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Roadrunnertwice

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Everything posted by Roadrunnertwice

  1. It's good to see this tool getting some attention, and I like you're street-custom approach. I can't wait to see your progress! Despite this tool's body's flaws, it looks closer to the real thing than the Revell 240Z. The US-Spec bumper hides a lot of the blockiness on the rear end, but your rear valance modification is a great solution - especially if you're building a bumperless car. I wish Revell/Monogram would reissue this kit and the others in this series of curbside kits. Here's one I built a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't correct the front clip fitment problem as you have done: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2019_01/DSC04407.thumb.JPG.b457d0a3e9a64f0c316d229e57afcf74.JPG I'm looking forward to seeing more!
  2. I like the color and the "before they were classics" early-70s mods you're doing to this Maserati. I'm looking forward to seeing it come together!
  3. I'm enjoying the detective story, and a great build of a kit I've never seen before. It looks good in red.
  4. Thanks for your encouragement and accuracy tips along the way. The finished pics are over in Under Glass.
  5. After posting my progress in On the Workbench, this Land Rover is finally complete! I made some detail compromises as I put this together, but I’m very happy with how it turned out. Best of all, I finished a long-abandoned Holy Grail kit that lay broken and partially built in a succession of attics for nearly 40 years. I’m still working on the hardtop with a factory-looking rear hatch to match this build’s tailgate – but that’s a low priority because I plan to display this Rover in open-top mode. Sitting assembled and on display is a better fate for this kit than resting in unbuilt pieces. I might never have gotten around to this build, but Revell’s new-tool kit inspired me to dig it out of my stash. My copy of the Revell kit now sits nearby ready to start. But first, I’ll tackle a different project or two before diving right back into another Land Rover. For now, I’m off to start on a Tamiya Nissan 370Z!
  6. The Rover is coming along. Here, the almost-finished truck sits with some touching-up and detailing yet to do. Decals scanned and copied from Revell’s new kit helped liven up the interior. I committed to an open-top build, and so I scratchbuilt a factory-looking tailgate. I’ve seen Land Rovers with pickup-style tailgates and others with gates that swing to the side. I went with the latter. I should have made in-progress pics, but the 1/1 example’s straight simplicity made this doable for my scratchbuild-greenhorn self. I used masking tape to copy the shape of the door handle opening from one of the side doors to the rear gate. Otherwise, I simply cut plastic stock to fit the kit opening. I opted for Italian plates. Land Rovers may be rare in Italy, but probably more common than in the US. Also, Italy’s climate makes for a plausible open-top vehicle, unlike many of the more northerly countries whose plates come included in Revell’s kit. My build process involves assembling and then cleaning up any sloppiness that I find along the way. Here the Rover sits 95% complete. I got a few details wrong, such as a some areas I represent as bare aluminum should be the body color. I didn’t accent the panel lines around the ventilation doors on the cowl: I got the folding-windshield panel wrong, and my many coats of Testors and Pledge clear softened the panel lines. It seemed better to leave the area as-is. Like the undercarriage, the engine compartment was treated to a light coat of simulated grime. I dropped the radiator hose as I was trying to attach it, and it fell into some dark, unseen recess under the hood (flashback to many a 1/1 auto repair project). Turning the model upside down and shaking gently did not dislodge the hose, and I did not want to shake more vigorously. I plan to display the model with the hood closed, and maybe the hose will drop eventually. For now, the hose rests somewhere invisible to the naked eye, my magifying lamp, and a jeweler’s loupe. Spottedlaurel pointed out that the headlights Monogram provided were too large – just as well, since my kit has one missing. The photo below shows my first attempt at replacements from an old Monogram 57 Chevy - still too large, and thick enough to exaggerate the edges that I normally blacken with marker to add detail. I later found better replacement lenses from a Revell 65 Impala. That about wraps up the WIP photos of this Land Rover. Next, I'll clean up some of the lingering sloppiness found in these photos and other areas of the model, and then I'll post finished pics in the Under Glass section.
