Harry P.

And each wheel one spoke at a time...

Finished 4, one still in the works. So 4-1/2... so far.

Same place I find all my Pocher kits: ebay!

Here's one I finished a while ago, but I don't think I've ever posted it here on this forum. It's the Pocher 1932 Alfa Touring coupe. Pocher actually did three versions of this car, the coupe, the fenderless race version and the hardtop "Dinner Jacket" formal coupe. The engine/chassis are identical on all three, only the bodywork differs. Here's where I started–the engine. In this partially built-up engine assembly you can see the pistons in their individual metal cylinder sleeves. The crank is built up piece by piece, and the connecting rods, pistons, wrist pins and even piston rings are separate pieces, in typical Pocher detail-overkill fashion. Yes, the crankshaft rotates and the pistons move up and down when you turn the starting crank. The problem is, you never see that once the model is built! Paint is a mix of Testors Metalizers, Duplicolor and "Odds'n'Ends" brand pewter for the block. Everything you see here is included in the kit except the hose clamps, which I scratchbuilt. Here is the top end. Camshafts are actually present under those cam covers, but again, once the model is built you'd never know that. In this photo, what you see is comprised of over 60 separate pieces! Here is the front axle assembly. The brakes actually work from the pedal through all the levers right down to the operational brake shoes. I should say the brakes theoretically work. From past experience I found that the "operational" brakes on a Pocher kit will never work, no matter how carefully you build the model, because there's way too much slack in the system. You can push the pedal to the floor and still not get enough movement through the system to actually move the shoes, so I just left the shoes off. Once the wheels are installed nobody would ever know the difference anyway! I did, however, include all the visible brake parts on the inboard side of the wheels. Next up: chassis and cockpit details...

From songfacts.com: In 2004, after laws passed allowing people to keep their phone numbers when they changed carriers, a man in New York tried to sell the number 212-867-5309 on Ebay. He got a lot of media attention and bidding got up to $80,000 before Ebay canceled the auction, since phone numbers are not technically owned by their users. BTW... is it just me, or is "867-5309" a slightly slowed-down ripoff of the Romantics' "What I Like About You?'

Careful what you wish for... Jenny is a lot older these days...

Welcome aboard, SS. Hope you enjoy this place... we have quite a few characters here who also survived the swingin' 60s... right, George?

How about it? Real or model? The answer: MODEL!

Just further proof that the "more money than brains" crowd is alive and well...

Until the replies today, the last time this thread had any action was SIX months ago! And the replies today were of the "what the heck IS this?" kind... Seems to me that these year-long "contests" just don't work... that's WAY too much time between the beginning and the end... people just aren't going to keep up with a contest that's a year between start and finish. Pretty much they're announced, there's a short flurry of interest for a week or so, then they lie dormant for months on end. There must be a better way...

The link asks for a password...

Nice work, Bruno! Welcome aboard. But please add your "real name" to your signature line. (It's a rule here. Thanks.)

Nice clean build... but I'm not quite sure about that color...

I use Firefox exclusively, and upgrade every time they suggest. I'm on 3.5 now. No problems ever.

Yeah, the "Black Sox" were just a little bit ahead of my time... Speaking of which... the Sox pounded the Yankees today 14-4! Go Sox!!!

Another vote for Duplicolor here...

There's just something about watching a model burn...

na⋅bob /ˈneɪbɒb/–noun 1. any very wealthy, influential, or powerful person.

When I was a kid we would go to the hobby shop on Saturday morning, come home and build our new models, then stage crashes where we would smash them into each other and set them on fire. Styrene burns real good! So actually, I've done my share of melting plastic!

Actually the initial question included the phrase "or is there a better way?" I think that question was answered pretty well.

And the '37 has it all over both...

If you don't want to mess with power tools and the risk of melting plastic, you can always use the backside of a #11 X-acto blade to scribe the cut, just like you'd do to cut open doors. It's slow (you have to scribe the cut many times before you get through the plastic), but it's accurate, and has zero chance of melting the plastic. It doesn't matter one bit whether you're cutting horizontally or vertically... the blade doesn't care one way or the other...

Final vote: Real-27, Model-28. Well, it was as close as possible, but it's a MODEL! Like fujimilover said, it's a Kyosho 1/18 diecast. And I also wonder why they copied and pasted the front wheel onto the back wheel? Anyway, you guys win by the smallest margin possible. Maybe I should call the Supreme Court and ask for a recount! I smell vote fraud big time!!! Oh well. Next ROM coming MONDAY!

Let us know what you'd like to see. All input welcome! And keep in mind... we can only run what's submitted. If we're missing something, let us know, or better yet, submit an article.

Another way to simulate rivets (and a relatively easy way-no drilling needed): 1. Take a mechanical pencil and file the outside of the tip until the edge is very sharp. You can find mechanical pencils at an art or office supply store in 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 mm diameters (the measurement is the diameter of the lead the pencil holds). 2. Get a roll of silver aluminum duct tape, found at any home center. The tape is self-adhesive aluminum sheet, somewhat thicker than aluminum foil. Place a section of the tape on a semi-soft surface. A typical green "self-healing" cutting mat is perfect... a thick piece of cardboard will work too. 3. With the lead retracted into the pencil, punch the sharpened pencil tip through the foil tape with a slight twisting motion. The small circle of foil tape that you just cut out of the larger piece will be "stuck" in the tip of the pencil. 4. Apply the "rivet" by placing the tip of the pencil on the desired spot, then click the lead out to eject the "rivet." The drawback to this system is that the rivet is only held in place by the adhesive on the back of it, so a body covered with these "rivets" wouldn't stand a whole lot of handling, although under several coats of paint and clear, you'd probably be ok. The plus side is, no drilling necessary, and no need to use miniature hardware, which can be expensive.