DirtModeler

lol. I guess if you pay about as much for the replica as the real one probably cost to build you can put the scoop on any way you want

Since we're digging up an old thread. Revell should dump models, and start selling photographs. Fotki, Smugmug, Photobucket, and many others are filled with photographers selling pictures of every race car under the sun.. And nobody bothers them for royalties, contracts, or payments. but sheesh.. make a replica of something and all hell breaks loose! Everybody wants a cut. So to review - Push a button on a camera, unlimited copies for free, no problems with licensing. A real object, hundreds or thousands of hours of work - big problems with licensing. Which i kind of find ironic because photographers plaster their names all over their photos due to the fear their work stolen, or copied, or re-used.. but they get their subject matter for free. no, i'm not sore on the subject at all!

The other 3 hub center variations, they didn't attach correctly to the first post.

Wide 5's and Dirt Tires aren't really new to Dirt Modeler. This basic design goes back to 2005 with Intersection Replicas and the cars i used to build for customers. There were a number of issues i had to overcome to have them as a product available to model builders in larger numbers that took quite a while to solve. The set isn't perfect by any means, but the final results can be quite nice.. And there are so many different possibilities. 5 Wheel Centers, 5 Different Beadlocks (and 3 different inserts to go inside of them), 2 Different Wheel Covers, 4 Different Hub Designs (with a new budget-minded version coming in about a week), you should be able to replicate pretty much anything on a short track from the 1980's on up. I hope everyone will enjoy them, it's been quite a long road to get here.

Coming in just a couple weeks is a huge release of new parts. Parts shown in the attached image is just a portion of what is coming. Ladder bars are getting some love in this new release as well as new linkage mounts and some time-saving parts to help scratchbuilders. In addition to the shown images, i also have 3 new Optima Battery tray designs (in both 1:24 and 1:16) that will come in a 2-pack with resin batteries. The battery trays fold around the resin batteries for an added touch. The large majority of this plate will be the new Tab and Bracket series, with nearly 100 different frets of tabs and brackets designed to fit specific screws and bolts. I'll have product images up as soon as the new plates arrive in about two weeks.

It depends on the material used. It's usually 1.2 times the thickness of the plate. I use mostly .012" thick brass for my etch, so the minimum would be .015" . You could get down to a .008 wide part, you'd just have to reduce the plate thickness down to .006"

If i could get some real dimensions to work with, i could probably play around and see if it's possible with my PE capabilities..

I purchased an Iwata Power Jet Lite last year, and i LOVE IT! there are non airbrush specific airbrushes out there that work, but i have to say having a compressor designed for aibrushes it worth every penny! For years i dealt with a craftsman oil-less compressor and it was incredibly loud! The iwata is very quiet and is only on when you have your finger on the airbrush. http://www.amazon.com/Iwata-Medea-Studio-Series-Double-Compressor/dp/B000PIG0PQ they are spendy, but utrecht had a 40% off coupon when i got mine, and it was only around $175 shipped. I'll never go back to hardware store air compressors

This particular new plate doesn't have any rod ends on it. i really wanted to get some on, but ran out of room. I currently have a new run of the Chrome plate being made for me, and that will have a small number of chrome rod ends on it.. it will be available about the same time, mid to late February. The next plate I do in a couple months will solve a lot of these kinds of issues. Some of the tabs and brackets will be much more popular then others. On the next plate i'll have more of the most popular frets, some new sizes and variations, and a bunch of the rod end kits. I'm also working on some clevis link end kits that will work a lot like the rod ends i already offer.

An update on this project. I've recently completed the artwork for a large number of new parts, including this Tab and Bracket line. I'll have more pictures and info for the other items later, but wanted to touch base on the Tab and Bracket line. The first wave will be about 75 different frets of tabs and brackets.. radius tabs, flat tabs, bent tabs, etc. 75 frets with about 3 different sizes on them. To help customers find exactly what they need, i'm doing dimension drawings of each of the parts frets, the drawings will look like the attached image. ETA on the new parts is mid to late February. This whole series has the exact same size of fret, and the same price ($2.49) I wanted to keep these inexpensive and something people would want to have an assortment of on-hand for whatever project you're working on.

