LDO

Tamiya's old Lamborghini Countach had a driver figure. He's in nomex and wearing a helmet. He's laying way back, which would be ideal for a dragster or LSR. I've got that kit but it's 200 miles away right now and I won't be home for 3 weeks.

This is what I use: It's great. It feathers beautifully, doesn't chip. It doesn't just sit of top of the plastic like some putties do. It becomes one with the plastic. Beware of any single-stage putty. They "cure" by solvents evaporating out of them. That leaves them brittle and causes shrinking. Maybe not an issue on an ultra-thin skim coat, but why take chances?

You might want to try glazing putty. It's finer-grained, and IMHO, better for models since they're so much smaller than real cars. I apply putty with a tool I got from Squadron years ago. It looks like a rectangular blade at the end. The blade part is maybe .015" thick. I clean it off with lacquer thinner. I've found that putty sticks better to primer than bare plastic, although Mark Gustavson advises against that. He's a lead sled guru so he's obviously doing something right that I'm not doing.

You should see the modern ID models. They look like poop. They're made of black epoxy poured into one-piece molds, bubbles everywhere and poor-quality molds too. I'll see if I can get some pics if anyone wants to see them.

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Wheels arreived for the Caprice; Mooneyes "Saturn" wheel covers. Just like the full-size car built for Moon 10-12 years ago. Gotta polish 'em up... Now, as it turns out, these wheels are too small for the Revell Impala tires. I really don't want to go to the '53 Victoria or '48 Chevy tires recommended by MCG. I think that tall skinny tires would look awkward on a modern car. I just had a Mill accessory made by a CNC machine shop. I'm getting a quote for these wheels in a size that's just right for the Impala tires. If anyone is interested in getting a set, let me know. I asked how many I would need to buy to get this done.

If the owner of the hypothetical car had access to machine tools, anything is possible. Look at some old magazines to see what people did back in the day. Check out the valve covers on Ed Iskanderian's "La Cucaracha". They were sand-cast stock replacements, but they had his name cast in the top, and he no doubt had to use a mill to get a flat mating surface, not to mention machining the bolt holes. Later SBC valve covers had top bolts. There's no reason it could not have been done back in the day. If you like the look of the anodized covers, put them on. It's just like calling the small-block engine on you model a 427. It could be a 262 or it could be a 427. It could be anything you say. Lee

I didn't see them on the website.

Does anyone offer them in resin *now*; not sometime in the future? Thanks, Lee

The correct one is the one you like best!

If it's 1/24, it's either the old Airfix kit or the fairly recent Trumpeter kit. In a German museum, I saw a Harley sidecar rig with a sidecar made out of a 500lb bomb casing. It was very art deco-looking. The case had been polished up and it was all nice and aerodynamic looking. Cool model, btw.

You can get some nice Torque Thrust IIs out of Revell's '94 Impala SS lowrider version. I found that kit on sale at Wal-Mart a while back and bought several, just for the wheels. If I remember correctly, the old Monogram '87 Thunderbird Pro/Stock kit has Weld Pro Stars. I could be wrong, so verify that before you go on eBay and buy one. DarylH mentioned people buying kits just to get parts...that's what I did. There are other forums out there, but many of us feel that this is the best site for serious model builders. A lot of hard-core builders, a minimum of junk posts to wade through. Any time you're looking for info, just ask.

OK I ordered a set. I hope they fit the Impala tires. But hey- now this board has a "Wanted" section

WOW! Congratulations on the trophies.

Ken Kozera. That name sounds familiar. I saw a chopped '59 Cad years ago in Street Rodder magazine. I wonder if it was Ken's?? I think I figured out a way to get the thin chrome trim on. I'm going to cut some .030" and .040" half-round strip into three sections, for the body side. I'll file a point on the front end of it, then polish it up real nice. Then I'll send it off to be chrome plated. I'm going to use a contour gage to get the right contour off the side of the body. Then I'll cut 3 pieces of .020" or .030"sheet and laminate them together, leaving the middle piece recessed. I'll make blocks to support it at the right height, them attatch the chrome with weak double-sided tape. Use a tiny bit of liquid cement, let it get slightly tacky, then just press it on to the body. Well, I'll try it anyway. 8)

Well I'll be &$^ed. That's what Lyle posted a few days ago and my faulty memory told me that wasn't it. Thanks guys. Lee

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When I read that last sentence, I had no idea what the heck you were talking about. I read it several times and still couldn't figure it out. While staring at the body wondering how to fix that wavy line, it hit me; remove the pillars then straighten the whole line at once. I cut the pillars out with the photoetched saw in the pic, then filed the line down and added a little putty here & there. I'll put the pillars back on tomorrow. To make them strong, I'll reinforce with some very lightweight fiberglass cloth. Man, you learn something new every day! Thanks for the tip. I was stumped.

Nice car. Are you talking about the lower half of the body? On your car, it looks like it sweeps up gently at the rear. What I was talking about is the tops of the doors/bottom of the windows. that looks like a straight line in the pics I've seen. It's wavy on the resin body. Lee

Hans- Your Alternomad project sounds nice. I just love that Caprice wagon. I'd like to get a real one. Everyone I mention it to thinks I'm crazy. They can't believe I think a station wagon could possibly be cool. For the model, I was thinking of trim that resembles the '55: Make that chrome spear go all the way to the taillight and forget about the "dog leg" in the paint. Forget about the front spear too. Just have the rear one go forward a little farther. Also make the roof grey. I like what this guy did. I know, different colors and '56 trim, but you get the idea.

Jared- I saw a mild custom '59 in Custom Rodder a while back. IIRC it was metallic orange. It had the Series 62 trim and IMHO, it does a lot for the '59. I did a quick search on the old Chevy colors. Dark gray was the one that looked so nice with Coral. I remembered it was a dark color, but the rest was vague. I'm thinking Tamiya metallic grey and a custom mix of Tamiya paint from jars for the coral.

I'm at home and I'm now able to use my computer for a search. These are the wheels I'm trying to find in 1/24 or 1/25: