deja-view

Most of what I build are large scale kits that are long OOP. I rarely start a 1/12, 1/8, 1/16 scale of any other OOP kit unless I have a duplicate kit on hand. Breaking or losing a critical part (or, a missing part) is a killer unless there is a way to continue. It's stupidly expensive, but once the original kit is done, or if I decide to do another version of the car, the spare gets sold.

Reference, reference, reference! Gathering pieces, parts, anything to add detail or realism. Then, even after painting and polishing, I get bogged down in details or hyper-idiotic OCD paralysis that most of them sit for years waiting to be finished.

Who's showing American Lemans series this year? I think I've been able to catch less than one hour of the big Le Mans race in the past 5 years because the scheduling and promo is such BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH. Le Mans, Rolex, Sebring, WRC are fun to watch. Nascar has become a little more interesting since the Busch brothers have been involved, but I'm so sick of the over-promotion of Danica Patrick is sickening. But I don't find any racing on Fox anymore.

Ah, yes...the "Forward Look". I'm not sure if I have told this before, but my mom bought a '56 Belvedere in 1957. It was turquoise and white, 4 dr. sport sedan, had everything but the kitchen sink in options, including the single 4bbl hemi engine (332? 354?). It was a boulevard cruiser for sure; sat so low she got stopped by the CHP and he took a pack of cigarettes out and slid them underneath to see if it could clear. I guess it did because he let us go. It had that huge A/C unit in the trunk that blew ice cold air right at the back of your neck. It was kind of a tank, but could burn rubber down the block and suck down about a gallon of premium to do it. Oddly, we moved a couple of years later to a little town called Loomis. We rented a small apt over a garage on a fruit farm, and the owner had parked right next to us a gleaming white 1956 Fury with the gold trim and the hopped up dual quad hemi. It was gorgeous. I always thought GM stole their 1957 Chevy design from the '56 Plymouth (same kind of fins), but obviously the Chevy was a much bigger hit. Anyway, your model is great. I don't think I've even seen a '56 Plymouth model unless it was an old dealer promo. Great job, Rich.

I spotted one of the coupes for sale....$257. I didn't mind paying the price for a car I really want, but without any opening panels or engine detail? Not so much. They also make a really nice looking '50's Jaguar Salon...but again, none of the detail stuff that makes a model more interesting.

Thinking of display cabinet/cases and shelves, what is the total height of the Mighty Mo when completed?? With and without the stands I guess.

Looking better and better, Chris. I'm glad you're staying with it.

When I was in high school my dad had a new '66 Ambassador coupe, and sold it a few years later with only about 10,000 miles on it. It was a very, very nice car, but I'm not sure what the impression might have been if I was in high school 10 years later driving one. My mom was more "thrifty" and drove a '60 Rambler American 2 dr. station wagon. We called it the "little pig", but with that indestructible flathead 6 and the overdrive tranny it would pass just about anything in second gear (just like the song said). The fully reclining seats were outstanding at the drive-ins. Anyway, this Jo-Han Rambler looks great!

I've built the Testarossa Spyder and a bunch of the Porsche "911"'s, and had an F40 I thought I wanted to do the whole bit on until I saw how crudely the main components of the whole car were produced. I think the upgrade/detail supplemental parts are the only way it makes the F40 worth it. I've seen one that was very, very nice. But to do the real car justice, and justify the price of the transkit you'll need to strip the paint off, prep the surface properly, and do a quality respray and polishing job.

That's a magnificent job.....but a horrible thing to contemplate on a real XKE.

A little bigger than Reader's Digest. I have a stack of different ones from the 1950's, and I'd bet they are 1/2 size of regular magazines (or a little more) so they could use 1/2 the paper.

Hosted on Fotki Just thought I'd post up some old pics of my '77 XJ6C that I restored in the late 1980's. I think the yellow was much nicer than the poop.

That Jag is interesting. I have wanted an XJC for years as I used to own a beautiful '77 XJ6C for a few years. I removed the vinyl top (they all rust underneath), stripped of the odd mustard/baby poop color and repainted it a mellow Cadillac yellow, and then a complete new interior including a new wood dash. It was a very, very nice road car. Hosted on Fotki As to Neo's version of this timeless classic: the XJC's were only made for a few years, all "Series II" cars. The wheels on Neo's are "Series III" which didn't exist until a few years later. The fluted-looking grill shell is a bit odd since all of the Jag shells were beautifully smooth. He certainly captured the beautiful lines of the car, though. I'd be tempted if I could recreate a set of the true Series II wheels and hubcaps (I still have an original set of the caps with the Jag head centers). I might just give it a shot since there is no other replica of the C model in 1/18 scale as far as I know.

That really is beautiful. I often wondered if this model can be made to sit a little lower to the ground???