  7. I dropped a small bottle onto the body, and the build took an unwelcome turn. Fortunately, the support structure made this an easier fix than before. The challenge lies in keeping everything intact through the build process. The broken area was small, straight, accessible, and separated by a panel line convenient for masking - advantages that got me quickly through the repair stages. The pictures below skip a lot of sanding, but the fix took less than a day, and most of that time was to allow for substances to dry. In retrospect, I probably should have strengthened my initial repair by drilling holes and using metal reinforcements at the joints. As it is, this Rover requires handling with the delicacy of late-stage building tasks after the body has joined the frame. The task of polishing an easily breakable body led me to consider alternatives to my usual regimen of sanding. I bought some Pledge Restore-It Floor Polish (aka Future) recently. Others on this forum have explained that Future is self-leveling and can be applied with a brush. I was skeptical, and I tried it out on a scrap body. I did nothing to the model below except yank it out of a big box of scrap parts and give it a cursory dusting. Pleased with the test, I brushed Pledge onto the Land Rover’s rocker panels and several touched-up areas. The material’s self-leveling impressed me so much that I eventually brushed the rest of the body. I’ll try airbrushing Pledge on my next build. I don’t have any pictures of how the Rover looked right after I brushed the Pledge because I got caught up in the polishing process. Initially, it had a wavy surface like old-fashioned window glass (but subtler than the usual rattle-can orange peel). It didn’t take long to get satisfactory results. At this point, I’ve gone as far with polishing as I intend to go. Imperfections remain in some of the crevices, but most of the body now has a scale smoothness. Further polishing leads to a glossier surface than I want, even as it exposes more areas of bare plastic for touch-up. The main thing is, I’m happy with the results and look forward to a good-looking Rover on the shelf. Next time, I’ll show some assembly pics as this build gets closer to sitting Under Glass.
  8. Clean, impressive detailing - especially the foiled badges and the black detailing on the rear quarter panel's simulated vent. The fender flares and those camera angles make the car look a little like a Renault A310. I remember seeing the Datsun F-10 on the road, and I thought the wagon had a quirky appeal. This non-USA precursor is better looking than the F-10 fastback.
  9. That finish looks great! It's smooth but not too shiny. I can't wait to see how this one turns out.
  10. Sub-assemblies got some attention while I worked on the body in stages. Several missing parts kept me scrounging the parts box. The kit’s instructions and 1/1 photos show a disk at the back of the transmission. I have no idea what the disk is for, but I fashioned a replacement from a wheel backing. My kit was missing the carburetor, and I cobbled together something resembling reference photos, using a cut-down exhaust manifold and half a custom carb from an AMT 57 Chevy. In the 1980s, the frame and suspension were painted a single shade of black while the engine was painted silver. In recent years, I’ve started using different shades to pick out details on the chassis and under the hood. The engine is a rusty-metallic color like reference photos, using a mix of three craft paint colors. I tried to make the mechanical bits look used but not worn-out. The wheels and tires, as with most everything in the photos below, have a light-tan wash. Each of the Land Rover’s four (!) shifters has a different colored knob. The shift boots are painted with Viejo Paint’s “Black Grey,” which looks like rubber when painted against the standard gloss black of the shift lever. One of the rear jump seats was broken, and my repair using straight pins came out just as I hoped, and apparently stronger than the original part. Here sit all four in their custom-mixed semi-gloss black, and I can’t tell which one is the repaired piece.
  11. Great start! I love the "trail-tested" look of the undercarriage, and I can't wait to see your progress. This is my favorite post-CJ body style, and the orange sets it off nicely. I didn't realize Revell reissued this kit with the stock parts. I want one!
  12. This build is looking fantastic, and it gets me looking forward to starting mine. I appreciate your efforts to create a smooth, realistic finish that's not too shiny. I'm finding that's hard to do!
  13. The build really takes off when it changes color! Most Land Rovers I’ve seen have the color palette of an L.L. Bean t-shirt display, and I’ll probably paint my 4-door the same way. Anticipating my future 4-door build led me to a different color for the Rover at hand. A half bottle of Nissan Safari Gold left over from a recent Skyline build looks close to 1970s Rover Bahama Gold. At this distance (Internet, space and time, etc.) whether Nissan Safari Gold is a close match to Rover Bahama Gold depends on the photo. It's close enough for me and helps me put some leftover paint to good use. British Leyland offered Bahama Gold through the heart of Series III production years. This was an undesirable color when my friends and I eyed “obtainable” used sports cars in the 1980s (240Z, MGB, Triumph Spitfire). Now, it looks like a fantastic expression of a particular era – right up there with avocado-colored refrigerators and harvest gold telephones.. After the color coat, it was time to mask areas for black and silver. Every stock Series III I found online has black upholstery. Monogram’s kit has no chrome parts. The trim on 1/1 Rovers looks to be either painted silver or bare aluminum. Model Master Aluminum Plate looks the part. My temporary body reinforcements weren’t up to it: too fragile and easy to snag when prepping the body for clear. I broke the body again while masking the engine compartment. After yet another repair, I altered my building plan. I assembled the major body components so the doors and firewall could give structural support. This required detailing the interior up to a point prior to body assembly, sanding some previously unseen glitches, and repairing areas where the supports once attached. Only after painting the interior firewall did I discover that my reference LR was unusual. Most photos show body color there. My reference vehicle evidently has a black insulation blanket installed. Still, I’ve noticed a lot of variation in Land Rover interiors. I can’t tell what is and isn’t stock, but my build remains plausible either way. The Scalefinishes color anticipates a clear-coat and comes out dead flat (SF offers different options). This clear was shot with Testors Extreme Clear Laquer. I’m not sure if it’s the same as One Coat Clear, but my trouble with it was probably operator error. After all these years, I still can’t manage to apply a consistent clear finish. When it goes right, I’m unsure why and have trouble repeating my success. Other times, like now, it dries with a mist texture that would be great for simulating a vinyl top. Fortunately, what I lack in rattle-can skills I can often make up with polishing in gradually finer grits of sandpaper.
