Sommaire pour February 2018 de Scale Auto

My true modeling passion lies in the telling of stories with each example of my work. Many of my school projects, especially history projects, were dioramas. My Eagle Scout project was to build a 1/100 scale model of a mid-18th century gunpowder mill my town later converted into a community park. The model was of its remaining ruins and even had a selfguided walking tour map. Diorama building is often the realm of the military modelers, and I have to admit that many of my dioramas are of military subjects. Yes, I walk on the “dark side” too. Recently though, I’ve aimed at telling everyday stories. Think about a day in the life of an average person. Sadly telling these stories in miniature form turns to an exercise in size…

I’ve always wanted to build a rat rod, but the problem was seeing tons of them on contest and display tables at shows. I knew I needed to build something truly different to stand out. I can’t recall any model rat rod built using a semi’s cab, so when I came across Jimmy Flintstone’s resin-chopped Peterbilt, I knew I had found that “different” I was searching for. People that know me know that I can’t keep anything “just” simple, so as usual I went all-out crazy on this build. All the referencing to “Binford Tools” comes from the TV show, Home Improvement, that I used to love and kept Binford as the theme while constructing my model. What’s pictured here reflects about 300 hours of pure fun. ABOUT GARY I…

I’ve created models for most of my life. During the 1970s in my time as a Seabee in the U.S. Navy, I was actively building away. But I stopped for awhile, only to pick up the hobby again in the late 1980s. Then the 1990s brought about my first foray into competitions at shows. The models I finish are different from the norm, as I craft what I like, not what is popular. I follow what goes on with trends in the current 1:1 car world, then give my models a touch all my own. I want the detailed models I piece together to appear superbly realistic, yet as close to scale as possible. I was president of the C.A.R.B.S. Model Club in the Dayton, Ohio, area for 23 years…

THE RACING VERSION of Moebius’s 1961 Pontiac follows its street stock Ventura kit introduced about a year ago. This kit includes all-new trees of racing specific parts, with decals included to build the No. 8 Pontiac driven to second in the 1961 Daytona 500 by Joe Weatherly. Pontiacs dominated stock car racing in 1961, and decals are available to also build replicas driven by the likes of Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, David Pearson, and Paul Goldsmith. Parts are crisply molded, many engineered with locating guides to assist in correct assembly. Sufficient gluing surfaces are present to make for a secure assembly. The parts are accurate, but there’s room for added detail like spark plug wires for starters. The body appears accurate in shape and size. Its “Catalina” script on the…

THE BASE MODEL 1957 CHEVROLET was called the 150, and this reissue can be built one of two ways: as a stock 150 or a “Black Widow” tribute car. Racing “Black Widows” were shipped and specifically modified by Southern Engineering and Development. Its engine can be built as a fuelinjected block teamed with three-speed manual or as an automatic with a fourbarrel carburetor. Chrome plating on the fuel-injection parts can be stripped then repainted a dull metallic color. Decals are supplied for the “Chevrolet script” on the valve covers, oil filter and generator. Sadly, the valve cover decals folded up during installation, but the valve covers have raised script and a silver pencil saved the day. Its chassis is molded as one piece with the interior floor forming the drive…

As many of you know, I’m a big proponent of looking at other modeling hobbies for inspiration and ideas. Here’s a good example: Recently I had the pleasure of visiting longtime friends Bill and Mary Miller, a husband/wife team of Master Model Railroaders, a title earned through the National Model Railroad Association. Their, O-scale, narrow gauge layout which takes up an entire basement, faithfully depicts the Colorado & Southern RR and is loaded with award-winning models. Over the years I’ve learned a great deal from both of them, and on this trip I was shown a clever use for Scotch-Brite scouring pads. I’ve used these household cleaning pads for shrubs on dioramas and dabbing paint onto models and buildings, but Bill and Mary also use them as masks for creating…

Vintage beach racing, like other forms of vintage racing, has picked up steam the past few years. You may not have heard of it, but there’s now an annual event, “The Race of Gentlemen,” along New Jersey’s coastline and there has been one in Pismo Beach, Calif. While the TROG events are still in their infancy, the idea of running vintage racers in an era-correct setting is well established. The annual Goodwood Revival in England has been hugely successful for 20+ years. Creativity runs the gamut in VBR cars as there’s an “anything goes” environment where “run what you brung” creativity is celebrated. Yet there are VBR guidelines. To summarize: BODIES: Any racing themed car from the early 1900s to the early 1950s. Car bodies origins are to be American…

Even in its seventh generation, the Chevrolet Corvette remains America’s quintessential sports car, available in many flavors straight from the factory. Yet the Vette isn’t absent from the eager hands of tuners ready to unleash a storm of modications. Early spring 2017 saw the reveal of Callaway’s Aerowagon, helped by a swarm of prodigious press coverage, which included the car appearing on Jay Leno’s own Jay’s Garage. While vintage custom Vette wagons have been seen before (especially on C3 models), the Callaway Aerowagon conversion offers a more subtle modification to the stock roofline, with a sinister looking teardrop rake. Somehow it works, using the factory roof panel and side glass. If you squint you might see vestiges of Ferrari’s FF, but this one is far more radical. Its polarizing design…

