1320wayne

Well, the progress is just flying along here. The hood is done and I mocked up the front grill to see how it will look. I actually have a second grill that I am in the process of opening up all of the grill work to make it more realistic.

That is simply wild, John. I love the way you've made everything seem to flow together. Have you possibly thought about lowering the front wheelwells as they appear to be much larger than what you have going on in the rear. Just a thought. Either way it looks awesome.

Here are a couple of shots with most of the camo graphics in place. The hood had to be stripped and repainted so I am currently waiting for the paint to cure enough to add the decals to the hood. I am happy with this first attempt at homemade decals using unknown decal paper bought off Ebay. Stay tuned as I should have the hood, with the Ram logo, completed by tommorrow evening.

Looks good so far Jeff. The profile is spot on. I look forward to seeing more progress on this one soon. There is a circuit that runs primarily on the West Coast nostalgia racing circuit called the AA Gassers. Most of their entries resemble pro mods, although not as radical and not as quick. They run about a second off the pace of the pro mod cars. They are mainly powered by blown engines but your configuration would fit in just fine, so your title still works.

Here is the first shot with the rocker panel camo graphics going on. I started by painting the body with Testors Black Pearl Metallic.

Here is the image for the back window decal done up in white background decal film. I created this by searching for suitable images online and then simply transferring the image onto decal film.

Since most of us always have multiple builds going at the same time here are some progress shots of my latest project. This is a 78 Dodge 4x4 project that I am working on while I am also progressing with my Daytona pro mod down in the drag section. This is a test bed for working with custom made decals on my home computer. The starting piece is an MPC Thunderstruck pulling truck. I believe this was the last release of the 78 body style before MPC turned the kit into a full fledged monster truck, making sure that the mold could never be turned back into any stock configuration. Here's the mockup with the baby Swampers in place. And, the decals that I created with a different approach to the Ram logo for the hood as well as the digital camo that will be used for the rocker panels and rally stripes down the roof and hood. The engine I will be using is a Ross Gibson 440 Magnum. More updates soon.

Got mine today. Very good issue. Great to see the article on Dirk's Chevelle.

Very nice progress so far. Sometimes building an OOB is almost as challenging as those highly detailed builds but it's fun doing some and getting them onto the shelf. I look forward to more progress.

Tom, very nice buildup. Your paint work is superb. I did a review build of the last time this kit was released around 2005 for that "other" mag. and other than what you stated above the only other finicky issue with this build was getting the doors to assemble properly where they would open and close without any problems. I mean, if you want to pick apart all of the inaccurate parts included in the kit regarding it's gasser status then you can do that but otherwise it's a pretty good kit from back in the day. I look forward to purchasing another one, if for no other reason than to get a set of those great looking decals.

I was looking at about $7 per sheet. I am also working on a second sheet with just the 4x4 markings (more designs than shown here) done up in different sizes. Another sheet that Davezinn mentioned will be one with the rear window graphics.

Superb job Roger. Another excellent build to add to your collection of other cool Mopars.

Very nice build. Those kit decals look good over white.

Davin, I don't know how I missed out on this one early on. The work you've done here is incredible. Your scratchbuilding is superb. The paint work looks great. I wasn't sure at first about cutting off the roof but now I see why. I also love what you did with the hood. That Challenger scoop section looks great. I can't wait to see the finished product. One comment, though, if you don't mind. I know you said that you were now taking the suspension apart for painting and I noticed in the closeups of the frame, all of the nasty sinkmarks in the chassis. I have three of these kits and this chassis is terrible in regards to sink marks. Please, with all of the excellent work you've done here, don't forget to go back and fill in those marks before final painting. Again, I can't wait to see the finished item.

I have the set of four. Copyright on the package states 1998. They are as follows: 85-7251 Chevy 283 85-7252 Cadillac 354 85-7253 Pontiac 421 85-7254 Ford 427

Lately I have been playing around with creating decals for my own personal use. While I was working on this latest creation I was thinking that maybe there would be a market for something like this. Over the last year or so I have noticed a lot of 4 wheel drive vehicles going around with camo graphics added to the rocker panel areas of their vehicles as well as window rain gutters, bug guards and side view mirrors. I am currently working on a project that needed this look so I created this sheet. Along with the different 4x4 markings included are their enough people out there building 4x4 models that would be interested in a decal sheet like this? I would just like to know people's opinions. Of course the clarity of the decal would be much better than what you see here.

Very impressive work indeed. I love the concept, the paint work and the overall detail. Definately something to be proud of.

Superb job Tim. Having seen your builds in person I can attest that this one is something excellent to look at up close and personal not to mention how good it looks in the pictures.

Cool build Kenny. Looks sharp. I really like the side stripe.

A few more details completed. It's a slow go as I am having a huge chore battling this recent bout of high humidity and high temps down here in Florida. I was able to get the fuel tank in place, although it's not where I had intended it to be. I first attached it further forward but lack of planning didn't show me how high it would be and the sloping front end would interfere. So, I had to pull it off and move it back until it cleared the front bodywork. I've also got two more sheet metal pieces for the front of the chassis done and covered in carbon fiber. The rear wheelwells are also done and covered in carbon fiber. The one pictured here is merely stuck in place as it's not ready to be permanently attached yet.

There is an upcoming show in late September in Orlando. It's called Modelpalooza and used to be at the fairgrounds but is now at a hotel on International drive on the West side of Orlando, just off Sand Lake road near Universal Studios theme park. In October, every year, the NSRA has their Southeast Nationals street rod event at the fairgrounds over in Tampa. The club based out of Tampa puts on a show there every year. It's a nice place to go to a show because you get to enjoy all of the 1:1 cars as well. Check the IPMS calendar at www.ipmsusa.org periodically to see where any of the IPMS shows will be each year. There is a yearly one in Jacksonville around Valentine's day but most of the other clubs in Florida schedule theirs every other year. Otherwise the shows are scarce here in Florida.

Another superb build, John. Your paint work is by far some of the best.

As awesome as the pictures are of this build, seeing it in person is so much better. I had the pleasure to see and compete up against it during my first trip to Salt Lake back in 2003. Of course I didn't fare too well against it considering that it pretty much blew away everything in the custom category that year.

Very cool. Do you actually have music set up to play with the display?

Dirk Joseph got me interested in these. He showed me that they are perfect for getting your opening doors to stay closed and lined up. One on the door and one on the door jamb. I haven't tried it yet but I have mine ready to go on a current project.