W-409

Wow, really? I have the same kit and so far I haven't found any big fit issues. I've finished the frame and engine is also almost completed. The doors fit a bit badly, and there is lots of flash, but otherwise I think it's a good kit. It has nice Custom parts as well. My biggest disappointment was AMT's version of MPC's old Twister Vega. I remember it was more expensive than other kits, but as it was a GM H-Body I had to get that one. I didn't know what was in the box or how good (Or bad) the kit actually was as I was younger then and I hadn't heard of Model Cars Magazine or anything like that. When I opened up the kit, I saw that the engine is way too small and the chassis has everything molded as one piece. The kit was easy to build, everything went really well together, but it didn't made me feel much better anyway, because the kit was so simple. Though I remember building that one was a lot of fun and for sure I'll build another one in the future. Otherwise I think I haven't had any major disappointments. Nowadays it's much easier, when I know more things about different kits and I know roughly what's inside the box.

So I believe you airbrushed that Tamiya paint on the Hudson? How did it work? What did you use to make the paint thinner? I've been planning on trying those Tamiya Acrylics with an airbrush, but I I haven't tried them yet... Anyway that's a Fantastic looking Hudson! The color fits perfectly on it, and your BMF work is super sharp. I also like the engine, it looks like it could be fired up any moment. This is one of the best Hudson Hornets that I've seen, congrats!

Great job with the Oldsmobile, Yuri! This is a very nice body style and I like seeing these built. I've built one, too and I'm planning on building another one - especially after seeing this one! Fantastic job with the paint job and detailing. It looks very sharp and in some pictures I could swear that it is real car. Did you use the MCG Photo Etch set while building this one?

A Big Thank You for You all ! Todd: I'll need to think about the name of this car. That would be a good one for sure, let's see what happens. Brett: Yep I was thinking about the white headers, but I decided to go with silver instead. But painting them white would have looked really good, too. Actually it's not that hard making these headers, and I bet your headers would turn out really expensive because of the shipping if you sent them here. Thanks for clearing out on making the collectors. I mixed up with the words again and you said exactly what I was trying to say. The collectors on my headers aren't perfect, but I learned a lot while making them. Next time I think I will end up with a bit better result when I have already experience on making them. Carl: Great! I'm always happy to help. Jesse: I'm a great fan of Rock 'n Roll and Rockabilly music as well. Some Psychobilly bands are really great too and I listen to music a lot. Link Wray has great stuff, especially I like his song "Rumble" that comes from local radio (Radio Golden Classics) from time to time as well. When I first heard it, I started immediately to search Google what could be the song, but as I didn't find anything, a friend told me it's Link Wray's Rumble. But as I said, he has other great songs too. Reverend Horton Heat is another great one. Again, Thanks everyone for the kind words! I really appreciate them very, very much! No new pics yet, as I spent last weekend at Kalajoki Airport where the fourth race at Finnish Drag Racing Championship Series was driven. We had new tires under the Chevelle, but I had traction problems during the whole weekend. On first Qualifying round I failed myself and the car crawled forward from Stage too early and the 60 FT was really horrible. On the second run the tires spun a little when I shifted to the 2nd gear. Anyway I ran 12,32 so I was really happy with that run especially when it was ran at an airport. The third Qualification run was not that good, I had major traction problems right away when I lifted the brakes. Fourth run was good without traction problems and I ran 12.33. On the Eliminator, my first round opponent was last year's Finnish Champion in his Pontiac Firebird. I took a .003 Reaction Time and even if I had traction problems, I crossed the finishing line first and won the race! The 2nd round was also a Semi Final, there I red lighted by -.007 and of course I lost because of that. But there it was really slippery and the car was drifting quite a lot at the start. Anyway I was able to run full throttle all the time without lifting. My plan is to get something done with the engine or chassis tomorrow. So Stay Tuned.

I agree with Ray, fantastic stuff! You build very clean models and it would be an impossible task to find mistakes from them. But I also like the color combinations, especially that Red & Gold combo on that '55 Chrysler works perfectly. Really nice work and keep these coming!

Great job on this GTX! Very nicely done overall, I think raising the rear end a little was a good thing... The stance looks spot on! Nice detailing in the engine bay as well.

Thanks Jonathan! Your GTX is looking really nice, too. That front fender looks actually pretty good just like that, I mean that on a Cannonball Run car it could be so that the fender has been crashed and then repainted. Great job on the Chevy, too! I like the Cowl Induction hood a lot and the wheel and tire combo works perfectly under that one. Now I need to make some progress with the Daytona so we'll get two cars from Finland to the starting line. But before that I'll watch the Cannonball Run movie to get some inspiration!

