Nitrozilla

Okay Vince, I'm wearing a black and blue NHRA Nitro Junkie t-shirt and almost matching NHRA ball cap to cover my nekkid dome.

Six hours and I'm airborne. See y'all there.

Vince, I was thrilled to find them. Thanx. Jimmy, that's what this site is all about. Your help has been invaluable. Bob, I'm pretty jazzed that I can now look forward to doing work I want to do on it instead of using more time doing stripping. Okay Boyz and Gurlz, if you're unable to go to GSL, I'll see you in a week. I'll be back on this build with a vengeance and a head full of new info and ideas. Scary, right?

So it's 3 for education and history and 1 for messing with people's heads. Messing with people WINS !!!! WooHoo.

Love the part, love the red, love the look. Eager to see the wing struts. Doing them should be good physical therapy as well once the raw, hot, searing pain subsides. Today's Password is: Pharmaceuticals

I'm kinda' fond of it myself Ray. Not to mention a few of yours as well.

I can't express my gratitude enough for all of your excellent help everyone. Funny story. I went to Hobbytown to look for the Meng nut & bolt heads and other miscellany when low and behold I spot a bottle of Novus 3 Heavy Scratch Remover, nowhere near where it should have been. It called to me, it beckoned me to try it. I already had Novus 1 & 2 with no previous need for the Big Guns. For the most part, it worked like a champ at bringing the paint down to an acceptable level. I've been working it with #3 and #2 for the last couple of hours and it is promising. Honestly, there may still be some minor defects, but sponsor decals will solve much of that. If that's cheating, then so be it. I'm going for the big picture here. I'll give it another round of light polishes, but I have to be very careful because the red I'm working is trying to transfer to the silver. I found that doing a clean water buff and dry between applications has fixed that. I'll finish with the #1 even though it's plenty shiny now. It still won't be done for GSL, but it will make a better presentation on the "In - Progress" table. Save me a spot Chris. Speaking of the aforementioned nut and bolt heads, I did find similar items from True Detail, including some spiffy looking connector fittings. Again you guys, forever grateful for sending me down the right path. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's the flashes from folks taking pictures of it in Salt Lake. Truth be told, that's all I'm really into it for even if it was in competition. Before...... After .......

For those of you who know the problems I'm having with paint on the Charlie Allen build, what I hope to come away with is a new respect for the work and effort of those who came before me. Aside from my own dogged determination to get that build right, it is their accomplishments that motivate and inspire me. This is also going to be an incredible opportunity to solidify the friendships we've started and fire up some new ones. Also, I plan on soaking up every ounce of history that the International Model Car Museum can give. Jim Keeler's Dodge Fever is first on my list. So, what's your prime reasons for attending?

Color me awestruck. You never cease to amaze Tim.

Thank you all for every word of advice. I never in a billion years would have thought leaving tape on that long would be a problem. It's usually my impatience that gets me in trouble, not the other way around. Paint and clear and polish have always been my weak point. I'm fixing that in a month, but I sooooooo wanted this to be done for this weekend. Thanks again all.

You are The Bomb Diggity, or is it Bomb Giggity? That would be so kewl Paul. So you only painted the roof? Brilliant. However, I changed the rear spoiler so decals weren't an option for me. We'll see what today brings and I'm so stoked that GSL is so close now.

I'm truly puzzled by this folks. The only thing that is not a common denominator is that the paint, Tamiya TS-8, dried fine on the resin Dart body and the plastic Deora body, but the ramp is made from Evergreen sheet. As far as the tape goes, I tried Frog tape previously and it leaked. I used Tamiya tape on the whole project. After the first problem, I used basic blue painter's tape from 3M this time. Both Tamiya and the blue did the same thing. Time - wise, the tape was on for 3 days. Day 1 was taping. Day 2 was paint. Day 3 was removal. I'm going to give the big decal I mentioned a try. After that, who knows??????? Thanks for the input guys.

Looks like the premier of this build will have to wait until after GSL. Sob On the up side, the dolly tires are done and only touchup needs to be done to the axles and steerable wheels. That's right, steerable wheels. On the down side, I let the paint cure for 5 days before masking the hauler ramp and it still received a massive overdose of tape marks. I have one chance to save it before stripping it. A week or so ago, I painted a sheet of Papillo decal paper red. I plan on picking up some tracing paper for templates tomorrow and seeing if I can make 3 working decals for it. I've never used this paper before, but anything has to be better than the Testors paper that curls up on contact. If that doesn't work.......... Keep your fingers crossed.

Paul, I'm jazzed to see more progress. That rigging line looks about right for parachute cords on a drag car. As far as where each one goes, I would look at it as trying to get a firing order correct. You just have to do it eleven times.

