TWIN DATSUNS

PART TWO

WHAT SKILL LEVEL

DO YOU BUILD AT?

MORE WEB
TIPS!

RODNEY
BUILDS A
STREET ROD

JOHN TERESI’S AWARD WINNING HARLEY DRAG BIKE!

Model Car Builder 1
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2 Model Car Builder Search for “Model Car Builder” magazine
 CONTENTS
Vol 3 / Issue No.1 Editor’s Workbench
Spring 2016 What skill level do you
Publisher/Editor build at?
Roy R. Sorenson
Marketing Manager PAGE 5
Lynne Sorenson
Polar Lights ‘65 GTO
Copy Editor
This is a snap kit?
Neil Van Zile

Order Additional Copies at:

www.ModelCarBuildermag.com PAGE 6
Monogram ‘32 Ford
Model Car Builder is published bi-monthly by
Rodney builds a street
HC Publications, PO Box 20144., Castro Valley, CA 94546.
E-mail: HCPublications@att.net rod?

CONTRIBUTIONS
Unsolicited contributions must be accompanied by a return envelope with appropriate
PAGE 8
postage. MCB cannot be held responsible for unsolicited contributions while in the Doc’ Midkiff’s
mail or in our care. Please e-mail the publisher at the above address before sending any “PONTUNA”
materials. Sorry, but we do not have the money to pay for contributions at this time. We
reserve the right to refuse any contribution.
Fish out of water?

COPYRIGHTS PAGE 14
Contents of this magazine are copyrighted. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine
may be reproduced or otherwise utilized without written permission of the publisher. John Teresi’s
Certain items, logos, names, and images, etc. may be covered under trademark or HD Drag bike:
copyrights of others, and may be used here for identification, review, or educational Is it real metal?
purposes only.

SUBSCRIPTIONS PAGE 20
MCB is a bi-monthly magazine available through Amazon.com, MagZter.com and Mag- DATSUN 240Z
Cloud.com. (Magzter.com is the only one offering digital subscriptions at this time).
Can I bring it back from
its crash?
RETAILERS
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NACSCORP for retail sales. Please contact them about selling MCB on your magazine PAGE 26
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ISSUE! WEB TIPS
T E S TO R ’ S N E W Can I learn to do this?
Airbrush
& COMPRESSOR
PAGE 34
Workbench Tools:
Can this tool help on your
next build?

