Aaronw

Would you consider these close enough in spirit?

I usually kind of mist the primer on in very light coats. Sometimes the primer will start to fisheye, but by building up light coats I eventually get full coverage. The primer that sticks kind of gives the rest a foundation, at least that is what I think happens. I've also found different primers will stick better, and it is not as easy as one best primer. What works well from one caster may not work as well as another brand on resin from another caster. In general though I have had pretty good luck with Krylon and Plascote grey or red/brown primers on resin, white not so much for some reason.

This is really neat, I have some plans for an older Corvette concept car based on the 1953 model and you have given me some inspiration. You might try a drop of Future to attach the headlights. I white glue or Future for gluing clear parts. I find white glue is better when there is some gap to fill or minimal surface for the Future to get a grip like on the windshield, but Future works well when it has a solid base, and I've never seen it crinkle like the white glue did, it always comes out clear when dry.

Nothing like some of the stuff posted, but I do dable in fabricating bits. Firefighting tools, left to right drip torch, 1 gallon canteen, swatter, halligan tool, McLeod, prybar and a can style backpack pump The tools are mostly bought, but the hose reel, nozzle, tank, fencing and brackets are all scratchbuilt. I've built a few utility bodies, here is one I'm working on for a salvage truck.

The San Francisco PD has used the same markings from the beginning, a blue and gold 7 point star with SFPD on mostly black & white cars (dark blue or black into the 1940s). Except for a period 1975 to 80 under an unpopular chief. Under Chief Charles Gain the markings changed to a simple city seal with Police Services in block letters, and the cars went from black & white to baby blue and white. There are photos floating around of Pintos and Novas in these markings as well as more traditional cruisers. He was the Police Chief across the bay in Oakland, CA 1967-73. He made similar changes but more restrained while in Oakland. He changed the color of the cars from black and white to a light tan and white, but left the markings alone. Oakland has many large parks, and the city used to have a seperate park police division complete with light green and white patrol cars.

I looked at screen, but nothing fine enough for the headlight mesh. I thought about drilling out all the holes between the molded in mesh, but then came to my senses. I'm going to try using a silver sharpie on the molded in mesh and see how that turns out.

I planned on doing it myself, but thought maybe there was something out there in resin. The Ford LTL has the exact same sleeper, and I won't be building that with a sleeper so I can pillage bits if I need a donor. Gordon knowing the name of that style sleeper will help me find better photos. Thanks for the help

Is there a tall sleeper (about 1 foot taller than the cab) for the FLC kit out there? The kit sleeper is even with the cab and the truck I'm looking to duplicate has a taller sleeper. Ultimately I may just extend the kit sleeper, but wanted to look into my options. I finally got this kit so I can do the Pork Chop Express from Big Trouble in Little China. This link shows the sleeper needed. http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_6593-Freightliner-FLC-120.html

I am very surprised to find out the AMT kit is so old. I associate 1970s AMT kits with metal axles and one piece chassis / frame plates. Thanks for the info.

I love these old cars, wish there were more for us to build out there. You've done a great job on this one.

A 2 speed rear axle is another option for additional gearing. The ones I've seen have an up/down knob added to the shifter, similar to how some auxilliary transmissions work.

Very neat and different. I've seen off the shelf Pierce apparatus painted up in Desert tan for the US Army and USAF, so this seems very believable for RAAF. I love the contrast of camo to blend in and bright flashy emergency lights to stand out.

Only 3000? That takes care of me but what about the rest of you guys. Nice to see some interest from the kit makers, Mustang, Camaro and now this one.

I'm wondering if there is more than one AMT '53 Corvette glue kit (I know they also did a snap kit). Looking on line I'm seeing one in a much older looking box listed as T310, but the one I have is listed as 31811 and it looks very much like something AMT would have done in the 90s. I'm not seeing your description of the Monogram kit as better than what I have on the work bench (out of scale, minimal detail) which also leads me to believe maybe we are not looking at the same AMT kit. The out of scale thing could work for me though, as I'm looking at a what if Corvette and bigger means more room to tinker. Thanks

I see Revell is re-issuing the 1/24 Monogram Corvette. I am currently building an AMT '53 Corvette which appears to be one of their later kits. I am quite happy with this kit as far as fit and detail. I have plans for a second '53 Corvette that I am looking at doing a bit differantly more of a concept car and so I'm wondering how these kits compare other than the slight scale difference. The Monogram kit should be a little easier to find when it comes out, but the AMT kit is far from difficult to locate on ebay. Anyone have experience with both kits that can give an opinion of the pros and cons of each kit or if one is clearly a better kit? Thanks

The mold putty has its uses, but very limited. I've used it for small simple bits like duffle bags, marker lights etc but wouldn't use it for anything complex. It doesn't really work well for two part molds, and it can leave a little lip around the edge on a one part mold if you do not get it mashed down over the part really well. On the plus side it is really easy to set up and use when you want to make a quicky mold. I've only used it for simple parts of things I don't need a ton of duplicates of so the molds have lasted me for many years. The one place it really shines is when you want to make a mold of something that is attached to another part. It works well for things like door handles, emblems on the hood or side trim etc. Understand that it is kind of tricky to make those kinds of molds well, and you will usually end up having to sand down some resin from the back of each casting, but there is no real way to use the usual liquid silicone mold material.

Anyone know how this compares with the AMT '53 Corvette (other than 1/25 vs 1/24)? I'm building the AMT kit now and it is a nice kit, but I have ideas for another '53 Corvette. Since they are re-issuing the kit and the AMT is fairly easy to find on Ebay I have options.

Johan kits... Since they would have to be retooled though step up the quailty, you know better detail and fix the fit into the standard box issues some of the larger cars had. In particular the AMC products and 4 door sedans, oh and the Cadillacs... and the stationwagons and...

Nice job, don't see these around anymore, and can't recall the last time I've seen a 1-1. Had a friend who's mom owned a beige Bobcat (Mercury's version of the Pinto) that as I recall had wood grain panels like a Country Squire. Could tastes have really been that bad in the 70s? That car always smelled like diet soda and cigarettes. Oh, and for all the Pinto haters, the cars didn't blow up, it was a defense reflex. The cars that hit them got burned up.

No experience with the Toyota 3.0 liter V6, only the inlines which are pretty much bullet proof.

I've only run into that problem with the 1950 Chevy. Not run across that with any of the big rig kits, but I've only built a few so far.

Air cleaners are out there, I know Ken Kitchen offers a couple. He does both regular and oil bath for the Chevy I-6 out of the AMT 1960 Chevy truck so it can be swapped into cars of the 50s and 60s. I have a set so I can put a 6 in the '59 El Camino, he does nice work. http://public.fotki.com/KenK/kitchen_table_resin_kits/

Ken Kitchen does a couple of nice Ford 6 cyl engines. The third link posted by Joe (right above my post).

Multipiece for the same reason as Fat Brian, easier to change the length. For the stepsides it also makes it easier to use the fenders if you want to put a different body on the back, but still need fenders.

Tower shows it as a late november arrival at $96. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCAHZ&P=SM