Ace-Garageguy

Very interesting cars that would definitely make cool models, but just a reminder...altered-wheelbase exhibition cars and altereds are a far cry from class-legal gassers.

Thanks for your input too, sir. That's definitely something I'll look into. Some of my old tried-and-true methods are not working so well these days, so looking at alternatives is apparently going to be necessary if I keep doing this stuff. The paint I'm wanting to use on the M/SP chassis is the same gloss gray aircraft engine enamel I used on the one below. It's hotter than most enamels, but it worked fine on the Evergreen cage and Revell C5R frame rails shown below. It did, however, badly craze the floor from the Revell '70 Chevelle kit molded in blue metallic.

Thanks for your interest and comments and input about the acrylic. Glad you're enjoying it. That's a good question. Generally, I don't use sealers, even on the real stuff. It's just one more layer of material to cause a problem, and build unwanted, detail-obscuring film thickness on a model. BUT...depending on what happens next time I shoot color on the frame, we'll see. The absolute worst lifting I ever had on a real job was a Pantera that had a tree fall on it. It had recently been painted with acrylic urethane, so I assumed the blends would be easy and straightforward. Wrong. What I didn't know was that the urethane had been shot over a non-sanding enamel primer...something you just don't do. The painter got away with it, but when I shot the blends, the surface wrinkled up like I'd hit it with stripper. It took all the profit out of the job stripping half the car and working out a way to keep the rest of it from lifting. I think I ended up having to use a water-based sealer on that one.

Interesting, ambitious model. Lotsa plumbing and induction and other stuff going on there that has no basis in reality and couldn't actually work, but still a cool thing in its own way.

Just persistent. Yours looked so much better than a lot of what's out there, I wanted to find one for myself.

https://www.toolexchange.com.au/jewelers-hand-vices/xacto-small-pin-vice/

I would wager $10 the X-Acto version was bought-in, not actually manufactured in the X-Acto factory, and I'd further wager an identical unit is still available under a different label.

Google IMAGE-search "ball-handle pin vise". Bazillions.

That's another one that somebody really otter do in full scale.

Yup. And the photo has that washed out old color print film look. And I thought I'd seen it before, but didn't recall the story...which makes perfect sense now. Thanks for setting everybody straight.

Just a thought...if you have a lathe, it looks to me like you could turn about 2 scale inches (2mm in 1/25) off the OD of the wheel, which would at least get you closer. The spokes look like they'd respond to a light facing cut to get everything looking right. Then find some tires, probably something from Pegasus or Aoshima...but I don't have any idea where to start with that.

Here's more on the first, third, and sixth on Greg's list...definitely Monogram kit #P2 and later derivatives, about 1/24 scale, released after the larger-scale Midget racer kit. I have the first issue of their Midget, molded in acetate. I do NOT have the first issue of the hot-rod, but it was acetate also... ^^^ PS: You got some neat history there, Mr. Barton.

Hmmmm...the MGC saws fit the little one. I'll have to look into that.

EDIT: But I'd really much rather do a Coyote in the Jag...just 'cause. I had a 4-cam 4.6 for it, but it walked when I was moving from one shop to another...

This blue kit is actually the first iteration of the black kit immediately above, yes, 1/24. EDIT: This one is too, IIRC. The 98-cent kits were generally about 1/24 scale.

One thing modelers who haven't spent a lotta time around real stuff often overlook is that tires that fit on, say, 15" rims, can come in a very wide array of rolling diameters. 16" was a very common wheel diameter in the wayback too. Mixing and matching rolling stock from different nominal scales can often get just the look one might be looking for.

The Monogram '36 is also an excellent source for fenders to do a correct '38 pickup in 1/25...real close, anyway; though the '38 truck fenders look a lot like '36 car fenders, they are in fact different. The slightly larger 1/24 '36 fenders work very well.

Exactly. It's fairly easy to bellmouth the tips, and cutting to final length after forming is definitely recommended.

Not all of 'em. And considering so many guys will run plug wires the scale size of garden hose...

Yeah, even though there are available "short" water pumps. The little Fords are very narrow across the heads, narrower than the Chevy, and rev tight and sound really sweet (I think most smallblock Chebbys sound like they're missing on one cylinder, due to their firing order), but finding good cores can be tough these days (I've been trying to find somebody who'd trade me a real hi-po 289 for my Australian 351C for several years), and aftermarket stuff is still more costly than Chebby stuff. All that said, I'd probably build my own car with a little Ford if I could find exactly what I'd want...

I'll have to try that. The stuff does indeed really suck up thin primers like Duplicolor sandable, and it can take several applications and sanding to kill it...which can be detrimental to surrounding details if you're not careful. Your trick may save my bacon on a couple of jobs. Thanks.

Great minds..., as they say.

Yup. The smallblock Chebby was THE engine of choice for swaps from 1955 until it was replaced by the LS...and for very good reason. It was narrower and lighter than anything else in the junkyards, and put out more power for its weight. Because it was SO good, the aftermarket jumped in quickly and the hop-up and swap parts availability mushroomed overnight. Frankly, when I got back into actually building American hot-rods about 2011 or so, I was kinda an engine snob too. Then I saw the sometimes insane money guys were putting into flatheads, and the rarity and expense of goodies for engines like the old Hemis and Caddys and first-gen Olds OHVs, Studebakers, nailheads, Y-blocks, etc. For my OWN real '32 roadster, I'm building a smallblock Chebby, based on junkyard bits, for exactly the same "traditional" reasons the knowledgeable guys did from '55 until now. It's an easier fit in a small car, it's light, and there's everything imaginable for go-fast out there for reasonable money. 350HP on pump gas with 3-carbs is easily attainable, with the reliability of a hammer. Try getting that from a flathead. PS: Thanks for writing "a cliche". You get 10 points for correct English usage. When the word is used as an adjective, it's "cliched".

And thank YOU sir, for posting additional relevant specific data. Very helpful to have it right here.

Probably one reason it's not a bigger seller is the nominal 1/24 scale. However, as stated above, there's plenty of stuff available to build a great model from it in any style imaginable, and, as many kit parts aren't absolutely scale-correct anyway, if one's wanting all the dimensions of things like wheels, tires, engines, etc. to look absolutely "right", one needs only to do a little measuring and grade-school arithmetic.