Ace-Garageguy

I did something similar decades ago. I habitually overrevved a VW 40-horse-based engine with a non-counterweighted crank in a hot-rod Bug. Anybody who knows aircooled VW engines will know non-CW cranks will "whip" at high RPM, and beat out the center main bearing saddle. Mine broke the crank on the way home one night, but the halves stayed in register, so the engine kept running...though it was a little rough and very noisy. Soon as I pulled over and checked the end-play at the pulley, I knew what had happened (it broke at the crankpin cheek just behind the center main). She got me home and then all the way back to work the next day, and when I tore the engine down, I found the center main saddle in the case was indeed beaten badly out of round. Line-bore it and fit oversized bearing shells? Replace the case? Heck no. I gooed up the saddles with something very like JB Weld (Devcon F) and bolted the case halves together with a new crank and main-bearing shells in place (with little troughs carved in the sides of the saddles to let the excess goo squeeze out as I tightened down the stud nuts. After the stuff hardened, I took it apart and built it up as usual. Ran fine for several months, until I built it a new 1600 dual-port-based engine. Funny thing is that somebody stole the gooed-up engine I'd stuck in my '62 doublecab, when it was in the storage area.

That is quite possibly the most unusual Chevelle I've ever seen.

Ah yes, two of the major food groups...candy and meat. I've forgotten the other one. Wait, wait, it's on the tip of my tongue...I have it...alcohol.

Lots to love on this one, like that dry sump tank. It just gets better and better.

Looking good, inspiring me to do the one I've had for eons...probably eons in the future.

Color temperature has been a factor affecting photographers since color film was introduced. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature In the dim recesses of time when I was young, old ornery past-it useless fossils like me had choices as to what film to use to compensate (film was a prehistoric chemical-OMG!!!-coated, flexible material once employed to record images), some being rated for "daylight" and others for various types of artificial illumination (incandescent, fluorescent). I've achieved a very acceptable color balance for my workbench photography using a combination of cheap "daylight" and "warm white" 100-watt-equivalent LED bulbs (the dinosaur-era digital camera I use for most web model shots has no provision for adjusting for lighting). It took a little experimenting to get the color balance I liked, but the leftover cheap bulbs can be employed elsewhere in the house. As you can see, greens are green, blues are blue, reds, oranges, yellows, and whites render well too, etc., and you don't have to spend a ton of money.

Paint looks great, definitely green in natural outdoor light, appears blue under whatever your indoor lighting is.

Not an album...it's a 24/7 stream of fantasy music from lesser known composers. Doubleplusgood if you like the genre.

I don't have 'em here to check specific dimensions and part numbers, but initially I bought several "starter sets" in multiple scales to determine exactly what I'd need for various projects re: spacing, layout, and head diameter. In reality, round rivet head diameters on aluminum truck cab skins would probably come in at .250" (1/4") to .375" (3/8") (chassis or trailer skin rivets could typically be much larger), so working out the appropriate scale dimension is straightforward (Archer shows what the full-scale head diameters would be on each sheet in the nominal scale it's intended for, so some simple math is required to figure out what you'll need). EXAMPLE: O-scale, approx. 1:48, starter sheet showing nominal 5/8" and 7/8" rivet heads. Used in 1:24 scale these would represent 5/16" and 7/16" heads respectively. EDIT: in reality, a 3/8" (.375") rivet head would usually have something close to a 3/16" shank (.1875"), a very common size used in aluminum aircraft, truck cab, and trailer fabrication. Note: of course, in the real world, rivets are sized and described by shank diameter, not head diameter. So just for reference, here's a page showing the most common round-head aluminum rivets. Note they're sized by SHANK diameter. To get dimensions for the corresponding HEAD diameter, google the appropriate AN or NAS part number to pull up manufacturers dimension specs and/or dimensioned drawings. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/hapages/solidalumrivets2.php

He was a very talented and highly skilled builder. He'll be missed.

Though I never met him, I was inspired by and admired his work. My sincere condolences.

PM'd

Yeah, it's annoying. But I don't buy the "60 year old tooling" bit, as there are plenty of 60 year old tools that are dimensionally very accurate. It's just inept, sloppy work, which happened back then, and still happens today. The AMT '59 Corvette, reboxed as a '60, is better but still not right (and furnished the clip I used on this build, acceptable because the thing's a drag car with a modded body and faired in headlights). It's also a mystery why the "Sock it to Me" nose is different from the '59/ '60 nose as well, because in reality the front body tooling for all the early 4-eyed Corvettes is identical (other than relatively minor details). Poor measuring and scaling, lack of familiarity with the subject, poor decision making from management, etc. It's nice that we have the Revell version to build a more accurate model from.

Thanks. It's still in the "in progress" pile, needs some minor bodywork prior to paint, and a little more chassis work. She'll be one of the first ones to get done when I have more time. Thanks for your interest.

The rear bumper treatment in profile is very evocative of period Mustangs, and the overall profile is similar to the Ford-powered Lola Mk6 GT, forerunner of the GT40...both pretty good hints.

Nice link. Thanx. 1970 was my first year.

Yup, those stupid-tiny headlights appear in several old-tool 4-eyed AMT Corvette kits, but oddly not all of 'em. I did a front clip (old AMT '59 Corvette) swap on to the squinty-eyed Sock-it-to-Me version some time back...

You still have the eye for what looks right. Nice to see talent at work.

Rather than wade through every US listing, I just bought one direct from China. Took a couple weeks for delivery though. https://www.ebay.com/itm/265079028259

Very clean work, as always. Interestingly, the engine as modeled by Fujimi is apparently missing some of the engine cooling tin, which makes the seams on the finned cylinders and heads visible. Those seams are not on the real engine parts, and can be corrected with careful filing...but of course probably won't be visible when the engine is installed.

PM'd

My attorney is a real pitbull who won a multi-million $$ class-action against a utility company. I think all the plaintiffs got somewhere around 10 or 20 bucks each. He pocketed about $2 mil.

Micro and baby powder don't work the same. BP is talc, which is the primary filler in most "bondo" products, and which use POLYESTER resin as a binder. Microballoon used as a filler with an EPOXY binder will do things NO OTHER FILLER IS CAPABLE OF. Use a quality epoxy like West 105 / 205. The 5-minute stuff will just make a rubbery mess. This is where I get mine: a one-pound bag of white micro for $11 should last most modelers forever. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cmpages/bubbles.php And yes. DO NOT BREATHE THE STUFF IN.

Bburago 1/24 Ferrari Monza SP1. Beautiful model, especially considering the price. There are two versions of this, the one most commonly available in the US does NOT have the opening hood and deck, so pay attention if you want one.