Jim Gibbons

Very cool...I like the way the upholstery is torn up. I'm also a junkyard junkie; when I was a kid, there was a small one about a mile down the road I'd ride my bike to with my friend and wander through. There was an old Renault Dauphine my friend and I would sit in and pretend to drive. One of the saddest days in my childhood was riding the school bus home, and seeing a crusher emptying the whole yard and shipping it away. I haven't been to one since the early '80s when I rode with my friend to get parts for his '56 Buick. They had a great selection of late '40s to early '60s cars. There were many intact and restorable cars there, but you would have needed a helicopter to get them out of the woods. I peeked in the glove box of a great pink and black nearly rust free '56 DeSoto, and there was the owners manual! I still have it. There was also a pretty good '59 Chevy Impala convertible in silver with a red interior that would have made a great restoration project, as it had a surprisingly small amount of rust considering it was a northeast car. Thank goodness for the internet, and model dioramas like yours; I can wander through these junkyards at will.

Here's a neat page on old garbage trucks. Some interesting designs. http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2010/08/unsung-heroes-vintage-garbage.html

Wow, I'm enjoying pics of everyone's rides. I'm disabled now, and don't drive, but I've had some really neat cars over the decades. I guess one of my favorites was a mint '58 Cadillac Series 60 4dr. One of the best cars (at least the one I had the most fun in) I had was a '69 Camaro in Daytona yellow w/ a black vinyl roof and interior. I also had a '60 Ford Sunliner in the same scheme as my avatar. Had a lot of great A1 VW's, too; Rabbits, Scirocco, etc. Dave, (Karmodeler2) your Healey is stunning, and I'm quite envious! Here's the car I WISH I had; this was my aunt's MB 300C that I went to my baptism in.

Welcome to the board, Dave! It's great your whole family builds models. I don't have an airbrush, so I'm limited to spray cans. I'll use whatever paint has the color I need, but I usually use Testor's Model master enamels, Tamiya, or automotive paints. The primers have been covered, but I do admit to using Tamiya on bare plastic on occasion if it'll cover well on white or light colored plastic after I sand parting lines, etc. If I do paint without primer with Tamiya, I use a polishing kit to smooth out all my sanded areas. Tamiya paint seems to work very well without having a roughened surface or primer to bite into.(I'm on a really limited budget, so I have to work around it.) I did a '62 T-Bird that way with Tamiya Coral Blue, and it came out beautifully. If Tamiya had all the colors I'd ever need, it would be the only body paint I'd use. It dries very quickly and "hard" like automotive paint, and has very finely ground pigment. Enamels I will let dry for weeks before I polish them out, as they are "softer." These are just tips from my perspective; again, I have a limited budget, and use what works for me, and I've rarely been disappointed with the Tamiya line of paints, both spray and acrylic brushing bottles for detail work.

Wow. Curt; I'm really diggin' your interpretation. Can't wait to see all of these Under Glass.

I love it...PBR empties, BK wrappers, Marlboros on the front seat...wow, talk about flashbacks, lol! To quote the movie "The Warriors," (and a good movie that your car might have just left the drive-in from,) "Caaaaan you dig it!"

Okay, please don't take my comments in the wrong way, or my being hypercritical. I'm just giving some advice for your future builds and how this will come out. The orange looks good, by the way. First point I'm making a suggestion on is the mold parting lines on the kit. They're that "zig-zag" line you see from the trailing edge of the front fender around the exhaust pipe mounting pin. On the left side, they'll not be too noticeable, as the exhaust mounts there. On the right side, they will be seen. A little time spent filing and sanding them off (and at other locations) will improve the appearance. The Caterham (at least the newer versions) are designed for wheels and tires much wider than this kit and the original Lotus 7 design allow. I'm the wrong person to give scratchbuilding advice, but the fenders should be widened to accommodate the newer wheel/tire combo. That being said, this is just some building advice. As far as one or two seats, if you're building a street version, go for two; competition, one. Again, these are just suggestions. Enjoy your kit, and I'm looking forward to your progress on it. As the late Rick Nelson sang in his song "Garden Party," "...you can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself!" Have great fun building! By the way, I have a friend in Newmilns, Scotland I owe a call to. It's one of my dreams to make it there someday.

