mrm

I have been following this thread and the couple other ones since they were started and I decided to finally put in my 2 cents as worthless they may be to some of you. I think the main plot here is totally lost. And this is not the first time I see this and not only in this genre. I am a rare breed of modeler. I say this because I collect 1:43 diecast AND resin models. I build them too. Customize them, modify them, build them on commission for other people and for myself. I also collect 1:18 scale cheap toy motorcycle models (Ducatti only). I also have probably one of the best 1:18 diecast collections of Ferraris in the country. If it was made in 1:18- I own it. But I also build them. I have parts 3D designed and 3D printed for me and I make my own molds for them and then use them to modify already existing diecast models. These are almost exclusively exotic cars. To many it seems strange that I have completely mixed the hobby of collecting diecast with building plastic models. The other "no-no" in many's eyes is that I am as much a Ferrari guy as I am a hot/street rod guy. Street rods are my passion. I love to build them and here I work almost exclusively in plastic. Why am I telling you all this? Because I run into the same discussions, arguments and down right nasty exchanges in all the forums. And the main thing the 1:43 crowd, the 1:18 exotics fans, the F1 buffs, the diecast muscle car fanatics, the plastic kit mob and the 1:24 Franklin/Danburry Mint gang have in common is each clique's selfish, self centered tunnel vision, which gives them the ability to ignore the existence of anything outside their interest. Folks collecting diecast fail miserably to have the basic understanding of how pressure molding works (actually pretty much same in plastic kits and metal) and therefore b!tch and moan about extra lines or not perfect undercuts. The comparisons that some make between a $500 handmade collectors resin model and Bburago's latest $30 release meant to be sold at gas stations across Europe is just as absurd as the comparisons I read about on here, where a plastic model toy (the true purpose of Revell's product) sold in Walmart is compared with mediocrity causing a Space shuttle to fall apart. To add to this craziness, there are kindergarten level battles, complete with name calling, wiener measuring contests and credentials pulling, over a STREET ROD model, which half of the participants will probably build as a rat rod. You know, that novelty style, where rusted pitchforks are used as fenders, grandpa's tractor donated its nose for a grille shell and lotsa junk in da trunk (literally). Here is the bottom line. My kid likes to build cars "with the engine sticking out" and has no clue (yet) about the difference between a 1928 and 1932 Ford. I like to build Street Rods. I cut them, slice them, dice them and splice them anyway I find fit in order to make them look the way I want. I had no idea what the firewall on a pristine factory stock model A looks like. I don't care. This may really upset some, but the simple reality is, that me and my kids are the vast majority. And the people who really care about the edge of the roof insert and how round a fire wall is or if the bumper guards on a plastic toy are bigger or smaller, to the point of not buying the kit because of it, are very few and far in between, when compared to the expected world wide sales. Just like the 1:18 scale crowd completely ignores the elephant in the room called 1:43 and the supercar fanboys ignore all the BMW and Mercedes collectors who couldn't care less what land rocket some sheikh in Abu Dhabi just bought, same way a lot of people on here completely ignore the fact that these kits are sold all over the world and a builder in Romania couldn't care less what the requirements in the 48 states were in 195X. It puzzles me to see people proudly announcing how they spent $10 for a front axle from Australia, $20 on brakes from Maryland, $15 on a rough resin body from NJ and throw them in a bag with parts from four other kits to come up with what is in one of these hot-topic-kits-soon-to-come and complain about the $24 they would have to spend. It's a hobby, it's A TOY. It's a KIT, that you have to put together. It's a business, from the other side of the fence. It has some faults. Who cares? Just like any other product out there, you have the choice not to buy it. Don't like it, don't buy it. The chassis/suspension/wheels/tires/brakes alone in the 28/9-30 kit are worth twice the price of the whole kit in aftermarket pieces. And the hypocrites on here, who had no idea about 90% of the issues until yesterday, who proclaim that now they will not buy the kit, are the first ones who would stack up three or four of them in their basement the first chance they have. I personally never buy more than one of the same kit at the same time. But I can guarantee you that I will be getting one of each of the new (hot topic) releases from Revell, the first chance I have. And those who don't buy any, would not make the slightest bit of difference in the big picture. So built what you like, have fun and stop belittling other people's hard work. It is really tiring to see the same handful of people time and time again calling the glass half empty even when it is three quarters full.

I think the question was about the top hood.