Joe - I just got bad news, the capuccino maker is on BACKORDER.....and no idea when it will be available...what should I do? In light of the constant interruptions and distractions I've caused you, I've decided to quit on this build and go do something else. Concerning the cappuccino maker, NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Concerning quitting the build, NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Let's practice the art of compromise. How about a Mr. Coffee and after your surgery, you redouble your efforts for the inconvenience you're causing me? (Did I just channel Sheldon Cooper?) Here's hoping for a successful procedure and a quick recovery my friend. Best wishes

It's a funny thing, but my mindset of how I approach and execute a build is changing bit by bit. After I get into a house in June, first I'll go crazy airbrushing everything in sight. After that I get a lathe. I have zero experience operating one of those puppy's. Thankfully I know a couple of guys that I can mercilessly annoy when I run into trouble. As far as metal addiction goes, I'll stop short of having adamantium injected like Wolverine.

How am I supposed to get any work done with all of these totally awesome distractions? HUH? HOW????

The outpouring of help on this is uber kewl y'all. It might have helped if I wasn't so zoned at 1 a. m. that I searched for "Meng photo etch bolt heads." Thank you all. I ventured into the land of Munimula, or in layman's terms, Aluminum. I made a new spoiler, headlight covers and a plate for the chute spring. Next will be five "riveted" strips for the windshield frame. The single piece below was just a test. Nothing is glued in place yet. I also made new pinstripes, painted gold on glass, then transferred to plastic to dry overnite. I'm taking a small break tomorrow to do lunch with a friend, incorporated into a hobby shop run. With any luck I'll find the Meng goodies there. In the meantime..........

Vince, can you give me a link? All I'm finding are models and accessories in 1/35th.

Two steps forward, one step back. Heads up Paul. On the down side, the glass didn't work for painting. I should have pulled the tape while wet and transfer it to plastic or something. I pulled the tape dry and more stuck to the tape than the glass. On the alternate tentacle, I got the winch done except for decals. It will look better on the hauler bed where it belongs. The dolly casters are glued together. The excess is for paint purposes, then will be trimmed. Just starting on tire side 1. Touch up, then the flip side. The reason I got silver on black was from laughing so hard. You know, you're in the Zone, your thoughts wander and then an idea hits you that's so mind blowing you do the Evil Laugh? It's something exceptionally cool about the casters that I won't reveal until they're ready. Later tonite I'll cut some more strips, then shoot in the morning. Until then, there's these things........

Congratz Sean. Feels good all over, doesn't it? Especially that part where they call 3rd, then 2nd, and your name hasn't been called yet. Here's to many more.

Instead of making some crude yoke joke or even one about a drive SHAFT, I'll just sit here in reverent respect of your skills. Okay. Glad I got that out of my system without giving in to silliness. So anyway, this yoke and a driveshaft walk into the NHRA Museum............. P. S. Chris, sorry, no passengers. That spot is designated for a cappuccino machine. Please refer to post #1357885 on 4 Feb, 2015 at 10:15 A. M.

Thanx Ray and Carl. I appreciate you taking the time to look and comment. Yes Paul, I'm GSL bound. I've had my flight and room paid for since January. If you want to meet me, look for the guy following John Teresi around like a lost puppy. There should be plenty of opportunities for us to hook up. Also, I'm glad I could return the favor on the striping. I'm 99% certain I might maybe possibly have this done. I always start a list of finishing touches when I near completion. That list has 20 items on it.

Mostly been playing with detail stuff today. I got the hauler bed shot yesterday and I hope to mask it on Saturday. Hopefully 4 days of drying is enough to avoid tape marks. My brain is on sensory overload because everything I did today is all Eyeball Engineering. I went a little cuckoo and cut 27 pinstripes on a piece of glass from a picture frame, then sprayed them gold. Letting that dry overnight. I pulled all of the side stripes from the body. If the new gold matches the top stripes, fine. If not I'll pull them too. The top ones were done using a paint pen. Here's the dolly tires for the new casters. I have seen a pair of smaller tires used for steering purposes, so I'm going with that. I'm using aftermarket 1/72 aircraft tires. They had molded in bottom bulges, but I removed them because I don't think the body and dolly weigh as much as a Messershmitt. I also got some assembly done on the winch. Gonna need more work and touch up there. It will get PE hex heads and a cable with a hook. That's it for now. More soon. Thanks for looking.

Outstanding. Terrific. Wonderful. Happy Day. Just what I needed. Another modeling diety to worship. Doesn't all of that shrinking to work on it, then growing back to normal size for pictures take a toll on your body? Way Too Impressive my friend.