Harry P.

George is right, putting your real name in your signature is a rule here. No, he's not the "forum police," he's just pointing out the fact that we asked you to do that as part of the "rules and regulations" that you agreed to when you signed up here. I don't understand why some of you guys are fighting this so hard... it's not like we're asking for the keys to your house or something! All we ask is that you post your real name. Is that such an unreasonable request? Can anyone who still refuses to put their real name in their signature give me a logical explanation for why they won't do it? And thanks to those of you who just recently did add your name to your sig.

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

Wow... is that Roth figure supposed to be in scale? If so, he must have been bigger than Shaq!

I know! It's a little frustrating to have all that great detail, then have it hidden away forever, never to be seen again! But oh, well...at least I'll know it's in there! Speaking of hidden detail... the camshaft is made up of the drive gear, the shaft, and 16 separate cam lobes! And here it is installed in the block: There are holes in the block and cylinder head to accommodate the pushrods and valves, but there are no separate pushrods or valves in the kit. The pushrods and valve stems (no valve heads!) are molded to the rocker arms, and only extend down a little ways... the pushrods don't actually touch the cam lobes. That would be a little too much as far as moving parts at this scale! Rocker arms and valve springs... coming next time!

Rick-I already have the CD, thanks! Andy-I'm not sure exactly... the wheels, nuts and bolts do make up a big chunk of the parts count, each wheel alone probably has a few hundred pieces! And there are several hundred more screws, nuts, bolts, washers, metal tubes, threaded rod, springs, etc., etc. I'd guess those parts probably account for around 1,500 or so out of the total. The real car that was used as the subject of this kit is supposedly a one-off custom (actually there were two made, one survives)... so the model is not of a "production" 500K. The shape of the fenders doesn't quite match any of the M-B production bodies...in fact they don't even particularly match the car this kit was supposedly modeled from! But since this will be a "custom bodied" car in my make-believe world, that's ok! In fact, I don't like the full front fender skirts of the kit, so I'll be cutting them away to match the profile of the red car I posted at the top. I'm also going to be doing a custom interior with wooden dash and mother-of-pearl gauge panel inlay, custom door panels with wood trim along the top edges, and more. Bill-yep, this is the one you sold me. The photo I posted is a 2-seater with rumble seat, this one is the 2+2 without rumble seat, but aside from that minor difference, the rest of the model will look pretty much like the car in the photo. In fact I'm going to leave out the tiny back seat altogether and put a 3-piece luggage set there instead. (This car has no trunk, so the only storage space would be behind the seats.)

WOW!!! Incredible work, that is fantastic! What a beauty!

I'm just starting my new Pocher Mercedes 500K (K stands for "kompressor," the German word for supercharger). Here's a shot of the real car... I'm going to do this in real time, so new posts will be few and far between, but I intend to document the whole process, warts and all, from start to finish. A little background on Pocher kits for those who don't know: They are 1/8 scale, made in Italy from the early '70s to 2000, but out of production since then (the company went bankrupt)... so the only source for "new" Pocher kits is as a re-sale (ebay, basically). Since these kits are no longer made, the prices for unbuilt, original kits continues to climb. Many of the rarer Pocher kits routinely sell for a couple thousand dollars in "new," unbuilt condition. Pocher kits are complex; this particular kit has almost 3,000 parts. Most kits include a whole slew of operating features, including steering, suspension, doors, roll-up windows, working lights, etc. This particular model also includes seats with springs, padding and upholstery, and a working convertible top. Parts come in many materials... traditional injection-molded plastic, brass, plated metal, rubber, canvas, leather, etc. Assembly is mainly via screws, nuts and bolts, much like the real car. Very little gluing is required. But despite their complexity (or maybe because of it), parts fit is iffy. A lot of reworking, finagling, massaging and re-engineering is required in order to build a Pocher. These kits are not for beginners. In fact, I read somewhere that most people who start building a Pocher eventually give up out of frustration. But not me! I've built 3 so far, and have 2 (this one and a Rolls-Royce) currently in the works. There are aftermarket detail parts currently being made for these kits, and in this case I'm going to use quite a few...$480 worth, to be exact! I intend to build my Mercedes as a semi-custom, "built to order" car, as many of these cars originally were done. These cars were available with quite a few factory bodywork and trim variations, along with custom bodies from outside coachwork companies. They were comparable to contemporary Duesenbergs or Bugattis... they were only for the very wealthy. Only a couple hundred of these cars were built during their production run (1934-36). Owning one of these cars told the world that you were somebody. In fact, during WWII, many of these cars were stored and protected by the Germans along with other valuable works of art. OK... enough background. Let's get started. I always like to start with the engine. Here's a shot of a few engine components. Curiously, Pocher molded some of the crankshaft parts in silver, and some in black... and the pistons are also black. You'd think they would all have been molded in silver. But it doesn't matter, as none of these pieces will ever be seen again once the engine is finished. That being the case, I didn't bother painting any of these internal pieces. Here's a shot of the basic block, the cylinder head and the assembled crankshaft/piston assembly. As you can see, for some reason some of the parts are black, some silver... And here is the crank installed in the block: BTW... just for reference, the lines on the cutting mat are spaced 1" apart.