  14. That was the place! I bought a "Kenmeri" Skyline there. Alas, one kit was all that would fit in my carrry-on. I didn't notice the country decals until you mentioned them. I'll make my 4-door a UK version. The 2-door will be from an LHD country. The molded-in license plate frame is wrong for a US vehicle, and I don't think my chosen color was available on a LR over here.
  15. Before painting, I went over the body not with a fine-toothed comb, but a toothpick to remove stubborn bits of old paint from the exterior and other areas likely visible on the completed build. I also scraped underneath to point of diminishing returns. On the underside, the remaining grayish-turquoise from a long-forgotten 1980s source will get painted over and lend to the weathering texture for the “well-preserved daily driver” look I’m going for. In the meantime, my first painting step was the black mat molded into the rear passenger area. A single coat of DupiColor black primer did the job without adding texture to the floor’s ribbed detail. I use DupliColor primer of various colors most of the time, and it dries quickly so I can mask it at length for all the priming, painting, and clearing to come for the rest of the body. Tamiya Racing White seems to approximate the off-white color of Land Rover roof and wheels. I have good luck with Tamiya spray paint when it works, but I’ve had enough paint-crazing mishaps with it to make me wary. If I’m going to use Tamiya, I go Tamiya all the way from primer to clear coat. In this case, the white came out smooth and shiny enough to make clear unnecessary – especially for a Land Rover that sees lots of time on dirt roads. When my copy of Revell’s new Land Rover arrived, I went through it in search of potential leftovers I could use on my Monogram build. I figured I could make my 4-door right-hand drive and use Revell’s left-drive goodies on my current build. In many cases, the kits’ designs differ enough to discourage that kind of sharing. For example, why adapt the new-tool dash of vastly different kit design when the 1980s dash has good detail for what is a simple piece on the 1/1 vehicle? (But that’s no different from any other subject: how many parts can I share between, say, old and new tools of the 57 Chevy? Or 62 Corvette? Et cetera.) The only thing wrong with my Monogram dash was the thick, black paint applied ages ago, and that came off easily. Nevertheless, the new kit has excellent decals that I scanned and copied several times over. Can’t have too many European license plates. On that note, I haven’t a clue what countries many of these plates represent. I’ll check on that when I reach that point in the build. Here the main body sits in DupliColor white primer, with engine room accessories masked off prior to color coat. In this pic, I had to do a little sanding and massaging to my rocker panel repair before moving ahead.
  16. I'm missing my carb, that means some ingenuity is in order not far down the road. You mentioned Burnank. When I was there not long ago (but before the pandemic), I visited a fantastic hobby shop. That's like pickup trucks in the US. In the rural area where I live, pickups make up the majority of the vehicles on the road. Lots of people love them, and they're so ubiquitous to me that I tend to look right past them unless they're at least 20 years old. As for Jeeps, it's not uncommon to find an old CJ7 with a small-block Chevy under the hood.
  17. I use craft paints all the time! I have several shares of black I use to create subtle variations in interiors, suspension pieces, etc. I thin the Iron Oxide color (from Ceramcoat, I think) and use it as a wash over Testors Steel to create a realistic, slightly-used effect on exhaust systems. I stick with Testors and Tamiya for metallic colors, and I use a variety of solvent-basted paints for body colors, but I use acrylics for most everything else.
