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Very nice Art! Very close to Harry's picture, doubt that any two T's off of Henry's Assembly line looked 100% exactly alike when it came to real wood. I have a wood spoke Model T hub cap and the really tall and fat valve stem cover from one of my Grandfather's Model T's. He told me that the valve stem covers were so large to keep the mud from packing in and around the valve stems, especially the Schrader valves. With a sly grin he told me a story of driving one of my uncles crazy with that valve stem cover which had a slot in its top to remove the Schrader valve from a valve stem. The cover was just the right size to carry in one's pocket. Nearly every night he would loosen the Schrader valve on his brother's tire until all the air was let out then retighten the valve. Evidently this went on for weeks nearly every morning my uncle would dismount the tire and look for the leak in the tube, finally figuring out he'd been duped. Knowing how mischievous my uncle was I am sure he must have done something in return. I was just doing some dusting in my curio cabinet and ran across the hub cap and valve stem cover, reminding me of that story. Your model reminded me of it too, Thanks!

Awesome Abarth, those wheels really made a huge difference. Most anything looks great with the wheel wells filled up!

Nice work! Love those rims. Been years since I drove a Rotary engine car, which was a first generation RX-7, (wasn't my car). Even back then the handling for a stock chassis was excellent. The thing I remember most was that Rotary's don't compression brake very well, about as well as a two stroke bike that is.

jb, your body looks almost like a Bantam, in fact before I read your post it looked (to me at least) like that's what you were aiming for. Too bad there isn't a bit of a ready source for a Bantam grill shell, that would look great on there.

First Mopar, lots of potential, lose the moronic exhaust, finish it right and paint it, the exhaust makes it look more like a "D" Derby car than a Street Rod. Second car, nice old Mopar, those wheels look fine, better than some of th ugly sharp pointed bent spoked looking wheels that are on some cars.

The orange color does make things Pop! Another color combination that might look good would be like a "Creamcicle Orange and an Antique Ivory or like a Kawasaki Green with the Green you already have shown both combo's would compliment each other. With the two tone scheme you've shown. Things might Pop better with that scheme if the upholstered top section were either black or an almost black green for the green combo. Really like the way you did the driveshaft /transmission tunnel, smart piece of work for something that has plagued modelers for eons. I've seen a few different attempts to make believable transmission tunnels with sheet styrene but they always looked clunky. Good eye for repurposing stuff to make plausible things like the fuel filler and intake, keep up the great work.

OK, so this is the AMT Vega Funny Car hat had the cycle wheels on the front right? Always thought their wheel choice was rather odd, as by the Mid-Seventies no one was running a cycle wheel under a Funny Car at the Drags. I built that one in my younger days. You are right, that chassis and body is short and was more suited to building something like a period altered. Same frame went under an AMC Gremlin Funny Car and probably a few others to get their money's worth out of the tooling. The short body probably distorts things where it looks (in pictures) that the body is "Fat" brought the belt line. Don't see too many modelers take a Funny Car body and return it to Street Stock configuration, you're doing great!

Traditional, red, maroon, dark green, Kelly green, Robin's Egg blue, Washington blue, gray, then black, or two color combo's. Black would often be the last color of choice because many Ford wheels came from the factory in black. You are replicating an era where things were customized with contrasting and complimenting paint colors. Wheel colors often were a color that complimented the color of the bodywork, as would any wheel striping or pinstriping of the body. There are a lot more highlight colors than Black, white and Red that everyone is so enamored with these days!

There was a news story about this on one of the Seattle Stations. PayPal was indeed considering the Robo-Call Pestering of their customers/users. From what the news said about it. PayPal received so much negative feedback from members calling them directly, it tied up their switchboards for quite awhile. From the story it sounded like both eBay and PayPal both would encounter a huge hit on their membership numbers, based on that feedback; right now it's doubtful that PayPal will engage in Robo-Calling its members in the near future. Probably subject to change depending on the way they feel the next week!

Nice work, love your Minilites those are turning out as nice as your stuff always does. I always thought that body was a tad bit fat in the belt-line. Never owned a Vega, however I participated in putting small Block's in five or six of them. The mechanics at the VW Dealer I worked at would buy them when they were traded in, most were heavy smokers by the time they got traded, on like a "Push, Pull of Drag In " Promo that would get like a $1,000 Credit on a new VW. Those early skinny bumper Vega's were the easiest to do the conversion. I think the first two or three of them used the Harwood Kit, pretty well thought out kit had everything needed to put a Small Block in it including headers and radiator. Now Small Block Ford in a Pinto, another story all together, I don't remember the kit manufacturer but I do remember being way less than impressed! I still have nightmares about that one, owner probably does too, he wrapped it around a telephone pole in the rain, lucky he walked away from it. He left (abandoned) the Pinto motor which he had put a ton of money into, he had a pair of 40 Webber DCOE's hanging off the side, which ended up on a carb'd '76 Rabbit motor which ran better than second '77 or '78 Rabbit GTI. Gas Crunch Hot Rods!

