Gluhead

Love the sleek and simple look to this generation of F1. Some of them come off as bland but certainly not this one! Great job.

Wow. Tons of great work here. My personal best.

Interesting thread, and shows me again that I've been away from the hobby for a bit. First off, very nice work. While it's not my particular interest as far as subject matter goes, I can always appreciate what is required to make something our own. Alright...allow me to wax philosophical for a minute. It's been mentioned several times already so really I'm just echoing others thoughts here, but I believe it's a good one to spread considering all the animosity between builders and collectors. Oh...oops. See what I did there? Yep. I hit the heart of it, I think. lol. It's never really been about diecasts vs. model kits, has it. Because there's also the old thing about people who buy a model kit that someone else has built and presenting it as their own with anywhere from no changes to minor changes. Now to my mind, I struggle to find how that is any different...other than the obvious detail of mass production vs. a one-off build. While the availability of the piece in question may differ, either is still created to a "finished state" by someone else, be they a factory of workers/assemblers or an individual. And to carry the thought a little farther, obviously the animosity between the two sects has always been due to the folks from the collector crowd (yep, this is, in my mind at least, an interchangeable term for someone who collects other peoples model kit builds or diecasts, whether they polish them and change the wheels or not. lol), is that while passion for a subject may well be there in either side, the builders express their passion in the form of creating. What did the collector create, other than a new line on his monthly statement and a little more congestion in his showcase? But the mind is a funny thing. Sometimes things are not as they seem, as is in the case of the OP here. See, what you've done is created a variation to something labeled one thing and done so so well that to the uninformed eye would easily pass for something that was not modified. Myself, I am fairly well-versed in plastic model car kits, but I am completely ignorant in diecast subject availability. Had I looked upon your Ferrari at that show I would have had no idea if it was a car that was available off the shelf or not. I think it's safe to say that many of us could easily say the same thing. At this point, I have to say that this could be taken as the ultimate compliment. Clearly, you are a builder, not a collector. It's as easy to understand you feeling slighted by the cliche "Anyone can polish a diecast" as it is to understand why builders can feel slighted by the intrusion of collectors on the show tables. As has already been said, the easiest way to counter the prejudice at a show would have to be to include a build journal with it's presentation. Understandable that you did not, in this case, after reading how you ended up taking it to the show. But even with all that the judges need to soak in during the limited amount of time they have to make their assessments and draw their conclusions, one would have to be utterly obtuse to disregard this level of effort and execution. While there will always be those out there who are...you know the old saying, there's one in every crowd, I tend to think that most are not, and in most cases any build like this will be recognized for what it is -- a very well-built model. Personally, I hope to see more of your work.

If the Japanese manufacturers can make tires as nice as they do, I expect the same out of our domestic manufacturers...but we sure don't get that, do we. I have a small stash of AmSatco, Tamiya, and Fujimi tires (also includes my Modelhaus resin tires btw, also a favorite) that I keep all in it's own separate wooden box like prized jewels. Ha! In all fairness there are also some classic favorites from the domestics in there, but it really would be nice to see them step it up a few notches in this department. Oh, and the flatspot. Mine always end up with them. I thought that was straight out of the Modeling 101 handbook. Tires that look inflated to 200psi just ain't right.

What a beautiful build. It's hard for me to be critical of such a great effort because for one, you're doing an outstanding job and two, I'm just getting back into building and feel like a royal hack and haven't yet earned the right to be critical. But it's harder for me to leave it unsaid...because the devil is in the details and on this fine a creation it's almost like a supermodel with a big zit on her nose. lol. So please take this as intended...to be constructive. As mentioned a couple times, the rock guard for the windscreen could really stand to be much finer. That coffee filter mesh that was suggested looks spot on. Not only would it look more correct to scale, but it would also add an extra dimension of contrast, being that the same screen is in use in several other places already. This, and also mentioned, a wash over the "fabric" body to tie the tones together. These could well be those last little details that takes your exceptional piece and sends it straight over the moon.

Nice lookin' hot rod. If you haven't been there yet, I'd like to recommend a visit (uh, it'll likely become several thousand visits, actually) to the H.A.M.B. http://www.jalopyjou...forum/ Search "Bass Coupe" for a quick start. He tends to include a lot of detail in his builds, and great pics. Outstanding reference material for the type of build you've sunk your teeth into here.

What I like to do is scuff the area just a little with some fine grit so that I can draw on it with a good ol' sharp #2 pencil. Once I've redrawn it 20 times then out come the cutting tools. Like mentioned, with the hole you want, start by drilling. I usually use a bit fairly smaller than what I need...it's a lot easier to make a hole bigger than it is to make it smaller...then I usually get it pretty close with the knife and finish with a file of the appropriate profile. Also as mentioned, test fit often. Since you're not used to doing this yet, a few other pieces of headache prevention: 1) make sure you always use nice sharp blades when you are shaping/carving. 2) work in slivers. don't try to take all the material at once. especially until you get the feel for it, baby-step your way to the mark. and 3) if you are ever unsure how it's going to go, practice the mod on a piece of scrap. And if you screw up anyway, don't stress. It'll give you an opportunity to learn how to do the repair.

