# Humpty rides again!



## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Well kinda sorta.

For convenience and those who missed the original pic I'll post it here as well.

We all now about some of Aurora's brittle bodies. This one was no exception. 

I added insult to injury by removing the glass from the roof chunk and added another half dozen puzzle pieces to the mix.  

After 30 different bonds over three days, we now have something that sits on a chassis and the screw posts line up. I smooshed the glass in occassionally while humpty was still "mooshable". (technical term from the Model Murdering dictionary) The stock glass slips right in now. Still looking for the blue "Tuffy" glass I misplaced dagnabit! 

The upshot here is that the capillary nature of the styrene wicks the glue/solvent throughout the structure. It revitalizes the brittle plastic as it gets gooed together. Humpty is starting to get flexible again.

We'll get the little widget pieces grafted in and spray a uniform layer of blue styrene on the under body before the mods begin.


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## coach61 (Sep 6, 2004)

That is amazing! Wow i never thought that the little bug would sit again.. Great great work my friend....Very impressive going to go digging see if I can find some more blue scrap to help you finsh her up


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Forensic Frustration*

Thanks Coach! :wave: 

No I know how those guys who put fossils back together feel. :freak: 

I'm not much of a decal and livery guy. 

However I am considering finishing this one in USPS trim.  

I think an exception could be made considering the circumstances. :tongue: `


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## coach61 (Sep 6, 2004)

Bill Hall said:


> Thanks Coach! :wave:
> 
> No I know how those guys who put fossils back together feel. :freak:
> 
> ...



Seems fitting as they devised this puzzle for you....LOL..

Coach


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

if that were me...after it broke into all those peices... sw0aer words would be yelled out at high volume, and the peices I could'nt use, would have landed in the trash

nice work putting it back together again!

I spend 50 bucks on a Bauer Beamer on a Tomy turbno chassis..the thing wouldn't run, the FIRST time I tried to take the body off, it snapped into 3 pieces... even though I tried to be as carful as possible. Any Buaer I bought after that wasn't messed with in the least, unless ot was T-jet and I could unscrew the body


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## jph49 (Nov 20, 2003)

Bill Hall said:


> ... the capillary nature of the styrene wicks the glue/solvent throughout the structure. It revitalizes the brittle plastic as it gets gooed together.


Bill,

Is the first step merely holding some pieces together and wetting them with liquid cement in order to get them to bond and then following with the magic goo?

I have one that fell apart, but not quite as badly as yours did.

Patrick


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Hi Patrick. 

As a general rule I try to use the colored goo to assemble everything. Or at least the closest shade I can find. After it's tacked up I use the straight clean solvent to smooth the excess material to feather the seam. Your always gonna have squeezins.  Just be patient and gentle and let the solvent do it's work when your floating a joint. It takes a few strokes for the solvent to activate the parent material.

I've had some ghost lines and shrinkage appear later when only solvent is used. Which is not to say that I dont use just solvent on occassion, however I only use it when the pieces have a perfect/impingment fit. I feel that any time you cann add solids to the repair you are ahead of the game. So I always try and err in that direction. :thumbsup:


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

videojimmy said:


> if that were me...after it broke into all those peices... sw0aer words would be yelled out at high volume, and the peices I could'nt use, would have landed in the trash
> 
> nice work putting it back together again!
> 
> I spend 50 bucks on a Bauer Beamer on a Tomy turbno chassis..the thing wouldn't run, the FIRST time I tried to take the body off, it snapped into 3 pieces... even though I tried to be as carful as possible. Any Buaer I bought after that wasn't messed with in the least, unless ot was T-jet and I could unscrew the body


Yup VJ, Some choice words were uttered when I opened the bug box after mail call! 

Came pretty close to melting this one down for blue spray. Ironically the pieces were about the same size as the chips I cut for goo starter. 
Dumb Aurora bugs were all thin and crispy. They're getting harder to get, so what the hay? I sure wont have any guilt about hangin some flares and making it into an oval window! 

Still got to lengthen the front post. The front wheels wont turn. Wanna turn some laps and see if this bucket is gonna hold together under proper model murdering conditions.


