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I'd go for a Stocker too so X9. A stocker would give you the option of any level of souping up from gasser to early gasser hot rod versions, leaves more for the imagination.

How small are your letters, inch size? You can use enamel paint to letter down to 1/8" with some practice, anything smaller requires lots of practice. Are you going over raised letters or trying to eyeball in the lettering onto the ship's hull? First things first: 1. Find Stabilo colored art pencils either 8041 White or 8052 Blue - Light for light paint, dark for dark. 2. Get 3-0 and 2-0 detail brushes, natural hair decent quality brush - no camel hair you are going to pay $3 - $5 or more per brush. 3. Cut the very tip off of your brand new brushes off, just enough to make the tip straight across, eithr very sharp scissors, new razor blade or new X-Acto blade, you are creating a chisle tip. If you can't visualize look up sign painters brushes. 4. While you are waiting for the Stabilo pencils to arrive because you ordered them or got them off evilbay. Grab a pencil and paper, look up the font you intend use on the internet, start copying the font with pencil then felt tip until you begin to get proficient at it. You should be ready after 100 to 300 reps with pencil then pen, it's all about building muscle memory. Once you can get the font to look right you are now ready to begin practicing the font with brush and paint. Use an old magazine or plastic lid to pallette the paint from, add just enough thinner to allow you to pull the line at least double the height of the lettering, for this amount it should only take a drop or two from the brush. Practice lettering the font onto a flat surface like pastic sheet another larger plastic lid, until you get the lettering the best that you can get it, try 25 times to begin with, if you need more 25 times more. Paint use regular Tester's square bottle paint, thinner Tester's airbrush thinner. Use cheap thinner for clean up only. 5. Once you have the Stabilo pencils in your hot little hands, sharpen them to a very sharp point, take the ship's hull and lay it in an old towel so the lettering surface is as flat and level as you can get it. Take the Stabilo pencil and layout the Hull Numbers, Ship's Name etc.. Next paint the lettering onto the Ship's Hull just like you practiced, if you mess up use a little thinner to dampen a rag rub the surface clean, dry and go for it again. The other route to look into is "Dry Transfer Lettering" You can find it in both Black and White, they rub right on very little practice or time involved. Cheaper than painting. Hope this helps.

That was really sad news to read, Trickle was a war horse on the short tracks. Saw him a while ago at Berlin Raceway in Michigan, where he won of course!

I've got that same grill / pit, had it for almost 12 years works great took it a couple of years to get seasoned in. We just did 15 pounds of pork butts in it on Mother's day last Sunday for pulled pork sandwiches! We had chopped pork tacos tonight for dinner, purdy tasty!! We have a gas grill as well for a quick steak or burger otherwise it's BBQ Low and Slow.

That picture was taken of ironworkers who worked on the Empire State building wasn't it? Notice any of them with any kind of fall protection on? Nope none of them have any! That was long before anyone wore harnesses of any type. They had to convince guys that the harnesses would help protect them, even then many refused to wear them they were afraid they would harm their balance rather than catch them in case of a fall. A lot of those guys were Mowhawk Indians who were renowned for their ability to work the high steel, many were second and third generation ironworkers. I've seen pictures of ironworkers doing handstands on i-beams that couldn't be over a foot wide, that's just plain nuts. I worked on a bridge electrical retrofit project working at (200+ feet) every day for a year and a half inspecting Contractor's work, I still never got used to the height. The first time I climbed over the rail onto a two foot wide chord I literally had to make myself inch along, even though I was harnessed and double clipped off to the structure. I never lost the fear of the height more like a profound respect for it, you do what you have to do then get back on solid footing. What never ceases to amaze me is the people who jump off bridges, they crawl right over the rail onto some pretty small places of climb around to even more precarious positions like they did it every day. They just don't worry about how they are going to get down.