Lookin' good.

Impressive...1/4 scale...talk about fillin' up the table.

Jacen, that Norton fella...he's a finicky one ain't he. Actually, it was a pita for me too until I dl'd Adblock. Now it's great. Ken, that's some nice work! Would be great to read more specifics about it. And here's the link, since you guys were too lazy to post it when you were there. haha http://public.fotki.com/oldcarguy1/24-dodge-brothers-1/#media

I think 18's and 20's can look pretty good on a late 60's gmachine type car (thanks Rob...excellent examples). And of course modern cars lend themselves well to the larger sizes (but I have zero interest in those). But as far as this "bolt them on anything just because we can" thing...just another trend. It'll pass, and people will fall back on what doesn't look ridiculous. Gimme Astros, Hursts, steelies, reverses, Halibrands and Cragars (that's CragAr...hate seeing them called Cragers. lol) and the like. And I'll take them all in sizes under 18 inches, please. Oh, and donks are clown cars. That (thankfully) isolated bit of one-upsmanship cannot hit the has-been wall fast enough in my opinion. I'm no good with what will help the model companies sell model cars, though. I am too opinionated and self-centered to be realistic about what other people want, and my own tastes are usually a little off-beat when compared to the masses. (or are they?)

I would love to see a picture of that one, if you'd be able.

Now that one depends on what circle you're runnin' in. The traditional sect may well argue that they are. I know I'd just as soon see/hear a nicely augmented stovebolt as a sbc any day. Gives life a little extra flavor. Might want to check the h.a.m.b. for threads on them, if you have any interest in dressing yours up at all.

Not sure about the Pro Shop kit, but either one I'm sure has more than you'd ever use. It really is basically a curbside, in spite of the opening hood...which is fine. It's all about the lines of the car on this one, which are great. The body itself is very good, even in the latest reissues. The one glaring problem with it is an easy fix if you take a little time to study some reference and are able to wield a knife and file with a steady hand. The A pillars are grossly muddled at the lower corners. The good thing is that there is plenty of material here to correct them without making things a fragile mess with tiny filler pieces and liquid cement. Reference photos of the windshield pillars on these cars should be plenty easy to find - it's the same in this corner as all the full-size GM's. Just take your time and trim/scribe carefully and it'll shape up very nicely. It makes a dramatic difference in the finished model, and should not be overlooked but so many ignore it. I hope we get to see your progress when you get into it.

Yes, but like George said, the bones are the same. A panel can be reshaped pretty easily if its close, which all of these would be that. Fairly close, in regards to overall proportions. The Cutlass, Century, and Regal...those are all on a different skeleton and are not close in proportions at all. They *look* similar, because they come from the same styling pages, but to actually rework them into the larger boned body style would be much more work than tweaking one from the same platform. Basically, it boils down to a few wheelbarrow loads of work, or it's time to call the excavators to bring in the backhoes front-end loaders. lol

Very nice.

I'll look forward to watching this as well. You had me at A100.

The LeSabre is a totally different beast than the Cutlass. The '76 Caprice is the only real viable starting point that I know of, unless there's a promo out there I don't know of (which is definitely possible...'74 is newer than I pay attention to on that sort of thing). The body shell itself isn't that far off. It's the little things like headlights and grill, taillights, etc, that would put you to some real work.

Not subject matter that typically grabs me by the shorthairs, but this is fantastic. I hope that one day my accumulative efforts allow me to reach this point of obsessive-compulsiveness and craftsmanship. Truly inspiring work, Randy. Thank you for sharing it with us and I can't wait to see it continue.

I'm in. Needed a good excuse to do one through finish anyway, rather than just throwing a bunch of stuff at each other and making "mwahaha" noises to myself. And Ron, that is RAD!

That's nothing. I grew up in a body and paint shop. A benchtop with 3/4 inch of overspray buildup is a welcome sight to me. Tells me stuff gets done there. After a while it truly starts to look like an alien planet or something...all kinds of fissures and odd features.

Hey Dave! Whatever ya wanna call it, I dig it. Glad to see you are back around. Ya got here just in time. I need to get pic capable again then we can really kick up the (plastic) dust around here.

Oh yes, there were quite a few subtle changes from 50 to 51. The latter is certainly more refined.

Thanks for reminding me about the Petty Biz Coupe. As mentioned, they had no back seat. Very much so intended exactly as its namesake...for the traveling salesman. I'll have to look that piece over again but it may actually be the best starting point. Roof and tulip panel would be the major changes. The rest would be too insignificant to mention at this point. Thanks Ed. The '53 was the next generation, so that'd be a no-go as a starting point for the previous. Have you any further info on this Banthrico? Thanks guys. I appreciate the input. Glu

Your flathead is looking great. Did you ever finish it? The R&R piece looks rough enough and incorrect enough that it'd probably be easier starting from scratch, unfortunately. Several key shapes jumped out at me as very off right at first glance. I wish that red beauty was mine. She's a honey, ain't she? I did have a Cranbrook for a minute several years ago. Still kicking myself for not recognizing the the potential in it at the time. Yes, and that one specifically does indeed fall onto the far end of the iffy scale. So close, but so far away...