Ace-Garageguy

"Economy of motion" is generally preferable to running in circles, screaming, with your hair on fire when you don't get your way...unless of course you're a petulant, spoiled 3-year old.

Yes, Mr. Bradley, much as I admire him and a lot of his work, definitely had some bad days too.

I suppose you guys all know that a LOT of this stuff can be avoided if you just refuse to give your name, phone#, email, and other info to the checkout people at stores, right? So they'll send you coupons and sale announcements? Geez. I don't know what folks think the benefit is to giving out info like that, or to posting often highly personal details of their lives, illnesses, etc. on the web. Time to grow up and admit there are a LOT of bad people in the world, and limit the tools YOU give them to screw you.

Aha... ?

I don't know, but the MPC kit is WAY more attractive than the easily sourced photos of Barris' version(s). Only a true master could take a reasonably handsome car, slather on a host of disjointed "kustom" crapp, and think it was an improvement. As an aside, I actually liked some of his work (Ala Kart, Surf Woody), I learned a lot from his magazine articles, and he seemed to be a pretty OK guy the one time I got to meet him, but geez...some of his stuff is just beyond awful. MPC "Californian" One Barris version

The only one that's really quite good is the original and derivatives of Monogram's 1/24 version.

Of course, there are more questions about the '33-'34 Fords on the market. Why do the two most recent AMT '33-'34 offerings use entirely different fender tooling, when in reality they are identical? To their credit, somebody at AMT realized the frames were the same...but still somehow missed that the fenders were the same. Why is the wheelbase on the short-hood Monogram OK, but the hood is way too short? Why is the hood on the AMT 5W I'm using almost as much too-long as the Revellogram is too-short? Why are the front fenders of the AMT 5-window I'm using here misshapen, and the sedan's are even worse? For that matter, why is almost every line and proportion on the AMT '33-'34 sedan wrong? Why is the old AMT 3-window entirely wrong almost everywhere, including a frame that looks nothing like a real one? Why is the other chopped-top Revell 3W so underscale that it works as a '34 Fiat? I can't answer any of these definitively...but it's simply not a "cost" issue, as so many like to insist. It doesn't cost any more to measure something right the first time, assuming the employee doing the measuring has the arithmetical competence of an 8th grader.

Nice old truck.

I can hear it now as the driver calls its keeper: "THE CAR WRECKED!!!"

The most well trained dog in the world...

"Married" rhymes with "buried", and the two are also sometimes synonymous.

'57 and '58 Oldsmobile 4-dr Johan "promos", though they're NOT acetate, and somebody along the line did some extensive BMF work to 'em. Probably leave 'em as-is for the foreseeable future...and I wasn't previously aware these models even existed.

Started deepening the panel lines with my Tamiya scribers...which I truly love. Also bondoed the gloobular remains of the cockpit fairing holes. Bondo sticks remarkably well to this ancient Monogram plastic, feather-edges beautifully. The fairing will be close-fitted and pinned after the rear deck surface is restored. Locating holes for all the little fiddly detail bits are getting drilled too. A gloobomb 289 Cobra yielded up some tire-melted wire wheels that I THINK I might be able to turn down, to make reasonable "outside laced" front wheels, using the kit rims turned into sleeves on the lathe. We'll see...

Finished up a reasonable fabricated front crossmember, and got it in place. Also shown are the closest header sets I have here, none of which are workable. Hence, the need to scratch 'em.

Just a little Q&D mockup to prove a point to myself. There is NO decent 1/25 '33-'34 Ford 3W kit, and I always thought I might like to do one from what's available. The Monogram snapper's hood is too short, so it makes a kinda goofy looking model to anyone who's really familiar with '34 Fords. The AMT 5-window kit's hood is actually too long, and there are some other problems with it. The Monogram body on the AMT 5W fenders shows the short hood very well, but the rest of the body fit isn't too bad. With the too-short hood removed, and the too-long hood substituted, we're definitely on track to getting the proportions right. Stay tuned, 'cause this is one I've wanted to do for a LONG time...

Finished this month's-end paperwork just now, probably going to steal a little bench time after a quick sandwich.

Thanks for your interest and encouragement. The bench I use for model fiberglass work is tied up at the moment with some 1:1 small parts fab, but as soon as it's clear, I'll get molds made for the rest of the bellypans, then decide whether to supercharge it or not. Probably going to stay with carbs just to get it done, then make a new hood section later to accommodate a S.C.o.T. or GMC 4-71 blower.

Pretty good deal on a fairly recent 1/25 AMT 289 Cobra. I've got several 1/24 427 Cobra kits, but only gloobomb 289 cars. I like the lighter, more nimble 289, and having driven several in both displacements, I like the little one better for the street. And even a 289, when cammed up and running 4 two-throat Weber downdrafts can be really scary fast.

Lucky Strikes used to be my coffin nails of choice.

Exactly

Storm around ranting and throwing stuff when things go wrong, and those near you might think you have a screw or two loose.

Rough situation. Feel for you, wish you strength.

I want my mommy.