Yes a respirator is an absolute necessity, your lungs and health are worth more than the respirator and cartridges combined. Some of the stuff we paint with can build up in your body to the point of either allergy or sensetivity to where you can no longer work with or around the paint or chemicals. I know of a very tallented modeler who is no longer in the hobby because he became sensetized to everything from CA glue, laquer thinner, enamel and nearly everything else used to build a model. Some maybe all of this could have been either alleviated by using respirators, spray booth and proper ventilation. I also know of more than a few car painters who are so sensetized to chemicals that they have had to find other work. Anything you can do to minimize your exposure to chemicals is going to lengthen your enjoyable time spent in this hobby. I am amazed at some of the guys I've worked around over the years who scream bloody murder to their employer about chemical exposure, then go home to build models without any respiratory protection. Bill is also correct about keeping the respirator wrapped up between use. The minute the cartridges are unwrapped from the factory plastic wrapping they begin absorbing stuff out of the air. Keeping them wrapped up in a bag minimizes the exposure time. Many cartridge filters have a time period that the factory says they are good for that information can be found on the cartridge package. Cartridge filters are made to filter out many different toxins whether they be particulate or chemical. Most cartridge filters are not a one size fits all in respect to what they filter out, if there is a question read the manufacturer's pamphlet that comes with the filter. If there is a question what the cartridge you are purchasing filters out ask the salesperson, better yet go to the manufacturer's website. Don't gamble with your health, it's your responsibility to yourself and your family.

Did the kit come with the piece that goes under the "shifter tunnel / backbone" ? If not needs a piece of sheet plastic to close it off. On a full size VW it both adds extra ridigidity to the belly pan and closes out the elements (water) to the shift rod, throttle and clutch cables which would all want to rust and seize up quickly. Small detail, huge point of accuracy. I think that you said you were entering this one in a contest any judge worth their salt would ding at least a few points for that. Can't see a kit of this calibre omitting that part of the frame.

No Bill that's why I am asking where to purchase, beg, borrow or steal a few. Almost every model magazine, book... reccomends using really small gauge hypodermic syringe and needles to apply liquid cement. There is a guy on eBay who sells "liquid bearings" (I think) who I bought a couple empties off of him, I use one to squirt on super glue accelerator on with the bottles use a larger gauge hypodermic needle. Plastruct used to sell a hypodermic with needle to apply liquid cement. Trouble is that liquid cement and CA acellerator are both like water, when applied with a large gauge needle tend to flood rather than pin point application.

I have been buying the 3m fine polishing paper at Wally World for years. I use them with the Meguiar's Mirror Glaze - Sanding Backing Pad E-7200 (2.5" X 5.5"). I cut them down with a sharp knife to 1-1/4" X 2" if you cant find the Meguiar's pads a regular household sponge would probably work. Then cut the polishing paper down to fit, using a straight edge and an x-acto knife from the backside of the paper. Most shops that carry automotive paint products should carry sanding backing pads 3m makes a similar pad. (If the link doesn't work, search "sanding backing pad" on the Meguiar's website.) http://www.meguiarsdirect.com//webstore/store/meguiarsdirect/product_list.do

For others who use hypodermic needles to apply glue, CA accelerator, etc.. Where do you buy just a couple of needles? Specifically 28 - 32 gauge needles. I looked on eBay and you can get them there but the smallest quantity is like 100, don't quite need that many. Any ideas or sources? (Don't know anyone who injects insulin.)

Wow, John those are proof positive a Turd can be polished! Those were pretty simple kits to start with if I remember right, they have the bones and you really added the cool to them. Went back and reread your original description, the kits you started with for the day were detailed compared to the Monogram kits. (Which didn't even have a frame did they?) What did you wash onto the chrome to get the realistic polished aluminum and magnesium effect, I'm all ears?

Like the idea of trimming the backside of the bumpers, that was my first thought when you showed that picture. Those wheels match the Pegasus wheels nearly perfectly, hard to believe that they didn't come out of the same package. The untrimmed wheelwells look good on that body, may not show off the wheels as well but they look good. Hope you are dropping it to the ground with a slight Hot Rod rake and the Biggest Big Block you can physically stuff under the front end! I built the Bad Actor box stock when it first came out, Monogram did an OK job on this one and most of Thom Daniels stuff, a little simplistic in some ways but they sold for like $2 back then.

