Ace-Garageguy

Yes, absolutely...but just a dust mask. A respirator would be better, really. The stuff is SO light weight that it tends to float away if you're the least bit horsey handilng it, and it's good to use a mixing container much larger than you'd think, to contain it as much as possible during mixing. Mix your epoxy thoroughly first, and then add micro a little at a time, mixing as you go, until you get the desired consistency. I mix mine on a gram-scale now, to get exactly the same results every time, but not even all guys using the stuff on real sport-planes bother with accurate weights. You develop tricks as you get familiar with it too, like standing upwind of your mixing cup, etc. I did the heavy fill that HAD to be good and last, with epoxy / micro, on top of the center-hood of this build. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=65965

I think the airlines ought to get out of actually flying anybody anywhere, and just rent blankets for $10 for a couple hours. Much higher profit margins and no pesky airplanes and pilots to deal with. Have to bring that up at the next board meeting...

Anybody notice the dealer-option Halibrand-special wheels in the prom-night shot? Keyser mentioned it...never mind.

Yeah, but then some marketing whiz would try to justify charging more for it 'cause it's "Proudly Made in America".

Yeah, I agree, but anybody who would impersonate a fallen soldier has nothing IN his sack in the first place. Just drive a spike through his forehead and be done with it.

I imagine the manual gearbox in your '06 Mustang kit is a Tremec TR-3650. It's basically a redesigned, stronger version of the T-45 it replaced in 2001, and is rated for applications where engine torque is 360 ft/lbs or less. There's also a "remote shifter" version, so you have more latitude as to where you put your shift lever.

Armadildos maybe?

Years ago when the self-checkouts were first introduced, it seemed that functionality was kinda poor and the assistance of a human was regularly required for items that just refused to scan. These days, if I'm in a hurry and only have a few items, I prefer being able to breeze through the pay-process and be on my way, without having to stand behind folks sharing their health problems or baby pictures with a cashier, or who are trying to buy booze with food stamps, or who don't seem to be able to count money, or who can't grasp the difficult technique of sliding the credit-card through the little slot. Me, I like self-checkout...a lot.

Exactly. The tooling was made starting with the old Monogram 1/24 parts as a base, and was improved / modified from there. 3-carb intake manifold, separate exhaust manifolds, etc. But if you look closely at the transmissions, they are identical.

Nice proportions, stance, overall looks and bits. I like your steering box mount too. What's the finned water-pump / engine mount / timing cover from?

My own laziness irked me. I've been so hammered the last few months that when it looked like I could take most of the day off today, i jumped at the chance...even took a nap. Now I'm irked I didn't at least accomplish something small...anything at all. Oh well. On to Taco Bell.

This is the Parts Box engine. This is the Monogram engine it's based on.

The Phantom Vic trans is kinda bobular and not an accurate rendition. In the real world, the T-45 would be fine behind an LS if not subjected to harsh abuse like clutch-dumping and power-shifting. BUT...the T-45 uses an integral bellhousing design where the front plate of the trans case is part of the bellhousing itself, so mounting to different engines (other than the Ford modular unit) requires aftermarket front-plates, bellhousings, adapters, or custom machine work, etc. I believe there is an OEM bellhousing to bolt it to a 5.0 Ford. On the other hand, on a model, most folks aren't going to notice whether your bellhousing bolt-pattern matches an LS properly, if you elect to cut the trans off of the Ford engine at the block-face. You COULD cut it off at the trans-case face and make up a bellhousing that matches the LS if you want additional accuracy (but really, the accuracy of the trans itself is so poor for a T-45, there's not much point). Shifter location can be varied fore-aft also by using aftermarket or custom parts as well.

Un-waxed paper small Dixie bathroom drinking cups work too. You don't have to bother popping the cured epoxy out of the cups if you're neat and don't get the un-mixed goo all over the insides of the cups. Just let the stuff harden up, and mix again over the top of the hardened material. This even works fine on the carefully-controlled, high-strength resins I use on REAL aircraft...which HAVE to be mixed on a gram-scale. Micro-balloon isn't exactly "toxic" either. It's inert glass. You just don't want to inhale it, but it's not an issue at all if you use a little intelligence while handling it.

Either holes in the hood sides, or blisters to cover the corners of the heads will be necessary.

The old 1/24 monogram '41 Continental has a pretty decent engine, which I believe the Parts Box version was developed from. There is a Pyro / Lindberg model of a '48 Continental too, but the engine is horrible. Don't bother.

I certainly would...if I had time. i've got GT-40s, 917 & 911 GT1 Porsches, D-Jags, Ferraris, a Bentley, a couple of Mercs and C5 and C6-R Corvettes waiting in the queue, but no time. i hope you get a big response.

Cool. Not too long ago on a wish-list thread on this forum, a statement was made that there had never been a gen-1 Capri in styrene. I guess that's wrong. Nice start on something unusual.

Yes!! Who did the original concept sketch? Just goes to show there's always something new and different to be done with a '32.

There's an intake for 2 4-bbl carbs in the old AMT '32 Ford kit too. It could be modified fairly easily to be a single 4-bbl.

No, that kit had the Dodge "Red Ram" engine left over from the first generation Ala Kart version of the kit. BUT, the old AMT '32 Ford DOES have Firepower valve covers. The Revell "Miss Deal" Studebaker funny car has chromed stock 392 Firepower covers too. The old AMT engine parts-pack is another source.

Most hobby shops that deal in RC aircraft have acceptable epoxies, and most of them label them as 5 or 30 minute. In general, the LONGER any epoxy takes to cure, the STRONGER it will be. I know this to be indisputable fact from many years in REAL aviation composite structures. Also, in general, the more exact an epoxy must be measured for mixing, the stronger it will be. DO NOT EVER use more "hardener" in epoxy to make it cure faster or in cold weather. This may work to a limited degree with polyester resins, but will RUIN the characteristics of epoxies. "Microballoon" is an inert lightweight powder commonly used, mixed with epoxy, to form a paste that is used as a filler on full-scale and flying-model aircraft. Again, RC aircraft guys know all about it.

I'll take your word and try it again. The last time I used it, several years ago, it was not up to what I needed. I'd like to have another quick adhesive available, so like I said, I'll give it another try.

First off, the 5-minute stuff has very little strength, though it is useful for attaching small parts and temporary work. As a filler with microballoon, 30-minute or longer epoxy gives good adhesion and ease of sanding, but you gotta be kinda careful with the mix ratios to get consistent results. You can use it as an extremely strong structural gap-filler by mixing a little cotton-flock (milled cotton fiber) into it. Decent (not 5-min) epoxy usually gives a stronger bond than CA, and it makes nice weld-fillets of you're doing any custom roll cage scratch-building. Along with everything else, I use it to make repair sections, molds, and reproduction parts. I made molds from the resin shell shown below, to replace missing areas on the old Johan body shell above it. Repair in progress... On the left is a mold made from the red body on the far right. A reproduction of the molded area is shown at center.

Either way is potentially correct, even for an Ardun-equipped engine. Any of the flatheads can be set up for either two-front-block-corner mounts, or one center-engine lower mount. Just remember if you use only a center front mount, you have to use 2 side mounts on the gearbox end so you still get a stable 3-point system. I've seen some of your first rate military work, so I figured you're a detail kinda guy.