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So, as I said, I was looking for something and I opened a box in which I found a second frame with the Maple Leaf rear end already grafted, altho not lowered and with the front cross member still intact. Maybe it will receive a '30 coupe of its own, but for now I'll concentrate on making a very traditional all black '29 Roadster with steelies and red accents. For the engine I decided to go with the flathead from the Revell '32 Sedan. I do have a bunch of resin heads for it and maybe even some intakes, but I'll have to dig them up. Overall, I would like to keep it pretty straight forward and simple. No fancy hoods, superchargers or interiors.

Thank you. I have one or two of those laying around the garage somewhere. Oh, I am well aware and completely agree with everything you say. I just have somewhat a vision in my head already. It is going to be plain Jane black, as a true classic Hot Rod and it will have a red flathead motor with steelies. While looking for something else I discovered that I had already made this conversion on another frame with the same 3D printed rear, that I had completely forgotten about. The Y-block I was asking about is for another build.

Quick question guys. What is the best source for a good Y-block Ford motor?

Absolutely outstanding! Everything on this pair looks very well thought out and they are a perfect match. If you don't mind me asking, where are the W valve covers from?

I have a couple of those kits. The Enthusiast series by Fujimi are just great in every regard. You seem to be doing great with it. It makes me want to start one of mine, but I already have enough projects going on.

Hi, everyone. I had the opportunity to start on a new position with a new company, which almost doubled my previous pay. However it came with a little caveat. My first assignment was about six hours drive from home, which meant that I spent the last 5 months away from home, except on weekends (or rather every other weekend). This essentially put all my hobbies on hold, but I'm back home now and was itchy to do something involving plastic, glue and paint. I have a few projects at quite an advanced stage from before that I need to finish, but I needed something fresh and somewhat easy to get my head back in the game. The reissues of the '29 and '30 Fords from Revell are perfect for this. So I popped one of the '29 roardsters I had laying around in the garage and decided to start proper from the frame. First on the agenda was dropping the front end. First step was to remove the '29 front cross member. And replace it with the cross member from the Revell '32 Roadster frame. Next I finally ventured into what Ive been wanting to do for a long time. Drop the I-beam axle from the '29 Roadster. For the purpose two of them were cut up. And then reglued again, adding quite a bit of "drop". I don't measure things, as I am more concerned with how it looks to the eye, but this now looks a lot like 6 inch dropped I beam. It needs to be cleaned up, sanded, smoothed, dechromed and perhaps have the spring separated. Then I will mold it and the plan is to try casting it in metal. Most likely it will not be used on this model, but still fun to mess with.... Then I remembered that I ordered a small fortune worth of 3D printed parts from Maple Leaf Modelworks, including some quickchange rears with leaf springs and crossmembers. I am going to remove the little tabs on the frame for the rear axle, so why not raise a little the rear cross member? A piece of styrene strip was glued on after the location of the cross member was determined. And then the center section of it was cut off. This killed two birds with one stone, as it created positive mounting tabs while in the same time raising the position of the new cross member. Some CA glue and we have a proper vintage rear. Looking good all together. Now I have some long list of decisions to make. Mainly what body is going to sit on this frame. The '30 Coupe, '29 Roadster, some resin pickup bodies I have, a sedan? No idea yet. Then what will power this hot rod. An Olds Rocket, Y-block, Flathead, a Hemi? Pretty much I want anything but the engines that come in the kits. Wheels and tires will most likely be from the kits. Thanks for looking and stay tuned.

Very well done! You don't see many street rods done in yellow in scale. Which is a shame really, as I think '20/'30s Fords look great in yellow.

That is one fine Deuce! I'm surprised we don't see more of these built on here.

