Ramfins59

My only "injuries" were piercing my fingertips with a drill bit in my pin vise while drilling thru a part. I, thankfully, have never cut myself with my XActo knife (not yet anyway). I did however whatch as my friend Tom went to catch HIS XActo knife as it rolled off his workbench... He caought it just as the blade entered his thigh...!!! I now have one of those eraser tips that you put on pencils in school, to prevent my XActo knife from rolling around.

It's pretty close to 1/25 scale. I just built it for goofs... and for the memories.

I wholeheartedly agree... I'd be happy to find a buildable kit of the '59 Ford. The multi-piece body in the Skip's Fiesta kit that I have scares me.

That is a beautiful truck Eric. I love the color combination and the detailing you did in the engine compartment. I am currently working on a '53 Ford pickup, however, when I started I was choosing between the Ford or the '60 Chevy pickup. Now that I see yours, I'm thinking that I should have chosen the Chevy truck to work on. Oh well... when I finish the Ford...

Thanks Harry. I just knew you'd be proud of me.

As I'm sure it is with most of us "old farts" that started building models back in the '50's & '60's, in the early years it was all about finishing the model as quickly as possible for that instant gratification. Upon rediscovering the hobby in my later years I learned a lot of new things and techniques for making my models neater, cleaner and more realistic. Obviously the explosion of stuff in the aftermarket and the improvement in kits over the last 30+ years has helped a lot. As has been said above, the most important tool I've acquired is the patience factor. I do still get frustrated at times, but I've learned to walk away for awhile and come back to the problem with a clearer head. I've built a model for my son-in-law as a birthday gift ('67 Vette Convertable - - his favorite car ever), and, I was paid for building one model for a guy at a Cruise Night about 14 years ago ('56 Ford - - Replica of his 1:1 car). I had a ball building the car for my son-in-law, but building the '56 Ford model became a chore after awhile and was not a fun build for me. I continue to learn new things all the time, especially from being on this Forum, and for that I thank everyone here.

So I'm having a reasonably productive afternoon working on my '53 Ford Pickup model. I spent 5 hours detailing LOTS of little individual parts... Caddy air cleaner, dashboard, steering wheel, master cylinder and firewall. The wheels & tires got mounted on the chassis & all 4 touch the ground... Woohoo... Isn't it amazing when you sit back and look at what you've accomplished after 5 hours and all you see is about a half dozen little things...!!! I swore that I wasn't going to go nuts on detailing this model but you know how that goes... You do one little thing and then... Well as long as I did that, let me do this, and so on... So anyhoo... I'm looking at the engine (the Caddy engine from the '49 Ford) after gluing on the Caddy air cleaner and I see the alternator...... just hanging there...... Now, after reading the thread about Hanging Alternators the other day, I start thinking that Harry P. will see this when I eventually post pics and he will be pissed that the alternator is just hanging there... But I say to myself, "Don't worry about it self... remember that you said you weren't going to go nuts with the details on this model." Well, the little Bad Harry Angel whispers in my other ear, "Fix it... How long will it take you to put a bracket on there..??" So I'm going back and forth with myself and the Bad Harry Angel... Put on a bracket... don't bother no one will really notice or care... Put on a bracket... Don't worry about it... Guess what...??? I put on a ###### bracket Harry, along with PE bolt heads...!!! Now get out of my head and leave me alone to work on my model. P.S. - Thanks Harry... It does look better even though you have to look close to see it.

Great job on this truck James. I'm working on the same '53 Ford Pickup myself at the moment. Should have it done in another couple of weeks at the rate I'm going.

I switched from rattle can enamels to rattle can lacquers about 13 years ago. I have never used an airbrush and do not own one.

I've had some people tell me that they think that the '58 Ford was an ugly car, compared to the '57. I happen to like its unique look and style. The Modelhaus made a '58 convertable with skirts, and up top and a full continental kit which I'm hoping to pick up from them at the NNL East next month.

Man... that rear tire looks like it's about to pop...

As stated above, the Revell '49 Merc kit has a set of triple cap Lake Pipes, however you have to deal with those annoying seams and to me they appear a bit small in scale. Also, as Lonewolf advises, Bob Dudek made the best set of Lake Pipes I've seen in 1/25 scale, complete with end caps and bolts. Bob's pipes, however, have only a single cap.

It's looking fantastic Guy. I can't wait to see the finished product. I built a '36 Ford Cabriolet about 6 years ago... Seeing yours makes me want to do up a coupe... Just have to choose between the AMT kit or the Revellogram kit... Decisions... decisions...

