62rebel

that's why i was considering using it to make only component parts; definitely too high a temp for styrene! that's my conern about it holding dimensions once baked; if i shape it to fit , say, into an interior tub as a rear seat insert, would it still be the same size when baked ? i'm visualizing a wrap-around rear seat like 66 t-bird for 49 ford or merc kit, and if Sculpey works for that without shrinking, i'm adding it to my reguar arsenal. depending on the percentage of shrink, i might be able to shape parts with an allowance for the shrinkage., but as i've said i haven't gotten that far yet. fine grained epoxy like PC-7 is another product i've heard people use.

going to non volatile (I'm assuming you want to get away from those products that have fume issues for health reasons) will require you to use epoxy based products. even the polyester based stuff has some bad fumes to deal with. i'm always trying new uses for existing products and i've seen the military bunch using Sculpey for stuff like sandbags, etc., and it occurred to me that if Sculpey will hold dimension when cured or baked, it could be used to make parts for models that would otherwise require many stages of fabrication, per se bench seats in any desired upholstery design; anything you could shape, imprint, and bake/cure and paint. i haven't actually used Sculpey for this yet; but i have 2 boxes of it and am always planning custom interiors for models. as for using it to blend parts on kits, i'm unsure of it's qualities in this regard. epoxy based products are probably the best for that use. i know that most epoxy compounds stink to high heaven as they cure but are mostly inert.

i meant that you cut the floor off the tub and use it as a base to build a better scale representation of the interior on. i agree that the frame itself without the bottom of the floor would be easier to make modifications to. the method we're describing is fairly lightly dragging the blade backward along the panel line you wish to cut out. starting with the point of the blade in the end of the line, slowly scribe until you break through. some bodies are thicker in some areas than others, so you may break through earlier in one place than another; just keep going until the piece falls free. don't force the blade down, and don't rush it. some builders do this with scribing tools alone, but i use #11 most of the time. another tip; if you're working on an irreplaceable model, mask off the rest of the panel where you're not cutting so if the blade slips you're not as apt to put a deep gouge in the plastic. putting wadded paper inside the bodyshell will help support it while you're cutting, and putting tape over the inside seams you've already freed will keep them from breaking while handling. having said all this, i don't do many functional opening doors or trunks; i leave them in the open position for display and take out the hinges to show them closed. actual working hinges are easily done, but add more risk of damage by spectator handling than i wish to repair!

kubelwagens (and their kissing cousins Schwimmwagens) don't share much other than engine with the thing or typ181. we still have them in our parts inventory since somewhere on the globe every type of vw ever made is still in use or still in production. much of the mechanical portion of the car is production passenger car off the shelf from the era; the body was loosely copied from the kubel but shares nothing with it. (even during wartime production, it was often difficult to maintain kubels because of constant running changes- allied bombing didn't help too much either). BUT: it would be cool to have an accurate 1/24 T181 to go with my other aircooled Vdubs. the accuracy of scale and proportion in most if not all diecast offerings is the MAIN reason i do not work with them. something somewhere in the casting of the body shell has got to be going wrong, or the proportions would come out right (or at least "look" right, which they do not) on these models. i can't offer a solution, so i don't attempt to correct it.

i use a combination of the reversed #11 blade (brand new blade for this) and the small razor saw blade that fits the #1 handle (sorry i don't know the # for this one) and take my time. if the door panel lines are molded too shallow, use a scriber to deepen them before using the #11 blade as the #11 will (WILL) leave the line easily. getting the corners is the challenge, and that's where the razor saw blade works best. using the #1 handle gives you great control close to the subject part. cutting vent windows away from the windshield frame is probably the hardest part to do and not break something. i superglue steel axle cut to length onto the inside of the a-pillar of any car i open doors on for strength. it also helps in fabricating the a-pillar structure to hold the door the proper distance in the opening. the scout interior is a lot smaller than it should be if you're opening the doors; i would cut the floor pan out of it and glue it to the chassis, then build up the sides of the floor to the width of the inside of the body less the thickness of the inside panels. otherwise, the scout is a cool kit and interesting in it's execution.