I really don't understand the bashing of these kits. They are amazing and leave little to be desired in terms of detail. Yes, they are challenging and take a lot of work, but basically give you everything one needs to make an amazing fully open model. I have seen on here people cut doors/hoods/panels, that were never designed to be opened on the kit and scratch build everything necessary behind those panels to make them look like the real thing. The way I see it, Aoshima has basically done most of the work for you, if you wish to make the model open. I am a big fan of the Zonda and this kit has me all twisted. On one hand I would want to show all the detail underneath, but on the other I would hate to brake up the clean lines of this design, which was the last pure form from Pagani, before his cars became the ultimate showcase for kitschy excess. I think you did a great job with the kit and your pictures (especially the profile one) show that all the panels actually do fit and line up perfectly.

Very nice coupe. I have that kit, but it hasn't gone past me looking at the parts.

Thank you guys. I appreciate the comments.

Lamborghini didn't miss the opportunity to milk the Murcielago range with a SV model too. What is more interesting about this Super Veloce tho, is the AutoArt model of it. This was probably one of the bigger turning points in Autoarts quality and detail. The paint was way more consistently applied, there was more photo etched parts everywhere. The interiors were greatly improved. and finally, they figured a way to keep those iconic doors staying up. My model was a Christmas present from my wife (her favorite color is purple) and it is Viola Ophelia. A very interesting color, that the pictures do no justice. It goes from almost black to burgundy, to what you see on the outside pictures. LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO SV - AutoArt

The Ferrari 599 attracted a lot of tuners too. It was the first flagship Ferrari model to do so since the Testarossa and the wild Koenig Specials creations of the 1980s and '90s. This model was extensively modified by me. From the integrated roof scoop, through the full aero package, to the machined rims and custom paint and interior. I made thirteen of these and sold all by one. No two were the same. HAMANN 599 MRM models

The Murcielago came in convertible form too. And Maisto did a mighty fine job with their model. Especially considering the price point. Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster - Maisto

Those Maisto GTs are actually quite good models. It does not take much effort to make them even better. And considering their price, they are simply unbeatable.

This is Autoart at their best. Great model. Somehow I don’t have a single Alfa Romeo in my entire collection.

Carrying on with the Lamborghini theme..... In 2001, Kerbeck imported the very first Murcielago on the East Coast. We had a booth at the (laughable) Philadelphia Auto Show, where we displayed it. I have a picture somewhere with it, three piece suit, tie and all. ? Just like the model bellow, except I believe it was yellow metallic. Lamborghini Murcielago - AA

Altho I have Ferraris in any scale from 1:87 to 1:8 in my collection, which has long ago gone into the 4 digits, my passion for Ferraris goes beyond models. It is a company with probably richest automotive sport history and a legendary status that involves so many personalities and stories, that the models are just part of my memorabilia collection. Very important part of my collection are books. Most Ferrari books are not something you go to Barnes and Nobles and buy off the shelf. At least not the good ones. A prime example is the book bellow, which documented Ferrari's commercial stunt in 2006, which was designed to promote the reliability of their current-then 599 model. Basically Ferrari took two stock 599 Fiorano models, one painted red and the other painted blue, and sent them on a 20 000 miles journey. And what a journey it was! The Panamerican 20 000 started in Brazil, from where 50 different journalists from around the world, over the next 84 days drove the two Ferraris through Latin America up north, through the Panama Canal and Mexico to the US West Coast and then across to the East Coast, where it ended in New York, after going for a short wile in Canada too. The idea was to demonstrate the quality and reliability of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in conditions Ferraris never find themselves in and on roads they pretty much never turn a wheel on. From gravel roads, through jungles, the above see level heights of the passes of the Andes to the high temperatures of the desert and the traffic of New York City. In each country the Ferraris received different vinyl stickers on their hoods and the journalists received corresponding T-shirts. I have managed to acquire few of those T-shirts together with some other items, which compliment the two models Mattel made. The first is the blue car, which represents the starting point in Rio de Janeiro.

Very nice conversions. The new wheels definitely make a huge difference. I like it, altho in 1/18 there are way better options and in 1/24 I would just build a plastic one if I wanted a good model. Altho I definitely love the results and it is unquestionable that the wheel swap makes all the difference in the world, mentioning BBurago and "a fine model" in the same sentence (especially in 1/24) is just an oxymoron.

