mr moto

Thanks for those sources, guys. Actually, I found a source on eBay and just got in a pair of them. They're from 3D Scale Parts and look good. As soon as I paint one I'll post some photos.

I ordered a set of 1/25 and got a shipping notice literally minutes later. In 4 days they were in my hand and they are just as beautiful as expected. Can't beat that!!

I can't find an aftermarket source for a good Nardi steering wheel. Any ideas?

Looking at the way it blushes and then glosses and needs a special base coat I'm thinking it's a lot like Alclad.

What's a good aftermarket source for a Nardi wheel?

I've never experienced the thickening problem with naphtha but it might happen sometimes. Paints can be kind of a witch's brew! Just checked the bottle I mixed up over a month ago when I sprayed the interior of my 1932 Ford phaeton and it's still okay. It's ModelMaster Afrika grau, a military color. I've heard (on this board recently) about people having this problem when thinning Testors with mineral spirits. Results might vary with MM vs. square bottle vs. Testors round bottle, etc. It could also vary by color I suppose. Pigments are supposed to be "inert" but they're really not and can have an effect on the paint's characteristics. Always test!

Like everybody has said, lacquer thinner works great and is cheap. Also, a milder alternative that still dries very quickly is naphtha (also labeled as vm&p naphtha). It's also available at the hardware store and works great with enamel. It's mild enough that guitar techs will use it to clean lacquer finished guitars.

Thanks for the generous offer but I think all the parts are there. I am planning to use better wheels and tires but the original wheels don't look so bad to me. It's just that some of the new ones are such beauties!

I bought a number of those back in the day. Our house had a nice straight hallway with a smooth floor that was a great place to wind up the rubber band and let 'em go! Of course, they would always slam into the wall at the end of the hallway. By the end of the first day the teeth would be worn off of the thin plastic crown gear. Time to get a new one if I could come up with another $0.49!

Great job on that! The Aurora kits of that series are not well known and usually under-rated. Some are better than others. The Ford GT is obviously one of the best. I'm thinking of doing Aurora's Maserati 3500 for my next build.

That looks great! I like 1/32 but seldom build any because of old guy eyesight and also because of lack of good kits on the market. I can see that those 1/32 Revells are worth looking at.

First, I have to say THANKS to everybody for all the compliments. Helps make the trouble worthwhile! As for the air cleaner, screwdriver, etc., I had to think up some way to keep from covering up both of those great looking Carter AFB's that I got from Fireball Models. Fireball's stuff is really killer!

You'll probably laugh but I use Microsoft Word. Notice that most of it is just text and that's what Word does best. Everything else is made from images "captured" on the net and pasted into Word where it can be cropped, re-sized, etc. until it fits. The Champion Spark Plug logos were done that way even though I could've gotten plenty from leftover kit decals. The ones done in Word are much sharper and fine lined than the kit decals.

That's the one I had in mind.

There's nothing I know of that's quite like that but the AMT speed boat with all the customizing parts is probably the best place to start to make your own.

Yes, a good wash with detergent is usually the easiest cure. Also, Tamiya makes an anti-static brush that works very well. I think it's a little pricy, almost $20 IIRC, but a good investment.

This has been my favorite super stock for a long time and the stars finally aligned in such a way that I could build it. Sure, Moebius makes an excellent kit of a later Missile and this build gave me so many headaches that I wondered why I didn't just get that one and build it out-of-the-box but a long time itch has finally been scratched. This is a mash-up of various Johan and Lindberg Mopar kits: 1963 Plymouth, 1964 Dodge (Lindberg and Johan versions) and 1964 Plymouth. All the decals are home made including the nifty 60's style upholstery. The end result came out okay but it was a beast! Hope you enjoy.

Thank you, everybody, for all the great comments! Actually, it has a few glitches in the paint job that don't really show in the photos. It's a "social distancing" build - looks great from 6 feet away!

Great looking build and definitely not a subject that you see very often!

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Blue Demon (El Demonio Azul) - a big star of Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling and also star of many low budget 60's/70's low budget films. In the films he usually saves the world by defeating monsters/aliens/gangsters/spies, etc. by using his Lucha skills. For some reason my twisted mind decided that AMT's 1957 Bird was just asking to be decked out in a Blue Demon mask. Almost everything in this build can be found in the box of the very early releases of the '57 Bird. The steering wheel is from a '59 Imperial and I can't think of anything else that's not out-of-the-box. Anyway, here it is!

That's doll house carpeting. I'm not sure where I got it anymore but I think it might have been from on-line seller Oakridge Hobbies. It's available in many colors on the net. You can find lots of cool stuff by sort of "crossing over" to other hobbies and their suppliers. That's just how I thought about this build. A high schooler (with a few more bucks than I had!) or a young working guy who fixes up that old tub his uncle had under the shade tree into his dream ride. But, wait a minute, those aren't warts - they're beauty marks!

That's a clever way to give some new appeal to the old show rod kit. Great job!

This is the phaeton version of AMT's ancient '32 Ford tooling. It has a number of accuracy issues that have been talked about a lot and the engineering is primitive but when it's done it looks pretty good despite itself. The engine id the Ford FE that came in the kit with a three carb manifold from the parts box and air cleaners from the '36 Ford kit. The instrument cluster is also '36 Ford. Taillights and hubcaps are '50 Ford and the steelies are from the '53 Ford pickup kit. No radical changes - just a few homemade details. Like I said, basic ol' skool hot rod. I hope you like it.

Yes it is a lacquer. It's part of their line of auto touch up paints that most car parts stores sell. I've never had a problem with it but another poster did. Like all paints, proceed with caution until you learn what to expect from it.

First, that's a beautiful build and a great concept! You're to be congratulated on finally making one of those ideas that we all have floating around in the back of our minds but seldom get around to building. Great job! Secondly, a few words about the paint issue. There is more than one kind of Duplicolor clear - at least two and I think possibly more than that. These two cans of paint are NOT alike: The one in the blue can is the one that Ferbz says he used. It is VERY hot and easily cuts through other finishes including Duplicolor. It must have a useful purpose for those who know the correct usage but I recommend staying away from it for painting models. The "Perfect Match" clear (in the can on the right) is an old standby and I've used it for years over various finishes and as a decal coating. There's never been a problem that I didn't cause all by myself.