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What do you guys use for references?

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dmk
  • Member since
    September 2008
  • From: North Carolina, USA
Posted by dmk on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 10:10 AM

Don Stauffer

I love the 'walk around" series of books on aircraft.  Those are put together by people who understand just what modelers need for documentation.  It would be great if someone starts a series of publications like that for cars.

I agree. I'm surprised nobody has done that. The car mags sort of do it in a small way with feature cars, but only a few engine, interior and outside detail shots. Sometimes the trunk.

I would have been interested in detailed Muscle Car and Classic Sports Car walk-arounds even when I wasn't doing auto modeling. I'd think the 1:1 car hobbyists and restorers would appreciate something like this too.

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Twin Cities of Minnesota
Posted by Don Stauffer on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 8:57 AM

I'm not that interested in factory stock- my big interest is racing cars.  However, those are rarer and even harder to find 3 views and good pictures.  I joined a vintage racing group to get access to older cars, and used to sell a series of scale drawings and photos of old race cars (midgets, sprint cars).  I guess for any kind of car you just need to find them, get access to them, and photograph and measure them.

I love the 'walk around" series of books on aircraft.  Those are put together by people who understand just what modelers need for documentation.  It would be great if someone starts a series of publications like that for cars.

For contemporary cars, I would try to contact manufacturers for info.  For older stuff, maybe join an antique car club.  As a last resort a google image search often turns up a lot.

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Towson MD
Posted by gregbale on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 4:49 PM

I have to admit I find more and more stuff online. Everything from manuals with firing order of different engines to old company promotional materials, to beautiful detail shots from guys (and gals) taking well-deserved pride in their restoration jobs. It takes some digging and some lateral thinking sometimes, to find stuff that isn't tagged or archived in some useful/logical way.

But it never ceases to amaze me how often some obscure vehicle (or facet thereof) will be on a website, somewhere, put there by someone as interested in the obscure as I am.

Having said all that, nothing beats a book or magazine or brochure with nice clear color pictures. Much easier flipping pages than skipping between computer files.

Greg

George Lewis:

"Every time you correct me on my grammar I love you a little fewer."
 
  • Member since
    February 2003
Posted by Jim Barton on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 4:37 PM

Years ago, when I started converting Tamiya's Jeep Cherokee Limited into a tornado chase vehicle, I was fortunate to run across a mid-1990s-vintage prototype at a used-car lot and get lots of pictures.

My current project is a Minicraft Rolls Royce Silver Cloud from the 1960s. As I'm building this model more-or-less out of the box with a minimum of aftermarket parts, I just did a little searching on line here and there to answer the occasional question.

"Whaddya mean 'Who's flying the plane?!' Nobody's flying the plane!"

dmk
  • Member since
    September 2008
  • From: North Carolina, USA
What do you guys use for references?
Posted by dmk on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 1:13 PM

I've been perusing the forums and look at some of the beautiful builds. I see some guys really strive for accurate colors, correct factory overspray, correct wiring and brackets, factory options that may not be correctly portrayed by some of the kits.

I'm wondering where you guys find pictures and/or diagrams to get this stuff correct?

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