Ace-Garageguy

Looks to be a beautiful model, and I'll be in for several (it's the perfect donor kit for several back-burner projects I have too...the chassis will be going under a model of my own '63 Olds convertible). I've always particularly liked this Pontiac design. It has a light, agile but aggressive feel, and it looks to me as though Moebius has done a fine job of capturing the overall look and presence of the car.

Man...THAT is a slick little tool.

You're right of course, and I simply used the wrong term. "Molding in" of the front lights, while correcting the lines, and conversion to a one-piece flip-up nose, is what I had in mind. Good to know. Thanks.

Nice tool. I haven't seen that particular one before, but in function, it's a scaled-down version of the ones we use for fuel, brake and other metallic tubing in the real-car world. This type of cutter does tend to crimp the tube somewhat at the cut, so the inside of the tube may still need to be dressed.

Oh yes...

You need a very fine-tooth blade for a razor saw to give good results. I use a 32 tpi (tooth-per-inch) razor saw in a miter box. Works very well for me, though the ends usually need to be dressed slightly after cutting...but this is SOP when cutting any kind of metal with any kind of tool.

Yes, a 4-71 is appropriate for a LOT of street engines, over a long time. Build styles may come and go, but a blown engine is a joy forever. And Greg...do you happen to know anything about those alloy Olds heads in your last shot? Last time I looked for real aluminum 1st-gen Olds OHV V8 (303-394) heads, I came up dry.

It's pretty crazy here. Not the same office as handles taxes and registration, but an entirely different paper mill...inefficient and long-lined in spite of the "take-a-number" technology. Had to take current proof-of-address, passport (or certified birth certificate) social security printout from the kiosk on-site at the license office, AND my expiring licence. Counter personnel much more interested in talking and laughing with each other than doing actual work and moving clients through the process. I asked them...since I had my old licence, and the old photo looked like me (awful), how could I have become someone else in the past 5 years? Crickets chirping...

You can see the one-piece seat / interior insert dead center in this shot... ...and looking down on it assembled, like zo... (Tim Boyd model)

I bought one of these not too long ago because 1) it was 1/2 price and 2) I really love the box art. The proportions are pretty good overall...except for the nose...but I've known about the problems with the 4-eyed AMT Corvettes for years. No surprise there. I plan to do an M/SP drag car with it anyway, and I'll be covering the headlights and using a different frame...the kit's two biggest shortcomings. There's a lot of good stuff in the box, so even with the known problems, it's worth buying...unless you want an accurate stocker.

The blower isn't going to be a deal-breaker for me if they don't change it. I've got a bunch of wonky-looking blower housings from a lot of kits over the years that will never make it to a model of mine anyway. I'll just toss this one in with the rest of the sorry rejects if necessary. But wouldn't it be nice to get a GOOD, new-tool 6-71?

Just about everything Revell made with a blower in the '60s...

It used to be brutal here...prepare to spend the day, pack a lunch. But in the last several years, this state (or this county, anyway) has done a truly remarkable job of streamlining the process. Last several times I've been there, the wait hasn't been over 10 minutes, and every rep I've dealt with has been smart, professional and knew the laws...and the right forms. It certainly didn't used to be that way. You'd get told two different procedures by two different reps. It's really a pleasure to deal with a government agency that works well. Unusual, but quite nice.

Time does seem to accelerate for us old fossils. It feels like Christmas comes every couple of months now, so who wants to waste time waiting in the Postal Orifice?

It's pretty good overall. The length and width are right, and it will actually fit the Revell fenders and frame fairly easily, if you want to go that way. Some real '32s did actually get sectioned, and probably some of them got sectioned because they were rotten at the bottom, where they'd been sitting in damp for years. The AMT '32 body shell will build up into a very presentable model too. Here's one of many I currently have in the pipeline. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=59708

This is the original source for your Bantam...

The black body is the old AMT version of the '32 Ford roadster. Now you have first-hand evidence of the "sectioning" job AMT did on these. All the AMT '32 Ford kits are too short at the cowl, and take significant rework to correct...if you want to. This is the AMT '32 Victoria, and the amount of meat it takes to get it right (which the Revell 3-window kit on the left, and your 5-window kit are). Same for ALL AMT '32 Fords (except the repackaged MPC-based kits...which are also too short at the cowl, but by a different amount). The chrome frame is from the Revell Orange Crate kit.

Fascinating locomotive, definitely. I've never seen or even imagined anything like that. Very nice re-work too.

No, it's a Spalding Flamethrower distributor...NOT a magneto. A magneto generates its own spark. The Spalding Flamethrower does not. It uses two EXTERNAL coils, unlike a mag of the era, which had its "coils" internally.

Though it looks much like one, it's not in fact a magneto. It's a high-output coil-type distributor called a Spalding Flamethrower Here's a wiring diagram.

The resin kit pictured above does have some significant differences in the shapes of the rear fender flares (including the tuck-in of the shape of the flares into the tail area), the width of the ducktail spoiler aft of the flares, and the resolution of the side-mounted brake-cooling scoops into the rear flares. Which one in right for which version of the car?

This bears repeating...: The blowers in the '60s Revell kits and parts packs are much more authentic. There lies the source of our frustration: they nailed it 40+ years ago (same with the A firewall), there's no excuse for "good enough" now.

I do all my own wiring as well, both house and shop AC, and 12/24 volt DC automotive and aircraft. I've been doing it for more than 40 years and I'm anal-retentively careful. This is the '47 Caddy I'm doing at the moment. My uncle was a radio tech in the Army, really thought he had a lock on wiring and electricity. They found him in his own attic when he started to stink enough to alarm the neighbors. He lived alone and was installing a whole-house fan. Oops. If you don't REALLY understand what you're doing, don't.

If you're not VERY familiar with 120 / 240 volt AC house power systems, function and theory, DO NOT DO YOUR OWN ELECTRICAL WORK. And I mean REALLY UNDERSTAND it. Just one seemingly small mistake, one little thing overlooked, and you or a family member can become very very dead.