Scottnkat

My daugher just read your comment, Tom - she smiled and got a kick out of that. Thanks!

I was there last night with my wife and daughter. They had the tin box reissue of the old PL Batmobile there. I thought, "well, if they have this, maybe there are more" so I started looking around. Alas, no other models at my TRU.

Here's my space - these pics were taken a few months ago when I first got this room (loved it when the oldest son got married and moved out). My wife graciously offered me the room for modeling (she gets the next room that comes up for sewing / stamping / scrapbooking). Before this, we (me, my wife, and almost all the kids) would have to build models on a folding table in the livingroom or the office. First, the workbench with space for two to work comfortably: The back corner behind the workbench: The spray booth next to that area: And the rest of the "storage" beside the spray booth: There's been a few changes since these pics were taken, but this is still the same overall set up

Well, did a little sanding on the chassis floorboards and this is how it looked: Not perfect, but I figured I could live with it. But before I fit the rollcage to the floor, I really need to make sure that it's all going to fit in the Torino body. Well, it fits: So I glued the rollcage to the chassis and primed it so I could see where I need to sand (yep - gotta make some parts more even): It's not a great job, I know. However, I am proud of it for what it is - it's been a learning experience. This has been my first time using sheet styrene to make a floor like this and I had never used rod styrene for anything at all before. Okay - things to note for next time: 1) Make a template of all the pieces so I can duplicate curves, length, etc. Trying to do this all freehand is messy and things can end up crooked or just plain wrong. Next time will be better. 2) Use paper or cardstock to make templates of things to be cut out of sheet styrene. Once again, doing something by eyeballing it is not the best way to do something and just creates more work. 3) Come up with a plan and stick to it. I just kinda jumped into this project with both feet without actually thinking things through. If I make a plan, then I will know what needs to be done when and how I am going to do everything. I mentioned at the beginning that this was going to be a learning experience for me and it has been. Hopefully, I can take what I am learning from this experience and make the next one better. Also, I hope anyone thinking about doing something like this will also make note of my errors so they won't make the same mistakes I have. I think that's it for tonight. More to come for sure.

My daughter painted her car in Testors Panther Pink over a white primer. Not sure how close it is, but here's a shot of it: And here she is with her first two model cars - she also built a roadway to display them on:

Well, I did some work on the Torino body today. Remember how it looked in the beginning? Well, here it is now - there's just a small lip to hold the hood on and the small back brackets. Forgive the blach "cut" line - I still have to clean that off: This looks much better than the full inner fenders and that terrible radiator support with those two huge cylinders. It's nice to have something go right the first time on this build. I also did some work on the chassis floor - sanding and puttying. It'll be nice when I get that part done so I can put the rollcage on there and make it start looking like something recognizable.

Great! Glad to hear this is back on track!

I did some sanding on the Torino floor, then sprayed it with primer so I could see where I was at. Yep, sure enough - I need to putty and sand some more. So while I was waiting for the primer to dry, I had some time to get a couple of engines and transmissions done up into their basic format. Yes, they still need a little work, but they are getting going. Here's the AMT 427 and the PL 429 Boss blocks:

Well, I've got an update for ya. Damien finally decided that we needed to being working on the Prowlers. We started with the engines, but then Damien changed gears and decided that we're doing the interiors first. So, here are the Revell (left) and AMT (right) Plymouth Prowler interiors: Bear in mind that since I am building this with Damien, I am not doing anything special to this kit at all - I have enough "special" stuff of my own going on. But we're building both box-stock so you can compare.

Thanks for sharing that little bit - I can relate. I've got five kids still at home and I've been trying to give them a better dad than I had growing up. I've had my share of things broken by them too, but you've still gotta love 'em and teach 'em. I've been getting the youngest four into model building as well - my 14 year old is building a vinyl Ghost Rider, my 13 year old is building an A-10 Warthog, the 11 year old is building a Plymouth Prowler (alongside dad building one, too), and my 9 year old just finished a '63 Corvette. It's great spending time with them, they get to build something to be proud of, and they get to learn about the proper way to handle models now. When "The Car" first was released, my buddy Jonathan and I watched it together. Our parents didn't like it, but we both thought it was the coolest thing we'd seen. When I got older, I had to buy the DVD, of course!