Thanks Bill, I knew the Revell Bus didn't have them, was wondering if any of the Japanese kits had them. Shouldn't be too difficult to "carve" something up with the Dremel to make a reasonable facsimile.

Do any of the VW Bus / Type II models come with the Gear Reduction Axle Boxes? I sort of have a hair brained idea of using a pair on a Hot Rod to go even lower. One could feasibly set up a Ford Banjo Rear End with a set of gear reduction boxes flipped to drop another four inches. Not to mention the fact that these boxes had a variety of gear sets available and could essentially be set up in an overdrive like a Quick Change Rear could.

Looks like it seriously needs more tire, wheelie bars and playing around with weight disrribution. Awesome to have power but when you cannot put it to the ground without spinning the tires enough that it appears to be fouling out on nearly every run, that just might be a little issue! Then again back in my VW days nobody was running Turbo's either!

Try the light turning in to seat the needle, it gives a feeling to seating the needle in the tip. It's not just a poke and hey that's it!

You probably already had the needle in the airbrush body, then screwed the tip in right? My nephew loaned out his Iwata Eclipse, the borrower screwed the tip back ont the AB body with the tip tightened and down too far, when screwed into the body, the tip is pulled into the tapered needle and the tip is the least point of resistance and splits. I've also seen this with some other dual action air rushes, so it isn't that un common. Be careful when purchasing the cheapie airbrushes like the DeLuxe from Harbor Freight, I've heard that some have been assembled with cracked tips. BTW, the Harbor Freight DeLuxe for its price is a good "Learner Level" airbrush as long as you realize that you have to treat them even more carefully than the name brand airbrush, which is one reason I recommend them, if you get used to cleaning and handling a tool like a precision instrument it will last a whol lot of years, even some of the cheap ones, if you learn that on a cheap one you will treat a high dollar AB just as well. I've got more than five years on two DeLuxes, I use them for quick jobs which don't require great precision or hair fine lines, they can with practice; they're also a great back up AB, things happen to our good Airbrushes at times, I've got Iwata, Badger, Paasche, Thayer- Chandler Airbrushes yet carry a $15 AB in my kit on paying jobs. I know other Sign Painters, Pin Stripers who carry a little cheap insurance in their kit too! Back to the cracked tip, Ok I've always been taught by my Airbrushing Mentors and Tormentors alike to first seat the tip, then replace the needle into the tip. The needle is already in and loose when the tip is screwed into the AB body, once the tip is tightened, next gently seat the needle into the tip with a slight turning action until it is just snug, then tighten the thumb nut at the rear of the needle to tighten it. The action of the AB should keep things tight. If there is blow by repeat the seating of the needle until it is tight. It actually takes a bit of force to crack a tip like that,,, it happens!

I've got both issues, if you do any of the Ed Roth Monster or Hawk Weird Ohs models then you should find at least a tip or two. I liked them, wish that the would have continued them even as an occasional special issue. In regards to the Ed Roth stuff, they approached them from a figure modeler's standpoint versus where most model car builders would approach them from say a car accessory point of view. They sort of don't get the whole Ed Roth or Custom Car, Show Car Scene either, even more so the Von Dutch connections. To them and even some people within the Kustom Kulture scene they're just a coupl weird guys from the 60's! They were but some of the stuff they did was kind of Cool at the very least, takes me back to grade school, Jounior High days, it's like the whole Nostalgia Thing, even at that some people just jump on the wagon whether they get it or not!!

Scraping jaw off of floor, Most Impressive!

Sweet Red, AWB / Funny Car / Match Racer / Gasser depending on what track it ran on that weekend! Those are some sparse model kits a little extra work goes a long way.

Then that makes matters even worse, either using cheap (junk) parts or improper installation and maintenance of a Proven Suspension/Traction System maybe even both! Probably bought the bolts at Home Depot out of the bargain bin or did all the welding with a Harbor Freight $99 "Wire Feed" welder!

That would make a beautiful "Phantom" Pontiac 2 Door Cheiftan Wagon, I can visualize the stretched door with the door pillars moved back. I'm having a little difficulty seeing the rear set, maybe a longer single window or split the distance between the front and rear. Wouldn't take a ton of work to make a ton of difference in the looks either. I think I've seen renderings of either the more common Chevrolet wagon done as a two door, thinking late eighties to mid nineties Street Rodder magazine. Would really go with your tubbed chassis either Pro- Street / Touring setup, always wondered why GM never did any 2 Door 50's Wagons earlier than the '55 Chev.

I believe that's the tube Chrome Competition "T" Frame that shows up on eBay frequently. I think there is one on there right now. Those AMT Blueprinter Parts Pack boxes was what I was eluding to in a round about way. I really don't think anyone selling reissued Parts Packs (AMT or Revell) would need to invest big money for packaging, it's my belief that the parts sell themselves.

