Table of contents for June 2017 in Scale Auto

The Race of Gentlemen The Race of Gentlemen (check out theraceofgentlemen.com) has fired my imagination recently. Originally racing vintage American hot rods on a beach in New Jersey, the group brought the spectacle to Pismo Beach, California, in 2016. What I like about TROG is that it combines two of my favorite genres: race cars and traditional hot rods. All of that vintage iron inspired me to build some models that capture the essence of the trend. The rules are fairly simple: All cars must be period-correct. Bodies must be American-made, 1934 or older. Engines have to be pre-1948. No modern OHV engines. Bodies have to be modified for racing: no fenders, coupes have to be chopped or channeled, no headlights, vintage speed parts preferred. Given those guidelines, there are…

In a recent issue, several individuals expressed interest in expanded coverage of paint finishing/ polishing techniques. When our Editor came knocking at my shop door, asking for my input on said subject, who am I to refuse His Lordship’s royal request? I look at it this way: I get to help out, show a viable method of achieving a quality finish, and smack an old wives’ tale out of the park — all at the same time . Sounds like a winner to me! Murphy (of Murphy’s Law fame) came to visit the shop during a painting session, in the form of my youngest child. She opened the door to the paint booth on a windy day — the “Paint In Progress, Do Not Enter!” sign on prominent display in…

1969 Brawner Hawk I had been sitting on this old Bill Jorgensen resin kit for some time. It was great to have one of my favorite cars as a kit, but I always knew it would take a lot of work to make it look accurate. When Indycals released a correct set of resin tires, I got the bug to work on building the car. The only parts I kept were the body and base engine/transmission block. I purchased a replacement set of decals, but had to print a larger number 2 for the front. All in all, it was a great adventure researching the car and getting everything fabricated. I’m more than pleased with it, and I think it came out better than I originally expected. ABOUT JIM DREW…

This was a factory-built Catherham model from Tamiya. I bought it in 2002 so I could display it next to one I built and heavily modified/detailed to show the difference between what the kit builds straight from the box and the changes I did. Fast-forward 14 years. Although it is a nice model, I did not build it, and I prefer to display models I built. It was no longer needed as a comparison piece, so I decided I would get from it what I really strive for: the joy of building. It took about 90 minutes to disassemble most of it; some subassemblies were left intact. Although I did not have a plan for how it was to be finished, I knew I wanted it to be left-hand drive.…

Weathering basics for truck modelers Please welcome William “Doc” Wiseman, who is writing a trial column for us. Please let us know your thoughts about his work at jhaught@ ScaleAutoMag.com. When I say “weathering,” many modelers’ minds go right to rat rods and beaters; but the kind of weathering I’m talking about is much more subtle – and if done properly and with appropriate restraint, it will enhance the finished model. This is a process that will take some patience on your part; it may take as long to weather the model as it did to build it. I attend 12-15 model shows each year. One thing I notice is that nearly every truck model on the tables looks like it is fresh from the local show-and-shine: bright colors, intricate…

It’s rare, but it still happens too often: I was building this Miura for a review and having an enjoyable time at it. I pulled the clear off part of the body when I removed the tape after painting a piece. It only made it worse that I had already done the delicate foil trim, and some of it was on the affected area. What to do? THE DAMAGE: The last step before final assembly and decaling of the body was to paint the rocker panels, which I did using 3M blue tape and airbrushing some Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminum. To get a good line, I cut the tape in the panel line that runs along the top of the rocker. I must have made the cut a bit too…

A SIMPLE COBBLESTONE OR FLAGSTONE VIGNETTE BASE for your favorite car or truck model can easily be made during the course of a weekend. All it takes are a few materials and some basic painting techniques. The display base is a 7" x 9" decoupage plaque purchased from Michael’s. If you wish to stain or varnish the base edges, this would be the best time to do so. The raw material for the base will be any brand of air-drying modeling clay. The $6 package of Fimo clay dries to a nice terracotta color. Add chunks of clay and to the base until the entire surface is covered. Make sure you don’t get any fingerprints in the clay! They will be become visible when you start painting the surface. Although…