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## gear buster (Dec 1, 2005)

*going blind..*

Humpty Dumpty set on a wall, Humpty Dumpty Had a great fall, 
A Bug from the cracked peices and the hands of Bill Hall..

Thats some teedious piecein there Bill. That almost makes me go blind lookin at the pic. :dude: You must have done puzzles as a kid..Great job by the way. :thumbsup:


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Today at 11:47:01 ...*

I think I heard a nationwide doooooooooooooohhhhhhhhh !!!!!!!!! ..... when Bill posted the before and after of this bug he's saving. It came from all of us who ever pitched a shattered body into the trash can as "unfixable". I know I toasted bon-voyage to more than a few brave old friends and stood in salute as the garbage truck slowly rolled away.  Just goes to show you a little inginuity, a lot of hard work, and a good plan can go a long way. Bill, I think you can fix just about anything...  nd


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Bill,
I can't believe it. :thumbsup: Hope you're not missing the piece from the hood. That was actually all together when she was shipped. Do you think it was the Aurora blow up factor or just compliments of the Postal service? Anyway, great rebuild. I would have probably made her melting goo foder. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Dave


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## WesJY (Mar 4, 2004)

it would be fun to race it - new rule if not one piece broken then you win.. 

Wes


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## SplitPoster (May 16, 2006)

Bill, just amazing work. How do you know where to start on something like that? 

Makes me think that it might not be a bad idea, before working on it, to coat the inside of a brittle old body with something so that if it shatters it holds together - kind of like the principle behind safety glass! Or would it be better to go with a thin coat of solvent and let it wick?


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## jph49 (Nov 20, 2003)

Thanks for the info Bill. I'm not sure how long it will take for me to get up enough gumption to attempt the reassembly, but your instruction will help get the job done.

Patrick


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## *MAYHEM* (May 4, 2007)

My hat off to ya, Bill. I'd've written that one off and dumped the pieces in the trash. Knowing your goo skills I have no doubts it will look like new in short order.


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## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

WesJY said:


> it would be fun to race it - new rule if not one piece broken then you win..
> 
> Wes


 You are kidding, yeah?...How about you only need to have the posts still attached to the chassis at the end of the race? :tongue: 


Bill, you are also a puzzle-master! Is there anything that you can't do?
I am impressed! :thumbsup:


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## WesJY (Mar 4, 2004)

joez870 said:


> You are kidding, yeah?...How about you only need to have the posts still attached to the chassis at the end of the race? :tongue:


LOLOL.. 

Wes


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

Bill,

Did you help build the space shuttle? If the headlines in the news paper read "Ex NASA employee dazles HT on lookers." then you know it was Bill. Awwww just something I did on my lunch break boss......WOW! 

Glad you saved the little guy! VW Bugs are slot cars too!!

Way cool partster VW reconstruction, Bob


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Steve: Cant believe this ole bug drove you to poetry! Actually Robin's the puzzle addict in the family. Probably like you, I get enough projects and pieces along the way without self-inflicted puzzles! LOL

ND: Plan?!! The only plan was remain calm and pray. Lots of holding my breath and deep sighs of relief. I walked away three different times. That's when I do my best work! 

rr: Dogged if I can find that hood chunk or figure out how the remaing bits of blue dust fit the puzzle. I've got some UFO's (Unidentifiable Fricken Objects) Gus got in the slotroom this week and prowled around all night on the bench and track. Forbidden fruit and all that. He was probably looking for that Vibe XK140 that he hates so much. If the chunk doesnt turn up I'll just fluff the hole and graft it in like the other missing bits. :thumbsup:

Wes: LMAO! Lapped Humpty a few times tonight and nuthin' fell off ...yet :tongue:

Jeff: I started by laying Humpty out in anatomical position and proceeded to go modular. The nose and tail were assembled and screwed to a chassis.(dodged a bullet, the posts were sound) Before the sections set up all the way, I could still move/warp things around. The second night the roof was reassembled over an extra grody glass I had laying around. The third night involved two shifts. One to mate the sides and doors to the nose and tail, and again later to mount the roof while I could still squirm things around to fit. I let that sit till firm and remounted the chassis so things couldnt wander out of position. Then any micro bits I could find a home for were installed.

