Longbox55

It's sold under the "Pearl-Ex" brand name. I get mine from Hobby Lobby. Comes in lots of colors. I've even mixed it into candies and cut down metallics. Just be carefull of the larger flake sizes (listed as Sparkle) as they can plug up the airbrush if too much is used. Here's a few I did using Pearl-Ex. '72 GMC, Testors Burgandy Metallic mixed with Blue Russett pearl, then cut 50% wit Boyd clear, shot over Testors Laquer Flat Black. '72 GT-R, Boyd Orange Pearl/Alumacoupe Yellow (appx. 60/40 mix) cut 50% w/Boyd clear, mixed with Sparkle Gold/Sunset Gold/Brilliant Gold, shot over BPS Buff primer '83 Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex. Testors Kiln Red w/Super Copper/Sparkle Copper and cut 50% w/Boyd clear, shot over BPS Allis-Chalmers Orange.

On a basic single agtion airbrush, the trigger only controls the amount of airflow, but not the amount of paint. Most have a fixed paint flow nozzle, but some, like the Model H, can have the paint flow adjusted, though the trigger still only controls the airflow. On a dual action, the trigger controls both the air and paint flow. This alows for much more precise control over how much paint it laid down.

Can't give an opinion myself on the Mighty Mini, as I've never used one, but for someone starting out, a Paasche Model H is very hard to beat. That's what I started with, and I know lots of guys that use one. I still use my H, mostly for primer work or touchups on my 1:1s, it's been beat to death, but it's still going. I use a Model V dual action for my models now, and am very pleased. On a side note, If you want an inexpensive airbrush to start out woth, try the Central Pneumatic that they sell at Harbor Freight. I picked up one a while back just to do primer and basecoat work, but decided to give it a try on a finish paint job. Although it didn't turn out as well as I would have liked (experimantal paint, don't ask), the airrush itself worked flawlessly. i would definetly suggest it as a starting out dual action.

Neat. If you'd like to add a bit of extra detail, check out this site. Lots of shop manuals (gotta have shop manuals) and other auto related literature and signage. I'm using some images from this site myself, resized to scale, to add manuals to a shop I'm working on. I've even got one that's going to an open manual with actual manual pages. It's an AMC manual, transmission section as I recall. If you need pre-'60 Chevy and GMC, check this site.

My problem is I have TOO MANY trucks to put together! I think I can get in on this, though. I've got a Mint-In-Box unbuilt MPC '77 Chevy Dust Devil that's begging to be put together.

You can get those cups from a medical supply store. They list them as Dose Cups.

That's a sweet paint job! RacinRay88, an airbrush isn't really as hard to use as one might think. Sure, it takes a little practice to get the best results, but if you can rattle can, you can use an airbrush. I remember the first time i used one. It was on a Palmer (?) 1:32 scale '32 Ford. Painted Testors sapphire blue. Yeah, it had runs and mottling, but it turned out well enough that I never turned back. In fact, the next one I did (an AMT '32 Ford) was not only airbrushed, but was painted a custom mixed color, something you can't do with rattlecans. get yourself a basic inexpensive airbrush to start with, trust me, you'll like it.

Not necessarily. Marmon-Herrington did 4x4 conversions on Fords from the late '40s (and posibly earlier) up to at least the late '50s (Ford came out with a factory 4x4 in '59), so that's an option. Plus, NAPCO did conversion kits similar to the ones they did for GM for Ford as well. They usually used the GM axles for the front.

Everyone's getting the 413 and 426 Long Rams but y'all are forgetting about the '60 and '61 383 Super D-500, Golden Sonoramaic, and Ram Charger (De Soto) engines, which also used the Long Ram intake.

Hmm. I'll admit, most of what I've picked up recently has been Revell, Fujimi (scored a GT-R for $15!), or original AMT/MPC kits. The only Round 2 I've picked up recently was the '78 Monte carlo, and it was white.

Molded in blue??? All the '66 Novas I have are white. I didn't know that Round2 was going to mold kits in color

Nice!

Yup, that's a really cool vid. Like to see todays trucks do that. If y'all want to find out more about the NAPCO, check out the NAPCO Owners site and Stovebolt.com. I'm a member of both sites (although my '55 isn't a NAPCO), as well as What Are You Workin' On. The last one is Stacey Davids (formerly of Trucks!, now on Gearz) site.