AMT 2016 Camaro SS With 123 pieces plus four semisoft tires, this is a full-detail kit, but it builds almost as easily as a snap-together. The parts are molded in black and clear, and many are partially or completely painted. The tires are generic and without sidewall detail. There is a decal sheet for the dash, too; it’s not referenced in the directions, although the decals’ locations are apparent. At first glance the factory-finished parts look like they would make for a nice model/promo if assembled with no added painting. There were a few little specks of dust and some subtle scratches, but nothing major. I chose to take the simple route to see how it looks assembled without any additional painting, but I polished the exterior paint because that…

Our pal Rich Williams sent along a great tip for making gauge bezels. You’ll notice that Rick is using a hobby lathe, which many of us don’t have access to. However, don’t shy away from this technique because of that. You can perform all of these steps by chucking a piece of aluminum rod in a power drill that’s clamped to a bench (or even the jaws of a drill press) and turning the piece with a good file. “Making dash gauges that look “right” has always been trouble. The molded dash gauges don’t always fit the decals’ sizes, and the gauges you’re modeling may be clocked per the driver’s preference. “I just finished two AMC Matador stock cars where I tried this different approach: “I measured the gauges on…

David Champion’s resin 1980 Lincoln Mark S has a custom interior, moon roof, and House of Kolor paint. His inspiration? “Nothing, really. Just from the brain to the hands,” he says. Paul Fink’s All-American Duesenberg roadster has Franklin Mint bumpers and side steps, and is finished with Krylon and Testor’s paint. “I had the desire, and it was a fun build,” he says. Henry Trent’s Porsche GT3 used a Scale Production transkit and a Tamiya donor kit. The build was inspired by seeing the 1:1 on TV at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s finished with Tamiya TS-26. “A modified version of a drag trike from the 1960s,” says Tom Purcell about the 1/8 scale Abnormi T that combines parts from “a basketcase Harley Sportster” and a Monogram Big…

Scale Hot Rod enthusiasts are graced with a great choice of model kits upon which to base our creative building ideas. However, in one key area, these kits are deficient in reflecting the latest “traditional hot rod” equipment popular in 1:1 scale: Pre WW-II Ford “banjo” rear axles (or, later on, Ford nine-inch differentials) may have been the hot setup when each of these kits were originally tooled. But today, the hot setup is a retro Halibrand quick-change differential with 1936 Ford-style axle “bells.” Fortunately, making the swap to a Halibrand quick-change is a relatively simple kitbashing process. To keep things simple, we’ll show the modification for the differential/axle assembly only, retaining the coil-over shock setup found in most current hot rod kits. (A further modification to incorporate a transverse…

AMT 1963 Ford F-100 One of AMT’s most beloved annual kits is its 1963 Ford F-100. Part of the 1963 “annual kit” lineup, it has not been reissued since the late 1960s. For model year 1961, the F-Series pickup was essentially new, representing the first major change since the 1957 model year. It continued mostly unchanged into 1962 and 1963, with a major freshening for the 1964 model year. The 1963 version featured an upgraded exterior appearance, with a segmented grille and an available fulllength upper bodyside molding. Unibody F-100s are greatly desired in the 1:1 scale world. AMT included the F100 in its annual kit catalogs for 1961 and 1962, but needed an additional “hook” for the third year of what was largely the same kit. The solution? Add…

Dan Scherer’s AMT 1969 El Camino has a 1969 Chevelle grille and front bumper, Alclad on the rear bumper, parts-pack redline tires, and Tamiya color and clear. “I wanted to preserve an old, original kit,” he says. Ron Hartlieb used a Revell kit with a resin bed to make this 1990s Chevy truck. It has aftermarket tools, and he weathered the model with acrylic paint and the hairspray method to get the look he wanted. It took one month to complete. WANT TO SUBMIT A PHOTO? It’s easy! Visit our contributor submission Web site at www.contribute.kalmbach.com and follow the step-by-step guide. Be sure to provide all the necessary information and details about your model! “I just love oldstyle cars,” says Rick Scott, who built this 1949 Mercury from a Revell…