1320wayne

Absolutely incredible detail. Can't wait to see more.

Awesome work on the tanks. Brackets look spot on. The race rig is a tall order but I'm sure that it will turn heads as well.

Also Daryl, if you look down in this part of the forum you will find a post called "show yer drag racers". I took the liberty to feature plenty of your builds there to show off your talents to all of the builders here so quite a few should already be aware of your talents.

Nice to see you here Daryl. For those of you that know Daryl, and the quality of his builds, you're sure to never be dissapointed with what he turns out. Wait until you see the Matco Tools 57 pro mod that he has on the workbench right now. The color and graphics will simply blow you away.

I've always been of the opinion that as tough as it is to make a shiny paint job look fantastic it is moreover difficult to make a weathered or primered finish look convincing. I have seen some shows that do offer up a rat rod category but I never felt it was done to seperate the shiny paint jobs from the "ratty" ones. I always looked at it from the persepctive that rat rods kind of made up their own category. I also feel that a primered finish could be judged up against a shiny one, equally, if the judging staff is equally qualified to clarify how well each was done and how much work went into acheiving each finish. I have even attended one show where a primered street rod garnered the Best Finish award.

Thanks to both of you for the pics.

It's sad to see this yet again but unfortunately it is to be expected with this type of racing at the kinds of speeds that they run. Another case of a young, talented driver losing his life way too early in life with such a bright future in front of him. Our prayers go out to his family and the entire Indy Racing community.

What's even more funny than the rediculous asking price is that it's an album featuring U.S. marches, made in England?, trying to be sold by someone in China.

Your level of detail is great and the finish is superb. Keep it up.

Tyrone, the progress is looking great.

My steps resemble so many others listed here except for #1. And I think my #1 will probably resemble so many others even if they aren't willing to admit it. Here goes.............................................................. #1. Explain to wife why I had to have this model when the garage shelves are full with at least 400 hundered others that haven't been built yet. Explanation? Because it is a new model that I/we have been waiting on for years to either be produced or reissued and if I don't get it now it will either dissappear and/or eventually become a high priced purchase on Ebay later on down the road. Then to eventually fall into the steps listed above where the kit finds it's way onto one of the storage shelves only to be pulled back out (if lucky) a year or two later to finally be started.

I stumbled across this product last week while surfing the aisles in Michael's. It is listed as Triple Thick Clear Glaze from a company by the name of Decoart. It is a 6oz. aerosol can that retails for just over $5. Always looking for alternative clear coat solutions that work and won't break the bank can be good. I had never heard of this before and even though the can didn't give any listing as to whether or not it was an enamel or lacquer the one key selling point was that it states right on the can, in bold letters, that it will not cause any yellowing effects. I decided to take a chance and pick one up. I started by trying it out on a sample body to see what the effects would be. Then I moved on to a model body that had been panted and decaled but not cleared yet. This was a big chance as I still wasn't totally convinced that this product would not cause any incompatability issues. I started with a couple of thin mist coats and then moved on to a couple of heavier coats. At this point I am quite pleased with the results. Four coats gave this body a nice, deep shine with no issues. I don't even think I will need to do any rubbing out once it's totally cured. I really need to take some shots outside for folks to get the true feeling of how nice this finish is but these will ahve to do for now. I just thought I would pass this on to anyone that might be interested in trying it out.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat....................................oh wait, wrong activity! Bikini contests..................................................................................no, that one's been used already! How about the fellowship with other model builders. Seeing other builders great looking builds up close and personal. Learning different techniques from other builders/teaching techniques to other builders, if possible. The swag..................................oh yeah, you have to pay for that! Having a great time, forgetting about work for a day (or more depending on the length of the show) and if you're lucky enough, to walk away with some hardware for your efforts.

