monkeyclaw

you might also want to "GOOGLE" tool/die manufacturers; and see if any of them make an oval shape punch tooling (intended for hydraulic press) in the size you need the holes to be....mark the center locations as Scott suggested; then simply punch out all the holes......any effort to have the sides done in P/E or machined will be very expensive, due to the nature and amount of "artwork" and labor that those processes require.......matt

Anything NEW would be a nice change of pace! A bunch of the stuff that has been mentioned has been done in resin in one form or another....here's what I am working on right now; for a multi-version transkit for Italeri 377/378 kits; which should allow builders to do just about any version of the 127 BBC truck...I have put a great deal of effort into making these transkits more user friendly for builders; and should only require hinge height , and cab mount adjustments when using the specified donors. Have a look..........matt

Len; This is another one of those questions that you will get a lot of different answers to...and it really depends on what TYPE of aluminum finish you wish to replicate....all of the above mentioned products work GREAT for doing polished aluminum finishes; and I will add how I do "cast" aluminum finish; for engine blocks; gearcases , Turbos and such... I begin with a spray cn product called "cast coat" , available at auto parts stores; it is used to replicate the cast finish on alternators and cast parts when you replace them in older cars....this is a "textured" spray paint; and 2 or 3 coats generally gives the correct texture for cast and sand cast parts....this finish will be way too bright though; so I then cover all of the cases with a mix of testor flat gray/ silver to give a more correct color finish to the overall part.....after that I come back with a bright "crome" silver; and do all of the raised ribs and machined edges to pick them out, as if they had been milled....the last step for me is to use a .001 tip inker; and ink in all of the deep recess area edges, to really give a nice 3-D look to the parts.......I hope this helps.........matt

Chris; not much out there will work with the T-600 cab; as it is an "aero" cab.... about the only way to go if you don't want to do the T 800; is to get a hold of Brad @ BRL; he may be able to help you out with a 900L hood conversion; don't know if he has them right now; but doesn't hurt to check.....I hope this helps.........matt

Milt; The pearl and candy colors will require a little extra effort over single tones....1st; choose the color you would like the model to be....prep & prime as usual, but wet sand the finished primer ( I use 2500 grit) ... this will allow the "base" to lay down really smooth...the candy and pearls will change "tone" depending on the underlying base....silver will give a more vibrant shade; where gold will give a richer tone....you can also get more "pop" by base coating with a bright white...This combination will give a "neon" effect with candies...I generally use the house of colors...they cast a bit more; but finish nicely....so it's worth it. I generally heat my colors in warm standuing water to about 100 degrees (slightly warm to the touch) This will allow superior flow from the can; and reduce the amount of "fogging" at the nozzle....spray your base; let it flash once you have even coverage....then spray your candy or pearl; the candies may require some color sanding; as you want to get good overall tone across the painting surface....using light coats....If you spray them wet; you will risk sagging; and running; and dark edges around all of the trim; where the paint flows off of the trim pieces, leaving them absent of color. You can do any masking of patterns and such once youe base is applied; then when you spray the color; you will have the base color stripes or patterns.. the next step is the clear coat....a must for achieving a great depth and shine when using candies or pearls...the clear will get polished out; giving the final gloss to the paint scheme.... This is just a guideline of how I do it; but you can try virtually any color base under any cany or pearl to achieve your own unique combination of color...If you have the time; check out the house of color charts in your local auto paint jobber store; and you can see how many combinations are possible...remember to post pix of your paint progress! Another tip I can offer is using a heat lamp...I use the aluminum clamp lamp shell; with a fast food lamp in it....when I spray colors or clears; I pass the wet coats under the lamp; to "flow" the wet coats down; to minimize polishing.......I hope this helps........matt

Chris; No problem! I do know how you feel....I have had a couple of resins that were just NO fun at all....I bought one of the CMM 1/12 scale Porsche 917 kits in 1/12th scale....I was so not into doing all of the work to make it look decent; I sold it off......it is heretofore referred to as "THE BRICK" in my modeling circle..........matt