I assemble with the goo and float it out with cement initially. Tonight the inside of the body got a full fat coat of brushable and I refloated the seams on top with more brushable and floated it out as there is always shrinkage.

Patrick: Go for it! It'll always be broken till ya fix it. Worst case you cut it off and start over.

Mayhem: I'll be hitting the HHT Roadster hard for a while so Humpty's gonna sit and cure so it sets up straight. There's an awful lot of solvent that needs to cure out so it sets up straight and I can begin custom work with out fear. I'll probably block it next week and refloat the whole enchilada.

Joe: LOL, Things that I cant do?! How about crappy at math. Procrastinates when paperwork is involved. Fails to use time wisely. Horrible penmanship. Distracts classmates. Only wipes his feet when they're not muddy. Doesnt put the toilet seat down and pees on it when he finally does.

Bobzilla: Humpty was easy! Less broken parts than a space shuttle ya know... LOL. Wacky as it may seem I'm an air cooled goon from wayback and this is the only slotbug I've aquired. Had a coupla extra crispy ones but gave them to Jimmy for t-jet training. In hindsight they were mint compared to Humpty.


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## win43 (Aug 28, 2006)

Bill you have WAY TOO MUCH time on your hands......  That is just amazing. 

Jerry


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Lumped and Dumped*

Seemed like Auroras bug fenders were always disproportionate to the roof height. Apparently they didnt see the need to model the running boards either!  

Fortunately Coach sent me a wall-shotted 911 RSR in a care package not long ago. :thumbsup:

The Porsche flares were butched off. They were pretty close but I still had to toast them with my lighter to get the radius to match Humpty. I wrapped them around a wheel an tire and let them cool, then bonded them to the bug.

Now we got proper fenders to tie the running boards to.

I took a few liberties with the ride height while I was at it. I used one of my rear drop axle bucks to get an approximate set up. 

After some study I also noticed that the "B" pillars are flat ugly and the front valence is short and doesnt have the little under roll that it should. That'll all get reshaped when I start on the final grafts.

Note that Humpty now has the vent wing post delete for the Cal bug look. One piece side glass was all the rage back in the day. Also I'm lazy and dont have the inclination to fix the hammered wing posts. :tongue:


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## *MAYHEM* (May 4, 2007)

F'n amazing!


I got another project for you, Bill. This used to be...

Well, I'm not sure what it used to be but you'll figure it out.


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## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

*MAYHEM* said:


> F'n amazing!
> 
> 
> I got another project for you, Bill. This used to be...
> ...


OMG!


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

*MAYHEM* said:


> F'n amazing!
> 
> 
> I got another project for you, Bill. This used to be...
> ...


 
Looks like that old white Mustang I used to have. :devil: rr


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*I am NOT smarter than a fifth grader!*



*MAYHEM* said:


> F'n amazing!
> 
> 
> I got another project for you, Bill. This used to be...
> ...


LMAO Mayhem! So is this a million dollar question? 

Le'see here. It's -

"A": The leavin's from the last three cars on your last customs post. 

"B": You kept grinding, but didnt find the car!????? 

"C" A low miles iWheel. 

"D" Enough Peruvian dummy powder to finish all my waylayed projects and everyone elses too. 

"E" Coach sent you a ramp truck; but just like my mailman, your mailman takes all his parcels to the batting cage prior to delivery. To ensure uniform granule size of course. 

I'm gonna choose "A". Now where's my million bucks?

What's taking so long?


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## *MAYHEM* (May 4, 2007)

Bill Hall said:


> LMAO Mayhem! So is this a million dollar question?
> 
> Le'see here. It's -
> 
> ...



Bzzzzzt! "Oh, so sorry. The correct answer was "F" all of the above.


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

Correction..........all that little sand like material is other peoples slot car rems that fall off after racing next to MKING.........

Amazing work Bill, untimely hours and long sexless nights, lol.

After seeing the beautybug falling together I am fearing for my lil Firebird. It's probably sitting there cringing on the shelf thinking its parts will be amputated, all for the fun of this post. lol again.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Plastic Surgery*



sethndaddy said:


> snip*....After seeing the beautybug falling together I am fearing for my lil Firebird. It's probably sitting there cringing on the shelf thinking its parts will be amputated, all for the fun of this post. lol again.


Not to worry Daddy! Those crispy macaroni noodled windsheild posts are starting to soften up. A few more applications of solvent and they should straighten right out. Although those Pontiac front fender crowns do make really nice "A" pillars for the deuce coupes. :tongue: 

Humpty is finally starting to straighten up some. It's also become pliable enough to handle without breaking.

Pic 1 - That's two fat floats of high solids base blue holding the puzzle together. Still kinda lumpy but we'll leave that til the bitter end so's things dont start to wander topside.

Pic 2 - If you look back you'll see that this was Humpty's bad side. The "A" pillar is starting to take shape and the "B" pillars are finally strong enough to get rounded into a more correct shape. Rockers are roughed in. The gruesome hole in the hood and forward section of the rear 1/4 has been grafted.

Pic 3 - Here's the good side if there was one! LOL. The missing chunk of the front apron has been grafted. The entire hood surface has been rough filed to bring the "W" detail back and blend all the repairs. We're currently a bit high in the front but that'll come around when the front well gets a more arched radius and the backfill gets thinned. It's gotta come down at least half of what's showing. All body lines/seams have been recut except the lower door seam which is still soft at the rocker graft.

Pic 4 - The bottom curvature of the decklid was absent from the factory. So I cut it in early when I was doing bodylines. This provides a reference point for the license plate delete so the old school "W" decklid details can be filed in. I'm pretty stoked that the originally cracked engine vents below the rear window survived and retained most all their detail.

Pic 5 - Although I'm not a big fan of rockers they help tie the flares together. Not to mention a huge boost in body integrity at the lower door edge where the Aurora bugs are weak. "B" pillar's kinda goofy. It will settle in after another skim and a recut of the center line. 

There's still a long ways to go but I can see light now.


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Bill, it looks great! I think the running boards really add to the Bug. They were on the 1:1 versions so why not correct the original and include them, plus they add strength to the whole body. Can't wait to see this finished. Another masterpiece in the making. 


:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Dave


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## gear buster (Dec 1, 2005)

*poetry*

Bill,

Bug is lookin awsome from the first pic of the pieces. :thumbsup: 
Yes the bug made me do it.. Poetry that is. I was feeling the inspiration there for a bit.. :dude:


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## *MAYHEM* (May 4, 2007)

Looks betterer and betterer every day!

Now it just needs a nice low airdam on the front and a 935 style whale-tail on the back.

... Or maybe a Rolls Royce hood and grill...

... Or maybe you could cut it all up and go Baja style...

... Or mebbe...

Oh nevermind, you're doing a fine job without my help.


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

*MAYHEM* said:


> Looks betterer and betterer every day!
> 
> Now it just needs a nice low airdam on the front and a 935 style whale-tail on the back.
> 
> ...


Hey MAYHEM,

Don't forget the popular 55 front end body graft...oh that only works on Bronco Bodies.

Dang that bug is really Hip Daddy "O"! Groovy and Far Out...Bob


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Maiden Voyage*

Found a little time to set up a chassis tonight.

Started with a hollow rivet and dropped the rear axle. Guts are a blue drag arm with super ll magnets. The gear train was buffed.

Rear axle is a shortened AFX rear and uses front specialty mags with the hubs removed. The front is a standard T-jet axle with super narrowed specialty mags and O-ring tires. 

Pick ups are slotech standard shoe with stock T-jet springs. Had to put some extra kink in the shoes to get them to track properly due to the rear drop axle.

Junk post spacers were needed to compensate for the deleted bumpers. The proper spacing will be accomplished by lengthening the posts after the fender radii recieve their final shape. Still gotta add a little material to the front valence as the nose is still to high for my liking. 

Humpty rips the track pretty good, and is easy to motor around. Although the axles are narrow, the drop axle keeps the CG low and she's not tippy inspite of the VW's high roofline. 

Wont be long and I'll hit it with 600 and reskim any booboos. :thumbsup:


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

*WoW.....*

Bill, that thing looks great! Can't wait for the final body work and coating to be complete. Sweet! 


:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Dave


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Bob and Mayhem. Thanks guys! Now that it motates things are really lookin' up. 
Ole Herbie better be on the lookout for this bug. Humpty is sponsored by Snidely Whiplash, and driven by Snake Oiler. Gotta love the villans!  

