MrObsessive

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not much of a fast food eater anymore as to me most of it tastes pretty bad. However-------there is a rib place in Birmingham AL, that I remember visiting some 10 years ago when I went to their NNL. Darn if I can remember the name of it, but those were the best danged ribs I ever had! IIRC, before they brought out the ribs, they bring out a great big bowl of their BBQ sauce, (there were about eight of us or so) and a couple loaves of bread. THAT alone can be enough to fill you up as you're constantly dipping bread in that sauce! The ribs were so tender, they fell off the bone, and I don't remember this being an expensive place. Not so much "fast food", but they do run a chain, and I think you can order their ribs online and have them delivered. No kidding! Anyone in the Alabama area would know this place immediately, because that's all we talked about after we left there how good everything was. I just can't remember the name of it!

LOL! I've got both of those too! The chassis had been started, but is in dire need of a resto, got the engine that belongs with it as well, but heaven only knows if I'll ever get the ambition to build either one of those you have pictured. I get kits not so much because I think they'll have some collector value down the road, I get them simply because I just happen to like that particular car/truck. Down the road, something will "trigger" a response in wanting to build it-------it might be a TV show, online article, or I see one on the road or at a show somewhere. As far as what I'll never build, more than likely some of the big scale stuff I just mentioned, as well as a Doyusha 1/12 scale Honda S800 convertible I've had for years. Once again, I'm not of the mind to sell it 'cuz I happen to like that car!

Very interesting project! One suggestion if I may involving the doors. I see what you mean about moving the trailing edge of the doors forward, but I can see where this might conflict with the door cutouts in the roof of the car. It's up to you, but I always thought that Stingrays would have looked a bit cleaner if the door cutouts weren't there. Since you might eliminate the vent window posts, this may lend itself to a better appearance. Chevy did this of course to the C2 to make ingress/egress a lot easier-----especially for taller folks. Of course this being a custom, the sky's the limit!

One should have a full arsenal of glues to use when it comes to building! I use everything from white glue, 5 Min epoxies, liquid glues, etc. It all comes down to what will work best for me in any one part of the build I'm doing. For instance, I don't ever use solvent type glues when it comes to putting things on the body, especially after it's painted. White glue, epoxies, and sometimes clear acrylic paint are best for that. When it comes to structural things within the body/chassis such as when I'm doing working features and such, then I'll get out the "regular" glue (liquid or the semi-runny stuff), CA glues, and in some cases even JB Weld if I need a super strong hold for something. It'll all depend on what you're after. In my world of building, one size does not fit all.

Snake, good points about the C2 'Vettes that are out there. I too notice the "too flat" windshield header on the Revell '65, and that's something I'd like to fix as I someday want to turn it into a '66. Speaking of '66's, Revell didn't alter the body at all on the Penske racer. I don't have the kit, but I've seen box art examples, and the body still has the roof vents (gone for '66), and they didn't change the grille which went to an egg crate style which carried over into '67. Yet another one of those "flub ups" by Revell assuming that the average Joe won't know (most don't care unfortunately), but for those of us that insist on things being as accurate as possible, keeping the roof vents on what's supposed to be a '66 car, is a no-go. EDIT: BTW, Revell's 1/12 scale '67 coupe suffers from the same malady with the "dip/too flat" windshield header. Yet something else one should fix if they want an accurate body. I have the 1/25 scale '67 coupe, I have to look that one over to see if that one's got troubles too.

Thanks for the link Bill! I just dropped them a line as I'm very interested in this engine as well. Hopefully down the road when my sight gets better, the next '50's car I'd like to do is the '58 Plymouth. I'd like to turn it into a Fury though. Of course as we all know by now, there's a whole lot more that this kit needs than just a better engine.

I've always loved these (have a junker built-up and a never touched kit), and I never knew that these came in that color! Wild! VERY nice job you did on this and definitely one of BMW's prettiest designs ever!

Greg, here's a couple pics of your mirrors..........not bad, and a sorely needed item for the aftermarket!

I just emailed Keith on the 16th, and he got back to me a couple days later. This was about some Mustang decals that I'm interested in. Hmmm............I dunno what to say unless his inbox is perhaps reading your email addy as spam for some reason and dumping it? I don't know, but each time I've dropped him a line about something, he's always gotten back to me. The email addy that Greg posted above is the correct one for him BTW.

I have the reissue (yellow car on the box) and an old builtup and it seems to me some shaving down of the front suspension might be in order. That, and maybe re-position the front spindles so that the wheels go further up into the front fenders. Very nice kit either which way, and a super nice build! Of course, I'd have to fashion both a hardtop and uptop for mine if I ever decide to build one. I'm funny that way about convertibles unless they're racers............got to have either one of those on it!

I don't remember anyone mentioning this (maybe they did), but I can see a convertible version being a possibility in Revell's new tool '70 'Cuda. Real examples (of the very few Hemis that were made) can be what 7 figures??? Interesting enough, at the NNL East, Ed Sexton mentioned to me that convertibles don't sell especially well among certain models. The hardtop versions sell better. That's interesting for him to say since we've only had the '72 Olds Cutlass as a convertible so far. Could a hardtop version be far behind? Time will tell.............

I'm doing just that as the font size I've type this is a bit bigger than I normally use, and of course I've always liked the blue color as I can see it better than the smaller black font. It keeps my left eye particularly from having to strain too much to see. Yeah, I was told that inflammation is what's causing the cloudy vision. When I get back to the Dr. on Friday, he'll hopefully have a better handle on how long this'll last. And yes, frequent naps/eye resting periods are the order of the day!

I'd say it's a bit of both. Tamiya Acrylic Paints are a bit on the thick side right out of the bottle, and the dry air you're living in doesn't help much. I'd get their thinner if it was me, and thin it just a tad before using it. You might have to do this several times as you're working if it's that dry. I'd also not leave the jar open for too long a time since it wants to dry out quickly. I use Tamiya paints a lot and at certain times of the year, (Fall for instance) that can be a problem. Certainly not the case now as we have a 77 degree dew point which is mighty uncomfortable here in Central PA!

Richard, I would get that floater checked out ASAP! I had a large floater a few months ago, and it too went away since I've had them in times past, and I thought nothing of it. Well my eye Dr. told me that's what caused my retinal detachment, and it can be common among folks who are nearsighted. In my case I'm VERY nearsighted and this may have just been a matter of time before this happened. Please get this checked out as soon as you can!

Fellas, I really thank you all for all of the well wishes! First I want to say that I had the procedure done on Thursday, and I was VERY nervous about it as I've not had something like this happen before. The anesthesiologist put something in my IV right before things got started so that I was able to calm down, but was not totally knocked out. The weird thing was that I could see the probe going into my eye the whole time, but of course couldn't feel anything as it was totally numb, and I was so zoned out. The whole thing took maybe half an hour, and I soon on my way back home as my stepmom was there to drive me, as obviously I can't drive right now. I had the post-op checkup yesterday, and the Doctor said that everything went well, and so far my eye looks fine at this stage in the game. As far as the vision in my eye, it's VERY cloudy, and at times it's like looking through a kaleidoscope. It's VERY red, and aches at times, but not unbearably so. It waters a lot, as I'm dabbing it from time to time-----that's to be expected. Sleeping has been literally a nightmare as I got NO sleep the first night. And yes, I had to do the "head bent down" thing from what the post-op instructions say for 1-3 days. I was able to get some sleep overnight as I found a way to sleep somewhat side-saddle without my face buried in the mattress. They did give me a foam pillow with a face cutout, but that was useless as it's a one-size-fits-all, and just wasn't working for me. As things stand now, I go back to the Doctor the end of next week, and that's when he can determine when I can go back to work. I can't do any heavy lifting, so my workouts are on hold for the time being. I'm not comfortable driving yet even though I can see well out of the left eye, I'm not at ease driving one eyed. I'm able to see the this board from my phone or tablet, but typing on my PC or laptop is a bit of a pain one-eyed, so you may not see many comments from me in the ensuing days. It's taken a bit just to give you folks this update. Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers...........hopefully I won't have to go through something like this again with the other eye!

Thanks for all of the nice words of encouragement fellas! It's funny, I was just talking to my sister who lives in NC, and I just remembered that it was around this time last year when I had all of my teeth pulled. I hope this doesn't get to be an annual thing where something always "pops up"! Nevertheless, the sooner I get this over with the better!

The last time I stopped at a McDonald's I threw more than half the food away it tasted so bad to me. As far as a favorite------I dunno. I used to be an avid fast food goer in past years, but with the weight loss and the way I fix my own food, restaurant food can taste "odd" to me at best. If I had to pick one around here that I can enjoy at least the basics, that might be The Longhorn Steakhouse. Good stuff, not real expensive, and I haven't found their food to tasted "funny". And yes! I do remember the Red Barn around here! The last time I set foot in one was about 1980-81, so that would be about the time that they were going out of business, at least here in Central PA.

They're telling me not to sleep on my back for up to three days after the surgery. I don't sleep on my back as it is (I get nightmares), but lying face down on my stomach all night can be problematic as I've done that in a deep sleep, and I had back pain the next morning. I was told there's a way to arrange the pillows or some kind of special pillow that's sold to make it easier for one to sleep on their stomach if need be. The gas bubble that they're going to put in has to be mostly level the whole time till it dissolves. Otherwise if it moves out of position there will be scar tissue leading to that much more trouble down the road.