I'll say it again; As a caster; I never recommend immersion of any type; I personally use a product by Dupont (Presp-sol) but there are others like it out there....wipe on...let haze; wipe off....these products are designed and formulated to attack and remove silicone based materials; as well as many "wax" products....and have been used by automotive painters for decades. Alot of your cleaning and prep will depend on WHO makes the body....some casters use "slip" agents in their molds; to prolong the mold life; and more readily release the parts....These agents are typically PVA (or now) even PTFE dry spray....YES; PTFE....the same slippery stuff that's put into engine oil friction modifiers (like slick 50)....I personally don't use any type of slip agents when casting parts; and never have any paint issues whatsoever....I just prep-sol, and shoot primer....that being said....the molds ARE made of silicone; and when heated the molds can and do "weep" silicone oil at times; when I have a weepy mold; I simply dust the mold s with Talc...which is back to the reason that I use a product specifically formulated for the removal of silicone based products. Now I am not trying to offend, or anything like that; but you will get 50 different answers, by 50 different posters for this question....everybody has a "special" method of cleaning resin prior to paint. I would not recommend the use of any Lacquer thinner on a resin body; as it may craze the resin; the same way it "eats" polystyrene plastic. When you start buying resin bodies from various sources; you will figure out very quickly WHO uses slips and who doesn't; and adjust your pre-paint regimen accordingly. Just my 2cents...which in todays economy is actually my 1/4 of a cent..................matt

My best garage sale find would ahve to be the Pocher Rolls Royce coupe sedanca ...scored it at a garage sale in Kona, Hawaii in 1996.............$20.......never found a better deal anywhere.........matt

Both actually...I do mostly 935 K2, but also have a K3 in progress; and a Moby Dick body just underway as well; the Moby has been re-scaled and corrected from the fujimi R/C car....all of these are intended to use the Tamiya kits as a base...The K2 is correct nose section, rockers and 2Pc rear wing, the k3 is complete body; in a multi panel format ( so they will all come off), which I used the #70 {LM80}SACHS car for my research...as it was the 1st "customer" car for that year, done by Kremer. The moby has a way to go yet....but I have also done ALL of the correct twin turbo parts for these cars as well....turbos, piping; big honkin cooler, blow-offs etc. I have completed molds for the K2 stuff; but was really unhappy with the way the mold for the front clip "works"...and although it makes nice parts; I have to seperate the fenders and front apron and make another set of molds to make the parts for production; so they come out nice every time with far less effort. I plan to have another K2 and a K3 ready for the IPMS nats this summer............feel free to Pm me or email off board if you need any other info........matt monkeyclaw62@aol.com www.monkeyclawmodels.com

John; I know EXACTLY where it is....my sister lives down by the "ROD-N-REEL" store on 235.....Small world....no pun intended....matt

John; Nice builds! I would like to add that I tried a bunch of times to build these kits back in the days of Monogram form; and was disappointed every attempt; as I could never seem to get a kit that had good chrome parts...I did try repeated attempts for replacement parts; but they always arrived as bad as the originals...faded, 1/2 plated; or big chunks in them...I think the camaro was the only one I ever got to build in it's entirety...and it's a shame...they all are nice kits overall; and I know that Revell Germay has re-popped all of the kits in the past couple of years; which should have increased the Quality of the kits parts immeasurably....I would build any of them for sure....BTW John; whereabouts in SoMAR are you? I grew up in St. Mary's county....go up there once year to visit.............matt

I agree with Tim...It's the classic pattern of "cold can" syndrome! Try standing your duplicolor cans in a small container of warm (almost hot) water prior to use....continue to pull the can and shake it up.....once the can feels slightly warmer than your hand (about 100-105) try shooting (of course dry the can of excess water first). By doing this and spraying warm; the pressure at the nozzle will increase; the paint will atomize and "flow" better; but will remain at a temp warm enough for the propellant in the can NOT to make condensation as it changes state from liquid to gas; thus eliminating the fog or clouding. ou can also use a "shop lamp" the aluminum clip type, with a 75 watt bulb; spray the paint; then hold the parts up under the lamp to warm the paint; wich helps to flash out the solvents faster and more equally, and results in SMOOOOOTH paint every time....I hope these pointers are helpful.....and the truck looks GREAT............matt

Dan; thanks for posting that well written and informative "how-to". It is nice to see one area of the forum that still remains focused on actual modeling...I am gonna have to try that one one of my next Ih projects. It looks to add a great dimension of detail; and it is a very nice working feature.............matt

I'm usually non-partisan about these fueds; but as an "old (Anglo) guy" myself; I was rocking the bombas and sleds long before you squirts were a wet spot on the sheets.... Even Gregg has to remember my 60 Caddy in Honolulu...I am all for this one guys.... Impatient you are paduan (Yoda voice)....much learning still to do you have ...although it will be a fun build; Methinks (you guys have been complaining about proper use of the English language) the instigator of this challenge has bitten off way more than can be chewed; with no disrespect intended....you are challenging a group of guys with at least a collective millenium of modeling experience; and the wallets to back it up; so be careful what you wish for...to the winner go the spoils (PROPS); and to the losers....just the satisfaction of job not done as well as they thought........matt

