Ace-Garageguy

Tell us more about the Escort. I haven't seen one of those in decades. Looks like a rally car.

Just to be clear, my comment wasn't directed at you. But anybody doing renderings of "awesome" stuff that "should have been built"...well, if I was paying the guy, I'd expect him to realize you can't arbitrarily place the engine directly over the drive-axle center-line unless you use a setup like the old Toronado...which makes for a very tall package, not at all appropriate for a high-horsepower supercar. The Lambo Countach places the gearbox forward of the engine, and runs a driveshaft next to the crank back to a diff at the rear of the engine. Complicated, but it gets the engine much lower. And as you see, the engine is not centered over the drive-axle

...or have a clue how one works.

I seem to remember a prohibition here about getting too specific or showing photos along those lines on this board. I may remember that incorrectly, but suffice it to say I've acquired rather more firepower than a pea-shooter, but rather less than a star destroyer.

I'd wager you're probably having considerably more fun with the hobby than I am. I've seen a lot of your work, and I'd be more than happy to have turned any it out myself. I really like everything I've seen you show here. I'm currently trying to finish up a few models that ran way off the rails in terms of complexity, and I keep promising myself that my reward will be to try to lighten up on the next few. But I always start out thinking "this one, I'm going to keep simple", and then one little thing leads to a couple more, and after a few days on the bench, it's become another monster.

I got my self-defense capability significantly upgraded.

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.