Mr. Show

I know contemporary cars aren't popular around here but I like them.

I've been working on this thing on and off for a month. I was going to do a metallic silver and green two-tone originally. As I was prepping the HoK candy green after the silver base coat had cured the can blew a tiny hole in the bottom where it meets the cylinder. I hadn't even put it in very hot water, though I did shake it rather hard. So I stripped the body and decided to go with just a single body color - grape pearl. I hate enamel but I don't have anything else that would look good.

The pre-turboized engine. I've got a little more weathering to do to blend the chips I made and fix some painting error. I hate transmissions that are molded to the block.


I decided, probably a little late, to fill in the trim to make one smooth line. Depending on the wheels this will be either black or chrome foiled.


I messed up a little while weathering the chassis but it should be an easy fix. Also lost an A arm and still looking for a replacement.


The front bumper with a couple mist coats. Glad I didn't put too many on or it would have been a nightmare trying to fill in the trim.


Still deciding what wheels to use. I'm leaning toward the one on the bottom since I think that would look great with purple but it also looks a little too drag carish.



Also since I'm still new to the hobby, tips and suggestions are always welcome and appreciated.

I'm having a tough time finding pictures for the '87 Thunderbird I'm working on. So far 80% of the images in google image search lead to an ad/spam redirect/attack site (it's not my PC, I assure you.) The web search isn't much better.

Is there a source of stock vehicle images somewhere? How do you find yours?

I bought some aluminum plate buffing metalizer since it's the only one that doesn't require the base and clear, which I can't find at any store anyway. I have a few questions since my results have been less than stellar.

First, it says on the can to do only one mist coat and buff after one hour. Can you recoat after buffing? I buffed lightly with a very high fiber count polishing cloth and it took off quite a bit of the finish, leaving it very dull and looking nothing like aluminum.

What's the best base coat? So far I've only tried white and gray primer and primer sealer. It looks the same on all of them.

The cans that say they require the 2-part system: can any primer and clear be used or are model master's some special formulation?

Picked up a can of Dupli-Color sealer to try out. I tested two hoods using the same amount of primer layers and color coat. The one with the sealer looked better with higher gloss and a smoother surface. Does anyone else use it and is there any reason not to?

No matter how I tried to fit these there was a gap. Out of the box fit was awful; the rear bumper was too long for the body so I stretched it a bit while the glue dried, but I think that lead to the fender panels not fitting right. I'm considering filler but the body kit pieces are held on by very thin strips and I've already torn them off by just lightly sanding. Anyway any help is appreciated. Those gaps will bug me forever if I just paint over it.