Virgil, I've been to the show a few times in the past and have never had any reservations regarding leaving my models there overnight. The Mags group does an excellent job at policing the show and to the best of my knowledge they have never had any issues with damage or missing models. The only two negatives that I could come up with for this show is the amount of space that they are given. With good participation comes a congested area. Secondly, the overall cost of this show to compete in is not the most favorable. First, it's at least a two day show so you have to pay for parking each day, one days admission to the event (each model participant gets a free pass to come back in on Sunday) and since I was last there now there is a registration fee for the contest. It all adds up. For me it's hard to commit to that each and every year. I wish it was different because it is a good show to attend.

My strengths would have to be added detail, whether it be aftermarket purchased items or moreover scratchbuilding, creativity/imagination, and applying decals. I have always loved to dive into a decal project. And so far the most involved I've done to date would have to be this Bill Elliott Nascar. Every square inch of graphics are decal and have to be applied in three stages. I the other post talking about weaknesses where I spoke about patience as a weakness. This is one area where that isn't an issue.

Patience!!!!!!! That is my general nemesis. I'm not the greatest painter but I am learning on each and every build. Not to sound too cocky but I think I can detail with the best of them. I can hold my own at scratchbuilding components. However, with all that said, my builds could always be just that much better if I could convince my mind to take more time at a certain process. My finishes could look so much better if I didn't rush the painting process. As well I wouldn't have so many rebuilds/repaints if I would simply allow the time a paint job/clear coat needed to fully "gas out" before handling or trying to rub out and make smooth. More patience would allow my detailing efforts to look so much cleaner and organized. And all of the best scratchbuilding in the world doesn't make any difference if what you created doesn't work, fit right or just simply looks out of place on the finished build. I just get so excited sometimes at where the build is going I want it done that much faster and as a result end up possibly screwing something up that affects the overall outcome or adds more time to the build. As they say in Nascar, "sometimes you have to go slower to go faster". That's my achilles heel.

Here's a bit more. Finished the working hinges for the trunk earlier today. The pictures aren't all that clear as I took them really quick this evening after getting home from work. I've got to get some clearer shots in the morning. Everything came out good. The hinge action works well considering the trunk stays open on it's own with no prop needed. Now that this last bit of scratchbuilding is done maybe I can get to more painting, detailing and assembly.

Yeah, progress is looking good.

Here is the beginnings of the diorama. It is in the early stages of mockup. I am looking at different types of trees so what you see spread out may not be what finally gets added. The dead tree at the front right with the eagles nest at the top was purchased online and comes almost like you see it. The nest is created just a bit too large for realism sake so I have already removed quite a bit of material to make it look better, and may have to go a bit further still. The 4x4 is only set there to show where the Explorer will be when it's complete. This one should be quite a bit of fun. There will be quite a bit of terrain, some wildlife, rocks and one maybe two officers with K-9's looking for an escaped convict hiding somewhere on the diorama.

Happy birthday John.

The fix looks good Chris.

Thanks Pat. Great pics. Some wild and talented painters in the lowrider section. That flat black Vette looks sinister. And some great looking straight line builds.

Chris, after seeing your mockup pics. of the ride height and where you want to get to I was going to suggest to you the same changes that I do for any of the 1/25th scale Revell funny cars that I created a tutorial on a few years back. However, after going back into this post, to remind myself of just how much scratchbuilding and added detail you did to your rear differential mounting, the basic idea most likely won't work. The easiest way to lower these types of funny car builds is to simply cut off the triangle rearend mounting points and raise them up to the point that they are just below the lower body hinge bracket. But, with all that you did it doesn't look like you could go back and do that. Another way to lower the stance is to raise the body brace/chassis mounting bracket that attaches inside the rear of the body. But, if you choose that route then you would almost have to cut down the top of the rollcage to clear the roof of the body. But, with your skills at what you have accomplished already, I'm sure you will figure it out and it will look incredible. Can't wait to see more.

It's hard to find the words that haven't already been said. Absolutely incredible detail.

And just to show that not everything I do has to revolve around racing here is a Ford Flathead that I put into this custom 49 Merc.