chopper and thieves. Lt. Troy in the meantime will continue to question Davey about the murder of Peter Mathieus. The search of Davey's room found the murder weapon, a large folding knife, hidden in an heating duct still covered with traces of Peter's blood and Davey's fingerprints. A doorbell video shows a hooded figure with a partial view of the murderer's face committing the gruesome crime. The Build I painted the Chevy this morning and it looks pretty good. A wetsanding, clear coat, and polishing and then I can assemble the truck. McNally will return...

Thank you Jeremy!

Yes, the black wash does help bring out the details of those wheels.

The Story McNally and the two lieutenants meet upstairs in Lt. Macklin's office to discuss a strategy for raiding Ollie's Body Shop in Brighton. Macklin calls his UC, Det. Harry Colm to find out where he is and if he can come into the office. Det. Colm says he can and will be there in 15 minutes. McNally asks Lt. Troy how this will affect his investigation of the Mathieus murder and Adam replies that he question Davey further and the evidence he has is pointing towards him. Macklin tells McNally since he is a public citizen, he cannot participate in the raid and that he doesn't have any protection like a bullet-proof vest, to which McNally replies, "Oh, yes I do!" McNally walks out of the office and goes to his car to retreive his vest and Det. Colm walks into the office while he is gone. He brings the lieutenants up to speed on his undercover investigation. McNally returns to the office with his bullet-proof vest which has "PI" stenciled on the front and back. It's an idea that he had while watching a TV show about a New York cop and a writer. The vest has been through several car crashes and destructions, but it's still in very good condition. The Build I did a mockup of the truck to see how it is coming together. So far, I like it! McNally will return...

Will do Greg! Just make sure that you stay 2 steps behind me so I can show you the bits and pieces of my build. One of the reasons for my being here is to show you guys little ideas like the hinge slots! I have lots of them...I just haven't thought of them yet!

Thank you Greg! I need to get going on this build as it has been on the bench too long.

Thank you David! With the filler neck kinda flopping around before the glue sets, it just had to be aligned otherwise I would have to break the glue joint and reset to filler neck again. This saves me a step later in the build.

The chassis is complete minus the wheels and tires. I did a mockup so I could set the proper angle on the gas tank filler neck. I added a black wash to the wire wheels. More to come...

I am concerned with the side moldings as well. I have heard and read horror stories about them not sticking. If worse comes to worse, I'll make my own with some plastic strip and Bare Metal Foil or my Molotow Liquid Chrome pen. Since I used a flat paint for the body and hood, I will wait until the body was clear coated so I would have a smooth surface to apply them to.

The Story It wasn't long before a Brighton patrol car arrives on the scene. McNally explains to the cops what had happened and how he caught Davey and it wasn't long before Lt. Macklin arrives with Lt. Troy right behind him. The cops swap handcuffs on Davey and return McNally's cuffs and place him into their car for a ride downtown to BPD Headquarters. David and his roommates watch from the front porch as the Brighton patrol cars leaves with their prisoner. Another patrol car arrives and the cops start questioning David and his roommates while Lts. Macklin and Troy search Davey's room with McNally. McNally and the cops leave David's house and return to BPD Hq. Davey is placed into an Interrogation Room for questioning. Davey thinks he has the upper hand by giving them cute and vague answers until Lt. Macklin turns up the heat with his questioning. Davey realizes that he is in over his head and demands a lawyer. The cops get up and leave the room and meet up with Lt. Troy outside in the hallway. "McNally, what do you have in your hand," asks Lt. Macklin? McNally replies, "Just a copy of the Boston Globe. You guys mind if I go in, sit and read?" Lt. Troy says, "Go ahead." Lt. Macklin questions if McNally has the right to question the suspect and Lt. Troy says, "Just watch." McNally sits at the table and starts reading the paper quietly when Davey says, "You hurt me! Something's broken and I hurt inside and I'm gonna sue you for everything you own because of it!" "No you won't," says McNally. "You only used muscles you haven't used before." "Oh ya? I'll sue you so bad, you'll be begging me for the keys to that Chevy pickup over at Ollie's." McNally folds the paper, gets up from the table, says thanks and walks out of the room. The Build With the hood and roof assembled, I started sanding the body and hood to get them fitting squarely. I added some styrene to the hood hinge opening to narrow it. This will keep the hood from moving around on the fenders. This also allows me to keep the hood open without having to use a support. McNally will return...

