Shardik

I love the slightly iridescent sheen of the primered portion. How was this achieved.

Anne, Great work so far, particularly for your first build. You seem like a kindred spirit; jumping right into the deep end of things. You go girl! If you're unfamiliar with all the little bits and pieces that make up an automobile, a great reference source is the advertisements in hot rod magazines. They show detailed photos of individual components (such as master cylinders).

Gregg, I sincerely hope you've been following this thread. Sometimes we all just need to know that our efforts are appreciated. Just as on the evening news, it's often only the negative events that get attention; we take the rest for granted. We often need to be reminded that when things are going well, when something enriches our lives on a regular basis, it's because somebody made that happen through their own effort. I echo the sentiments of all before me in saying: Thank you for your dedication. Also, in my life experience, I have found that when I have been upset or offended by someone it was the product of my own misinterpretation 90% of the time. People do not, as a rule, go out of their way to alienate others - there's no logic in doing so. That said, we're all capable of being thoughtless at times - the old "taking things for granted" thing again. Now, somebody please take this soapbox away from me before I say something I regret.

How's this for a switch: It was my daughter that got me back into the hobby. She has a very close relationship with my Father, who was in the Luftwaffe during WWII. This sparked an interest in military history, which led to building aircraft models. When she asked for my help with her first one it reminded me of how much I enjoyed the hobby when I was younger. Since then, we've done a couple of joint projects with me doing the painting and/or weathering. Which is ironic considering she's an art teacher (different skill set, I guess). She doesn't build cars but has asked me to build a couple for her. In fact, I've been working on a 1930 Bentley that she picked out for about a year now.

AH HA! I just didn't take that extra step. Thanks, Derick. Now I can sleep tonight .

Thanks for the info, Matija. I'm still trying to figure out how Derick knew that . I'll turn in my Spelling Police badge tomorrow .

Uh... How, exactly were you able to determine that, Derick? I couldn't get any exif data from the photo. If your crystal ball is still tuned in, what kind of lens was he using?

I'll be watching this with interest, since I too have one in the que. Let us know if there are any issues with this kit. P.S.: what kind of camera / lens are you using? That is a sharp picture!

Very nice job on the paint. I think this car looks best in a dark color, and you've proven it. One tip with respect to the wiring; on a HEMI the spark plug boots are recessed in depressions in the valve covers, and so do not protrude above the surface. On a model they are best represented with a dab of flat or semi gloss paint where the wire enters the valve cover. Nice work, and nice use of the wire looms.

No pic's? NO PIC'S?!? Your killin' us here! If the rest of the build is up to the standard of your interior (and I have every confidence that it is) I, for one, can't wait to see it.

And no "n"... The Spelling Police strike again.

I too love the look of a truck that's been worked hard, and this one certainly has "the look". If I may make a suggestion; there is a product called Weather-It that would give the wooden bed a look more homogenous with the rest of the truck. It's available in the train section of most hobby shops or from Micro Marc. (That is real wood in the bed, isn't it ?)

Pete, I like the innovative approach to the I-beam axle. Also, very clever jig for the spindle mounts. All in all, with respect to perfecting your artistry I would say you've got it in spades (or should that be Spads? ). Regarding the engine details; it sounds like I should be hitting you up for details instead of of offering my two pfennigs worth . (in fact, I may be hitting you with a p.m. before I start my next Albatross project ) Again; Beautiful and inspirational work.

Believability, accuracy, detail, character. Yep, all the ingredients are there for a real showstopper. I can't read the fine print on the For Sale sign, but I'm guessing it says "some assembly required"

I love the stripped down look with the fenders off. Also, the bed (or what remains of it) is spot on. The battery box is an especially nice touch. As far as diorama building goes, there's allot of inspiration right here on this forum but for more how-to stuff I would recommend some of the military modelling sights. Jenny's Tanks & Things is a great resource.

Fantastic weathering! This thing has just got a ton of character.

Magnificent weathering. You've really brought this one to life.

David, If you have no aversion to e-bay, there's a seller on there by the handle Three Inches Under who sells 1:24 - 1:25 scale hearse and ambulance parts and details. His merchandise is top quality and highly esoteric; everything from caskets to embalming equipment. I've purchased several items from him to attempt to convert the '50 Olds into a "hearse that never was". On a side note, for a little inspiration, do a search for the Hearse Girls .

Jim, As long as you're still adding details, the Daimler DIII engine has two magnetos and two spark plugs per cylinder; one on each side. Also, the camshaft runs along the top of the cylinders with the valves on either side. If you're interested in reference photos I have a couple hundred . On a separate note, if your interested in the aces of WWI, check out this book: About half of it is personal correspondence and after-action reports by the pilots themselves. Fascinating reading.

I've been watching this one, Ira, and it's been a blast (like all your projects)! I sometimes wonder why you bother buying kits at all; I'd love to see what you would do completely from scratch. O.K., now that I've stroked your ego (deservedly); the round portholes just don't seem to go with the lines of this flier. Other than that, I couldn't have done better myself.... Alright, I couldn't come anywhere close to this myself

Ausgezeichnet! Fun concept. It needs a Spandau machine gun on the drivers side to balance the swamp cooler though.

I got the same kind of deal on mine from e-bay. I'm surprised these things are going so cheap; it looks like an awesome kit. I think getting a clean installation on the glass is going to be challenging though.

I've gone both ways on this issue. Generally, I'm looking for a specific vehicle when I go to the LHS. In that case, the only thing I'm looking for on the box is some photographic evidence of what's in the box (assuming I haven't read a review beforehand). The folks at Lindberg taught me to be skeptical in this regard, with their beautiful pictures of 1:1 cars in studio settings that make them look like they could be well made models. There are times, however, when I'm in a rut and looking for inspiration. At these times, since I'm generally looking at unfamiliar subjects, the box art can be the whole justification for the purchase. Since I go into these with minimal expectations in the first place, I'm rarely disappointed.

Thanks for the interest, Glu'. The brass I used is pretty thin, so it wasn't hard to form. To start, I used a PE bending jig to bend the tangs to 90 degrees about 2/3 from the bottom of the slots. I then interleave the hinges on a flat surface, and tape them down. Next, lay the hinge pin between the upturned tangs, and using a hard object, such as a micro chisel, bend one tang over at each end, to secure the pin, then repeat over and over and over and ..... I'll post some pictures of the process tomorrow to clarify what I'm talking about.

Thanks for the second look, Alyn. A lot of the detail in the interior didn't show up very well in the photos. For example, the duct tape on the seats, the stuffing peeking through the split seams and the worn carpet on the floor. I also made the bracket for the C.B. from .010" aluminum sheet with scale hardware bolts for the pivots. For now, I'm kind of struggling with the hinges for the side curtains on the hood: getting enough glue surface without covering the louvers and still maintain strength in the hinge. Experiment #7 underway.