Jump to content

ewahl

IPMS/USA Member
  • Posts

    1,316
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    20

Everything posted by ewahl

  1. I order my clear plastic sheets from MicroMark. Their current catalog has the following stock numbers for Clear Vivak: 85881 -- 8.5" x 11", 0.010" thick, 6 per package, $15.75 (on sale from $19.35) 85882 -- 8.5" x 11", 0.150" thick, 6 per package, $17.50 (on sale from $21.50) 85883 -- 8.5" x 11", 0.030" thick, 6 per package, $17.50 (on sale from $21.50) I have used the above 0.010" stock in my vacuform machine very successfully. It produces a very clear piece that is even thinner when stretched and very flexible, but still quite sturdy when handled. Dip it in some Future. Trim your part off of the sheet with a sharp knife or scissors, and you can sand the edges using a fine grit and careful support when handling. These sheets are made by K&S, so you may find other sources as well. Good luck. Ed
  2. If the logos and markings are licensed by the military, will Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, Northrop Grumman, etc., have to pay a licensing fee to the appropriate branch of service whenever they complete and paint a new airplane prior to delivery? Perhaps the U.S. Government can recoup the cost of the airplane by charging the manufacturer a super high licensing fee for using proprietary images. Ed
  3. What follows here is all Wild Bill's fault. As a fellow club member, he roped me into the HobbyTown same-model contest. I bought two of the damaged kit boxes with the plan to build a showroom stock car and a street rod for the contest. AMT has reissued the 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS kit several times, but this time all of the gates on the sprues were opened to reveal all the parts for various versions. I found a part I had never before seen: a boot cover for a folded down convertible top. I decided to build a convertible as my showroom stock entry. Five cuts with a razor saw and the hardtop roof was off. The street rod was going to receive the custom styling pieces and a big blower on the top pf the engine along with the included side exhaust pipes. CONFESSION: My first paint job on the convertible was a disaster. I tried to use an old (ancient) square bottle of Pactra Royal Blue in my airbrush. The painted surface was royal blue all right, but it had the feel of 120-grit sandpaper. I tried sanding and polishing, but I would still be working on that today. I went back to HobbyTown and bought a 3rd kit so I could start over on the convertible body. This time I painted it with Tamiya Fine White Surface Primer from the can. I applied the bare metal foil trim, painted the emblems, and shot it again with Testors Clear High-Gloss Enamel from the can. My original white interior became a blue-tone interior with foil trim and painted details. I used the completed chassis and wheels from the first kit. On the Tuesday before the Saturday of the contest, I realized I had to choose one of the two kits to finish. There was no way I could finish both in time. I chose the convertible. Here it is, one of the other ten models entered in the contest.
  4. Hi, Gary, I have been viewing this project of yours from its beginning. I believe you have actually built a small car here; I only build models. That's a big difference. Congratulations on a superb conclusion. Ed
  5. Hi, Gil, Pat yourself on the back for this one! I love this airplane. I'd love to fit one of these into my build schedule. I have the kits, but it seems not enough time. Ed
  6. Great work, Kevin, on both! Your flair for using your imagination results in some truly spectacular busts. Ed
  7. Hi, Marcos, This is a fabulous build on the kit. I'm not familiar with Fujimi car kits because nobody around my area sells them, but your work could inspire me to do so. I'm sure if you took this model into a Porsche dealership and offered to display it, they would jump at the opportunity. If you have more than one, that would make the display even better. Thanks for sharing the photos with us. Ed
  8. HI, Bob, The pages are copied and ready to send. PM with your mailing address. Ed
  9. Hi, Bob, I have the instructions for the Tamiya 1/32 F-4C/D kit, which include the instructions for the TER, MER, Mk. 82 bombs with and without 36" fuse extensions, and Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles. I can copy the three pages containing the instructions for these parts and mail them to you. PM me with your mailing address. Glad to help. I believe my fellow club member sent you a nose cone. Ed
  10. Hi, Gil, My first reaction while viewing the photos was "This is sharp!" I'll stick with that assessment. Ed
  11. Hi, Mark, "Patience" is not the issue at all. I consider your posts and updates as "Required Reading." I have one of those fishing boats in progress, though not as far along as yours. So I am jealous. I'm not so sure that Chevrolet Corvettes ever came with army green seats in a black interior. An army green shift knob has to be a unique feature anywhere. Keep 'em coming! Ed
  12. Hi, Andy, Is this the old Parnelli Jones 1963 Watson roadster kit from AMT from 40+ years ago? It's looking good so far. The pictures are small, but I like your heat-stained exhaust pipe and the white-letter tires. Welcome to the gang. Ed
  13. Hi, Mike and Gil, Thanks for your memories of riding in cars of that era. In my family at the time I had four kids and wife, so our 1973 car of choice was a Pontiac Grand Safari station wagon. Luggage and stuff for six was abundant, so the station wagon's cargo space was needed. It was a green and chrome monster, especially to wash and wax. I rarely see station wagons as car bodies in model kits. Never mine! Ed
  14. Hi, Joe, Don't worry about your model count. Every person here has a first model in his or her past. Keep it as a measure of your progress in the hobby. Build what you like and the way you find it most enjoyable. Each new model represents something you have learned. Welcome! Ed