Modeling typically follows the current trends with Hot Rods, Bikes, Customs, Racing - Drags, Roundy Round... Take a look around what are the current Hot Rodding Trends (just as a for instance), Wow the look a whole lot like what guys were running back in the '60's when many of the Revell Custom Car Parts and AMT Parts Paks or Packs were first issued. Then look at what's happening in the Custom Bike Scene, yep they are trying Retro Ideas again from the same time period. Then there's Nostalgia Drags where they are looking at that same time period. Then there is the resurgence of Vintage Circle Track and or Restoration of Vintage Circle Track Cars from forties through 60's to 70's. Anything old is selling for gold, just go to the next swap meet and you'll see that in five minutes! Point is, Release as many of the original Parts Packs as possible. For as much as the Revell Custom Bikes sell for on eVilbay there is no doubt that those would sell. Have to agree with Ace, those Parts Engines were some of the best ever made, even those full chrome engines. Next time there is a Nailhead Buick or Hemi (there's one on right now) Revell Custom Car Parts engine on eBay watch what they sell for, if people are fighting for and paying $25 - $30 +/- for those there is little doubt that they would sell. Then there's the Dragmaster Dart and Kent Fuller (?) Dragster Frames which both go for silly dollars, if you're releasing those then there is the Dragster Parts, Hot Rod Parts, Wheels. Just using eBay sales as a gauge one can see which of the Parts Packs sell and which don't, like the Custom Grills and Weird Seats just to name a couple. There clearly is a market for those parts if guys are buying old brittle plastic originals for that kind of money, you think they might not pay a third or more of that for new plastic re-issues? I just bought a Revell Ivo Showboat for the Nailhead Buick engines alone off of eBay for less than a third of a single parts pack engine, (opened started kit with 4 untouched engines). Cr@p I'd buy them in a plain cardboard box, who cares what the packaging looks like!! Look at the AMT Reissued Drag Slicks, how fancy was that packaging, they sold for $12+ in the Hobby Shops. The Packaging doesn't have to be amazing, just enough to securely contain the parts and that's about it. Most of these Re-Issues are selling on word of mouth or memory of the original parts alone. If the molds exist for these parts, then it just might be worth a few test runs to see what the demand is for them. If eBay sales are any indication, there will be a demand.

In regards to no one stopping to render assistance. In the past two or three years on construction projects, we have had six or more serious accidents following the first when someone attempted to stop their vehicle and render assistance. The roadway here is at least four lane and turn lane, so it most likely is 35 MPH minimum speed limit possibly up to 50 MPH. Unless you have the training to work in live traffic it is better just calling the accident in, the likelihood of you getting injured is high. The other observation, someone pointed out that there may have been rust issues. Unless the Dart was "Restored by Rattle Can" any competent person, even a home builder would have taken care of such an issue. Where roads are heavily salted most vehicles are inspected to weed out the truely dangerous rust buckets. Heat treated U-Bolts rarely rust through, they break but don't fail because of rust. I couldn't tell how much leaf spring if any was attached to the axle, either the leaf spring broke in half, U-Bolt or brackets broke causing a chain reaction. Might be why people use some sort of Traction Aid to prevent excessive wheel hop, even good old Slapper Bars would help control wheel hop to an extent that major suspension failure isn't going to happen. Years ago a friend broke the control arm on his '67 GTO causing the axle to turn sideways under the car while doing a burnout, so it happens.

I would love to see a '26 / '27 T Coupe, Roadster or Roadster Pick Up a version of the model T that's long been missing. '28 / '29 Roadster or Coupe. Both in 1/25th Scale which would allow for parts interchangeability with the existing Model T and A kits. Thirties Mopars and Chevys would be nice to see as well. They could do some of the oddball stuff like Studebakers, Correct Henry J, Crosley, Jeeps which many hardcore modeler so might like to see, but probably wouldn't sell really well to the average casual modeler. Bring on the Custom Car Parts and Parts Packs - Good way to release '26 / '27 T bodies, frames, Hot Rod Parts either '60's period correct or new stuff. The Parts Packs would be a great "Minimal Investment" project using minimal new tooling effort versus the effort to creat complete new kits. New Custom Car Parts / Parts Packs might even be a bigger return for their money too in relation to the investment.

Martin. I think I finally remembered what looks of fish on the carb. If my memory is still working right, I think the "Firebreathing" 36 hp engine that powered my Oval Window had a flat iron 1/8" brace running from the bottom of the carb to either the top of the engine case at the seam or a stud sticking up from the case. This brace also had an ear (tab) sticking up from the carb base that the throttle return spring attached to. I'm sure that you can find a zillion pics of early 25 - 36 hp engines to compare to. I remember that the 40 hp engine did not have one, but when VW went to the Dual Port heads the center mounted carb manifolds had a similar brace because they used a slip fit for the center manifold into the two manifold ends and sealed with a rubber tube between them. You could duplicate this brace by cutting a strip of aluminum sheet or pop can bend and twist a little and you should have a cool looking bracket.