Do you know who Norman E. Timbs is? Updated Dec 13, 2011

[Wagoneer81]

Peter, are you using a photo hosting site? I use the photohosting sites, Tiny Pic and Photobucket. They're free and I have never had any issues when it comes to posting pics to this site. In fact, I just posted a couple in a build thread in Model Trucks about 30 minutes ago and had no problems. I understand fully how frustrating it can get when things start working against you, especially if they were working before. I hope you can resolve this soon as I am really enjoying watching your work...

Edited November 6, 2011 by Wagoneer81

[crazyjim]

I use Photobucket, Peter and haven't had any issues other than the forum limit of 5 pics at a time.

[Peter Lombardo]

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it...I use Flickr and never have had any issues in the past. Normally, I write my post in word, I insert (copy and paste) the picture code for each picture from Flickr with the appropriate "image coding before and after the string, where I want it and then cop[y the entire text message, picture code and all into the "forum". Like I said before, this always worked with out any issues. But now, half of the pictures refuse to appear more often then not, the "code string" appears but not the picture. I review the picture code and there are no issues with it, but the forum just does not want to display the image. Like I said, I will stop posting pictures if this continues........I guess I am being too vain, but I like my posts to look like I actually thought about it before posting it. I will try again in a few minutes.

[Peter Lombardo]

Ok, since the last update was such a big hit………… its ok, I don’t need encouragement, here is another “ho-hum” up date to go along with that one.

The chassis has received some additional detailing…the parking brake line is in and the rear brake lines are set.

Much of the engine detailing is completed too. Here is the left side of the motor….which is a resin casting by Ken Kitchen….Kitchen Table Resins…..it really is very nice and accurate casting of the Buick Straight 8.

Here I attached the oil filter up high and painted it like the one on the Timbs Special. I added a distributor and cap from Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland….I think the ones that Norm offers are hands down the best available. I realize the distributor cap on the real car is black, but I could not bring myself to paint over the beautiful tan molding by Norm….so it stays tan….besides, it would not even be visible if I painted it black and to not see this beautiful casting would be a crime. To the basic engine block I added the oil dipstick , the vacuum advance, bare metal foil to the valve cover and you can see the fuel lines added to the carbs. Interestingly, I have photos of the real car, obviously from different times in the restoration where the fuel lines show up on the inboard side on one and mounted to the outboard side in another. I went with the outboard side just because………Here the engine is mounted on the chassis as it will be after the front suspension is completed.

Also, you can see that the body has now been cut. The front section has the bulkhead in place and will have the cockpit opened next and that section will be eventually mounted to the chassis. The rear section will be hinged at the top of the front so it will open, as it does on the real car.

Thinking ahead to the display of the car, I am toying with the idea of semi-permanently mounting it to a finished wooded base….and below the base mounting a motor with a slow moving rod that will open and close the back of the car. ( the real car has a hydraulic ram that opens and closes the rear deck so a powered rod would be true to the prototype) It looks so good with the body down showing the long swoopy sleek lines, but there is so much under the back end with the engine, gas tank and spare tire along with the delicate frame that it would be a shame to miss that. So maybe a switch that will allow the back to open and close for viewing would work out best…..and I guess, I could add working head and tail lights along with an “under hood” light to illuminate the engine compartment and maybe even dashboard lights……we’ll see about that later.

Edited November 7, 2011 by Peter Lombardo

[Peter Lombardo]

After about an hour of screwing around with the posting, I finally got it to post (missing some info) but at least it is posted. The program, literally "ate" some of the text and picture coding transferring from "Word" to the forum. I ended up having to rebuild much of it.............this is just plain silly.

[Bernard Kron]

I have missed some of the postings on this project and have at last gone back to review them. I have deprived myself of so much that should inspire and inform any aspiring modeler. The chassis work, both the planning and execution, are exceptional. Particularly impressive is how nicely it scales to the eye. It appears to be styrene. Did you fabricate the Ford style crossmembers? What shapes and sizes of material did you use? It all looks so "right". And the payoff is when, in your last pictures, it mates up to that nice Ken Kitchen straight eight and the thin crispness of you bodywork. I'm certain I'm not the only one waiting with anticipation for more progress on this superb model. Thanx for sharing!

