Wow , this thing still work ?
Posted by Dr Diecast at 10/21/2008 6:10 AM and is filed under uncategorized 
Well I guess I'm back again....... really never went anywhere but there are some cobwebs here based on the fact its been like a month since I posted anything.
I had planned on posting at least each week but alas as we see it has not happened. I am going to do one big post to try to get those who still follow this caught up. Maybe not with detailed shots of things but more an idea of what all I am working on. Some shots will be of newer projects while other ones of older projects. I will also post a couple cars I have finished lately.
This is really for my regulars and some of the current crabby apples that just don't understand the time frame for any of this. You will see here one car, a Lamborghini, that I actually spent an entire week on between sanding, polishing, assembly, and then tweaking the little things that just were not right or were just a lot harder than ever expected which included actualyl re clearcoating part of the body.
A week...... that's at least 5 days in my work.... a week is sometimes 7 for me but this car kicked my ass. Since a normal diecast car has anywhere between 6-9 parts to repaint I was put in the hole right away as this car had some 19 seperate parts to be painted. Some molded in clear with just an edge or small area painted body color, some molded in black plastic with part painted body color. Either way each piece had to be masked first then the paint process could start. This on top of the customer wanting his wheels re shot in graphite on a set of wheels I could not for the life of me get the rotors off of. But hey its done and that's a good thing. You will see it below.
Now, on to the projects. I will post a shot of the bin that the car or parts are in and a little info on what it will be. Again, some of these were shot weeks ago others more recent. For those who don't understand the timetable around here this should make it clear.... A LOT of projects.... and one time consuming problem puts A LOT of projects on hold.... not something I like but reality. Hey if I could do these like Maaco I would, LOL, but would have been out of business long ago.
If your computer is on dial up this will kill it, LOL.
Custom 32 roadster as seen in picture
34 Coupe that has been here WAY TOO long. I had been waiting on wheels for this that finally showed up Friday and hopefully this will be gone by the end of the week.
59 Impala, one of the cars that has been neglected because of other projects that have pushed me back time wise. I know what needs to be done, just have to find the time to get too.... soon , very soon.
63 Galaxie, straight axle with a blown 427 now. This has been put on hold by the customer as he is changing the intake and until its done and he knows what and how it will sit in the car I really can't do the engine swap.
2 of the 3 AAR Cuda's. This picture was shot before the 3rd body was created. More to come on these as they are rolling long, or should I say roll bar ing along, LOL. They look crappy here but will be great once done.
63 Roadster...... created by cutting a 67 roadster and a 63 Stingray and fusing the bodies in the right place. This car is actually done and the pictures are towards the bottom.
66 GT 350 Mustang convertible. This car is actually painted but not shown. This has the dashboard swap that I'm not sure how I'm going to do but will figure it out.
67 Dart GT, which has been here WAY WAY too long. I have been making the grille and decklid trim and reworking the taillights then its done. About a day or two and this would be out of here...... and its one of the next ones on the list.
68 Camaro raced in the 60's and 70's. This car is done and pictured towards the bottom. I had 5 plus hours into re creating the door logo and sponsor decals since the 60's picture was washed out and blurry.
68 Dodge Super Bee. This actually is in primer as again the picture was taken long ago. It also gets a stock hood not the custom made 6 pack one you see.
70 Cuda loaded with all the options.... this one is painted but thats it.
73 Challenger that has been probably 3-4 years in the making. I had finally figured out how to make the taillights as seen in the picture though its not a good shot of what they really look like. This was the last piece of the 72-74 Challenger puzzle. With this completed I can resin cast the parts and be able to duplicate this for the couple customers I have waiting on these year cars. Im really excited about this as NOBODY has done nor attempted to do this car yet. This is a perfect example of the possibilities are endless comes into play.
76 Trans Am which is another one of those, never done before, projects.
This will be a 55 Chevy Belair 2 door post once completed. This body is a 2 door post that will get cut up and fused with a regular 55 Belair ..... if all goes well, LOL.
This 94 Mustang is minor in the big picture but has a full interior rework with a wheel swap and some other minor details added.
This 2008 Mustang is a Barrett-Jackson custom that while reworking a stock Black Mustang they released the actual car in diecast. My customer then ordered 4 more of the diecast version (2 fastbacks, 2 convertibles) so I could make the minor changes needed to give 5 complete BJ cars for him to display at his 2 homes in the US. The production versions will be getting some badging changed and real hood pins added.
This 07 Roush Mustang was highlighted here about a year ago. There was that long search for wheels close to his which proved fruitless since the ones I used, that he approved, he then whined and complained about after receiving the car so it came back for a couple things. The wheels first and foremost but I also needed to change the rear quarter windows out too. Almost ready to leave here for the LAST time.
