Model Cars? now that's Grassroots!

In reply to Pushrod :

Here are 3 examples of paint brush ferule stinger pipes on two of my 1/24th builds. Highly recommended !

A couple photos of my newest completion. Tamiya Morgan 4/4 converted into a (fictitious) short wheelbase +8. Engine block from old Johan Oldsmobile F85 wagon with a lot of fiddle to improve and adapt to Rover specification as used by Morgan. Steering wheel swapped out as well, but the rest of the body and chassis is straight from the kit. Paint is Leesonal OEM Mercedes "miebenblau" with a packaging date of 12 March 1958, left overs from Pop's days in the Bekrag parts room. Very slow drying, and smells just like Humbrol hobby enamel. No polish necessary to get great shine.

Nice! I like how you did the stinger pipes on the other two model, too.

In reply to BenB :

Do not throw away the brushes when they are worn out! Or, why I am a hoarder.....

Another tip on those ferrules - lately, I've been chucking them into a pin vise and holding them over an open flame to give the chrome that heat colored look. Only takes an extra minute or two, but what a difference in appearance!  Well worth the effort.  :)

Finished up the CRX last week. Far from my best work on close inspection but it looks decent in the photos. 

TurnerX19- LOVE THE MORGAN. 

Crappy cell pics of Nunu's BMW M8 GTE. Not quite up to Tamiya standards, but still a fun kit. Nunu's kit decals are outstanding. Looks like I need to go back and fix the wing.

I was surprised to see some model kits on a display at Walmart yesterday. Picked up this 1/32 Thunderbird for a slot car project.

The foundation of my next build in one picture. Big 1:20 scale. Soon. Been too long since my last.

Just to give the rest of you some impetus to build, BenB and I seem to be finishing about one per month...My latest completion, finished this evening, Fujimi Porsche 356A Carrera, from the "Enthusiast" series. I purchased this kit around 1992 from a closing shop in Longwood FL at 10 cents on the dollar, along with many others. Painted with original factory paint from 1957. Picture from before the body mounting so you can see it. Also built the engine on the kit supplied stand, because it is too hidden when installed. Made some "nerfs" for the front too, original bumpers are ugly.

In reply to TurnerX19 :

Nice Porsche!

I was getting one a month done back when we were doing the group builds last year, but I've slowed down a lot since. I started this Revell GT Le Mans before I started the M8. The kit decals are useless, so I tracked down an out of production set for Ben Keating's car from SK Decals and finished beating the model into submission this week. The kit reminded me of an AMT kit. Fit and molding just wasn't in the same league as Tamiya, Nunu, Fujimi, etc.

Is there any motivation for themed builds this winter? Weather is getting chilly here and I have a buttload of kits here to choose from.

Claff said:

Is there any motivation for themed builds this winter? Weather is getting chilly here and I have a buttload of kits here to choose from.

I agree. I'm itching for a build month.

Claff said:

Is there any motivation for themed builds this winter? Weather is getting chilly here and I have a buttload of kits here to choose from.

yeah

what if we just ran the last contest through the end of the year?

Funny but I haven't touched anything since finishing the P-car and razzing everyone else

I'm in! I took a break and went back to airplanes for a while, but I just bought a couple more cars that I'm anxious to start.

solfly said:

what if we just ran the last contest through the end of the year?

I like that. 

Any particular theme anyone is itching to do?

I've had my eye on the 70s gm plow truck. Not sure what kind of category we should do. Free for all?

I just started working on a "slump buster" kit. It's actually 3 kits in one but it's pretty much a snaptite dune buggy and a basic trailer plus a Ford Bronco. So the buggy and trailer are easy to get me back into building and then I'll do the truck.

In reply to slowbird :

Oh man, my son would love that!

I pitched a 2021 model contest to GRM and they are on board! 

So, go here: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/its-back-the-official-grm-forum-model-car-build-challenge-runs-11121-123121/187573/page1/

3 classes, 2 months, multiple prizes. Let's do this!

Some may remember that poor Pinto from my youth that I posted here earlier. Short version of its story: it was a Christmas present my brother received; he was never a car guy. It had options to build stock or custom and he built a stock Pinto. Some years later I found it and tore it apart, installed a small-block Chevy, added some egregious aero and painted it poorly. Here's a pic:

Fast forward and/or rewind to this past Thanksgiving. Wandering around Walmart, I stumbled on an end cap with models on it (someone earlier found the same display and got a 1/32 '58 Tbird). I didn't see anything in that stash that I had to have, until I spotted a reissue of that same Pinto kit. I had to have it.

I think I'm going to build it as a stock Pinto as a tribute to what my brother originally built when we were kids.

The one thing I'm most curious about when I dig into this one is the nose. My brother's kit was an older car with a different grille than what's on the box art below. I wonder if the kit itself got updated at some point or if the box art is of the newer car while what's in the box isn't.

In reply to Claff :

All the model companies updated their molds each year for the new models, that's why the reissues are always the latest versions, can't go back in time.

In reply to Claff :

I miss Pintos.