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Post by spex84 on Mar 13, 2018 11:25:31 GMT -5
Lol, how polite JC! I'm waiting to see how it turns out too. Yikes! This project is a bit like trying to fall down the stairs...gracefully.
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Post by cycolacfan on Mar 26, 2018 14:13:27 GMT -5
That thing's nuts, love it.
Keep on it.
Put an Edsel grille up front too. :-)
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Post by dodgefever on Mar 26, 2018 14:43:36 GMT -5
Seems I hadn't replied since the last update, but add me to the Edsel crowd.
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Post by krassandbernie on Mar 26, 2018 15:59:20 GMT -5
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Post by spex84 on Mar 26, 2018 19:39:14 GMT -5
Too late, it's got an Edsel collar. But thanks for the feedback! I agree that the Edsel collar has become a kind of kustom-kulture hipster item, but I think I'm using it in a fairly unobtrusive way. Since the last update I've done only small things, but one of them was to chop out the A-pillar on the passenger side, to create an eventual wrap-around on two sides. That solitary A-pillar is going to need some serious reinforcing, haha. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Lately I've been tying to figure out wheels and tires. I considered Firestone Indy tires, but the rears are too short and wide. I was favoring the Dragway specials on the back, but A: they're 2-piece and B: they'd need "blue streak" decals. I was surprised to discover that the Appliance slots actually hit the points I'm looking for--they're custom, but have a bit of that Indy flavor without literally being Indy wheels, which the Cobra used...and I'm so used to seeing wheels of that variety on muscle cars that they don't have much impact. Gene Winfield's "Reactor" used them on Firestone gold-line tires and I like the look. I'd prefer either red or gold tire stripes, but blue is OK in a pinch. That means the pad-printed Blue Streaks and Revell '32 sports car special front-runners are options...the old Revell tires have sidewall script and an engraved ring that I can fill with paint to create the stripe. The Firestone bias plies look outdated on the front, and they lack the hint of road-race flavor I'd been hoping for. In general, while I like slicks on the back, they don't make much sense when combined with the planned Indy-style independent suspension. Finally...I have some chunky tires from the AMT '57 chevy Street Machine that I'd written off...but they have a tread pattern like the tires the "Invader" and "Illusion" were wearing. SO...right now I'm thinking I'm gonna use those chunky tires, gold gel-pen on the raised stripe and white gel pen on the lettering, with Appliance slots (possibly with the centers dullcoted) and chrome knockoffs. Body color will be some form of blue-teal-ocean-y ish stuff, with a top-to-bottom fade if I can pull it off. Who knows!
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Post by krassandbernie on Mar 27, 2018 1:11:55 GMT -5
Personally, I like the old MPC Goodyear Blue Streak tires...(you have the ones from the AMT '57 Vette).....which are basically the same as the old MPC Firestones; but might differ a little in size since MPC made 4-5 different tire size versions. They seem perfect for this build; and MPC used the Firestone version of this very same tire (including tread detail if I recall correctly) on the GM designed Mako Shark Vette show car!
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Post by Dennis on Mar 27, 2018 9:40:03 GMT -5
Absolutely, the Appliance wheels with the knock-offs and gold stripe Indy tires!!!
I love Americans (and Ed really loves Americans!) but those Appliance wheels have more of a custom look that suits the car.
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Post by krassandbernie on Mar 27, 2018 11:02:03 GMT -5
It reminds me of a Vette turned into a 'T' bucket basically; so I could very easily see the rolling stock you'd put under a 'T' bucket being used.......like the Goodyear slicks and rectangular window Halibrands with 12 spoke spindle mounts up front (if you were using a Don Long style front axle perhaps. The spindle mounts do seem to clash in my mind with independent suspension though. Leaning more towards what you suggested here Chris.........I would go with the closest I could find in model form to the rolling stock pictured below! As Dennis pointed out, yes, I LOVE Americans........they're my first choice 99% of the time. But, we can't put them on everything! LOL!
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Post by spex84 on Mar 27, 2018 11:12:29 GMT -5
I like the Americans too, and "slicks out back, skinnies up front" is a the look I intially envisioned for the project...kind of drag-influenced.
However...I really wanna build that independent suspension, and it just needs fatter tires, with tread. The Appliance wheels have a certain exotic quality that I like, and the American mags are almost "too shiny". They'll fit nicely on another project.
Thanks for the tire info Ed--I much prefer the Firestone outline-script to the Goodyear block letters. Maybe I can find some MPC Firestone tires and do a comparison.