96 ??? Saleen with custom interior and spoiler.....not seen here but in the works. Also some nice engine detail was added.
68 Shelby GT 500 convertible that has been featured here. At the time this was taken I was in the process of redoing the decklid lip spoiler which is now done. This car is in line for the next batch that gets painted.
Roush Blackjack for Doug my Mustang nut.... this was shot way back before I added the stripes and other body detail. It only needs the engine detail done and its off the the Filter self for future shipping.
This "Eleanor" style 96 Mustang was started a couple years ago then the owner was deployed to Iraq and is now back so we are moving forward with the finished project. I should have shown more of the body as its mostly completed.
El Toro....... need I say more, LOL.
This Escort has been painted and clearcoated and is waiting on interior paint work and assembly. Though it could be finished rather quickly this customers other project is still in progress.
This is the above customers OTHER car, a 1999 ? Mustang convertible which is painted and awaiting clear coat at this time.
63 Ford Falcon panel wagon..... cool project... involved project and one thats in the very early stages.
67 Corvette SCCA racer that was started a while back I am waiting for more pictures of to be able to create the deck spoiler and get it under color.
77 Pontiac Formula...... basically a repaint, re stripe, tire and wheel swap but with T-Tops added as seen by the marks on the underside of the roof.
My own personal project, a working door GMP Buick Gran National. While I can't wait to get back to work on this it has sat now for months now..... I did wipe the dust off it for its current picture as it was filthy. As much as I want to complete this very involved project I just don't have time right now.
Shhhhhh.... this is a top secret project for a diecast company. No really it is something I am trying to develop with them for future release.
This will be the Indy engined Mustang raced back in the 60's at the Bonneville Saltflats. The body has been modded and is in primer at this time.
This is an odd project.... they do not make the C series late 90's Benz so the customer begged me to use a 190 baby Benz and make it look close. This car is in color and while I did make minor mods it still looks like a 190, LOL. Hey, its what he wanted so thats what I did.
This Sam Posey car has actually had the black painted on the roof and hood and is awaying my applying decals and clear coating.
This 1970 Challenger Promo 1-6 convertible was painted and I believe featured here. Upon assembling the body so I could add the stripes and clear coat, the passenger side door would not work properly and torn the paint off both the fender and door upon opening. At this point I had to first, fix the problem which in the end included swapping the entire door out for another Challenger door. Now ask yourself, why the door that came on the car would not work when re mounted.... well I asked the same question and the answer is, THESE ARE NOT MADE TO BE TAKEN APART, LOL, since there is no other apparent reason for it.
Anyway.... the new door was added and the car was sanded, primered and has been repainted.
This car was shown here before but since this picture was taken the hood was changed out. Back in the old days I used to build up the scoop on the hood with JB Weld stick or Bondo but now I make them from styrene plastic sheet. Not liking this hood I have since created a better one.
This 67 Camaro was raced back in the day and supposedly was a ranked NHRA car on the east coast.
This birds nest rumble seat 57 T-Bird. Picture shot while the decklid was on the bench being worked on.
40 Willys with Candy Apple Red paintwork. As you can see its been cleared and partially polished out. This car needs to leave....now that the paint is finally done I can get it finished and shipped.
This 71 Charger will be a tan, tan color combo not seen in diecast.
The 38 WOODIE....... LOL, I type in caps because it will be when done. This is the newly covered in leather interior. Yep, real leather seats that still need to be dyed but that's too come.
These are miscellaneous projects for Mr Mustang. Some are completed, some are still waiting on paperwork so they can be started but you get the idea.
Now for a couple completed projects.
Couple of Pete's T-Birds, Elvis Pink and Coral Sand.
71 Challey.... while I didn't paint this car I did add the stripes, badging, hood pins (adjusted for height after this was shot), tires and wheel and clearcoated.
40 Ford ...... just a 40 Ford. The wheels had to be chrome foiled which turned out about as good as they could but they are better than chrome paint as that didn't work out at all. He is happy and thats all that counts.
63 Corvette created from a 67.
69 Coronet R/T with a bulge hood custom made.
Black Acid 1968 Camaro raced in the 60's.
67 Camaro big block like the stock diecast version just done by me.
The car that kicked my ass for a week.
Now I will attempt to list the projects in house NOT seen here.
