Interesting video on YouTube - good history on the Aurora, Monogram and Revell plastic models.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, keiser31 said:

Sorry about the thread hijacking.

 

Not at all brother. I love to see where some of these threads morph. 

It's a crying shame about the J.T. Wing's demise. 

[John Byrd]

I started off with planes, tanks, and a big Nautilus submarine, then, in 1958 after I had some surgery, one of my aunts brought me the 58 Buick model and I turned almost exclusively to cars. Never have stopped, but when we downsized ( a lot ! ) and moved to Hawaii, I sold several hundred.  I kept about 35 that I had built, mostly like cars we've had, a few that are still un-built, and a few special ones like the Buick which was my 1st.  Cool thread guys, keep it up please, John.

[Gunsmoke]

Great looking stuff Billy. I made about 100 pre-war plastic kits over the years, mostly Monagram, everything from Auburn to Bugatti, Chrysler to Duesenberg (A,B,C,D ...), sold them a few years ago to a serious kit collector who did not have any pre-war stuff.  But I kept this one. I bought a 1985 Merkur XR4TI in 1989, wonderful car, same color as this Tamiya kit (actually the British Sierra, thus the sun roof an option not available in North America), and included a "bra" on front to make it even more excotic. Drove it and a later 1988 model for 15 years. Bi-plane spoiler was always a conversation piece with the younger crowd. The Tamiya kits I built seem to have better detail than most, and these have soft rubber tires. 

[Billy Kingsley]

Thanks guys. Actually, the Pinto was just reissued in 2016...the stripe decals included!

 

[John Byrd]

Found this pic of me that is dated 1961 on the back with most of the models I had back then. Don't know where the big submarine was, ( see my other post w/ the 58 Buick pics ) and it looks like I built a couple of bird models too, ha !  Fun days !

[John S.]

6 hours ago, Billy Kingsley said:

Here are some of my builds. I've built more than 300, not all of them are worth looking at. 

 

1953 Ford, built 2018.

1969 Dodge Daytona, also built 2018

1979 Ford Pinto, also built 2018

2001 Porsche, built 2010

This 1930 Packard I built in 2010 unfortunately did not survive very long. I should be able to fix it at some point. 

I know we are supposed to only talk about factory stock cars on here, but hopefully this won't cause too much trouble, since no real cars were harmed in it's construction. I built this in 2019. 

 

A lot of what I build is NASCAR...

1992 Terry Labonte, built in 2016

Here's a photo grid style display I experimented with, this is Ted Musgrave's 2001 truck which I built in 2011. 

 

This is probably the most popular model I've ever built:

which I built from a resin Modelhaus kit back in 2006.

 

My proudest moment, however, was when one of my builds was used in a half page ad for the model company that issued the kit in Model Cars Magazine back in 2007. 

 

I took the photo, and the company's art designer added the brand logo and smoothed the plane it rests on. 

Billy, you are a talented fellow. Got a lot of good going on

[John S.]

3 hours ago, John Byrd said:

I started off with planes, tanks, and a big Nautilus submarine, then, in 1958 after I had some surgery, one of my aunts brought me the 58 Buick model and I turned almost exclusively to cars. Never have stopped, but when we downsized ( a lot ! ) and moved to Hawaii, I sold several hundred.  I kept about 35 that I had built, mostly like cars we've had, a few that are still un-built, and a few special ones like the Buick which was my 1st.  Cool thread guys, keep it up please, John.

John, that is one KOOL kit. Nice build. Love the older stuff. John

[ericmac]

I too have been using model cars to augment my interest in full scale automobiles.  Here are a couple Thomas Flyer models as well as a mostly scratch built Cold L-29. I built the New York to Paris race car as a teen. The "stock" or more accurately,  fantasy Thomas Touring was built when I was in my early 30s. I started the Cord when I was 16 and it has been on/off the burner for 39 years. My current goal is to complete it before the project is 40 years old! I have no idea how many models I have built over the years but likely in the neighborhood of 750 would be a reasonable guess. 

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Billy Kingsley said:

 

 

I know we are supposed to only talk about factory stock cars on here, but hopefully this won't cause too much trouble, since no real cars were harmed in it's construction. 