I saw that yesterday on one of the pinstriping boards. I'll go out on a limb here but I liked most of Dean Jeffries' stuff a lot better than most of the oddities that came out of Barris' shop (with the exception of the Mercs that is). Dean just had an eye for what was cool and cutting edge, as has been mentioned a great example was his Porsche 356A clean with out all the angel hair interior junk! Dean and Larry Watson both were amazing painters who could do it all, in many ways both had a huge hand in the custom paint we see today now they're both gone. Dean may be gone, but he had a good time getting there!

It would probably work. Wonder how many mils thick the tape is, if it is something intended for professional use it would be thinner than the home use stuff,

Sizzler, right? I've drooled over the ones that have come up on evilbay for as long as I've drooled over old styrene on there. I have never got one for one reason, the price they fetch is over what I have been willing to shell out for one. I've had one partially (neatly) started original Sizzler in my hands, it was so tempting to shell out the $100+ asking price; the original was that beautiful of a kit. (Not quite on par with the Little T era kits yet almost there, between the multipeice bodies and the Little T.) So I nearly did backflips when I saw that they were going to re-engineer the kit from it's original 1/24th to 1/25th scale. Most of us build in 1/25th scale, the aftermarket parts are also for the most part in 1/25th scale in case someone wanted to add a few doo-dads to their model. Hopefully the new kit will have the flavor of the first Sizzler using todays quality standards, if they are going to do whole new tooling it should be done right. Vintage Dragsters, Traditional Hot Rods and speed parts trip my trigger, you can bet I will get at least one Sizzler or a few to build in the versions shown on the original box. Can't wait to get one in my hot little hands!

Speechless, for once!

The sink holes you showed on the Mustang, probably Bondo 801 glaziing putty or CA glue and baking soda and lots of block sanding with what ever fills the holes.

Recently picked up an old Foodsaver vacuum packing setup along with a couple of jar attachments which I am going to give a try at adapting the setup to pull a vacuum on the silicone mold to evacuate as much air as possible. I think I paid like $10 for the Foodsaver, so I can aford to play around with it. I've made stuff for slot cars for quite a while, mirrors, rims, headlight blanking plates, fuel caps, drivers and heads, easy stuff. I am thinking about doing some stuff like engine blocks for early smallblock Chevy, maybe a quick-change rear end, a set of blockhugger headers, Holley 4 barrel carb... You could spend a bazillion dollars getting into resin casting, unless you are going to make a go of a "Hobby / Business" of it you probably don't need all the neat toys. I think this is what you were asking when you posed the question in the first place wasn't it? At least that was what I read into it, you are not interested in casting bodies and other complicated setups yet, just interested in getting your feet wet and casting a few parts for your own use. Honestly that's what I am looking to do as well, reproducing some of the parts I would like to have a few more of without having to buy the whole kit(s). (I'll gladly leave the difficult and fiddly bits to the Pro's they earn every cent they get on their bodies and cool parts have to help them buy all that expensive tooling somehow.) If you want to get into casting your own stuff just go for it. Far too much stuff is done by proxy, everyone has some sort of oppinion on how things should be done. (Not just on this forum but almost every forum you want to go on. That comment was not meant to step on anyone's toes, just weird how people have become so indecisive lately.) I have never tried this one yet. Years ago (like around 1980) I saw a little blurb in "Fine Scale Modeler" mag's tips section about using "Silly Putty" to make an impression mold. From what I remember the gist of it was something like; carefully pressing the part into the Silly Putty then carefully removing the part and casting resin into the void. The tipster was using 5 minute epoxy from the tube for the part which had excess, needing to be trimmed down.