The Story McNally calls DC Ashley Campbell at Scotland Yard with the hope of meeting her somewhere and apologizing to her for getting angry at her earlier in the day. He is informed that she has left for the day and would he like to leave a message for her. He replies no and sets off trying to find her. He walks out of his Hotel and sees a Metro cop on foot patrol just up the street and stops him to ask about any bars or taverns near Scotland Yard. There is one nearby called Croft's Tavern and McNally makes his way over to it. He enters the tavern and sides up to the bar and asks and pays for a cold beer. He looks around the tavern and sees Ashley sitting by herself in the back poking at her dinner with her fork. McNally goes over to her table and asks if he can sit and talk to her. He tells her about his frustration and how he thinks Scotland Yard is leading his investigation and he tells her he is sorry for getting mad at her. "I'm off the case now thanks to your frustration," she says. "How can I get you back to helping me? I doubt DCI Ashenbell will allow it." Suddenly, there is a roar in the tavern as a well dressed gentleman walks into the tavern. Ashley says, "That Superintendent Connolly. If you talk to him maybe he can help get me back to helping you. And, yes, I'll guide around London and help you along as you wish." "Thank you. Excuse me," says McNally as he gets up from the table and goes over to talk to Supt. Connolly. The Build Here is the clear coated body and hood, ready for some cleanup and polishing. McNally will return...

I'm workin' on it, Joe!

As I said before, painting is a "hit or miss" with me. Yes, the cab and hood were primered after they were washed. The problem lies with the fact that I had run out of paint with my old can and I went out and purchased a new can of the same brand and type of paint. I had hoped that adding additional light coats of paint, I would be able to cover up were the old can left off, but that didn't happen. I am not totally unhappy with this "disaster", but like everything else in life, it's part of the learning curve that life throws at us. I'll fix it and move on. Thank you for the tips!

The Story McNally finishes his dinner and decides to pay a visit to David at his home in Brighton. He arrives at David's house and rings the door bell. David answers the door and McNally identifies himself by showing his ID. Inside the house are two guys in the living room playing with the gaming platform and another standing at the end of the hallway to the kitchen and opening a can of beer. He asks David about his father's truck to which David says he hasn't seen the truck in years and it was covered with gray primer when he saw it about a year ago. David asks his room mates if they know anything about the truck and they shake their heads and say that they know nothing about the truck. McNally hands David his card and to call him if he thinks of or sees the truck in passing. David says he'll do that and McNally walks out the front door. As David closes the front door he says to someone behind him, "Hey Davey, wanna shoot some hoops?" McNally turns and runs back into the house and says, "Which one is Davey?!!!" David points to the guy in the kitchen who then throws his can of beer at McNally and runs out the back door with McNally giving chase. Davey runs down the driveway and up the street with McNally hot on his heels. Just before reaching the intersection, McNally leaps onto Davey and tackles him, forcing him to the street. McNally slaps the handcuffs on Davey and leads him back down the street to him car. He searches Davey only to find a set of house keys and a small pocket knife. He then pulls out his cellphone and calls Lt. Macklin at the Auto Theft Squad. The Build I know, I know...it's been a while since I worked on the Chevy. I went to paint the cab and hood and I messed up the paint job really bad. Like I have said in the past, painting is a hit or miss for me and we even discussed painting briefly at my Club meeting yesterday. I am fortunate enough to have a newer release of the '65 Chevy, so I stole the cab and hood from that kit and will start over again cleaning, priming, and painting. I am still going with the two-tone paint scheme of Tamiya TS-45 Pearl White over Tamiya TS-92 Metallic Orange. The original cab and hood will be stripped later when I get to building the other Chevy Pickup kit McNally will return...

Thanks Marty! I may have to assemble the wheels and tires and then black wash the wheels sooner than later, just because!

Actually Brian, Tamiya recommends using their brand TS-9 British Green or X-5 Green.

Thank you guys! I just love these British sports cars. While America has hot rod shops galore, the UK has sports car manufacturers in abundance. I have muscle cars galore on my shelves (Mustangs, Corvettes, Mopars, and pickup trucks), but I have always admired the British sports cars prior to the 1975. I would like to see more early British sports cars from Tamiya.

This is my newest project and one that I just had to build! This is the Tamiya Morgan 4/4 and what a kit this is! As typical of Tamiya, this kit does not represent a specific model year, so it could be anywhere from 1955 to 2018. The Morgan 4/4 is still built in pretty much the same way as it was when the first 4/4 was introduced in 1935 as Morgan's first 4 wheel automobile. Even the 3-wheeler is still produced today using a modern S and S Harley motorcycle engine. The 4/4 is still produced today in very small numbers using mostly the same technology from the mid-'30s. No computers, exotic suspension pieces, or carbon fiber whatever. It is basically the same car today as it was back then. The body is molded in green plastic, but there is a join line in the rear of the body by the spare tire. I'll check the body over for mold lines and such, primer it and paint it with Tamiya TS-9 British Green with a black interior. And, the wire wheels are just exquisite! Beautifully molded and plated in shiny chrome. You just don't see molding like this on many kits today. So far, the engine has been assembled and the chassis is partially assembled. The sprues are molded in semi-gloss black plastic which will save me a lot of paint work since the Tamiya TS-29 or X-18 paint matches the plastic. FWIW, this kit is very expensive online with Amazon wanting $430 plus shipping! I was looking around for this kit online until it was offered to me by a fellow Club member, Scott who wanted me to build the kit and to have fun with it! Thank you Scott!