  15. Hi, Bob, This certainly looks like beautiful work to me. Congratulations on a great model of a 50-year-old car that wasn't so great then but is so wanted today. Ed
  16. Hi, Bill, Way to go! Every step, big or small, takes you one step closer to the finish line. With the hull now on the base, the potential for handling mishaps is diminished and you can concentrate on attaching the remaining internal and external pieces more easily. Looking forward to seeing it again soon at the meeting. Ed
  17. Hi, Clare -- Thank you for your kind words about the paint job and BMF application. As a former GM employee, you if anyone would appreciate this showroom stock model as your company built them. Also, you know where to find my errors. It was nice of you to not point them out. Hi, Joseph and Gary -- Part of what brought me back into doing a car model is your fantastic work on your superbly scratchbuilt car models. I can't match your level of expertise even though you inspire me to try. I have had a partly-built 1/12 Lamborghini Countach LP500S on hold for many years, which I promised to build for my daughter when she was in junior high school (her daughter is now in her first year of college). I got hung up on how to show the attachment of the carb linkage to a cable from the throttle pedal and what the seat belts, hardware, and attachments looked like (not included in the kit). Hi, Mark -- If you really think this is a real car, I have one to sell you. Seriously, thank you for your words of praise. It has been almost exactly 10 years since I built my last car kit: a Revell 1999 Shelby Series One that I used in my "Two Fast Women" diorama and took a 2nd place at the 2010 Nationals with it. You saw that one on the table. Hi, Bill -- Thanks for your in-person inspection of the model at our chapter meeting. You also politely did not shout out its faults. Full disclosure: there is a big one on the underside of the car. The two exhaust pipes running the length of the lower pan are molded too short to meet the exhaust pipes coming from the engine block, creating a gap of about 1/8th inch. Here is the dilemma: I built this kit strictly OOTB and would enter it in a curbside category at a National. According to the rules, inserting a plug into the gap on each side is not permitted because such a piece was not part of the kit. Yet, a contest judge not knowing this was the as-molded condition from the box would reject the model as having a basic construction error because the exhaust pipes are not connected. What to do? What to do? As was common at the time, MPC did not include pieces for such things as exterior rear view mirrors, internal windshield mirror (nobody had thought of On-Star back then), lap seat belts, steering column shift lever, turn signal lever, oil filler cap and tube, alternator support bracket (floating alternator on belts), hood hinges, etc. The solid wire front axle runs through a big slot in the engine block. There are two large circular holes on the gas tank where the screws for assembling the promo model version attach the lower pan to the upper body. I am not certain if this 1973 model was a rework of a 1972 or earlier kit or promo model by MPC, but I do know that this kit was adapted for the changes Chevrolet made to the car for 1974, 1975, and 1976. Not so long ago, Round 2 reissued the 1976 version, complete with the race car tow trailer "bonus" that was included for each of the four years. I am saving the trailer hitch mount and trailer for another project. Ed
  18. I purchased this model kit 43 years ago when it was brand new in the MPC line of 1973 annual car and truck kits. In 2016 I started it a couple of months ago because I had the urge to work with Bare Metal Foil to add chrome trim to a car model, and this car has lots of trim and badges in need of foil. Now that it is finished, my only regret is waiting this long to build it. Ed
  19. Hi, Mark, I must admit I have never see this Trumpeter kit on a shelf in any store, so I was not aware it even existed. I've followed your build photos as you moved this kit down your production line. I think you are fearless in the world of modeling. You will build models of subjects that many of us would be scared silly to even attempt. Great job on the Madge! Ed
  20. Hi, Mark, It's a treat to see someone who has a work area neater than mine. My wife is impressed, too. :D Ed
  21. Hi, Mark, It was really nice of you to build this model for your friend. I hope he was not anxiously looking over your shoulder every day to "inspect" and "monitor" your progress (or lack thereof) at the pace he would have liked. Question: Do you get to count this armor model for your running total of armor models if you do not get to keep the model? Ed
  22. C'mon, guys. This model of the Independent is a true replica of the original. The reason it did not sell to the British Army was that Vickers had poor quality control and used reject rivets that had voids in them. The British officer standing stiffly at attention was absolutely certain that "his" armored vehicle was going to flunk its inspection by the review team officers. However, it did score points for being clean. Ed, the alternative historian
  23. Hi, Bob, My father bought a new '55 Chevy Bel Air,so I know this vehicle up close. This is beautiful. Since your photos do not show the driver's side of the car or the interior dashboard, I have to ask: Did this old kit contain the outside rear view mirror and the inside windshield mirror? I ask only because I know kits from the old days did not have them as part of the kit. I'm finishing just such an old MPC annual kit that also did have them. Great work on the boards! Ed
  24. ewahl

    Fizzle

    Hi, Mark, If I can make your jaw drop, I know I have been successful. Thanks. :m1helmet: Ed
  25. ewahl

    Fizzle

    Thanks, Anthony and Bill. The KISS principle paid off here. Ed
×
×
  • Create New...