retired & glad

Well here is what it looks like but a little closer than 5 ft. I can only use acrylics now and the primer was Rustolium to start. That mistake went into the purple stuff. Got most of it off. I reshot it with vallejo black surface primer and it is my first time using this primer. Not bad but not perfect. Richard

Let me explain. I finished a 1941 Plymouth today and if you stand back 5 ft. it looks pretty good. Any closer and you can start seeing how bad my painting is. I didn't sand much on the primer and it shows. hahahahaha. Richard

Welcome and you will have plenty of building help from here if you need it. I am already nuts so you will fit in if this happens to you. I am 72 and it makes my days very enjoyable. Hope the knee replacement goes well. I guess you will be building the drag cars. In my younger days I did some drag racing but the tracks started closing due to noise and the building boom. Just hollar here and someone will help you. Richard

I hope it does. Back in the 70's and 80's I had a photo studio. I raced locally and followed the Winston circuit also. I use to call the tracks and get a starting line pass. I could go anywhere except the tower and take or record pictures of anything. The only ones I would go to was ones I could do in a day of driving. Took a lot of film photos at Darlington,SC and Bristol,TENN. I have film of the greats back then. Funny cars, Pro stock and some of the lower classes. I remember at Darlington the Funny cars and rails were ready to go to the line and I would go in front of them and take shots of them in their cars with the front raised up. Some would thumbs up me and some would just be concentrating on getting to the end first. I'll look through some and see if I can find something to post. I will have to scan the neg. and make it digital. Fun times back then. Now no one is allowed except the official photographers. I was at the starting line one time and when the car took off the motor blew and a piston came rolling up to my feet. Don't know what ever happened to that piston but it might still be here somewhere. Richard

I don't think I could handle this body. I have always had some patience but in my older age they get mighty thin. Looking at the roof circles, it would have been in the trash can long before now. Good luck on this build. Richard

Got one in the group of next to build. I've never built a convertible before so have to make sure the interior is done good when I decide to start it. Mine is a 2010 issue Monogram so the copyright says on the box. Richard

Man, technology is far exceeding my wallet contents. I would love to try one but that means I can mess something else up. HaHaHa Richard

I have a dremel but at Harbor Freight the other day I bought a mini drill, like a dremel, for $6.99. It is walwart powered and it came with a bunch of bits, sanding , polishing and lots of small grinding bits. I usually use a finger drill but thought for $6.99 I can't afford not to get it. It does work good but will probably just use it for the grinding part. I usually build stock box so the drilling parts don't get used much. It also had 3 or 4 collets for the different sizes needed. Richard

'56 Chevy was my first car. Red and white, automatic,( at this time in my life automatic was an old persons car but this one was sharp and fast). I built a model a few years back and I don't know what happened to it (that is can't remember). I have the interior, wheels, other parts. I guess at some time I couldn't fix what might have been wrong with it but I need a body. I haven't looked for another '56 kit. Can't afford too many wants nowdays. I heard yesterday that we are getting a 2.2% raise next year from SS. WHOOOOHOOOO. Richard

I've only had a couple of things gone bad on Ebay. The only one I remember was a Ham radio that was stated as excellent and worked great. It didn't. Dents in the housing etc. etc. A few years back I got an email that my motorcycle had listed. I don't and never have had a motorcycle. I went to the listing and it was all correct as far as my names and things went. The ad stated that the listing had some watching but no bids. It also said the motorcycle was in Canada and the person was in the USA and who ever won it would have to pick it up from Canada. I contacted Ebay and Paypal about the false listing and they pulled it. I always look at the feedback and check the negative, if any, to see how someone does business. Richard

When I first started looking at this one, I thought it was a real 1:1 bike. Didn't realize it until I saw your hand and arm in them. This is simply so real looking. Your detailing is outstanding. Only in my dreams could I pull something like this off. Excellent is all I can say. Richard

With the new cars now I can't tell one from the other. They all look the same to me. Back in the earlier days they had class. You could tell what it was even blocks away. Times sure have changed. Maybe what the future holds is flying cars. The 50's and 60's were unique with styling. That Dodge is excellent work. My Mom and Dad couldn't afford nothing like that. I only remember a new 1950 Chevy they bought. Learned to drive with it. My first car was a 1956 Chevy, Red and White. Wish I still had it. Richard

Hey Steve. Now that is a trophy. I bet close up the car is imaculate. How long did you work on that one? Richard

Hi Rob. I guess I enjoy the time at the workbench working on something. I never thought much about the motor building part until I was dusting them on the shelves I keep them on. Then I got to thinking, why build the motor if it isn't seen by anyone but me and wife. I do have a few that show the motors and do enjoy looking at them also. I also make cigar box guitars in my workshop but I can't play a thing on them. I give them to friends. I have owned a lot of full size Volkswagens in my time and I think I'll start building some models if they can be found. In those I will probably build the motors. Richard

