mrmike

I used the embossing powder that I bought at Michael's for carpet on this F100. I applied it with white glue and painted it with Tamiya TS-19 Metallic Blue. I think it came out great! I just couldn't bring myself to open the MRC Cragar SS wheel and tire set, so I am going back to my original plan of using the '06 Mustang GT wheels and tires. More to come...

Thanks Josh and Randy! No progress today as the release mechanism on the reclining sofa broke and I spent part of the afternoon trying to source a new cable and cable clamps from Home Depot. Somehow, I feel that this is going to be another crazy week.

Thanks guys! Rob, not so much as bugs, but as kinks! I am having second thoughts about using the Cragar mags for this build. I have yet to find any other MRC Cragar wheel sets and part of me doesn't want to use these just yet. I may use the '06 Mustang wheels instead. We shall see. I finally had a chance to work on the F100 today for a short time. I got the Hemi painted with Chrysler Street Hemi Orange Engine Enamel and the trans was painted Aluminium Metalizer. I have yet to drill out the distributor and wire it up. A picture of the Hemi in the chassis with plenty of clearance for the exhaust manifolds The front and rear suspensions are painted and partially assembled. The drive shaft will be removed and replaced with a more substantial unit. While I was out running errands this morning, I stopped at Michael's to look for white embossing powder. I found a jar of clear (even though it looks white) for $3.49 and purchased it. I should be able to paint over the clear embossing powder with any color paint. More to come...

Thanks guys! This Lightning came out better than I had expected and I am really happy with it. I'm taking the Lightning with me to the Classic Plastic Model Club meeting tomorrow to see what the club members think of it.

I finished the engine mounts this afternoon and mounted the between the frame rails. The trans mount was added as well. With the engine mocked up in place. Perfect! I looked at the springs and the thought ran through my mind of these springs breaking because they are really thin and fragile looking. My solution was to add a strip of styrene to them and add some strength to these fragile looking parts. The strengthen springs with the lowered front axle. I did the same to the rear springs and added the rear axle. More to come...

Last night I made a transmission mount by cutting off the molded trans mount and modifying it to fit with a couple pieces of scrap styrene. This is the start of the engine mounts for the 426 CI Hemi. More to come...

Thanks guys! It is one thing I do possess, it is patience! It is necessary in this day and age!

Thanks guys! You are correct Patrick, but there are only 2 Cragar mags in that kit and I cannot justify buying two kits for just the wheels. But yesterday, when I stopped by the LHS for a jar of paint and I saw this on the shelf. Oh, thank the model gods for they have been listening to me!! These wheel and tire sets are becoming very hard to find. This truck kit comes with a Thunderbird engine that I would venture to say that it is a 312 CI V8. The kit also contains a supercharged Pontiac engine of unknown displacement. And, the winner is...a 426 CI Hemi from a Revell '67 Charger! I have a pair of small round chromed air cleaners for the carbs. I'll leave the valve covers and the carbs chromed. I have a pair of stock Hemi manifolds and a set of Hemi headers. I'll see which set will fit better when I mount the engine in the chassis. More to come...

Thanks Josh! Those BBS wheels just don't fit into the vision of the '56 F100 that I want to build. I wished I had a set of Cragar SS mags for this project, but those seem to be hard to come by lately. If it is one thing that I am very much aware of, it is the fidelity of this kit and yes, the tooling is old. I first built this kit when I was young...quite young and needless to say, I was in over my head with it. I later built a drag version of this kit about 30 years ago and it was the same as this kit is. I do know that to successfully build this kit, it will require a lot of test fitting of parts and sub-assemblies. That is what I am doing now...lots of test fitting. Last night I got the inner fenders installed. I even got the door hinges in which was a little bit of a challenge especially since I broke one. Some Ambroid ProWeld and I was good to go. I partially assembled the bed. The tailgate and hinges have been let off so I can detail the bed floor with foil and paint. More to come...

While at the Hollis Flea Market last Sunday, I walked past a vendor with a couple of large boxes of model kits sitting on the ground. As I looked through the boxes, I started talking with the vendor about models and my club. I saw this kit in one box and ask about the price...$5.00. I gave him a five and thanked him. It is Revell's Custom '56 F100...circa 1986. I have always loved the look of the '56 F100 as others do since many have been restored or rodded. I started thinking about the kit off and on during the day. When I got home later that afternoon, I tore open the shrink wrap and opened the box to examine the kit. It was molded in metallic blue plastic, which would have been nice when polished, but with numerous swirl marks on the hood and roof, my only choice is to paint it. I decided on Tamiya TS-19 Metallic Blue. I have decided that the BBS wheels look out of place on this truck. I have a set of wheels and tires from the Revell '06 Mustang GT to use instead. I think they look better than the BBS wheels which, IMHO, would look more at home on a Porsche. I have had a couple of versions of this model over the many, many years that I have been building. I was hoping to get the latest reissue of this kit at my LHS (the Ed Roth shop truck version), but that won't be necessary now. The first order of business is to remove all the flash and mold lines. Then on to paint! More to come...

