GTMust

Yes. At least as close as I could find in a spray can. He had a couple of pictures but the color had faded over the years.

Or maybe (as someone said), it's just a matter of the member's interest in a particular subject matter.....? I go more by the number of views than the number of comments. I look at all the posts in my realm of interest, but usually only comment if the subject matter relates to something, like a particular vehicle or a modelling situation, that gets a reaction from me. If one of my projects gets over 200 views but only a couple of comments.... so what? And I don't mind if the comments are negative..... hopefully I'll learn something from it.... even if it's only that the "negative poster" is an idiot....... (that's old person's humor!). I must admit that most of my projects are outside the general interest area of customs, rat rods, low riders and such, and I don't really expect a lot of reaction to my vintage vehicles, but at least a couple of you seem to like them and that's good enough for me. Modelling is a hobby, isn't it? Let's just get enjoyment from what we create, and not worry that someone is better or worse than we are. And constructive criticism is something we all need, however perfect we think we are! I know that, even with over 50 years of average modelling skill behind me, I'm still learning from a lot of the members here and expect to continue doing so for as many years of modelling I have left. Tony

This Toronado ('67?) Started as a glue bomb yard sale find by a friend of mine, who asked me if I could repair and finish it. Some parts (front suspension) were missing, but I was able to cobble together some pieces from my parts stash and get a reasonable stance to it. Tha color scheme represents the Toronado that my friend owned back in the '70's, with a vinyl roof. He seemed quite pleased when I gave him the rebuilt model............

Your attention to detail is amazing......... I just noticed that you even got the bricks at the corner of the building oriented correctly! And that sign is looking great! Tony

Yes... my green is definitely not a factory color...... but then, neither is the wood! I agree that the two colors seem to go well together. Just a happy coincidence......... Tony

Hi Charlie. The paint is Krylon "indoor/outdoor" Hunter Green over Krylon grey primer. I think it's laquer based (although they never say on the cans) as, by itself it can etch the plastic. It does have some slight orage peel, which I hope will disappear after a light sand and a couple of clear coats. Tony

I've got the first color coat on the body and the "woodwork" is slowly getting done!

I'm eager for the next installment... and the next... and the next.... Do you have a prototype photo of the gas station you're modelling that you could post here? And out of curiosity, what type of glue did you use to glue the stryene to the Gatorboard? Tony

My feelings exactly Charlie....!

The "basswood" I'm familiar with.... have used it on a number of projects, including model railway building (BTW HO scale is 1/87), but didn't realize it's spruce! I too have a large number of basswood sheets in 1/32", 1/16" etc. by 3" and 4" wide and a number of various size strips. I didn't use it on this project as I didn't know how well it would finish with stain and because it has a tendency to split off when working with the grain on intricate shapes. But now I've seen what you can do with it, I'll give it a try. I can use my styrene walls as a template for the basswood, before I go any further. I'll also check out Tower Hobbies. Thanks for the info. Tony

Thanks for the positive comments so far folks. Jairus.... I just read your Woodie build up and wish I'd seen it before I started this project. Beautiful work. I can only hope that mine comes anywhere close to yours! Many thanks for the reference. Now I'm wondering if I should abandon the styrene/shelf paper idea and start the body again with wood as you had done. It certainly looks a lot more realistic, especially being real wood. Our LHS has very limited supplies and I'm not even sure that Michaels has the thin material that I "wood" (sic) need, so it may come down to a question of availabilty. Unfortunately small towns like mine (42,000 pop.) don't have enough scale modellers to make a full service hobby shop viable. But I'll check and see what I can come up with. Tony

I've scanned the dictionary, but I just can't find any new superlatives to convey my reaction to this model and your talents. I'm just pinned to the computer, waiting for the start of the Clark Station progress thread! Tony

I have a spare 1/25 scale AMT 1934 Ford 5 window coupe. As I've already built this kit previously, I thought I'd have some fun with this spare one and try to build a 1934 Ford Woodie wagon. Here's what I have in mind: I managed to aquire a line drawing and will scale it up on the computer to create templates for the bodywork. I started by painting and weathering the underside of the chassis and removing the firewall from the rest of the coupe body. I scaled up the line drawing on the computer and made a couple of prints. Then I cut out the shape of the left side wall and transferred that to some .040 styrene sheet. I then cut the styrene wall out, trimmed it to make sure it fitted the model, and made the right side wall using the first as a template. I also used the printed cut out to transfer the wood trim lines to the body. Some fine trimming, a back panel added, and I can sit the body assembly on the fenders to check that it all fits. (The fenders, chassis and firewall were all taped together first to make sure everything was in alignment.) I still have to contour the roof line over the driver's door to slope to the windshield, and then cut out the window openings. A new windshield frame will be made from stryene strips. But I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this one! I have been working on the body panelling now for three days and I'm not 100% satisfied with the way it's turning out. Wood panelling has to be the most difficult thing to duplicate with all those thin framing strips. My normal technique to paint wood works fine for small areas, but to try to get consistency of colour, grain and pattern over a complete body is almost impossible. So I have resorted to the adhesive, wood grained shelf paper technique. This is great for the flat surfaces, but the small framing strips are giving me problems. I tried painting these to match the adhesive paper grain, but my artistic talents (or lack of!) just aren't working for me either. I also tried using thin strip basswood for the framing strips, but they are so thin that it's almost impossible to stain and finish them without breaking! Hopefully I'll get this resolved somehow, but if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Here are a few pictures of the progress I've made so far on the wood panelling. The steps should be self explanatory. I still have a way to go and those tiny strips (check the line drawing an the prototype photo), are going to be the biggest problem. I've sanded the filler over the widened rear fenders and I've wrapped the running boards with tape to prevent overspray. Then applied a couple of coats of primer. I'll sand this down with 1,000 grit and apply one more coat before applying the finish color coat and a gloss clearcoat to the complete body (if all goes well!).