Jesse: Thanks, I appreciate it! That's The Go Getters' No Brakes DVD that has great live material. The Go Getters is my favorite Rockabilly band and it comes from Sweden. I recommend this for everyone who likes Rock 'n Roll or Rockabilly music. Here is a trailer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDxTRgI0uls Carl: Thanks for the kind words! My description wasn't the best possible, but let's see if I can say it a bit better. The ends are regular sheet styrene that I bent as round pieces and glued on place. I hope this makes better sense, but if not, I'll post pics how I did it.

Thanks so much, Glenn! Yep my plan is to go with a Two Tone paint job. I've already ordered some light blue from Tamiya and the other color will be white. And it will be a "Full Drag Car" so I'm not going to make it streetable at all, my idea was that this would be a car that could race in Nostalgia events, in Bakersfield Nostalgia Races, for example. I've made some more progress with this thing, actually the headers are now finished. After the last update, I continued by scratchbuilding the collectors for those headers. First thing to do was to find a proper size plastic tubing and gluing it on where the header pipes meet each others. I found some thick mold sprue that worked perfectly for this. Then I took some thin sheet styrene and glued it as round piece, around the mold spure I did on the pics above. After smoothing out the seam that came when I glued the styrene to round shape, I took a screwdriver and heated it hot with a candle. With that, I could push those little dents on it. It's very hard to say how I did this step, but I hope the pictures will talk themselves. Then I painted the headers with Revell's #91 Silver. I'm going to add heat staining on them later on, but otherwise they are done now. I also glued on the blower and valve covers, painted the magneto and drilled holes for the plug wires. And finally I found some Dymo Tape that I can use to re-scribe the panel lines on the body. It worked really nicely and now the panel lines are good to go. The body will need lots of bodywork, though before I can shoot some Primer on it...

You do great work! The roll cage looks really nice and the wheelie bars, too. When looking at your previous builds, the cages fit perfectly inside the body, too. That is a thing I always had some problems with. I can't wait to see how this turns out. It is a nice body, and I know some people think I'm crazy when I say this, but this older model with single headlights looks much better than the newer one with two headlights on both sides.

That Vega looks very cool! Good luck for your Racing, it's nice to see more young people on the Drag Strips. Do you know how much that Vega weights? I bet it's a lot lighter than our Race Car and that way much more fun to push forward at the pits.

I don't think that the cost is a problem, either. A regular good kit (Not a Snap Kit) costs about $30 (Here in Finland) and to get started with the hobby you don't need all of the tools that many of us do. I'd say a bunch of paints and brushes, sandpaper, a file, hobby knive, tweezers and a spray paint for the body and that kind of "basic equipment" is all you need for the first builds. Just to get started. Overall, those won't cost that much, at least if compared to what a game console and a game for it would cost. I think those are very expensive. I've never bought a single game console or a game, probably because I play them very, very rarely and that way I think I prefer buying a model kit that I can turn out into something I'd like to see in 1:1 scale. (Anyway I do have a game console and a few games, I've got them as Christmas presents). It's true that some of the kits have lots of flash and other stuff to be cleaned up. That's not a good thing for a first time modeler that might not exactly know how these should be built. Of course if his/her parents have been building models when they were younger, then I see this is not a problem as the parents can tell the kid that he/she should get rid of that junk. But I wouldn't say that Japanese kit manufacturers are better than Americans. It depends on what things people appreciate, personally for me I think it's interesting that the kit has a good body, engine and interior and separate axles etc on the chassis. On Japanese kits, the body is usually really good, but there might be no engine and no chassis detail. Sometimes even the interior is simplified, but most times that is okay. It's true that many people nowadays are interested in those Super Cars. I don't know if there are kits of them, but I think someone should make them to get more people interested in this hobby. I know more folks that are interested in American Cars, though, but luckily there are many kits of them available! The idea of making a model of a car that exists in some video games is a really good idea in my opinion. Probably the video game people would buy them and get interested in this great hobby.

I found a set of valve covers from my parts box. I don't know where they are from, but I had to remove the chrome plating, because I think chrome valve covers won't look realistic in the engine bay. Then I painted them with Chrome Silver and I think they look like aluminum right now. I also scratchbuilt the Fenderwell Headers. Header flanges are scratchbuilt from sheet styrene and the headers are made out of Evergreen's .080" plastic tubing. Those headers were actually quite easy to do and I think building the headers from plastic is a lot of fun. First I did the pipes for cylinders 7 and 8, then 5 and six and so on. It's just important to heat the plastic as little as possible, but yet enough so that it will bend. I used a candle and it worked perfectly. Now I have to do the collectors for them, I'll see when I have time to make them, at least tomorrow looks really busy. Looks like the pics are really bad. I had too little light so I had to use flash and now the parts look a lot worse than they really are. I will take some better shots tomorrow.