Thanks Shane! I have finished my AMT '94 F150 Lightning. Paint is Tamiya Italian Red with a gray interior. Wheels and tires are from the Revell '99 F150 SVT Lightning. Stripes are from the Revell 2010 Ford Mustang GT. I would like to thank all those who took the time to view and to comment on my WIP.

Shane, that is a sharp looking SVT Lightning! I got the body and chassis together and installed the front and rear bumpers. I cut off the airbox and added a scratch-built open element air filter. All that's left to do is add the stripes, door mirrors, and do any touchups. She is almost done. More to come...

Thanks guys! I finished the engine this morning. And, installed in the completed chassis. Shane, here's a couple more pics of the SVT Lightning. More to come...

Oh, to be 16 again!! As I approach the ripe old age of 60, I do reminisce about the days gone by and the mistakes and positives that I have made. Austin, I hope you can understand that by being 16 years old, you are an inexperienced driver and the liabilities that come with being so young and inexperienced are enormous, even with a cheap motor vehicle. A cheap motor vehicle can and will cause just as much damage as a new vehicle can, so the cost of insurance is greater than someone with much experience You will make mistakes as you grow older and hopefully, you'll learn from those mistakes. Also, take note of the mistakes made by others. You can learn from them, too. It is unfortunate that many young people view getting a drivers license as a necessity instead of a privilege. Be patient and in time, things will equal out.

Thank you for the nice compliment, Mike! BTW, here's a pic of my '99 F150 SVT Lightning.

Thanks guys! This afternoon I got a chance to paint the body parts of the Lightning with Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red. Sorry about the pictures, I had to adjust the exposure rate so the paint doesn't look pink. I've been putting off working on the engine. I still need to drill the distributor for plug wires and re-assemble the rest of the engine. More to come...

OK, I wonder why there is such an interest in the SA forum when we have MCM? I would have thought that this was the to be and yet, there is the repeated discussions about SA. While some of the discussion is light-hearted, some of the comments have been a bit more targeted towards being complaints about SA, which I thought was a no-no here. Yes, SA has changed their format again and many members there are up in arms about it. I understand the inherent rivalry since both have a magazine and a forum but, I once read that any comments made about SA here was forbidden since they have their forum and MCM has theirs. So, what gives as I am just trying to understand what is what here. How about it Harry, can you clarify this for myself and others?

Thanks Shane! With the exception of the engine, driveshaft, and some touchups, the chassis is complete. I'm liking the stance now! Now I can concentrate on the engine. More to come...

Thanks guys! I can understand how another project can capture one's attention, which is why I limit myself to two projects at a time. This allows me to at least finish a project before starting another. It also helps keep the bench from getting too cluttered. Your daughter's van looks like quite the custom scratch building project! I'll have to look into it more. Let me know if you can make it to this years Classic Plastic Model Club Show so I can make it a point of meeting you. Dave, I would like to have a meatier tire, but I have what I have and it looks good to me. I have seen thinner rubber bands on 1:1 cars and I don't like them at all. Those are usually the type of vehicles that goes crashing over every tiny crack and pebble in the road with no give in the suspension.

Tonight, I was trying to figure out a way to lower the Lightning and I found a solution. In the rear, I cut down the forward mounting blocks for the rear springs. With the rear suspension in place and a wheel and tire mocked up. On the front Twin I-beams, it was a simple matter of cutting off 1 1/2 coils from the springs. More to come...

Thanks guys! Jim, I think a Duster as a hardtop looks better than a Duster as a coupe. Why Chrysler didn't do this, I don't know.

Thank you Bill! I have changed my mind on the paint. I am going to use Tamiya TS-39 Mica Red. I had issues with Testors One Coat Revvin' Red on a street rod that I built so I reconsidered my paint choice and went with the Tamiya.

Thanks guys! Charlie, I used red oxide primer on the A100. The doors had only a light coat of primer applied when I took the pictures, that is why they look orangey.

The disc brakes have been painted and installed on the wheels. The interior is complete and ready for installation. The only bodywork necessary is to fill a sink mark on the right rear fender of the box. More to come...

A little time spent on the A100 this afternoon. Another coat of primer on the body, tailgate and doors. I need to spend some more time on the tailgate sanding. I made carpet with embossing powder and added a coat of paint to the top side of the floor pan. More to come...