Thanks for those words, man - by the way, I love your profile picture - too bad there's no kit for that

Thanks for the comments, guys. So far I've just been using styrene rod and sheet - nothing cast in resin yet. Sorry It's going so slow, but I'll try to have more time for fun tomorrow.

Well, I did get some time to work on the cars today. The rollcage for the Torino is beginning to take shape. I do have some clean up to do and some filing, but at least now it's starting to resemble what it's supposed to be. Hopefully I will have more time tomorrow for more work so I have a better update. In the meantime, there's this:

I can honestly say that I don't still have it - I never had it to begin with!! he he he. But this is good exercise for me and it's always good to try something new. Heck, if I totally screw this up, you all will be there to see it. But I am giving it a shot! Thanks for the words of encouragement.

Well, I've been busy but not alot to show for it. I've been looking at the AMT chassis - boy, does this thing stink! Here's a shot of top and bottom: Unless I get hit by inspiration, I am thinking of leaving the bottom of the chassis mostly as is with the exception of adding the fuel cell cover, building up the cage in the engine compartment, etc. The top of the chassis is something else - that just won't work at all and I can't (or won't) use the interior for this kit as it will be even farther away from what I am going for than it will be already. So, I pulled out some sheet styrene - yep, I'm gonna cover that nasty chassis, make that the floor, and work from that. I'll also be building the cage around the engine as well and not using the stock pieces for that. Once again - something I have never done before. On the bright side, I've build the two engines for these cars - not completely built up, but just the bare engines. Sorry for ranting - this is turning into a heck of a challenge for me. But I'm gonna do the best I can while trying not to get in over my head.

Exactly! I detatch and spray my larger pieces, but small pieces are painted on the sprue so I don't lose them (I have 5 kids still at home and 2 dogs) and I only have a little spot to touch up when I detatch it.

Well, I started on some rollcages this evening. I put together the main parts of the Polar Lights rollcage, then used that as a template to start building the one for the AMT kit. Not alot of progress - sorry, but it's new to me. I started by building the back wall - I need to make some adjustments, but I think this will come out okay. So here's a pic of my progress so far:

Thanks - that worked great! I'm checking it out now

And the final update of the night. I have fixed the upward curvature of the fenders on the Talladega. Here is the before shot: Here's where I made a couple of small cuts on the fenders to make bending easier: I then used Douglas's suggestion and dipped it in hot water for a few, bent it into shape, then put it under cold water. Here it is now with the upward curve resolved. I may still have to make some adjustments, but it's getting there: You can also see in that pic that the inner fenders on the Torino are being removed. I'm not done with that yet, so no full on pics of it yet. I have also sanded down all the trim, emblems, side reflectors, and front turn signals and I have drilled a hole in the rear fender for the gas cap. More to come...

Well, we have finished the preliminary painting and Damien is all set to begin building. He's decided to go with a red interior, which should look great with the black body. I'm doing a grey interior for the black cherry body. Here's a pic of Damien's status so far - hopefully tomorrow we can begin some building!!!

I'm sorry to hear about that happening. I hope you do finish it sometime soon as I really liked what I had seen.

I hadn't seen that site before either. That's great - thank you! I honestly appreciate all of the help and assistance everyone is providing I can use all the help I can get!

Thanks for the tip on straightening up the fenders - unfortunately, it doesn't seem that I am able to view that site - it says "member not found" - bummer Hey, that's great! Thanks so much for that!! I'd love to hear whatever you can find out.

I knew a guy that built a similar model - didn't use BMF either - he just used some 1/8 inch silver pinstriping tape between the boards - it looked pretty good. Just a suggestion... Love the color - that's great

Thanks for mentioning that - I hadn't noticed. Okay - one more thing to write down on my list.