Fat Brian

I'm 1981 so I've got the same issue. I thought it would be a good way to get a variety of entries though.

I think that would be allowed, I'm sure there are some people who might have to go further to find something.

It's that time again folks, the days are growing short and it's time to pick a theme for next year's Cannonball. I've got a few to get the ball rolling, please post you're ideas as well so we can pick a winner. Idea #1: Lemonball Like the 24 Hours of Lemons, build a budget race car to drive coast to coast. You can build a serious attempt at a race car or a ridiculous clunker, whatever strikes your fancy. Idea #2: Birth-year Ball Build a vehicle from the year you were born, or as close as you can get. Modify any way you want or not at all, just get it to the starting line.

Testors did a Model Master color called Jet Exhaust that was very metallic and dried flat.

I actually don't consider myself a collector. I intend to build or at least utilize parts from every kit I own. When I buy vintage kits I specifically seek out kits that aren't collector grade because I'm just going to open it and build it if I get a chance.

Well, I'm calling it done. I need to put a license plate on it and get some better shots but this is what I've got. I started with the Revell Mustang GTO kit. My objective was to de-racify it to the point that it would look street legal enough to make it across the country. So, I had to re-open the headlights and grille that had been closed off and add back some headlights and turn signal. While not fully street legal due to no side markers on the front it's going to fool most officers. Then I wrapped it in a coat of Tamiya light gunmetal with Mr. Super Clear semi gloss top coat. Now it was time to focus on making it into a Cannonball car. I ditched the 305 race motor and swapped in a 2.2 liter Cosworth 4 cylinder from a Monogram IMSA Mustang which also donated it's wheels. I added a turbo for a few more ponies in my Pony along with an intercooler and piping. The kit was a single seater with the passenger side completely removed and the exhaust exiting out the door. I added the door bars from an old NASCAR and seats from the Revell 90 drag Mustang. The extra fuel tank is from a Ramminator monster truck kit. The slicks had to go and were replaced with tires from a Fujimi County Countach up front and two of the smaller rear tires from two Monogram sprint cars. Finally, the rear window louvres to hid the roll cage and rear firewall are from a Revell snap Mustang and the mirrors are from a Tamiya race Skyline.

I've had the exact same thing happen with a Flintstone King Cobra body for the Revell Torino. It's too small in every direction, like it's 1/26 scale instead of 1/25.

If you're having to put an excessive amount of pressure on the parts to get the wheels to click "home" you might need to make sure any flash or mold seams are cleaned up on the wheels stubbs. Also you might need to slightly open the tip of the hole if it had flash around it.

This is my first figure, though it was a bit like armor considering there's no skin or face. I love the Battletech and Mechwarrior games and have a love of big stompy robots in general. I wanted to build a few shelf sitters for decoration in my model room and the game pieces are the most affordable though small figures available. This little guy is about an inch and quarter tall and is made of white metal. I used Tamiya and Vallejo paints.

I use cans so they're $12-$14 a can usually.

Wow, what a glorious old boat. That's an amazing car.

I love the Mr. Hobby clears, they're expensive but worth every penny.

The best thing to do with import kits is to look them up before buying them to make sure they have what you're looking for. Some kits have great bodies but old chassis from when they were motorized.

My kit was already opened in the rear I didn't have to do any additional work to get it open. Yeah, fuel capacity and economy play a big part in the real Cannonball. I also swapped the v8 for a turbo 4cyl to maximize mpg. Losing a few seconds getting to top speed is more than made up for by fewer pit stops.

I'm getting back on the Mustang so hopefully I'll have it buttoned up in time. We've had a couple good painting days lately since I've managed to get the body in color and while it's curing I'm getting the chassis detail painted.

There is usually a good bit of room around the kit wheels so going bigger shouldn't be an issue to a point, 18 should be safe. There are some sets of aftermarket wheels that are big and little, just post the sets you're looking at here and someone should know what's inside.

Great, thank you.

Since those are plated you could brush paint it flat black and then use a Q tip to wipe the paint off the spring. For ones that aren't plated I paint them black then dry brush the spring whatever color I want it and paint the attachment points silver.

Can someone who has one of these tell me if the fender flares are separate pieces or not?

Any of the 1/25 AMT trailers should work. For that truck I would probably go with either the flatbed or lowboy, something that works hard in rough conditions. Maybe it's the equipment hauler for a construction company and gets neglected because it only gets driven a few times a year when they're moving equipment from one site to the next or hauls materials to job sites that are off the road a bit.

Yeah, for someone really dedicated to 1/25 scale it can be done. The hole in the hood needs to be dealt with and you won't have a stock front bumper but the Smittybilt bumper in the kit was a popular mod.

The interior is pretty good, it just has aftermarket bucket seats and a steering wheel. It's just hard to justify that much work when the Revell kit is so good.

Yeah, this is a win for me. It pays homage to the chassis design but modernized it in a clean way. Now, it's probably uncontrollable insanity to drive due to being only RWD but that's never going to be a me problem.

There is something in the pens that is part of the chrome reaction that evaporates out and ruins them. Both pens I bought were useless in a couple months but the refill is still as good as day one after two years. I just put a drop or two in a water bottle lid and apply it with a brush or toothpick.

I love Mr Super Clear both gloss and flat, it's great. The only thing is that it's expensive.