Great job Jim. I love your idea for the pancaked hood. I happen to be working on a '53 Ford Pickup at the moment also. I'm putting in the Caddy engine from the '49 Ford and I'm using the chrome reversed wheels & tires from the Revell '49 Merc. I'm almost ready for some in-progress pics. I love the way yours came out. I like the color too... Mine will be Quasar blue with some pinstripes.

Absolutely phenominal. I had seen other parts of this Wunderland (the train part) previously, but this airport just blew my mind.

Sometimes I get out of a building funk by just building a Slammer. Pick a cool set of wheels & put 'em on a flat black chassis, glue the hood shut, paint the body a cool color, black out the windows and you're done... Instant gratification usually will cure you. Either that or throw together a couple of Snap kits for your kids, younger relatives, or grandchildren... That'll work too...

Depends really on what car you're building as to how crazy you want to get. Usually BMF along with some detail painting and gauge detail with either decals or PE gauges & PE gauge panels or rings. Then the clear epoxy for lenses over the gauges. You can use woodgrain decals or cigar wood/paper for some dashboard, door panel or console details. I've used pinheads for dash knobs on some cars. You can also use some small pieces of flame and/or pinstripe decals for a cool look on Rods or Customs.

I use both the Net and various car mags. for reference material. I usually don't build factory stock or muscle cars so being totally exacting is not as necessary. I do research engine and interior details just to be sure that what I'm building looks somewhat realistic.

I didn't blow up or burn my car models way back when I first started building (in the '60's)... I did that with the tanks, jeeps & halftracks that I built. I don't have any of my car models from back then but I'm sure that either my younger brother destroyed them all, or my parents threw them all in the incinerator along with my stacks of comic books when I moved out and got married in 1968. The first model that I built at the start of my second modeling life (1991) was the Revell '57 Chevy. The one with opening everything... What a horrible kit. I don't still have it so I can't show pics but I remember painting it without primer, didn't sand mold lines, etc., used tube glue & got it on the glass, and painted the chrome trim with silver paint. It was horrible compared to models I build today.

Yes. I've used 4 '59 Dodge Promo's so far on different projects. I wish I could get my hands on a couple more of them.

OK... I am IN NO WAY looking to start trouble, to cause any arguments, or to pick on anyone... I know that I too will most likely NOT build this Chrysler as it comes in the box either... But... The model didn't even hit the shelves yet, and we're already talking about how we want to change it..!! There is no pleasing us is there...??? (Believe me, as I said, I can't build 'em Stock from the box either...) That's the fun of modeling isn't it?

How's this for a cool story...? About a month ago I gave my soon to be a year old grandson a couple of Snapfast Slammer cars that I built for him. I reinforced all the snap points with CA glue to withstand the beating I'm sure he would give them. My daughter told me in the weeks that followed that the cars were his favorite toys now, and that he crawls around the floor rolling them around. Today she "swears" that when he was playing with them, she heard him say... Vrooom... !!!! Cool deal... He's definitely gonna be a car guy...

Oh yeah... drool... can't wait... I'm definitely getting at least a couple of these puppies... I hope the Model King brings enough of them to NNL East cause you know EVERYONE is gonna be grabbing this one up. The black one AND the red one...OOoooohhhh... I need a cigarette...

Christian... You really had me going there for a moment when I saw the Delahaye... I would absolutely LOVE TO FIND A KIT OF A DELAHAYE... IMHO it is one of the most beautiful cars ever made. Talk about an Art-Deco look to die for... I've searched around but have never, ever found anyone who has made a model kit of it.

Holy ######...!!!!!! I just spent almost 2 hours looking at all 17 pages on this thread and I have to say that I am totally blown away. Talk about getting carried away with a project... WOWSERS. I mean that in a GOOD way. I thought I got carried away with skulls and flames when I did my version of Hell Rod a couple of years ago, but this one is just nuts...(Good nuts). IMHO I think you should definitely go with your original idea for color of the Blood Red theme... and maybe sneak in some ghost skulls and definitely some ghost flames. There was a sheet of Reaper decals in a '64 Chevy Lowrider kit a few years ago that would definitely go with your theme here, although the colors in the decals probably wouldn't go with a red paint job. Another suggestion for the red eyes in your taillight skulls would be small, red MV lenses which you can find in a well-stocked train section of hobby shops. I have to look for that Italeri Gate kit in the military section. It is a GREAT piece for dioramas. Thank you Darren for such an enjoyable, entertaining and fantastic build. Like everyone else here, I can't wait to see it painted and finished. Great job man.