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DEL

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Everything posted by DEL

  1. DEL
    All I can say is just... Oh, my...
  2. DEL
    Anthony, Thank you sir! PM coming. I will remember that when I finally get these made/cast. PS: I had four 1978 Ford LTD 460 Police Interceptor cars from the LSP in the early 80's. One day on a straight stretch I decided to finally see how far up the 140 speedo I could get. I got it up to 130 with pedal to spare. And yet, despite weighing about 5600 pounds, it began to 'walk' from side to side. I let off the gas. It went fast enough just fine! I spent ten years doing a frame off resto of it. Here is a pic or two. That's me on the left in the last one on the way to it's first show. All equipment & markings were original and actually came from the LSP.
  3. DEL
    Wrong hubcaps. Those are for the 74-1990 full-size police. These are the proper hubcaps for a 65-66 full-size Chevy police.
  4. DEL
    Yep. They are different. Can you build me one? Or modify an existing Caprice grille? Anything like that?
  5. DEL
    you're a time traveller. Along with your casting skills please share your TT skills as well!!
  6. DEL
    Gorgeous work guys! Mike, you're right. That PetG is better for the glass that I think even clear styrene would be. Virtual perfect optic clarity! Now.. if you could just figure out how to put the shaded blue at the top and dot matrix around the bottom... KIDDING!! It is beautiful. And the casting situation looks fantastic too Greg. Watching with minnow-baited breath for the first issue from the mold! Oh, and you might want to set the proper date and time on your camera. You're good, but I know you ain't beaming forward to Oct. 2105 to do this stuff!! I graduated from Hicks High School! Can't fool ME. (Yes Virginia, there IS a place called HICKS, La. A bit obvious isn't it? Overstating. Declaring the obvious, etc, etc.. )
  7. DEL
    Anthony, I appreciate all the attention and guidance and support for my work. Absolutely no offense taken. You are a fan of this particular car and know it inside & out I suppose. I'm the same way with 75-78 Ford Custom 500/LTD police package cars. We all have our 'things' that get us. (My next door kid neighbor is a bus freak. School buses. Greyhound buses, city buses. Go figure) Still, as stated before and as the thread shows I mean for this to be a 1978 when it is done since the biggest use of them was by the LA. County Sheriff back in those days and I always liked them. I figured the main difference was the grille/headlight part but I see there is a minor difference in shaping for the big single HL buckets on the header. The pics you posted are just what I needed and very informative. I have been watching for a 77-78 Nova to surface on eBay, even a glue bomb I could harvest that HL/grille panel from at least if not the whole header but I haven't found one yet. Still, Greg will not be ready to do this one like next week, so I suppose I still have time to wait and watch. I hate buying a whole kit just to cull those one or two parts. It's almost always a silly expense vs what you just need. If anyone has a grille & header or anything that supplies those to donate or sell for this project I'm open to suggestions. Or loan to be copied and cast and then returned. Just saying. At any rate, I am putting the final touches on the main body these past few evenings and will have final pics to post before week's end I hope. BTW DCNovaMan: Is the hood on a 79 the same as a 78 or is there some difference there as well? They look the same to me in the pics I use for comparison but the person who knows is always a better judge. D.
  8. DEL
    Mr. Dan, I wrote a three-page description/response to describe my process and somehow this site/whatever ate it. I will write it again it will just be a bit later as I am forced to return to work at the moment. May even make me more pithy.
  9. DEL
    That is some beautiful work Mike. I can't thank you enough for the contribution you've made to this. Is that clear cast resin or vacu-form? That just hit me. You almost can't even see it is there!
  10. DEL
    Rich/Anthony, DiscoNovaman & all: Thanks!! To answer a question it will be released but exactly when I can't say , Still it will be posted here. I have some RTV & I may have a go at it myself just for sh*ts & giggles. But when it is released it will be as the 1978 Nova, as I was inspired to do it by the mass use of them by the LA Co. SO in that year. That plus they were just NEAT little copcars, eh? I used a 79 SquadRodsimply because of their ready availability and after a cursory examination of the 78 vs the 79 far as I could see the primary difference lay totally in the grille/HL treatment. It seems on the 1:1 version all else would be identical, the front fenders, header & bumper. Ron H. had mentioned some other difference but I just got through studying pics and so far I can't see it. Still he is probably right & I am wrong. But I can modify it and procure a 78 Grille and fit it into the body. John: All cats are slave drivers.