WE PICKED THIS ONE. When Revell offered a choice of two from seven Foose builds in all-new plastic, we went for the mid-1950s Ford pickup – Revell’s second 1956 model, in fact. But there’s a little more to Chip Foose’s personal ride than “just another” ’56 Ford pickup, and it turns out there’s a little more to this model as well. OVERHAULIN’ IN SCALE Foose is renowned for making subtle adjustments, and this particular subject reflects a myriad of tiny changes. About an inch of material is removed at the cowl to give the greenhouse the subtlest forward rake. A wedge cut is taken from the hood around the front to slim some of its mass. The front wheel arches are moved forward to shrink a bit of the truck’s…

I WAS SURPRISED when Revell Germany announced it would be releasing a kit of the Porsche 934 RSR just months after Tamiya did. They are nearly the same liveries! There are significant differences though between the two. Revell’s offering has full engine detail and a removable bonnet with all the detail included underneath. The Tamiya builds strictly a curbside. There are even extra parts included on the trees that indicate possible future variations. Decals are provided for only one race version, but are superbly printed. The instructions are now in color too! Paint colors refer to Revell’s own brand of paints in the familiar method of using letters to call out specific colors or blends. Since Revell’s paints are not available in the U.S., Revell has a crossreference chart on…

The history of the model car kit industry is littered with instances of toy companies sensing an opportunity, jumping into the car kit business (either on their own or by buying a kitmaker), and then bailing when the business gets challenging. This is yet another instance, though undoubtedly less known than some. The result, temporary as it may have been, yielded some pretty cool kits. Eldon, based in Southern California near Revell, was a successful toy company in the late 1960s, marketing their products under the slogan, “Just for the fun of it.” Right in the center of Los Angeles’ car culture, and near the publisher of Popular Hot Rodding magazine, Eldon was ripe for a joint merchandising deal involving the magazine and West Coast car show designer and promoter…

JERRY TITUS was one of my favorite Trans-Am drivers. Fast and aggressive, he always put on a good show. After Ford’s disastrous tunnel port 302 V8 experiment in 1968, Titus left the Shelby team before the end of the season and started his own with Canadian Terry Goodsall: Titus- Goodsall Racing. Because some Canadian Pontiacs were rebadged Chevrolets, TGR was allowed to run a Chevy 302 in the team’s Firebird in 1968. But by 1969, the SCCA was putting pressure on the team to run the new Pontiac 303 engine, so they put a 1968 front clip on their 1969 body to enable them to keep running their 302 instead, proving that politics can make for some interesting racing. SPLITTING THE BIRD: To replicate this car, you’ll need AMT’s 1969…

209 MPH Top speed claimed by Mercedes On kits like this fine Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 I tend to prep and paint the body first, even though these steps are out of sequence according to the instructions. Tamiya’s Benz had a few fine mold lines on the main body section that I cleaned up with 600-grit wet sandpaper. Being molded in silver however, caused some lines to leave a ghost effect after sanding. To be sure they were eradicated completely, I lightly primed these areas with Tamiya fine gray primer, then wet sanded most of the body back down to its plastic. For ease in handling during the painting, I left the U-shaped sprue attached to the car’s cowl. After several rounds of wet sanding and washing, the Benz’s body…

This 1980 Dodge Ramcharger was built from the recently reissued Revell (originally Monogram) kit. I wanted to create a paint-worn truck with plenty of life left in it, yet not worth the investment to make it pretty. I drew inspiration from one of my own vehicles and supplemented that with a collection of ideas I’ve seen over the years (including some I contemplated using) to deal with a deteriorating finish. In the 1:1 world this result could be achieved with a vinyl wrap, or as I did here with masks and spray painting. After basic body cleanup and parts inspection, I built this as a curbside, concentrating on the exterior. Even though it’ll be finished in flat paints, the clean-up and prep is the same as for a shiny paint…

THIS IS A REISSUE of the original 1993 release, but with a new decal sheet. Due to the new rating system it’s now labeled as a Skill Level 4 instead of the previous Level 2. You get parts for a stock version and optional sport version with custom front and rear bumpers, and a fairing for behind the seats. A soft “top-up” piece is provided and a stock boot for a “top-down” look. Its decal sheet includes the gauge cluster, badges, marker lights and license plates. There’s also black and white twin stripes, choices of windshield banners and “No. 5” roundels. Decals fit well, but the hood stripes could be longer. Even with solvent, I couldn’t get them to stretch fully to the front and rear edges. I trimmed a…

THIS IS A 2 ’N’ 1 REISSUE of the stock Charger with three trees of new parts, one of which is chrome. There also is an additional set of larger tires, plus new wheels, valve covers, seats, steering wheel, and a shaker hood and scoop. The wheels are similar, but not identical, to those shown in the kit’s box art. The kit is packaged compactly, but sadly mine had a crushed A-pillar, yet the box wasn't damaged. A little massaging and extra care to not overstress it while building and before installing the windshield to shore it up, made it a near non-issue, but not good if this is a common occurrence. Parts are molded well and have some flash in expected places, but that’s easy to clean. There's a…

Steve Lima from Glendale Heights, Ill., took on quite the endeavor when crafting a replica of a unique full-size 1971 Hemi ’Cuda show car he saw in a recent issue of Chrysler Power magazine, the infamous “Color Chip ’Cuda.” He’s always been lured in by big muscle cars and the flashy, clever advertising that sold them. Researching tirelessly, he found a surprising catch: there wasn’t even a real car built with this swath of color codes, rather only a promotional illustration drawn up in brochures (pictured at right) for persuasive dealers to hand out to potential buyers. He saw this catch not as a threat, but as an opportunity to sharpen his modeling and painting skills. Steve called it a quest, to find and try matching that exact paint in…