Codi

Hi Atin, Really nice touches you've made to the base kit. With the color you've chosen and the PE parts yet to be added, I'm sure this will be a sweet looking car when all is done. I also have to commend your efforts on the paint. You saved a car that I didn't think could be saved. Looks sharp! cheers, tim

Sorry to learn of your loss. Nice to see you back as well. cheers, tim

Beautiful Cato.

Thanks so much for sharing the pics and details of "how-to". As someone that wants to attempt what you're actually DOING, it will be most helpful when I try my hand at it even if I can't get the same results. Oh, yeah, that chassis isn't too bad either. cheers, tim

Hi guys, to anyone that has commented on Dave's post on this car, go to his photo-bucket account (comp1839) and check out the HUNDREDS of detailed pics. Not just of this build, but ALL of them. You'll be amazed and learn something along the way I promise. Michelangelo at his best. cheers

Yeah, what they said Chris, super impressive. More please. cheers, tim

Do the headers fit? Just going by the pics you've shared, it looks super tight. Great subject and build you've selected. cheers, tim

How is it possible you get better and better John. I really like the level you're taking the electronics. It proves it can be done by someone committed to doing so. Nice work! cheers, tim

So, was in "class" all day. Whew, never thought "school" could be so much fun. I wanted to share a pic of the wheel that I'm going for. I did NOT make this wheel, Dave did while he was "messin' around". I can only hope that mine turn out this sweet. The research and effort Dave put forth on this I can't put a price on. I've gotten the education and fantastic renderings to take this on I believe. So, I have 1 tool to order but I'll get started on the centers next week and the rims when the tool comes. Behold, the only known American Racing "Bear Paw" wheel in real aluminum in 1/25th (or any scale outside 1:1) that I know of. The tire is a compresins piece that I need to re-shape/size the diameter and width of but it's fairly close and I think can be used. Cheers

Insane Joe......just insane. Can never have enough wings right?

I've seen this car in person guys, the pics don't do it justice. Just stunning. cheers

Small one for you Chris. Since the car is basically going to be mostly scratch-built, I have drawn the chassis up to the point that I can start on it VERY soon. One of the things I had to make were the rear axle brackets first. Took me a little longer (A LOT actually) to make these than I expected. The "base' as I call it has 4 different angles to it with the round axle support (with the 8 tiny holes) soldered to it. I was determined to machine this so that I can get a high degree of accuracy with the chassis overall. Friday I have "class" on the subject of "Machining Your Own Aluminum Wheels" taught by Professor Dave. I have to be on time as he can be a tough task master. There is a particular rear wheel that I want to make for the car and Dave already took the time to draw one up AND make one that turned out SWEET. I'm hopeful I can make 2 like his. Cheers, tim

I like the subject you picked John, no surprise there as I don't think you've built anything that I've not liked. Nice job too! cheers, tim

That's the nicest I've seen Chris. Great job and description on how you did it. Thanks, tim

You NAILED em' Eric. When considering an FED v. Altered for my build I did a bunch of research on "how to" etc. on wire wheels. Your results are super. I'll be sure to bookmark this as future reference. Nicely done again! cheers, tim

Nothing to add to what's been said. With the recent closure of Scalehardware and another favorite, T2M last year, the pickings on the supplier side are thin. Last year when T2M closed up I bought from the UK, Germany, Australia and China to get whatever I could of their parts I've been using. I think I cornered the market. Then I thought, hmmm, you never know and so I bought a fairly decent quantity of the .5mm nuts and bolts from ScaleHard. as I use them quite frequently. But they too will run out at some point. RB Motion (Rob) has some really good product and reasonable assortment AND he runs a good business with excellent service. Like everyone else, I've searched fairly diligently for replacement suppliers but I've not found any that have threaded nuts and bolts in particular. There was a recent post of a supplier in Germany that has some .6mm & .9mm stuff that would be helpful. Now when I drop one of those tiny nuts or bolts on the floor I look REALLY hard to find it. REALLY hard.

