Modelmartin

Those were great decals. I have several of them which I guard closely. Maybe some of the ALPS guys can re-pop them before their supplies run out. :cry:

Fun photos there! I had a moto-tool when I was about 13 and I got a lot of jollies by mounting a model drag slick on the sanding drum and spinning it against some sandpaper. It lit up like a real tire!! Perhaps there is an idea for someone to do real tire smoke in 1/25th!!

Actually finishing models gets me fired up. I do many nearly out of the box builds in between my 5 and 10 year contest builds. If all I did was one or the other I think I would be bored. Also build what YOU truly like! It is real easy to be influenced by what others are building and lose your way. Good luck getting your model mojo back!

I spent a few minutes checking it out at the Heartland and have to say I liked it a lot. Very nice model of a very cool subject. 8) 8)

I can tell you that both the 356 and 911 kits from Fujimi sit way too high if you assemble the suspension out of the box. It can dealt with different ways but takes some finagling to get the right stance unless you are building a Paris-Dakar entry! The big problem with the 911 in the front is that the trunk is too deep and the floor too low so it pushes the torsion bar assembly so close to the ground. I had to section the trunk area but then I occasionally go overboard. The easiest way is to glue the brakes up higher on the suspension. The half-shafts will NOT line up with the center of the wheel but who's going to complain?

Mark, After that great story, can we see pics of your Merc custom and the Charger? As for myself I have experienced the extremes in model building time. About 1979 or so I saw a picture in the latest Road & Track of the new TR7 Convertible and just had to build one. I lived blocks away from a hobby shop so I put down the mag and drove over and bought a Monogram TR7 kit, drove home, cut off the roof, found a convert boot in the parts box I could narrow, painted everything, waited for it to dry a bit and then carefully assembled a still slightly tacky model. Cash Register to shelf was 3 hrs and 15 minutes! :shock: In about 81 or 82 I started a 1/16 top fuel drag bike with 2 Honda CBX motors on a common crankcase to make a V-12 and used a blower and slick from a Revell funny car kit. I am still working on it!!!! :shock: I try to make sure I work on my personal models every day even if I only sit down for ten minutes. Of course I am working on models all day every day but those are the ones I sell to make my living. Those are satisfying too but resin casting is work. It sure beats a job though!

That is the straightest, most complete, piece of junk I have ever seen! I can't imagine anything on that car still being able to operate. Does it even roll? Doors open? :roll:

That is very sad. Ron was a super nice guy and always very friendly and upbeat. It is definitely too soon to lose him.

I will be in attendance! Stop by my table at the swapmeet and say HI.

Porsche started this whole dubs and donks thing, you know! I remember when the Porsche 935s came out in mid 70s with those 19" BBS rear wheels. Who new what a wild trend it would become 30 years later!!!

I have used Evergreen clear styrene and loved the results! I think it is optically about the best out there. K & S sells Clear Butyrate and PETG so any good hobby shop can get that and give you good results. The Petg is particularly good for vac-forming. 8)

Which pack are refering to? There was a Body kit and 2 different chassis. They were all pretty good.

That is a great looking model, Marc! 8) 8) 8)

The judges usually circulate before the actual judging begins to scope things out so I would recommend putting the top on and off periodically during the display time. Also would recommend a little note with the car telling the judges that the top is removable. I would leave the top on when judging starts. Good luck and I will look for your car. I will be there also.

Gregg reminds me of Steve Martin in " The Jerk". He was probably raised by Hawaiians and doesn't realise that he is white!!!

It is not very aloha to confuse us with Hawaiian lingo! :?

8) 8) 8)

Ambitious project! Looks real nice so far. Devcon makes a great product that can be used for casting tires called Flexane 80 liquid. It is used for encapsulating electronics and it comes in black. I use it a lot and it is a great product. Search the web and mail-order it! Lexan is polycarbonate. You might find it easier by searching for it that way. Also, plexiglass is acrylic. Both can be bent with heat gently applied but the Polycarbonate takes a lot of heat so I would recomend the acrylic or thicker polystyrene. Not to pre-empt Jairus but what's your name and where are you?

James, I have one of those. It's a 1960 Mini ( OK only 47 years old! ) That his raced, autocrossed, crashed, bashed, been bondoed, rebuilt and yet it still gives me a big-@ss grin everytime I drive it. It will likely give another individual some more joy pretty quick here as I have to sell it soon. That poor 57 Plymy is a very sad story. :cry: It never got to motor about!

The reason the lacquer thinner or acetone works to thin out spot putty is that the spot putty is merely thick primer. I have used 3M and green and white Squadron and as long as it is used as it is supposed to it works great. It is for surfacing and very small imperfections. I always use lacquer primer on top of it and that helps "fill" the spot putty so it doesn't shrink down the road. For a lot of my filling I keep a jar of unthinned primer on my bench and brush it into imperfections. It works great. 8)

Plastic is permeable so you can be certain moisture seeped through the plastic even if there was a good seal. I will bet any amount the car is totally rusted and decomposed without one single usable part! Not even the glass will be good!

Paul, I think that sand rail kit was 1/20th. MPC used that chassis in a version of their 1/20th AMX and I think an altered also. I really don't think that is where the A rad shell came from. I have heard that AMT and MPC tooling was getting all mixed up and after enough time and changes they had piles of mold inserts laying around. It could be that the Rad shell insert fit in the hole in the tooling? I am not aware of a pairing of an A rad shell with funny car chassis in the past but I easily could have missed it.

Bellissimo!

Good yuks!

That styrene from Japan is addictive! :twisted: I always feel light-headed when I go onto HobbyLinkJapan. Must...stop..before...I...buy..again.! :cry: