Chuck Kourouklis

Think I'm actually happiest about the 442. Got a kink or two, but it's soooo crazy better than the Lindberg '67 AMT reboxed.

Sweeeeeeeeeeet! Not for nothin', but a '65 SS would be doctor's orders for me, both Z16 correction and for its own sake - though I see why a '64 'vert might bump it in line. Plenty to keep busy with in the meantime, anyway. I'll just keep an eye out for down the line somewhere... 🙂

Very nice! Seems the '65 has been pretty well played out - two viable reissues plus a brand new altered wheelbase tool - but I'd love the stock coupe to get the same treatment 'cause it would provide most of what you need to sort out Revell's Z-16. Then again - we could just drop a 409 in the new '64 for a "what if", huh... 🤔

BEEEEEEEFF! You know I'ma like your narrative on this'n... 😁

It's an interesting question, might just be down to user preference. It's been my experience that you can swab tampo printing off a vinyl tire with a mineral spirits thinner like what comes in a Testors enamel bottle (be sure to test that on something low-stakes, if you're of a mind to try it).

Thanks very much, Tim! Yep, on future ventures I'll probably put a semi-gloss barrier coat on the sidewall first. I'm also of a mind to try deliberately applying one outer surface-in, just to see if that might be what happened with the one wheel that isn't tacky. It was a lot of solution in my case too, but they conformed so nicely they deserve another shot with some troubleshooting in mind. I'll stand by the rest of my observations about current Revell decals.

x2!^^

Now that you mention it, Bob, I remember that! Wonder if he's had the same experience then, guess I'll have to search his content a bit and see what I can excavate...

Really, R E A L L Y nice job, Gil. You're bang-on about the kit and your build does it justice.

And as it happens, Gary gives me a perfect segue into one of two major vexations I've had over this project. Did I really have to tempt Bitch Goddess Fate by waxing so effusively, so early on about the WW decals? I'm showing this angle because it highlights the one whitewall that hasn't turned to flypaper over the past few months, the passenger rear. That's right, three of these four decals have behaved so much like paint, they're apparently reacting with the tire vinyl now after several months. They were perfectly dry up through, like, July, then started turning. Why that sole exception? Best I can figger: 'member from the opening post how I wasn't even sure I got the first decal sticky-side down? I'm wondering now if I did reverse it, and the outer surface of the carrier has formed enough of a protective barrier to prevent the reaction afflicting the other 3 decals. Annoying, and now a caveat for anyone who might want to use these. I'm hoping you'd be alright giving the sidewalls a a few light coats of flat or semigloss acrylic after the decals dried, or maybe, installing them outside-in might be an actual answer - but this BS is a shame after they conformed so nicely at the beginning. You might notice an oddity or two at this angle. Fluted tailpipes, by way of f'rinstance: I looked at the intended exhaust tips, found them a bit underwhelming. Not terribly defined, nor even particularly centered for their openings. But lucky me, I opted for those nice, busy carburetors over the fuel injection... the stacks of which I found vastly superior as tailpipe tips! The Semple mirror paint has proven to be a nice chrome touch-up for handbrushing, especially if you're sure you won't be handling the area. You might see it made a nice effect for the inner grill shell area surrounding the radiator and WAAAAAIIIIIITAMINIT, waitaminit, wait. a. minute: Okay, well, first I'll be coming back around to redo that alternator bracket now that I've extolled the virtues of Semple touch-up. But second, yes! You're seeing an orange radiator hose. Did some online research to see just what kind of color spectrum might be covered by silicone hoses and orange was indeed included - more in the motorcycle and diesel world on the first sweep, but why should two- and eighteen-wheelers have all the fun?

Thanks, Gentlemen, each one of you, very much! It's not quite turning out as well as I'd hoped, so your kind feedback is especially appreciated.