Looks good!

Not sure what you mean by "time restriction," but it looks pretty good! I like the color... not one you see on this car very often.

Studded tires are illegal where I live, even for cops. Not every car is offered by the manufacturer with a "police package"... CV is one of the few. Couple that with the fact that a CV is roomy, reliable, and that Ford sells CV's to police departments and other fleet users at a real cheap price, and their popularity as police cars is pretty easy to understand.

Before my current car, I drove nothing but FWD for the past 30 years... so I'm kind of spoiled. I'd take FWD over RWD in snow any time.

I agree w/Bob... for the amount we use in scale, the Bondo 2-part glazing putty (called "Professional" glazing putty) is perfect. Don't get the regular glazing putty, though... make sure it's 2-part catalyzed glazing putty. It's the best in terms of ease of use and cost per application.

Another perfect paint job! You are the master! Your screen name should be "Mr. Scallop!"

Geez, settle down. I was just curious, that's all. Seems odd that a funny car body would have hood and trunk lines in it, so I was wondering if the real car was done that way. I was questioning the accuracy of the kit, not slamming your build-up. Man, ask a simple question here and you get clobbered....

The body has molded in hood and trunk lines... is that the way the 1:1 car looked?

Send me a PM with your email. I have an email on file that I think is you, but I'm not sure.

I've collected a ton of reference photos, because I'm building K74 (500K cabriolet), which has the same engine/chassis. I can email you what I have. Interested?

Not so! The sterotypical "raindrop" shape is nothing like the actual shape of a raindrop. If a raindrop falling through the air is an example of pure aerodynamics, the actual shape of a raindrop will surprise you. http://weather.about.com/od/cloudsandpreci...rainburgers.htm

This is my first RWD car since 1977... it'll take some getting used to in snow!

Oh, I have all of those experiences...while out doing other things... I just don't buy my models that way. BTW... we got our first snow the other day, and while I was out and about "experiencing life," my suspicions were confirmed. A Mustang is not a good winter driver!

For me, I don't get any particular charge out of "how" I get the model.. the fun starts after I get it! So I buy online, for many reasons: Huge selection-far more than any "brick and mortar" store (the whole world is my "local hobby shop"), the convenience of always being open, the better prices vs. hobby shops (in most cases, even after you add S&H), the ability to do an instant "price check" and finding the lowest price available for what I want, and the fact that it comes right to my door! No gas wasted, no traffic or parking hassles, etc.

That is one strange looking car! It looks like the front should be the back... Nice scratchbuilding work.

I think we have a record voter turnout...66 votes! Final vote: 40 REAL, 26 MODEL. I fooled a lot of you, but it's REAL! Next ROM coming MONDAY!

Bring back the scary guy!

Here's how I'd do it: Apply the decals to the white styrene, then carefully brush paint the panel flat black around the gauge faces, then finally glue the bezels in place.