I dunno.. I think the best Ford truck in quite a while is the Raptor. Love this truck! Maybe they will make a new styled one for 2015 based on the new F150?

Looking forward to whatever you decide. I love the 84' T-Bird Pro Stock Body.

Well, I can say for certain i'll have a whole bunch of new tab and bracket frets on the next plate, coming in about a month. I probably won't cover everyone's needs right out of the gate, but if the grand experiment gets a warm enough response, i'll follow up with even more on future plates. I have a deadline of this coming Monday to finish this plate, so i'll have to get done all i can by then.. i have a lot of new frets done now. With the coming weekend and the extra day off for MLK i should have a hefty collection to offer for most needs.

thanks Skip, i'll see if I can incorporate that into the next plate run.

Man, that is sweet!

I've been to one in Portland, though just as an onlooker. There were some really nice models there! I'd like to finish a few models and go to a model show.. but the Dirt Modeler business pretty much takes all my free time to maintain, I rarely have any time for modeling my own stuff... Hopefully this year i'll be able to after i get done with my current todo list.

That is a great looking build! liking the progress so far!

Those are top notch Shucky!

Thanks guys, keep up the comments. I have to make a firm decision and get this done in the next week. The whole reason for this plate is for some parts that i've been out of stock of for quite some time now.. the only problem is those parts aren't enough to justify a whole plate run.. i have to fill the rest of the plate with other items to make it more cost effective... I have to really buckle down over the weekend to get things finalized.

Could you sketch that out? I'm interested in the concept, but not sure exactly what you are wanting here. I have to make a firm decision pretty quickly and get this plate done, but everything is on the table at the moment.

Welcome Todd. I'm in Medford too.. small world!

Here's a few tutorials i wrote up years ago.. they still apply today. Soldering Equipment 101 Solder and Flux Magnetic Jigs Cleaning Solder Joints Hope they will help. Soldering is fantastic and fun.. no waiting for glues to dry.. if you mess up.. desoldering is a snap.

Well, maybe a la carte isn't the exact term, I mean, i won't be selling tabs individually.. but small frets of multiples of one type of tab. The product may not be perfect for your needs.. and that's ok. No product is perfect for everyone.. we all have different needs for our modeling. My thought is, i'm trying to move away from deciding for customers what parts should be grouped together, and let customers get just what they need for their projects.

I'm going to start with the basics. I did some calculations, and if i devote half of my plate to just tab frets, i can have 120 different little frets about 1.25" square. It may seem really small, but you can fit quite a few in that space. The idea is to keep the cost down on the individual frets, somewhere between $2 and $4 ea (i don't have my spreadsheet here at work to do my calculations for an exact price at the moment). The frets will all be the same size, the retail prices will all be the same too.. i'll just put all i can into that space. If you have a larger scale, the tabs will be larger, and you'll just get fewer tabs per fret. I'm going to work in 3 scales, 1:24, 1:16, and 1:8. 5 (scale) tube sizes for radius tabs: 3/4", 1", 1 1/4", 1 1/2" The hole sizes on these tabs are all meant to coincide with Scale Hardware offerings. From their tiny .012" Shaft simulated hex bolt, up to a 0-80 screw. Of course i can't hit all the sizes right off the bat, i'll have to add them gradually to the line.

Just bought it. A 2014 Subaru Crosstrek. This isn't a picture of mine, though it's the exact same one i have, color and all. My Wife's daily driver - Mazda Protoge 5 My daily driver before we had a cold spell. 97 Ford Ranger XLT. There was too much water, not enough antifreeze in the system and it froze and expanded. I thought i'd flushed all the water out of the system before the cold spell hit, but the next morning at 8 degrees F all heck broke loose. I think the water pump and heater core need replaced, it has a coolant leak now. I didn't want to pay the money for repairs so i bought a new car.