dougp

The tutorials are available here: http://www.briansmod...admin/tutes.htm. They are in a zip file that is downloadable and can be read by a browser or program that reads and/or converts htm. He also included an index of the tutorials.

Another work of art, great job.

I've made a little progress on the engine and frame. I going to mock up two engines, the first picture is the bbc out of the AMT 57 Corvette Street Machine. I will use it to copy the 454 throttle body injected engines used in the Topkicks. I have it attached to the Ford Louisville trans and may moded to look like an Allison auto. The second engine will be a custom 427 tunnel ram injected engine from the AMT 67 Impala Street machine. I have an Allison auto on order from American Industrial Truck Models for it. Once I get them together, I will see how each looks in the frame and then decide. The frame is together and waiting for the suspension. I thinking about using the axles out of an early Big Foot kit, Not sure because they aren't quite as meaty as the Ford Louisvile axle. So I've order up a front drive axle from AITM and will mock up both sets before deciding. If I go with the Big Foot axles I'll have to cleam up the extra detail and remove the hydraulic steering arms and rams. I going to use the AITM 16X20 hi float tires/wheels (HF-1) http://www.aitruckmo...lsandtires.html for this build. The wheels will be painted to match the lower body color which is going to be a dark charcoal or gun metal metallic. The upper body color is going to be a bright green, blue or purple. Once I have it mocked up I'll decide.

Update 10/29/12 Well it seems like its been a slow week. Don't feel like I got much done. Got the basic firewall/cowling into place and shaped up. The DG Productions Topkick hood plastic was thicker on the passenger's side and needed to thinned and shaped to match the cab. I had to add some strip styrene to the drivers side so the hood was square with the cab. Still need to fill in the along the front edge of the cowling. Will add more detail and shape to the firewall once I get the frame, suspension and engine mocked up for placement of the cab and tilting hood hinges. Once I have everything squared up, I have to figure out how to make the z-cut in the fenders like the 1:1 for the tilt hood.I would like to attach the lower end of the fenders to the cab first, but haven't figured out how to make the cut without breaking them loose. I'm afraid if I cut them before attaching them it will throw the cab/hood alignment out of wack. If anyone has a suggestion it would be greatly appreciated.

Update 10/29/12 The engine is complete. The air cleaner is drying, It was painted hemi orange and still needs to be cleared and buffed. Also noticed I forgot the dipstick, so I'll have to add it too. The trans pan turned out better than I expected. Block is gloss black, heads gloss aluminum, water pump and oil pan sliver, headers are magnesium and the carbs are a combination of silver, brass and gold with a black wash. Distributor by SMBC. This week I plan to get the chassis started and the ride height set. If the weather ever clears up I hope to do the final prime and prep on the body. Thanks for looking.

Great pic Jacen, I'm a big Nascar fan but not on this build. The color I've selected is Duplicolor GM Autumn Maple Met. Haven't decided on the interior color(s) yet. I used a pic for the mopar performance catalog to make decals. I painted the valve covers flat black and sanded the top service so the gray plastic would show through the lettering and fins of the decals. I used some chrome parts box breather caps to top them off. For the mopar performance finned tranmission pan I used strip styrene to create the fins and dry bushed silver over the top of the ribs. I used another decal for the mopar perf. logo. I'll be posting pics of the basic engine/trans assembly in the next couple of days. Waiting on parts to finish it. Hopefully they'll be here tomorrow.

Thanks for all the suggestion and comments. I've been busy on the Topkick and didn't realize the response I was getting here, so I'll be a little more diligent. I don't think I'm going to use the fender scoops Pat. The body is so long and clean I'm afraid they'll disrupt the flow. Thanks Corey, I'll check them out, every little bit helps. I have a bunch of the Dayclonas and the green 71 Charger SRT8 that are on the web. Both are supplying my inspiration on this build.

Thanks Brian, I see the fan is mounted off the water pump, but the pump itself appears to be mounted higher on the engine. Where the pump on a passenger car/light truck is usually mounted to the front of the block and heads, the Topkick pump appears to be located higher to place the fan higher on the radiator. The picture shows what I'm talking about. The pump appears to set level with the throttle plate. I know this seems like a stupid question since this is a custom, but I'm trying to keep some of the details authentic. Thanks again for the help.

I use embossing powder all the time. I use a white or creme color that is easy to find. Once it's applied and set I paint over it with the color of my choice. I've been using white glue with good results but Im definitely going to try the spray adhesive on my current project.

Thanks for the comments. I still working on the firewall/cowling area and have assemble the basic frame. I'm waiting on some parts so I can proceed on shorting the frame. In the mean time I have a couple of questions for you truck experts. I'm thinking about using the fuel injected engine out of the 99 Silverado kit or building a bb chevy for it. Is the auto trans with the Silverado kit suitable for the build or does someone a suggestion for a transmission better suit for this type of truck, maybe an aftermarket Allison trans. The engine in the Ford Louisville donor kit is mounted to the frame at the front of the block, directly below and inline with the water pump and at the transmission. Can anyone advise how the Topkick gasoline engines where mounted. I can't seem to find any reference pics on this topic. In the reference pics I've collected I've notice a couple of items. First, the fan/water pump appear to mounted higher on the 366 engine than a car/light duty truck. Is this correct? If so, is there an easy way to replicate this in my build. I know the radiator and mounting configuration is different on the Ford Louisville donor and it will need to be modified. Second, there appears to be only two or three leafs in the front springs compared to the multiple found on the Ford Louisville. Is this correct? I'm thinking about making this a 4X4 using a front drive axle from ATI Truck Models. If I go this route, any suggestions on a suitable transfer case? Thanks for any help or suggestions.