PAGE 38
Model Car Builder 3
 EDITORS
WORKBENCH
What’s Your
Skill Level?
Did anyone else notice that we’ve
been running build ups of snap
kits in the last few issues? I didn’t
plan it that way, it just sort of hap-
pened. I guess what surprises me
the most is the quality of snap kits
these days. When I was younger (a
long time ago), snap kits were very
simple, almost “toy” like in their
appearance.
Todays snap kits are gorgeous. In
this issue I build the Polarlights ‘64
Pontiac GTO kit (pictured to the
right), when I first opened the box
and looked through the parts trees,
I kept thinking, “this can’t be a snap
kit?”. The detail in this kit is great. I
know there isn’t a 100+ parts in the
kit, but that’s the beauty of it, there
doesn’t need to be that many parts
to build a nice replica! With some
detail painting, and some careful
planning, you can make it look like
a more detailed kit.
I guess as we get older and build
more and more kits, you begin
to think that snap kits are just for
kids. You think, oh they’re great for
the beginners, but I need some-
4 Model Car Builder
thing more challenging!
So you begin to buy more and big-
ger kits. Soon you’re buying scale
spark plug wire and braided line to
raise the detail on your cars. Maybe
some aftermarket machined alumi-
num wheels, 3D printed parts, and
the list goes on. Before you know it
you have $100.00 in parts invested
in your $25.00 kit (and yes, I know,
I’m being conservative on that
amount).
So now your building detailed out,
big buck standard kits. But wait,
the guys are talking about how
nice those Japanese kits are! You
want to step up to the next level.
Problem is,
those nice
import kits
are expen-
sive! Now
instead
of paying
$25.00
for a kit,
you’re
paying
anywhere
from
$45.00 to
$95.00
for a kit.
Yikes! You
can build
them box ABOVE: Polarlights “Snap Together” is nicer then some glue in the
kits I’ve built over the years!
stock, and
they are pretty nice looking when
your done, but you want to take
them further.
Take for instance, that Tamiya
Mercedes-Benz 300SL kit pictured
over there to the right. I’ve always
loved those cars. So when Tamiya
came out with the kit, I had to have
one. A trip to the local hobby shop,
and $65.00 on the old credit card,
and I had my favorite car in 1/24th
scale. Straight out of the box this
car would build into a beautiful kit.
But if I’m going to build a $65.00
kit, I want to detail that sucker out
to the max!
So the next thing to order was a
“detail up” kit from Hobby De-
sign, $20.00. Oh look, they have a
dashboard decal set, $12.00. Then
there’s the self adhesive red leather,
another $12.00. Pro-Tech wiring,
Detail Master A/N fittings, and
the list goes and on. If I add it all
up, I’ll have over $200.00 just in
materials in this car by the time it’s
done!
And don’t get me wrong, I’m not
pissing and moaning about the
cost. It’s the price you pay for the
hobby
your
in. Just
thing
how
much
some
people
pay for
their
baseball
card
collec-
tion. I’m
saying
if you
want to
progress
hobby
and challenge yourself, then it’s
going to cost you.
So what’s the next step? For me it’s
learning to scratchbuild! Most of
you have been following my “Big
Buck Build” in the pages of Model
Car Builder (see photo far right).
Even if the car isn’t totally scratch-
built, it’s a good learning tool for
me and I expect more and more of
my future projects will be a com-
bination of scratchbuilt and 3D
printed parts. After the Willys proj-
ect is done I’m planning on totally it a “fun” award. Model Car Build- Speaking of NNL West; we just
scratchbuilding a 1920s Indy car. er has presented awards like “The got a new date for 2017, and new
It will feature a hand formed brass car most likely to get a speeding themes. The convention center has
body, and 3D printed motor. ticket” or at this years NNL West, bumped us to January Jan 28, 2017.
Do I want to be the next Gerald we gave an award for “Rattiest Rat But that may change again. As soon
Windgrove? Heck no! For one Rod”. NNL’s are meant to be fun. It’s as we have a date locked in with a
thing, it takes years contract, we’ll let you
and years of building know. We have two
and learning to reach great themes for 2017.
a Windgrove level, and First is “777” and this
I’m 60 years old! I just will be any car built in
want to progress my the year ending with a
skill level. “7”. This should make
No matter what your for a crowded theme
skill level is, chances table! Just thinking
are you’re going to about all the great cars
want to continue mov- built in 1957, 1967,
ing up the scale, I hope 1977, 1987!! Well, OK,
that Model Car Builder ‘87 is a bit of a stretch,
has helped you achieve ABOVE: Tamiya’s Mercedes Benz 300SL features great details like a full tube but how about a
some of the skills to do chassis & working gull wing doors. Detail you pay big bucks for! Smokey and the Bandit
just that. Trans Am?
Recently Jim Haught wrote an modelers getting together to share The second theme will be an old
editorial in Scale Auto about NNL’s their love for our great hobby. It’s favorite, “TV & Movie” cars! TV
being too competitive. At first I was a chance to meet old friends, share and movie cars are very popular
a little upset to hear such a state- building ideas, show off your latest and I’m sure everyone has at least
ment, I went into the read with a creation, and just have a great time. one in their collection (I have a
really negative attitude. But after If you go into an NNL thinking I Flintstone car in my collection)!
reading it, I have to agree with Jim should win this, or I should of won Model Car Builder will be bring-
100 percent! Unfor- ing back the Friday bus
tunately it is human tour for NNL West.
nature to be competi- Planned stops through
tive, and some people out the day will include
just take it too far. big name shops and
As the founder of a private collection
NNL West some 30+ or two. Stay tuned to
years ago, I’ve always Model Car Builder and
insisted that the only NNL West websites for
two NNL West awards more information.
are “People’s Choice” Well guys, it’s going
for adults, and “Peo- on six years and I’m
ple’s Choice” for the still pounding on the
youth. But, do to ballet key board and clicking
box stuffing, it’s more off the pics for Model
of “Modelers” choice, Car Builder, Thanks for
since now days, only ABOVE: Scratchbuilding allows you to build almost anything you can thing of, all your support and
people entering cars get Roger Lee used brass rod and a soldering iron to make this frame. all the great fan mail.
a ballot. Don’t forget to check
As editor of Model Car Builder, if that, then you missed the whole our website:
I take an award to a show, I make concept behind NNLs! www.ModelCarBuildermag.com
Model Car Builder 5
 When I first opened the box on the
Polarlights Snap Together GTO, I thought,
man, this can’t be a “snap” kit? For
one thing it’s got way too much detail!
Separate frame rails? How cool is that?
The interior details are perfect, separate
door panels that snap into place! This kit
has some great engineering in it, other
manufacturers need to look at this kit and
get some ideas on how a kit should go
together.
The only time the snap together feature
became a problem was the assembly of
the beautiful tri-power 389. The heads
6 Model Car Builder
and the valve covers wouldn’t snap tight.
Leaving annoying gaps. So I cut the snap
mounts off and glued them together. The
motor comes molded in Pontiac blue, so I
just gave it a black wash when I was done
assembling it. It looks great!
I really, really loved the fact that the gas
tank is molded separately and snaps into
place, makes painting easier, and the final
assembly is super clean.
RIGHT: Left over parts: Two four
barrel carbs, stock valve covers,
and wire wheels with knock offs.
ABOVE: The only tricky part to paint is the interior tub. First I
masked the back off. Painted the engine compartment body color. Once
that was dry I counter masked and painted the back seat/package tray
the interior color. Then unmasked everything and hand painted the
carpet flat black.
ABOVE: The body was painted with Dupli-Color white primer, then
their Metal Specks Blue. I lightly wet sanded the color coat with 3200
sand paper and applied the decals. After the decals dried over night I
sealed it in the Dupli-Color Clearcoat. After A few days I polished it
out with the NOVUS three step polishing system.