Mustang Mid Engine for Mr Mustang
Jaguar XKE, dash swap from right to left
Dragster, body repaint..... done and shipping in the next day or so
69 Chevelle, repaint (done) and stripes
08 BMW 335, repaint and wheels
71 GTX, convert to a Satellite Sebring
63 Nova SS, repaint, interior repaint and wheel swap
06 Mustang GT, create new hood, repaint and wheel swap
99 Lotus Esprit road racer.... major project with all new body panels
04 Nissian 350 Z, Lambo door conversion, repaint, interior work and decals
79 Pontiac Red Bird Formula style Firebird, many body mods and paintwork
07 ZO6, repaint and wheel swap
96 Mustang Cobra, custom front and real bumpers, rocker trim, paint and more
32 Ford, custom bodywork, paint and wheels
57 T-Bird, unrestored
57 T-Bird, custom modded by me
57 T-Bird, 60's custom per pictures supplied. (these 3 are all for the Birdman Pete)
65 Mustang GT, repaint, stripes, interior repaint
70 Chevelle, interior repaint
70 Cuda, sunroof and vinyl top added
85 Mustang, repaint
93 Mustang, repaint
06 Corvette, repaint Atomic Orange
Whew........ I think thats about it. Looks like a lot doesn't it ? It is and now if you can think about what happens when I get bogged down with a problem with any car it just sets everything further back. If I could trust anyone to help me I would hire them but I cannot and so this is my world of toy cars and I have to deal with it, LOL.
I didn't count these..... I don't want too..... I think its around 60 not including the closet of stuff for Mr Mustang or the projects I'm waiting on deposits for. All I know is there are many on this list that will be leaving soon or will be done and gone by Christmas which is a good thing.
OK...... now you can see why I haven't been updating like normal. I will again say I will try to but who knows, this is actually my busy time, LOL.
OK....... I have haven't said in a while..... IM OUT !
I had planned on posting at least each week but alas as we see it has not happened. I am going to do one big post to try to get those who still follow this caught up. Maybe not with detailed shots of things but more an idea of what all I am working on. Some shots will be of newer projects while other ones of older projects. I will also post a couple cars I have finished lately.
This is really for my regulars and some of the current crabby apples that just don't understand the time frame for any of this. You will see here one car, a Lamborghini, that I actually spent an entire week on between sanding, polishing, assembly, and then tweaking the little things that just were not right or were just a lot harder than ever expected which included actualyl re clearcoating part of the body.
A week...... that's at least 5 days in my work.... a week is sometimes 7 for me but this car kicked my ass. Since a normal diecast car has anywhere between 6-9 parts to repaint I was put in the hole right away as this car had some 19 seperate parts to be painted. Some molded in clear with just an edge or small area painted body color, some molded in black plastic with part painted body color. Either way each piece had to be masked first then the paint process could start. This on top of the customer wanting his wheels re shot in graphite on a set of wheels I could not for the life of me get the rotors off of. But hey its done and that's a good thing. You will see it below.
Now, on to the projects. I will post a shot of the bin that the car or parts are in and a little info on what it will be. Again, some of these were shot weeks ago others more recent. For those who don't understand the timetable around here this should make it clear.... A LOT of projects.... and one time consuming problem puts A LOT of projects on hold.... not something I like but reality. Hey if I could do these like Maaco I would, LOL, but would have been out of business long ago.
If your computer is on dial up this will kill it, LOL.
Custom 32 roadster as seen in picture
34 Coupe that has been here WAY TOO long. I had been waiting on wheels for this that finally showed up Friday and hopefully this will be gone by the end of the week.
59 Impala, one of the cars that has been neglected because of other projects that have pushed me back time wise. I know what needs to be done, just have to find the time to get too.... soon , very soon.
63 Galaxie, straight axle with a blown 427 now. This has been put on hold by the customer as he is changing the intake and until its done and he knows what and how it will sit in the car I really can't do the engine swap.
2 of the 3 AAR Cuda's. This picture was shot before the 3rd body was created. More to come on these as they are rolling long, or should I say roll bar ing along, LOL. They look crappy here but will be great once done.
63 Roadster...... created by cutting a 67 roadster and a 63 Stingray and fusing the bodies in the right place. This car is actually done and the pictures are towards the bottom.
66 GT 350 Mustang convertible. This car is actually painted but not shown. This has the dashboard swap that I'm not sure how I'm going to do but will figure it out.
67 Dart GT, which has been here WAY WAY too long. I have been making the grille and decklid trim and reworking the taillights then its done. About a day or two and this would be out of here...... and its one of the next ones on the list.
68 Camaro raced in the 60's and 70's. This car is done and pictured towards the bottom. I had 5 plus hours into re creating the door logo and sponsor decals since the 60's picture was washed out and blurry.
68 Dodge Super Bee. This actually is in primer as again the picture was taken long ago. It also gets a stock hood not the custom made 6 pack one you see.