That's very cool. What body did you use for this one? Early Monogram 1/24 or MPC 1/25? More information and pics please. Always good to see more Foxes. Tony

I like it! The body color and wheels give the car a sinister look. I think you've got a winner on your hands here Tony. Keep us posted....... Tony D.

You know I'm gonna be following this thread very closely......... Can't wait to see more progress pictures. I'm going to be starting another "oddball" Fox body Mustang build soon... when I clear some space on my workbench! Keep those Foxes coming..... Tony

Hey Mike, I'm really impressed with the way you are putting your new found information to work for you. I see some of Ken Hamilton's ideas in that side roof. The build is really coming together... very impressive. But there is one major detail that is still bothering me (call me "picky"). On that side door and the overhead door, If you don't want to cut them out and set them back behind the wall thickness, you may consider gluing a thin frame around the door opening to give it an impression of depth... if you know what I mean..... but not the best solution as it wouldn't be like that in real life. But the doors would look more real if they were set back behind the concrete block (which would also mean thickening the wall out at the door opening, and creating a whole bunch of new detail issue for the inside of the wall). It all depends how far you want to go with the realism of it and get rid of the "toy like" appearance as it comes in the kit. By the way.... what are "aileens"..... not a term I'm familiar with? Tony

My story is similar to yours Rommel (Mino?). It was around 1953, I was ten years old or so, and the local Woolworth store in my home town in England started selling an "assemble it yourself" plastic model of a Ferguson Tractor. I'd never heard of such a thing before and, with a little persuasion, my mother forked over some of the hard earned grocery money and bought it for me. I think my parents wanted to get me away from my obsession with that new fangled TV box! Anyhow, I built it and was hooked. Next trip to Woolworths netted me a 1/72 scale Spitfire, then a Me109 and so on until they started bringing out CARS in 1/32 scale. Soon with the help of a few chores around the neighborhood, I was getting every kit that followed. That was almost 60 years ago and I'm still hooked.

Thanks Ed..... Never had any problem so far...... Maybe because I keep the glue down to a minimum and just around the edges rather than across the whole thing. Covering the whole surface with white glue will cause warping, so I try to keep the glue pattern strategically placed. If I need full surface to surface contact, I will place the sandwiched materials face down on a flat surface, pile as many heavy books as I can on it and let it dry for at least 24 hrs or longer. This will usually prevent warping. I have had some problem in the past though with 1/2" - 3/4" insulation board warping, when using it as a base and soaking it with the water/dishsoap to apply the surface materials. Now I screw through it and glue (carpenter's glue) the insulation down to a piece of min 1/2" plywood first and that solves the problem. I like using the insultion as a base as it is easy to carve in ditches and such details and also poke fence posts and such into. I try to use Elmer's carpenter's glue rather that white glue as it is less watery and dries to a much stronger bond, especially on edge to edge contact. Your comment is a great piece of information for beginners.

Unbelievable! I don't think I've ever seen a diarama that looks so real even in the close up photos. And this is your "first building" dio???? I'm totally lost for any more words........... Tony

Got it Mike. I figured you'd probably have a reason. Good thinking. Tony

Coming along great Mike. But just one more thing........ if you use foamcore board for the roof instead of basswood, it will be much stronger...... and give you a 3/16" edge around the roof to glue your fascia board to. And overhang it at the ends to create a "Gable end overhang" instead of flush with the end wall. Of cours, you may have a reason for doing it the way you have...... Tony

Love seeing these big old Fords as period builds. My hat's off to you! Tony

Another diecast? Not that there's anything wrong with that. After all it's all part of the new age modelling era. Tony

As an afterthought, you may want to check out my "Two car garage" diorama WIP on page 2 of these diorama threads. It may give you some help with basic structures and roof construction, etc. I never did go any further with all the lighting suggestions.... still sitting pretty much as you see it, but I use it for posting "under glass" photos like the ones at the end of the Fox Mustang CPB. Tony