[Wagoneer81]

I am impressed! You are definitely doing this one justice! It's been really inspiring to me!.

[curt raitz]

Peter

It's great to see you're still around...

love this car, you're doing a fantastic job of recreating it

any chance a spare body may find it's way to Hollister, CA?

will be enjoying watch you bring this car to life

c'ya

oh yah...the limit of 4 - 5 photos per post messed me up as well

i use fotki and have not had any issues of getting the text and photos to work with each other...

Edited November 7, 2011 by curt raitz

[Dr. Cranky]

That's looking fabulous . . . great craftsmanship!

[curt raitz]

Hey Peter, love the paint on the fingers...sign of a true modeler!

[darquewanderer]

Very unusual subject. Really looking forward to this buildup.

If you'd like a little more info, go here... http://www.extravaga...erican-hot-rod/

It's looking like another winner.

I'll be following this build.

Edited November 11, 2011 by darquewanderer

[jaymcminn]

I've been a fan of the Timbs streamliner for years, and your build is really impressive. The idea of mounting it semi-permanently to a base to provide power for electrics and the rear bodywork is interesting, too.Can't wait to see more progress on this one!

[Dr. Cranky]

I keep returning for more. That chassis is so cool, and so well executed.

[Tony T]

Peter, all of your builds are wonderful to follow along with. Just fantastic what you've done with the build so far.

As for posting...no issues, as I type in the topic box and copy and paste image code from Photobucket. No nonsense! I have seen others mention issues with Flickr and I thought someone had posted a Flickr work-around or posting tips.

[Peter Lombardo]

First of all, “thank you” very much to all the guys who made very nice comments about this build, I really do appreciate it. And yes Curt, I almost always have either paint or putty, or both on my hands) Next, a number of guys have asked for copies of the body for this project. Sure, I will be happy to pop a few off to any one who wants one. ( I am planning on doing a Salt flat streamliner with one body, so I know there could be a few uses for the thing).

I can’t guarantee how quickly I can get them done with the Holiday season upon us, but if anyone wants one, we’ll do it the same was as last time. Just e mail me your address and I will send it out. The cost will also be the same as last time, that is $10.00 per body which includes shipping (I will not be retiring on this income stream, I can tell you that…..but no problem). One more thing, we are all adults here, so if you request a body, and you receive it and it is what you expected it to be, just please send me a paypal payment or a check…..I am most concerned about covering my postal and material costs so please don’t stick me.

My e mail is aegisgolf@optonline.net so if you are interested send me an e mail.

I was out of town for the better part of last week, but I was able to get a little work done on the chassis. I figured I would post a few more shots of the progress and use the posting as an excuse to post the offer for the bodies. First, here is a shot of the real chassis (complete of course, where mine is still having details added) for comparison purposes

I apologize for the poor lighting and the darkness of the shots….I had a limited space and light to photograph the chassis, but I figured poor light is better that no light. In this shot you can see the exhaust system attached to the engine. It is made from .50 mm Solder. The system crosses over under the spare tire holder and has extended tips that exit just under the rear bumperette which is not fabricated yet. Here is a shot from the bottom. Here you can see the mufflers which are made from two pieces of aluminum tubing, one inside of the other. The mufflers are painted with a custom mix of very pale light metallic blue paint (like the real car). At either end of the mufflers the pipes are wrapped with heat wrap to insulate the frame, I simulated it with off-white seatbelt material.

