Ace-Garageguy

Aha !! It's apparently based on the turbine in the first Howmet turbine car (of which there is a kit also), a Continental TS325.

Casey, right off hand I don't know what engine the Can Am is supposed to be. The PT6 has the power takeoff on the exhaust end, and the Huey output shaft goes through the air filter. The ST6 in the Lotus used a chain-drive transfer case to get power to the 4WD, but it didn't look like what you have there.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-25-Revell-Parts-Pack-Turbine-Engine-/200795082950?pt=Diecast_Vehicles&hash=item2ec051d0c6#ht_500wt_1413

There is also a gas-turbine automotive engine kit, quite highly detailed, available as a vintage Revell Parts Pack. It doesn't seem to be in very high demand, and I've seen it pretty cheap on ebay. The Huey Lycoming engines were rated from about 700 to 1400 shaft-horsepower, while the Lotus indy ST6 was a development of the Pratt &Whitney PT6, and was rated at only around 400 shaft-horsepower, if I remember correctly. It is also much smaller that the Huey powerplant, so that may influence your choice. For what it's worth, the Johan Chrysler Turbine Car has an entirely different turbine design (which was rated at only about 150 HP), but it comes complete with an automatic gearbox.

Again, thanks for the interest and feedback. I've decided to keep it a 4-door, so I'll raise the lower door cut-lines and reshape the rear wheel wells. I'm looking for a front axle with a lot of drop to avoid doing IFS, as I have a set of drilled radius rods for both ends I'd like to use. I'm thinking the interior will be AMT phantom-Vickie based.

The one I favor is the POWDER that comes in the round container. You can use BonAmi, or any of the other similar products, even the generic one if your store has it. It's just a cleaner made for scrubbing bathtubs and the like. With bleach is okay, and it works great on the porcelain tubs too. The LIQUID is usually a finer grit, and it is really good for cleaning NEW parts that don't have old paint or stripper residue on them. It also works well on fiberglass showers and tubs that the powder will make dull after a while.

This is going to get moved to the "how do I " section pretty quickly, but for now, the answer really depends on how low you want to go. Just as in lowering a 1:1 car, the BEST way to do it on ANY independent front suspension is to RAISE the front stub axle relative to the spindle or kingpin. It's pretty easy. Simply CAREFULLY cut the stub axle off the kingpin and raise it the amount you want to drop the car. If it's a fairly THICK stub, make sure it's square with the spindle and glue it back on with something like Tenax liquid cement that has a lot of penetrating strength and dries pretty fast. Like I said, make sure it's square and you do both sides exactly the same. For a THIN or small diameter stub, what works best for me is to cut it off, drill a hole in the spindle to accept a piece of styrene or metal rod the same diameter as the stub, but raised the same amount you want to drop the car. Glue it in, and again be very sure it's square, and that both sides match exactly. A more severe drop takes surgery to raise the control arms relative to the chassis.

I'm much liking the heavy mods and the look already.

What they said. Just over-the-top too-cool. And that metalflake really makes it.

I counted up my works-in-progress last night, and I've got 16 in regular rotation ....actually getting worked on fairly regularly (2 of which are getting close to completion), and another 62 that are being worked occasionally, or are getting parts-collected (all of which have been mocked-up, and have a definite direction), and that sometimes come out and replace one of the regular-rotation builds when I get stuck for more than a week or two. I'm a little hesitant to start anything new at this point, but I keep getting so many ideas, and if I don't at least mock-up something with notes, I'll forget it. I kind of like being able to jump around on these hobby projects as a relief from having to focus very narrowly on real-life projects until completion. Any other perspectives?

Over the past 5 or so years that I've been completely back in the hobby, I've found I enjoy rebuilding gluebombs probably more than building from virgin kits. Some of this derives, I'm sure, from a lot of my real-life work having been done in restoration or crash repair, and correcting other people's messes. I just seem to be wired to want to fix things. There is also the attraction of being able to get subject matter to re-build that would be rare, expensive, and a shame to cut up if complete and nice. Because I tend to modify things heavily, I'd just sometimes rather start with a piece of cast-off junk. Kind of just like building customs and rods in reality. Here are three of my ongoing rebuilds from trash, or kits started by someone else.... http://www.modelcars...opic=58538&st=0 http://www.modelcars...showtopic=59708 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=58969&hl=%2Borange+%2Bhauler+%2Bradical

Personally, I'd recommend scrubbing thouroughly with Comet and an old toothbrush after stripping. Sanding can round-off details and is hard to get in all the little crevices. Comet, on the other hand, besides being gentle on the details while still getting into all the little places where old paint tends to stick, also does a better job, in my humble opinion, than soapy water of removing all of the residue from whatever stripper you used. Because Comet is a light abrasive, kind of like very fine liquid sandpapar, it also gives the surface enough tooth so that further sanding is un-necessary for good primer adhesion. Again, just my opinion, but very well tested and found to be an excellent procedure.