i wouldn't discount the level of detail on some of those old kits; i was looking through my old instruction sheets and found some old Lindberg and PYRO kit sheets; they had pretty good detail for the scale and production methods. most of them had fair drivetrain detail and even some engine detail, and interiors when even AMT and Revell weren't putting them in their models. a lack of building options and all-plastic construction limited their appeal, so the "real" (1/25 and 1/24) models overshadowed them. chuck one of the Lindberg 1/32 kits over to Jairus and i bet it'll be hard to distinguish from 1:1 much less 1/25! granted; those monogram kits are simplified, but so were the much-loved Tom Daniels kits! some had not even the merest representation of full size running gear, just a materialized concept! (rommel's rod, anyone?)

does the reissue still have both grilles; the 53 and the 54? i recall also the spaghetti-thin exhaust pipes the old kits had; always swapped in something else, usually the duals from AMT 49 ford, altered to fit better. is the scale accurate to where it would not be acceptable to adapt the monogram 53 belair engine/wheels? i know some older kits kind of fudge the scale (sometimes due to mold deterioration and not on purpose) and the difference between 1/24 and 1/25 not so noticeable in those cases. at any rate, i'd build mine as a low-dollar backyard drag racer, probably with the six banger in it and full "aged" interior. got some new ideas for strengthening those thin rear springs, too. one is to simulate a set of airlift springs between the axle and the frame; the other is a set of ladder bars similar to quicksilver kit. others come to mind, too many to list. any thoughts on converting that gasser axle to poseable steering?

i had problems on the last issue of this kit (1987?) with the top front edge of the roof at the windshield not being fully formed; it left a huge gap above the glass. glad to hear the two piece tires are gone; i NEVER liked using revell tires other than the one piece vinyl tires in the '55/'56 chevy kits. the kit 409 w motor can be tweaked and detailed somewhat to make it look a little better; one of the weak spots on this kit is the really thin rear springs. probably a liitle too close to scale, they're very fragile; i've often had to repair them even during the build. i'm gonna grab one when the LHS gets them , tho; i got plenty of parts to replace kit stuff!

ken's got a good point; for every SOHC engine at the drags, there'd have been a dozen old-school hemis and oldsmobiles, plus countless mouse motors. i like SOHC's cuz they look so cool, but other than a few big names like Kalitta they were out of reach. weekend racers on budgets could only drool over them... personally; i use revell gasser kits as a starting point for models and not for the complete build. i welcome the return of the henry j and anglia kits and look forward to some new builds (since i'm spinning my wheels on the others...)

two more sources for sohc's are the 65-66 galaxie and 68 shelby 500 kits; also the 33 willys gassers; not all accurate but pieces from this one and that one... favorite ford performance engine!

The johan nascar torino has both 429 engines, the "sem-hemi" and the "crescent" or "wedge" head versions. i found my instruction sheet last night looking for info for another thread. my box of instrux sheets weighs about ten pounds...

i went through my box of instrux but the henry j wasn't in there. sorry; but if its a drag car it probably does have a magneto, and it may be mounted on the front of the water pump/timing chain cover if the engine is a gm. if it was a ford it might be mounted on one head or the other.

my mistake: it was PYRO that was the originator of the 46 lincoln; i saw the old instruction sheets. big old box of them and i'm going to make a list of what i've got so they can be shared.

oddly enough.... i was scrounging my parts boxes and found two AMT Honda 70 trail bikes.... and the MPC Stingray from the 28 ford woody kit. the trail bikes came with the "destroyer" f100 monster truck kits.. i'll have to check them over; they might prove great add-ons to one of my "late-model" cars (right; nothing newer than 78!) .

I'm certain i have a set of instructions from an old revell kit; i'll have a look this evening and let you know in the a.m.