ABOVE: The motor comes molded in Pontiac Blue, so we assembled it and gave it and gave it a black wash. The manifold was painted with
Dupli-Color Chrome. We ran some Tamiya Clear Blue in the fins of the valve covers to tie the motor in with the body color.

ABOVE: Engine compartment details are molded in, but nicely done. A little time with a detail brush and some paint and you’ll be rewarded
with a nicely detailed engine bay.
Model Car Builder 7
ABOVE: I LOVE the fact that the gas tank is molded separately and
snaps into place (other manufacturers take note please)! I painted the
tank silver and highlighted the straps with Tamiya Clear Yellow (red
arrows). The two diagonal ribs in the floor pan are actually the upper
control arms for the rear suspension (white arrow), so paint them
black.

ABOVE: The overflow tank for the radiator was painted with Tamiya
Clear Green on the bottom to resemble a half full tank (white arrow).
I “plated” the heater cover with Bare-Metal foil (red arrow). Kudos to
Polar Lights for putting a bracket on the alternator (instead of having
it hanging in the air on the drive belt).
ABOVE: The frame comes molded separately! No, really, it does! Then
it snaps into place! Great for painting the frame separately!! The rear
suspension is only three pieces, and the front suspension is all molded
together. But as you can see, it looks fantastic! Oh yeah, excuse the
“mod” paint job on the driveshaft--just my ‘thing’ lately.

ABOVE: The molded in gauges are very week, so I just ‘faked’ them ABOVE: Bare-Metal foil was used on the door panels as well. The strip
with a little paint, photo reduced gauges would help a lot. Bare-Metal at the bottom of the doors is carpet, so I painted it flat black to match
foil on glove box to replicate a chrome plated one. the floorboard carpet.
8 Model Car Builder
ABOVE: The interior was spray painted in Testor’s “Desert Sand” and ABOVE: Notice the use of Bare-Metal foil throughout the interior in-
the the the surround for the seats were hand painted with Testor’s cluding the bucket seat hinges and side trim. We painted the floor flat
“Leather”. But the Desert Sand dries with a high gloss, so everything black, because we’re building the car box stock (so you can see exactly
got a coat of a “Flat” to tone it down. what you get in the kit). But, some flocking would help.

ABOVE LEFT: To give the chrome plated lights a little more “life” we flowed Tamiya “Smoke” on the bottom half, and their “Clear Blue” on the
top and then covered them in clear 5-minute epoxy. The grille got the Tamiya Smoke flowed into it, to give it some dept. Turn signals were made
by mixing Tamiya Clear Orange and 5-minute epoxy. Don’t forget to paint the nose piece that fits in the middle of the grille body color.
LEFT: OK, by now you’ve
figured out that I use Tamiya’s
“Smoke” a lot! I covered the
center of the wheels with it, to
replicate that sprayed on tint
that seems to be popular these
days. My only big complaint
on this kit is the flame decals!
Throw them away! They didn’t
work worth crap. They broke
up while trying to slide them off
the sheet. If you absolutely must
use them, airbrush a then coat
of clear on them first to give
them strength. All-in-all, this
is a great kit, and I still find it
amazing how much detail you
get on a “snap kit” these days!

Model Car Builder 9

10 Model Car Builder
 ABOVE: Just for the fun of it, I put my box stock, Hot Rod version on the cover of the box.

Model Car Builder 11

 RODNEY BUILDS A STREET ROD

’32 FORD STREET ROD

by ROD’
Monogram’s
“Classic Cruiser” in 1/25
Scale.
This Monogram kit is a dream as I found
absolutely nothing wrong with it and I
have built over 300 models since I got back
into modeling in 1977.

Shortly after receiving any model I inspect

the contents very carefully to make sure
nothing is missing and/or any if there is
any deformed parts. This kit receives an
“A+” as there is nothing missing and there
are no deformed parts.