Okay, I'm a dumb guy. Duh. You mean that big 1/16 on the box actually means something and I should have noticed it? Duh. Duh.

Hey boys and girls, check this out.....looks like they DID make one............. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Model-Kit-57-Chevy-Bel-Air-Convertible-/220944388968?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33714fd368#ht_500wt_1413

I do, because I usually do heavy mods and a lot of bodywork. If you're just sanding mold lines off of an otherwise good body (with 400 or 600 wet), then sandable primer is all you need. It simply depends on the degree of filling you want the primer to do.

In my humble experience, they're both "sandable"..........(as opposed to some enamel primers and primer-sealers which need to be left unsanded to insure an unbroken surface film which will impede penetration of the solvents from subsequent coats). "Filler primer" is generally thought of as "high-build-primer", and often labeled as such. A thin coat will dramatically highlight flaws in raw bodywork you might have trouble seeing otherwise. It builds quick with successive coats, covers fast, and fills small irregularities, course sanding scratches, etc. in bodywork. In high humidity or when using multiple coats, it can take a few days to shrink in fully, and to be ready to sand. I will usually prime bodywork with Duplicolor Gray Filler Primer, allow it to fully dry, then sand the worked area and primer again, and repeat as necessary until I have the surface finished to my satisfaction, sanded up to 400 or 600 grit wet. Because it is high-build, it will also tend to obliterate details if used excessively. "Sandable primer" is just that....it can be sanded to remove very minor imperfections, slight orange peel, or dust nibs. It is NOT a high-build product and is intended to fill maybe 400 grit sanding scratches in your work, to provide a tooth or adhesion coat for paint, or to change the color of the substrate and so effect the final color. I often use Duplicolor Sandable White Primer as the last coat of primer under translucent colors, like the lighter Testors one-coat metallic lacquers (gold, orange, etc). It does a nice job of brightening the color, and fills the 400 or 600 grit scratches left from the final sanding of the Filler Primer. I usually final-sand the sandable primer with 1000 to 1500 grit wet, again, to remove any slight orange peel or dust nibs, prior to shooting color.

I've been thinking of doing a Renault Dauphine gasser-style for a while. Definitely a "what if", as I don't think the body shell would have been legal as anything but an altered, or maybe competition coupe. This CB might light the fire.

I've bought several Showboats over the years for parts. There are 4 injected Buick nailheads, two big quick-change rear ends, and 4 M&H Racemaster slicks plus a bunch of other stuff for modifying. The exhaust stacks don't have to be a problem....there is a fixture that comes in the kit to help with the assembly and alignment. The kit is challenging but will build up beautifully with careful fitting.

There was a Monogram "Metalflake Corvette Roadster", I assume 1/24....no specific year on the box. I don't know if this counts as a separate issue.....seems like it would.

Thank you AK_Invader. I've heard only good things about R&M. Must be time for me to give him a try. Thanks again....that could really get this project steaming along.

Only time I got burned was when I sent some Revell '31 Woody wheels, tires and a hood assembly to a guy in England. Seems the people at the postal orifice / customs office there misunderstood the value I'd placed on the parts ( $.50) and interpreted it as $50. They charged him a pretty hefty import tax, so he stiffed me instead of taking the problem up with them. Ach well.

Very VERY nice. It is indeed one of the most challenging kits, and you've done a fine job. I recently bought 5 of these as gluebombs from one builder who just kept trying and trying and couldn't quite hit it.

I've been looking into this for some time, trying to get some to finish my '32 wedge-channeled roadster. The brushes I had in stock that seemed to have the best variety and no seam are labeled Aleene's. Though they DO have 2 ribs on the big end, a careful razor saw cut and cleanup would fix it. They don't look like expensive brushes, so a visit to Michaels or Hobby Lobby would most likely turn up something usable. I've also read of guys using the tapered nozzle from the super-glue tubes, though nothing much will stick to that particular plastic, and it's difficult to cut and shape clean. I've also thought of putting some aluminum tube in the lathe, and seeing if I could gently force a taper into it using a tapered mandrel, well lubed up.

That sounds like some great advice Art, obviously the product of much experience and experimentation. I'm not always happy with my own airbrush results and resort to rattle-cans much of the time, which I've pretty well mastered. I'm going to try your approach and really pay attention to the results. Thanks.

Thin-film photovoltaics are being used on some electric sport-aircraft, and have been incorporated into a few concept cars. The drawbacks to using them on production vehicles are currently 1) fragility....they won't last long enough in an environment that includes car-washes and people throwing briefcases and purses on the roof; and 2) they don't lend themselves easily to forming compound-curves. Though a car roof isn't heavily sculpted, it's curvy enough to preclude being easily covered by a material that is normally formed in very flat sheets. Some of the thin-films will happily flex in one dimension, but not 2 simultaneously. Here's a quick overview. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_film_solar_cell The technology is developing rapidly however, with paint-on solar cell material becoming a reality. Once the durability issues are solved, we will see it becoming common.