Ace-Garageguy

Great job on the engine mounts, crossmember and driveshaft hoop. love the twin-blown Hemi in this too.

.....Here's a very fine entry by Marcus Jones, with an exceptional scratchbuilt frame, and it also appears to have won nothing. He may be too humble to post it here himself, so I'll do it for him. This model is certainly worth looking at for any of you who haven't seen it before. The lack of recognition of this build is another reason why I'm interested in the EXACT interpretation of the rules concerning 50% content in the unlimited class, and what the judging criteria were. Personally, I would have to give this one top marks. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=58199

All I can say is ....wow. I'm really impressed to see someone actually debating the relative morality of a small issue like this. I certainly wish it would happen more often. So many times, people tend to sweep a small windfall under the rug (like getting an extra $10 in change at the store and not saying anything about it), in the hopes no one will notice. How nice to see someone who actually wants to do the right thing. Bravo.

Another couple of pennies worth from me regarding Scale-Master's remarks above...... I've only recently got to the point in modeling where I have the skills necessary to finish some of the more ambitious projects I've started over the last few years I've been back in the hobby. I tend to push my limits and got in a little over my head on several, but now that I've stayed with it and finally finished one (with many flaws I see but no one else seems to mind), it's a lot easier for me to dive back into the ones that have been tucked away waiting for my skills to develop sufficiently. I'm not talking about perfection, but I DO have a clear limit as to the level-of-quality and workmanship I can be satisfied with, and if I know I can't achieve it, I'll stop the build until I can.

No problem, man. Sometimes I need a boot in the backside. It's boxed, addressed and will be winging its way to you tomorrow AM.

Geez, I guess I'd better get that engine on the way quick-like, eh? I'm going to box it right now............

Well, since this is now labelled the "official" Revell / Gearz thread, I'll post my own entry one more time. I know, I'm a jerk, but I'd really like to see the judging sheets. I'm wondering if my entry was received (again no confirmation email), and if so, if it was disqualified for some reason, maybe the 50% rule. I'd sure like to know how to do better next time. While we're at it, I frankly think the 50% parts rule in the "unlimited" class was vague and open to several interpretations (50% of the parts in the box had to be used? 50% of the parts on the model had to come FROM the box? 50% by weight? 50% by counting individual parts on the completed model?). Anyway, I sincerely congratulate the builders of the cars that had what it took to win and place. 4" scale top-chop, flush-fitted windshield. Chevelle kit-chassis center-section with Corvette C5R ends, rails and suspension. Chevell kit engine, modified with front mounted blower and magneto. Scratch-built hood gills, upper roll cage, through-frame exhausts. Chevelle kit optional wheels with turned alloy rims to fit the C5R tires. Opened deckild. Through-deck vintage Indy-car fuel filler. Full custom rear panel with Corvette C5 taillights. Filled, narrowed and painted front bumper. Chevelle kit instrument panel, modified to fit cage. Testors Flaming Orange and 3 coats of clear lacquer. Lots more, and nowhere to list any of it on the entry form. PS. I'm really glad this contest came up. I hadn't finished a build in years, caught up in that "perfectionist" trap. The competition gave me something to shoot for, time-wise. Finishing one and having it to look at on the shelf plus the resulting inspiration to finish some more....well, it's a lot more important to me than winning anyway. One of the better quotes from racing: "you can't win if you don't finish". Yup.

The Avanti body tooling (it was fiberglass) and design rights went through several hands, and the car was produced by several companies after Studebaker's demise. Some versions were equipped with small-block Chevy engines. The last incarnation of the Avanti II was being produced in very limited numbers not far from my home in Georgia as late as 2007. The company went under, and I haven't followed developments since. Raymond Loewy, a very sucessful and well known industrial designer (he did much beautiful work, from steam locomotives to pencil sharpeners) is widely credited with the design of the Avanti, as well as the other groundbreaking Studebaker, the 1953-4 Starlight / Starliner. There have been several slippery Avantis built for Bonneville, which makes an interesting basis for a model. There were also some Stude-built supercharged cars. The AMT kit has opening doors, and some elements of the interior are somewhat under-scaled.

Absolutely perfect weathering. Looks like all my 1:1s now.

Great looking build. There's a lot about this model that really appeals to me. Sure wish they still ran cars like this every weekend.

I just looked at my Monogram '56 'Bird chassis, and the only part of the exhaust system molded in on miy issues is the mufflers and a section of pipes inside the chassis X-member. It would be relatively easy and straightforward to remove only this section of floor and replace it with sheet styrene. If you happen to have a Monogram Predicta kit lying around, it also has an appropriate chassis (based on a '57 'Bird), and the molded-in exhausts are outboard of the frame rails so it MIGHT be easier to modify, but I'd go with the original chassis. While the Mustang chassis might fit sort-of, it is for a unibody car, and the 'Bird is body-on-frame. If you care at all about engineering accuracy, it would be a tremendous amount of work in 1:1 to mate the 'Bird to a Mustang. Still, it is possible and might make for a very interesting updated concept.

I always thought this was a beautiful body design. Understated and elegant, but still powerful and agressive. Your build does it justice.

Wow. I really appreciate your attention to detail and historical accuracy. Beautiful stuff.

Looking forward to watching this progress......

Your engine wiring looks good, as noted above. The Ford Y-block had the plugs under the headres and you did the wiring just right. Nice work. Is this the Monogram 1/24 kit? I've never built it, but I have several built-ups on the shelf waiting to get re-worked. I'm wondering what is the fit issue you're having with the engine in the bay. Is the distributor fouling the firewall?

I like it like it LIKE it. I like the flames precisely because they don't predictably go with the rest of the build, but I think they do work, and set it apart from being just another pretty resto-rod. it looks like the edges have a little blue that picks up the interior color too. And even though the curve of the flame doesn't match the curve of the wheelwell, the curves are related, and I think the particular layout of the flame pulls the eye away from the heavy nose of the car, which can be overpowering on these. I like those directional wheels too. Even though I find them too busy for a lot of cars, there's so much going on with the Edsel styling that it needs some visually strong wheels. In short, great looking build !!

The roof works well. Love the seat inserts.

Wow man, that's a cool as it gets. Somebody ought to 1:1 this one.

I'm intrigued by the Iron Butterfly moniker. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, man.

Yes indeed, very very beautiful both.

Well, by now it looks pretty certain that this build wasn't good enough to win anything in the Gearz contest. Good thing I built it to please myself, eh? I would like to sincerely congratulate the winners. I'm happy that the contest did inspire me to finish something, finally, and that was a huge turning point for me. Again, congratulations to all the Revell / Gearz winners.

A model that is truly worthy of being called "spectacular".

I'm Jonesin' for more pictures....really need to see that beautiful paint done. However, I DO understand lazy very well. Great build.

I like this one, fo' sho'. Is that shifter linkage from the Comet kit? It looks pretty slick.

If you look halfway down page 2 of this thread, there's a shot of the rear-end setup before modifications. It's a generic Nascar truck-arm style rig with a reinforced Ford 9", available sometimes as part of a donor kit from GMS Customs on ebay. One of the reasons I decided to use it was to give me room to route the exhaust system after the severe lowering job. The leaf springs would have been in the way, and it would have taken a LOT more chassis mods to make that setup work.