This is my 2nd WIP behind the Topkick I started in Pickups, Vans, SUVs and Light Commercial. It is actually further along than the Topkick, but decided to post it too. I'm terrible at remembering to take pictures, so bare with me. The build is 71 Daytona based on the AMT 71 Dodge Charger R/T kit. Parts are supplied from the AMT 69 Daytona, Revell 70 Superbird and 71 Plymouth GTX. The nose and side filler panels came from the 69 Daytona and actually fit easier than I expected. I straightened the front edge of the fenders and hood to line up and attach the nose cone. The wing was from the 70 Superbird and the top of the rear fenders and mounting points had to be reworked for a cleaner fit. The rear bumper was dechromed and the badges removed. I plan to use the 5 spoke oem wheels with a set of Fireball Modelworks Goodyear Eagle GT's. Here is what I have so far: Engine is based on a Mopar Performance equipped 440 6pack pictures found on the web. I made custom decals to duplicate the finned Mopar Performance valve covers. The shorty headers were scratch built. The finned transmission pan and pulleys are works in progress. Enjoy, comments, suggestions and ideas welcome.

Well here goes nothing. I've been a long time lurker here with the occassional model posted in under glass. With all I've learned from everyone here I've built up the nerve to post a couple of WIP's. My first is a custom GMC Topkick extended cab pickup. I picked up a Topkick cab, Silverado dually and a Ford Louisville short hauler on ebay. I've severed the cabs from their respective front clips and shaved down the Topkick hood to align with the Silverado cab. Next I've started rebuilding the cowling area and firewall. I have some ideas on the paint scheme and wheel/tire combos, but I'll know more when I get the body and chassis mocked up. I plan on having a tilt hood and a fully detailed engine compartment with a gm fuel injected engine. Comments, suggestions and ideas are welcome.

Thanks for the comments. Color is Tamiya Yellow with a single coat of Duplicolor clear. I changed the rear wheels because I don't care for the chrome dish wheels provided with the kit. The Dragmaster "Two Thing" provided the idea of the scoop. It's the top part of a Competition Resins F1 scoop shaved down to size and painted with Krylon chrome.

Bought the Double dragster kit in the tin a couple of years and used it primarly to supplement my parts box. I needed something different to build between my other projects and found I had enough of the original kit to build this. My inspiration for this kit was the Dragmaster "Two Thing" at the NHRA museum and Moon Eyes dragster. Pretty much box stock with a few extra details...Enjoy and thanks for looking.

Or if you have the resources, make your own decal. I needed a set of finned Mopar Performance valve covers for one of my current projects but couldn't find any in plastic or resin. So I created my own decal and here is the end result. The finish is much better under normal light and viewing conditions. It appears you already have the script you need, so yours should be easy.

I planning to build a custom top kick pick up using a DG Productions toy and grafting the hood to a Silverado body. Everything I've search on said to use a AMT Silverado dually as a donor kit with the Ford LN for the suspension. My question is I have a couple of the Revell Silverado kits, can those be used as parts donors? I know I'll have to find some dually fenders somewhere, but I like the detail on the Revell kit interiors. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Very nice, good detailing, I like it a lot.

Thanks for the comments everyone. A lot of the inspiration came from other kits here. The body is from the older release with the clear glass/sunroof vs. the newer release with the red glass/full moon roof. The front end uses the new release hood/fenders with the older release lower valance and spoiler. Same with the rear, old body with newer roll pan without the push guards.

I picked up Revell's latest release of the Street Fighter II and didn't care for the red glass supplied in the kit. So I picked up a earlier release of the Street Fighter and combined parts from both kits. With a kit bash of a 57 Chevy Pro Sportsman and the parts box I built this updated version of the venerable classic. Paint is Duplicolor Honda Hampsted green metallic and GM silver metallic. Thanks for looking and enjoy...

No, its from a 49 Ford Woody diecast I got at the state fair many years ago.

It's been a while since I last posted due to lost interest and winter. But I'm back on track with 4 kits I hope to finish up in the next couple of months. The first off the bench is this Revell C6 Vette snap kit. I remembered in my younger days when dune buggys were really popular and several different buggy builders would glass bodies of popular cars of the day. So this is my modern day version of a custom buggy. Enjoy..

I'm too sorry about your loss. I hope you don't give up on your building. Also unless you have some reason to believe it was your manager (other than no forced entry) it may have been someone with a bump key. How to make and use them is on the internet and we had the same problem in our area last year. The burglar can enter your home without forcing entry by easily unlocking your door with a bump key. The only way to beat them is by installing a bump proof deadbolt. Good luck...

Just received this email from a friend. Beautiful car and would make a great build project. This is the car that in 1954 could have "killed" the Corvette. So, Chevrolet, being GM's big sales and profit division, campaigned to GM to "kill" this car. When Chevy was coming out with its 6-cyl. sports car with its 2-speed "powerglide" transmission and side curtains, here was a sports car from Olds with a big old V-8 and power windows. So, GM said no to Oldsmobile on building this car. The world's rarest automobile: a 1954 Concept Old's Rocket F88 - the only one in existence. ( The story) John S. Hendricks, (Discovery Communications founder) paid in excess of 3 million to acquire this 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 Convertible Concept Car . After spending decades as a collection of parts stuffed into wooden crates, the F-88 was reassembled. In 1954, the F-88 was a Motorama Dream Car, and was one of only two, or an unconfirmed possible three, ever created. The F-88 seen here is literally the only car left of its kind, and was sold to John and Maureen Hendricks at the prestigious Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction in Scottsdale , Arizona , for an unbelievable $3,240,000. This acquisition made automotive history, and is in the cornerstone of the Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum, in its own special room in a rotating display, worthy of the F-88! I apologize if this has been posted before.

Some pin vises have different chucks which you have to change out for different size bits.

Either way, very nice build...