Bill Anderson

After finishing the '68 Dodge R/T, I cleared the work table to figure out what to do next. In degree of difficulty, it looks like the '49 Ford, Cobra, and Ford GT in that order of difficulty. Ha, like "The Three Bears", the '49 Ford looks easy, the Ford GT looks really difficult, and the Cobra looks "just right" (almost).....

Hi, With the addition of the wheels, I will have completed a '68 Dodge R/T, a fairly complicated model. My next one is a rather easy '49 Ford. After that, I will consider which of two kits to do next. Sitting on the shelf is a Revell '65 Cobra 427 (#07708) and a Tamiya Ford GT (#346). Both kits appear formidable, but the Tamiya appears to be the most complicated / difficult. Obviously, my question is, what do you (who have worked these) have to say about them, especially the challenges of construction. Thank you all so much...I'll be 80 in May and I need to get these done and on display while I can still reasonably control the ol digits.......

Thank you all! Every time I get stumped I come here and get inspiration as well as help. I just ordered the AMT/Ertl '49 2 door Coupe, and it should serve my purpose. As an aside.... My high school (Lane Tech - Chicago class of 1/62) had on site driver training, including a track where we practiced on '49-'50 Fords with stick shift. I already knew how to drive when I took the course, but it really taught me the skill of starting/stopping with a stick. The drill was basically go a distance around the track, stop, then start up and do that several times. Woe be on to any kid that shifted into second. They were immediately thrown out of the class and lost the benefit of the first part of actually getting your license. On the indoor portion of the class, we learned the rules of the road and actually got to test reaction times. I'm proud to say I was one of the 3 top times in the class - 1/4 second! We also got to watch a few movies from the Ohio State Police, graphic accident scenes and the like. One was of a young man who liked to drive with his arm hanging out the window. He hit either another car or a wall, and his arm was no more. That left on impact on me for sure! Sorry to reminisce....... Thank all, Bill Anderson Spring, Tx.

Hi, Driving to the store this morning, I saw a cherry '49 Ford sedan and it brought back an awful lot of memories. Lots of stories here, but the bottom line is I want to build one - a '49-'54 Ford Sedan in 1/24 or 1/25 scale. I see there are a few convertible kits, but I only saw two sedans. What I want is one with a flathead V8, and I can build it as I recall the one I had access to way back when. Obviously my question is, is there such a kit out there? Thank you all!

I doubt many units are sold in Asia, and the "lack of direction" is not just model cars, but also other model types I've worked with over the last few years. Right now I have two kits sitting in the closet - specifically the "new" Revell Shelby Cobra 427 (Germany) and the Tamiya Ford GT (Japan). I consider myself to be a pretty good model builder, but I have to say the instructions with these two beautiful kits are somewhat intimating. For my next build, I would like to take the easier of the two, but I haven't figured out which one that would be. Time is my enemy, for at age 79 the ol faculties are dimming. Hey, thank you all for your help!

Thanks all, that appears to be the best way. I've been building models since I was 10 (1954) so I'm not a "newbie" by any means. That said, it seems like the kits of today are lacking in "direction", and have almost zero written instructions. Exploded diagrams are great, but many are still lacking - a bit vague at best. Ha, that is likely because they are made overseas, and the language barrier is a problem.

Hi, I've made some good progress on this model, but am now at a bit of a stumbling block.... Is the assembled interior placed in the body, and then the frame attached to that assembly? OR, is the interior attached to the frame and then that assembly is inserted into the body? Thank you for your expertise! Mobilman44 - Bill Anderson

Thank you all! I think I'll do a dirty grey primer with some body overspray around the edges. Thank you again!!!

Hi ! I'm finally building the Revell '68 Dodge Charger R/T, and just finished the two motors - which imo came out pretty nice. My next step is to spray the body color - which will be a Testors Graphite Grey Metallic. In all my years (began building in late '50s) of putting together car kits, I've painted the underside of the chassis a flat black. But the instructions for this kit indicate using the body color for the chassis. Did any prototype production cars do this? Is this a new trend for proto customizers or model builders? What is your take on this.......should I paint the chassis the body color, or the typical flat black? Thanks all for your input! Mobilman44

There was a real "catch 22" in building this kit. It would have been easier to install the chassis/interior into the body if I had not installed the front and rear fascias. However, test fitting of the fascias proved that they were not an exact fit and to get that would require body putty. Ideally, one could paint the body, install the glass, attach the chassis/interior, and then apply the front and rear fascias. But the need for body putty meant that the thing would have to be painted again, etc., etc. Ha, I guess if it was all easy I'd get bored and move on to another interest..........

Well, I got the thing together, without breaking anything - although I trimmed the top of each side of the firewall a bit. It doesn't show so no harm done. I wore latex gloves and my optivisor and worked slowly. I had to spread the body in a number of places and my fear was to the the dreaded "crackkkk". But I didn't and even the fan can thru unscathed. I've been building models since the '50s, and this was the most difficult major step in building that I can recall - and IMO it should not have been. The instructions show the interior attached to the chassis before completion. And the YouTube videos show the front/rear fascias attached first as well. Go figure....... I've said this before, but it bears repeating. The instruction sheets these days are just minimal. No step by step verbiage, no "helpful hints, and some are pretty vague in parts. I suspect its due to their foreign manufacture and/or money saving strategy. The thing is - and I know this from experience with young people - the kits are often made harder than need be and they are scaring off new modelers. Anyway, got it together, need to finish off the wheels and battery and such, and then move on to a '68 Dodger Charger RT....... Thanks all!

Hi, Well, I have the chassis and interior complete and joined. I have the body complete with scoops and front/rear fascia attached and lights & glass installed - nicely painted in pearl black. My next step is a serious problem however - joining the body with the chassis/interior. I'm not a newbie, and I've played with it, researched YouTube videos (they overlook this step), and I'm getting pretty frustrated. Do you have any advice or guidance? Thank you all! Bill Anderson Spring, Tx

Thanks all for the sites and words of wisdom. As in the model railroading world, I learned that product announcements were often wishful thinking as far as availability dates. Looks like the model car world is the same.

What is the best reliable avenue to learn of new kits being available or in the works? Internet, websites, or what?

Being a car nut young guy in the '60s, I recall when the Corvairs came out and over their short run we (me and my car nut buddies) had really mixed feelings about them. The early ones especially, looked like underpowered boxes - especially the rear end. And they tended to collect black oil stains all over the rear. They appeared to be unstable but we didn't know that for certain. Frankly, we didn't think much of them. However, the Corsa version changed all of that. It was really nice. That change in styling - especially the rear - made (to us guys) a huge difference.