CDW

What paint are you using for your black parts? Looks great. I like those frames you made.

I just looked it up. The race was Topeka, the fastest time was 3.897, with a top speed of 330.88. 😵

I never saw a top end speed listed. But unless someone blew up, they were consistently running 3.8 - 3.9 second times. Now, I am wondering what times the rails are running.

The Admiral is in charge of the TV controller at home, which is well with me because there's little - nothing I want to see on television most of the time. But after Mass yesterday, she and I went to a favorite pasta restaurant to sit down for a meal and bring something home for the kids. They have these big television sets at the restaurant and I began watching Funny Cars competing through an elimination series. I was amazed at how fast they are now compared to when I last watched them. They were running quarter mile times in under 4 seconds almost every round. Astounding how fast and consistent these cars are today. And a blown Funny Car Toyota? You've got to be kidding me. Man, oh man, I am behind times. 😕

These are the decals I chose from my existing stock of aftermarket decal sets. They are from the old Fred Cady sheet for Butch Leal's '64 Ford Thunderbolt he campaigned as a super stock way back when.

Thanks Kurt!

Them danged old Yanks...done stole our General. Just goes to show old Fess Parker could sing battle hymn of the republic or whistle dixie equally well. Just makes me want to spit tobacco juice on his white sport coat lapel (Josie Wales). 😄

That's a great looking pup, ole Gibbs. I see you're using Frog tape. That's some good stuff.

Sometimes, the very best solution to problems are something you make yourself for (almost) free. I have a few blocks of styrofoam that I poke bamboo skewers into and then attach small parts to the skewers with blue tack and use those as paint stands for small parts. But with the car bodies, I like to have something that secures the body so it won't fall off while painting it.

Thanks Denis. I bought that Tamiya paint stand quite a few years ago and it has lasted very well. it actually comes with two different stands. I'll take a picture of the other one it comes with. Both rotate like a lazy susan and it's handy to paint things while attached to it.

Here she is with a couple of urethane clear top coats. Next, will let this clear kick off (hardener) then polish it out a bit, apply some markings and wait for those to dry, then apply a couple more clear top coats.

I don't know a thing about cross stitching, but that looks pretty awesome. Eye candy.

No, it doesn't harm the glue joints at all. By the way, this stuff is designed as a cleaner/degreaser as shown on the label, but it is so strong, it will remove your auto paint underneath your hood if you leave it on too long. Oxidizes polished aluminum, too.

Decided to paint the body in Createx Wicked Pearl Red. That's an acrylic paint. It has no clear coat on it yet. The clear top coat should really make the color pop, and the pearl stand out. When using these pearl colors, you can get a lot of variation according to the base coat. Mine is painted over white primer. Either a silver, gold, or copper, could give an entirely different look to the finished pearl red. Going to give this a little time, then put the clear coat on later today.

Stripping Paint and Decals off a Model Just to share the total experience, thought I would share my magic weapon secret for paint removal and decal stripping. It's even perfectly safe on clear plastic parts, too. Won't fog or screw up clear plastic if you happen to have windows glued in. In your local WalMart, head over to the automotive section and pick up a gallon of this product. It costs about $8, and will last a long time, years even, as long as you keep the lid sealed tight. I take a gallon size freezer zip lock bag, put my model parts I want to strip inside the bag and fill it with just enough Super Clean to cover the parts. Seal the zip lock bag and let the parts sit in that Super Clean bath until the paint comes off. Happens almost instantly on chrome parts, and it took only a couple of hours to strip off all that red and white paint on my model car body. Use an old tooth brush to scrub away any stubborn spots and/or let it soak in the bath a little longer. Now I have to warn you, do not put your bare hands into this stuff, because it's very potent and will do undesirable things to your skin. Probably will be absorbed into your system through your skin. So wear a good pair of latex gloves when you're working with it. When I am done with my paint stripping session, I pour the contents of my strip project right back inside my container and use it over and over again until it loses it's strength. But that's going to be months if not years away. Here's what my car body looked like after a 2-3 hour bath. Slick as a whistle.

Ed I've never needed to contact Pontos, so I am interested how you requested the missing parts. Did you contact them via email or ??? Never know when I may need to do the same, so would like to be prepared.

Good article, Mark. Enjoyed that reading.

If you mean recreating the Bob Glidden graphics, no, I can't make those same graphics as depicted by the decals. Beyond my abilities. If you mean, can I create my own paint scheme using masking tape, yes certainly. But a car like this needs graphics and for me, that means at least sponsor decals. Those I must choose from some existing commercially available set.

The body is in the strip tank now. All the decals and paint will have to be removed. Thinking about doing a custom, fictional paint job. Digging in my stash now for the next project. Decisions, decisions. 😎

The kit has been out of production for way too long so I doubt they would have any laying around, but who knows? Secondly, Revell (USA) went out of business a while back, so I don't know who's in charge anymore.

As much as I hate to do it, I am going to strip off the decals I put on so far, then put this model on hold to finish until I find a good set of decals for it. The decals are not laying down properly and decal solvent won't help fix the problem. It may take a while to find a good set, but I don't want to continue it as it is. To be continued....

That is beautiful, an amazing piece of engineering. I have never seen a crane like this at work. Must cost a fortune to have one of those on a job site.

They are holding together just fine. The trick to saving them is the clear acrylic top coat (Pledge/Future), but it also makes them more difficult to lay down and conform to the shape of the model because they are now thicker. Even a potent decal solvent like Solvaset has a difficult time softening the decal so it lays down to conformity. Will have to give it over night to celebrate success or cry uncle, don't know yet, but so far, so good.

The ship and the crane look amazing, Semore. Beautiful work on both of those. I am curious about the crane...is this a crane as one might see when a high rise is being built? I see what looks like a huge number of counter weights. What is the scale of that model?

Thanks for the kind words, Denis. I already started laying down the decals tonight. If they are dry tomorrow evening, will start putting on the clear top coat.