American Graffiti 1962 - Update finally 09/03

[ourwayband]

Looking Good!

Rusty

[glasshorsevh]

One of the coolest d**n track builds I've ever seen! I'm a fan...

Val

[dge467]

That is great Greg! Love all the old Mopar's!

[Nor Cal Mike]

That looks great Greg. I am a big fan of the movie. I am waiting for Toad on his Lambretta scooter to show up.

[MoparGreg]

I have an update on the old American Graffiti track. Ive been using the track a bit but have not really made a start on the scenery of the track. Mainly because I enjoy building cars so scenery is usually last on my list of to-do's. But Ive spent the last 2 weeks starting the build up of Mel's Diner. Still a long way to go. It was always my intention to build Mels as its the whole reason for building this track. Yes Mels is huge but it is the focal point for the track. It does create some blind spots but Im fine with that.

So after a few weeks of getting everything to scale, making sure its going to fit & how Im going to do it. It was a real challenge because the diner is round with a big box out the side. Challenging but fun! Its 100% scratch built out of MDF & styrene. Its all to scale at about 1/27. The cars are 1/25 & I couldn't fit 1/25 Mel's Diner on the track so I settled for 1/27 or there abouts. Heres a peek.













Next up Ill start painting it & also start on all the light poles out the front. This will be fully lit up as well so working on all the wiring & LED's. Ive also found a local signage shop that can Laser cut out of 2mm Plastic sheet, the Mel's Diner written sign on top of the box section. Long way to go, but least its progress! :)

Also most of the photos of the track are not working now due to Photobucket. Ill get a few new photos up over time.

[Lou E]

WOW, that looks amazing!

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Yeah, Greg! Lookin' great. You have a real fine collection of 1/32nd American Iron. That Imperiel still knocks me out. My family had a 1963 Imperial LeBaron, and though it was bought in 1966, my father was so proud to cruise around in that land yacht, you would have thought it was not only new, but the only one ever made, square steering wheel and all.

[dge467]

The diner and cars look great Greg!

[dreinecke]

Greg - first up, your 1/25th scale are all works of art. And sitting here looking at what you are building is simply making me nuts. That is just the coolest thing ever. You do realize though - I now EXPECT you to do the Deuce, the 55, and the 58 Impala - right?

[MoparGreg]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. David, off course, I hope to start them soon. I actually think Im looking forward to building the Pharaohs Merc the most. Not pictured below is the Galaxie Police car which I have as well.

[Fast Co.]

So looking forward to seeing those scratch builds ^^ parked around the diner. Awesome work!

[Fast Co.]

Any updates on Mel's Diner and the kits you were going to build?
Steve

[Broman62]

WOW...this is a fantastic “blast from the past” and am also curious of how it finished up!!

But for me reading this thread is to see all the members/posters/slotters names that have just disappeared from our site or faded off or have passed away...RIP!!! Have always been curious as to why they just disappeared off the site!!

Hopefully we’ll get an update on Mel’s Diner!!

[MoparGreg]

Hi guys,

Ok I have a supersized update to share. Firstly I must apologise for the lack of updates. Its been about 2 years since I have shared anything. Wow time flies! Yes Im a slacker but I have been working on things, just haven't shared much. I am totally blown away as I have noticed there have been over 16000 page views since I first started this thread. Thanks guys. In replies to Broman's comment. I have checked into HRW most days, just haven't really contributed. Im still here, don't plan on leaving!

In the last 2 years I have got a lot done on Mels Diner. Its been incredibly time consuming as everything is scratchbult & a lot of time is spent researching & playing back the movie. Worked on a few cars & spent a lot of time running the track with the kids. As simple as the track is, it is super fun. Not a design & style I would of thought would be so enjoyable. Also the track got pulled apart & moved into a different room in the house again when the kids wanted different rooms.

Ok update time. Ive got the bulk of Mels Diner completed. Everything painted up. Also little touches for those that know the movie, a phone box, Toads Vespa & the bin Toad ran into etc. A HUGE chunk of time went into the Mels Drive-in sign. In the end I designed Mels Drive-in sign in Adobe Illistrator & the file was sent to a local laser cutting facility. All starting to come together.







Here you can see the Vespa, bin etc



Phone box at the end of parking lot. Just need Kurt's 2CV!



So one thing I didn't mention yet was that the Mels Drive-in sign lights up. This took a lot of work to work out how. I glued the MDF laser cut sign onto the building. I used some 3mm EL Wire superglued onto the Laser cut MDF sign. Holes were drilled into the sign prior & the EL Wire weaves in & out of the sign. Once the EL Wire was glued in place the Perspex was glued on top, so the EL Wire is sandwiched in. Then to finish it off I glued super thin strips of styrene around the out side of the lettering.







Ok that's it for now. Any questions just ask away. Next up Im working on painting up some figures. Also more lighting around the diner to light the rest up. The idea is to run the track at night with only track lighting in the room. Also Ive already started working on the area behind the covered walkway near the phone box, which was grass, trees & a hedge. I also have a few cars Im working on to share soon. Also for those wondering, all cars on the track are slot cars & they all run. Im working on a small video showing the cars running around. Thanks for looking & another update very soon.

[dge467]

Nice to hear from you again Greg! The Diner and sign look incredible!