Aaronw

It's one of the small towns along Hwy 99, between Modesto and Merced.

There is an emergency vehicle show coming up in Ripon on October 4th. Mostly cop cars but should be a variety of other types as well. Anyone else going? http://www.riponmenloparkpolicecarshow.com/

I have several resin cabs for trucks from the 40s and 50s, they were mostly planned for use on antique fire apparatus but I've suddenly gotten the urge to make at least one as a commercial truck. I guess that is always the problem with research, you get details for one build and come up with 5 more build ideas. Anyway I was wondering which trailer kits out there would be appropriate for a semi-truck from the 50's. I kind of had my eye on the 27 foot doubles kit that was recently released, or maybe the Lindberg milk tanker due to be re-issued. I also have a couple of the van bodies from the Ford Louisville, would that be right for a smaller delivery truck or is it too new? Thanks

Well I got the Car Modeler magazine, in the article the truck is converted into a tractor trailer, but he shows what to change to make a pickup too. Looks like I need to get myself a '37 Chevy coupe. What is a tuck and roll, he mentioned that the seats need to be replaced because the kits seats had a tuck & roll job. I think I have a '34 Ford truck willing to donate a bench seat for the project. Tom, I could use some interior & dash shots, also a close up of the chevy bow tie on the side of the hood, and grill that looks like a good use for this PE kit I bought last winter. Thanks

I know what you mean about unique perspective. My son really became interested in taking photos when he was about 4, he got some great shots of my elbow, bottom of my chin, my wifes nose etc.

Well unfortunately my #1 hobby is dreaming about the time for any hobbies. I have a lot related to models since for the most part it is an easy hobby to squeeze into what little free time I get. I've learned to do resin casting (well still learning but I can turn out decent looking parts), I'm learning to do photo etch and I just got an ALPS printer to do decals. I once thought about starting an aftermarket buisness but quickly figured out that is like real work. Maybe someday but for now I'm learning and it is nice to have the skills and tools for use on my own projects. For those of you that have never tried resin casting, thank a caster for the stuff they provide us, it is way more work than the money they get for it. Besides cars I build a little bit of everything, ships, tanks, aircraft, sci-fi, real space / science (someday I'll finish the visible man & woman I started for my son 3 years ago ). I also have an old truck I tinker with, but lately its not much fun all maintenance stuff, little improvement or restoration. During the winter I go skiing with my sons school. It's a pretty good deal, we pay for the kids and the parents ski free helping the kids. The parent to kid ratio is usually pretty good so we take turns and get to ski on our own once in awhile too. I spend a little time on the PS2 or PC now and then but it is a serious drain on my free time so I try not to spend too much time glued to a screen, I'd prefer to b gluing my fingers together. I started a website for emergency vehicles which I guess is a hobby, but its been awhile since I got any updates done. http://www.geocities.com/cnf_e32/index.htm I read a lot, mostly history (of everything) but some fiction too. I do play with my camera a lot, mostly pics from work, fires, rescues, aircraft and emergency vehicles. Also some scenery & wildlife since they are right outside my door. I play as an amatuer fire history buff, I've even written a couple of small articles for my local SPAAMFAA* chapter's newletter. Someday I hope to restore an old fire engine but those take a lot of time and if 1/25 models are hard to find display space for you can imagine the problems with a 1-1. I'm even considering starting a museum of wildland firefighting but that is really out there, more an excuse to restore several old fire engines. *SPAAMFAA Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America http://www.spaamfaa.org/ Also a bunch of other stuff I'd like to do but don't get the time to do, I have tropical fish, used to go shooting, did some archery, I have a wood shop but its been a couple years since I used it. Someday I'll be retired and then I'll probably still be busy.

Nope, I live in the shake & bake state, we don't do hurricanes.

I've also had photobucket for 4-5 years, I think the only real advantage to the pay version is you can load larger pics, but 800x600 seems to be pretty much the standard for most model sites. Copy your pics back onto your hard drive then load them into photobucket, one at a time. No easier way I know of unfortunately, could be a long tedious process if you have lots of pics to move.

Nice job on an unusual build, don't see many '54s, in fact I think this one is the first completed I've seen. The 54 has a completly different grill that would not lend its self to an easy drop in replacement, it has a different shaped windshield too. The resin I've seen replaced the entire cab except for the hood, just wish I could remember who does a '54.

If your big issue is getting US kits at a reasonable price, maybe you could use one of the big online dealers like Tower. Their prices are very good and a large enough order might keep the shipping relatively reasonable. If the kits are that difficult to get in the UK you might be able to offer decent prices and still make a little money. http://www.towerhobbies.com/ Probably not practical but who knows.