I inspect the chrome parts more carefully

as I do not plan to strip off the chrome and
repaint the parts. Just look at my close up
photo of the “radiator” and you can see ABOVE: All the chrome parts look great. All the kit parts come in plastic bags, with a sepa-
how nice it is. rate bag for the chrome trees.
12 Model Car Builder
ABOVE: The decal sheet is very well done. I especially like the flamed ABOVE: The detail on the radiator grille is impressive.
T-shirt.

ABOVE: There is no flashing on these parts.

ABOVE: The kit instructions are nicely illustrated and easy to follow. Model Car Builder 13
ABOVE: Tires and wheels are nicely done and feature the FORD script on the center cap. Tires were sanded to add realism.

ABOVE: The body and interior tub is dry fit together. ABOVE: The front end is being glued together.

ABOVE: The engine is being fitted with its’ wires. Blue spark plug ABOVE: The distributor cap and heads were drilled to accept the
wires, and a red power wire from the starter to the distributor. wires.
14 Model Car Builder
ABOVE: The engine is ready for installation. ABOVE: The dual exhausts are installed.

ABOVE: Interior pleats were masked off, the interior is now ready to ABOVE: Once the paint dries we’re able to remove the masking and
be painted. check out the two tone interior.

ABOVE: Alligator clips hold the interior panels in place while the glue ABOVE: Motor installed.
dries.
Model Car Builder 15
 There are not very many decals but they too look super good
and when it’s time to apply the decals to the model I always use a
new #11 knife blade and cut real close to the decal and remove the
excess decal film before I apply the decals to their proper location.

I start this project by sanding off the mold lines on the rubber
tires with some of 3M’s 320 grit dry sandpaper. I carefully remove
the chrome tire rims and hubcaps from the kit’s tree and clean up
the edges. I clean up the inside edges of the tires then dry fit the
chrome parts into them. The fit is perfect, so I disassemble them
and add some super glue to the two mating parts on the inside
and push them back together so that the mating surfaces will be
glued together for good. These finished parts are set aside and will
be put on the model during final assembly.

The body parts are dry-fitted together and since they are “A-OK”
I start gluing on some of the “undercarriage” parts. The mufflers
are assembled and set aside and will be painted and installed at a
later date. ABOVE: I tucked the spark plug wires in close so they wouldn’t inter-
ferer with the hood side panels.
The kit has a nice engine, tranny, fan but the instructions say to
close up the hood and side panels which gives you an end result of
just seeing the bottom of the engine and exhaust pipes when you
turn the finished mode over and/or place it on a mirror.

On past model cars that I have built I like to add spark plugs with
the wires and other related items to the “under-the-hood” area.
The hood was dry fit to the radiator frame then glue in place. The
two side panels fit nicely but I did not glue them in place. I just
set the panels on the bottom framework and let them rest on the
fenders on final assembly.

I had accomplished some other kit instructions like painting the

bottom of the frame area and installed the finished exhaust pipes.
I had cleaned up the interior parts and glue them in place then
mask off certain areas and then applied my paint. I also added the
instrument dial decal to the painted dashboard.
After a bit of inspection, the “tub” and finished engine was in-
stalled and glued in place.
ABOVE: The underside of the running boards were masked opff as
Everything seems to be in place so it was painting time. The un- well to avoid overspray.
dercarriage was masked-off including the interior of the car.
The instructions call for a “teal” paint color. I had some of it left
over from another car build. This old paint was applied with one
of my Badger-200 airbrushes that I bought in the early 1980’s.

As mentioned earlier I cut around the decals and lift off the
excess decal film after the decals have been soaked in clean water.
The decal were carefully applied to the doors, trunk and to the
fenders. I had to use some of Microscale’s “Set & Sol” solution
on the decals so that they would conform to the curvature of the
front fenders.

After the decals were dry I wiped the model down with some
clean water and removed all of the water spots. A few days later I
clear coated the model with Future Floor Wax.

The finished parts like the windscreen, tires, head and taillights, ABOVE: I used a hobby knife to cut around each decal.

16 Model Car Builder

 steering wheel were attached to the model.

After final inspection it was photography time. I just pin up my

white paper and roll it down and tape in onto my workbench. I
adjust my two swivel lamps and go for it. The digital images are
downloaded on my p.c. and if they all look ok, I’m done with this
model.

I had fun building this “hot-rod” and it is car model #33 and is
placed with my other car models. I would recommend this car kit,
as it is easy to build.

“ROD” Williams
Colorado/USA
© March 18, 2016

ABOVE: Orange painters tape was used the mask off the engine and
motor.

ABOVE: The model has been clear-coated with “FUTURE.” ABOVE: The completed chassis looks great.

