LDO

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:

The Caddy. Inspired by a Hot Wheels car. Top chopped, sides of rear roof filled, fins extended, chrome side trim removed. That side trim removal was a pain. A whole lotta grinding. It's going to get a Series 62 thin chrome spear down the side to visually break up the massive expanse of sheet metal. Rear fender skirts opened up a bit for the same reason. Caprice wagon. Modelhaus body. It's not perfect, but I'm happy with it. It's kind of "wavy" past the back doors. It needs a little TLC in the area of the rear wheel opening. The beltline will need some tweaking as well. It should be a straight line but it's not. Body is getting all the barbs removed, including the roof rack. I'm thinking of Nomad-type trim with original '50s colors' like coral and...oh heck I can't remember the color that went so well with coral. I decided it would be easier to smooth out a resin stock body than turn the Alternomad into a 4-door.

Lambo- That's a really fascinating project. I think you should try to find the books "The Complete Car Modeller" and "The Complete Car Modeller II" by Gerald Wingrove. He built models from scratch. They were almost all pre-war classics, but many of the principles are the same. I looked in these books for an answer to your question about tires, but he says simply "silicone rubber". He has a website too, so I looked there. ( http://www.wworkshop.net/ ) Someone else asked the same question. He says; "..the rubber I use is Dow Corning Silastic 9161 (which is white) with catalyst 9162 which can be obtained as a 0.5 Kg pack complete with a small bottle of Catalyst. The pigments are black iron oxide 5.5oz and ultra blue .5oz per 0.5Kg of rubber, Sorry about the mixed measurements, it just happens that is how I work. The pigments should be added a little at a time and well mixed in with a power mixer, then left to stand for a day or two and again mixed with a power mixer until there are no lumps at all. The advantage of using 9161 is that it can be made to harden very quickly, so preventing air bubbles moving to the surface of the mould. I use an old fashioned glass and rubber eye dropper to add the catalyst to a measured portion of rubber as follows; 20 drops (from the eye dropper) = 1%. 3% of catalyst to rubber will set in 7 minutes. 4% of catalyst to rubber will set in 3 minutes. You will need to check this out in trial and error for yourself as the room temperature can affect the times as can the size of the drop from your particular dropper." For the tail lights, I think the best answer would be to start with a real car tail light. It will be too thick, but that's ok, because you can sand down the reflective texture inside. Find one that has the proper curve that you need then carve, sand, and polish it to 1/4 Murcielago size.

That's why I support my LHS whenever I can. I just bought Hasegawa's Lamborghini Miura Jota and ordered the Miura SV. I could get them for a few bucks less on ebay, but after shipping, what do I save? Maybe 3-4 bucks? Don't get the idea that I have money to burn...far from it. I just think that it's worth a few dollars to have the LHS there. The internet is fast, but many hobby shops will have a new kit open so you can take a look at it. A good shop has everything you need; paint, glue, sheet plastic, even casting supplies. You can pick that stuff up NOW instead of waiting a week or spending big $$$ to ship it overnight. When I lived in the Dallas area, Phil's Hobbies was the place to go. After they went out of business, I made it a point to support King's; the LHS for Austin. As far as kids not building, it is what it is. But we old guys (I'm 37) can help by supporting the LHS, even if it's not as convenient as the 'net.