Well, you all know the saying "When it rains, it pours!" Last Friday morning as I was getting ready for work, I noticed I had wavy, slightly distorted lower peripheral vision in my right eye. I thought nothing of it until I got to work and noticed it again as I'm walking down the hall towards the cafeteria. I thought at first it was the reflection of the ceiling lights off of my safety glasses, but when I took them off I could still notice this distortion in my lower peripheral vision. I went through the day at work, and because we're so busy, I thought nothing more of it------until the next day. I had a roofer come by my place as we were talking about doing some work on my roof since I have a leak that started. As we were talking outside in the sunlight, I could definitely notice there was something very wrong as now this distortion and wavy vision was now starting to go into my field of vision as times as I blinked. I thought-----OK, I better call my eye Doctor as soon as they open Monday morning. Well, I had the appointment yesterday, and sure enough, I have a detached retina in my right eye. Right now it's a partial detachment, but they tell me that if I don't take care of it, I could end up with total blindness in that eye. I went to another specialist, and they want me to go in for surgery as of Thursday, placing a gas bubble on the retina, and having that hold the tissue in place so that the retina re-attaches itself. This will be fun (he says sarcastically) as I have to walk around the house with my head bent down for 1-3 days after that, and I have to sleep on my back with my face down. I'm not a back sleeper as it is, but I don't know how I'm going to handle sleeping face down all night with the resulting soreness in my back the next day. As I type this, I can tell that ever so slowly but surely, the "shadow" or "curtain" of darkness is getting into my field of vision in my right eye...........I'd say as of now I have a quarter of my sight missing. My left eye is fine for now..........they didn't detect anything amiss there. The Doctor told me that this can be common among folks who are very nearsighted as myself. My vision without glasses is something like 20/600, so I'm considered legally blind without my glasses. Needless to say, I have to shell out a ton of money before they'll do the procedure (outpatient), so there goes the trip to Salt Lake next year. Just the same, I can't sit on this indefinitely because if I heard the Doctor correctly, once there's a complete detachment of the retina, there's very little chance of it being repaired. I did have a "floater" a while back-----I've had these before and it's caused no problem. This was a somewhat large one though, and it appeared at times as there was a bug flying in the room, when it was the floater. They tell me that's more than likely what caused the detachment, and it's good that I can catch this early before too much more damage can be done. I'll be off work for at least two weeks over this, and fortunately, I have about 60 some hours I can use to put towards time off. Otherwise I'll be on short term disability, and I have extra insurance (AFLAC) to cover that if things carry on too long. I'm a little nervous about the surgery as I hate to be put under for ANYTHING......in fact when I had all my teeth pulled last year, I had them pulled by local anesthesia one by one as it was a clinic that did it, and they weren't allowed to put folks under. As they say, "When it rains, it pours!"

This was one of the cars that I was thinking about trying to locate before I came across my Challenger. Unfortunately, the bank I deal with would have said the car was "too old" since they stopped making them in '08. That '08 model in fact is the one to have as you hardly EVER see those on the road-----especially in SRT 8 trim. I could be wrong about this, but I thought that the model year was cut short for those, or else Dodge sold so few of them that at the end of their production year, they decided to pull the plug. BTW, was your car that metallic black? Cool color on those!

Beautiful job on this Mike! I really like the added painted details on the chassis-------oftentimes I've seen those overlooked on other models built of this. Ditto likewise on the miniature model box! Too bad the market dictated that Chrysler quit making these. I for one would much rather see more types of these cars on the road, than those CUV/SUV things forever blocking my view in front of me.

OOOOH! That one is another one of my favorite '50's racers from GM! IIRC, Aardvark Models did a resin one way back when. I think it even had the bubble top like your pic shows. Except for Andy's version, I've never seen one built up for display, so I'd be more than interested to see how yours comes out!

Snake, MANY years ago (early '80's?) I did in fact have a resin '59 Stingray racer. I have no idea who made it, and by today's standards it would be a bit crude. It was strictly a curbside with no chassis detail whatsoever. The body shape IIRC, was dead on accurate------even to my somewhat new eyes to the hobby back in those days. I have no idea whatever happened to it. I know I never built it, and like a number of oddball items I had from years gone by, it may indeed have been traded for something.

Just to add further-----in 1/25 the '57 is the only one I can think of from Revell. Monogram did one in 1/24, but that one never looked right to me. It's not in the right scale anyway, so it's a moot point.

All of those three years you mentioned Bill are available in some form or fashion. The '55's been around forever as well as the troublesome '57. I'd say the nicest of all would be the '56 from Revell, which is a much newer tool.