Here's a neat website that has a few pictures taken of 1961 Wantagh, NY during the same time I lived there. I remember the Carvel and Cherrywood Plaza well. There was a candy store in the Plaza that had Corgi and Dinky Toys, plus model kits. (And a bakery with great cookies my mom would treat us to on occasion!) The Carvel would make a neat diorama. The theatre pic is so '50s...saw my first movie there. I went to Catholic elementary school behind the church in the photo; unfortunately, the church burned down in the mid '70s and was replaced with something far different. Wantagh Dreams

Hmmm...I get the same message as it is "INTRAnet" so it is probably due to your browser security settings. Just copy the following link, and paste into your browser: http://www.replicarz.com/ The homepage has the sale; click on "Shop by Price," $12 and Under, then go to Page 3, or whatever page has the accessories. (They added a page since this morning.) Sorry, I don't know why the link wouldn't work. The sale ends on Sept. 7 at midnight. If you look at this link after the sale, enter the word DIORAMA into their internal search engine and find the page that has the accessories.

I get weekly emails from Replicarz (a diecast car shop) and they had some 1/24 diorama items on sale this weekend. The items are at the bottom of the page. There's some neat stuff available. http://www.replicarz.com/12-and-under/products/1411/3/0

Beautiful, clean build. Very nice. It just goes to show you that the American car manufacturers are NOT behind the times; Pintos were doing that 35 years ago! (Just kidding...I'm NOT putting down US cars!)

Wow, Romell...you are one of the most prolific and creative folks I've "met!" Beautiful renderings, and definitely keep me posted when it is published; I'll order one. The Aston Martin is nearly the same color as the one Bob Downie recently posted. Do you EVER get any sleep???

This article has probably more technical information than you want to know, but it's a really good overview of exhaust design, including headers. This is from the Mechanical Marvels column in Hemmings Classic Car magazine. Some key points in the article: Frictional Flow Losses and Restrictions A straight line is the ideal path for gas to travel. When bends are encountered, a loss of flow with internal pipe friction will occur. If a bend must be made, the gentler its shape, the less flow loss will occur. Tight right-angle bends are the greatest offenders and will generate the highest flow loss. Many automakers ignored this basic principle and placed numerous right angles in the exhaust system, especially in the case of a V-shaped engine with a single exhaust pipe. A good rule for exhaust restriction is that the farther it is moved from the exhaust port, the less effect it has. A restriction in the exhaust manifold will degrade power more than a restriction near the tailpipe. Flow losses can be attributed to not only bends, but also to pipe diameter and internal wall surface. Cast-iron exhaust manifolds were produced with very rough internal surfaces that greatly increased flow friction. In contrast, the smooth internal wall of a header offers a reduction in friction. After the collector, the exhaust system should comprise a pipe that is 50 percent larger than the primary tube diameter. Most large-displacement V-8 engines do well with 1¾- to 1-7/8-inch primary pipe, which would translate into an exhaust system with 2.625- to 2.812-inch diameter pipes. http://www.hemmings.com/hcc/stories/2009/01/01/hmn_tips3.html

Neat kit; I built one for a friend a couple of years ago. Be a bit cautious at the paint thickness where the photoetched grille is inserted. I painted mine BRG with some yellow nose trim, plus clear, and when I installed the grille, it had a slight concavity and was too tight a fit. I should have masked the inside rim of the nose before the clear. Other than that, I had no issues other than some tricky mold parting line locations and the above mentioned juggling of the panels to get a good fit.

I like the look, but you'll have to dirty the exterior a bit, too! You need some empty cigarette packs, food wrappers, and empties, too. (Well, it is 70's vintage!) What color did you use or mix for the dash? It looks somewhat close to the coral color Chevy used that year. I have a '55 convertible I want to do in coral and grey.