WoW!!! Is there a moderator in the house? This thread seems to be never ending...MODEL CARS guys.....Model cars...that's all it is...build what you build; post what you post....enough of the "bloods" and "crips" already. If you don't like DONKS....DON"T read the threads...pretty simple! As a modeler, I build a varirety of subjects; not just one thing...as a car guy; I like several different segments of the hobby, not just one type of car. The thought occurs to me that with all the time and effort that has been wasted on this thread; You guys could have been getting some serious building time in....does ANYONE still do that? Again; is there a moderator in the house? Matt

Sweet! What scale is that 1/20? the body is very crisp....I am working on one in 1/12 scale right now...........it's a big project (no pun intended) Your car will be great when the artwork goes on...........matt

Dave; I plan to have the conversion ready to go by the end of April; and loaded up to my site.... and I appreciate your support...I will also being doing "upgrades" for this one; and plan to have them ready by the end of May....I'll keep you all posted on progress .........matt

The hood is scratch built; as is the grill shell. I have corrected the sleeper opening as well. I will be casting everything (including the cab) to go right on ITALERI kit # 740. The hood will feature underhood substructure as well; and will have a corrected dash (O/O spec) with 2 larger guages in the middle; and P/E grill. I hope this helps.........matt

hey guys; just wanted to post a couple of progress shots of my latest project...it will be intended for Italeri kit #740 ....gonna do a long frame and "ultra" parts for it as well ...even the 70" bunk matt

Hey guys; just had to share the good news...Just picked up a couple of old 12th scale resin kits in Atlanta this weekend...Two kits I have been trying to get for a while....first; the Brianza 917LH "Hippie Car" and the Leonardo 917 "Pink Pig"....Two cars that have been missing from my collection for way too long. Of the two; I would say that the Pink Pig is the better as far as casting goes; but they are both very nice; but will require some effort to really bring them to life...I think with a little photo help from the historians at the Porsche museum the details will fall right into place....well worth the trip; and the $$$.......matt

Hey guys; I just wanted to put the word out....I recently looked at a collection another modeler has; and he wants to thin it down....great and some RARE big rig kits...most all are F/S and MINT and will be priced accordingly; so I don't think you will find any bargains...but if you are looking for those holy grail kits....this guy has them! he has been collecting since the 70's....I wish I could just have it all; feel free to contact me off board; or email me monkeyclaw62@aol.com for the contact info.....I will most likely be posting photos to my site in the next couple days....matt

I agree; ANY of the tamiya 12th scale kits are nice; the re-pop of the Tyell 6 wheeler with P/E is very nice. Having built just about all of them; I would say one of the best has to be the williams/renault FW14 kit; and the Mclaren/honda ranks right up there with it. Having built a raft of the 1/12 porsche cars as well; the 935 is also a REALLY good choice; and can be built up into an exceptional model with a bit of added detail; but builds very nicely from the box as well....if you like the older racing cars; the walter wolf ford and Matra kits are great models as well...........matt

Good race for sure; I was really surprised to see that the flying lizard Porsche that got chucked into the wall early actually FINISHED; after being fixed! The one issue I have with the speed channel coverage is that they only really spotlight the big $$$ teams of LMP 1 & 2; GT 1 is a gioven....CORVETTE; but they (speed) don't seem to give much coverage at all to the guys eeking out the season in GT2 ....I did not even hear a single reference made to the FORD GT of Robertson racing being on the circuit; which SHOULD be a big deal, to have another AMERICAN manufacturer running in the American Lemans series...and it was really nice to see a big badass green monster (Aston Martin DBR9) back out there..........but the day belongs to PORSCHE...that's for sure..........matt

Hey Ajulia; just wanted to chime in....Raul is correct; but the re-coat "window" can vary greatly from paint to paint....usually hobby paints will work if you spray wet to wet; but if you make the move to autopmotive paints (especially urethanes) you must ask the store clerk; and read the labels carefully; as some base coat/ clear coat auto finishing systems have SPECIFIC re-coat windows; which if not followed; will screw the pooch on your paint work. When using testor lacquers; I generally spray at least one clear coat wet to wet with the base; to allow ease of any decl artwork; then add the final clears over the decals for finishing....a good quality "tack cloth" is in order as well; be sure to store it in a ZIPLOC bag so it will stay "tacky" forever"........matt

I agree with Samustang....I generally use a good quality permanent marker....black of course...you can work free handed; or even mask off...the difference is no bleed under the tape edges....nice and crisp every time............matt