Lunajammer

As I always say, less is more. Well done.

Wow, Dennis, that's about as nice as I've seen. Looking forward to seeing it for real at NNL North, right? Right?

Now that's a truck built to get things done. Touche'.

Yeah, that's pretty close. I don't recall what other patterns Scale Motorsports had but it might be worth looking into.

Super Clean, or whatever it's called now, (purple pond) really did the trick. An overnight soak and a soft toothbrush cleaned it like a whistle. Nothing residual in the scripts or grooves. Very happy, so all I've lost is a little time, and I've got lots of paint left. Also I got the photo etch details onto the interior doors. Not liking the old-man-trousers look of the seats I grunged them up a bit with a careful wash and knocked down that gleaming white and spotless tan. Now it's more like vintage-thermos-found-in-a-shed.

Hmm. Doesn't seem likely there's something in the plastic, and since you've stripped it once already I presume there's not mold release residue. Unless you're married to that very shade of silver, maybe it's time to switch brands to Rustoleum or, as Slusher suggested, Tamiya, or... etc. I'd hate to see you drop out over this.

Looks like you're using lacquer. Did you use a primer? If not, you should, and preferably of the same brand or at least lacquer based. It's reacting with either the plastic or whatever coating you have underneath it.

I used .08" quarter round strip. I forgot to mention in this thread that I got some detail elements from Art Laski over at Scale Pro Shop. You can see the obvious problem with the dated interior bucket of the '61 Ranchero. I'm guessing the lack of hard edge, protruding door detail has more do with the state of molding in the early 60s than it does about anything else. Regardless, I'll build these old dinosaurs any day.

Had our first warm day of the season and I got a little impulsive to finally get that clear coat on the '61 Ranchero. Didn't think it through and put a coat of Testors One Coat lacquer over my Rustoleum green, which I think is acrylic enamel. The green almost turned white and obviously put on a finely crazed surface. I think this is the first time ever I've had to strip a body that I painted myself. Grr! ?

Got a little impulsive to finally get that clear coat on the '61 Ranchero and take advantage of some warm weather. Didn't think it through and put a coat of Testors One Coat lacquer over my Rustoleum green, which I think is acrylic enamel. The green almost turned white and obviously put on a finely crazed surface. I think this is the first time ever I've stripped a body that I painted myself. Grr! ?

Which is what makes the lottery possible. I've always maintained that if people could actually, mentally comprehend the odds of winning a national lottery, it would cease to exist.

Best car would be the 1983 Datsun/Nissan 200SX identical to this web pic. I bought it not running for $400 with 95,000 mi. and it had been rolled 1-1/2 times in deep snow so it was bent up but not a total wreck. I switched out the main CPU and drove it daily for 13 years. Very peppy and dangerous on snow and ice but fantastic low end power and great MPGs. Nimble, quick, and more dash gauges than a jet plane. Near the end of its life it still just wouldn't die! My mechanic finally told me to quit bringing it in, because the fixes usually exceeded the value of the car and he'd been left with too many abandoned cars with unpaid bills and feared this might become one of them. Finally traded it for a Ford Ranger long bed as my needs changed. ?

Class, man. CLASS!

I'm reviving this thread because it's worth a second look. John, where are you?

As an agency graphic designer, I use Photoshop for hours on end and I enjoy it. Photoshop makes work easier but it's 100-percent controlled. That's fine for commercial design and layout, but art by hand is much more liberating and expressive. There's not much "undo" so you kind of live in the moment and take what you get. The mistakes, successes and textures are more honest and I think viewers can see and appreciate that.

Like maybe a '58 Peugeot.

Some real beauties. Thanks for sharing.

A brilliant piece of concepting, fabricating and finishing. That'll be a good conversation starter at your next show.

Likewise, I've never seen this one. What I like about Palmers is they are so far off the mark that you can't rationally call them the vehicle they're supposed to be. So instead, look at them as some phantom and have some fun customizing it into something nobody's seen before and would never recognize any association with their "intended" look. I saw one done that way, it looked awesome and I became a believer.

Another brilliant jet rod. Always a pleasure to witness the fertility of your automotive sci-fi imagination. Thanks for keeping this thread alive.

Roadhouse Riviera

I respect your choice to not chrome the ridges in front of the rear wheels. Doesn't need it.

First off, thanks for posting this. I've really wanted a first-hand report on what's in the box and how it goes together. This model is like a kit bashers dream. It's already so nutty that any additional customizing can't make it worse, which is liberating for customizers who want to try risky choices. Kudos for what you're doing. Otherwise everyone has already spoken my other thoughts.