I'm now 17 and I've been building since I was six years old. I've been always interested in American Cars and my dad's Monogram '70 Chevelle SS got me inspirated to build my first model. A couple of my friends built models when we were a bit younger, but nowadays they have other interests and they're not building anymore. I've got a couple of friends who are the same age as me or a couple of years younger and they do build models all the time. It is true that young people have other interests than building models nowadays. However, I must be strange somehow. I usually don't watch TV (I watch only the Drag Race program once a week), I don't use any of those Facebook-kind of things, I write only on these forums. I play video games very rarely and so on. Though I spend lots of time in the garage building our Race Car with my dad and of course the race weekends take a lot of time from building, too. Then there is school and friends etc etc, but anyway I have time to build models, probably because I don't spend all of my time in front of the TV or in the internet. The reason I build these is that this is a good way to have replicas of cars I'd like to own in 1:1 scale as I know I can't have them all... Model building also teaches how these machines work and it's all in all a very good past time. But it's true that there are lots of model builders in Europe. Here in northern Europe where American Car Culture is popular, we build lots of model cars, pretty much the same kits than you guys do there in the USA. Of course there are many builders who build European or Japanese cars, too, but I can tell you that model building is more popular in here than some of you might think.

I'm not too crazy about the 1/20 scale, either. It means that none of the aftermarket goodies I have for 1/24 or 1/25 models won't work so I'd have to find a new source for everything, like plug wires, battery cables etc etc. And that's not good. But when looking and the pics that Chris posted, I actually got really interested, the chassis is looking actually pretty good and what I can see of the interior, it's not too bad either. Maybe I might pick one of these when they hit the stores, it looks like it's much more authentic than the Jo-Han 1/25 scale kit.

Thanks so much everone ! I appreciate the kind words. Mitch: Thanks for the offer on a Top Fuel Hemi! Unfortunately it would have been a bit too modern for this car, but I have a couple of other builds where I'm installing one of those Top Fuel Hemis. Those engines are true monsters. Some of those aluminum fittings are really pricey. That is the reason why I decided to try creating my own. The end result isn't probably as good as it would be with those metal parts, but it's better than nothing anyway. I've been painting these with the Tamiya clear colors, too, and they work great but on this build those would have been too modern so I decided to paint the fittings with Revell's gold. I remember seeing those on some old pics. The hex tubing is made by Plastruct, but I guess Evergreen has them as well. There are many different sizes and I'm using .060" for the fittings and for the bolts I've used .030" size tubing. Actually those fittings and bolts are really easy to make. For the fittings, I drill a hole for the tubing with 1 millimeter drill bit before cutting the fitting separate from the rest of the tubing. That size hole is perfect for the braided lines I'm using. Thanks for the tip with the roll cages, too. That really helps and I will have to try that in the future as I have many projects that are in need of a proper roll cage, but I haven't figured out yet how can I make one easily. That method sounds good so I'll definitely give it a try. Next time I will try not to red light. Michael: Yep that car launches pretty nicely even if it's really heavy. 5:38 Final gear ratio helped a lot (it had 5:13 before) and the engine is really good. It's built by the fellow who sold us the car and he is a real wizard with these Stock Eliminator engines. I agree, 12.20 is really good ET for that one. We need a new torque converter for the next season with some more stallspeed. That way we can raise the lauch RPM a little and get a better ET. It's true that a 13 second car is a really fast one, especially on the streets. Of course nowadays it's possible to see for example nine second street cars on Cruisings here in Finland too, but in the old days I believe that there weren't many 13 second street cars? Yep, the bolts are worth trying, I think it's a neat little detail. John: These old kits are a lot of fun to build, even if they might need some work (or a lot of work). The styrene tubing is made by Plastruct and it is a great stuff. That is a good idea of combining it with a wire and styrene to make it as a complete bolt & nut. I will have to try that! Clay: I can't wait to see it finished, too. When I get this one done, I'll post a picture of this next to the one I built from this same kit years ago. I hope this one will turn a lot better than my old one did. Again, a Big Thank You for you guys! These comments keep me motivated with this build. I've been building header flanges for the engine and hopefully today I can start scratchbuilding the headers, because I didn't find a set that would fit with the Big Block Chevy. I hope the headers will turn out okay....Stay tuned.

