oldcarfan

While browsing Hobby Lobby for ideas I came upon these in the jewelry section. They make different size balls but this is the one you need for a gearshift knob. It works out to about 2 inches in 1/24th if my math is mathing. You just cut the pin part to the right length, it's already chrome and you're ready to go. For my Golf, I painted the ball white, but if you have really steady hands you could probably do it up as a pool ball.

Worked on the engine today. It's the stock VW 1.7 block with a few 'minor' tweaks. I'm working on a backstory but it fits some of the wild stuff coming out of Germany in the 70s. Within a year of the Golf's introduction, German tuners had more than doubled the 1.7 liter in the Golf from the factory 78 hp to 170. Porsche at the time was developing the 924 with an Audi four cylinder and there was a lot of crossover between the factories. In my world someone got hold of some unsecured parts out of the back of the Kremer Porsche racing team delivery truck and went crazy. Not the best picture, but here's my first, actually second, try at the engine. After buying a 3D print turbo and some plastic rod I realized something important, I suck at making exhausts. To spare time and patience, I ordered a Honda H22A Turbo from Eternity Hobby Supply to steal the turbo system. It fits well, and resembles what Porsche was doing with their 935s back in the day. To handle the extra horsepower, a much larger radiator with twin electric fans is going to be needed. To control the turbo heat, some more insulation was added to the underside of the hood.

Nice kits, I need both those to add to the pile. I'll have to remember my Burbank log-in. Are they the full detail or curbside?

Did the hood decals today. The Cannonball one will need some some trimming, but it was so brittle I was happy just to get it in place. Most of the interior bits I ordered have come in so I made a start on that. Still some detailing to go but they are coming along. I'm really happy with the thermos.

Been working on the Mamma Mia Landie, but took a break to do some Cannonball stuff. Haven't decided if I like the decal or not but feels fitting. Also worked on some interior bits. I've got a lunch box, a thermos, a pair of binoculars, a 6v lantern flashlight, a cassette recorder for pre-recorded notes, and a clipboard. As small as the car is, it's gonna be crowded!

Maybe you could use two part putty to make a form fitting blow molded style of tank?

Suh-weet!

Sure is looking good. Is the piping plastic rod? I tried doing that a while back but just glued my fingers to various things.

Got some more done on my Cannonballer. Used some of my homemade driving lights.

Did some work on my Cannonballer, cleaned the desk and reorganized a little, then saw a shiny object and got distracted.

I think I got the look I'm going for with the body. Sort of a 70s Hot Hatch thing. I stole the turbo sticker off a 911, which is a clue for the coming engine. Just waiting on some parts before I tackle that. Not sure I like the rear spoiler supports, they look a bit heavy. I do like the driving lights after seeing them in place.

Amazing work!

I usually don't that kind of luck, but I had gone the day before to get one. The lady working that aisle told me if I waited they'd be marked down the next day. They had 8 so I bought 4. I wanted to make a SWB, but never got around to it. Now I'm thinking of ordering one of C1s Land Rover Spectre conversions to use on one of them.

My dad said he bought a Chevy truck for that very reason. It was a mid-trim C-10 with the 454. He's always been a Ford guy, but he crossed over to the dark side that time. He liked the power, but a year into ownership it started leaking oil around the heads or valve covers, somewhere in there. The dealer didn't fix it so he cleaned up the engine and traded it for a Gran Torino wagon/walrus. I really wanted a Trans Am or Corvette, but that wagon became my car years later when I learned to drive. We called it the loser cruiser.

We bought a 65k mile Jeep Patriot or Compass, I forget which a few years ago for our son to drive to school. It looked spotless. 91 days to the day, the CVT transmission went out. The dealer said, 'Oh well.' Took it to a repair shop and they said the CVT was listed as non-rebuildable. Ended up selling it for a big loss. Also, a my FIL had a Ram diesel and the transmission went out. I don't remember all the details, but the local mechanic tracked the problem to a bad sensor of some kind. It looked simple enough to fix. Then word came from Chrysler parts. You couldn't just buy the sensor, it was part of a larger component. Turned out the price went from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.

I've never tried this, but someone told me onetime they put their tires in a rock tumbler with a fine abrasive to remove the shine. Seems a little aggressive, but who knows?