These are the second generation Novitec Rosso wheels (three piece wheels) They also come in this package And they are what is included in all of these transkits. These, like the ones used in this thread are Novitec Rosso's third generation (monoblock wheels) They also made Hamann transkits, which I am also trying to find. Any assistance or help finding any of these would be greatly appreciated. Just wheels, complete transkits or bits and pieces.

I enjoyed taking some new photos yesterday. The last of the Diablos. This particular model is basically the car that marked a huge change in Lamborghini. While the Sant'Agata company was owned by Chrysler, it produced some good looking cars, but their quality was not synonymous with any nice words. Lambos were the epitome of "don't meet your heroes" kinda car. And the Diablo line was pretty much the worst. At the time the Diablo 6.0 came out, I was working for F.C Kerbeck in New Jersey. We were official dealers for Aston Martin, Rolls Royce and Lamborghini amongst others. If a Countach or Diablo was been brought in for service, all mechanics ran for the door and requested days off. The Diablo's transmission was referred to as "the garbage disposal" and one client brought his with vise-grips for a shifter, because the shaft on his broke. The 6.0 however marked the change of ownership of the Bolognese automaker. This Diablo was the first car made under the VAG Group ownership of Lamborghini. Read Volkswagen-Audi. And altho on the outside everything remained pretty much the same, the quality standards to which the Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0 was built were on a completely different level. Funny enough, the diecast model itself marked a step in the right direction for AutoArt too, with its better overall quality, photo etched grilles, hood supports and still reasonable pricing. These were things that were almost unheard of in the 1/18 scale diecast world, back in 2000. And all for about $50. 2000 Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0 - AutoArt

Well, that depends on which wheels we’re talking about. I have a Fujimi Ferrari F12 that I would love to build, but absolutely hate it’s stock wheels. I also have a 599 GTO that I want to built in certain livery and with the Novitec twin supercharged setup, but I can’t do it without the wheels. Now, the older 3 piece Novitec wheels are needed to get my 430 Scuderia in full Novitec trim, superchargers and all… The super uninspiring wheels on the California are also stoping me from building that kit. So, I really, really need the Novitec wheels. Any help getting some would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you Gary. While Mattel had the exclusive Ferrari license, they put out some truly amazing diecast models. Besides the details, like all the photoetched grilles, carpeted interiors, vacuformed acetate windows, realistic hinges etc., what amazes me the most is the sheer number of different models and their subject matter that got released by the "Barbie maker"> At the time a lot of diecast snobs were talking trash on Mattel and now are wishing Mattel still had the license. I personally prefer the 550 Maranello design. It is much more refined and better balanced. Fragile almost. It is gracious and timeless, with the newer designs looking bulky and bloated in comparison. Here's a picture to put things in perspective. Keep in mind that the 550 Maranello is no small car. Compared to a C6 Corvette for example, it is 5" longer, 4" wider and 1" taller.

Very nice. I love these Ferraris, altho I still like the FF the best. You are definitely doing this model justice from what I have seen so far. I've never built one of these models, simply because of their prices. They seem to have way better detailed interiors than similar curbside Fujimi models, but at five times the price, they are a little rich for my blood. What they have going for them is the exclusive subject matter. However for couple bucks more I get the finished to perfection resin models from the likes of MR, BBR, Looksmart, GT Spirit etc. in 1:18 scale. By the way, can anyone help me get a set of these wheels? They used to be available all over the place and all of a sudden just vanished from the face of earth seemingly overnight. I really, really need a set of those. Or any other Novitec wheels for that matter.

Forgot to add, that this model was never sold in this color combination. Mattel made the model in red with much darker beige interior and black brake calipers. The creme interior was swapped from another 599 Fiorano, also from the Elite range. I have taken apart, rebuilt, repainted, modified and customized more Mattel Elite 599 Fioranos than I care to remember. I mean dozens.