Ace-Garageguy

Pretty cool.

Very nice work.

Yeah, I've been kinda cheating lately by buying some Danbury and Franklin mint pieces so I at least have a few nice looking, finished models around. I can take 'em out and go vroom-vroom too.

It's a matter of personal viewpoint, personality, etc. I was blessed (or cursed) with the old micrometer eye, and discrepancies in scale, proportion and line, and defects just jump out at me. I don't go around trying to be hyper-critical. But I instantly see what's wrong with damm near anything I happen to be looking at. That's one reason, probably the major reason, that I finish very few models. I'm continuously seeing things I missed, or could do better, or can't yet do well enough to suit my expectations. They jump out at me and will bug me until I redo them and get them right. Probably just as well that I'm also naturally more of the enjoy-the-journey-more-than-the-destination persuasion.

The way I look at it is that if I have enough projects and ideas lined up that would be realistic for an 18-year-old who knew for sure he would live to 140, I'll always have something to look forward to.

Thanks for that info. The Dodge WCs, M-series, and PowerWagon direct descendants are another group of vehicles near-and-dear to my heart, and I've been looking at the Italeri kits...as I know nothing, zip, nada, about AFV Club/Skybow.

1961for the 5W coupe. The roadster in the above post first appeared in 1959.

For what it's worth, modifying an oil pan doesn't have to be difficult. Just remove what doesn't suit, and replace it with a little bondo and/or styrene.

Aha. Thanks for the clarification. Makes sense now in light of the fact that the early Riv ran a nailhead.

Both of these pans are shown as OEM replacements for the 400-430-455, depending on application. This one is listed as being for the '67-'70 Riv. "and other center sump applications" (possibly Electra and Wildcat)... ...and this one for '69-'76 Skylark and full-size: There doesn't appear to be a lot of aftermarket support for the 350, and the only pan I've found so far looks like this, listed for '68-'77 Skylark, Century and Regal. EDIT: Typical problem with online sourcing this stuff is that suppliers disagree on exact fitment, but they all agree these are the two 400-439-455 pans. And the nailhead shares absolutely nothing with these engines other than the nominal bore-centers.

After seeing mod3l Lover's post on the Italeri/Testors CCKW deuce-and-a-half water tank truck, which I didn't know existed, I started looking for one. Finally found an OK deal, not as sweet as the $10 mentioned, but not too bad considering its apparent rarity.

That's the only reason I knew what it was. I saw it at its home in the Lane Museum. Definitely check it out when this pandemic mess is over,

Little car looks like a bullet-nose Stude had a kid with a Crosley.

Nice work, but the problem with the way the car is rendered here is that the engine is over the rear axle centerline. That means the gearbox and/or diff would need to be under it, placing the engine kinda high in the chassis...not the best for handling. The proportions of the car as rendered could be maintained by using a sidewinder layout ala Lambo Miura, and the high center of gravity problem could be eliminated. Another solution would be to mount the gearbox forward of the engine, like the Countach does, and run a driveshaft back to a diff behind the engine. Kinda lots of complication, and the rear axle centerline would need to be moved rearward. Or...the greenhouse could be moved forward a bit, and the rear axle centerline moved back, with a rear transaxle, which is the way the Corvette C8 manages to get everything in. I wonder what the designers had in mind.

Yes, you can definitely polish Duplicolor Perfect Match Universal Black. I've used it on real parts where I haven't wanted to get all the spray gun mess out, and it works just fine. Even lasts out in the weather, like it's supposed to. I have some pix of a bunch of custom fiberglass bolt-on parts I made a couple years back for a Jag E-type. They're on my other hard drive, so soon as I get that computer online (which will be shortly, as I need to update some build threads too), I'll post 'em. In the meantime...YES, you can polish the stuff, and you can take that to the bank. .

Seems like we're seeing more and more of that these days...

^^^ Kewl, all of 'em. I still love the traditional stuff, but the mix of styles and technologies is fascinating.

Looks good, particularly because the flutes in real headlight lenses are on the inside, and the smooth clear over-lenses you've shown do a good job of recreating that appearance when used over the old-style chrome lenses.

I think that anyone who's honest with himself, and who is capable of seeing the forest as well as the trees, will have to consider the idea that these days, people who are both smart enough and tough enough to run things effectively are in seriously short supply...and that those who possess both characteristics are rarely universally appreciated.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

What irked me today? Pretty much everything in the news. I'm really beginning to think everybody on Earth is drinking Brawndo now.

Everything will be fine. Really.

I really have to wonder what kind of echo-chamber some of these marketing wizards live in. I know there's a theory that repetition in advertising has the power to get inside your head and get you to buy stuff, but I personally don't know ANYBODY who's not put off by a product that's constantly screaming at them. There's lotsa stuff I simply will not buy because I hate their marketing "strategy" so much. EDIT: K&N now sends me several emails a week pushing crapp I have no interest in, just because I bought one semi-custom filter from them. There's a good chance that NEXT time I need a trick filter, it WON'T come from K&N.

Yes, that's an option, but I do pay attention to wasting other folk's bandwidth...little things like NOT quoting entire posts, including all 15 photos, as seems to be prevalent here. MCM has been unusual in allowing us to post pix directly on their servers, and though they seem to have plenty of storage, I don't want to abuse the privilege.