You've just answered a question I've had for years! I worked for a company for a while that made resin cast ship model parts. We had a vacuum chamber for de-airing mold rubber and a pressure tank for pouring resin parts. Glad to know there is a way to use the vacuum pot for pouring parts too,

Me too! Weathering is something I'm just starting to explore, so I'll be doing a lot of fussing and cussing probably!

My ADHD brain doesn't always hold to one track the way I'd like. While working on the CannonBall Golf I remembered I needed to make some driving lights. I used to rob lights off other kits, but that gets expensive after a while. I did a tutorial about making lights last year about this, but here's an updated version for anyone wanting lights on their entry. A quick trip to Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or maybe Walmart, yields some self adhesive half round pearls to serve as the body of the light. This brand comes in a pack of assorted sizes. The largest works out in 1/24th to about a 9 inch light and the smallest is about 5 inches so you can make several sizes of lights for different uses. They also sell a faceted gem style, too, but these are the the ones you want. Drill holes in the edge and glue a piece of paperclip in for the mounts. A quick shot of primer and some gloss black and they are ready to go. You could also shoot some of your favorite chrome finish over the black for a nice chrome look. The biggest gems are close to Cibie's 9 inch Super Oscars to my eye. The next smaller gem works out to be about 7 inches and the smallest are around 6 inches. These measurements are by eyeball so your mileage may vary. The store I went to also had the different sizes sold separately if you only need one size. The push part of a thumbtack works as a 9 inch light cover with the pointy part clipped off. For the seven inch lights I use the round part of a standard paper brad with the brad part removed fits. Probably you could make covers with a hole punch if you want a flat cover instead of the slightly domed kind. Here is a look at the finished product. SpotModel sells the Marchal and Cibie decals. I saw some KC Hi-Liter decals a while back but can't find them now. Let me know if you have them. The larger white covers are thumbtacks and the smaller covers are from the brads. Now I need a hack to make clear lenses. Hope this is helpful and if anyone has a different method for making auxiliary lights, please chime in!

I sorted some kits up in the storage area, found a couple of treasures, then decided it was too cold and went back in the house! At least I have some projects mapped out for the next few months. In the longer term, I've had a violent cough that is starting to fade. Got tested and it wasn't COVID or Flu. About a week and a half ago, I had a particularly bad bout and felt a sharp pain in my chest. Finally got to see the doc on Monday and had an X-Ray. Turns out I broke one rib and fractured another coughing. Not much to be done for it but to wait for it to heal while the industrial strength cough suppressant does it's best. At least now I know why I hurt so bad putting up the metal storage building last weekend.

In our house, my wife has a revolving list of movies we watch when she's bored. Mamma Mia is one of them. Back when Hobby Lobby was doing one of their close-outs, I got four Revell 1/24 Landies for $8.94 each. I planned on doing a total off road, beat up one, and a mall crawler version some day. That's still in the some day category. Eventually, after the thousand-teenth watching of Mamma Mia, I decided one would be converted to Donna's SWB from the movie. Yesterday I brought one of the kits out of storage, but then I found this in a shoe box. It's the old Monogram SWB from the 80s. I got it in a junk shop mostly complete and painted it back around 2000(?) to make a fun weekend build. Then the windshield and one of the side window surrounds broke off and wouldn't re-glue so I put it back in the box. As Donna's version doesn't even have a windshield, this should work in my favor. The color is an unknown sage green and should work well when weathered and sun bleached. I'll Ineed to find a good match for some unpainted pieces, but we'll see. It'll probably be a simple curbside and will be a part time project, but Mamma Mia, Here I Go Again!

I'm calling the interior done, except for a bit of clutter that remains to be added. Because of the small size of these cars, the seats are in, and the CB is between the seats. The Fuzzbuster is on the dash and the inside is just about ready to go. I just received the 1/24th Thermos and binoculars and a couple other things. Still trying to find a tiny Rand McNally Atlas and some 1975 fast food!

Good choice, I wonder if am AAR 340 would fit that?

I think I'm about done with the interior. The dash is mounted, the seats are in place, and I think that's about it. I didn't realize how small these car's interiors were. It's tough getting everything in. I added a spoiler to the back and am working on one for the front too. The CB is in between the seats and I think that's the permanent location. On the dash is the Fuzzbuster and to the right is a panel of switches.