Oh where to being: how did you manage to solder the albion nickel silver so sweetly? how did you form the fenders....wood bucks??? wingrove insights? what about the GT40 & Ferrari (not that I'm one to question why?) aw shucks, never mind, when can we speak as I have too many other questions and things I want to learn. A simple fuel tank is one thing but just what you were able to achieve on those "practice" fenders impresses the you know what out of me. Panel beating is one of the things I've always admired in addition to machinists and their skills and I can't wait to work on mine. This will be truly inspiring sir. Cheers, Tim, Honorary President of the Randy D. Fan Club (self-imposed)

Bob, look at line 3. What I'm saying is I took a strip of copper and wrapped it around the aluminum pyramid shaped piece and rolled it on a steel plate to get it to conform to that shape. A few soft taps with a plastic headed mallet to get the edges of the seam down tight and that was pretty much how the body was formed. Hope that helps. Brad, No Go on the Go Pro. I'd have to mute it because the language can get a little blue when I drop and lose a part on the floor. Thanks too Dave. Pete, like what you're doing on your 53' btw. Those body mods turned out sweet. Glad you like where it's going so far. Next step is finalizing chassis renderings and getting started on it. Since most of the important "big" pieces (engine block etc. and rear end) are made I can trust the numbers to make the chassis properly. Cheers

A hearty thanks gentlemen for the comments. I wanted to answer Brad and Bob's questions as I have the stuff still on my desk so I took a pic and can provide a quick how-to. In this pic you'll see what's known as a dapping block and a couple of the "punches" that fit the corresponding holes. Also, the copper I used was .015" which was annealed before shaping. The pyramid shaped piece on the end of the tweezers was the piece I made on the lathe to be able to bend the body of the tank around. Detailed explanation follows the picture. Steps: 1. Annealed the copper and cut small strips which I placed over the properly sized hole on the block. Placed the "punch" over it and hammered it lightly into shape creating the twin domed portions. The block and punches range in size from 3.0mm up to 25.0mm as an fyi. The small copper dome was 8mm and the larger was 12mm btw. 2. Made a dimensional drawing of the body to understand the proper angle to cut it on the lathe and machined it a bit under-sized to compensate for the thickness of the copper so that the domes were a reasonably close fitment. The dome was done in aluminum so that when I soldered everything up, it would NOT become part of it and would separate easily. 3. After drilling a hole in the body for the gas cap, I shaped the copper strip around the aluminum pyramid. This step was a little bit tedious as it took time to ensure a proper fitment. Then I placed the domes back in their respective holes, placed the body of the tank over that and used a torch to solder the ends to the body. Clean up and that was it, all in about 6 hours to do all the steps described including the lathe work. I DO want to acknowledge and recommend a fantastic book, "Model Building with Brass" by Kenneth Foran. The idea to do the tank came from his book even though he was making a part for an aircraft engine I think. It's a fantastic book and I suggest anyone that is interested in working with brass or copper and wants to learn about the possibilities when scratch building, well, it's just a great read and informative in so many ways. Cheers

Thank you Scott AND Ray. I'm not sure what I'm able to teach you Ray per se. But I'm glad you are enjoying the thread all the same. Today I got the fuel tank done. 3 parts all fabbed in copper so I can chrome them. I'm trying to improve my metal forming and fabricating skills. None of the 3 were machined although the shape to form the body of the tank around was done on the lathe in aluminum. Cheers, tim

If someones not already mentioned it, I believe this is the worlds first mobile phone. Couldn't help myself John but I thought I should say it before Joe. Your talent for making anything look cool is beyond compare. Cheers

That's an ambitious project that you've gotten off to a great start Bill. I have no doubt that it will be quite exceptional and look forward to your future posts. cheers, tim

Yeah Joe, what Chris, Randy and the others have said......been awhile and we're ready for an update. Cheers

Just stumbled across this Kevin. Fantastic subject. I was completely unaware that such a plane even existed. It certainly has great "lines" and you're doing it justice. Count me too as a follower of your thread. Cheers, tim

Phenomenal John. The car is so well done but that paint just jumps off the page. That's some talent. Cheers and congrats! Tim