1/18th Pegasus wheel on a 1/25 model...

[Steve H.]

Works rather well! These are Pegasus 1/18th lowrider wheels, which I believe are 14" in scale. Measured in 1/25th, they're approximately 20" wheels. Since the Imperial is so big, I think they work well on this car. I didn't like the 3 blade knock-offs that came with the wheel set, so I came up with another idea for a cap. The baby moon is a thumb tack, polished up in my dremel.

The only round stock for axles I had handy was a styrene tube, which by luck fit the thumbtack perfectly!

[Jairus]

Good start... but your going to use up a LOT of baremetal on that one!

[Steve H.]

Got a new sheet of BMF just for this project!

I suspect the top of the side spear is going to be a pain... no real distinct edge to cut against. I'll probably lay some masking tape on the body to give myself a cutting guide.

[Gregg]

What I try to do sometimes is cut out the BMF super straight and almost the exact size needed before putting it on.

Works great for same size trim pieces, but for the back, maybe transfer shape with tracing paper, then onto BMF?

Also, one thing I see in so many shows is that areas like the window frames show up so many rough spots and irregularities.

This is due to the roughness of the paint.

Try polish the area with a course or mild polish from Tamiya first.

Or, if you're brave enough, sand it with super fine sandpaper.

[Steve H.]

Hmmm... Cutting BMF to an exact size (and laying it down straight!) seems tough.

I've noticed that about window frames also. Isn't it amazing how chrome tape highlights bad areas, too?!?! I polish out the frames with the rest of the body. Always seem to forget those areas in the wing windows, though! My buddy Andy mask all of his chrome areas to keep them clean, but sometimes has to deal with paint edge/BMF overlap.

BMF is the best/worst thing we use...

[Gregg]

I have yet to try and use Alclad II for the chrome around the windows

That will be a lot of masking and taping

Might work out good, though

[Zoom Zoom]

That Imperial is going to be cool!

I use a metal straight edge ruler w/cork backing for "non-slip" and carefully cut thin strips of BMF for thin chrome strips all the time. It's a bit tedious, you must use a perfect new blade, but it works.

I also notice the vent window/trim problem w/BMF applied over not-so-smooth surfaces. It hides nothing. You have to treat it like paint; the surface has to be clean and neat and smooth before it's covered.

I think Alclad wouldn't be a big improvement; and I don't think it's nearly as impervious to fingerprints/time as BMF is.

[Steve H.]

A friend tried it... Results are that its more tedious than BMF and doesn't look as good. You have to polish the chrome areas, tape it off, apply the dark base and chrome, unmask it, hope that you got even coverage... Beyond that, although I like Alclad, I find its always a bit too dark for my taste. (But then, I'm still working on that paint technique!)

Although, BMF has the limitation of being one tone, which is not true on a real car (yes, I know there's different types of BMF, but I find that after its burnished down, it all looks the same to me!). Stainless, chrome, pot metal, aluminum... They all look different and we typically BMF "Chrome" everything! Take a look at a Juha model sometime and look at his metal finishes... dead on every time!

[FASTBACK340]

I agree....1/18 is sometimes just right for 1/25!

[Steve H.]

Yes and no...

I have two sets of tires (D and DZ in the product code, dunno which is which) One set is the typical lowrider style round shouldered tire. This one has a seperate ww insert that, because of the stretch, pops out.

The other, square shouldered tire has a molded ww and 18" peggys fit fine. The other diff between the 2 tires is that the second is about 2"-3" taller.

Look at all that dust!