  11. DEL
    And here he is. Buddy. My harsh and merciless taskmaster/overseer. He tends to take over the model-building Command Chair, and yet still demands results! Ever build models standing up? See him flicking the tip of that tail up? That's him half asleep telling me "Don't even THINK of trying to move me from MY chair!!" I cower.
  12. DEL
    Thanks for the dedication! Wish I was closer to Az. so I could help. But then I'd have to hand over master-building to Buddy the cat and he has that whole non-opposable thumb challenge issue.. Oh, well..
  13. DEL
    And some of the final detail work around the door frames.. The second one below is almost the exact same angle for comparison as the LACSO unit in the pic..
  14. DEL
    These pics show the addition of material to raise the rear roof edge a bit higher, adding some to the rear of the C posts to straighten them a tad, and finally, all of it primed over and door window frames being added in.. (If you look at where the C-pillar jumps up from the trunk surface to rise you can see from the earlier pics how that had to go down to be a bit more parallel with the body accent 'spear' from the door across the quarter panel..
  15. DEL
    Thanks to all for comments and encouragement! The Nova is on the list to be cast, and that will happen as soon as we can. Greg is still gearing up, he takes possession of the 91 CVPI project today and begins his work on it to make the molds and copies. He plans to post progress pics as he goes so you may want to follow that on that thread on the resin board. As to the 9C1 Nova here, I kidded myself with the posting of the last set of pics that it was mostly done but Ron and at least one other called me on the rear window being a bit short.. which was because the trunk lid (so pretty) was still a tad steep as it's angle to rise rose to meet the eel-like fastback C pillar of the 2dr version it was born as. No two ways about it, the trunk lid must flatten down at least a whole 1mm. (cm? I can't keep that metric stuff straight. It was about 1 & 1/2 on the ruler) That will add a bit of a bigger rear window coupled with a small addition to the roofline at the top. PITA it was but check out the progress and basic results..
  16. DEL
    Boy. AND HOW. I got on the computer this morning and found that pic of the Eagle GT +4 and after sitting in AWE looking at it for a few minutes drooling, I almost wanted to CRY, for sheer JOY. twenty years ago I looked for alternate tires for my copcar models and I wished, hoped & DREAMED I could find actual 1/24 Eagle GT’s or GT+4’s.. But that’s all I could do was just DREAM. What little was out there at the time was geared towards the ‘hot rod’ set with the fat bigger in the rear tires and the skinny small ones out front. Nothing anywhere near what I sought. I bought some sets from American Satco, and I still have them because they were totally un-usable for copcars. Joseph at FB models had at first indicated he was pretty busy with other projects and would not have time to do these Eagle GT+4's. I cannot begin to express how thankful I am that he found the time. On a personal note; virtually nothing about the passage of time and getting older has pleased me. this, THIS does!! That technology has progressed to the point almost nothing is out of our reach. at least in modeling. You've made an getting older modeler VERY happy. Thank you, Joseph. And thank you Greg! For taking the initiative to ask Joseph to do these for us. I cannot wait to build one to completion.
  17. DEL
    I am warming to the subject of station wagons. God knows I was hauled around in many different ones as a kid. But to answer you yes, I think I stated somewhere that I wanted to do a few station wagons as well. My first one might be a 71 Buick Estate Wagon, though. That one has fond memories for me. But if I manage to remain around and on the scene long enuff as they said in Fargo, You Betcha!
  18. DEL
    Are you talking about this 67 Biscayne, or my 73 Bel Air? Greg Wann is my caster on the 1991 Ford LTD Crown Victoria, and after that is off the ground we will be doing either my 77 LeMans Enforcer or the 73 Bel Air. After that I will have the 67 Biscayne, 78 Nova and hopefully, a 72 Dodge Polara done to choose from for next direction. All 4drs. I may change my name to Mr. 4dr. Anyway, we may have to have some kind of vote or something to see what garners most interest. I don't want to kill Greg, he still has a day job as most of us do. Eventually if this works out as he and I have discussed all these will be offered and ready to go on standby ordering basis. The modeling world could use some 4drs . We aim to please!
