johnbuzzed

Very cool, very smooth build.

I gotta say this would be an interesting build, whether it's real or photoshopped.

Actually (if I remember correctly), he last drove a Porsche 356 Speedster...(but I stand corrected). And I agree with Bill.

In my opinion, the rat rods that we see built today are are the antithesis of the original rat rods- they were inexpensive builds that used what the builder had available at the time. It seems like a lot of what we see built today are planned rat rods; kinda like "Hmm, what if I could get (fill in the blank) and use it for/as (fill in the blank)?", and not like "Well, I got that old (fill in the blank) motor and the wheels from that old (fill in the blank) that I can use on that chassis". I'm not saying the "new" rat rods aren't cool, but they are far removed from the original, un-intentional builds.

Nope, I don't feel overwhelmed by the new releases at all. Too many of them aren't "new"; they're reissues. Most of those that are "new" don't interest me- maybe I'm a bit jaded. I am, however, overwhelmed by the number of kits that I do have that are yet to be built. I still have stuff that I bought NEW at the NNL East so many years ago that have $7.00 price stickers on the boxes.

Yes, to all my fellow veterans: Thank you for your service. It took a lot of courage to raise your hand and speak that oath. Don't ever forget that.

There is no "quick question" when it comes to judging. Rules are usually arbitrarily decided and agreed upon by the sponsoring club- the only exception I can think of would be the IPMS contests. Then, too, in what kind of mood is any particular judge on the day of a show- cranky, magnanimous, preoccupied or...? Let's not forget the crowd favorites- you know, the (in)famous modeler who is known far and wide for building the greatest models in the world- Heaven forbid he or she doesn't win or at least place. Having been on both sides of the fence, I can tell you that there are builders of poor quality models who believe their creations are the greatest things since crazy glue and judges who lack the basic capacities to be a fair and honest judge. I've left some contests shaking my head in wonder at the decisions that were made. I attempted to create a fair set of rules and categories which were based on those of an existing successful, long-running contest and a collection of knowledge about the subject from one very-well-known modeler out west. Our club did it's best to have a group of judges who knew what they were doing. For the most part, our shows ran well and while there were problems and complaints, they were few. No matter how hard you try or what you do, you will not please everyone all of the time. Build your very best model for a contest; be a fair, honest and knowledgeable judge; the chips will fall where they may.

Perhaps if it was done as installments...along with some pictures of your build?

The model is on a par with the story... progressing very nicely, Mike. There was a time when Model Car Science printed short stories- maybe one of the current magazines (hmm, which one...?) would consider this possibility.

Hot Rod magazine was into car modeling in the mid to late '80s. Revell had a series of kits with the Hot Rod logo; there were full-size and scale Hot Rod decals in each kit and the magazine actually ran a photo contest in... late 1987, if I remember correctly. I have displayed models as a club member at 1:1 car shows. Some of those in attendance were knowledgeable of our hobby, others had no qualms about picking up a built model and inquiring about the price. "Please do not touch" signs are a necessity at these events.

I have no favorites. All manufacturers have their flaws, from engineering problems to production problems to list price, et al. One kit from a certain manufacturer might be the best I've seen in my 58 years while another kit from that same manufacturer might have me coining some new, rather colorful colloquialisms. I go for the subject and as long as I haven't seen or heard an absolutely horrible review or critique of the kit, I'll buy it.

Looks good so far. The wheel covers compliment the color nicely.

That Vicky looks really nice- I like the very different color scheme. It's like vanilla ice cream with whipped cream on top. I have found that when I use BMF on a body with trim that's not very distinct, it helps to scribe around the trim with a sharp Xacto blade before any paint goes on. This yields a more defined line on which to trim the BMF, once it's applied and burnished. And the big thing with using BMF is to use a brand new blade. Oh, yeah- don't rush the application!

THAT is freaking neat!!!

I agree with Charlie and Randy- makes good sense to me.

Waaaaaay back, there was an article in Car Model or Model Car Science (IIRC...?) about using glove leather (which is supposed to be very thin) as upholstery. Maybe a trip to a flea market within the next couple of months could turn up a not-very-expensive pair of leather gloves. Or, after Christmas, when the clearance sales are on.

But which builders- the average builder or the more involved, more discriminating scale modeler who is tired of the usual subjects and wants to build something different? It seems as though parts packs of different kinds are being (re)introduced often and in the long run, the racing scenes kits are nothing more than parts packs.

And there aren't too many people who would want a Hudson Hornet kit, but we now have at least two kits available. The racing scene kits (and others like it) could be reissued as limited issue kits.

Indeed!

That does seem like a good idea... but, I'm no enterpreneur (is there a spell check here?)

Nothing there interests me. I think in all my years I have built two custom/show rods- the Red Baron and the Silhouette. The genre never really appealed to me.

Well, I guess you've never seen the NY Yankees "NY" logo on a rear window, or a Steelers logo, or the Dallas Cowboys star, or the Red Sox logo, et al. Some are rather large, some are small. Then, there are a gazillion college teams, too. I've seen logos on windows, sheet metal, bumpers, license plate frames... some are stickers, some are magnetic or maybe a clingy vinyl, some are bumper stickers... It would be no different to scale them down than it would be to scale down any other decals used in our hobby.

Mopar -D- you posted at 318! Cool! I'll watch this build as a '67 Fury II wagon was my first car. Good color choices- yours should look nice when it's finished. I had two of the Johan '67 kits- one was built and subsequently destroyed about 40 years ago, one was an in-the-works that got too involved about... 18 years ago; it, too, bit the dust. Duh. I still mentally kick myself every now and then.

Looks good, as usual, Rich. If you haven't already glued the doors shut, you might consider leaving them hinged, but using magnets to keep them closed. Check out Radio Shack for their selection, or even a Michaels or Hobby Lobby type crafts store- there is all kinds of magnetic stuff available, even tape (and I don't mean recording tape). I have a few that I stripped from dead CD drives here at work- they're really strong- that I plan to use in '56 and '57 Ford and '55 and '57 Chevy builds. One in the body, one in the door and they shouldn't flop at all.

What size to make the images... I guess the best way would be to find an original image and scale that down to 1/25 or 1/24. At least, that's what I would do. I realize that licensing fees and all the other bureaucratic red tape would most likely make the endeavor cost-prohibitive, but, hey, I still think it would be cool. And I guess with the technology that we have available, such decals could be generated on one's own home PC. But it would still be cool to have a sheet or two or three available.