Ace-Garageguy

Looks good. Good choice on the AMT '32 Victoria frame too. The AMT Phaeton frame also has a separate buggy-spring rear end.

Welcome. Good one to start off with...it's a beautiful kit. The only criticism I have of it is how soft the plastic is (on my examples anyway) and because of that, how easy it is to bugger the rims of the wheels when removing them from the sprues. I wish I had been forewarned.

Let's review and elaborate on some points The "More American Graffiti" kit is derived from the Switchers kits. Many of the parts are the same as the Switchers kits. The top in the MPC Graffiti kit is chopped, not the body. A "chopped" body would be referred to as "sectioned" Unfortunately, the lower body isn't proportioned correctly either. The ancient AMT '32 body shell was too short (height-wise) and appeared "sectioned". The Revell '32 body shells are about right height-wise, and the MPC '32 kits are somewhere in between. The frames in all the Switchers and Switchers-derived kits are completely and totally wrong for a '32 Ford. If the Milner car is on a '32 frame, I believe you'll need to source one elsewhere. The Revell '32 frames are pretty good, but you may have to change the rear suspension if you want accuracy. As I said, I've never researched the Milner car specifically. The rear bobbed fenders are easy to make just like real ones are...you just cut down the stock rear '32 fenders. Cycle front fenders are available in several kits, including this one... They can also be made just like real ones often were by cutting down a "continental" style tire cover. To get a "chopped" radiator shell, you simply take a section out of the stock unit.

I have a question as well...and please forgive me if this has already been answered (probably has). The SpazStix rattlecan product I'm coming up with says it's for the inside of Lexan bodies and that using it for exterior work will produce a dull finish. Judging from Harry's results, I think I must be looking at the wrong product. Is there a number for the right stuff?

Unless you really like second-rate results, or you want to be disappointed, don't bother with "homemade" release agents. The commercial ones are cheap for what they do, reliably and correctly. Getting how-to info from the manufacturers of the various products involved generally works much better than getting second-hand info from people who may or may not have actually used the stuff. There is a very well done video library at this site all about making masters, molds, release agents, etc. It's worth the time to watch, even if you think you know what you're doing. https://www.freemansupply.com/video.htm There are also some excellent tutorials at this site, as well as additional videos. https://www.smooth-on.com/applications/model-making/

Me too. More info about the vehicle on the trailer, please.

Thank you sir.

I've been looking for the similar wheels in a larger diameter too. It just occurred to me that the rim could be wrapped with styrene strip, very carefully of course, to add an inch or two to the outside diameter. You're probably aware that one of the wheels they represent is the early Palamides alloy wheel introduced in 1956 (later became American Racing), so a 16" diameter would be common back then.

These two are the MPC '32 "Switchers" kits. The American Graffiti version got a chopped coupe body with a separate top (which isn't particularly accurate). The frame in these kits doesn't look anything like a real '32 Ford frame, and there are other inaccuracies. I've never researched the Graffiti / Milner car, but you could probably make a much more accurate model by starting with a Revell 5-window. If I'm not mistaken, the Milner chopped '32 5-window body shell made a later appearance in this AMT-boxed kit too.

Yes sir. Tire burn on the 55 year-old part. Hard to believe that particular kit survived with no other damage and almost all the parts still on the trees. But then again, there were around one million original-issue Ala Kart kits sold.

Indeed. And evocative.

I didn't have much use for them when they were current, but the "plain wrapper" cop-car looks have kinda grown on me. Now that they should mostly be out-of-emissions, I can see a pretty cool little sleeper built around a hot 340.

I like it...a lot. The slightly sectioned measurements of the old-tool AMT body shell look great with the way you've put everything together, and the rake is just right. Nice work.

Oh yeah...that was worth the wait. Love your real-steel '32 pickup too. Man, that's fine.

One of the things that really sets the two kits apart and drives careful builders and reviewers crazy is the disparity in the shapes of the grille shell and cowl, which are the most important styling elements of this vehicle. The hoods are also remarkably different in length, and carry the shape differences almost all the way back to the cowl...where they get kinda close.

