Ramfins59

Well, at long last and after having this car bust my shoes and my cojones several times, and then letting it sit back in its box since last April, I FINALLY got it together as best as I could without throwing it against a brick wall in my basement. I just could not get the firewall and inner fenders to seat properly up into the body after everything was glued together on the chassis. I took it apart TWICE and adjusted things here and there and was able to get it together. It's not perfect, as none of my models ever are, but it's as good as it's gonna get. The car is painted Duplicolor Royal Blue, with white pinstripes and white pinstripe flames, clearcoated and polished. I installed a custom front rolled pan / grille surround from an AMT '50 Ford convertible kit and then used a custom DeSoto grille from the Revell chopped Merc kit. The frenched headlight bezels are aluminum pieces I got some time ago from Bob Dudek. Front turn signals are amber MV lenses. Front hubcaps are Modelhaus '59 Dodge Royal Lancers which I detailed in a checkerboard pattern in white & blue. The Lake Pipes are also from Bob Dudek. The rear rolled pan is a kit piece. I carved out teardrop shaped openings in the rear fenders to fit the aluminum taillight bezels that are another Bob Dudek item and I filled them with multiple coats of Tamiya clear red paint. Exhaust tips are pieces of aluminum tubing. I drilled 2 small holes in the passenger side rear fender for sunken guitar string antenna's. The engine has an M.A.D. prewired distributor, an aluminum finned valve cover (yet another Bob Dudek item) and oil filler cap and a diode fuel filer and line. There are also aluminum pulleys, an alternator and battery cables. I added an aluminum Beehive oil filter on the firewall along with a resin master cylinder and booster (ReplMinCoMD) with brake lines and pinhead caps. There are also heater hoses, a wired horn, a washer fluid container and line, a radiator overflow line and a PE radiator cap. The rubber radiator hose has PE clamps. It's a pretty full engine room. The chassis pan is splatter painted and the rails are semi-gloss black. A piece of guitar string run from the fuel tank into the chassis rails, and wire brake lines run from the calipers into the chassis rails. The mufflers are aluminum "Cherry Bomb" glasspacks. I am thrilled to have finally gotten this model put together. I thank you for looking in on this. As always, comments and critiques are welcomed and appreciated.

This one is a 1/24 Danbury Mint 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk. To my knowledge, there is no model kit available for this car.

This one is a 1/24 Franklin Mint diecast model I got back in July on EBAY. I know that there are promos of this car available, but again, this was easier.

This one is a 1/25 Danbury Mint 1955 Ford that I picked up in October on EBAY... I know that Modelhaus makes conversion pieces for the '56 Ford kit for this car, but this was easier.

I know my friend Tom Geiger jokingly (?) called it "cheating", but when I can't get either a plastic, resin or partial unassembled diecast kit or promo of a particular car to fill in a spot in my 1950's car collection, I look for very reasonably priced diecast cars on EBAY to fill in those holes. If it is a good price and I can afford it, I go for it. I've been able to get all of these cars for under $50 each. Here are a couple that I've found so far... First up is a 1/24 Danbury Mint 1953 Buick Skylark I picked up in August. I didn't want to attempt using an R&R resin kit for this car. I'm happy to be able to find diecast cars to fill the empty spots in my 1950's car collection when I can't find kits of those cars, and I will continue to do so as I find them. Thanks for looking in on this.

Thank you very much Tulio. I appreciate your very kind comments.

That is certainly one beautiful model Nico, you did a great job. I can't understand how you feel that masking off all of the painted body around the trim and then spraying with Alclad and then unmasking is easier than using BMF, but that's just my opinion...... to each his own.

Tom, even though I usually prefer to work on one kit at a time, all the way through to completion, I am really tempted to do just that. I know that will kind of "slow things down" on progress of each individual car, but I can see each completed car in my mind's eye and I pretty much have all the paint colors picked out for each one. I'll "chew on that idea" for awhile and we'll just see how that might work out. They're all Curbsides so all in all they should go fairly quickly since no engine or chassis details are needed for them.

Detail Master also carries a line of flocking http://www.detailmaster.com/

That is just WILD..!! I love it. Very interesting and original idea, and great execution with the cotton, the light, the exploding parts and the driver's pose. Good job Kenneth.

Thank you Harry, and yes, they are PE "washers" from an "Every Nut & Bolt Set" that I got some time ago from Norm Veber. I glued them on (some a little crooked) using tiny drops of clear enamel applied with a toothpick. Dave, I knew you would vote for the Lincoln

OK... The "floating convertible boot" is now fixed and sitting down as it should... Now I'll be moving on to my next project. I just have to decide which one will be "the lucky one"...... All of the choices will fit into the Class of '58...... Option #1- I've got a '58 Imperial convertible, unpainted gluebomb that I picked up at a local model show last year that has been disassembled, sanded, had holes puttied and sanded, and all primed. Option #2- I picked up a Modelhaus resin kit of a '58 Mercury Parklane convertible at the NNL East show back in April that just finished its 2 day Westley's Bleche White bath and is currently drying. Option #3- I also picked up a Modelhaus resin kit of a '58 Lincoln convertible at NNL East. (I treat myself to Modelhaus' stuff at every NNL East show) The car has already had its Westley's bath but I have to give the tops of the hood and trunk a skim coat of bondo as there must have been either some trapped air bubbles, or, maybe the mold had some imperfections, as the tops of the hood and trunk have little pockmarks that need to be filled. This is very unusual for a Modelhaus casting as their stuff is usually perfect. I'm actually surprised that they let it slip by like that. It's not a major fix so it's really not a big deal. So which option do you think I should pick???

Wow. I wouldn't have guessed we had such a bad rep here. Like you said Rob, it could have to do with negative comments and/or critiques that some members post, but, isn't that to be expected on a public Forum like this. As far as "ignoring" posts, maybe it's a case of "If you can't say anything good, then don't say anything." Personally, I like it here and really don't care what or how other people feel about it. As you say though, it would be interesting to hear how most of the "newbies" feel about it.

Thanks Mark. I picked this kit up on EBAY because it's such an unusual car to find in model form. It took a lot of extra work to get it together properly. Is that '53 Buick from R & R..? I was tempted to pick up one of their '53 Buick kits on EBAY a few months back but decided against it due to all the bad things that I've heard about their stuff. I wound up getting a 1/24 scale Danbury Mint '53 Buick Skylark diecast from EBAY for $47 back in August. It's a beautiful car and even though it is 1/24 scale it seems HUGE compered to my other models.

Michael, try subscribing to the magazines and then you'll never miss an issue.

Thank you very much Alan. I should have the convertible boot fixed tomorrow and will post "fixed" pics.

Resin kits are usually of cars that either were never made in plastic kit form, or, are of cars that are no longer made in plastic kit form. Resin can be sanded, filed and drilled like plastic but is usually more brittle and easier to chip or crack. You would need to use either super glue or 5 minute epoxy to glue resin parts together or to glue resin to plastic. You should soak all unplated resin parts in Westley's Bleche White for a day before you do any work on them at all. You can get it at pretty much any Auto Parts store. You should also use a good coat of primer under any paints that you will use. Laquer paints are safe to use on resin. If you wind up having to strip paint from resin, use a household degreaser called Purple Power as it is safe for resin and will not cause it to melt or get soft. If there's anything that I left out, I think other members will chime in here.

Thanks a lot Jay. I have quite a few more 50's dreamboats yet to build.

I had no idea that there were so many different kits of T's out there. I do have 2 of those kits pictured and some day I'll get around to building a T-Bucket myself.

Thanks very much for your very encouraging and kind comments Greg. I really love the look of the "old school customs". While I really hate to be repetitive in my builds, I feel that each car has its own look and style and IMHO most 1950's cars look good when "dressed up" as mild customs.

Jonathan, Greg and Bob, I thank you all very much for your great comments. Greg, I'll have to confess that, yes, I did grow up in the 50's and have always loved those "bolt-on" custom touches from those "olden dayz". Bob, I seriously doubt that Revell would want any of my ideas. Not everyone likes the retro-custom look of the 50's / 60's, but thanks anyway.

That's pretty cool Ray. I can certainly remember "back when" my girl (Now my wife of 46 years) and I used to "steam up" the windows of her father's '67 Ford Custom four door in a neighborhood parking lot when we were dating. Ahhhh the good old days......

Thanks Lee, I appreciate your kind comment.

I have nothing against cats Steve... I just won't have one. A very close friend's wife is a "cat lover" and they have 6 cats in the house...!!! That's down 2 from the 8 that they used to have. There is cat hair everywhere, even in the coffee cups in the cupboards..!! One or two of the cats go wherever they want... on the kitchen counters... on the dining room table..!! In addition, with 6 cats, they have 2 separate litter boxes which have to be emptied every day, or more, or else the house just..... well....... stinks. In addition, they have 3 dogs..!!! I grew up with dogs and have had several during my married life. After having to put down a couple of them due to sicknesses, I don't want to have to go through that emotional trauma anymore. It's like putting down one of your children. No more pets for me at this stage of my life.

I would DEFINITELY get several of the '59 Dodges if and when they come out. (I used to own a '59 Dodge Coronet). The firewall from the AMT '57 Chrysler would work as might the one from the '58 Plymouth. The inner fenders might work too. The hood on the '59 Dodge is NOT an easy one to cut out, but if you take your time, it can be done neatly. Just angle your XActo blade handle towards the outside edges of the fenders, or, add a styrene strip to the underside of the fenders, at the hood opening to keep the cut out hood from falling through. The only problem with the interior would be the depth of the floor as either the promo interior or Modelhaus' resin interior are very shallow. This would be a GREAT kit to see reissued. The prices that the promo's go for on EBAY are just absurd.