Ace-Garageguy

Interesting thing is that styrene emissions aren't always regulated by OSHA or EPA. A few years back, I went to work running a small producer of polyester fiberglass aftermarket parts for aircraft. They were made in open molds, which is still a valid production method for small companies. Concerned that, as we were in a semi-residential area, we'd get hit by EPA at some point, I thought a little pre-emptive cleanup would be in order. I called my local EPA office and explained the situation. They said "has anyone complained?". I said "no". They said "don't worry about it then". Just gives you a warm fuzzy feeling all over, doesn't it?

Just for the record, most plastics, once they're in the SOLID form, exhibit NO health risks whatsoever. Or at least no more than wearing polyester pants. For instance, there is a specific hardener for an aviation epoxy I've used for years that will cause sensitization over time, and initiates bleeding from the skin in some people on first contact. It is really mean stuff. Once it's mixed with the resin however, and POLYMERIZES, it's absolutely and totally inert. Safe. You could grind it up and eat it, and it would just come out the other end. Same thing goes for POLYSTYRENE, which is what everyone calls "styrene". Liquid styrene is a component of POLYESTER based fiberglass resin as well, but once it POLYMERIZES, the resultant solid is also inert. BURNING polystyrene at low temperatures, like outdoors in a trash fire or barrel, of almost any kind WILL release highly toxic chemicals. HIGHLY. See Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) Also see: http://www.wecf.eu/cms/download/2004-2005/homeburning_plastics.pdf It's about the dangerous health effects of home burning of plastics. Something EVERYONE should know about. NEVER BURN PVC. It releases dioxin.

What everyone else said, and more. Another truly inspiring piece of work.

GREAT project, coming along very nicely. Love to see you bringing that old truck back.

A while back, I got on this '32 gluebomb thing, and I bought a lot of them on ebay. I was getting a lot of ideas for different looks for the old iconic Deuce, trying to come up with things that hadn't been done before. Of course that's pretty near impossible with the '32. The idea was to have a ready supply of body shells and frames to mock-up ideas as they hit, and to re-use salvageable kits instead of springing more $$ for new ones. This one wasn't too bad really, just dusty and unloved. The idea here is a sports-car/ Deuce hybrid. Drawing is a rough sketch of the general chassis design. I've been involved with aviation structures for a long time, and about 10 or 11 years ago started thinking about the possibilities for an all-composite, semi- or full-monocoque chassis for a hot rod, so this build is an exploration of that major theme. Mocked-up........ It's taking a lot of scale-engineering and cut-fit-cut-fit, but it's still moving slowly forward..

Man, you've got some great ideas. Like the guys said, the engine looks killer. The pancaked hood and that through-the-quarter exhaust dump are really interesting too.

Though I'm not a fan of the Shakotan and Hippari styles with extreme camber, I do really like the look you're coming up with on this Porsche. It's an interesting and original combination of genres, and your proportions are looking good.

Great looking project, Ryan. The colors really make this one pop. That Willys in the background looks pretty radical and interesting too.

Really looking forward to seeing that. ZO6 and Corvair probably have never even been in the same sentence before. I'll be watching for it.

Beautiful builds all, and very fine conversion work on the first one. I've always loved the big Healeys, especially the engine sound from the driver's seat.

Kewl interior and details. I assume no scale leopards were harmed during the making of this model. The actual sunlight makes the car look really great too. Photographed with an exterior background, it would look 1:1 at first and second glance.

The Cragars, wide whites, shaved hood and mesh grill insert all work to make a nice, coherent low-key custom. Looks good.. Is the continental wheel-cover kicked back to clear the opening deckild?

That opened-up roof is really an imaginative treatment and freshens the look of the car a lot. Great idea.

Okay, finish it all the way I will. A 1:1 mod on these old Hemis is to raise the deep part of the sump (and the pickup) and lower the ends....split the difference, so to speak. It raises the oil level closer to the crank, but a windage tray pretty well sorts the whole thing out. Better than raising a 700+ pound engine higher in the chassis. Still gotta be careful, but it's not immediate disaster like the deal here would be. Other than polishing the metalizer on the hood and putting glass in the windshield, headlights, and adding rear lights, the body will stay as-is.

Only one word.....incredible.

This isn't really finished-finished, as it's missing engine wiring and some other detail parts, but it DOES live in a clear plastic box on the shelf, and is probably as "finished" as it's going to get in this lifetime, so I hope it qualifies for Under Glass. It's something I threw together from an early issue AMT '32 Ford gluebomb and some other stuff lying around. I started to strip the chipped, pink-painted and flamed body, and then decided it could make a passable patinaed survivor barn-find, getting a new lease on life. Blown Chrysler Hemi. It was just a quick, fun build to have something else "done" on the shelf, but it was a lot of fun. I hope it makes you smile.

This one's in clay over a balsa and basswood chassis. It's a 1/8 scale styling exercise for a possible body kit for the first generation Toyota MR2. RC car wheels and tires.

This is a 1/10 scale, 100% scratch-built model of an original design for a 1:1 vehicle. Info on the real one is available here......... http://contest.techb...ation-2012/2250 The model was built like a Guillows model airplane with balsa ribs cut out, held together with basswood stringers, and planked with balsa. It was then fiberglassed and surface-finished with bondo. Paint is Geo Metro white acrylic urethane, and the blue is Ford dark engine blue rattle-can, polished. This is the full-scale model under construction. It's built much the same as the little model, but urethane foam is the material rather than balsa.

Two suppliers I use for scale rod, tubing, structural shapes and sheet plastic are Evergreen and Plastruct. I normally buy it at my larger LHS, Hobbytown. Both companies have websites and both began business, to the best of my knowledge, making styrene parts (girders, columns, pipes, valves, stairs, etc) for industrial, engineering and architectural modelers who built scale models of things like oil refineries and skyscrapers before the days of CAD. I have an early set of several hundred plastic valves, from the '50s. http://www.evergreenscalemodels.com/ http://www.plastruct.com/ The parts trees are generally way too large diameter for making anything other than maybe AC Cobra main frame tubes, or something similar. The rod, tube and structural shapes I mentioned above don't have parting lines or flash like parts trees either. Still, parts trees can be extremely useful for a variety of other applications like driveshafts, fire extinguishers, steering columns, etc.

Harry, do you have a particular recommendation for CA and epoxy brands? I've not been getting good results with mine on 4043 aluminum TIG rod. And I should have said "with aluminum roll cage structures", rather than "aluminum tubular-type model car chassis."

Yup, beautiful build for sure. Chassis work is truly outstanding.

I just love seeing stuff like this. That old kit kinda reminds me of the Joaquin-Arnett Bean Bandit dragster.

Sleek and low and beautiful.

Man, that thing has had a rough life. Very convincing.

Yeah, the engine bay detail looks great. What did you use to get the "Cool-Flex" water hose effect?