The Story McNally stops at a small restuarant for lunch and starts thinking about this case. He sits at a table and starts writing in a small notebook about the facts he has gathered. He wonders about the opposition from DCI Ashenbell and Scotland Yard. Ashenbell wants to solve this case on his own and anything the Boston PI offers him maybe a waste of time. DC Campbell seems to be following orders from DCI Ashenbell, but she truly seems to want to help McNally. Crumbelt seems to have been a blockage to whomever wanted to import drugs to the States. It was clearly stated in his notebook that McNally found. Colin Spencer's arrest might be on the right track, but Ashenbell seems to be basing the entire case on just Spencer alone and McNally thinks there are others involved. The other two names listed in Crumbelt's notebook are the one's heading this case. They had Crumbelt killed because he objected to being used to smuggle drugs into the US using his company. As much as DC Campbell was guiding his investigation, he owes her an apology for getting mad at her and dumping her off at her car early this afternoon. After lunch, he gets into his rental car and drives around London trying to get back to his Hotel. He does get back to his Hotel in mid afternoon and he decides to take a walk still thinking about this case. He expected a lack of cooperation from Scotland Yard and all he got was DC Campbell following orders to what seems to be an impeding of his investigation. The Build I finally got the interior finished up this morning. The gauge decals got a coating of Tamiya X-22 Clear as a lens over them. I touched up the ends of the dash with some Testors #1166 Flat Brown since there is nothing covering the ends of the dash. McNally will return...

Thank you John Shoe! The name of the paint I used is called Polly Scale and they are usually for railroad modeling. I got about twenty plus bottles of Polly Scale paints from a friend who was getting out of models and into sketching. My wife bought his entire lot of paints (Polly Scale, Model Master, Testors) as a surprise for me several years ago. This is the first time I have used the Polly Scale paint and this color, CSX Blue, is a direct match for Opalescent Dark Blue. Thank you John Tee! My plan right now is to use the unmodified kit decals for the registration plates. I haven't gone looking for British license plates yet, but it is on my list of things to do.

The Story McNally and DC Campbell interview the people whose names were taken from David Crumbelt's computer. McNally had suspected that these people were already interviewed by Scotland Yard and his suspicions were correct. The last person interviewed had inadvertently spilled the beans about previously being interviewed. As they drive down the road, DC Campbell say there is one last name on the list and this person lives inland about two hours from London. That was the final straw! McNally swerves the rental car onto a side street and stops. He says to DC Campbell, "These people have already been interviewed, haven't they?" Ashley says, "I don't know what you are talking about." He replies, "Don't lie to me! Scotland Yard has already talked to them and I am on a wild goose chase, aren't I?" Ashley sighs and says, "Yes, they already have been interviewed." McNally starts the car and drives away from the curb. DC Campbell asks, "Where are we going?" "Back to your car at the Hotel," he says. "Why," she asks? "I need time to be alone to think and I can't do it with you around. Go back to Headquarters. I need to think." The Build I started work on the interior with some detailing and I still have a ways to go. The dash is partially done and I need to finish detailing it with more decals and my Molotow Liquid Chrome pen. McNally will return...

The Story After DCI Ashenbell and DC Campbell leave McNally's suite, he sits down and reads the notebook again. He notes three names written by Crumbelt...Colin Spencer who's already in custody, Dane Parker, and Frank Duncan. Colin has lawyered up and won't talk to anyone. Dane Parker and Frank Duncan are the two unknowns and he needs to find out more about the two criminals. He doubts DCI Ashenbell would be willing to run the two remaining names for him. The following morning, McNally gets up from bed, cleans up and shaves his face. He gets dressed for another day of detecting. He puts on his shoulder holster and checks the action and magazine on his SIG P227, and they are ready. The loaded SIG is put into his shoulder holster as well as his many permits are in his jacket pocket. As he is getting ready, there's a knock on the door. McNally looks into the peephole on the door and sees Detective Constable Ashley Campbell. He opens the door to her and she walks into the suite announcing that she got several names off of Crumbelt's computer for them to interview and that they should be going. He suspects that he is being lead around this investigation, but he doesn't show his anger. He decides to let this play out to see where it is going. The Build I cleaned up the painted Jaguar body and it is ready for clear coat. I have been struggling with the Detail Master Battery Hardware Set that I bought last year. There has to be an easy way to assemble these clamps and wires. McNally will return...