MrObsessive

:D

I made the comment a while back on another thread that because one has a Mac, that doesn't make them immune from getting a virus. As the article mentioned, most hackers don't bother because there just aren't that many of them out there to make it worth their while. Now that's all about to change..................especially as Apple is now more prolific than ever! Look for a number of "bugs" to hit Macs down the road I'm afraid.

Lyle you know I'm not much into customs, but that is SUPER COOL! I love that "smoke effect" on the roof! That'll stand out at a show!

That is a very clean super-duper job you did Mike! As I heard someone once say............."The 1960 Ford was the 1959 Chevy done right!"

You're right Virgil! I can remember as a kid in the '60's, gas had a pretty "sweet" smell to it! So good you could almost drink it! Hee-Hee! My mom had a friend of the family who owned a 1960 Oldsmobile (4 door flat-top) and he used to fill his car up at one of the state owned gas pumps as he worked for the state at that time. I can still distinctly remember how good that gasoline smelled to this day! Now I can't stand to get it on my hands the odor is so fowl! Must be all the additives, and whatnot they're putting in gasoline these days............not to mention gas no longer has lead in it (don't know if that's what gave the wonderful aroma!). I gotta disagree though about the earth one day running out of oil.............................

The '55 Packard resin kit was cast in very limited numbers by the late Ed Fluck of F&F Resin. I've had it sometime since the late '90's, and it's not a bad casting at all..........just needs some cleanup to be nice. Now that I see what you used to make your Packard engine, I may keep that resin one with the Packard, and make mine out of those parts! Thanks again for showing how you cast that emblem for the hood..............Ray gives you a rather rudimentary grille with not much detail as far as the grille pattern. If/when I ever get around to building my '56 Hawk, I've definitely saved this tip! Also thanks for the link where I can get that PE.

Ahhh Okay! I have one of his Hawks also and yes, a number of things need to be done to make it accurate. Fortunately, I have a Packard engine in scale that came from a resin '55 Packard convertible kit which I may never build. If I do build it, it would be a curbside since that car's appeal is in its styling more than the engine. Is your engine based on the 259 V8 that came out of the '53 Stude kit, or is it based on something else? Also which set did the PE come from for the grille? I have a '58 Golden Hawk (which I'd like to get to redoing sometime) that could use a PE grille like that.

Great tip Manuel! BTW, do I see a Studebaker Hawk in your future?? That hood looks mighty nice!

Hmmm............

Jairus, everything you've said I agree 100%!

Welcome Kenn! That's a VERY ambitious project you're about to undertake! I don't think I've ever seen one of those on the streets here in the U.S..............BTW, which model were you going to use to start as a base? Harry P. had that car recently in a "Name This Car" thread----I had to do quite a bit of digging to figure out just what the heck it was! Good luck as that's going to be quite a project!

It's a mixture of Monogram (mostly), AMT, and MPC.

Niko these are window louvers............... Mighty sharp on that Mustang BTW!

Looking at eBay's completed listings, that kit turns up quite a bit it seems. That may be the better place to snag one of those for a good deal. There's one on there now as a "Buy It Now" for $85 dollars, but I wouldn't pay that much for it.

Congrats Darin! You'll love the Elantra! My Mom has an '06 and she swears by it! I think the newest ones are one of the best looking small cars on the road, and I'm hard to please by some of the new cars' styling these days. It should serve you well for a long time to come!

What's nice about that feature Mike is you can change the wording of the link---------for instance, put the in word "here" or "this" where it says Link Text.

Well said Bradley, and if one is old enough-------they can remember that in the early '60's no one "wanted" 1955-57 Chevrolets! Back then they were "just another car" because they were so common. Now they're icons of the '50's commanding crazy prices especially hardtops and convertibles. 50 years from now (if I should live so long), I can think of quite a few new cars on the road today that will be "collectible".

Rob, I couldn't have said it better myself! I've been building over 30 years (started at 17 in 1978) and back then there was no internet, and model magazines for me (namely SAE) would not cross my path for at least 10 years after I got started. My Dad was like yours-----------A lot of "That's nice Bill" or "Hey that's neat!", but looking back I had glue spots galore, smudged paint, badly fitting parts, you name it! It wasn't until I got magazines such as Scale Auto Enthusiast and some others that I knew I could do MUCH better than what I was doing. It was actually a hobby shop owner who said to me (nicely) where I could do better. Of course, a lot of what I had to learn came through trial and error, but that's how we learn. Not by asking a thousand and one questions---------a lot of times just jumping in and doing it. I didn't start superdetailing until the early '90's when I was in my early 30's and even then I was rough, I just kept at it, still keeping the basics in mind...........super clean paint, with no glue smudges or mold lines. You're right about keeping the basics in check-----I can't tell you how many models I've rejected off hand when I was a judge because while the model had all the bells and whistles as far as PE parts, opening doors, and whatnot-------the model as a whole looked bad because of orange peel paint, poorly fitting doors, HUGE gaps in said opening panels and obvious mold lines/sink marks. No one's perfect and there's no perfect model........but getting the basics right will go a long way in getting everyone's attention (in a good way!)

You can thank our fine folks in D.C for all of the safety regs that cars need to have these days. From inside door guard beams, to airbags-----cars ARE a lot safer today than their '60's brethren. Not to mention all of the creature comforts that people want today. Air, power everything, and the fact that today's cars basic structure has to be as tough as possible to pass crash standards...........I'm surprised they're as light as they are.

This is from 1961.......I wouldn't necessarily call this beautiful, but styling IS subjective!

Hmmm...........don't I certainly know it!

Hey I LOVE my Saturn! Best darn car I've ever had (I've owned it for over five years now) with practically ZERO troubles! Sure it's not everyone's cup of tea, but EVERYONE certainly knows what it is! I really think GM shot themselves in the foot by getting rid of Saturn, but that's for another thread..................

George you have a point---------when they got rid of true hardtops (starting with GM's "Colonnade" styling in '73) styling started to take on a more homogenized, less appealing look. The nail in the coffin IMO, was the total elimination of the four door hardtop after '76 by GM, and the unappealing "downsizing" of the '77 full size models. At least though back in those days you could tell what was coming down the road................unlike today you have to do a double take to see what is what. The exception might be Hyundai..........I can spot their new cars from literally blocks away! At least today cars ARE a lot more reliable! No more waiting 10 minutes for the car to "warm up" and then have it cough out on you when trying to get across the intersection! Frequent tuneups are part of the past as well. I just wish (GM in particular) would get just a bit more daring in their styling with their more mainstream products.

Thanks! Yes, a LOT of mods had to be made just to make the kit accurate as could be. One of the shortcomings I noticed over the years was the incorrect windshield frame, as well as the hardtop was too "short". Too many other things to mention here had to be changed, and in hindsight (I built this 'Vette in 2002), there are some other things I would have liked to have changed as well. The AMT (newer tool) is probably your better bet, but there are some nits I have with that one as well, and for some reason they made no hardtop or convertible uptop as extras in the kit.

Well, I wouldn't say that............ Mine has had some "enhancements" though..............