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Post by krassandbernie on Mar 27, 2018 11:26:17 GMT -5
Again, I only offer suggestions here..........I'm not pushing you to build your model my way! LOL! I have been on the hunt for the old MPC Firestones for a while; and have yet to acquire a single pair (or set)! You might have to settle for the slightly more common (and easily found) MPC Goodyear counterparts. I believe (if I recall correct) that they are identical except for the difference in sidewall/lettering detail. Now, if you really want some wicked cool tires for this build and don't mind spending a little money, Joseph from Fireball Modelworks casts a very nice set of Goodyear Blue Streaks (FMR-74) that he typically sells with a set of 15" Minilites for $16.00. (He allowed me to order just the tires though). The fronts are slightly smaller than the rears. To give you an idea of the rear tire size...they're sized the same as Joseph's M/T Indy Profile N50 tires.....which are basically the same size as the Revell M/T slicks found in the Big John Mazmanian Willys coupe kit or the older Monogram Goodyear Blue Streaks....right in that ball park. The front tires are larger than the front Goodyear Blue Streaks found in the early issue Revell '32 Ford 3 window coupe kits. If you click on the link after finding the part number on the list you will see a photo. It's a bit tough to see the detail in his photo though. These tires are cast in soft black resin rubber; and are a perfect size. They are not undersized like all of the model manufacturer's versions of these tires; and they're not too large like the few examples in 1/24th scale. Be sure to click on 'scale auto items' on the left hand side first. www.fireballmodels.info/
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Post by spex84 on Mar 27, 2018 12:42:36 GMT -5
Those sound good, but I'd need a better photo to commit to buy! I'll look into it though.
//I just dug into a box where I'd stored an old MPC Super-Charger glue bomb; the Goodyear tires are like the ones shown in the mockups above except:
-fronts are smaller diameter -all are properly round (the '57 vette tires are very misshapen) -molded from a harder vinyl or rubber (the '57 vette tires are soft rubber)
Not sure if I want the larger '57 vette goodyears on the front (they're a little truck-tire-ish) or the little MPC goodyears, but the option is there now.
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Post by krassandbernie on Mar 27, 2018 13:53:33 GMT -5
MPC made 4 different sizes of this particular Goodyear tire.......I'll e-mail you some photos I took today to send to another friend of mine. The two smaller sizes would be appropriate for a hot rod or even a small rod like a 'T' bucket. I will have to dig out the Goodyears that Fireball Modelworks makes if you want some better photos of them......just let me know via e-mail.
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Post by Johnny on Mar 29, 2018 4:44:58 GMT -5
Just food for thoughts: how about the dual wheel set up from the Surf Woody? I mean the entire setup with mags and tires both front and rear...??
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Post by spex84 on Mar 30, 2018 18:25:26 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestion Johnny...unfortunately I don't have the Surf Woody kit, but I think I have the tires for this project picked out for now. The hood has been fitted and holes filled. The concave fender panels are now glued on; some serious bodywork still needed there! Tried out some gel pens on a sacrificial Goodyear tire...results aren't stellar but maybe good enough for now. Bucket seat is from AMT '49 Ford. With the addition of fabric snaps, it becomes a swivel bucket! Not shown here: a '59 Cadillac dash cluster cut down to fit in the cockpit. Gonna look sweet. Then I dug though the pile of LEDs I've salvaged over the years, made a taillight lens from the ribbed edge of a CD jewel case. Lots of light bleed, but that can be controlled by building a sealed enclosure. Now I have to figure out some headlights! There's a slight engineering problem--currently the driveshaft is going to stab the driver right in the gonads. Engine/oil pan/hood clearance is problematic as well. Moving to a larger tire size/adding more rake to the body might help, OR I could embrace the show-car aspect and put in a custom-built driveshaft offset unit (like a transfer case) to gain clearance. This means the differential would be off-center, which is weird, but it could work considering the current asymmetry theme...
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Post by Dennis on Mar 30, 2018 22:18:11 GMT -5
This is looking so awesome, Chris. I love the lens made from the CD case and that button snap for a swivel base is brilliant!
I'd do a centered dual headlight right under that front lip.
What if you did two offset drives for the drive shaft? That would allow you to keep the differential centered which seems kind of important considering you're talking independent suspension? The offset drives could simply represent internal sprocket / chain drives. The forward one could replace the transmission tail shaft. The rear one could not only be to allow the centered differential, it would also correct the rotation from the backwards spinning driveshaft! The cases could be simple oval boxes with some bolt detail and painted aluminum.
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