Ace-Garageguy

Theoretically I've been retired for a few years now, but I promised I'd finish up two long term jobs for two shops before I leave. I'm about 4 weeks away from done on one, and 3 months from handoff to the paint shop on the other one, but the jobs have both been two-steps-forward, one-step-back...so we'll see. They both involve redesign and reworking of multiple custom systems both clients paid other shops a lot of money for, and got incompetent but expensive crapola.

Those look really good, and thanks for the source.

So...I get home from a hard day in the mines, sitz down at my computer to check a few tracking numbers for parts, and start to smell plastic burning. First thing I thinks to myself is "self...that smells like plastic burning. Have I overloaded some space-heater circuit, and is I bee in danger of burning the dang house down?" So I checks and no wires bees melting. I thinks maybees I otter go outside and see if the truck is on fire. Nope. But whatcha think I sees? Through the trees, just a block away, I sees a HUGE bonfire...violating every damm fire law in the county. WAY less than 50 feet from any tree or structure, well after 6:00 PM when all burning is spozed to cease, and judging from the chemical stench and the black oily nature of the plume, it's carcinogenic smoke with PCBs and suchlike, coming from burning plastic...also absolutely verboten. But hey...the folks doing the burning have already violated the zoning laws with impunity by operating a landscaping service there after they moved their 30+ family members elsewhere, so what can I say? At least they're not living there now, so I don't have to try to sleep on the weekend nights with the walls shaking from blaring, thumping music at 3:00 AM (also in violation of county law). And hey...what's a little carcinogenic smoke, anyway? I'm old, so who cares? I'll probably die from something else before whatever's in the smoke gets me. Real glad I'll be movin' on soon, though. They take stupid, risky, unpermitted burning pretty seriously where I'm going.

Hey man...that engine paint has "ceramic" in it, and according to some 14-year-old on Facebook (an expert because he once opened the hood on his mom's Camry, and who heard it somewhere authoritative), it's just exactly the same as those expensive plasma coatings the race guys get.

Glad you posted this, for the reminder. I'm not too keen on the recent E-type, because of the bodged windshield height, the way the engine is done, and a few other things. But the old SS is a kit I need at least one more of.

Ideally you want something that won't spring back a lot when you wind it around a dowel. Of course, that makes it not so "springy" either, if you want it to actually operate as a spring. For simple "looks like a spring", soft copper, annealed brass, or iron work well. Very fine electronics solder is another option. Soft tie-wire is available at most car parts stores in at least two wire-diameters. Craft stores have lotsa soft wire choices too. Real car spring wire diameter can be anywhere from about 1/4" for light duty helper springs, to 1" or more for heavy vehicles. Determine the diameter of the real-world wire, and divide by the scale you're working in to know what to look for.

Only if you're a YouTube-certified mechanic.

Nice paint, good color choices for this body style.

Glad to finally see this one, as it shows beyond doubt how good these little buggers can look when built with patience and care...in spite of the constant carping about how "bad" a kit it is. NICE work.

Wow. Nice.

And it leaves your model smelling minty-fresh too.

That can be a real drag. I've been there. Hope the rest of your family will behave reasonably during the process. Good luck.

No problem. Looks like a very interesting product, but there are other sites that don't require an "accept cookies" affirmation to view the stuff. https://www.megahobby.com/products/chrome-sheets-5-ammo-by-mig-jimenez.html

Scott8950 sent me this rough little C2 Corvette body, rather than throw it out. It's the kind of thing I really enjoy building into something cool. First thing I thought of when I saw it was another vintage M/SP "what if" drag car, in the same vein as this: After a little internet digging, I found this crazy thing. I think we have a vision forming...

Pity that site requires you to accept their cookies if you want to look at it. I'll pass. If I go to a sales site, I'm a possible buyer. They don't need to SHOVE some other damm intrusive marketing/tracking garbage down my throat too.

Thank you, sir. I've paid some dues, that's for dingdogittydang sure.

Very nice. I still love black-and-white, shot a boatload of B&W film back in the dim recesses of tome. Mostly Tri-X , but most everything else that was on the market at one time or another.

The vinegar was kinda supposed to do the same thing as the self-etching primers. I well remember doing that on old die-cast model RR parts too.

Yup. That's a real one. Something to remember if you're building period rods...that K-member often got heavily hacked or replaced completely. One popular old-time mod to those frames was grafting in the X-member from a junkyard '34 Ford.

Sunrise from the door of my new shop out west.

Agreed...but while we're at it, here's a vid from 2012 comparing Alclad 2 vs Mr Super Metallic vs Kosutte Ginsan vs MGM Magic Powder

Only thing I don't like about this kit is the too-tall, too-upright, and too clunky windshield frame. It's not WAY off, but it's bad enough to mar the proportions to somebody who's used to seeing a lot of real ones. Compare the photo below to one of the "built" model shots from earlier in the thread.

I'm not thrilled about it either, frankly. I'd intended to paint the Silverado when I'm finally set up out west, after putting an engine in her here, and trade up to a slightly newer Z71 4X4 to pull a camping trailer. Guess it'll still work, but the dollar numbers will just be higher.

Yup, I'd kinda forgotten about the magic powders. Here's one over black and white bases:

Ditto. My hoard of buffing metalizers isn't going to last forever, and everyone who's been relying on them over the years will need well-tested and predictable alternatives.