That rusty deuce is incredibly cool...possibly one of the best I've seen and a "favorites" keeper. But then...that ratty roadster (Jag) is also amazing. They look like much more fun to build that way, too. Great job!

Wasn't his son (Chris), also a race driver, murdered on Blue Diamond Rd. outside Las Vegas a few years back???

The 928 is a great touring car...nos would make it very interesting when you wanted to kill off some Mustang or ricer, but the thought of dynamiting a Porsche engine is painful. On the MK II: I had an old aunt who drove a MK I (1946 I believe), and took my brother and I to the movies in it when we were in L.A. about 1959-60. It was cool, but what a tank. My first "want" model was the MK II. It wasn't really a buildable model, but my aunt got one of the dealer promo models...cream with red interior. That Continental kit on the back was the best.

Your MKII is beautiful. We have an Elvis impersonator here who drives a white one BUT........nos on a 928??? Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Ever thought of gold LeMans stripes on that black? Someone should photoshop it.

Something that will help me get set up again so I can get back to building: A DeWalt 18V "compact" drill/driver kit (driver + charger + 2 batteries. I never liked battery powered drills because they didn't have enough power or the batteries would self-destruct in a couple of months. But I borrowed my brother-in-law's DeWalt about a month ago to put up some heavy duty shelves that required #12 X 3-1/2" screws into studs. The DeWalt handled them like it was putting up a picture frame. The better news: I got the entire set (normally well over $200 for all of the parts) for $99 at Lowe's. Even better, - 10% for my military ID. Now, I can get back to finishing the shelves, etc. in my new hobby room (when I get back up to Rocklin). And, I won't have to feel guilty for hanging on to my b.i.l.'s tools. YAY!

Interesting how Revell got the number of hood vent openings correct on this model, but blew it by adding a third vent on their 1/12 scale diecast (both race and street versions). Obviously, the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing.

Looks good John. If you could scribe the front door gap at the front fender panel for a little more separation it would give more realism. About 3/8" +- was pretty standard back then.

I had a pretty good worktop area when I started out in my Las Vegas home...but it soon got covered with "everything else". Two 30" X 96" tops, plus computer desk, plus a 24" X 60" side shelf became a holding area for everything that came into the room. I found myself taking my stuff out to the kitchen eating area table (36 X 72) to build on.....but you can imagine how that worked out. So....with our move to NorCal I started over in my new hobby/office room. I built special shelving for all the built models and diecasts I like to display so I won't be tempted to put them on the "work" top surfaces. If I ever get everything finished, put away, put in place, and cleared off I'll be good to go. So far, I've set up a 75" X 30" primary worktop with shelving in front for tools and parts. Behind that (as I turn my chair around), I have a cool top space that's 36" X 49", supported by two 36 X 36 hobby desks that each have a full width drawer. I got these from Goodwill for about $15(?) each. They face each other so I can work from either side. Alongside that there is my computer desk (24" X 60") and an added top over shelves that's 18" X 60". That center-of-the-room area is a total of 29.5 square FEET. Does that sound like enough (total of 9 + 29.5 = 28.5 square feet...plus the individual shelves under and over). So, the question is...........how long will it take to fill the top space with so much stuff that I can't build a model on any of it? No pics yet, but I might take some of this evolving work in progress. If I can maintain any of my sanity while I figure out how to get this set up, I'll take a few pics as i go. It's a darn good thing I have a wife who acknowledges my need to be OCD about my work areas. Of course, there is a price.

I love the Lotus 72D. I built the Tamiya 1/12 kit back around 1978, but time took its toll on it. So, over the past 10+ years I gathered up 4 of the 1/8 72D kits and some extra parts to boot. It is one of the cars I truly hope to get time to build someday...in several versions. I did experiment on the rear wing with those old decals. I trimmed as much of the yellowing extra film off as I could, then laid the stripes down and used a mild clearcoat over it. It's ok, but not as good as I want for sure. I'm going to try the Future "under and over" method next to see if that will preserve them and let them lay down flat. I also had the 1/8 McLaren, but I got a really good offer and let it go for....nah, I don't even want to tell yoouo how much. Actually, I saw the JPS race at Caesar's Palace Grand Prix in the mid-late '70's I am pretty sure. The markings are unmistakeable, and I think it was before the next model they raced. I checked google to refresh my memory and it says the CPGP was 1981-82, with Andretti running a Lola-Cosworth, but I'm pretty sure his was not the JPS. In fact, a Utube video says he was driving an Alfa, but that's not what the records say. I guess it was Nigel Mansell driving the JPS car. Anyway, the thing I remember most about the whole race was the shrill scream of the cars was completely drowned out by the outrageously loud speakers above us in the stands..and the constant chattering of the announcer. It was pretty horrible.