Thank you Shane. What is a good place to get the sleeves from?

I like to assemble anything I feel I can paint already put together before I paint it. This sometimes takes some planning and engineering that can get complicated, but for me personally it is easier and I usually get great results. So the body work on this is far from finished, but I had to spray primer on some commissioned projects, so I decided to shoot the body of my special delivery, to see where I'm at. Some areas look better than expected (at this stage) and other nowhere near as good as I thought they would. A lot more to do, but it is taking shape nicely, me thinks... Also, I was at my "local" (90 miles away) hobby shop a couple of days ago and got a couple of things for the model. First is this sheet that I have no idea what scale or what its intended purpose is. It is photoetched brass, that is super thin. I figured it would make the perfect flooring for a delivery truck. It will be painted silver as in today's UPS trucks of course. Altho this is a fantasy street rod, I decided to do some research in order to add some feel of authenticity to it. I found out that Some of the first UPS trucks were exactly C cabs. They were brown, model T based and had no windows or shelves inside, had one or two big doors at the back and they were all stained wood inside with wood beam frame for the cargo box. Since this is neither a replica nor a period correct car, some things are going to change. Aside from the obvious suspension, engine, wheels things, the floor is one and so is the access door at the front for the driver. Also I have not decided on the rear treatment. It will retain the wood paneling inside with wood frame, for which I bought some balsa wood in different shapes, which I will stain and clear Another change would be that I want it to have at least one shelf on at least one side of the cargo box (behind the driver). For making the shelf, I saw some potential in the benches provided in the kit. If you take their "legs" and cut them, you end up with perfectly alined and curved supports the length of the cargo box. What I have not yet figured out is the rear. Should I make it with two swinging doors? Or should I make it with only one off center door? O r should I leave the rear open with just panels on the sides?……. I'll have to figure that out next…. Stay tuned and thanks for looking...

Great looking shoebox. The color matches the car and the stance perfect. Speaking of stance, what wheels/sleeves are you using and where can I get them?

Looks very cool. And I definitely like the color. I just love it, when sometimes you are just goofing around trying stuff and next thing you know, parts are just falling into place. The problem in my case with situations like this is that what starts as a very simple what if tryout ends up turning into a full blown build that goes out of control. Keep going at this thing and I am sure it will end up a great looking model.

So, the frame/fenders assembly was filled, puttied and sanded/cleaned up. I am running it without spreader bar with everything smoothed out. Also I will not be having a cross bar for the lights, so the fenders were filled in there as well. The rear fenders were bobbed, the stock gas tank was cut out and the space was filled with styrene. For the rear suspension, I'll use the '32 Revell axle with the airbags and coil overs, but I'll be replacing the center section with a Quick Change, so the only mods to the frame are the cut off fuel tank and the replacement of the front cross member with the one from the Phantom Vicky, to convert the front end to an independent suspension and keep everything in the spirit of the modern build I'm after. The tail lights and the license plate indentations were filled in with CA and sanded smooth. The body itself is the only thing from the Phantom Vicky. All the hoods, the grille and the fire wall are all from the Revell '32 kit. The two side hoods had their sink holes filled and sanded and then they were glued to the body and to the grille. The top hood was then also glued to the body and to the grille, but not to the top of the side hoods. Thanks for looking and stay tuned…..

Hahaha. This one is just for mock up. I have a brand new one that will be used for the build.

Stunning.

Cool build. Love the monochromatic look.

Yes you can. You can use pretty much anything, as long as you prep your plastic parts the right way. What I mean is, with the right primer. I use automotive polyurethane primer and once it has cured I have had zero issues shooting nail polish, automotive lacquers, Pactra RC paint, Tamiya RC paint and every hobby paint you can think of. Polyurethane two part clear also has no problem covering any of these paints. And as far as my experience goes, Pactra RC spray cans cause no issues sprayed over Tamiya primer either and handle the Tamiya clear. Resin, on the other hand can pretty much handle anything short of toxic waste.

Thanks guys. Next I have to make the front and rear suspensions more believable and to build the shelves for the cargo compartment. Also I need to make a single seat for the driver.

So, all the steps were done with the brass mesh inserts. The space where the front axel attaches was drilled out and some bolt heads were put in place. Also new engine mounts were made…. ….to fit the supercharged SBC from the rat roaster Also a new wall for the cargo area was made with a door for the driver to get to them packages. Thanks for looking and stay tuned.

