1320wayne

Amazing work Chris. That printers aluminum is super to work with. I used to have a kings ransom supply when I lived out in Oregon as a fellow club member worked for a screen printer and would bring us all we needed. I fear now that one day I will run out and have to find a new source.

Sure why not. This is what I came up with. It's an outdoors/camo. style theme. You will have to wait until the paint is added to see how it will all come together. There are mutliple images on the sheet for the purpose of doubling up the image, if needed.

Well, since I have recently finished building a couple of recent projects that can only mean that I now have room in my schedule to add one back into the mix (not that I don't already have enough still ongoing). With all of the most recent build threads and conversation regarding pro mods I decided that it's time to start on another one. I have a long list of upcoming pro mod projects already including some replicas along with some fictitious builds but this one here simply came to mind after creating a new set of decals on the computer a few days ago. I was really pleased with the outcome of what I created so I had to find the right body and overall project for them, and this is it. A 63 Vette using a resin body from TEM. The body has some defects to it that need to be addressed. Not that Chris casts bodies with problems but moreover since Chris and I are somewhat partners I always expect him to send me bodies that have air bubbles or little blems in the body so that he can reserve all of the best castings for paying customers. Also, this body was mastered from someone else and for some reason their perspective was that the front wheelwells were really large, so I have to address that as well. The ideas are rolling through my head on this one but so far I haven't made up my mind as to the rear spoiler treatment. Either a pro stock style wing or a top fuel style spoiler. It will have the complete scratchbuilt tube chassis along with a RG resin engine. And the paint scheme and graphics are going to be wild, at least that what my vision tells me. Stay tuned for more to come.

Using Darryl's technique I was able to do this, first time out. It's not that difficult and you really can't do any drastic damage to a model or part if you mess up. It really doesn't matter what type of plastic wrap you use and the mixture is as scientific as mixing the water and white glue in a container until you have a milky consistency. This tarp was made using this technique and a piece of paper towel, dipped in the diluted white glue and immediately placed over the model protected by plastic wrap and then set it aside to dry. You can manipulate the shape if you wish, while it's still wet but once it's dry it is what it is. Once it's dry you can paint it, weather it or whatever you wish. Pretty simple.

What you are working with looks good. The only way to build this car accurate would be to use the late 70's Vega resin body from Comp. Resins but what you have will be fine, especially considering the body made available in the original kit wasn't accurate either.

Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention any of the Kustom touches done to this one. Like I said above this body started out as a Jimmy Flintstone resin body which was created to emulate the Cadzilla car back during that timeline. The roof was eventually removed which neccessitated the turtle deck created from styrene and filler. The front bumper is a piece blended in from the Christine Top Sportsman kit from Revell. The grill bar came from I believe a Revell 53 Chevy, cut down on both ends to fit the opening. And the interior was adjusted to fit from a 97 Corvette kit. Minor pieces of styrene were added to help blend it in. The side view mirrors came from the parts box, source unknown. It's also hard to see in any of the pictures but I created an entire belly pan underneath with a turbine car style center exhaust, made from stryrene and painted flat black.

Mark, it's cool that you want to tackle one of these builds and go all out with the detail. First thing to remember is slow and steady. Don't rush the process, especially if you've never ventured down that path before. I've been doing these for a while now and still mess things up when I get in a hurry. As has already been stated above, anything pro mod related and details for such builds, you can't go wrong picking Tyrones mind and following a lot of his techniques. Especially when it comes to engineering the opening doors. I've created some myself but his seem to be effortless. In regards to changing out the resin bumper/grill area for the project you have in front of you. In most cases actual pro mods don't incorporate many grills or body trim/molding of any sort. Most of those details are merely wrapped/painted on any more. But still it's your decision as to how you want to go with that. If you choose to go with a kit based grill/bumper setup I'm pretty sure you would find minimal people that would take issue with that. And, in regards to detail reference for these builds. There's no better reference than the real thing. I have spent quite a bit of time putting together albums for just that purpose. The links are below. Look to your hearts content and I'm sure you will find any ref. that you need. Any other questions please feel free to ask. I'm sure that there will be plenty of folks here ready and willing to respond. http://public.fotki.com/1320wayne/model_research-1/pro-mod-research/ http://public.fotki.com/1320wayne/model_research-1/pro-mods/

The overall look is coming out great, as usual. You have such a true understanding of what these cars are supposed to look like.

Something like these Virgil? This is going to sound weird coming from me, especially considering I'm primarily a Mopar fan, but I've been looking forward to the Olds. for some time so that I will finally be able to build my City of Portland "City of Roses" Pan American racer.

The blanket came from a Barbie doll sized decoration. I believe that it was to resemble a kilt or something like that. I robbed it for the sake of covering up a mistake when I did the paint job on that second build. Right after I painted the body I set it down on the workbench and like an idiot decided to try to use the drafting lamp to help dry the paint faster (see the "achilles heel" thread in the general section to read where I admit to having patience issues when building models) and the end result was bubbling paint when I returned about an hour later.

The wheels on the second buildup came from the AMT Chrysler Concorde Slammer.

The engine came from a Tamiya F1 kit. If I recall it was from a builtup of a JPS (Johnny Player Special) kit. Rather ironic that I used an engine from that kit and now I am also using wheels from JPS.

And a few more shots.

