zenrat

You got the priorities right. #1 wheels & tyres #2 engine... ...#99 paint

Coloured tyres are used in burnout & drift competitions to make coloured smoke.

Good on ya Jared. That's the attitude.

Thanks Chris. Nice paint James.

No. You'd never get it thin enough to cover just the raised letters. Paint it black then rub it off is the way i'd do it.

FWIW I think China is on it's way out as the cheapest manufacturing centre of choice (when I was a kid it was Japan, then Hong Kong). A lot of the real nasty cheap BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH we get in the (Aussie)$ shops these days is made in Indonesia and Bangladeshi labour is apparently even cheaper. However, I think that the future is East Africa. Build your manufacturing plant in, say, Liberia ignoring any 1st world WH&S requirements and ship in your workforce from any of the conveniently located refugee camps in the region. Shipping to the US will be cheaper as the Atlantic is narrower than the Pacific and funding can easilly be raised from the US by playing on white mans guilt over the slave trade (or by fooling African Americans into believing that they are helping their "people" by exploiting them).

Here you go. I built this using the body from the AMT USA1 Monster Truck (I stuck the chassis under a Buick). Oh yeah. I didn't have an appropriate chassis so I used one (and the enigne) from a Monogram F250

The stock roof AMT kit comes with an opening boot (trunk) lid but neither it nor the chopped top Revell kit come with opening doors. BTW, the 5.0 Ford V8 from the Revell 32s drops into the chopped Merc like it was meant to be there.

You came here in that? You're braver than I thought. Nice work Jant. I always like my beaters to have the "one freshly primered front wing" look but you nailed it with this one. As usual.

Oh yes. This is going to be good. Is that the AMT '65 Elky camper? I've been wondering what to do with one of them and this has given me an idea. Now, where did I put that Batmobile...

You lucky git. I've been after one of these for ever. What do the custom parts consist of? Any chance of some pics?

I use a combination of different scribers including the back of a #11. This is my favourite. Olfa PCS Panel Line Scorer It makes quick work of a styrene car body and is even great for cutting 5mm perspex. It does however need a guide line cut first with a scribing stylus (if there is no existing panel gap to follow). However, you wanted new myths. Here's a few I used to believe. Airbrushes are a pig to clean so rattle cans are better. You have to thin enamel paint with enamel thinners. One part (cures by evaporation) cellulose knifing putty doesn't shrink back. Two Pack clear isn't worth the health & safety hazards.

Clear can do the same thing. Which is even worse as you think you've got away with it, blow on some clear and BANG it's a blotchy ('cause you've obviously used filler) pink gloss finish.

You mean the "Hemi" motor? It's OK apart from what they did to the port spacing on the headers. I'm guessing they were made that way to avoid royalty issues? I do like that they put the injection parts back in for the 5.0 motor.

Good job doing the kid visiting thing, but wouldn't you change into the costume when you got there? Or put the top up?

I think (from memory - so don't quote me!) that the convertible AMT '62 Chevy is the one to go for as it has all the optional engine parts from all the other versions of the kit. Maybe someone could confirm that?

Thanks folks

The idea here is that when Javelin Engineering finish an engine build they strap it into Muffin, trailer her to the strip and run a couple of passes down the 1/4 mile to see how it goes. Although there are no pics of the underside I built the engine & tranny mounts to be adjustable for a variety of engines.

I use pearl white paint. Thin it to airbrushing consistency and put it on with a brush. Being thin the chrome will show through.

DO NOT leave them soaking in brake fluid as it will leach out the plasticiser from the vinyl and the tyres will shrink and go hard. Try scrubbing the tyres with methylated spirits.

The beauty of guitar string is that it isn't rigid so if you knock it of squish it with a box lid it wont permanently bend out of shape.

If you use the Z11 parts from the Super Stock '62 BelAirs then strictly speaking it's a 427. The Monogram '59 Impala tripower 348 is nice also.

Now this I find most promising.

Gardening (my current passion is unsuitable gum trees - when i'm gone I want them to curse me for the 90' monster growing in my yard), making furniture and looking for a job.

My latest display cabinet is a cheap bookcase with extra shelves added and a piece of perspex attached to the front using magnetic cupboard door latches. No need for hinges. To keep small kids out dedicate the bottom half to books and other "boring" stuff. Attach a length of hockeystick moulding to the front of a shelf to hold the bottom of the perspex. If you have varnished shelves then be aware that the plasticisers leaching out of vinyl tyres will react with the varnish and cause the tyres to stick to the shelves. Something you will only discover when you pick up a build and leave a wheel behind. To avoid this I slice up instruction sheets and line the shelves with them.