Thanks for the cool signs. I was looking at some of the clocks, and I'd like to print some on clear sheet or Stanpat film, build a case, and light 'em up with LEDs. Good reason for me to restore my garage diorama.

That's looking great; the Packard tail lights make it look like a bit like a '54 or '55 Lincoln. Definitely use the skirts, and I vote for black and green on the interior.

If you ever got home with your new model, twisted the parts off the trees, and filed the pointy bits with your mother's best nail file, you might be a young model builder. If you proceeded to start gluing the model together in the overturned box top on your mother's favorite living room sofa because she had the kitchen table filled with the groceries from the same shopping trip you got the model on, you might be a young model builder. If you remember the horrified look on your parent's faces when they saw the (fortunately) capped tube of glue on the sofa cushion, while you had long glue strings stretched between your fingers and the model pieces you were holding together, you might be a young model builder. If you can't remember the punishment you got, but only cared that it didn't involve them taking the model away, it was at that point you realized you had BECOME a model builder!!! (A true story, by the way; it was a Monogram AC-47 gunship that had the pre painted camouflage.)

Looks like a cool kit. In the original movie, Janet Leigh drove a '57 Ford. I believe it was a Custom 300 4DR.

John, absolutely beautiful! This is one of my favorite years of the V16 Cadillac. I built the Italeri Al Jolson car which unfortunately got destroyed in a move, so I have to build another. Once again, your build and the photography make it hard to distinguish it from the real thing.

While I was reading your post, I got into an allergy triggered sneezing fit, and let me tell you, laughing and sneezing at the same time is interesting. Needless to say, the Kleenex box was diminished appreciably! Romell, even though I'm not a truck modeler (the last one I built was in the mid 70's for my brother; the AMT "Movin' On" TV show Peterbilt issue,) this is a wild build, and I'm enjoying your scratch building. Looking forward to seeing how you light it up.

Thanks for the info; I'll take a mechanics advice! I was a lighting applications and design engineer, but I had the advantage of having worked as an electrician along with other construction before I worked in the lighting engineering field, so I had a bit of an advantage of having been a "grunt." (Not my term; that's what my electrician buddies would call themselves after they applauded me for being white collar; yet they made much more $ than me!) I guess that's why upper management would cringe at meetings when I was asked to come, as I had a habit of popping their fanciful balloons when it came to practical design factors and installation issues. Again, I will heed your advice, and thanks!

Hi Will, and welcome to the board! Great story; it's like the old adage that a gold plated turd is still a turd! I would think (and hope) that most model contests are judged by much higher standards; I know the ones I've entered in the past were. I do have to make a confession, though; years ago, I won Best Competition Car at a Good Guys show model contest. It was a Williams Formula 1 model, and it did come out very well, but it wasn't perfect. I had a couple of decal wrinkles caused by Solvaset, etc. It was built completely out of the box without anything added. The reason I won? It was the only racing model there! I gave the model to a friend, but I still have the plaque. That was the only time I felt I won without really earning it, as it was one of average effort; pretty much a weekend project. At another show with other entries, it may have gotten an honorable mention at best.

Hmmm...you must be a gilder; great tip. I never considered the lubricant factor on the foil (sheesh, and I was an engineer! ) when cutting. That might even help the blades last a little longer. Do you dip your knife blade in it as you cut, or run a small bead along the foil? The reason I ask is that when I do aircraft, I work with many separate pieces, and would have to clean all oil traces off before I work on the next area. I will try this, but think I'll experiment with vegetable oil as it'd be a bit easier to ensure all oil is gone using Dawn and water.

I hear you on this one; I'm on SS Disability and have a very limited budget. Most of what I'm working on I bought years ago. The last new car model I purchased was four years ago. I'm saving up for the Moebius kits, then will have to save yet again for the paints. The last aftermarket I bought was the MCG Edsel PE set. I have a lot of fun, though, and work with what I have. I really enjoy viewing the super detailed builds, as I'm always getting new ideas. Heck, if it ain't fun, it ain't a hobby!