Some people aren't big fans of this car, but to me, it's one of the most important customs ever built. Designed By George Barris when he was really in his prime, and two-time winner of the prestigious AMBR award, it burned at one point and went through several changes of ownership. The car was restored to 100-point as-built condition in 2008. With the reintroduction of the AMT "Mod Rod" double kit, there's renewed interest in building replicas of the Ala Kart that the original issue of the kit included parts for, some of which are lacking in the most recent Mod Rod release. There are enough original-issue gluebombs out there to make it fairly easy to come up with the missing parts, however. Both the AMT Ala Kart kits available (the "new tool" kit released in about 2002, and the "old tool" kit, released in 1961...TOTALLY DIFFERENT KITS) have scaling and proportion issues, but both of them also have their strengths as well. I'm sure you all know that Ala Kart is a play on "a la carte", which refers to ordering individual items off a menu rather than going with a complete meal. What we're going to be doing is trying to pick-and-choose components from BOTH kits, a la carte, to come up with a more accurate rendition of this iconic car than you can build from either kit on its own. It's going to take a while, and there will be much head-scratching, measuring, cutting (in all probability) and unforeseen delays. Typical for me. NOTE: Harold Perry built a gorgeous model doing much the same thing a few years back. For photos of his model, click here and scroll about a quarter of the way down... These are the kits we'll be using... "old tool" original issue on top (anywhere from $25 if you're lucky to $75 or so for a perfect one), and the "new-tool" kit below (can be had for as little as $15, shipped. (The newly-released Mod Rod kit shown to the right is derived from the original version of the Ala Kart / '29 Ford double kit shown here). There are a LOT of differences between the two. Again, I always find it kind of amazing that adult "professionals" can measure the exact same thing and come up with different results. "Old tool" parts are white, "new tool" parts are gray. First off, we'll compare the fender units. The main differences, besides the slightly shorter length of the "new" (2002 tooling) one, are the rolled lips on the fenders of the old kit (1960s tooling) that are almost totally lacking on the new one, and the louver detail on the aprons. The rolled lips are easily identifiable on pix of the REAL car, both finished as-was and during its recent restoration. The much lighter engraving of the louvers on the new parts will tend to fade out and disappear as the part is painted, particularly important as the correct color is pearl white, with a clear topcoat. Lotsa paint. Next up is the body shell or bucket. The real car uses a '29 model A Ford front section wedded to a '27 Ford model T rear. The "new" tool part is fatter and rounder at the sides, longer, and is considerably different in the rear. Again, white is the 1960s tooling and gray is the 2002 tooling. Later on, we'll be comparing these to photos of the real car to see exactly what's what. The main differences in the pickup bed are length, rather a large difference, and the size of the license plate recess. The old-tool kit has it too small.

Looking good. You've laid out the sectioning cuts very much like the kustomizers did it on the 1:1s. Can't go wrong doing it right.

The answer is a qualified "yes". Enamel "flows out" longer than lacquer, so it tends to dry glossier...on real cars as well as models. The upside of lacquer is that it can be sanded and polished to a high gloss much sooner than you can usually get away with on enamel. Acrylic urethane (for real cars) combines the best features of both...high initial gloss, and rapid cure in case polishing is necessary.

Yup, paint looks great, engine's nice and clean.

That's one that is going to be challenging. Due to the fastback roofline and the multitude of compound curves, it won't be an easy one. I transplanted that roof on to a '50 Olds a while back with the intention of chopping it too, but after looking it over carefully, I decided to wait until I first got another Fleetline to "practice" on first. There are a fair number of 1:1 build pix online, and you'll find you will do a model much the same way. Here's a video of doing the real thing.

X2. A LOT.

Great looking model, important car as Phil already said. Your fine work really makes me want to tear into one.

Yes, there will be copies. I'll be making molds of the individual custom parts...nose, hood, side panels, and bellypans, tonneau and fairing...to produce almost-scale thickness fiberglass copies for myself so I can build this thing with opening panels to show off the guts. The model was designed with the intention of fitting the old AMT 1929 Ford body shell...which has recently been repopped as the Mod Rod...and a resin-caster has expressed interest in producing some traditional resin copies (different from the fiberglass ones I'll be doing) too. The recent Revell '29 Ford and '30 ford underpinnings could also work as donors. Alan, I'm familiar with your model of the Niekamp car (very nice) and you're right, they belong together. I'm sure something can be arranged.

Small-displacement runabout two-wheelers seem to be catching on fairly well here, particularly with young people, owing to the extremely low operating and insurance costs. There's even a no-tag-required class for some of the smallest-engined ones. There is in fact a Vespa dealer close to my home. Still, with the terminally-distracted US drivers, I wouldn't feel entirely secure on such a vulnerable little machine around this town . Last time I was driving the old Geo, some smart-phone-encumbered soccer-mom in an SUV practically ran me off the road. Time to get a JC Whitney diesel-horn.