Here is a shot of the chassis with the spare tire mounted on the holder with the three screws (really just very thin rods running up through three lug nut holes) holding it in place. Also, the gas tank in resting in place…..it is not completed yet (you can see the putty still on it) but you get the idea. And all the way up front you can just make out the front axle in place attached to the springs, but it needs a lot of work yet to make the wheels turn and for the car to sit on all fours. Here is a look from the other angle……… I will finish the front suspension in few more days and then on to more body work. I am getting ready to open up the interior on the body , build the seats and dash area. Then it is on to begin work on the photoetched grill and the two bumperettes which will made of brass and soldered together…what fun.

Edited November 16, 2011 by Peter Lombardo

[crazyjim]

Amazing work, Peter.

[warra48]

Wow, what an amazing job, just awesome.

[randx0]

Peter ,I don't know where to start the real car is cool,but you building one from scratch is the coolest.Also I don't respond every time you update but always peruse the work you are doing and it is always a learnig experience keep up the awesome work!

[Peter Lombardo]

Construction and fabrication is continuing on the Timbs Special Streamliner. I have completed the front suspension. The “coke” can springs and articulated shocks that I made actually allow the wheels to travel up and down. You will not see much of this after the car is complete, but it was just as easy to make them move as not move so they work. The wheels turn and the brake lines are in….they don’t go anywhere, but you really will not see them, so it is fine the way it is.

I completed the front chassis extensions and mounted the radiator. I fabricated the coolant lines from solder and made the hose clap sections from tape. I have drilled out the areas on the carbs where the throttle linkage will go, but have not installed that part of the engine detailing yet.

I have installed the absolutely beautiful wheels and hubcaps that I ordered for the Modelhaus. The tires are item #T-170 with option C, which is the one white and one black sidewall. The hubcaps are Cadillac Sombrero’s with a touch of Tamiya clear red in the center. The spare tire is a leftover from a diecast Chrysler woody convertible that I had laying around. The spare is very slightly larger, but the great thing is that it has the 5 lug pattern which I drilled out so the spare sits nicely on the holder in the chassis and it does not have the full hubcap, as many of my reference photos show it that way.

It was a very tedious job to get all four wheels the exact same height; especially on a completely scratch built chassis….there is a lot of room for error….so great care was needed. Actually, the chassis came out perfectly straight, so even as difficult as it was, it could have been much worse.

I completed the internal bracing under the rear body section and painted it all with Tamiya Matt Black. The ribs are all fabricated from plastic rod with steel rod centers. The stuff is great, you can bend and shape it; it holds its shape and even lets you use styrene glue to attach other styrene parts to it. Also, these ribs function exactly like the real ribs do, they hold the body in place….especially around the area of the rear wheels where the unsupported styrene would have the tendency to want to pinch in and distort the shape….the ridged ribs prevent that from occurring. The rear wheel mud guards are in, before and aft the rear wheel areas. The center hinge is in place and it allows the back end to lift up, just as the rear car does.

On the front section, I have opened up the interior area (man, is this a tight cockpit area) There is no room to spread out….not a good car to go on a date with for a little “Submarine Race “ watching with a girlfriend… (Just showing my age here). The seat material is half round styrene stock, glued side by side, and then sanded down to give it a more flattened look….the half round stock is just too round. Obviously, there is much to be done to the interior section to complete it.

Some additional photos…since we are limited to only 5 per posting.

After these areas are completed, it is on to the bumpers which will be fabricated from brass rod, the windshield supports and the photoetched grille….which should be interesting since I have never attempted photo-etching before…..I’ve gotta’ keep moving my boundaries.

[crazyjim]

Unreal build, Peter. Looking forward to seeing more progress.

[deathskull59]

wow cool fancy looking roadster. that is one winning car to have at car model shows nice work on it.

[Peter Lombardo]

Work has progressed on the chassis of the Timb’s Special to point where it is almost complete. Interestingly, more complete it is, the less there is visible, in fact, once it is complete, nearly the entire engine and chassis detail will be hidden by the body. It seems a shame to spend all this time and energy detailing the chassis which is not really easily seen, but I know it is all in there and it makes this a more complete and accurate model of the real car.