70 Cuda loaded with all the options.... this one is painted but thats it.
73 Challenger that has been probably 3-4 years in the making. I had finally figured out how to make the taillights as seen in the picture though its not a good shot of what they really look like. This was the last piece of the 72-74 Challenger puzzle. With this completed I can resin cast the parts and be able to duplicate this for the couple customers I have waiting on these year cars. Im really excited about this as NOBODY has done nor attempted to do this car yet. This is a perfect example of the possibilities are endless comes into play.
76 Trans Am which is another one of those, never done before, projects.
This will be a 55 Chevy Belair 2 door post once completed. This body is a 2 door post that will get cut up and fused with a regular 55 Belair ..... if all goes well, LOL.
This 94 Mustang is minor in the big picture but has a full interior rework with a wheel swap and some other minor details added.
This 2008 Mustang is a Barrett-Jackson custom that while reworking a stock Black Mustang they released the actual car in diecast. My customer then ordered 4 more of the diecast version (2 fastbacks, 2 convertibles) so I could make the minor changes needed to give 5 complete BJ cars for him to display at his 2 homes in the US. The production versions will be getting some badging changed and real hood pins added.
This 07 Roush Mustang was highlighted here about a year ago. There was that long search for wheels close to his which proved fruitless since the ones I used, that he approved, he then whined and complained about after receiving the car so it came back for a couple things. The wheels first and foremost but I also needed to change the rear quarter windows out too. Almost ready to leave here for the LAST time.
96 ??? Saleen with custom interior and spoiler.....not seen here but in the works. Also some nice engine detail was added.
68 Shelby GT 500 convertible that has been featured here. At the time this was taken I was in the process of redoing the decklid lip spoiler which is now done. This car is in line for the next batch that gets painted.
Roush Blackjack for Doug my Mustang nut.... this was shot way back before I added the stripes and other body detail. It only needs the engine detail done and its off the the Filter self for future shipping.
This "Eleanor" style 96 Mustang was started a couple years ago then the owner was deployed to Iraq and is now back so we are moving forward with the finished project. I should have shown more of the body as its mostly completed.
El Toro....... need I say more, LOL.
This Escort has been painted and clearcoated and is waiting on interior paint work and assembly. Though it could be finished rather quickly this customers other project is still in progress.
This is the above customers OTHER car, a 1999 ? Mustang convertible which is painted and awaiting clear coat at this time.
63 Ford Falcon panel wagon..... cool project... involved project and one thats in the very early stages.
67 Corvette SCCA racer that was started a while back I am waiting for more pictures of to be able to create the deck spoiler and get it under color.
77 Pontiac Formula...... basically a repaint, re stripe, tire and wheel swap but with T-Tops added as seen by the marks on the underside of the roof.
My own personal project, a working door GMP Buick Gran National. While I can't wait to get back to work on this it has sat now for months now..... I did wipe the dust off it for its current picture as it was filthy. As much as I want to complete this very involved project I just don't have time right now.
Shhhhhh.... this is a top secret project for a diecast company. No really it is something I am trying to develop with them for future release.
This will be the Indy engined Mustang raced back in the 60's at the Bonneville Saltflats. The body has been modded and is in primer at this time.
This is an odd project.... they do not make the C series late 90's Benz so the customer begged me to use a 190 baby Benz and make it look close. This car is in color and while I did make minor mods it still looks like a 190, LOL. Hey, its what he wanted so thats what I did.
This Sam Posey car has actually had the black painted on the roof and hood and is awaying my applying decals and clear coating.
This 1970 Challenger Promo 1-6 convertible was painted and I believe featured here. Upon assembling the body so I could add the stripes and clear coat, the passenger side door would not work properly and torn the paint off both the fender and door upon opening. At this point I had to first, fix the problem which in the end included swapping the entire door out for another Challenger door. Now ask yourself, why the door that came on the car would not work when re mounted.... well I asked the same question and the answer is, THESE ARE NOT MADE TO BE TAKEN APART, LOL, since there is no other apparent reason for it.
Anyway.... the new door was added and the car was sanded, primered and has been repainted.
This car was shown here before but since this picture was taken the hood was changed out. Back in the old days I used to build up the scoop on the hood with JB Weld stick or Bondo but now I make them from styrene plastic sheet. Not liking this hood I have since created a better one.
This 67 Camaro was raced back in the day and supposedly was a ranked NHRA car on the east coast.
This birds nest rumble seat 57 T-Bird. Picture shot while the decklid was on the bench being worked on.
