CabDriver

Sounds sensible - thanks so much for the tips, buddy!

One more question - I actually ordered some of these paints after seeing your build. How durable is the finish? I want to use one of them on an engine block, but I'm not sure how it'll stand up to being handled as I assemble it, wire it, etc...

I LOVE seeing your work, Bill. That one in the post above is AWESOME - is there a build thread for that somewhere?

That's really helpful - thanks buddy!

This is a beautiful build Chris! So, to apply the Mr Metal you simple rub it on and it dries? Simple as that? How long does it take to dry? Is there any benefit to airbrushing it? I've never tried this stuff before, but your results are really convincing!

So, I'm building the MPC Vending Machine kit, which is a replica of the 1:1 car. On the full-size the starter is mounted above the top of the block, it looks like: the kit has the starter mounted down on the driver's side of the block so I'll need to correct that...but I'm not an expert on SBCs at all...is the placement in the pic above standard for a particular year of SBC, or something custom for this one car? I'm trying to find some reference material to work out the proper placement and blankets and stuff...

Ain't that the truth - I live 2 blocks from here and go to Rudy's in Astoria instead

If you're not interested why read this post and then be negative?

This is gonna be cool! Is there a good reason why they molded the top of the body in clear?

Actually, I was teasing a little - this was about $100 or so on ebay in the end. But the guy messaged me after I paid and said ""my brother built this in the 60s or 70s - we took it to the flea market and no one wanted it at $5 so we nearly tossed it in the trash". Wish I'd REALLY seen it at that flea market!!

I don't know what this old junk is - cost me about three dollar fiddy at the flea market

Really nice paint Seth! looks GREAT! That's gonna look STUNNING with some clear on it!

i wish I'd seen this somewhere at that price! Amazing!

All this scratchbuilding is SO inspirational! Amazing! Great job John! Thanks for all the pics!

Thanks fellas!! Next up, detailing the wheels so I can get this thing on it's, well, wheels. The Revell Miata kit has these tiny Mazda logos that matched the ones I wanted for this build so I borrowed them: Number 14 on the sheet is the ones I wanted, in case they're hard to spot...and these are SMALL! Installed on the wheels - I need to shoot some clear over them to hide the edge of the decal still: I masked out the window rubber and the rockers and painted them: Chromed the inside of the turn signals on the body before installing the glass - I wanted them to have some depth, so I put the chrome on the body rather than on the turn signals themselves: Chromed the rear center light whilst I was doing that, and got that little Mazda emblem on there too Then started to figure out the taillights - they're not so simple that you can just paint them one color or a couple of colors and call them done - they have a dark tint to them so theyre almost black in places when the lights aren't illuminated: I tried white paint, silver paint and Molotow on a scrap lens and decided the Molotow would work best for the back up lights, so I dotted that in first Then thinned some red and orange Tamiya clear and brushed it on lightly so it settled into the texture on the lenses Then misted on some thinned black acrylic with the airbrush Then, finally, another coat of clear red with a mist of dark grey before installing them Pretty close, I think! That's all for now, folks - more soon!