Eric Macleod

I have been rather distracted again. The washing machine broke, went out of town etc. After 5 attempts and three brands of paint I have a coat of black on the fenders that I am semi-happy with. I also had an epiphany about the radiator alignment and decided to line it up just as I would on a 1:1 car, using the hood to decide where the rad should go. Here's the progress.

I agree with the others. This looks great. Have you thought of a longer wheelbase? I have an extra set of fenders, a couple frame rails, exhaust pipes and a drive shaft if you want to attempt it.

I have been away too long. Congrats on your successful RR show. You certainly are the master of producing some very interesting projects. I am looking forward to watching the progress of this project. Clearly model car building can be more than just cars! All the best, Eric

I like this a LOT. You have really captured the essence of the 1:1 car. Like you, I miss my Miatas also. I very well may have to follow your lead on this one! Well done.

Yup. That's it. Looks great.

The whole of this model is just stunning. Beautiful work! I really like the color and quality of your paint work...so much that I plan to use the same paint on a Cord project I have been working on for nearly 40 years. I am envious of the Aston!

I didn't get a lot done in the last couple weeks. I'm waiting for a second round of the purple pond to do its job on the fenders. I have largely finished my work on the engine. Spark plugs still have to be painted. I also painted the fan belt and put the first coat of flat white on the muffler. I have decided to keep calling this an '11 as it is a closed valve engine (can't be a '10), but has no front doors (can't be a '12). This is a very nice model. The slow pace of the build is a result of my own ineptitude with painting, and making some fundamental errors.

That looks doable. Good luck!

I have had the privilege of driving one of these in 1:1 scale, albeit a coupe, not the convertible. You just wouldn't believe how well made these cars are. You are really doing justice to the real thing with your model. I'm waiting for updates with interest!

This is a model I would definitely be proud to display. Looks great.

I used the Monogram Packard Phaeton body on the bottom and grafted a pair of Monogram Ford Model A Coupe roof sides ( for window frames) along with a full roof section from a AMT 31 Ford Tudor. Tons of sanding and filling gave me the result you see. When I built my Duesenberg Judkins Victoria I used a method very similar to yours with the multiple Town Car bodies and the wedges cut in them. You definitely have the right idea as far as I am concerned Pat. I am interested in watching your progress.

I didn't want to hijack your thread but here is what I built at the time.

I built a 1930 Packard 734 sedan perhaps 15 years ago. This is not for the feint of heart but you'll have a great model when you are done.

My God! The car in the box art is dark green! Could it be any worse? I celebrate your beautiful loser model and will watch the assembly with interest.

I like a lot of these. My pick is this car. 1932 Packard 12 Individual Custom Phaeton by Dietrich.

These are all very good suggestions. I will go ahead and steal all of them! I was looking at the spark plugs which may need to be a touch larger to be detailed enough to be noticeable. The correct plugs for one of these cars are really quite large both in terms of length and diameter. I wonder if the car ICM used for dimensions had a set of the newer plugs in place instead of a correct set. This kit is an interesting mix of obsessive detailing and baffling omissions. As an example, that ICM skipped the drain cocks for the oil (a part that is 1" long and perhaps 1/2" in diameter) is forgivable as it is such a small and relatively unimportant detail. On the other hand, omitting the entire gas tank and shut off (in 1:1 very prominent large aspects of the car -2 feet long and 10" in diameter) is puzzling. The only explanation I can come up with is they were planning the speedster a long time before the first kit was released. Either way, this is proving to be a delight of a project.

I did quite a lot of detail painting this evening. Just before calling it a night I caught a glimpse of the passenger side splash apron (part of the fender assembly) and there it was, a nice big ole run in the paint. Guess I am glad I caught it now. Oh well. Here's the progress for the evening.

Oh...round 4 for sure.

This also helps. I am curious where you found the speedster for $19.99. I would be interested in picking up a couple of these. I had a thought that I could build a Torpedo as seen above out of one of the speedster kits. I really like the tail-lamp idea, though to be correct one lens should be clear (the one that illuminates the license plate), one blue (to the side) and one red (rear facing). The clear blue and red would help a lot. I have been wondering about adhesive for the headlamps and windshield and think 5 minute epoxy may be my best bet. Evidently I need to get building and post some updates. Does anyone out there in the model car building world know if spark plug wires are allowed when building for the out of the box class? I am probably calling that the wrong thing, so I hope you know what I mean.

I think the Mazda lettering in the wheels had paint in there, and it would have been black. I sold my last Miata 12 years ago and my memory is foggy! A quick online check matches my hunch though.

Thanks to both John and John. Because this is a '12 the closed valvetrain is correct. And you are correct, it will be a very dark (almost black) blue body over black fenders. I am using a local car (in this case an '11 Torpedo, but close enough) as a reference for colors. It helps when they are closeby home.

I think I am going to take a crack at finishing this one up while waiting for parts to dry on my 1912 T buildup. This is going to be a model of a local collector's Cord L-29, Phaeton Sedan, 1930. It will be a curbside and as been on/off my workbench since the last weekend of June, 1982. So, a 37 year bring out your dead. I feel it's time to either finish it or chuck it in the trash.

I am building the ICM '12 T Touring ( I accidentally called it an '11 in the title). That review was quite helpful Mike999, especially the part specific to the manifold. My car will have a few differences to make it more '12 than '13 and I will get rid of some of the excess brass "bling" that was never on the car. I think it will be a fun model.

Because life has been happening it has been some time since I have worked on a model of any kind. With the final Toledo show coming up I thought I would take a crack at this kit in the out of the box guise. I will change some of the glaring errors and will explore what can be done with paint alone. Here is my start but already I have painted fenders twice and have a part line on the transmission hogshead and inspection cover to fix.

It was a little hard to tell the diecast from the resin. I like them both.