Scale-Master

The ribbons are decals I drew and had printed on the 2007 IPMS Nationals "Official Decal Sheet".

Just finished this Round2 pre-painted snap version. Something to do between trim painting and while it dries on the 69 Camaro. There was some dirt in the paint so I polished most of it out; a few pieces were too close to the pre-printed graphics to mess with so I left them there. It went together in three half days of working on it. I added the Remove Before Flight ribbons, but the rest is straight out of the box. The chrome trim is just brush painted Tamiya Chrome Silver, I didn’t feel like BMFing it. Very fun build, two thumbs up. Been wanting a Batmobile for a very long time, this will go well next to the Fireball.

Maybe the light, and a weak coat of paint. It is the same color, but I think the coverage is poor.

Another oldie never shared online before… Dug it out while cleaning too. This is the first Fisher Pattern & Model Works kit I built. Went together well, even included a plug to vac-u-form your own headlight covers in addition to providing a vac-u-formed set in the kit. Testors enamels for the paint…

Forgot to post the text... An old JoHan, I built before I knew about BMF, early ‘80s. I remember building it as a present for a friend in my dining room and painting it in my kitchen (apartment) while his birthday party was going on there. Start to finish in that one weekend. (Might explain some issues it has…) He never got around to taking it home, so it stays parked here... I textured the valve covers and made the vinyl top with paint. Used masking tape for the seams in the roof. Painted it Tor-Red, actually it’s Testors 1103 Red, (from the little Pla Enamel square bottle). I mixed the Hemi Orange for engine to his specs, he was a big Mopar aficionado. Not perfect by a long shot, this is one old bird, so it will stay like this as a reminder of what used to be…

Another back row find… I had a body, a windshield, most of an interior and a chassis left over from doing the decal art for the Testors reissue of the JoHan 442, oh, and a Revell parts pack turbine. The tail pipe and heat shield on the passenger side hint that something is different… Testors Ice Blue Pearl for the body… With a second coat mixed with clear to sort of ghost out the striping. Yeah, it’s a replica of a real car, sure it is… Nothing like tinkering around with leftover parts…

This is the ERTL Snap-Fast Plus kit. There is molded in chassis detail, I hand painted this one's. No engine, but it builds up nice. Except for opening some of the louvers & vents, and adding the seat belts, this is the way it goes together out of the box.

You are correct. That's why I used qutoes to indicate "Pre-To-Me-Being-Online". We all know Al Gore invented it back in the 60's...

Another “pre-internet” build. Obviously it is not the original correct color. I bought a few of these on sale, had some leftover touch-up paint (is there really such a thing) from my Camaro. What to do with a model of a one of a kind car when you have multiples? I’ll do models in color combos I’d never do on real cars...

Tata Motors in India had announced a compressed air car about two years ago. Seemed plausible, but like hydrogen, the infrastructure of air compression stations would need to exist before they could be a reality. As I recall it was in the range of 4500 PSI being stored in the "fuel" tanks. Your Craftsman compressor is not going to do the job, so it's not like you could "plug in" or "pump up" at home at all.

Yup. With a side of irony...: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22479&hl=surfite&fromsearch=1

Ironically JB, your's is the last post a couple years ago. But here's a bump for you to see it since I searched it out...

It feels even better when I don't knock off a mirror or windshield wiper dusting them. But yes, it is very cool to see my own old work and recall the enjoyment of building and what I was thinking when I was building it.

Wow! That is crisp and clean. Especially for how tiny it is. The more I look at it, the better it looks.

I too thought it looked similar to an aircraft engine. But then again, it does run on air... I know, that's bad. And I also agree, the workmanship is very nice and the fact it is "just" an air engine does not take away from the beautiful work. If I wasn't wasting so much time on model cars, I can see myself making one.

I found this in a back row while cleaning the second to the last display case… I think it is time to bring it out to the light of day for its online debut. It is a resin kit by Fisher, built pretty much out of the box I don’t know how long ago, (I’m guessing in the 90’s). More Testors enamels for the finish… Color mixed to the entertaining description provided in the instructions.