Well that clears that up for building a motor. I've always been one to follow instructions but I am going to break out of the line and do it my way. Thanks to all that responded. Looks like I'll have a few motors to give away in the future. I like both Ray's and Snake's signature. I have a few old Ford's and rod's that show the motor, so I'll give the motors in them a good going over. Richard

Thanks all for the info. JC, I have a few but they are built and from tear downs that I wanted to redo the paint job on the body. If I have any in the future, I'll keep you in mind. I'm glad that I am not the only one in the way I will be building. Curbside is what I was thinking but couldn't remember the word for it. Now I can spend the time to make a body better and finally finish something in a lot less time. Richard

I was looking at the next build on my small collection of kits and I got to questioning why build the motor. Unless it is a car or truck with the motor showing in the finished build, why spend so much time making it look good and correct if it is never seen once it goes on the shelf. I don't usually look at them once they are on my model display shelves. Usually just dust them every now and then but don't handle them much after that. So much time is involved in making it look good and then it is covered with the hood and never seen again. Does anyone else just spend the time making the body look good and leave the motor out when building. I don't enter contest or shows, so I think the next one will be motorless and spend the time on making the outside and interior better. Just my thoughts on this with no intent of critisizing those that spend the time building the motor. Richard

Hey Art I used a plastic paint bottle that was left over from using and didn't use the kind I have plenty of with the hole in it. I've been playing with all the airbrushes I have and was using a Badger Krome at this time. Should have used the paasche H or VL with the hole in the cap. I guess I shouldn't have shook it a couple of times like what had happened before when decanting. I just thought I would post something funny knowing what would happen but still did it anyway. Being 72 years old doesn't help any but I am having fun. Richard

A couple days ago I was out of acrylic primer, so I went to the store and bought a can of sandable primer. I have decanted before and remember what happened when I didn't let it sit for a day to release all the stuff in the bottle after spraying some in it. I let it sit on the table with the top unsnapped yesterday and even swirled it a little during the day with nothing happening. I was at the bench airbrushing a body today and after it was over, I snapped the cap down on the primer in the bottle. I wanted to shoot some spoons with it and after shooting a body 2 days ago with the rattle can, I could have painted 5 cars with what came out of the can in just a few seconds. In the purple power it went. So I thought I would just spray some in a bottle and use the airbrush with it. I thought after 2 days of sitting without the cap snapped on it would be ok. I shook the bottle just a little and unsnapped the top. I had black primer everwhere. Thank goodness the body I had just finished was in the dryer and didn't get any on it. Lesson learned. Don't shake the bottle after decanting from a rattle can. Thank goodness the acrylic primer will be here tomorrow. Richard

Hi Jeremy That's a good question. I really don't know the technique to do this intentionally but it seems after I build one and put it on a shelf, except for flat tires mine look like they came out of a barn. Finger prints, dust, sanding dust etc on the windows and body. Except for the flat tires, they look pretty rough. One of these days I am going to make one that looks like a barn find and see if it is any different than what I usually build. Richard

Same here on the Model Master small bottles. Been a while since we have typed to each other. Hope all is well on your end in TN. I had slacked off building any cars and made a bunch of Cigar Box Guitars but now all my friends have one. Sooo, back to cars again. Got to stay busy in these retirement GOLDEN years.

Hey Bill, If you are married, then just steal one from your wife. LOL. If not, then tell the checkout person they are for you. LOL LOL Richard

Thanks Bill for the photo and info. With my modeling skills, I think I would make more of a mess by adding some styrene around this than just making a windshield that would fit better. Thanks Richard

I was getting dried paint flakes and pieces from the bottles of paint I use and found a solution to this problem. I unscrew the top of the paint bottle and put a small piece of pantyhose over the bottle and screw the top back on. This catches the dried parts of the paint in the bottle and now the paint is smooth going through the airbrush from the thinning. Also I clean the cap that has the flip tops to remove the dried paint on them. Next time using the same color, I will replace the pantyhose and clean the cap again. I'm sure this has been posted before but thought I would post something again. Richard

I have a 57 Chevy stepside that was going and looking very good until I decided to check the windshield fit. It is too small from top to bottom and the side to side is a little out also. This way of making one will get me back to going and finish it. Thanks for the idea and showing how to do this. Since finding this bad part, I have been checking the windshield fit on the body of every one built since this find before I even start. I am just a average builder that likes to build out of the box models. No cutting and shaping except for bad fitting parts. Richard