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How much vacuum do you need to pull to help pull the bubbles from the resin then the poured part? I am wondering what about using a Foodsaver vacuum sealer's vacuum port to pull the bubbles? Think it would work or help? The one I have we picked up for like five bucks at a garage sale, it works great, still in the original packaging. Looked like it was never used or outside the packaging other than to look at.

Looks great! Paint reminds me of some of Larry Watson's work, that's a huge compliment.

Haven't checked in on your progress in a while, you're doing a great job on this one. Is that a muffler ahead of the rear suspension assembly? Wonder if it shouldn't be a little rusty, or weathered like your exhaust pipes. Remember not too shiny on the paint, the two that I've seen look like they were only like a semigloss, almost like a dull coat finish. Observation on the "die cast" looking hood hinges. Looks like it might be easy to replicate the hinges in your reference photos. Evergreen rod or better yet metal tube/rod and a small angle bent out of thin sheet metal sort of like the NASCAR hood hinges. For the rod ends you could smash the end down in a vice drill and shape the end to accept a pin, with a tight enough fit on the Rod end you wouldn't have to worry about the other bracket end. The placement of the bracket would hold everything in place.

We called them dumps and / or cut outs, they can be found in the old Almquist and JC Whitney catalogs, even the electric varieties.

Gas Coupe / Sedan '55 - '58 Rules Breifly Centerline of the crank to Pavement 24 inches Maximum. Body - Production Automobile. 4 Complete Production Fenders. Top Chop - Limited to 4 inches. classes were determined by Dividing Car Weight by Engine Displacement. A/G Ratio Between 0.00 - 10.59 B/G Ratio 10.60 - 12.59 C/G Ratio 12.60 - 14.59 D/G Ratio Exceeding 14.60 Supercharged Cars Automatically Bumped Up to Next Class. Example - '40 Ford Coupe weighing in at 3,600 lbs with 303 ci Olds engine would have a Ratio of 11.22 lbs/ci, so it would run B/G. A '36 Ford Coupe weighing in at 2,560 lbs stock, with 389 ci Pontiac would have a Ratio of 6.58 lbs/ci and run in A/G Same '36 Coupe with Stock displacement 221 ci 85 hp Flathead would run in B/G 2,650 lbs / 221 ci = 11.59 lbs/ci Source - Gasser Wars, Larry Davis, Car Tech books.

You could go with the Gasser theme with either a street driven '36 being modified into a Gasser or Ex-Gasser being slightly detuned for the street. (Detuned race cars were not too common until the late sixties.) I don't remember seeing a '36 Ford Gasser at the Drags as a kid, not to say someone didn't. As Bernard mentioned, colors should be simple metallics or solid colors reds ( any shade), light blue, white, gray, stock '36 colors. Light colors showed off the sponsor's decals and dark lettering better than dark shades. Simple interior, roll bar and bucket seats. Wheels, stock wide fives if going with a flathead, plenty of speed equipment available. Chrome reverse with a modern V8. A later Mid-Sixties Gasser would probably wear mag type wheels, though steel wheels were not done yet. A mix of steel on rear and mags on front. (A lot of early mag wheels broke so they were not trusted yet on the street and strip by the "little guys". There are plenty of articles in older Hot Rodding magazines questioning the safety of the mag wheel for the street.) a "Sponsor" car might have mags on all four corners. Flathead would be a natural, there would have been plenty of speed,equipment available to the average guy. The Pontiac 389 in the kit would have been pretty heavy for a Gasser, not to say it wouldn't be used as it had big cubic inches for the day. Small block Chevrolet would have begun showing up in the wrecking yards by then, speed equipment would be plentiful. Y-Block 312 would be another choice though the smaller 292 would be more available as the mainline Fords showed up in the wrecking yards. A good investment for anyone who wants to build "correct" Gassers is the book " Gasser Wars" Drag Racing's Street Classes 1955 - 1968 - Larry Davis - Car Tech. Shows what real Gassers looked like, not today's anything goes Gasser themed cars.

Great work, the best I've ever seen done on this kit. She's a real Black Beauty!

My opinion. This is an unfortunate racing incident, accident. Yes, Tony Stewart is a high profile driver, he is also a human being whom I do not see as being so calloused that he would not feel remorse for accidently taking another person's life. Even an enraged professional driver realizes that he has too much to lose from on track stupidity; they are schooled on how to represent their sponsors. Someone commented on the forum that both the tire which ran over Kevin Ward and the in car camera were pulled off of Tony Stewart's car immediately, this was more than likely done to preserve evidence, not hide it. Upset crowds tend to want to rip apart everything associated with the perceived evildoer, we see it on the news almost daily. The closest I've been to these cars was when my younger brother used to crew on a local driver's sprinter as well as his "Winston West" Stock Car. I've watched a few races from the pit wall. These cars are erratic and twitchy even in the best hands, sprint cars winged or not have had a reputation as being one of the more dangerous forms of circle track racing. The first thing I was told even before we got to the track was; The moving race car always has the right of way, in the pits and especially on the track, never, ever step onto the live track no matter what happens even under black flag a car could still be moving. The other thing that I am reminded of by this incident was when Dale Ernhardt Sr. died, there were cries that Sterling Marlin shoved Dale into the wall on purpose. Every armchair Race Car Driver came out of the woodwork voicing their opinion on Sterling Marlin's actions whether it was intentional or not. So sad a person dies and people feel the need to vilify everyone involved, whether they are privy to all the facts or not. To me the important thing about this accident is that a young man died through a combination of poor choices, first and foremost his own for walking onto a live racing surface. Things just got worse from there. I watched the video of the accident, it is sickening to the point that I feel that I cannot pass judgement as to whom the majority of the blame lies.