  18. I'm glad you pointed that out. My kit is missing one of its headlights, and Monogram LR's pieces are molded larger than most. In fact, I can't find anything that size in my parts box. I was planing to make do with smaller replacements, and now I can see smaller may be better for this build. Thanks for the good words, above. The Land Rover may be as common in the UK as Jeeps are here in the US. Land Rovers are rare and exotic over here, and the sight of one conjures up images of adventure in a vaguely "Indiana Jones" style. The Defender came to the US in the 1990s, and even then it was scarce and expensive enough to be a status symbol and not the utilitarian machine depicted in British dramas (like the one my wife and I are now watching: Last Tango in Halifax). Until researching for this build, I never knew the Land Rover Series III was available new in the US.
  19. It's time to catch up on what's been happening with this build since the pandemic hit. As I mentioned before, this kit survived uncompleted in my stash because I kept thinking Monogram would reissue it. Also, whenever I began a project over the years, starting fresh with a pristine kit always sounded more fun than dealing with the old paint, broken body, and inevitably fragile repairs involved in this Rover build. Those obstacles probably worked out for the best because it preserved these pieces for a time when I have a glimmer of hope to do it justice. If I'd finished the Rover in the 1980s, it would probably be in a landfill now or resting in pieces in a big box of dusty, older builds I have in my attic. Many builders have more skill than I do, but I’ll share this build process because I rarely stray far from box-stock projects, and this project will take me beyond what I’m used to. Maybe some on this forum are like me in that way. First thing was get the cracked windshield header up to the stress of building, painting, and polishing. Two shortened straight pins epoxied to the rear of the header should do the trick. On the finished build, these metal pieces should blend right into the weatherstrip area where the door post meets the windshield. Way back when, the body broke along a rocker panel in a section no thicker than a typical model car's A-pillar. Monogram molded the doors separately to allow for a Jeep-style doorless build, and the body once had temporary supports in the door frames. When I removed the supports, the door-panel area became fragile and not up to my teenage building habits. Now in 2020, my plan was to repair the rocker panels and then add my own temporary supports to withstand the rigors of the build process. I considered reinforcing the rockers with little pegs made from straight pins. This works well for sturdily mounting rearview mirrors, but it would require drilling matched holes into the narrow plastic rockers with a precision beyond my skill level. I thought about adding reinforcements from behind, but any support that thickened the rockers would have required modifying the frame, and it would have detracted from the scale realism of the undercarriage. I decided to just glue it together and take my chances. Rejoining the broken rocker on the passenger side was straightforward, but the missing section along the driver’s side was about 1.5 times wider than the Plastruct material I had on hand. I made do (or should I say “needs must” for a British build). The nationwide quarantine has made all my projects – modeling and otherwise – exercises in “needs must” engineering. I taped the body together so the doors and firewall could guide my fabricated section into the right length, width, and thickness. I cut plastic strip into roughly the right size, filed it into shape, and filled the rest with putty. I use Bondo spot putty because it dries quickly and sands easily. Earlier this year, the Rover sat steeping in Purple Power, out-of-sight and out-of-mind, while I finished my previous build. All that time removed most of the old paint, but virtually endless clumps of clingy, flaky sections remained – especially in underbody nooks and crannies. I probably should have removed more of old paint before proceeding with body repairs, but I was anxious to see whether my fix (and this build) was viable before I spent more time on other parts of the project. The body’s fragility is an issue only during the build process. Once built, other parts hold the body in place and prevent flexing. After the rocker panel repair had dried, I was ready to create my temporary supports to mimic what Monogram molded into the original kit. I used the frame to support the fragile body while I cut away the masking tape and replaced the doors with Pastruct. The repair broke while I was removing the firewall. I reglued the joint and set the body aside to turn my attention to other aspects of the build. Most Land Rovers I’ve seen wear the hardtop, but I like how an open vehicle can show off the interior. Also, an open Rover would help set it apart from my eventual build of Revell’s new 4-door version. My plan at this point is to make the hardtop removable. I won’t be using the roof rack. My teenage paint job looks OK, but the thick rack looks less like an SUV accessory and more like something that holds logs in a fireplace. I’ll post more soon. I’ve got a back-log of build photos. I like posting my build progress, but I need to figure out how to build-while-posting. I get caught up in the build process and then find my posting has lagged far behind. Next time, it'll be all about the paint!