RR: In retrospect perhaps the USPS did do us a favor after all. Had it not been 'sploded, things might have been returned to stock trim and I wouldnt have had all this fun. :wave:


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## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

BILL!!!!!!!!!!!!! BADBUG! I see.....in the future.....a Badbug of my very own.....in my jebus case....hehehehehe......I still have some nice RTV left...and plenty of resin....:thumbsup:

Every bod you touch turns to gold, mate! I LOVE this bug! WooHOO!


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks Joe!

Once it's all smoothed out and cured, I think this one would be a great candidate for reproduction. 

I'm from the less is more school of design so I omitted all the annoying gedunk that has been hung on modified bugs from the manufacturers. No scoops, no blower motor in the hood, just a vintage Cal Bug sleeper, prior to the cultish, modern Cal Bug "off the rack - cookiecutter look". 

Other than a vibe blue top coat, dark smoked glass; the only other addition will be a "Bug Pak" header with baloney cut dual horizontal megaphones. I'm hoping to fill the negative space under the rear apron that "bugs" me!


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Poor chilly little bug...*

So cold and all alone. Let Old Uncle Joe warm her up in a nice silicone sweater. That's better now isn't it?


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Well if you two get together and make a run of these, please put my name on the list of buyers. I can see one of those done up in midnight black with some nice shiny chrome wheels.


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

man, that is FASCINATING. i have a tan Atlas Avanti that shattered in 3 pieces, and an Aurora Jag that's 4 pieces from 2 cars (essentially replaced cut quarters), both strung together with white tacky glue. Sounds like I should try the patented goo method and fix 'em right...

--rick


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## SplitPoster (May 16, 2006)

Ditto RR, though I LOVE the blue.


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## WesJY (Mar 4, 2004)

Looks good!! I like the way it sits low - now add some hippie flower power decals!!!

Wes


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*A Swarm of Badbugs?!!!*

You guys are incorrigible! LOL!

If I can come up with the donors I'm already seeing a bright rainbow of standard colored Badbugs like the Deuce variations.  

If Joe's got the time and inclination Humpty will be made available for him to cast. :thumbsup: 

Note to Rick: Dive in and give it a whirl! Ya gotta get all the goober glue off before you start. I never use anything but Testors (MEK) on styrene bods. No exceptions 'cept windows! If I can help you get started LMK.


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## clausheupel (Jan 27, 2005)

*Speechless again...!*

Bill, I´ve been following the transformation from that pile of styrene junk puzzle pieces to this supercool bug with wide opened eyes - absolutely amazing what you achieved again with your cement goo method!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: 

I have to agree with what Dave suggested: That beetle´s n desperate need of a crowd of resin companions!!! Joez, I´m counting on you!!! :wave: 

Greetings from Germany,

Claus


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

Bill, 

You should call this "Blue by you" or "Bug-a-berry"...heck I don't know? What are people calling this bug creation of yours? What ever it is....Awesum is the adj. they are using before the name!

Bugs are so Kool, Bob


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Vielen Dank Claus! High praise from a master builder flatters me. Wish I could build something that doesnt require severe chassis trickery. They'd have more appeal to mainstream resin instead of my usual oddball one off builds. I just find the standard wheelbase and axle heights too restraining for where my mind takes the bodies. With out the chassis mods I'm stuck. The rear drop is no longer an option but has become a manditory standard with the T-jet chassis. Schade. 

Bob: Thank you for the kind words! I thought "Humpty" was an appropriate name. Describes both it's original and current appearance depending on how you look at it. Everyone's got a darn Herbie anyway. Perhaps the next one will get a topchop. A mashed lid will take the Humpty right out of it and add a little more Dumpty! Darn cheap a$$ Aurora bugs are bringin' top dollar on the bay. Been hard to find suitable victims. Had to beg this one off RR!


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

Bill,

Duh...Humpty! Been so busy lately....brain overload....Warning....Shut Down all stations.....brrkrkppppp....sizzle......ftttttttttttttttttph.

I don't want to go to work anymore. They make me think about stuff...other stuff. Dang it.

Bob


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