Mini's don't have a trunk, they have a Boot! Possible reason for the flat boot floor would be that the politoys Mini depicts a boot board, back left rests on the spare, front left, right and right rear rest on brackets. Boot boards were available on Mk I Mini's.

According to an old Hank Borger, Car Model article building a 55 Chevy Gasser he named Fantasia. The origins of the "Bad Man" were Monogram's 55 Chevy which Monogram used to convert to Tom Daniel's design. Hank Borger used the earlier version's body as it was more accurate than the Bad Man's body. I remember building the Bad Man when it first came out, it built a fairly nice model with the previously noted 55 Chevy inaccuracies. Most of us kids had no idea there was anything wrong with it!

That should be a cool one when finished. Just remember, not too shiny, All he Trabants I've seen look like they have been regularly washed with Comet! Some years ago I followed a couple of friends to a car show in my Mini, unfortunately the first car was a two stroke Trabant the second a two stroke Saab (running Castrol R two stroke racing oil). My poor little Mini was maximumly lubricated from bumper to bumper! All three of us spent the first couple of hours degreasing the Mini. It was a warm day so I had the cloth sunroof open, almost ten years later I find a slight oily residue on the inside of the back window from the two stroke oil trapped in the window seal! Two stroke cars are cool, they are different enough that a lot of people, even a few knowledgeable car people too have little or no idea they existed. I worked with a guy a couple of years ago who had a Trabant and a two stroke DKW which resembled a Morris Minor, he had a whole bunch of spare motors for the DKW my favorite one was a really nasty sounding "race" ported three cylinder with expansion chambers.

http://www.themustangnews.com/content/2014/07/wayback-shorty-mustang-never/#.U9ugjGK9KSN Read the story it's actually pretty interesting.

After reading through all 7 pages of this thread I am struck with the fact of how sensitive people in general have become. Can't shop here they display religious items. Can't shop there they put out some "Jesus on the Cross figurines". Can't look at this... Don't look at that... Don't listen..... Seems those whom want the most tolerance for themselves, their cause, their preferences their this, their that are the least tolerant of others preferences or right to do what they choose to hold as convictions whether it be religious or political. It's not just this thread it's pretty much our society in general, beginning to sound like a nursery school where all you hear is "me, me", "mine"... Sadly our society used to be one where we were a community who celebrated out differences by coming together with others who weren't like us, but we all worked and played together for the good of our communities and country in general. I remember going to school with kids of different races and a few different nationalities, I was surprised when I found out we were different and not just kids who went to the same schools; a few of them were as surprised as I was when they found out! ..... End rant I love Hobby Lobby, keep an eye out for things that can either be used for models or repurposed into something that can be used for a model. Scrapbooking aisle holds many such items. Art supplies, cheap chamois squares could be used for tons of upholstery items from ratty to new and cool. Paint brushes from one use and toss to pretty good ones to hang onto for many projects. Glues to bond just about anything. Paint from rattle can to artist oils to use for that aged ratty look... To me Hobby Lobby is like Joann's or Michael's a bit larger yet has stuff for us guys too.

I'd take the two muscle cars that I owned back in a heartbeat. Both were reasonably priced back then! Price them now. 1. '65 GTO - Repainted Goldish-Copper wen I got it, 0.60 over 389 when I got it, 4 Speed, replaced 389 with SD-421. 2. '69 Z/28 Camaro - Datona Blue, White Stripes, DZ 302, 4 Speed, Posi... Fairly high optioned car I was second owner. Traded the Z/28 and a few bucks for a Non-Muscle Car '64 Corvette, Big Block Convertible Hardtop 4 Speed, wished I'd kept the Camaro. It did have that guttural push you back in the seat feel though, drank gas by the tankful to do so!

jb sometimes I think, you're just about as deranged as me! Love your idea of messing with eBay sellers, it's close to something my goofball self would come up with. Actually glad that some of you explained who Steve Magnante is. His affiliation with Hot Rod Magazine would pretty much be the reason I had no idea who he is. I stopped buying, reading, looking at or paying attention to Hot Rod in mid to late 80's when they became so enamored with the "worlds Fastest Street Driven (?) Muscle Car" thing that they forgot everyone and everything else. They may have changed since then, they lost me and quite a few other long time readers in the process; HRM used to represent a pretty good cross section of what was happening.

Great job on that front axle. The tube axle that comes with the "Street Freaks" kits has always been their downfall, literally they broke either right at the spindle or just outside of the springs. It also didn't look like the axles that were being put under the front end of the AWB Race Cars or the ones that found their way onto the streets. Great job on the rest of your model too! I have the "Funny Farmer" Pontiac version, I was thinking of doing exactly what you did with your straight axle. You just made up my mind for me. I'm also replacing the undersized Big Block Chevy engine with a Pontiac 421, should make a little more believable Pontiac.

jb, it's cool! It's also something that Abarth could have done if he wanted to. "Dare to be Different". The "What If?" built models are just that, what if (insert designer/builder here) had done (insert car here). As long as it is a plausible idea, like Disney's "Plausible Impossible" cartoons, where you know what the character is doing is beyond the Laws of Nature and your minds eye fills in the rest therefore it is plausible!

The inside looks rather stylish. Outside, now that's another story. The first thought that came to mind, it looks something like a "Cyclops Pig!". It could have been pulled off more tastefully with a better looking front end / driver's compartment, again the inside of the "Bridge" looks cool as long as you stay inside it would be fine! Pretty sure it would leave a trail of broken rear view mirrors in its wake!!!

The Mini Mk I should be the easiest of any Mini to open the doors on, there isn't much if any structure to the door itself, those hinges are spot on. There are a couple of Mk I Mini specific websites which should give you a good idea of how to construct the door structure. The Mk II Mini door is almost identical to the Mk I, Mk III and later had roll up windows and different doors The Mk I Mini is 10 foot 6 inches long, 4 foot 7 inches wide, 4 foot 5 inches tall. The inches vary from source to source, the 10 X 4 X 4 dimensions are pretty much the standard measurements that most people (I know) quote. I remember reading in a couple books where BMC's original design spec/idea for the Mini was that "Four Adult Men Wearing Hats" could ride comfortably. It was almost designed from the inside out. I've never had any standard sized adults ride in the back seat of my Mini, I'd feel sorry for anyone who tried!!

There have been several over the years for me, nearly anything Pyro (fitting name, torched more than a few), many of the Lindberg Line, lots of off brand stuff. I would have to say that my biggest disappointment had to be Revell's '53 Chevy Panel and I'd also toss in the '53 Chevy Bel Air as they were nearly the same kit in many ways. Bought the panel to build a model of a friend's panel. I was able to get the job done using another engine and front suspension from an AMT '57 Chev. Pretty sure that 409 is one of the not so great engines Revell ever made. There were other things about the kit which made my disappointing list as well like lots of blob like parts. The tools were sort of cool, nice crisp molding in fact some of the best in the whole kit. For some reason the '53 Chev and panel seemed just a tad bigger than 1/25th scale, (eyeball measurement that is). So what was your biggest disappointment once you got the plastic wrap off and got an eyeful of the fresh styrene within? (Keep it clean and nice please.)

Dried Paint in brushes is the pits! If it were mine I think I'd try a soak in the Purple Pond. Better yet if you have an ultrasonic cleaner, try Purple Power in the reservoir, I have heard of people using thinners in the reservoir. I'm sort of leery of that one though. If you manage to strip the brush with the Purple Stuff, you most definitely will need to condition the oils back into the brush, try loading it with mineral oil dip it and hang vertically brush end down for a day or so. Clean as per normal prior to use. If the Purple Pond caused the brushes hairs to be frizzy load the brush with a mild hand soap, run the brush along the bar then shape by hand. Let the brush dry that way then do the mineral oil conditioning. Hope this helps.

The MINI is becoming so large lately that BMW/MINI should start calling it the MAXI. I'm not sold on the design of the New Beetle, it does sort of harken back to some of the early Porsche designs though.

I am quite surprised that the Mini is not on that list. With a production run from 1959 to 2000, badged under several different BMC nameplates like Austin, Morris, Rover and variants Riley, Woolseley... Nearly every British driver during that run either had one, or drove at least one. Imported through-ought the United Kingdom, U.S. (Until 1967), Japan. All four Beetles, Enzo Ferrari, Peter Sellers, Twiggy, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, James Garner, Jackie Stewart, Britt Ekland all owned Mini's. Not to mention the bazillion other non-famous owners. Have to wonder also if the 5 - 6 million production numbers were for the domestically produced Mini's excluding those produced in Australia and a few other foreign market countries. I can see the Model T on that list, Ford's high volume assembly and long production run saw to that, same with the VW Beetle. The Passat?

Skip, Have you tried that mixer on any One Shot! I hate mixing that stuff by hand. (Me too!) Not yet, I'm sort of be worried about aeration with enamel applied by brush. Air bubbles in enamel are no fun! I'll try it the next Job though. I've always used a pallet knife with a four inch flat blade. The Badger mixers are intended to be used with enamels, urethane, acrylic, lacquer.... Anything else you wish to mix up, primarily got it to mix up acrylics to feed the airbrush. Good investment in my opinion, it'll probably find it's way into my kit sooner or later. Maybe later I'm set in my ways!

Glue stick, you can either pick it off or wash it off. Sets quicker than white glue or tacky glue.