ABOVE: A toothpick and tweezers were used to apply the decals. ABOVE: Hood panels were left unglued so that you could view the
detailed engine.
Model Car Builder 17
18 Model Car Builder
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Model Car Builder 19
20 Model Car Builder
 This wild custom has been one your Editors favorite customs for many years. Recent “Doc” Midkiff had it on
display at the Goodguys show in Pleasanton. I saw my chance to photograph the car and get him to describe it.
Doc was kind enough to give me the following description…
Based on the AMT 1965 Pontiac Bonneville front & rear clips that feature multiple cuts and reshaping to
incorporate parts of the Monkey Mobile body panels at both ends. The hood is Pontiac except the front 1/2”
which is Monkey Mobile after seven different cuts length wise to mate the two. The canted headlights use re-
worked and reshaped 1965 Riviera mated to the body with scratchbuilt fender pieces. All the trim and scripts
were shaved to smooth out the body. Rear fender skirts were molded into the body as well.
At the rear, the tops of the quarter panels have been sliced up to the rear pillars of the roof, and pulled in to
narrow the deck lid all the way back to the extended and rounded tips of the quarter panel. The last inch of the
deck has the Monkey Mobile crafted to it. This incorporates the Monkey Mobile taillights and exhaust ports.
The car features no putty, fillers, or sandable primers. Zap Glue ( AC glue) was used on all the body modifica-
tions, cuts, and joints! After all the body modifications were finalized with different grits of sanding sticks, it
was wet sanded with (used) 600 grit sanding paper to prep it for the final paintwork.
The paint work started with two coats of Testor’s Classic White, followed by a mixture of three different auto-
motive powdered pearls mixed in Testor’s clear. From that point the custom mixed shades of pink
and grape pearls were blended and faded before the final Testor’s clear coats were applied, wet
sanded, and polished.
FYI: The tires and wheels are from the rare MPC “Sweat Hogs” Grand Prix kit.
The car was a collaboration of owner/builder Marshall Stricklin and designer/build-
er/painter Doug “Doc” Midkiff. It’s currently on loan to Doc to
duplicate the car (Editor: Someone resin cast it, please!). Doc’s
replicate will be done in blues for a “his and
hers” personal custom duet.

Model Car Builder 21

 JOHN TERESI’S AWARD WINNING HARLEY DRAG BIKE!

Let’s face it, when John Teresi walks

in and starts to sit down his models, it
draws a crowd. If it’s a competition, peo-
ple start to wonder who’s going to come
in second? And if it’s a NNL type show,
the “People’s Choice” ballet box begins to
fill up with John’s name!
John’s super clean, super detailed build-
ing style always amazes us. Does this guy
ever sleep?
There’s a reason I keep running John’s
models here in the pages of Model Car
Builder, it’s because the readers want to
see what this guy is going to turn out
next.

“I USE "FOLK ART" BLACK AND

DARK GRAY AS A WASH ON 2016 NNL WEST
MY ALCLAD TO GET A ALUMI- PEOPLES CHOICE:
NUM LOOK OR TO MAKE THE
IST PLACE MOTOR-
CHROME LOOK DIRTY OR THE
CYCLE: 2016 GRAND
ALUMINUM DIRTY......JUST
NATIONAL ROAD-
TO GET VARIOUS SHADES OF STER SHOW
METAL......I DELUTE A VERY
SMALL AMOUNT OF PAINT 1ST PLACE MOTOR-
WITH WATER ......LIKE 10 PER- CYCLE: RON RAM-
CENT PAINT TO 90 PERCENT SEY`S NHRA MU-
WATER......THE LESS YOU PUT SEUM MODEL CAR
ON THE BETTER...... YOU CAN CONTEST
ALWAYS ACHIEVE A DARKER
LOOK WITH 1ST PLACE MOTOR-
CYCLE: DESERT
ANOTHER  LIGHT COAT”
SCALE CLASSIC
22 Model Car Builder
ABOVE: Where did all the kit’s chrome go? John said he wanted to
build an “Alclad Bike” using different shades of chrome and aluminum.
He used “Folk Art” acrylic black or dark gray as a wash on the Alclad.
He wanted the chrome or aluminum to look ‘dirty’ or to tone it down
to get various shades of metal. So all the kit chrome had to be stripped
off first.
ABOVE: Of course John did a lot of scratchbuilding on the bike. The
twin gas tanks for example. He also had to make a lot of improvements
to the frame and motor to make them look more like an authentic
1947 Knuckle head. Pro-Tech detailing parts are used throughout the
build.