  20. My first build of the year is done! A series of paint mishaps led to multiple repaints and even a body replacement on this Impala. If you can name a paint problem (crazing plastic, sputtering rattlecan, overzealous polishing), it happened on this build. Each time I had to restart the painting process, I set the project aside to recharge my patience and focused on other pastimes, including (but not limited to): Fixed the turntable and recorded some old vinyl into digital form Got the family's four bikes ready to ride Watched the latest season of Luther Read Stephen King's The Stand When my enthusiasm for the project recharged, I got over the painting hump and had fun getting the car finished. Now that it's done, it's time to post some pics. I'm glad I chose this color, Evening Orchid. The female figure came from a Mazda Cosmo that's been on my build list since I saw a 1/1 at the Peterson Automotive Museum in LA. The figure looks kind of bland at the moment, but she's an early attempt at a non-automotive subject. This engine photo shows flaws harder to see in person, but I like how the BMF gives the chrome valve covers and air cleaner a "light daily driver" look.
  21. I polish through the paint on almost every project: a corner here, a body crease there. Most paints are more forgiving of little touch-ups than this silver with a sublte purple tint I chose for this build. I finally powered through using the technique described in the latest SAE issue. While waiting for the final body paint to cure, I tried my hand at this woman figure. She's wearing a 1960s mod outfit and looks like she might have stepped out of an episode of The Monkees or I Dream of Jeanie. We'll see how she looks standing beside a 65 Impala. I took advantage of having multiple kits at hand in order to try three different ways to replicate the black panel and its thin, chrome strips: Thinned craft paint looks better than Sharpie or Model Master Aircraft Interior Black. I could probably do better using 1/64-inch chrome Linotape across a solid black paint surface, which I'll try on another build when I have more of the tape on hand. The engine fits like it should! I'm glad I went with the 409: Whatever their 1/1 merits, I think the elephant motor will make a more impressive look for the engine bay than the later big block. The variation in blacks on the chassis turned out like I hoped. Only after assembling the unit did I learn that the exhaust was too long to fit the manifolds - probably because I'm using the 409 from the Convertible kit and the exhaust from the (396-engined) Coupe. I trimmed a little too much from the exhaust, but it fits. I didn't use flocking/embossing powder on the interior because I don't have much on hand, it would complicate masking the black/white color scheme, and it will likely go unnoticed on this particular enclosed coupe build. In other news, 1960s interiors use as much foil as a 1950s car body. I thinned some light gray to bring out the seat pattern detail. That makes the seats look dirty in closeup photos, but in person it does what was intended. The interior photo was taken just prior to final assembly. Now it's time to post completed pics in Under Glass!
  22. The body needed major work to remove the crazed paint and smooth the plastic, and I wound up getting a Foose Impala from Hobby Lobby. This is not my most efficient build! Still, I have an idea to use the new kit's A/C parts on a future 66 Chevelle wagon build. It turns out the Foose kit has decals for a 409 engine, although the kit contains a 396. I'm not familiar with the 1/1 Foose car - does it have a 409? In any case, The decals are a welcome silver lining to getting the extra kit. Speaking of 409, I finished the engine, apart from some touching up and de-sloppying yet to do. I used to wire my kits all the time. In the last several years, it's about 50/50 because I often forego the wiring to focus on improving my building and painting skills. If I go to the trouble of plug wires, I might as well add accessory brackets. I created the upper alternator bracket, but I didn't worry about the lower one because it's hard to see when the car is done, and for that same reason 1/1 detail shots are hard to find. This is my first attempt at scratchbuilding a compressor bracket, and I didn't know what I was doing. Online photos are murky about the bracket, but it seems to be a complex, multi-part system with a squareish frame around the compressor itself. I did the best I could, but I'm sure many can do better. Mainly, I wanted to try it to challenge myself and improve my skills. I've abandoned builds that have gotten into this level of trouble (trashing a body is usually a one-way ticket back to the box and up to the attic), but I'm soldiering on because the 65 Impala is one of my favorites, and the build has enough going for it despite the setbacks.
  23. This diorama is absolutely brilliant! Did you plan such a project from the start, or was it the result of having built so many Impalas over the years? I'm not sure what WPCD means - are they promos? Are they all based on the AMT kit? I'm also impressed with your figures. Are you modifying the driver/mechanic figures that come in kits? You probably have already answered these questions in an On the Workbench post somewhere. Forget my asking, and just look at this as my way of appreciating your elaborate creation.
  24. Great looking build of an often overlooked part of automotive history. I don't remember this kit well enough to know if the vinyl top came with it, or if that was your doing. Either way, it looks great, and so does the dashboard!
  25. Clean build and smooth finish on a cool car - Fantastic work!
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