 

 

 

Now THAT'S funny right there! 

[Gunsmoke]

I would like to see members posting some of the more unusual car models they have tried. Among my rarer ones are these 4, 3 of which I completed about 20 years ago. Brass is Best and some other members may prefer this vintage! The 1886 Daimler (who along with Benz is person zero in this whole sickness of ours) was a difficult build, very delicate, has steerable wheeels. The 1907 Itala "Paris to Peking" also has steering operated by the steering wheel via a gear box, but note in assembling years ago I inadvertenty put tie-rod at front of axle. I painted this one cream based on a museum photo, but most pics I have seen have the car a light grey. The 1912 Hispano Suiza "Alfonso" is a great kit, but steering is not by wheel. Finally, there is this Rolls royce "Ballon Car', 1/16 scale, which I started about 15 years ago and have not gotten back to since. In building these, I put modelling clay in every possible hidden space to add weight, makes them feel more substantial. I think all of these models were Entex kits from the 70's.

[Gunsmoke]

another rare model is this 1935/36 Mercedes 500K Special Roadster, a kit I purchased about 25 years ago in a bag with instructions. The seller had started work on the engine and gave up. Not sure who made it. Probably about 1/16" scale, it is 12.5" long, note the 4 part folding hood. Having worked 1/32 scale, 1/24, and 1/20, (as well as 1/8), I think the 1/16 scale is most enjoyable, parts and details are better, and you can do more in regard to finess if you wish. None of mine were ever intended for anything other than personal satisfaction and enjoyment.

[Matt Harwood]

On the subject of model-making, there's a museum here in Canton, Ohio, the Ernest Warther Museum, that I first learned about while on a tour with the 36-38 Buick Club. Turns out, he was the world's most extraordinary wood carver, and not just stuff like tiki columns and little black bears. Even though it's not automotive-related, I found his work remarkable. Warther traced the entire history of steam railroading using models carved from ebony, ivory, bone, and other materials. I initially thought it would be ordinary stuff but when I saw the extent of this man's talent, I was absolutely blown away. Even the lettering in the stands the locomotives sit on was carved.

 

Take a look at some of these photos and bear in mind that every single part was carved out of wood--stuff like the bell ropes on the locomotives are one piece of ivory, and they all had moving parts like axles and connecting rods. See more at https://thewarthermuseum.com/collection.

 

     

 

   

 

 

[Gary_Ash]

Can I be forgiven for 3D printing a model of my 1932 Studebaker Indy car replica?  It’s 10 inches long, took 3 days to print. It’s detailed right down to the rivet heads. I guess I should paint it.  

 

I remember building plastic models of cars from the ‘teens when I was a kid. The wheels were placed on the axles and a lit match was held to the end of the spindle to soften the plastic and make a mushroom to retain the wheel. None of those survived my high school years. 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Gary, that's totally 21st century innovative!

When we were kids we couldn't have fathomed actually making our own model. I love it! 😄

[JACK M]

Been many years since I have built a model.

But I have a friend that does, he usually uses two kits so that he can build stretches and such.

He does a lot of mix and match concepts too.

I may have to take my camera over there if they ever let us out of the house again.

[jpage]

Hre are some pics of my first foray into 1/6 scale scratch building. The engine from my '36 Dodge.

[John S.]

1 hour ago, jpage said:

Hre are some pics of my first foray into 1/6 scale scratch building. The engine from my '36 Dodge.

jpage, that is excellent work! Looks like a display piece for a dealership. What materials  did you use for the build? Thanks, John

[erichill]

Man I used to LOVE building models as a kid.  Now my hands or eyesight would never cooperate,  Can't even set points anymore without a magnifying glass.

[Billy Kingsley]

For rare kits, I've built this one...

 

For rare subject matter...how about this one? It ran two Cup races in 2002, and I believe I have the only set of 1/24 scale decals ever sold. I had the entire body chrome plated, the real car was wrapped in chrome- the second full body wrap in NASCAR history. 

 

 

[Billy Kingsley]

Forgot to post this yesterday...my stash! Or at least, a portion of it. 

 

To give a better perspective of how many there are... here I am standing in front of them. I'm 5 foot 7. 

