Tom Geiger

I get what you are suggesting and think its a cool idea. I could easily post mine since I do a build album for everything. I do my Holiday ModelCar Amnesty build every year between the holidays since I have off from work. I pick out something that's been unfinished for years and finish it. While guys participate with me on another board, it was met with about the same enthusiasm you got on this board.

Thanks!

I'd look at cutting the engine compartment out of the kit body and swapping it into the resin body

Looks good! Does anyone know of another source, as Hobby Lobby isn't near me. Would Michaels or AC Moore stock this?

That wooden toilet stool thingie was featured on Shark Tank. It's supposed to put you in a natural squatting position to aid in shooting projectiles.

The engine compartment is nearly done. It may look done, but the photos were taken to see things that I haven't seen with my own eye. And I see a bunch of stuff that I need to touch up. The speckles across everything is plastic dust from sanding some elements to fit, the will all get vacuumed up. I still need to weather much of it. Some will ask why I went to so much trouble to get this much detail under the hood of a frickin Volare. I had the reference shots of engine bays on 1:1 cars, and as you know 1970s cars had a lot of plumbing under the hood! And I don't see folks modeling much of it, and the bay would look pretty sparse. So I just wanted to see how much of it I could do. It was a pain trying to get a lot of this in scale, and to fit in there. The other day I was working on my 1:1 Dodge Caravan and had trouble getting my hands into places, and I just had to laugh. If the 1:1 is so tight, of course I'd have those same issues on a model! Some things just didn't go together in scale. The slant six from the Lindberg 64 Dodge, fit in there like it belonged, even the fan landed right where it should. But then things like the master cylinder collided with the air cleaner, making me lose power brakes, and the coil was right where the stiffening bar had to be. So several things were done several times. There is supposed to be a filter element on the valve cover, with the hose going off that to the air cleaner. After making three of these, I gave up for now. I also had fits with wire and hoses that just wouldn't bend in scale. Right now I'm sitting back reviewing the photos, so feel free to critique and point out errors. I'd rather now than when the car is done! My final steps are to fit the major assemblies together. I've had the chassis in the body and the engine bay looks awesome there. My only issue right now is that the interior and chassis won't marry up due to changes done in the assembly. I'm doing that sand and fit phase, thus the white dust in the photos. Once I get everything into the body right, I'll need to figure out the exhaust and drive shaft, then do the final stage weathering. I'm hoping to finish up before the new year!

Be careful! The Micro Mark product I have has two different products. One marked Inkjet and one marked Laser. So each type of printer requires a different media. I can imagine this has to do with the heat process on the laser, otherwise I don't know the difference. Hoping someone with more / better info will chime in! Just putting it out there so you don't go ruining the printer at work!

Come on Mike! It looks like if you buckled down you could finish the Subbie without much of a sweat! That would give you a finish for the year!

The week before Christmas I ordered a pair of headlights for my Caravan, and a set of bulbs from a different vendor. The bulbs came via USPS Priority Mail from California to Pennsylvania within 24 hours! Then I found the headlights sitting out next to my garage door, delivered FedEx Ground from Virginia to PA, again within 24 hours. I can't fault either service.

We used to say Fiats started rusting on the drawing board!

I dunno.. when they say rusty... an FC really knows how to rust!

Eric Hansen just posted this photo in my Jeep reference pix thread. You judge if I got the look right on my model!

I did the front seats on this Chevette to represent those fake sheepskin seat covers that we had in the 1980s. It's just gray flocking put on thick and held in place with hairspray.

My Jeep reference albums on Fotki. Follow the link to over 20 albums... http://public.fotki.com/modelcitizen/11_car_reference_library/jeeps-i-love-jeeps/

My reference photo album on 2CVs is available on Fotki. Over 55 shots right now, never know when I'll add more! http://public.fotki.com/modelcitizen/11_car_reference_library/citroen_2cvs/

Steve, there was an annual of the convertible. Modelhaus doesn't show it on their website. Perhaps someone has cast this.

I saw a similar thing around 1980. I was in a gas station across the street from the Chevy dealer. I heard a horrible sound and looked up to see a Camaro rubber nose flying in the air. A girl had just taken delivery of a new Camaro, was leaving the dealership and was sticking out of the driveway maybe an inch or two too far. A truck passing by caught the edge of the nose and ripped it right off. She was devastated, back tires never got out of the lot! The worst one I saw personally was when Ford still manufactured cars in Edison, NJ. I used to pass there on my way to work. One day I witnessed an accident where one of the transporter trucks failed to negotiate the left turn onto the highway, climbing the end of the divider and putting the trailer on it's side. Brand new Ford Escorts all over the place! Poor little buggers didn't even get out of the shadow of the factory!

Even Testors silver and sticky yellow!

It's interesting to see that there are a few guys looking for 1972 Impalas. It seems the 1971 and 1972 are the hardest to find. I needed a '72 to complete my run of full size Chevys without paying over $200 for an unbuilt kit. So I put my search into eBay and got emails as ones came up for sale. As they'd come up, I'd bid on them (in my snipe program) and lost a bunch to guys willing to pay more than I for crusty rebuildables. Finally I got one that was built as a low rider for $60. It will get redone... eventually!

Love it! That's one glassy bus!

Nice truck and story!

about the stock grille... there were two grilles for Ford pickups in 1953. The kit grille is the high end one, which you don't see a lot in 1:1. The low end grille is more common and all you need to do is cut the 'bumps' off the cross bars and sand it smooth to make the standard grille. I had done that on mine.

Wow! Quite a story. Glad you didn't get hurt and have a place to model again! And one of those situations where it was better to rent than own!

I have unfinished models older than my kids too... and mine is 28!

Lyle Willets from the Maryland Area Modelers Association (MAMA) has a green Dodge very similar.