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Very nice! Those side view photos could pass for 1:1 photos.

Wow, very cool! 1/75?? That's small!

Yes! Nice detail work & photos to show it so well!

Yes, I glue 1" x 1" squares together, slice them into thin strips & shape with files & polishing sticks.

Mmm, that looks really nice!

Sorry, I didn't answer your question earlier. The colored plastic is from Midwest Products. I found some at a local RC/hobby store, but many places online carry it. The white sheet I used is Evergreen. Here's a link I found, but just do a seach on Midwest Products, & you may find a dealer in your area. http://www.caboosehobbies.com/catalog/index_home.php?manufacturers_id=647

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it!

I've been working on this '49 Mercury for a little while now, & I finally almost have the interior done. I reshaped the seats & door panels & used acrylic paint as the tuck & roll inserts. The armrests, door handles, window cranks & steering wheel are resin copies of pieces that I scratchbuilt (except the steering wheel rim). The side panels & front seat still need to be glued to the floor, so please excuse any gaps that are visible. The dash is from Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland. The dash & shift knobs are made from laminated purple & white plastic. Here is an older photo of what it's going into. The body has since been painted purple like the dash, & awaiting polishing. For those interested in seeing more photos, including step by step photos of the top chop, check out my FB album. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steve-Boutte-Kustoms/136565936448460#!/media/set/?set=a.141065212665199.23984.136565936448460&type=1

So cool, Glu!

As always, super nice! What brand of resin are you using for tires?

That one came out really nice!

The gauge size is for the wire itself, not including the insulation, so, the O.D. of the wire with insulation will be larger than .0056". But, it still may be too thin for plug wires.

Yes, the ga. number is not thousanths of an inch.

Sprayed the first coats of primer on the body & top. It's nice to see it without all the patchwork.

I modified a couple of Appleton spotlights by cutting the buckets from the stems so that they can pivot more like the 1:1. These are available from Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland. I drilled holes in the A pillars & mounted the spots & handles. Almost ready for primer.

As others said, great looking color. What brand & color name?

Thanks! The trim on the windshield opening was made from .040" half round strip. I also used that same size strip for the beltline & cowl trim.

Looking good! Maybe you could raise the front just a bit (level or slightly higher than the rear) & extend the deck to flow into the rear. I didn't raise the front in the photochop, but I lowered the top & extended the deck. Regardless, you do whatever you feel looks good to you.

This is my attempt at an early '50's Chevy "butterfly" accessory steering wheel. I used a steering wheel rim from the AMT '50 Ford kit & scratchbuilt the rest. The rounded portion of the horn ring came from an ink pen body & the straight pieces are brass strip soldered to the round portion. The horn ring is not permanently attached at this time. I also made the steering column, shift lever & rod, as well as the turn signal switch from styrene. Here is how it looks all put together. The shift lever still needs to be thinned down a bit. I planned on casting the steering wheel with the horn ring attached, but I think it may end up being too thin & delicate in resin. we'll see.

Looking good! I see that you cut the upper fender parts off of the Caddy bumper, so, what's your plan?

To adjust the placement of the dash, I added a vertical .080" strip to each side of the door panel to lengthen it as well as a .060" horizontal strip to move the dash up a bit. I removed a slice along the curved section of the dash and kept sanding until the fit in the body was good. I also added filler to the top of the dash to match the curvature of the windshield opening. The dark areas on the floor & sides are just colored with a Sharpie so that the gap seen in the side window slot is dark. Not the best photo, but it still shows how the dash now matches the curvature of the windshield opening. Another view. Now, the dash fits a bit better in the body. Also, note the strip between the hood & beltline/windshield trim. This is totally absent on the AMT kits & will be body colored. The spots on the top are where there were pinholes in the filler & have been filled in.

Thanks, everyone! The color I have planned is burgundy or plum with an off white top & typical 2 tone tuck & roll interior. At least, that's the plan for now. Thanks, George53, that's pretty much what I plan on doing. But, the whole dash needs to be moved a couple of scale inches towards the base of the windshield so that the face of the dash is in line with the doorline at the A pillars.

Inspired by the Chevys coming out of the Barris shop in the late '40's, I started working on this '51 Chevy convertible during the summer. Back in the '40's, it was all about making the car look more elegant than the what it looked like on the showroom floor, so big bumpers (not smoothed) & grilles was the way to go. I used '49 Cadillac bumpers & grille from Modelhaus, modifying the ends of the grille to fit the body. I reshaped the nose of the hood as well as the ends at the door line to make the AMT hood look a bit more like the real 1:1. I added the peak down the center of the hood using a piece of wire, blended in with superglue. I sprayed Acryl flat white on the hood to even things out. The AMT windshield opening/ cowl is so screwed up & thick, a lot of work went into fixing all of that, once again adding half round strip to replace the junky stuff. The windshield trim was just recently added & still needs to be sanded down a bit. The headlights are from the AMT '49 Mercury kit since the those from the AMT Chevy kits are too small. I also modified the rear bumper by adding the wrap around ends from another bumper. Taillights are made from the turn signals pods on the '51 Chevy grille. The windshield frame was chopped a couple of scale inches, & the basis of the top was the custom Carson top from the Revell '48 Ford kit with quite a few modifications. Since the both the Revell top & the AMT kit beltlines did not have enough curvature around the back end, I rebuilt that portion of the body & beltline with styrene & superglue. The beltline trim was redone using half round styrene strip, all the detail on the top was done with styrene, superglue & filler. I rebuilt the vent window frames with styrene. The AMT dash sits few scale inches too low in the interior as well as not close enough to the cowl, The gap is obvious in this photo & the previous one, & will take some work to correct.

I had known about this book for a little while now, seeing photos during the printing process, & I had been patiently waiting for my copy to arrive. Yesterday, I received one in the mail, & I have to say that this is one of the best books on custom cars that I’ve ever seen. Many of you know of the author, Rik Hoving, from all of the great parts & photo etch artwork that he created for Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland as well as Model Car Garage. His attention to detail carries though to his writing & layout skills. A phenomenal amount of research & care went into this book, not only documenting all of the past & present owners of the Jack Stewart Ford, but also showing many of the other cars that the owners had at one time or other. There are many, many interesting photos, as well as documents, letters, notes & other historically significant pieces pertaining to the cars & their owners. The book is outstanding in quality with a hard cover & beautifully printed on high quality paper. You can order a copy directly from Rik at the following link: http://www.kustomkarbooks.com/KKB/KKB_home.html

Forget the dagmars, this is the look! If you don't use it I will! Cut about 1.5 scale inches off of the front the the hood & it'll fit.