 

I stopped counting when I hit 1000 models, in 2007.

 

And yes, I'm quite aware of the fact that with the money I've spent on models and die-cast (which I lost count of somewhere over 10,000 unique cars) and storage unit for same, I could have had a real car. But I can see these...

Edited March 27, 2020 by Billy Kingsley (see edit history)

[AL1630]

5 hours ago, jpage said:

Hre are some pics of my first foray into 1/6 scale scratch building. The engine from my '36 Dodge.

Wow! That is amazing work! I've always thought it would be cool to do something like this, but I don't even know where to start!

[8E45E]

When I see one I like that's rare or unusual, and ALREADY BUILT, I'll buy it.  No more unassembled kits for me!  I'm too busy in the garage assembling the real (and eventually, drivable) things.

 

Craig

 

 

 

 

[zepher]

There is some serious talent in this thread with Billy leading the pack for Concours entries.

 

I built a few models in my youth and a tiny handful as an adult.

As an adult I built mainly Tamaya kits because of their detail.

 

I only had one all metal kit as a kid but I think I was a little too young for the kit when I got it and since they are so much more difficult to finish I never did finish the kit.

If I remember correctly it was a Duesenberg Model J.

 

[jpage]

John,

     

 The engine is built from wood , brass and plastic .Mostly laminated plastic Venician blind slats that are made from that soft foam material. Very easy to shape and glue. All the bolts and nuts are real fasteners. Took about 1 1/2 years. Still needs the wiring and spark plugs. Having trouble making the wire harness mount. Incidentally, if you look carefully at the photo of the air cleaner, you will notice that behind the screen is an actual copper filter. Wish I had Roger Zimmerman's talent!

Here's some pics of my 1/16 scale 1931 Ford Model AA chassis. Sorry for the fuzzy shots. Mostly scratch built with some donor parts from an old MiniCraft kit. I got the tires from Thomas toys. Don't know what they were for but they worked perfectly. The wheel rims and the differential were machined from a piece of poly rod. Again all the wheel bolts are real. Haven't decided whether or not to actually put a body on it. Hides too much detail. I built this at least 30 years ago and still can't make up my mind!

Edited March 27, 2020 by jpage (see edit history)

[jpage]

Here's some shots of one of my current projects: model of my son's 1975 Chevy C65 dump. Box is scratch built, frame and cab came from donor kits. cab needs alot of work to adapt it to the larger truck. Lots of work on the hood and fenders as this truck has the tilting hood. In fitting this, I found that the frame was a tad too long so it had to be shortened. Working to bring together 2 different scales into 1 model is tricky.

[Dandy Dave]

13 hours ago, erichill said:

Man I used to LOVE building models as a kid.  Now my hands or eyesight would never cooperate,  Can't even set points anymore without a magnifying glass.

No fooling. I have one of those magnification lamps mounted to the side of my Bridgeport milling machine so I can see the little stuff I'm machining clearly. Dandy Dave! 

[John S.]

1 hour ago, jpage said:

Here's some shots of one of my current projects: model of my son's 1975 Chevy C65 dump. Box is scratch built, frame and cab came from donor kits. cab needs alot of work to adapt it to the larger truck. Lots of work on the hood and fenders as this truck has the tilting hood. In fitting this, I found that the frame was a tad too long so it had to be shortened. Working to bring together 2 different scales into 1 model is tricky.

japage, excellent work! Beautiful stuff. John

[TerryB]

My downfall is paint.  I have scary flashbacks of trying to paint models with those small bottles of Testors paint and a brush.  Today the unsteady body and less than ideal eyes don’t help either.  Still I try at times to build something, doing my best to avoid having to paint it.  There are some decent Revell snap tite models that are more forgiving for those of us still want to attempt model building.

[zepher]

On 3/25/2020 at 5:00 PM, Gunsmoke said:

Great looking stuff Billy. I made about 100 pre-war plastic kits over the years, mostly Monagram, everything from Auburn to Bugatti, Chrysler to Duesenberg (A,B,C,D ...), sold them a few years ago to a serious kit collector who did not have any pre-war stuff.  But I kept this one. I bought a 1985 Merkur XR4TI in 1989, wonderful car, same color as this Tamiya kit (actually the British Sierra, thus the sun roof an option not available in North America), and included a "bra" on front to make it even more excotic. Drove it and a later 1988 model for 15 years. Bi-plane spoiler was always a conversation piece with the younger crowd. The Tamiya kits I built seem to have better detail than most, and these have soft rubber tires. 