Last night, I completed the throttle linkage, shift linkage, fuel lines and the fuel tank location. It is the fuel tank that hides much of the transmission and associated linkage the most. Since nearly all of the chassis components are black, they all get lost…..and now that the under engine splash pan is in place, which is also black, the detail is really obscured. Here is a shoot just prior to the bottom splash panel installation, but after the linkages were installed. Here it is with the lower panel in place (sorry about the fine dust on the components, I think I need to break out the “Pledge” and give it a good dusting)

Next, the front of the body is on the chassis. The interior panels have been completed. As I mentioned in the last update, I glued half-round stock to the backing panel and then sanded them down to remove much of the roundness so that they have the more correct flatter appearance. On the real car, the leather interior pieces overlap onto the top of the body with piping, in two layers, surrounding the cockpit area, this is all in place now. This will all be taped off when the body is painted and then painted with a semi-gloss tan to replicate leather. Here is a look from the other side…. I have begun the dashboard and work on the gauges and their surrounds…there sure is a lot of gauges on this car ( 9 in total ) considering it is a rather simple vehicle in relation to the cars on the road today. Next the windshield stanchions will be fabricated and made ready for installation after the body is painted.

I have ordered from Micro-Mark all of the supplies I will need to photo etch the grille, headlight surrounds and a few other pieces…I an planning on doing the windshield stanchions also, but I am not sure how that will work, so we will see having never even attempted photo etching before…..I know I can do the process, I am just not sure of the limitations of it, and therefore am afraid I may over-reach what is possible…we’ll see.

Finally, here is one shot of the body over the chassis with the interior in place. It gives you a feel for the over-all length of the car and just how long the rear section of the body really is.

The last two hurtles I have are the grille and bumperettes. The bumperettes must be hand formed, then soldered together and that is very a very tedious affair. I don’t know for sure, but I may attempt to photo etch the bumperettes too, just to see how they look…..I know the bumperettes are round, so we will see how that works, besides, once the plate is exposed, it matters not how much is on the thing. But all of this expands my abilities and allows me to take on more projects that I would never have dreamed of doing before.

[Dave Ambrose]

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it...I use Flickr and never have had any issues in the past. Normally, I write my post in word, I insert (copy and paste) the picture code for each picture from Flickr with the appropriate "image coding before and after the string, where I want it and then cop[y the entire text message, picture code and all into the "forum". Like I said before, this always worked with out any issues. But now, half of the pictures refuse to appear more often then not, the "code string" appears but not the picture. I review the picture code and there are no issues with it, but the forum just does not want to display the image. Like I said, I will stop posting pictures if this continues........I guess I am being too vain, but I like my posts to look like I actually thought about it before posting it. I will try again in a few minutes.

Peter,

If it's any consolation, other people are having this problem too. The root problem is that pasting text from Word doesn't work like we want it to. This is Microsoft's fault. We cannot fix it.

There are a couple of things might work for you. You might try the "Paste from Word" button on the BBS editor. I've had mixed results from this, but it may work well enough.The other solution is to either compose it with the built-in editor for the board, or compose it in Notepad, then cut and paste.

The Paste from Word button is the third button from the top left. Try it. If it doesn't work, copy and paste the ext into notepad, then copy and paste the text from notepad into the Forum post. This will launder the pasted text.

[crazyjim]

Your work never ceases to amaze me, Peter. Could you make removable panels? Maybe clear panels? A pity to cover all that detail, but at least you have pics.

[Bernard Kron]

I think there are two aspects to this build that continue to give me enormous pleasure. The first is your absolute fearlessness in taking on new techniques and approaches in order to remain true to the look and feel of the 1:1. The discipline, commitment and enthusiasm this implies serves as a tremendous inspiration to us all.

The second is how the project continues to "scale" so beautifully. It remains devoid of any sense of "fussiness" or senseless detail for its own sake. Everything seems to be done toward the end of achieving the best possible scale representation of the original.

I can't wait for the next installment!