  19. DEL
    Thanks to all for the kind words on the work. I truly mean that. Foxer: You're doing some beautiful work here ... I don't want to think how many repairs I'd need to make those sharp door lines. It takes a while I promise you. Like all modelers, I try and get it just right and so the first time but my knife jumps the channel and scratches or digs deep in one spot and barely scratches another and then the borders are uneven. For every decent door-line you see there was a good going over, rework and primer, putty, fill and sand and redo more times than I can say. Super magnification head glasses are essential too, for me anyway. After doing some more investigation on the blocked car in the pic I am fairly certain now that it was a 68 Skylark, not a Wildcat. Google images is great for that comparison thing. The front bumper with the side marker light right behind it along with the downward swooping body-line all seems to fit. Plus I was able to find examples with solid door window frames in the 4dr. versions. That and that also noted elsewhere the Wildcat was a more upscale marque while the Skylark would send to lend itself to the lower cost bracket levels. I just wonder whether it was an actual police package vehicle at the time. The state has always bought true police packages since they were offered. But I could find no other Skylark pics in police livery not even historically. Still, the LSP did from time to time every few years throw a curveball and buy not so readily seen (IE: less than full size) vehicles in a variety of street colors both with and without external lighting just to sneak up on folks. The following are screenshots from Live & Let Die and while they are all movie cars it does fairly accurately depict the fleet at the time. One of the cars is a medium blue Malibu with graphics but no overhead lights, just like the Grand Tarpon pic.
  20. DEL
    As an LEO I could find that disturbing... NAAAHHH.. Not in THIS case!!
  21. DEL
    Now THAT'S some imagination combined with some dang fine fab work. Excellent, sir!
  22. DEL
    And finally, where I am at this point. Just need to do some teilawork around the doors, add a rocker & drip moldings along with trunk line details and it will be almost done. Well, I have to modify the interior tub then the proper wheels & caps and DUNN!
  23. DEL
    Phase 2 - Closer detail work and fabrication of cabin ventilation grates for the C-pillar..
  24. DEL
    This is a nice little subject that is very popular with the 1:1 police collectors/restorers. The ready availability of the MPC Squad Rod along with my fervent desire to do anything 1) POLICE, 2) 4dr and last but not least 3) 1970's brought me to this one pretty quick. Most of what one needs is there but as always one must spend quite a while removing the styrene kit builders equivalent of a heroin addiction to fastback roof lines on dang near every kit out there and fashioning in a more dignified and authoritative 4dr c-Pillar. Plus a natural sedan trunk lid surface. In its current incarnation with me, it's almost done. And only about 2 & a half months on it too! (of course there are three others on the bench right now too) Am I getting faster? Personally, I sure hope so as long as the end result does not suffer. There was some tedious re-aligning of the door tops from sloping downward 2dr ones to almost squared off 4dr ones. plus you must add the Impala/Caprice body accent welt line from the top edge of the rear door across and down the rear quarter panels. it is VERY faint in this scale and takes a bit of doing. Please have a look, and thanks for stopping by! Phase 1:
  25. DEL
    Shaun, Patrick & Dan: Thank you!! As to that rear slope of the C pillars, it was an absolute BEAR to get it as close as it shows in the pics above.. but even I must admit the angle appears just a bit too sloped still. I have pics of this car dead on from the side and on those, it looks almost dead accurate, still I did do a small bit of modifying it based on the first good comments in that area by Mr. Ron Hamilton re that c-pillar issue. He has an exceptional eye for angle and perspective. So I may yet notch it one more time and make it stand up just a tad bit straighter yet. On another subject, some folks earlier on in this thread were discussing the possibility of grafting some other kit roof onto a late 70s Nova kit to create the 4dr police version.. Well, it's mostly done. I have posted pics in a separate thread on this forum to show where I am thus far. Have a look at it and see what you think. Thanks to all for the interest!
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