40 Willys with Candy Apple Red paintwork. As you can see its been cleared and partially polished out. This car needs to leave....now that the paint is finally done I can get it finished and shipped.
This 71 Charger will be a tan, tan color combo not seen in diecast.
The 38 WOODIE....... LOL, I type in caps because it will be when done. This is the newly covered in leather interior. Yep, real leather seats that still need to be dyed but that's too come.
These are miscellaneous projects for Mr Mustang. Some are completed, some are still waiting on paperwork so they can be started but you get the idea.
Now for a couple completed projects.
Couple of Pete's T-Birds, Elvis Pink and Coral Sand.
71 Challey.... while I didn't paint this car I did add the stripes, badging, hood pins (adjusted for height after this was shot), tires and wheel and clearcoated.
40 Ford ...... just a 40 Ford. The wheels had to be chrome foiled which turned out about as good as they could but they are better than chrome paint as that didn't work out at all. He is happy and thats all that counts.
63 Corvette created from a 67.
69 Coronet R/T with a bulge hood custom made.
Black Acid 1968 Camaro raced in the 60's.
67 Camaro big block like the stock diecast version just done by me.
The car that kicked my ass for a week.
Now I will attempt to list the projects in house NOT seen here.
Mustang Mid Engine for Mr Mustang
Jaguar XKE, dash swap from right to left
Dragster, body repaint..... done and shipping in the next day or so
69 Chevelle, repaint (done) and stripes
08 BMW 335, repaint and wheels
71 GTX, convert to a Satellite Sebring
63 Nova SS, repaint, interior repaint and wheel swap
06 Mustang GT, create new hood, repaint and wheel swap
99 Lotus Esprit road racer.... major project with all new body panels
04 Nissian 350 Z, Lambo door conversion, repaint, interior work and decals
79 Pontiac Red Bird Formula style Firebird, many body mods and paintwork
07 ZO6, repaint and wheel swap
96 Mustang Cobra, custom front and real bumpers, rocker trim, paint and more
32 Ford, custom bodywork, paint and wheels
57 T-Bird, unrestored
57 T-Bird, custom modded by me
57 T-Bird, 60's custom per pictures supplied. (these 3 are all for the Birdman Pete)
65 Mustang GT, repaint, stripes, interior repaint
70 Chevelle, interior repaint
70 Cuda, sunroof and vinyl top added
85 Mustang, repaint
93 Mustang, repaint
06 Corvette, repaint Atomic Orange
Whew........ I think thats about it. Looks like a lot doesn't it ? It is and now if you can think about what happens when I get bogged down with a problem with any car it just sets everything further back. If I could trust anyone to help me I would hire them but I cannot and so this is my world of toy cars and I have to deal with it, LOL.
I didn't count these..... I don't want too..... I think its around 60 not including the closet of stuff for Mr Mustang or the projects I'm waiting on deposits for. All I know is there are many on this list that will be leaving soon or will be done and gone by Christmas which is a good thing.
OK...... now you can see why I haven't been updating like normal. I will again say I will try to but who knows, this is actually my busy time, LOL.
OK....... I have haven't said in a while..... IM OUT !
Wow.
Reply to this
Hi John....it was good to see all of thw work you're3 doing..and especially that my '48 woodie is progressing...Carl
Reply to this
Hi John:
Your work displayed in this blog is very impresive and I saw my order with my Mustang Barrett Jackson picture. I
cannot wait to see my custom model, I am
like a kid waiting for Santa Claus !!!!!
You should be the envy of Detroit's big
3, it looks like you are producing more
cars and having more fun than they are having presently. Keep up your great work.
Regards,
Manny Proenza
Reply to this
John... great posting, and many thanks for highlighting your projects. As a satisfied customer, I can assure everyone who's waiting on their 'high priority' cars that you will not be dissapointed, even tho you may have to wait awhile. John, FYI, we took the REAL '59 Elky and the model to a recent car show. Guess which one got the most comments? Your model, of course!!! Send me some business cards, please.
Reply to this
Talk about multitasking, which brings things right into perspective to me as a customer. I am fighting with one mod and you have over 50 on the go, just wow. Will John it only took 8 refreshes (spell check says this work is wrong) to download all the pictures. Looks like I’ll have to fill my closet again at your house for 2009.01078
Reply to this
Wow, what a huge update. Or as Darth Vader would say "impressive"! I started reading this blog post and it kept going on and on and on. Until suddenly (finally ?
Reply to this
Holy crap JRF! You have a ton o' sh*t on your plate... :p
73 Chally LQQKs good by the way. Hey, when your done with the Gurney Cuda and Posey Challenger, I'd like to be on the list for one of each. Take care.
CM.
Reply to this