ABOVE: The kit tank was glued together, smoothed over, and then ABOVE: The transfer case was assembled and the parting seams
John began adding details like the brass mounting straps, the bung for removed. The molded in kit bolts were removed and replaced with
the oil lines, and a different filler neck and cap. aftermarket bolt heads.

ABOVE LEFT & RIGHT: The amount of extra detail John adds is evident in these before and after shots. In the before shot you can see the bare
(blue) kit plastic, and the extra details he has added in the white plastic pieces. New fender bracket was made from brass.
Model Car Builder 23
ABOVE: The kits magneto body featured scratchbuilt guts. John says he used thin brass sheets, thin aluminum sheets, some small aluminum
tubing, and PRO-TECH detail wiring and nuts and bolts.

ABOVE: The kits molded in bolt heads were cut off and metal bolts ABOVE: The heads after being painted with Alclad. Note the oil lines
replace them. The back of the heads were filled in with sheet plastic that run to the top of the heads.
and smoothed over/reshaped.

ABOVE: There’s no doubt that John is “King of Alclad”. Once John ABOVE: Here’s the motor before applying the transfer chain. To me,
made sure the frame was flawless, he applied the magic paint. this looks like a real motor and trans sitting in a real frame!
24 Model Car Builder
Model Car Builder 25
 John Teresi / Harley Davidson Drag Bike
Based on the 1970`s issue of
Revell`s 1/8 scale : 1320 - 1947 H/D Drag bike

26 Model Car Builder

Model Car Builder 27
BUILDING A PAIR OF #46 DATSUNS
(part two)
A s you might remember from the last
issue, I had just dropped and broken up
the 240Z project a couple nights before
the NNL West model show. I was able to
salvage the body (with its nice red & white
two tone paint), and the motor, but the
suspension was pretty much totaled!
But the great thing about starting over
is that you can correct any mistakes you
made earlier, and make things better the
second time around.
I basically built a whole new chassis from
a second kit. Then put my detailed motor
and body on top of it. BELOW: Bought some Parts by Parks (part no. 4006), short velocity stacks for the Mikuni
I’m pretty happy with the final products, carbs. They look great and fit perfectly. You’ll have to drill out each carb since the stacks have
and it looks good sitting alongside the 510. mounting pins behind them.
But now what to do with the spare body...

...a Pro Street 240Z? NO! No more new

projects! No more new projects!

28 Model Car Builder

ABOVE: I’m sorry Revell, but the oil cooler doesn’t fit in the location that the instruction sheet calls for! No way! So I cut a section off so that it
would slip over the radiator. I also cut out off the two mounting points and drilled them out to receive fittings (see photos below). Now it all fits.

ABOVE: Top Studio’s 1.2mm resin Hose Joints / medium (Part #TD23048) are a great alternative to big buck, machined aluminum fittings. As
you can see they come in straight, 45 degree, and 90 degree fittings. Paint them silver, then use Tamiya clear/transparent red & blue to detail
them. I painted the radiator and oil cooler in aluminum (Testor’s Non-Buffing Aluminum), then gave them a black wash to add depth. Since
the car had a Valvoline decal on the outside, I thought the oil filter should be a Valvoline oil filter.

ABOVE: The firewall has some annoying ejection pin marks that need
to be removed. There’s also a square hole for the gas pedal mount, I
covered it with a couple of photo-etch flat pieces. I added a vacuum
hose to the booster, and brake lines to the mastercylinder.
ABOVE: I never liked the flat photo-etch pieces for battery cable ends.
I made my own from solder. The power cable goes to starter on the
motor, while the ground just runs along the side of the battery and
grounds to the frame of the car.
Model Car Builder 29
ABOVE: To save money I didn’t use fittings on the motors oil lines ABOVE: The oil line coming off the firewall oil tank looks a little
(blue arrow). The fuel pump was drilled all the way through and black funny going straight up, but this was a necessary evil since the battery
hose added for fuel lines. mounts directly below it.

ABOVE: In this shot you can begin to see just how crowded it is in this
tiny engine compartment. The oil tank on the right side of the firewall
replaces the stock battery location, and the battery now mounts to
the frame below it. Notice how tight the velocity stacks on the Mikuni
Carbs are next to the fenderwell and brake mastercylinder.
ABOVE: The kit’s original fenderwells had big holes on the top where
the top of the struts mount (arrows). I used Evergreen sheet and
photo-etch bolt heads to make them appear a little more realistic. The
fender mounted ignition coil comes in the kit. I just drilled it to accept
the wire and boot.