Just a minor update on this project. I scratchbuilt a Holley fuel pump from sheet styrene and styrene tubing. The mount is made of beer can aluminum. The pump is actually very simple, but on a finished model, I guess it is a neat little detail that can't be seen too well. The fuel line is made out of Pro Tech's Braided Line (The best there is!) and my plan was that it goes inside the frame. The connectors are made of hex styrene tubing. Here is a picture of the kit's rear axle. As you can see the driveshaft is molded as one piece with the rear axle. The driveshaft has no couplers (?) and it's a bit thick, too. Well, the only solution was to cut the driveshaft away, I'll use or make another one when I get the rear axle on place and I can mock up the engine.

I must have missed it that you finished the Altered Ego! It's really fantastic work! I will have to dig out the actual build thread to see more.

Good looking Ford! Salt Flat cars are rarely seen as models, which is a shame because they are really nice. I'm glad to see this one. You did a great job with the paint and decals. I don't like the skirts that much, but I must say that they are very nicely done, too!

Thanks for sharing these pictures and a great information! I bet many guys have learned new things from this thread (Me included). Very nice work with the Impala! Only thing I was wondering is that you assembled the engine that far before painting it. When you do like that there is a danger that the paint will fill up the seams between those separate parts and then for example the heads and valve covers might look like they are one piece. Your engine doesn't have that problem, but someone else might have that problem when using that method. The reason I'm saying is that I've done the same thing and then I had to start all over again. Of course the problem was my too thick paint coat, but anyway I like to paint the parts first before gluing them together. But as I said, your engine looks fantastic just like that!

I've never done this kind of thing. If I buy a model, I will build it, I see no reason to buy something so rare that I couldn't build it. Models are meant to be built.

Ouch. Red lighting by -.001 really sucks, but of course these things happen when we are trying to get a good light. Nice job with the perfect light, it must feel good to see that on your time slip! I guess my best RT so far is something like .020, but of course I've driven only a little compared to you. I didn't even know that Junior Dragsters have Chromoly frames... But now when you said it, I believe it's quite common that these Jr. Dragsters have Chromoly frames? Those engines sure are a pieces of art. A friend just bought a Methanol burning Junior Dragster for his daughter from the USA and by watching the things he does at the pits, I've seen that the engines are nice pieces of machinery. I think dialing the car that way is a good idea, I've used it too. Much better than if your dial in is a bit too tight (For example 8.25 and you run 8.35). On my run I had 12.37 and I knew the car would go a bit faster. It went 12.330 so with a little braking I guess I would have been quite close. I believe the reason why the car creeped forward was that I pushed the Two Step switch instead of the brake pedal. The switch is on the top of the brake pedal so I guess that might be the reason. When I concentrated on pushing the pedal more, I had no problems so I guess that was the reason. Now I just have to remember that in the next race. New tires are now ordered, now let's see how Mickey Thompsons work for me. Oh, and thanks for subscribing!

Thanks Guys! I appreciate the kind words! Jason: Yep it doesn't feel good to take a red light and I would have liked to have a tight race so that the winner would be found on the finishing line. I bet that kind of a very little red light feels even worse, as it was really close to perfect light. I knew I had to take a good light or I would lose. Anyway I'm really happy I saw my red light immediately when the car launched, so I could run full throttle to the finishing line. I ran 12.330 on 12.37 dial in and as my plan was to hit the brakes before the finishing line, I guess my dial in was pretty much correct. And that's what I'm really happy about. Here are my runs from the Nitro Nationals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3hmiPJynqs And here is the Stock & Super Stock Final Round. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOLwgKWg8wE

It has been a loooong time since I've made any progress with my Dodge Charger Daytona. Anyway to keep up with you guys who make real nice progress I got back building the engine. And because I don't want to be the last guy crossing the finishing line, I thought that the Hemi will need a Power Adder. Luckily AMT included a Blower in the kit. I just removed the chrome plating and painted it to give it a more realistic look. This is where I am at with the engine right now. I should have the body in Primer really soon, too...

This time I'll post a legendary Show Car, a '32 Plymouth Roadster that has won the Grand National Roadster Show in 1965/1966. It is built by Art Russell and it's painted by George Barris. The car has 324 Cid Oldsmobile engine with six carburetors and LaSalle 3 Speed transmission. The car visited in American Car Show 2012 here in Finland. It was a guy from the Netherlands who owned the car and I can't remember if it was for sale, but anyway on that trip it was bought to Finland. Nowadays it's owned by a former Finnish Pro Stock racer who has won at least one Finnish Championship title in Pro Stock and maybe a Nordic Championship title as well (I can't remember for sure). The car can be seem sometimes at local Cruising Nights and it is very cool! First here is an old picture of it. And a couple of newer ones.