samdiego Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 (edited) Thanks, guys. I posted that at work and am feeling the need to add a few more comments. My first impression was that the body lines were a little wonky, especially through the quarters. I think it looks better under paint. I'd call it pretty accurate, actually. Hood fit could be better. The window fit is awesome with enough friction at the small locator pins to hold them in place, front and back. The front end chrome also friction fits well, not so for the rear. Better attachment points would be good here. There is really nice detail on the 396. There are brackets on both the alt and the AC compressor. Lines for the AC. Decals for the valve covers and air cleaner. There is a nice open element version on the chrome tree, I haven't reassembled the under hood stuff yet. Dash decals would have been awesome, the gauge on the left may be a tach with a clock in it (I thought Tic Toc Tach was a Pontiac thing) very faintly engraved on two levels. Mine could have come out better. They should also have clear lenses at he edge of the bezel, about a scale inch and a half from the faces. Mold seams run over the chrome trim in places but aren't huge. There are a few sink marks which I ignored because I'm lazy. Right at the point of the body front at the top crease on both sides and in the sail panels under the faintly textured vinyl roof The top is Tamiya fine white primer. The clear is also Tamiya.. I kept the roof treatment mostly because I realized that Trumpeter's Monte Carlo was the only vinyl roof car I've built and I gave that one away after a not so positive review for the mag. And I didn't want to do the work as it would interfere with my current speed building style. About three a month, almost finished. Anyway, I probably needed a vinyl roof car on the shelves. Looks great up there to me. Edited April 12, 2017 by samdiego Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 That's Nassau Blue Model Master Laquer. A factory color Looks great. Yours looks a bit "bluer" than a paint job I did with that paint. But I left mine flat as a worn finish, yours is glossy--maybe that's where the "depth" comes from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 This is a great kit, better than the original 1969 amt El camino. I was surprised that the 1969 grill is too narrow to fit the 1968 body. Which means one is out of scale for 1/25. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Barrow Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 This kit's a great source for a Chevy big-block with an automatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr mopar Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Wow that is nice ................. I still have not bought my 68' El Camino . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motor City Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Hi Sam,That's a sharp El Camino. I own an '87 that I bought new, and have always liked them. You referred to a promo in your first post. There were Chevelle promos, but no '68 or '69 El Camino promo. Did you use an air brush or spray paint from a can? What kind of primer did you use on the body?Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdiego Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 (edited) The original kit of the '68 Elky reminded me of the old promo style. The Nassau Blue was from the can, no primer. It did get a bit darker under the clearcoat. There's this too. The body halves didn't fit very well but the plastic is thick enough to take the sanding it took to even it up. Nice to have it. Edited April 13, 2017 by samdiego Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motor City Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Sam,How did you mask off the blue to prevent white overspray from when you were painting the top? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Sam,How did you mask off the blue to prevent white overspray from when you were painting the top? I just did one like that in black, which I also shot on the lower body and the tailgate panel. Just took a lot of masking tape. If I were doing one in white, I'd shoot the white first, then mask that and shoot the blue. (The one I'm working on came already painted blue and I kinda liked it so I'm working with it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdiego Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 The blue was shot first as the Tamiya primer is pretty opaque. I've started using "Press and Seal" for the major masking duties. It works really well for me.Tamiya fine line was used for the edges splitting the trim down the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motor City Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 thanks for the suggestions, guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azscotty Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 (edited) The Air Force El Caminos were in fact 1968 SS 396 cars. They were painted the Air Force standard Blue paint (yes it was a shiny paint job), and the white roof came later here in Arizona to keep the car a bit cooler in the sun, as they didn't have any AC in them. They were always kept really clean, and always looked nice. They later had a an RV style roof AC unit added to them. Visibility had nothing to do with the roof being painted. Here is a good Black and White picture of one that was in Viet Nam back in the 70's. This picture was taken by the guy who took care of the car while he was there with it. They used these up until around 1973 or 74 when they got the newer body style El Caminos when they left Tucson, AZ, and moved out to CA. The last few pictures are from a yearbook that was done for the 100th SRW wing at Tucson, AZ shut down in 1976, when the wing moved the U2's out to Beal AFB in California. I worked with the wing in Arizona from 1971 until we shut down in 76 after the war ended. Edited June 10, 2017 by azscotty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, and thanks SO MUCH for sharing these! I've been looking for pics of these cars for over a decade, and your first one is the best I've ever seen!I believe your fourth pic--or one very much like it--was in the Squadron/Signal U-2 in Action book, which is what set off my interest in these cars.So, definitely '68, definitely SS, which means definitely 396, and it looks like it retains the standard (for SS) semigloss black lower body areas.Again, THANK YOU! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robdebie Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 I found three of the above photos in 'Strategic Reconnaissance 1956-1976' issued by the 100th SRW, scanned them at 600 dpi, and posted them on my website for downloading. Beware, large files!https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/various/images/elcamino-p162.jpghttps://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/various/images/elcamino-p168.jpghttps://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/various/images/elcamino-p218.jpgRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 I posted a link to the pics above at HyperScale (model airplane [mainly] site) and someone replied:Watched and listened to these monsters operate in 1971 at U-TapaoJune 11 2017, 1:09 PM RTAFB in Thailand. Loved listening to them going through the gears and the drivers did not spare the horses. That show was almost as good as watching the U-2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Wonder if any were left behind in Vietnam or Thailand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Wonder if any were left behind in Vietnam or Thailand?They were probably ALL left behind. We didn't even bother to bring all our airplanes home. On further thought, maybe we did bring those back, as they'd have been special equipment for a special program. But if U-2 ops were leaving that base....who knows?Good question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordairgtar Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 I wonder if ol' Branch "Twig" Lew is still around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordairgtar Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 I can just imagine those Elkys winding up in some collective farm hauling produce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordairgtar Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 They were probably ALL left behind. We didn't even bother to bring all our airplanes home. On further thought, maybe we did bring those back, as they'd have been special equipment for a special program. But if U-2 ops were leaving that base....who knows?Good question! I can just imagine those Elkys being put to work in some collective farm hauling produce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 I wonder if ol' Branch "Twig" Lew is still around.Lawyer in Ft Wayne, IN.http://www.lawyers.com/fort-wayne/indiana/branch-r-lew-975814-a/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuces Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 I just checked the difference between the beds of the street machine kit and the newer release... The tubs are roughly 3/16" deeper than the stock inner tubs.... This is a great thread!!!! I had planned on using the woodgrain bed for my build... Now I know to use the matching inner panels/tubs for some wider skins.... Thanks a bunch for posting this review guys!!!!!.... ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk11 Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 (edited) On 2016-09-13 at 6:53 AM, tim boyd said: I think this is one of the best kits ever to come out of the mid-late 1990's "John Mueller and Gang" era at AMT-Ertl. Except for that pesky vinyl roof sink mark duly noted in the posts above. This was a great kit compromised by the most generic box art possible in the original release, that did little to convey the goodness inside (particularly for the Street Machine version of the tool). Just came across a reference to the 'molded in red' issue. Seem to be fairly thin on the ground. The shiny red body kinda looks like a promo. Two different box logo treatments on this subject as well might interest those masters of minutiae... Edited April 2, 2019 by mk11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gui_tarzan Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 I got a couple of these yesterday at Hobby Lobby. Does anyone make a standard grille, tail panel and hood? I can re-do the hood but I'm not sure if I can make the underside as clean as I'd like. I want to build a non-SS out of one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 I bought a 1968 El Camino kit in RED. The plastic seemed rubbery and soft. Anybody else notice that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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