Pinstriping, sign work & vehicle graphics for fun and profit Classic Mini, (wrenching and driving) Autocrossing Above on occasion Slot Cars Watercolor Painting & Drawing Gardening - Tomatoes & Peppers (= Salsa!), Big Pumpkins Chilihead BBQ

As has been said the Canopy Sunroof was an option on the '72 model year only. Shortly after a friend of mine bought one new he hit a deer with his. The way he tells it he hit the deer square in the middle of the front end to the deer's side taking it's legs out then pitching it onto the hood then up the windshield, he thought that he was going to get away with minor damage. Until the deer dropped head first through the canopy wedging itself sort of into the front and back seats, appearing to be dead on impact he was able to pull off the road to survey the damage. It was a good thing as the deer came to life trashing the passenger and back seats with it's sharp hooves before sucumbing to it's injuries. The Canopy didn't leak before the deer incident, but it sure did after it. You might be able to find something close either on a 1/24 - 1/25th scale Classic Mini Cooper a 1/32nd scale might be just about the right size and it would be pretty flat so you wouldn't have to modify it for the Nova's roof contour. I've seen some cheaper 1/32nd scale diecast Mini's with the sliding sunroof, worth a look.

Wow! Finally something that isn't slathered in two feet thick syrupy clear coat and everyone hates the finish... I've seen some weird stuff done to cars in my time butt this is just a bit too ugly for mortal words!! It must be the work of some sort of "Car gods" who personally imparted the knowledge of this Monstrosity!! The owner should have rolled this in and collected on the Cash For Clunkers program! If the government would have used this "vehicle" as a poster child the Cash For Clunkers program may have been a success. Surely the "builder's" name will be right up there with the likes of Barris and all the other great car customizers this world has known, it's just a shame who ever did this got their "custom carreer" started about 50 or 60 years late.

Not to mention that an upside down dropped axle would want to torque the dropped part of the axle outward under braking resulting in catistrophic failure of the axle at either of the two bends. The suspended weight would want to spread the dropped part outward as well with the same results. Looks just plain nuts! It doesn't break under normal use in it's intended design because the moment of force is lessened by the triangulation of the two bends. I have seen dropped tube axles break under extreme use, as in a not so light car that could pull the front end off the ground then sets down with a less than gentle landing! Dropped I-Beam axles start out as a stock axle that is clamped in a press heated then pressed downward under huge amounts of hydraulic pressure until the metal moves. The fixture holds it in place until it cools and stays, they are not 100% as strong as before being dropped which may be why you don't see them on too many heavyweight hot rods. Been around the block a time or two with hot rods, race cars, I've never seen this done even on a show car. Not to say that someone hasn't tried it, the minute you say that someone comes up with pictures. Pretty sure no self respecting tech inspector would OK this set up either.

The beading wire is what I was going to suggest while reading through the first page, I see Harry already did so. Some of the beading wire is pretty flexible almost partially annealed. The other idea that I was thinking while reading through was using a drill bit smaller diameter than the wire, like is sometimes used to "locate" small photo etch details. Drill the original or new trim location clear through the interior panel with enough holes to locate the trim. Super glue from the back side with thin stuff, then use accelerator at each hole working down the trim one hole at a time. Doing it like this might keep the excess CA glue run off and cleanup to a minimum. Sounds like it might be a little time consuming, so is cleanup for that matter.

Why change long established terminology to fit a few? Does it change anything? Will it help you to build a better model? Been around model cars since I was a kid in the early 60's it was kit bashing then, everyone knew what it meant still means the same thing as it always has. A model assembled from more than one source of parts. Call it what you want, it's still Kitbashing!

I've got a 155, one of the first serious airbrushes I got. The only problem that I've had with it was the teflon bearing wore out from nearly constant use, Badger replaced it for free no questions asked. It's a good little workhorse, it will do most everything you want it to do for modeling. Most important thing for you to do is learn how to clean and maintain it, how to diagnose when it has issues and how to dial in to make it work right. That said, get some spoons or better yet old model bodies and get to practicing.