I did dry splatter spray for the valve covers. Same basic technique I use for sand cast texture and vinyl tops. Low pressure, spray from a distance, and spray dry coats. The inner fenders got some of that texture from ingrained dust & dirt collected over 20 plus years of not finishing it. Sealed in with flat black. As I recall the width was OK for the chassis, and I'm thinking maybe about 3/4 (or was it 3/8?) of an inch was taken out of the wheelbase. I just cut it to fit. Considering when it was started, and how long ago it was finished, nothing but nature is going to change it now. And it's not like those upgrades will add that much to the overall model to me.

Too Cool Steve! But mine does not have the babe... I sure enjoyed building mine, and the hut!

Wow, last time I brought that up I got blasted by the person doing it. Clearly I do share your perspective.

I'm with Harry on this. Impressive, but an air engine is not in the same class as an internal combustion engine. I don't need to have built any running engines to share that viewpoint do I?

Still cleaning the show cases, thought I’d share this one too. Another oldie that isn’t seen built very often. I got this AMT kit when I was six as a Christmas gift, (yes, back in the ‘60s). I tried to build it four times over a couple decades or so, only to get frustrated with not having it look the way I wanted, and stuffing it back in its box. The final build, when I finished it, was at least a dozen years ago. It is the longest span I ever spent from starting to finishing a model, a good 30 plus years. By the final round, what I had to work with was a body that had been painted four times, with multiple colors (I always tried to make it like the real one), but I never stripped it between attempts. Fortunately I used Testors enamel for every paint layer. It took about a week of working through it all with Easy-Off oven cleaner, (soak, scrub, rinse and repeat). Then a lot of sanding. The interior however, had been last “finished” (during the ‘70s) with thick felt cemented to the bucket and dash with Testors (Orange) tube glue. It was truly finished, off that is, not salvageable. The engine and the chassis were also quite weak looking. So I cannibalized an (at the time brand new) Revell Pro Modeler Charger and cobbled up a two seat interior, shortened the chassis and used that nice Hemi. Paint was again applied using Testors enamels. Pearl Orange from the Boyd’s line and Stop Light Red over a white base. The original decals were still on the sheet, but useless for other than reference, so I drew and printed a fresh set. BMF was used to salvage some of the chrome. I took a little artistic license with the exhaust system by adding mufflers since I could not see how the exhaust could work through the side pipes as engineered. I’m not sure, but I think the mirror is from the original Fireball kit, but I know the gas cap was taken from the Charger. Here’s some engine & chassis shots:

Thanks everyone! The compressor and all the other parts came with the kit, that is a major part of building “Out Of The Box”. The doors, hood and even the trunk come hinged in the kit; I just assembled it as it was intended. The trunk is where the batteries would go for the motorized version and it is very shallow. (I did add a houndstooth trunk mat though…) The thin blue pin stripes are Scale-Master decal stripes. A little decal solvent helped the gentle arc. Just apply them with plenty of water to float them and use a brush to position them. I have built the Revell kit, back when it was a Monogram kit…as a replica of my brother's car. Same scheme as this one. The grille in this kit is a ’72 only pattern, but the rest is generic enough to be ‘70-‘73 I think. Unless the seats changed in ’73 like they did in the Camaro? Two of the tires are shot, but realistically flat looking, not my work, just time’s work. Part of it is my fault, I added lead weight to make the semi-working suspension squat to a more accurate stance. This model weighs a few pounds. Kind of creaks like a 40 year old F-Body too. As far as why I use “Master” in my screen name, it is simply because I have been making decals under the trademarked name of Scale-Master Decals since the ‘80s. I agree it is tacky to call one’s self something grandiose, usually even if the skills to back it up are there.

Thanks guys. Yes, it is 1/16th scale. The paint is Testors Bright Yellow and Classic White Model Master enamels, no clear. Looks like it has held up quite well... I recall letting the yellow dry for a month before accent painting, decaling and trim painting. Since it was built OOB, nothing other than normal clean assembly and detail painting was done to the interior, and the entire kit for that matter. One trick I did do that was kind of doing a Smokey Yunick with the OOB rules was to replace all the fiddley steering rods with brass wire wrapped in BMF, but I kept the kit's rod ends. Several of them were broken (it was built from an original issue kit) and it was the only way I could figure to make it buildable. I'm still not done cleaning the five cases, and many of the models I have on display have never seen the internet. Maybe I'll post a few more...

Here are some shots of the chassis/engine: