Ramfins59

Al, I'm sure that this will be another great looking car when you're done with it.

Alan, that car looks just great. Nice job.

I used to tear apart previous builds back in the 60's when I first started building, but I don't do it now. I leave them as is so I can see how my building skills and techniques have improved over time from model to model.

Now that you painted part of the roof white, I'm liking it a lot more. Keep it going, it's looking good.

I was trying to count how many models that I've finished so far this year, because I know it was a lot. I reviewed all the "Under Glass" posts that I made so far in 2013, and I came up with a grand total of 20 finished models so far this year...!!! That is an all time world's record for me in all the years that I have been building models. I thought I did good last year when I finished 13 models between NNL East 2012 and NNL East 2013. I don't try to break any records for speed in building. I guess the fact that I am retired and have a lot of time to spend at my workbench is the answer, along with a good supply of models and materials. My daughter sometimes tells me that I build models like it is my job. In a way I guess it is. To me it's better than sitting in front of the TV all day watching mindless, so-called entertainment. There are 3 weeks left for this year and I have 2 models sort of "in-the-works". I don't doubt that I'll have at least one of them done before the ball drops on New Years Eve. What is your record number of finished models in a year?

Thank you Greg. I appreciatr your kind words.

That looks great Chuck. Good job as usual.

Thank you all very much. Danno, I never even noticed that the plate was an emergency vehicle plate. There sure are a bunch of eagle-eyed people here!! I'll switch to another plate, thanks buddy.

Clifford, that sedan is just gorgeous. Great job.

Thank you for the kind words guys. Ed, I haven't been called "young man" in a very long time. Thanks. Al, I think that you're way ahead of me already, but like I've said previously, who's counting?

Bruce, that looks great. Nice job.

Harry, that's why I painted the 1958 Dodge that I built earlier in Black and Yellow colors...

I totally and wholeheartedly agree with all of the above comments. This is one of the very best group of people we have here.

Richard this looks absolutely wonderful. Each new detail that you add brings it more and more to life. Have you considered adding any scale people to this scene..?? That would really add life to it.

This should be another very interesting, entertaining and educational build Harry. I look forward to following along.

This build went pretty quickly. To recap, it is a diecast 1955 Buick Century by Maisto in 1/26 scale. It started out as the Highway Patrol car from the old TV series of the same name, starring Broderick Crawford. I took it apart and filled in the holes where the mirror and police spotlights were with bondo and sanded them smooth. I then cut pieces of half round plastic, formed them to curve and CA glued them to the doors for the side trim. I then masked off everything but the doors and where I filled in the spotlight holes and sprayed it Duplicolor Black. It was then unmasked and the whole car was given a couple of coats of Duplicolor clearcoat. I was lucky in that it didn't need any polishing. The BMF work came next after which I reinstalled the windows and the interior. The grille received a coat of aluminum metalizer and the center grille bar was covered in BMF. The taillights got a coat of Tamiya clear Red and the backup lights got a coat of white acrylic. The tires came as blackwalls so I used the whitewall decals from the Revell '32 Ford Coupe kit that fit perfectly with only a few wrinkles. Micro Set helped to smooth and snuggle them down. I added a piece of aluminum tubing for an exhaust tip, and a mirror and antenna from my parts stash. For the interior I flocked the carpet and rear tray black and painted the seat inserts flat black. I cut the police radio off of the bottom of the dashboard and then spruced up the dash with some BMF and chrome silver paint along with the steering wheel horn ring and shift and turn signal levers. http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa454/ramfins59/1955BUICKFINISHED101024x679_zpsb5bd1d88.jpg As usual there are some small glitches but overall it makes a great addition to my 1950's cars collection and looks good on the shelf. My 1959 cars have been crying out to me for neglecting them, so the next car on the bench will be one of the 9 1959 cars that are in the TO DO pile. Thanks for looking in on this latest completion. All comments are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks guys. Dominik, I know that a lot of the 2 Tone color combinations on the 1950's cars did not appeal to everyone. The manufacturers did get a little creative with the colors, especially Chrysler Corp.

Thank you Mike, I enjoyed building ths. Believe it or not it started out when I drew a picture of a '59 Dodge with fins on the bottom too. A couple of months later, there it was. Ray, yes sir, I've been known to "have a few" now and then, but nowhere near as much as I did in my younger days. The '59 Chevy taillights fit perfectly under the headlight eyebrows of the '59 Dodge. I had a friend cast the taillight lenses in clear resin for me, but they yellowed over time.

Here's one that, although not eligible for this CBP because I built it about 10 years ago, it certainly does fit into the theme here. It's made from 2 1959 Dodge promos, the bubble top from the Monogram '58 T-Bird, and an interior cobbled together from many different kit parts and scratchbuilt stuff. I call it a 2059 Dodge ZZT.

Hey Chris, thanks, but no thanks on extending the rear. I'm happy with it the way it is. I'm really not into doing all that cutting and bondo work on the diecast body.

Thanks Ira. By the way, I love your Jedi project.

Tulio, those are absolutely gorgeous. I have yet to build a '57 Ford, and I hope I can get one to look as good as yours do.

Thank you guys. As I've said, I really enjoy searching out, finding, and working on "unusual" model car subjects from the 1950's. I have a bunch of them in line to be worked on, along with the usual pile of plastic kits. Tommy, that was a great video, thanks.

Thank you all so much guys. Bob, you're right, I do need more display cabinets as I am running out of room. I've been looking at some stuff online at IKEA.

Here's something different. I picked up a diecast 1955 Buick Century model by Maisto in 1/26 scale from EBAY for a bargain price of $16. It is done up as the Buick Highway Patrol car that Broderick Crawford drove in the old TV show by the same name "Highway Patrol". That's not how it's gonna wind up though. So far I took it apart and removed the spotlights and mirror, then filled in the holes with Bondo and sanded it smooth. I cut pieces of half round plastic and curved them for the trim on the doors and CA glued them in place. I then masked off everything but the doors and where I sanded the Bondo. I removed the glass and will paint the doors and sanded areas black to match the car as soon as it stops raining here. Once that is done I will unmask it and apply BMF to all the trim. I painted the seat inserts flat black and left the rest of the seats and door panels gray as they came that way. I cut the police radio off off the bottom of the dashboard with an XActo blade saw, then spruced up the dash with some BMF and chrome silver paint. The horn ring on the steering wheel also got some chrome silver paint. I still have to flock the carpet black. I gave the taillights a coat of Tamiya clear red and the backup lights got a coat of white acrylic. I also applied some BMF to the center grille bar which was painted a dull silver. I'm not doing anything to the engine compartment (yes, the hood opens as do the doors) because I can't get the engine "plate" out of the car to work on it. It sort of looks OK the way it is. This is a quick and easy project of another "not your run-of-the-mill model" that I really enjoy finding and working on. It also makes a great addition to my 1950's cars builds. Thanks for looking in on this new build. Further progress reports to come as the progress happens. As usual, any and all comments are welcomed.