Fat Brian

My Mack got here today with my wheels, maybe now I can make some better progress since my rolling stock is pinned down. I'm going to z the frame behind the cab to lower it at least half an inch, it may just have to ride kind of high due to the wheels being tall. Getting the front down is no problem, a standard monoleaf with a deeply scooped axle will be fine, the rear might be an issue due to trying to be low but not wanting to mount the axle directly to the frame.

Here is a thread from the Lexus forum I'm on that shows pictures of Plasti-dip being used to black out the emblems on a few cars. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-second-generation/527165-diy-matte-black-emblems-plastidip-no-emblem-removal-required.html

But it doesn't have the performance of the Viper or Vette to make the impracticality worth it. The Prowler has been out of production since '02, how many ten year old dailly driven Dodge products in good shape do you see in a day, probably not many. If that Prowler has been driven daily it's most likely just a clapped out ten year old car to its owner.

I guess when the new wears off and you're left with a car even less practical than the Dodge Neon that was cannabalized to built it you probably wouldn't wash it either.

Dying their pets wild colors is popular in some circles, first world problems I guess.

Here is a thread about it from a few months ago: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=50321

You just need to glue some styrene strip along the edge where its cut. Use good glue like Tenax and give it a day or so to dry so its solid when you go to sand it. You can follow the contour of the rear part that is still there to put the correct curve in it and then rescribe the door line. It's not that bad to fix but this is also a fairly easyily obtainable kit, I saw a few at Hobby Lobby last week. Print you off a 40% off coupon and buy yourself a new one, the cammer parts are worth it if you add them to a better block from a newer FE motored kit.

I had originally traded for some Pegasus wheels that look like semi wheels: But the more I looked at them the more I wanted something else, even weathered they might not look right. So I got the Mack AC wheels, they won't be much for comfort but are very stylish.

I bought a Mack AC off ebay last night so my wheels should be here midweek, I also rebuilt the frame out of smaller square stock. Once I get my rolling stock in I will be able to set the ride height and really make some progress.

I was just about to post that I had just bought that kit for about ten bucks, thats the chance you take not posting it on ebay.

He made it to just about when the power really starts to come on.

I've gotten started on the real bed, the white parts will be rusted with Sophisticated Finishes rust patina kit. I'm not super happy with the frame, I might redo it. The engine is complete except for the accessories and exhaust, I'm still trying to find a transmission that looks right, beefy but not really huge. I traded for some Pegasus wheels that kind of look like semi wheels but I think I want to go with the spoked wheels from the Mack AC kit, I just have to buy the kit I guess.

The running gear is typical Pete stuff, I think the prototype had a old style mechanical 3406 in it. You could start with the Revell snap kit since it has the correct engine and rear suspension and just scratch the cab. It's mostly flat pieces, even the main windshield pieces are flat.

Gee, I can't imagine why.

While I was at work today I was driving down the interstate and noticed an unusual looking cab over approaching in the oncoming lanes. It was faded orange and the closer it got the unusualer it looked, I had never seen anything quite like it. After a little searching I found it, a Peterbilt 372. Yikes!?

Find a local place that does window tinting and ask them if you can buy one square foot of mirrored tint. They might just give it to you if the have some scraps laying around but it shouldn't cost more than a few bucks.

That should be fine, the Duplicolor is hotter then the Testors so the Testors paint is unlikely to lift it. You should test it on a scrap piece to be sure.

If the can feels like it still has paint in it you can switch the nozzle from another can and try again or soak the clogged nozzle in paint thinner for a day or so to try to break down the clog. CAUTION: if you switch nozzles from a different color spray it away from your project until the paint sprays the correct color, if the switched nozzle has been previously used there can be paint still in it from the wrong color.

If the chrome is still good on the parts the most common method is to spray the chrome with candy yellow or orange, it depends on the gold tone you want. I would test it on some scrap pieces since you are trying to match your wheels to see what gets you closer.

Marbling is when a body is molded in a color, like the body in that kit is blue, and there are swirl marks in the plastic made as the mold was filled. Plastic can have a "grain" to it caused by plastic flowing in different directions meeting meeting each other in the middle of your body panels. Some paints follow this "grain" and cause a problem called "ghosting", where artifacts from the plastic cause imperfections in the paint.

I reworked the wrecker part, I wanted it to be more like the pic above but I want it to appear as if it would really work. I'm goint to cut the verticle white bars off level with the top of the cab once everything is getting closer to its final position.

The easiest way to lower this kit is, for the front, to cut off the pins that the wheels snap to and move them higher up on the little circle. You can get a few scale inches that way, if you need more you can add a piece of flat plastic that extends higher that the circle to get even more drop. You can also change the track width the same way, since the wheels you are going to use have more negative offset that the kit wheels you can add plastic to where you cut the pin from to move the wheel closer to the fender lip if you need to. To lower the rear you need to cut the leaf springs off of the axle and put a little block between the axle and spring to move the axle up into the rear subframe. If this is unclear please don't cut anything, just ask and I will try to post some pics.

That is a beautiful car, where did those wheels come from?

Thats cool.