Ace-Garageguy

Good comments above, and I hope I didn't sound like I was trying to discourage you. Many of my period builds are of things that could have been done, but to my knowledge, weren't. A custom "53 with the Ardun conversion is a natural, really, and to do it in 1:1 would be far simpler than swapping other engines from different manufacturers.

Frankly, I agree entirely. This is hardly the world we were promised back in the 1950s, and the technology exists to have solved a great many more of humanity's problems than has been utilized intelligently to do so. But what do we see? Primarily...tech as toys. Again, it all comes down to greed for money, greed for political power, and fear of change. But you still have to applaud the people who are doing something visible to move us forward as a species. The Elon Musks and Burt Rutans (and even the much-maligned Mr. Gates) of the world who actually get things done realized early in the game that you have to have money and connections to accomplish the big things. Progress doesn't happen because of some genius idealist working in a vacuum. And waiting for the other guy, or the government...well, it'll be a LONG wait. There is so much resistance to change, and so much literal hatred and badmouthing of people like Musk, that it's kind of remarkable anything worthwhile ever gets done at all.

Development takes time and money. Battery tech has come a long LONG way in just the past 20 years. This self-launching REAL airplane would have been physically impossible just a few years ago.

West System epoxy is still around. It's certified for use on some kitplanes (real ones). I also use the West 105 resin as the base for my microballoon filler, when I want something that I know won't give me any trouble down the road. http://www.westsystem.com/ss/105-epoxy-resin/

Sure, it could have been done. Probably wasn't, because there were only 250 or so pairs of original Ardun heads made, and most of them ended up in race cars. But it would sure make a cool car. As far as other appropriate engines go,all you need to think of is what was available in junkyards during the time your car model represents. A '53 Ford, in 1960, could have any engine built up 'til 1960, of course. Both the Caddy and Olds OHV V8 engines came out in '49, so there were plenty in the junkyards by '53. Also bear in mind that not a lot of brandy-new cars got customized. Ones that did were usually at least several years old, because a lot of the custom thing had to do with building something as good or better than a new production car, but cheaper. If your '53 Ford custom is supposed to have been built in say, '57, then a '55-'57 smallblock Chevy is entirely appropriate. Nailhead Buicks, Ford Y-blocks and Chrysler, Dodge and DeSoto Hemi engines all became available in the early '50s too.

OK, whose battery tech impresses you? And why?

Yup, stance is looking good. Nice work relocating the spring hangers. Just like real.

100% correct. Though you may not notice degrading performance with the low-end epoxies people usually use on models, industrial and aviation epoxies are considered to have shelf lives ranging from 6 months to two years, or thereabouts (from the time of manufacture, not the time of purchase). Carefully controlled testing will show a slow decline in how well the stuff works over time, and it's even illegal to use some of it that's gone out of date in certain applications...like aviation...though it still seems to work perfectly well...sorta. Andy is right about heat being a factor too. Keeping your materials cool, sealed, and in a low-humidity environment is a good way to prolong their life, and measuring / mixing carefully, even with the hardware-store "50-50" grades, will give you the best possible results.

I've never encountered anything that was "unbuildable", but I've encountered a few that were so awful that I thought to myself "what's the point??" Probably the worst kit I have is a Lindberg '40 Ford that's short-shotted AND warped badly...just not worth the effort to save, 'cause there are so many nice '40 Ford kits on the shelf. But I keep even the really really horrible stuff, 'cause you just never know when a part from something otherwise useless might be just the thing you need for something cool. And yes, "unbuildable" is in the eye of the beholder...entirely.

Oh yeah, but people always think I'm being a mean SOB when I rag about incompetent people doing half-assed work...everywhere...

Several guys have mentioned using bilge-fans made for boats. They have to be "explosion-proof" ("ignition-protected") to qualify for marine use, and can sometimes be found cheep. You'll need a 12V DC power supply as well. Here's a 4" 240 CFM fan. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rule-240-Inline-Bilge-Blower-fan-For-Inboard-and-I-O-Boats-4-240-CFM-/231516685776?hash=item35e77845d0&vxp=mtr

What annoyed me at one time was a female body-shop "manager" who didn't have the first clue as to what she or anyone else in the shop was doing. Couldn't write any kind of usable estimate because she didn't actually know how a car is put together, what the parts were called, or which systems might have crash-related damage...but she'd argue all day if you gently tried to teach her anything. Kinda like a know-it-all guy (who doesn't) with boobs. But I'M ALL FOR WOMEN GETTING EQUAL PAY AND RESPECT FOR EQUAL KNOWLEDGE AND WORK. And I've known plenty of male "shop managers" who were just as clueless and arrogant as this bidge was. Equality, see? Yeah baby.

Yup.

Besides wiping them off carefully immediately after use, I find that keeping tubes of anything, including epoxies, standing on end with the cap up (in something like an old coffee cup) pretty well eliminates the mess from leakage.

Indeed. Great colors for it too. And from where I'm sitting, your BMF work looks just about flawless. Impressive and certainly inspirational.

Nice one. I'm liking the Rocket Bunny look more and more. Are those rising-sun endplates on the wing PE parts?

Cool hot-rodski, definitely. I've always liked Fiats, and a sleeper Lada should be a to of fun.

If only. That would get me interested in current events again.

A agree with Steve...nice job on a very rarely seen kit. I don't think I even really knew it HAD been kitted.

Yes sir, this one definitely has style and character all its own. I like the rake, the channel, the raised and bobbed fenders...pretty cool.

Everything weasel said is true, but you also run the risk of obliterating any fine details if you just primer over the paint and then paint some more. Excessive finish-material thickness is something you really want to avoid. In general, if the model is worth doing a nice job on, it's worth the time and effort to strip it.

Much the same could have been said of cars in general when they were first available...they were primarily not-too-practical toys for rich folks to flaunt their wealth with. And computers? Something with a tiny fraction of the power of a smartphone would have cost millions. Most complex manufactured products follow a similar trajectory. Time will tell.

https://youtu.be/TDm6Snkle70

What if 3D printing was 100 times faster??

Thanks for asking, Wayne. I just got some pix of the underside of a real '32 decklid, and since I opened this one, I'll be doing something soon to represent that. I wanted to get the '28 lakes car at least to the point where the primer was shrinking-in before getting sidetracked.