Ace-Garageguy

Yup...

I mentioned I'd bought a supposedly 1/24 or 1/25 diecast to measure so as to get an idea of the actual scales of both the Monogram body shells. The diecast was WAY wrong too. They probably made it ridiculously huge because, had it been correct, it would have been tiny and morons would have complained. I'll take some info from the shots above, do some basic arithmetic, measure my kits here, compare, and post the results.

Thanks. Another one started, pretty much figured out, and benched.

There are also three small turbines in the AMT Amtronic. One is sorta a scaled-down version of the Chrysler turbine-car design, with regenerators on the sides (if I remember correctly). There are two more little guys on a common drive housing (upper right in the photo below) that I reworked some time back for a turbine-electric hybrid dieselpunk thingy.

I started something like that a while back...

Same parts in the box.

Please don't start that misinformation going around again. The "new tool" Ala Kart Red Ram Dodge hemi engine is approximately 1/32 scale in a 1/25 kit. Ridiculous. And no need for it, as a correctly-scaled engine will fit in the engine bay of that kit. The old-tool Ala Kart Red Ram Dodge hemi engine, though not entirely accurate, is close to being correctly scaled for 1/25. I was one of the ones who measured the real engines and posted the dimensions on several model boards years ago. I have measured some of the parts in the Slingster kit, and some are indeed underscale. The slicks, for example. And I pretty much shelved the kit in disgust. I've never come to a definitive conclusion about the body, however. The American Bantam the body represents is a tiny car, so who knows at this point. I have a Bantam die-cast that was sold as 1/25 that I bought specifically to try to clear this up. Unfortunately, whoever scaled it was arithmetic-challenged as well, because it's clearly HUGE for 1/25. So there's no useful data to be derived from that. Numbers very are hard apparently. BUT...if somebody will find me a good profile shot of a Bantam, and find out what size wheels came on the thing from the factory, I'll work out ballpark scales for the two Monogram kits.

Let's just say that, as I still have a healthy T level, I'm easily distracted by female pulchritude. For which I'm most thankful.

And I feel so very sad for your reading comprehension if you get "that's the most thrilling thing you guys can find on the internet" from either comment.

And thanks again. I was wondering about that. All your additional info is most helpful.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Interesting phenomenon.

Thanks for your interest, Tim. On this one, I've been working on getting a color I really like to get me motivated again. Looking for something greenish that doesn't clash with the OEM nailhead engine color. Lotsa sprayouts when I have a few minutes, haven't hit the jackpot yet.

Yeah, that's pretty much where I am. I can get 15 or 20 minutes every now and then, but I can't get much done like that.

Most will. Smooth-On, for instance, will happily sell "trial size" units of about 2 pounds of material (resin and catalyst), for around $30. The industrial prototyping (using plastics) I've done over the years has been primarily of small medical devices, components for toys and sporting goods, and hand tools...so my purchases have usually been small quantities. I've never been required to provide any documentation other than a shipping address. The rules for online sellers collecting sales tax HAVE changed however (if you buy much on eBay you will have seen many sellers now collect it), but as far as I'm concerned, it's a non-issue. Sales tax on $30 isn't much.

Thanks for dredging this old dinosaur up, too. I agree with you about the windshield layback, and about the only thing I've done on this since the last photos was some file-work trying to get more of that going without having to re-cut the roof.

Thanks guys. This is another one I hadn't noticed had new comments, and is on the short list for re-start. Really like that black A-V8 on '32 rails too, Paul. That door latch, throttle linkage, and blued header flange detail really adds a lot.

Thanks guys. Funny...this one never got too far from the bench and has been kinda bugging me for a re-start. I'm not on here as frequently as I once was and failed to see this one had new comments. It was kinda hung-fire for a while deciding whether to correct the slightly sectioned body the AMT kit has out-of-the-box, or just to go with it as-is. As-is won, 'cause it looks a lot like what some builders of real ones did back in the dim recesses of time when I was young. For whatever reason, I enjoy rebuilding junk more than starting with virgin kits (most of the time) too.

I would also caution against trying to reinvent the wheel where chemistry is involved. Several manufacturers make softer casting resins in a variety of Shore hardnesses, specifically for making things like handle grips, movie special-effects masks and prosthetics, and various kinds of modeling. Polytek has been my go-to supplier for this kind of stuff for decades, and they also offer a range of dyes that are compatible with their products. https://www.polytek.com/products/polycolor-dyes As an industrial supplier, they have a line of instructional videos about using their stuff, their product is always fresher than the re-packaged resellers, and they have knowledgeable technical staff to answer questions. EDIT: Smooth-On is also an industrial supplier, and has an extensive product line and instructional video library. https://www.smooth-on.com/

There's all manner of PE screen made for military and railroad modeling, as well as for cars if you look. There's also a wide variety of woven mesh filter screen made for industrial applications, usually in stainless. Some of the woven mesh is so fine you can't really even see through it. Some industrial suppliers will send you samples. Google is your friend. Sorta. And there are multiple suppliers who will sell small quantities, too. https://www.amazon.com/REMOPEST-Stainless-Steel-Metal-Sheet/dp/B07MNNCGCP Nylon filter mesh is another option.

For what it's worth, that doesn't look like any kind of gearbox to me. A 2-speed planetary box could fit in that general volume, but it would be shaped differently (it would look like one section of a Lenco). Likewise any in-out box I've ever seen...but I'm sure there's a lot of stuff I've never seen. What it does look like is an adapter plate / flywheel housing bolted to an engine plate, with a housing for a multi-plate clutch bolted to the adapter. The flange on the clutch housing where a gearbox would mount appears to have a plate bolted to it in turn, configured as an output shaft bearing support. A torque-converter could also fit inside that general volume, in which case you'd still have a single-speed driveline, but with some built-in slip. Again, the assembly doesn't really look like anything I'm familiar with, but that's not at all definitive. And again, there's lots of stuff I haven't seen. On the other hand, it certainly wouldn't be the first time a kit designer included incorrectly rendered mechanical bits he didn't understand the function of. If it IS supposed to be simply a multi-plate clutch setup, your clutch arm seems reasonable for a model. Clutch-only drivetrains weren't uncommon on high-horsepower drag cars. It's important to know when the model was tooled as well (or the kit it was derived from), as that will have a direct bearing on the tech that's represented.

Nice to do it as the camera car from the film. Beautiful model. I was at Sebring in '70 for that race. McQueen was definitely a talented driver, and pretty tough to drive an endurance event with a broken foot.

Yeah, when they get rowdy, watch out.

Most of that generation AMT kit used 1/16" steel rod for axles. 1/16" brass rod, tube, or 1/16" steel welding rod will work exactly the same way. 1/16" is .0625" or about 1.58 mm.

Wow. I want I want I want.

An Essay on Craftsmanship https://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Gould2.htm