ABOVE LEFT & RIGHT: OK, I was going to make a flat dash for the car. But several people pointed out that the original racing rules called for
a stock dash. I decided to “detail up” the dash using spare photo-etch parts I had lying around. The black gages are photo reduced and covered
with clear epoxy. Steering wheel is a photo-etch center with rubber “O” ring. The black pedals all but disappear on the black floorboard, so I
threw on some photo-etch pedals. The fire extinguisher had a decal from the spare parts box added, and Bare-Metal foiled hold down straps. The
roll bar padding has been tied down with black thread (a little hard to see in the left photo).
30 Model Car Builder
ABOVE & RIGHT: The wheels on this kit are a ‘pain’ to cut of their
part trees. The best way is to cut them off with a photo-etch blade. I
used photo-etch rotors (the smallest I could find) for the brakes. The
calipers are resin cast, and the hub to space them away from the back
of the wheel is Plastruct tubing. Good Year decals for the sidewalls.

ABOVE: The driveshaft was painted in a Japan flag pattern. No the ABOVE: Had to make a few “adjustments” to get hood clearance. The
real car didn’t have this, just a crazy idea of mine. Call it “artistic spark plug wires had to be pushed down in front of the valve covers.
license”. Originally the radiator hose went straight up, I turned it to the side.

Model Car Builder 31

 WEB TIPS
Do you have a model car tip on the
web that you would like to share with
our readers? Then drop us an email
and let us know.
And thanks for sharing!

Greg Armour
 
Large Model Cars 1/20 - 1/6th
scale

WORKING 1/12th SCALE

HOOD LATCH

For David Moran and Nicholas Mouldza

Mould, and for everyone else of course,
just a couple of pics of the latch assembly.
Fairly basic, the lever is 1/16 aluminium
tube (squashed flat) and secured with
some .8mm bolts. The tiny spring was
from a “bike” pack, it had 10 springs from
memory.
smile emoticon

The “pin” under the hood is a 1mm bolt

that I shaped the end of into a point. The
spring for that is from a biro-pen.

32 Model Car Builder


ABOVE: Thanks to Roger’s tip the “Big Buck Build” Pro Mod Willys
project now has a toothed blower belt. Now I can start to build the belt
guard.
BELOW: This is what we used for our 1/16th scale belt, but if you
want to make a /1/24th scale belt try #2037, HO scale, 3 - 1/4” spac-
ing, 020”thick (0.5mm).
BELOW RIGHT: I like to use the caliper edges to scribe the cut line in
the plastic (almost impossible to see in the photo). The other alterna-
tive is to make the sheet plastic in several places on the sheet plastic
with a pencil and a ruler.
ABOVE: The first thing you want to do is measure the width of the
blower pulley. My digital calipers work great for this, I can then trans-
fer the width directly to the sheet plastic (see photo above right).
Roger Lee 
Large Model Cars 1/20 - 1/6th scale
Coged Blower Belts
Blower belts seem a good subject to talk about. They have 14mm,
1/2’’ and 8 mm pitch belts. The 14mm or1/2’’ pitch belt has a
tooth every 1/2’’ and is only 3/16 thick. 14mm & 8 mm are thicker
around 5/16’’ , because of the belt construction & materials used.
1/16 scale for 14mm & 1/2’’ pitch would have a tooth pattern
every .032’’ and 8mm would have a .020 tooth pattern. Ok so far ?
.020’’ in 1/16 scale equals .320’’ in real size. So if you used a .020
thick plastic that has ribs every .020’’ would be a 8mm belt with a
thickness of 5/16 in life size blower belt. Close enough !
Evergreen Plastics makes HO Railroad Car Siding .020 thickness
with rib spacing at .020’’. They also have .020 thick with ribs every
.040’’ which could pass for a 1/2’’ pitch belt’. Works for me.
So now you have to find something that will pass for drive
pulleys. I have found slotted knobs on all kinds of things. Got an
old computer laying around, lamp fixtures, dial indicators and
you will find pulley material. Cut to .220’’ long, drill out the center
leaving a wall thickness of .032’’ for a crank pulley .375-.390’’ in
diameter.
Cut a 3/16 strip of the Evergreen ribbed plastic. Some heat form-
ing is required to fit around the pulleys and place the sliced ends
at the bottom of the crank pulley. Paint the inside of the belt flat
black and the outside semi gloss black. Super Glue in place and
you might want to place a strip of invisible tape over the splice
line & paint.
ABOVE: Cut the belt out, (I use scissors), then spray paint it flat black.
Don’t for get to turn the belt and get the edges on both sides. Once
it’s dry glue the belt to the lower pulley, and wrap it around the other
pulleys. Model Car Builder 33
 WEB
I found these on the web recently

TIPS
(HIROBOY.com) they’re made by MFH
(Model Factory Hiro). Hose Joint set, Part
No. P-963, $17.77 I think they are chrome
plated resin. But you can also be ordered
with out the chrome plating. The three
trees contain 32 fittings in an assortment
of shapes. Was kind of disappointed that
there was only three “T” fittings. Cover
them in Tamiya Clear Red and Clear Blue
to replicate the anodized A/N fittings.