Again, backtracking 'cause I'm apparently soooo infatuated with that narrative device: So as I looked to keep some momentum going (slug's pace, yes, but hey, forward) I pondered what to keep box-stock - body shell and chassis, as you've seen, sure. Interior? Absolutely, why not. (Did I remember to polish off that overspray on the right card? carp, I'll hafta look...) Engine? NOT ON YER LIFE. We're CAR MODELERS, we don't leave engines alone! 'Specially not in rods with plug wires flopping around in the breeze! Detail Master to the TA-DAAAAA, wired in Nailhead order or as close as I could manage. Orange wires, of course. Turns out this mill didn't have a coil though. But the kit did - just clip out one of those sprue reinforcements between matching but separate parts - headlight buckets, iIrc? - even had a starting dimple to drill! Fit behind the passenger's cylinder head as if designed for it, plenty of room between block and firewall.

SO. In case any of you was wonderin' if the Creamsicle was just left to melt, may I assure you it was not. "Slump-buster". NINE. months. after the fact. Yaaayyy me... And what in the Habitat For Humanity is going on with those whitewall decals? Yeah, it appears I spoke without caveat, several months too soon. More to come.

Why thanks for the shout-out, Craig! I'm actually three parts from the finish, so there will be more coming about that - and the decals - soon.

It really does. Kinda makes you wonder if GM licensing - some of the most antagonistic in the business for 3+ decades now - have finally gotten over their craniorectal inversion and shared some CAD with Revell. Maybe just a small bone to Revell on account of making them pay for Maisto's bumbling C7 convertible spoiler. Revell allegedly had to go measure the 7 in a dealer lot, making their 2014-16 Corvette all the more impressive for that gratuitous hindrance in development. Not sure how you get to double the parts count and all that extra detail without the 1:1 manufacturer deigning to relent a bit with some data, but if they managed it, my hat's WAY off.

WOW, pretty pleased about those C8s - steerable wheels and 145 parts? They ain't look like no joke. You can toss wheels and wings between versions too. And an all-new '85 Blazer? SURE! Serve that right up. 👍😁

I'll go one further: is this possibly the Polar Lights Ecto they're updating? That one had whitewall tires and Caddy caps. Don't believe AMT's ever did.

VERY. $#!+.

Yeah, for what's recently available, I really gotta go with the AMT kit myself. +1 on Tim's suggestion, all the way.

Such a lead pipe cinch and so wretchedly overdue, a boat-tail Riv. Guess it's the "Version 2" that's the hangup. Though I'd imagine Revell would feel scrapers have had their day, I gotta wonder if a low rider of just this one would justify the tooling expense as the second version.

Welp, Harry did ask a question about the "Most accurate kit(s)", so he was speaking in relative terms and kinda short-circuiting the whole "perfect kit" discussion before it even starts. You could say this thread is about the kits needing the least assistance in the accuracy department, which is a boon to modelers who'd rather spend time enhancing a kit than correcting it. In the case of Revell's new '71 Mustang, those corrections boil down essentially to trimming a distributor boss off the intake manifold and poring the body shell over for some possible surface irregularities around the C-pillars, and that's about all. 3D scanning made all the difference, and it's the kit pointing the way forward for Revell more than any other. This thing, on the other hand - required caliper measurements and the butchery of two body shells to make it less laughable for those kit-supplied decals, never mind dialing in its more accurate overall look. Is it satisfying that it enjoys some quiet superiority to its source material in the drip molding sweep and rear wheel arches? Sure. Is it objectively less goofy than a coupe with those Panamerica decals? Absolutely. Could you detail the new '71 Mustang to the nines in about half the time it took to make an acceptable representation of Hershel McGriff's ride? (hey, wasn't MY idea - Revell included those decals!) Yes. And I'd suggest that's the point.

Twister decals? Man. Thought this was one reissue I could just leave alone.

YYYAAAAAAZZZ Very, VERY cool!

Well, it's mostly plate options and inserts for seats I'd be more inclined to mask and paint myself; but yes, I want an RoG release for that exact reason and again, because the kit is that good. Agreed about the Gullwing, btw. Tom West showed some interesting detail tweaks to the GS Corvette body shell years ago, but I don't know if that version ever got produced...

ooooooolllld topic (stumbled across it while digging for a particular quote that aged badly) - but it gives me great pleasure to list a kit that justifies bringing it back from the dead: The payoff from LIDAR is spectacular on this one, and as expected from R/M, its overall design, detail and material quality are at an appropriately high standard. Way to go, Revell!