Well, a straight single color would be easiest, no masking involved. If you do go with a 2 (or more) color paint, try looking at how the trim is layed out on the body. You can use that to determine color breaks. As far as paint goes, since you mention spraying, I would suggest Testors Laquer System. Lots of color choices in boht factory stock as well as customs colors. They're also forgiving if you make a mistake, as 91% alcohol will trip it very easily. If you want to go with the flat colors that are popular these days, you can use the laquer without the clear. Gets an almost perfect suede look.

Good looking build. The '55-'59s are my favorite body Chevy trucks, too

Bolt pattern. Not a hard fix. The US spec GM wheels from that era are 5 lug in front, 10 in the rear. Here's a link to Stovebolt.coms Gallery, which has lots of pix of pre-'72 Chevy and GMC trucks of all sizes. My link

I'll have to try that. Thanks for the tip.

Nice looking castings! What material are you using? I've been doing a few tire castings myself, mainly for my own use and for a few local buddies, any tips would be appreciated.

I've got a couple of the '64s in the works, which is the same kit with a different bed and trim, but mine are being done up with 1 as a stock 1/2 ton, the other is getting a 3/4 ton conversion, which is getting slightly lifted. But back to the question at hand. Lowering the rear will be very easy, as the rearend mounts with simple bosses (which need to be trimmed off and replaced with coils to look correct). It's basically a case of cuting the bosses down to the hight desired. Or better yet, eliminating them altogether and replacing them with short coils/simulated air bags. I used ferruls for plumbing compression fittings (5/16") to do thins on a '55 Bel Air that is getting a similar rear suspension. You could also Z teh frame, if you're not concerned about the bed floor. The front will be a little trickier, as ther isn't much room to work with. I would start with removing the mounting bosses where the springs should be (again, incorrect detail anyway), then cut the A arms frm the crossmember at the pivot points. You'll want to cut the spindles off the control arms as well, so that the camber can be corrected once the proper ride hight is achaived. You can do the same air bag treatment in the front, I used 1/4" ferruls for that on my '55 Bel Air. You could also flip the spindles once emoved to get a bit more lowering, probably about 2" in scale.

The Blitz is alright for a '53 or older GM medium duty, especially the pre-war models. As I mentioned, the wheels are incorrect, and the steering box needs to be repositioned to behind the axle. The engine is resonably close to a GMC engine, but any of the engines from the US pickup kits would be much better. The trans is pretty close to the pre-war to '47 non-syncro "Crash Box" 4 speed. It can pass as the '48-'67 SM420 in a pinch, the only kit I've seen the 420 in is the MPC '67-'72 Chevy pickups.

Not so much of a tip for doing the actual weathering on the model itself, but a good tip for research; Go to a local Pick-A-Part salvage yard, especially one that still has older cars and trucks (I know, I know, not many around anymore). Check out how the vehicles aged, like common areas that they rust or have oil leakage. Some vehicles even have common areas that tend to get damaged due to accident or age. If going to a yard isn't an option, Cars & Parts and Collectible Automobile both run exellent features on salvage yards (C&P) or car spotting (CA). While not as good as seeing the cars in person, and being able to get as many angles of veiw on it, they are still a good resource.

Another option you might try, especially if you're looking for US trucks, is the aftermarket resin casters. I know that there's a '50 Chevy 1.5-2 ton cab, a '41 Chevy 1.5 ton cab, and I beleive a few Ford cabs of similar size trucks (I'm more of a Chevy guy). Also, if a '60s truck would be ok, Modelhaus has a '64-'66 Chevy cab for a 2.5 ton tandem. While it is intended to be a tandem axle truck, the cab is the same as the 1.5 and 2 tons. You could use that cab with the Ford Louisville truck (with an appropriate engine swap) using the single axle rear suspension.

While the door windows were corrected, the cab is still not 100% correct. The windsheild is not correct. It should have a Cadet Peak at the top of the roof, with the windsheild set back about 2" from the edge, rather than flush as the kit is made. This pic of my 1:1 '55 3204 shows how it should look.

Some of what you'll be able to find will depend on what type of truck you're looking for, such as US spec, European, as well as weight class, like light or meduim duty truck. Since you mention 3 ton, I'm thinking you're looking for a medium duty. The Blitz is very good kit, although it does need a but of alteration to make it a bit better. One thing I didn't care for on it was the lack of an opening hood, but that's easy enough to take care of. It also is a good base to make an older US spec 1.5 ton Chevy, as the chassis is similar. There are some accuracy issues with the wheels, as they are Europe spec, but again, nothing that can't be easily fixed. I don't know what type of bed you're looking for, but I have seen the Italeri Blitz in at least 3 different configurations, flatbed/sort side, fire truck, and stake. The fire truck version seems to be the common one found in my area.