1320wayne

There is an IPMS chapter that puts on a show every February called Jaxcon. It's usually the weekend of Valentine's Day. Check the IPMS website for details. www.ipmsusa.org

I went to college for a graphics arts degree. That led me to spend the next ten years as an architect designing residential homes. From there I sepnt the next five years working in the engineering dept. of a firm that designed and created air bag systems for all major auto makers. At the same time that all of these careers were happening I did a lot of side work at running the security staffs at quite a few nightclubs in the Daytona Beach area. To simplify that.....I was a bouncer! For the last eleven years I have been a Criminal Investigator for a major retailer, which means that I get to travel around the state of Florida and investigate and interview employees for potential dishonesty.

I originally built this model 6 or 7 years ago and did it in a hurry and was never happy with the results. Since that time it has sat on the shelf collecting dust. Just recently I purchased a number of decals on Ebay and this decal was part of the purchase. So, I decided to re-do the build, as such, by doubling up on the decals to hide how poorly I had masked off the seperation between the white and the teal. With one set you could see the seperation line between the two colors and it looked terrible. I tore the build apart, added the new set of decals, snagged some new glass from another kit and re-did the tires and wheels as well as adding about six coats of clear. Here is the finished piece. I'm still not completely satisfied as there are a few marks on the drivers side number to try and hide; maybe with some scuff marks from a Slixx sheet to cover them up. Until then, this is what I have.

When I first saw your initial pictures I was like, what the heck is this? Then with the next set of pictures the vision was clear and I could see that this project has real potential and is looking cool. Keep it up and I will be watching to see where you go with this.

F-16 fun, I sent you a link to my research album for modern top fuel cars. There are numerous cars included in the album including three different years of the Army top fuel dragster. One of the cars featured is the car that you are looking to do. I hope that they help you out. As far as the last kits from Revell, the last two were the Army top fuel and Budweiser top fuel kits. Both of these kits reference cars from 2002.

Yeah, here's the link. http://www.licenseplates.tv/index.php Click on any of the categories, click on a sepecific plate and add your own text.

Yes, just to be different though I went ahead and dipped it twice to see what effect it would give. So, there is a swirl on top of a swirl.

Progress looks good so far. I was surfing the net and I found a web site where you can make your own custom license plates and they had a section with movie/t.v. show plates and this one was listed as the plate on Jim Rockford's car. From your pictures it's hard to tell if it's correct. If it is correct then all you have to do is reduce it and copy it to apply to your build when you're done.

Decals are now added. I have an extra set of the Dodge scripts on the side that I intend to double up on to make it brighter.

That came out great Charlie. I hope to see it in person soon.

Looks great Shane. But, what's a three day build? I don't think I've had one of those since I was about 13 or 14 years old.

Well, the garage is mounted to the base finally. The 69 Dart under the tarp has been placed beside the garage. There is a canoe with paddles behind the garage and a little foliage has been added at the base of the garage walls to conceal any gaps between the building and the turf. I am currently playing with the ideas for vehicles for the scene. The cool part of dioramas is that you can change them out if you want a fresh look.

Excellent job. Very nicely done.

You wrap the body in plastic wrap before laying the material over the body to form the shape.

Thanks Rob. Yes I will definately have it with me in Jacksonville. I'm hoping to be totally finished with it in time to take it to Atlanta in November.

Well, the building is complete. I might find a few more small items to add to the inside but for the most part it's done. Now I can permanently mount it to the base and move on from there. All of the shingles are in place as well as the glass for the skylights and the front and back glass. I also finished the bookshelf with lots of record albums and magazines loaded onto it. Now I can concentrate on getting the vehicles and the rest of the people completed.

Very nice build. Awesome job on replicating your 1:1.

JPS still makes wheels, I believe. You could probably find them at places like Detailmaster.com.

The paint work is done. I wanted a different red, white and blue approach so I decided to utilize the old "Swirladelic" idea. I went ahead and sprayed the body with a few coats of base white and then masked off the pattern and created the swirl paint scheme. I'm not sure where I'm going from here. Some sponsor markings but I haven't made up my mind as of yet.

Nice looking projects you got going there. I did the masters fror the Merc and the Daytona. They were a lot of fun to create. Your picture of the Merc is spot on. I designed that one to mimic the Darkhorse and Ironhorse cars. Can't wait to see more of these.

Next there will be a 69 Dart parked on the side of the garage covered by a blue tarp. I made the tarp by cutting a piece of paper towel to the correct size and then dipping it into a mixture of 3 parts water to 1 part white glue (mixed) and then laying it out onto the body and letting it create it's shape as it dries. You can even manipulate the shapes and contours as the towel is drying. After it was fully dried I sprayed the towel with Testors Grabber Blue to get that "blue tarp" look. I still need to add just a bit of weathering to the tarp to help highlight the folds and show some wear.

Awesome job! Excellent two tone paint work and the engine detail is superb.

Excellent work on both. The boat finish looks fantastic.

Here's more on the building. The siding is now painted and in place. There is still all of the trim work to be added shortly along the top and corners to bring everything together. The front door is stained and in place with the added door knobs and skeleton key on the inside.

Here are a few more pics. of the elongated chassis and what the tires and wheels look like. The front framerails were extended using brass tubing. I simply cut the kit framerails, left them intact so that I had material to slide the brass tubing over. This way it allows you to be able to adjust the wheelbase properly without worrying about your adjustment being too long or too short. Once you have it right then you simply glue the tubing in place.