Looking at the stash and where do you work threads there were several comments about paint storage, particularly the nice commercial paint racks a few have managed to find. I thought I'd post a couple of do it your self methods, most modelers should be able to make. I understand model builders are good at assembling things. Glue holder I don't know how many bottle of glue I spilled before I made this. This works for most brands of liquid glue, I know it definately works for the Plastruct brand glues. It is a PVC pipe cap (1 1/4" if I remember right) epoxied to a plastic electrical box cover. The whole thing cost about $5 to make and I haven't spilled a bottle of glue since (even with the help of my cat). Paint rack Another fairly easy to make project. I went to the local lumber yard and bought a few sizes of wood molding, some glue and a small pack of finishing brads. I have a fair wood shop set up in my garage which made it easier but the only neccessary tools are a small hand saw and tack hammer (or preferably a brad driver). Anyone who got a C or better in high school wood shop should be able to build something like this. This is a great project if you are in Highschool woodshop, who needs a spice rack. I made the bottom shelf double wide for stability, the back half makes a nice storage shelf for those items you don't need to get at very often, I mainly store extra glue on it (I hate to run out of glue in the middle of a project so I keep quite a few extra bottles), but it also works well for tall paint bottles common for some brands of airbrush only paints. For both of these projects it is best to bring a few bottles of the glue and paint you use with you to make sure you get parts that will fit. On the paint rack I layed out bottles of Tamiya and Model master to chose a shelf length thaty fit my space and used most of the shelf for paints. In my case the shelf will hold 10 bottles of Tamiya or 12 bottles of Model Master paint.

People should remember, Labor day isn't about the guys who get you an extra nickel an hour. It is a day to remember those who died to get kids out of factories, to ensure you get paid for each hour of work, your right to have a union etc. Into the 1930's there was a lot of violence between employees and management, in a few cases outright limited war. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_history...e_United_States I bet you have a better than average management / employee relationship too.

Luke 57 aka Mitchem has a very unique way of showing off his builds. Not quite sure why it sets some people off, except for some who are disappointed when they find out it isn't real. I wouldn't call it a hoax or a joke, more wishful thinking and a creative way to show off a build. Not really sure how this is that much different from real vs model posts, but it never fails someone takes one of his posts as somebody trying to pull something. I'm not even into racing but I always enjoy seeing his latest work.

I actually have both the truck kits mentioned. Since I'm really more interested in a 1 ton I guess I need to check on the suspension, I'm guessing it is a leaf set up so the Midnight Cowboy might be a better choice. I've got a Chevy truck book around here somewhere. I wouldn't have even though about using a van, I have a 70's Custom Chevy van but it is already fairly well along. Thanks

I was wondering is the Revell '64-65 pickup chassis would work as a more detailed chassis for the AMT '72 Chevy & GMC pickups? Is there a better solution? The '72 is a decent kit but the old promo style chassis and suspension limit the kit, just looking at a way to improve it.

Funny I would have expected you to enter something with a Studebaker theme, StudeSlayer, StudeBreaker etc.

Revell had a Golf(?) GTI a few years back, late 90's-2000ish version. It will always be the Rabbit to me.

Thanks, kind of what I expected but thought I'd ask.

For me personally, no I don't think it would be that hard to make one if I actually needed one and I can't imagine I would need one. Is it becoming popular to put game systems into cars these days?

Tom, thanks and it looks like you have a fun project there yourself. I'll wait until the article arrives but I'll probably be bugging you for some specifics on the 1-1 once I get started.

Ok, the evil D word, but diecast does open up some options not available in plastic. I really like the trucks of the 30-60's so I've picked up a few from the mints (Franklin, Danbury etc) as well as the cheaper stuff from Yatming, Spec Cast etc. I'm just wondering how much these really appreciate, if I hack up the '38 GMC COE stakebed I just bought for $75 will I be kicking myself in 5 years because its worth $7500 or will I still be able to buy one on ebay for $50-100? They call these collectables but they don't seem to be much more collectable than plastic kits or am I wrong here. I buy them to build with but just wondering if I may regret that at some point. Thanks

Thanks for the help. That carnut site should help, they are larger and more detailed than the ones I found at stovebolt. The tip on the Car Modeler mag article is great, I was able to find a copy on ebay for $4. I was looking at the top and was having a hard time deciding if it had been chopped. The 1-1 on the box art looks like a standard roof but the kit looked a bit low, but I was having a hard time deciding if it was chopped or not since the Chevy does have a fairly low top.

That was my thought too, I'd get out with a couple $6 models, a gas grill, and a compound miter saw. I try to stay away from places like that, they are just as bad as the hobby shop.

If you are just looking for a good online model shop I've been using Tower Hobbies and Model Round Up for a couple of years. I've had very good service from both. Tower is smoking fast, I usually have my orders in my hands in 3 days. http://www.towerhobbies.com/index.html http://www.modelroundup.com

I picked up an Orange Blossom Special awhile back with plans on building it as a stock '37 Chevy. I know there will be a fair bit of work doing this, but one thing I really need is some good close up photos, particularly of the hood sides which are cut away in the kit. I have found some decent photos at stovebolt dot com, but nothing with good close ups. Just thought I'd take a shot and see if someone owns one, knows someone who owns one or maybe someone has some good pics from a carshow I could use. Also for the motor and wheels would the '41 Chevy truck provide the appropriate parts? If anyone has done a similar conversion, I could definately use some tips. Thanks