IIRC: these were originally part of the excellent "parts packs" revell sold and reissued under the "grease" banner when the film came out. somebody's BOUND to have some original still in the package kits; they'd really make some nice companion models for late '50's/early '60's kits.

try testing it first with a little of the resin that you can get out of the mold. if it kicks, then i'd try the rest. don't want you to lose a mold! When i did it with the old resin i was fighting with i brushed it on and it made the resin kick but it was still slow curing. good luck and be careful!

it's been a long time since i saw this kit; what engine did they put in it? it may have a magneto which revell never did do accurately and is probably hidden in the chrome tree.

i had a similar problem with old resin doing fiberglass dash in my 1:1 '51; dang stuff would not "kick". try to pour out the major portion of the uncured stuff and dribble a little MEK into the rest and slosh it around. pour the excess off and hopefully the resin will "kick" with the hot catalyst. be careful (extremely!!!) with the MEK as it is very powerful stuff and the fumes are something else. good luck!

didn't lindberg repop the 46 a few years back? same time they did the auburn speedster and cord? those are really (ahem) challenging kits... but they're probably the only ones extant. i built the speedster box stock and got stuck when i just could not make the wheels look correct. i still have them stashed away since i redid the model into a rod. i also am not 100% sure the lindberg 46 was in 1/25-1/24 scale; it looks small for what was a fairly large car. the monogram 41 continental has excellent frame and running gear if it will fit under the lindberg body. i'd try to find a lindberg reissue on hobby heaven.

WARM SMILE WITH TEARING EYES... model cars.... pink floyd.... a wealth of knowledge and experience and ideas to share... what more could you ask for? come in here dear boy have a cigar you're gonna go far.... memories of testor's mustard oil-tinged glue and rock music that wasn't classic yet.... homework i wasn't doing when i should have been... the latest borrowed issue of hot rod or whatever and i suddenly feel very very old..... but happy to have this place to play.

my experimental mixture seems to work okay; most of it was sanded off anyway, just the small amount in the scratches and seams, and with a few coats of flat white it disappeared. waiting for the color coats to cure and will color sand it. i only do this much work on customs or stock conversions... which is why the tube of green stuff dried out... it must be 5 or 6 years old! usually blend parts with scrap styrene and MEK; it works fast and bonds well.

I was unaware they'd survived the seville debacle and thought they'd gone forever; if there's tooling it should be restored and used even if it's in China. i can't get to many (any?) shows due to work schedules and plane ticket costs; so catching deals on out-of-issue stuff is pretty rare to me. got tired of trying to find reading material on modeling and came here. i try to keep informed, but apparently this new(ish) entity of Johan was unable to get the market they need for operation solely by selling in the few retailers they had and by mail order. it only takes a few disgruntled e-bay users to ruin your rep as a vendor, ands if he has supplier issues he's beeing bitten by more than one dog. i'd like to see the testors brand restore ALL the Johan tooling that exists and get to work producing those golden oldies again. it would sure beat the heck out of paying 65-70 bucks for an old kit that sold for 2.99......

i went and looked at the site; great promise here if they can get more old kits back into production. the gallery had some great builds and some cool kitbashes using lindberg and AMT parts. i remember the "USA Oldies" from the '70's and wish i'd snagged more and destoyed fewer... but my oldest surviving build is their '64 Polara superstock in "stock" form with the long ram induction 383/426 engine and AMT torq-thrust mags. the star chief pontiac looks so cool; i picture it deep dark metallic burgundy with platinum contrast color? white and burgundy simu-leather interior.... 2-3 sheets of BMF! (no, not that much, we're not doing the '58 impala...) the ambassador SST (rebel machine?) kit was one i built only once and poorly at that, and would like to do as showroom stock.

Perhaps i should have said repops? well; a new 49 merc is welcome also if it is up to the 40 benchmark. and i also should have specified the "trophy" 53 f100 or AMT version; the flipnose is an old MPC tool and uses the same generic street rod chassis as the 57 chevy sedan flipnose from MPC (a great start for a "black widow") and is not buildable as stock. it DOES have an excellent bed molding with wheel wells added for wide tires, and it does fit in place of the AMT part. personally, i've never been able to make the flipnose front look right. so it usually ends up in the parts box..... i suppose i'll stick with my trusty old AMT 49 ford then... in any of it's versions i can find!