Since I have always had a desire to build this model exactly because of the box art and also because of my kids advise, I am keeping it blue. Not as blue as on the box art, but Blue Herra, which is a very fine and darker metallic. It is a Lamborghini color I have from another project. I want the top to be as close of a shade of blue, but flat. For wheels I am thinking about the really big and really littles from Revells '32 Roadster. They are very modern , or should I say timeless, and will give it a nice rake. I don't really want to get carried away with this one, as it is just a fun exercise to see how the suspension goes together.

I also made molds for two different quick-changes and cast them from metal. Have not decided yet which one I want to use.

Thanks for all the info guys. I did not know that the T had "dummy doors" on one side. I did however know about the stock texture on the running boards. When I said they had weird texture, I meant how it is represented on the model. Did not look convincing at all. Plus I am going after a cleaner look.

All the steps for the "truck" were cut out, leaving the frames and then additional framing was done from thin sheet styrene. Then they were filled with brass photoetched mesh that I had in my parts box. I believe it is for HO scale trains.

I talk to more and more people, who are questioning the future of the hobby. This past weekend at the Heartland Nationals, there was a vendor who stopped my kid and asked him what kind of models he likes to build. Then picked a brand new model from his table and gave it to him as a gift. I started talking to him and he explained to me that he does this on every show he goes with a random kid. He shared that at the last meeting of his club they were talking that the youngest member of their club was 41 years old. It is a scary thought and the hobby is in desperate need of young blood. People who say that Revell coming up with two brand new tools, voted on the web and targeting younger audience is a waste of money are part of the problem. Someone drooling over a Coronet R/t (I don't even know what that looks like, let alone my kid) is NOT the future of the hobby. My 9 year old IS the future. His brother who is 5 and just starting to show interest in models IS the future. And guess what? They don't care about grandma's Coronet. They don't want an accurate F100. No. They want shiny chrome parts. They want bright colors. They want big wheels. They want cars they see in the movies and on the TV. They want modern. They want Foose. And considering that Revell, just like the rest of the kit manufacturers are actually a business (oh, the revelation), it would only make sense to invest in the future of the hobby. Not only I am happy to see that Revell are trying hard to attract new people to the hobby, but I think they need to get even more modern creations out there. Because let's face it, the generation in love in with big square cars that all look the same is a dying breed and therefore a bad investment. P.S. On a side note, I did not see a Single full detail Chezoom or Aluma Coupe available for sale at Heartland. They are not that easy to find on the net either. The Smoothster is a little easier, but "Boyd's Hauler" is really rare. And all these kits are no different than what Foose's creations are today. Yet they apparently did very well.

This is another one of those projects that I had in my head for years. I have envisioned how this will look and go together in my head time and time again. So I finally decided to take on the project. The idea is to use a kit I have loved 20 years ago when I built one for the first time and make something else out of it. A UPS delivery truck. I love cars. I love hot rods and my 1:1 is a never ending project. I order quite few things that get shipped UPS and I always anticipate their knock on the door. I also used to work for them. Starting with a four dollar "bag model" of the Paddy Wagon, I started by filling up the side windows on the C-cab and also filled in any locator holes that will not be used.

This was a weekend challenge, built in three days, so it is definitely possible. I just had a bunch of other issues that popped up at home that I needed to address if I wanted to make it to the show, which is the only reason this model was not tackled in three days. Now that I don't have a deadline, there will be naturally a different approach taken to building the model, as I can afford to really work every detail out.

The roof still needs more work to fit perfectly, but here is a mock up that shows the direction I am going in with this model. I am also making a fenderless version of the same model, which will be pretty much box stock.

Any of the Tamiya 1:12 F1 cars can provide you with some very good and unique motors.

Thank you guys for all the positive comments. I really love how detailed the frame is on this model. One thing I did not like about it is the way the cross members are made. They are tubular and are molded half way and need to be glued in the middle. I decided that it would be stronger, better and way easier to just replace them with styrene tubing. The way the transmission is molded it leaves a huge hole, where it connects to the engine, so I filled this with sheet styrene. It was then attached to the engine block and the intake from Revell's '32 3 window was used instead of the kit's one. At this stage I feel like I am ready for the first round of primer. Just need to smooth out the hoods. Thanks for looking and stay tuned.

Very nice work.

Really great engine work. This thing will look amazing once finished.