Five Easy Pieces..

...of advice for the beginning scratch builder, especially for the builder that fits this profile:

A middle aged gent who used to build models and fool around with slot cars 20 (or more) years ago, but hasn’t looked at an x-acto knife, putty, super glue, platicard or a soldering iron for longer than he can remember.

(I wonder who that might be?)

1. Take a deep breath and wait before you start buying stuff. There’s too much “stuff” out there, and the chances are you’ll end up buying a lot of stuff that you’ll never use, or a lot of stuff that you wished you’d never used. When you think you’re ready to start buying stuff., take another deep breath, go to #2 below, repeat it. In the meantime, hand over your VISA card to your wife and deactivate your PayPal account.


2. Read Slot Forum’s Scratch Building Section for a minimum of two months before you start buying stuff (see 1 above) or start asking questions on the forum. You’re going to have questions, and if you check out the forum thoroughly, you’ll find a lot of answers as most have already been asked and answered many times over. You might even appear smarter when you do pose a question or two. And remember, it isn't important that you be smart (or I'd be out of this game), just that you appear smart!


3. If you haven’t painted a car shell since you were 16, throw out everything you knew about painting. This does not apply if you happened to be a Da Vinci class painter in your youth. But what I remember about my youth is that I was always in a hurry and if there was ever a truism, then it is Haste makes Waste. Especially when it comes to painting.


4. Find a mentor. Many of the really great builders not only enjoy their craft, but welcome the opportunity to help others. Don’t abuse the privilege, (and it is a privilege when some of these fellows take an interest in your work). If you follow rule 2, and are patient and somewhat sensible (aren't we all?), your mentor will find you, which is actually the preferred route.


5. Enjoy the history of the sport and the cars that your are modeling. Buy the best books about the era, drivers and cars whether it is 1970’s Can Am or modern LeMans prototypes or 1960’s Grand Prix cars (the best of all of course). If I have to explain why you need to do this, you shouldn’t be reading this piece anyway.

Rules that I followed:

2, 4, and 5.

Because I didn’t follow Rule 1, I have a bunch of stuff that I an now ready to sell really cheap on the Swap Shop and

Because I didn’t follow Rule 3, I have some examples of the ugliest body shells that may one day appear in a gallery called: "Don’t do this!”