 

My mother in law had a Merkur XR4-Ti.

It was burgundy with black leather and an automatic.

Because she was retired it had very few miles on it when she sold it around 2001 or so.

I drove it a few times and it was a fun car to drive.

From what I understand, the car had the Mustang SVO drive train built on a Pinto block, right?

The guy that bought the car was a Merkur fanatic and he was happy to get such a low mile, well taken care of example.

They are one car that not a lot of people are familiar with or even remember.

[Gunsmoke]

The cars were powered by a turbocharged 2.3 liter 4 cyl, giving them great fuel mileage and great passing accelleration.  I owned 5 of them between 1985--2001 when I bought a very low mileage Nissan 300ZK as my toy. I drove the '85 and '88 models, the other 3 were parts cars as Ford ended sales in '89, and parts supply about '96. Also had 2 Merkur Scorpios, (the 4 dr version, my wife's cars actually) which were about size of full sized  Mercury. very well appointed luxury car, but not much fun to drive. While the cars are long gone, I still have a factory issue 1000 page Shop Manual for both, if anyone reading this item is interested!

[Ron Green]

Built many models growing up which probably help get me into the old car hobby. Been decades since building a model however a few years back I was fortunate to find a few 55 Pontiac unassembled promo models still in the sealed box. I decided to put one together and try and make it look like my real 55. Even have a cover for it so when the real one is covered the model is also. When friends visit the shop they get a chuckle. My wife thinks I'm nuts. Maybe she is right

 

[JimKB1MCV]

Stuart-Turner launch engine built from S-T kit of raw materials. Kit came from the James Bliss Co. on Atlantic Ave in Boston.

 

Simple marine engine with Stevenson reversing gear, 7/8" bore x 1" stroke. Also built a Scotch Marine  boiler to power it. The steam launch it was intended for has never materialized.

[Jim Skelly]

On 3/25/2020 at 7:37 AM, Tom99 said:

I've been building model cars for as long as I can remember. I presently have over 600, 1/25 scale model cars on display.

How about some photos, Tom?

[Guest]

Hey Jim,

outstanding work on the scratch built stuff! I could look at those details for hours.

I had dozens of car models when I was a kid. More than any of my friends, by far. But I can't even claim rookie status after seeing Billy's collection!

My hat is off to you brother.

 

[lump]

I used to build lots of model kits when I was a kid in the 1960's. As I approached driving age and fell in love with cars, I switched from my favorite WWII airplanes to model cars...mostly hot rods and muscle cars. None of them survived my older teenage years, however, when other guys in the neighborhood began loading their models up with glue and firecrackers, then setting the mess on fire and rolling it down a hill. Sigh. 

 

[lump]

Back in 2012, I went to an estate sale of a long-time hot rodder. I ended up striking a deal with the family, and buying everything they had. Tools, car parts, magazines, vintage art, and lots of model kits. I keep saying I'm going to sort out the model kits and sell them all...but the task is daunting, so they are still sitting in boxes all over my shop. Here are some photos: 

[TerryB]

That is an amazing collection!

[lump]

7 minutes ago, TerryB said:

That is an amazing collection!

Yeah, it's a bunch, alright. And I've only shown a bit of it. Here are some more pix: 

[TerryB]

I’m sure you are driving the model builders on this thread crazy with these pictures.

[Pomeroy41144]

21 minutes ago, lump said:

Back in 2012, I went to an estate sale of a long-time hot rodder. I ended up striking a deal with the family, and buying everything they had. Tools, car parts, magazines, vintage art, and lots of model kits. I keep saying I'm going to sort out the model kits and sell them all...but the task is daunting, so they are still sitting in boxes all over my shop. Here are some photos: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LUMP,

 

 

Hello, I would love to purchase some of those 1/8 scale white wall tires you have there.  Is that possible?  

 

TonyM.