So, this year so far, has been a bit strange in the building department. I usually plan out a lot of builds ahead of time and go about getting them done. But this year I just seem to be all over the place. Multiple builds going at the same time, and A lot of existing builds from years past that I simply wasn't happy with the results so I decided to start over. This is my version of the venerable Beer Wagon that I created a few years back. I cut away the back half of the chassis/flatbed area and kitbashed a Ford Cosworth engine combination from a Tamiya Formula One kit. I then scratchbuilt a new chassis and flatbed setup using styrene and real wood. I took the cab and extended it into an extra cab look and then threw on a simple fron suspension, paint and decals. I liked the overall look but over time I grew weary of the paint work and graphics. And, once I decided to pull some of it apart and try again I decided to m ake some other changes as well. Here is what it originally looked like. Now, this is what I am converting this one into. New paint and graphics, porthole windows for the sides. I also removed the wooden bed rails, sanded them down and repainted with a better weathering job as the first attempt looked a little thick in detail. I decided to go with different tires and JPS aluminum wheels. The graphics are a mixture of Slixx and homemade logos. The latest addition is working on a windshield frame. Here's where I am at so far.

Here are a few better pics. of the trunk hinge work. I should have some more work done on this one today.

Shannon does amazing work, and this one is probably one of her best. Superb detail throughout.

Great looking build. I love sportsman style race cars but there are so few of them ever built. This one looks awesome. Love the not so often chosen color scheme, custom graphics and overall detail.

Absolutely stunning Shane. You've outdone yourself on this one. Not that any of your other builds don't stand up to this one but when you are replicating an actual car and get it this close I think that carries m ore weight.

And a few more. The license plate was done on the computer as well. I guess I watched the movie Con Air too many times, that would explain the plate.

First, let me explain the title. This build is the third time that this project has been built, torn apart and rebuilt. It originally started out, years ago, as a Jimmy Flintstone resin body that was built into a 51 Chevy pro street. Not happy with the overall results I tore it apart, cut the roof off, built a turtledeck on the back and turned it into a two seat roadster curbside build. Again, not happy with the overall build, about six months ago I tore it apart again and started on the third tranformation. This time it was simply a new paint job and different wheels. I decided to utilize some custom graphics (flames) that I created and printed from my own computer. I also used some barbed wire graphics from a Slixx decal sheet. I came up with different wheels from the parts box and had to create new bullet taillights after the original ones decided to leave the workbench. I created my own using, of all things, the ends of a sharpened pencil after I couldn't find anymore in the parts stash. The first pic. is what the second build looked like and then the finished pics. of this latest version. Thanks for looking.

Virgil, those are both awesome. I love the wide whites, especially the pro street tires on the yellow one. Did you paint those on and if so what paint did you use on the tires? Also, does the nose of the yellow one drop down just a bit?

Thanks Scott. And Joe, I will have some new shots to upload tommorrow with better shots of the hinges.

Excellent build. Superb weathered detail. And Virgil, your posts keep scaring me!

Curt, I would be willing to bet that your dad would have been proud of that build. Beautiful, clean craftsmanship. Awesome job.

Wow Mark, you seem to have one idea stuck in your head regarding the term "Rat Rod" and no matter what are unwilling to budge. That's ignorance personified. Here is the best example of the overall definition of the term Rat Rod. A rat rod is a style of hot rod or custom car that, in most cases, imitates (or exaggerates) the early hot rods of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. It is not to be confused with the somewhat closely related "traditional" hot rod, which is an accurate re-creation or period-correct restoration of a hot rod from the same era. Most rat rods appear "unfinished" (whether they actually are or not), with just the bare essentials to be driven. The rat rod is the visualization of the idea of function over form. Rat rods are meant to be driven, not shown off. Sometimes the customization will include using spare parts, or parts from another car altogether. Now, the only contradiction to the statement above is that even though it states that these cars were not built to be shown off at some point and time, within the past decade or so, or even earlier, someone decided to attend a car show with their "rat rod" and apparently it was considered so rediculous that someone would attend with such a creation that it couldn't help but draw attention. The rest is history, so to speak. Go to any local or national car show and tell me what vehicles garner the most attention. Yeah, there's going to be some awesome ultra rods (uh oh, another car term to start a debate over) that people will flock to but someone is bound to show up with some wild "rat rod" that will have crowds around it all day long. For example: Last years Turkey Rod Run, one of the biggest car shows in the nation. Not much rust to speak of, a huge mixture of parts from various sources and very much streetable. Terminology? Rat Rod! Same show.......actually, I think the car in the first picture was flat towing this one. The only rust that I can spot is on the exhaust and some around the grill shell. Again, a mixture of different parts, some maybe even homemade. Defintion? Rat Rod! Same show.........see a trend yet? This guy just parked and look at the crowd already. Rat Rod! Turkey Rod Run from 2009. This shot took almost 20 minutes before I could get enough people out of the way for a good shot. Heck, I don't even know what this as far as make but I can tell you that it is a RAT ROD! And it's very much streetable. Out of all of the shows I've ever attended I have never seen a rat rod that didn't drive onto the show grounds. Yes, I will agree, that some builders go a bit overboard and create something that appears that it shouldn't be driven but that is their choice. All I'm trying to say is that some folks general perception of the term rat rod just seems to be way off base. It is it's own class of vehicle, like it or not. I look at the term as this. A rat rod is like an impressionist painting. You don't always get it but the graphic intoxication keeps you looking for a while. And, like I already stated above. In regards to these types of builds and model contests. It doesn't matter (and this is merely my opinion) what is entered, whether it's a flat finished paint job or something shiny, all entries should/can be judged together in the same category if the judges base their findings on the merits of the build. If it's a shiny finish what is the quality and how much work went into acheiving it. If it's a rusty or primered finish the same conditions apply. What is the quality (because it is far too often assumed that a primer finish is the easiest thing to do) and how much work went into acheiving it. That's the basis for this post, not neccessarily the arguement of what constitutes a rat rod.