Shuichi Sakamoto speaks very little english, and I speak NO Japanese, but we’ve been model car buddies for decades! Shuichi and I
share another interest besides model car building, we both love the movie “American Graffiti”. Back in the days when I was doing Plastic
Fanatic magazine, Shuichi sent me photos of his unbelievable replicas (and figures) from the movie. Of course I did a full story on his
beautiful models. Later I went on to feature them in my column in the Goodguys Gazette, and the short lived eZine “eScaleCars”.

Shuichi and I have kept in touch, and now, thanks to modern technology, we’re good friends on Facebook. But recently Shuichi sent me
this model car magazine featuring his build ups of the American Graffiti cars. SPORTS CAR MODELING
Vol. 32 is dedicated to replicas of movie and TV cars! The cover features James
Dean in his Porsche “tub” roadster. But other great cars
inside include the Mustang & Mopar from “Bullet”,
the white Challenger from “Vanishing Point”, TV cars
include things like Columbo’s Peugeot, or the Firebird
from the “Rockford Files”, and the list goes on! 32 full
color pages of some of the greatest movie & TV cars
around! Perfect inspiration to start building your car
for next year’s NNL West!

You’re going to have to order it online, because, just

like Model Car Builder it is an independent pub- li-
cation with a limited circulation. But you can find it
here:

http://mizoro-
giscm.jugemcart.
com/?pid=1593216
34 Model Car Builder
1 to 1 SCALE

So-Cal Speedshop 1934 Coupe / 1953 Land Speed

Record Holder 173.7 MPH at Bonneville

Model Car Builder 35

 #123 Flex-I-File “Combo Set”

“Flex-I-File gets into spaces that other tools

cannot. Fitting perfectly into tight corners
and interior angles even the tightest spot
isn’t out of reach. Eliminate imperfections
on your project by gradually progressing
through the grits from coarse to fine.
Contents: 1 Anodized Aluminum Frame
and 17 Assorted Abrasive Refill Tapes”

With more and more modelers turning

to 3D printed parts, we are going to be
spending a lot of time sanding rough
prints smooth. Some of these rough edges
are going to be tough to get at it. Then
there’s those annoying parting seams and
injection pins on mass produced kit parts
as well.
You’re going to need this tool to help
you clean and smooth all those parts. The
number one thing I find myself using this
for is kit headers. There’s always that “pain
in the you know what” parting seam that
seems to wrap around every tube on the
headers! It’s also great for exhaust pipe
parting seams because it won’t flatten out
the pipe like a file or sanding stick has a
tendency to do after sanding a while.
The combo set comes with everything
you need. Besides the “U” shaped alumi-
num frame, there’s also a big assortment of
sanding tapes. The tapes snap onto ether
side of the frame. This makes it possible
to take one side off and feed it through a
closed loop like a roll cage on a race car, or
the before mentioned headers.
I highly recommend this tool, it should
be on every modelers work bench.
In the next issue we’re going to try our

hand at using the Small Shops photo-etch

bending tube.
Do you have a tool you find useful? Or is
there a tool you’ve always wanted to try? ABOVE: This is the whole package! A big assortment of sanding strips (17 in all) in coarse,
Drop us an email and let us know about it! medium, fine, and extra fine, and the “bow”, as I call it.
36 Model Car Builder
ABOVE: The bow has pins on each end that the sanding strip slips
over (arrow).
LEFT: Take one end off the bow, slip the sanding strip through (thread
it through) something like a rollcage, and then you can get into really
tough spots to sand.
LEFT BELOW: Action shot!

Creations Unlimited Hobby Products

315397 31st Line

RR#4
Embro, Ontario
Canada N0J 1J0

1-800-506-9618 Toll Free

(519) 425-0911 Telephone
(519) 475-6464 Fax
info@flex-i-file.com

Model Car Builder 37

 FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE

44 Full Color Pages!

SPECIAL CHAPTERS

*Rat Rods

*Lowriders

*Race Cars

*Table Shots

*Make N’ Take

*John Teresi

*Awards

*Volkswagons

*and more!

If you couldn’t be
there, this is the next
best thing!

If you were there,

may be there’s a pic
of your car in here!

ORDER NOW!
$12.00 + postage

AVAILABLE NOW
ORDER YOUR COPY AT:

w w w . N N L W E S T. o r g
or at:
ModelCarBuildermag.com
38 Model Car Builder
We’re gearheads into vintage
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and just about anything old. We
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Model Car Builder 39

DATSUN 240Z PROJECT COMPLETED...

40 Model Car Builder