customline

The Great Race shoved off from Rocky Point Park in Warwick, Rhode Island today and my son got these photos for me to share with y'all. Enjoy!

Don't paint it, foil the hinge! ?

Yeah, how about the Testor's paint bottle rack? ?

Since you are wanting this kit and since I've had the chance to further investigate it I would like to give a heads-up on a few things that bother me about it. Don't get me wrong, though, it's still a nice kit of a great subject. The '56 is one of my favorite Chebbies. I owned one back in the day but Dad made me get rid of it ( it had no floors. What do you want for $90.00?) ? The stock tire/wheel/white wall insert combo are not up to the quality level of other kits that have these. The fit is not quite right and may need some fiddling. The instructions seem to lack clarity in some areas but this is a level 5 in difficulty and this may be one of the reasons for that. I noticed the back light "glass" is a very precise fit. No room for goofing up at all. Try it to figure out your strategy for installing it before you open the glue tube. This probably goes for the other glass parts as well. Pay attention to the firewall to floor fit and also the firewall to body interface. The instructions show attaching the firewall to the floor. I'd question that. Not an issue, but a nice plus: The scripts are very low relief but the decal sheet includes them. The larger emblems and door handles are provided on the chrome tree and locators are molded on the body and hood (which, by the way, is a very close fit- remember that at paint-prep time.) When mating the floor to the frame I noticed a gap(s) at the driveshaft tunnel mating area that I will definitely fill. There may be more of these issues, bad and good, but it is level 5 and I don't mind working a bit harder ?. There is plenty of kit here for the money. Something to ponder: why lower the suspension and add disc brakes on all four but keep the ol' 265 and 'glide? ?. Okay, budget constraints. Custom paint first, engine swap later....

Wifey had a bunch of gift cards for Michael's she got from friends and co-workers when she retired at the end of April. Today I helped her spend them ?. The variety there wasn't great but I was able to find this one. I had been wanting it for a while so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!the price was a standard $29.95 but after discount it was $21.59. Not too bad. The kit tooling looks good with no flash and nice chrome. There's some nice features like glass for the quarter windows, engine upgrades like a chrome alternator and finned rocker covers and a big chrome quad. You get a set of contemporary rims and low profile rubber. There's an optional lower a-frame set with disc brakes that will lower the front. It seems like a pretty nice kit of a great subject. I'm considering building it stock although the gasser prospect is hard to resist. It's a perfect body style for a gasser.?

There is a type of CA that is mainly for Styrofoam and also for those of us who can't tolerate the fumes given off by CA. This is all I use for all clear "glass" and lenses, both the thin and the thick depending on the fit-up. It won't fog but you still must be skillful applying it. I will often use zip kicker while holding the glass in place. Its expensive, not as strong as regular CA, and it has a short shelf life ( it thickens in the bottle after a year or so) but it works and its a viable alternative to the white glues..

Glad it worked out. I had a '67 Impala back in the day. Always loved that body style for the kicked-up rear quarter and the fast roof. Beautifully aggressive styling.

RUST! Yaaaaay ! ! !

This is interesting ?. Gloss next?

If your defect is minor, maybe a little care with some 400 on a small block will do the trick.

The line is subtle, not a sharp crease but it does show up when the light is above or below on a low angle. Maybe you're OK without having to do much of anything ?

If I may, I would suggest the use of sanding blocks, sized for the job. I mentioned using Bondo glazing putty and, if you decide to use this, you would use 220 grit for prepping the styrene and most of the shaping operation, as directed in the Bondo instructions. Adding layers, you want a proper surface for each new layer to grip. After contour is achieved, finish up with 400 or 600. I use the Bondo because it is fast and it does not shrink. It is ready to sand in 10 minutes if properly mixed. My patience is thin these days so it works well for me. I use it for all filler jobs and any irregularities found after priming can be cleaned up with Mr Surfacer. A job like this can be completed in an hour or less, depending on how fussy you are. Use your sense of feel as well as light and shadow to tell you when you have it right. Sight it from many angles. I will use a small flash light shining it across the surface at low angles. Watch the shadows, they tell you everything.

Yes indeed. It's such a thin and fragile part ?. I tried to glue the clear "glass" to my slightly misshapen frame with poor results. The replacement I received from Revell Germany is better but still not right. If I take great pains, I may be successful joining the parts using the fume-free CA glue. Ill try it some day when my head is right ?. The first issue of the kit was fine but this second issue (not a "Special Edition") is notorious for the windshield frame (#50 ?) and I have noticed my latest one, purchased 2 months ago, has minor plating issues. There are instruction errors too (from the original issue and still not corrected), so be careful.

Are you familiar with Bondo professional glazing putty(the 2 part type) ? It's excellent for this sort of thing. I have fixed some pretty terrible things I've done with it

Is this the rear quarter, top ridge you smoothed out too much?

I just wonder how many boxes they had to look through to find the one they sent me ?

I have a can of duplicator " silver charcoal" that I used on something ? It's a good candidate for the silver idea. It's not bright but has some sparkle. Might work.

Yeah, Steve, and I'm a big fan of those dark red metallic shades. And I have some Duplicolor here somewhere. I thought the Dusty Rose was more dusty than rose, thinking of a light/dark contrast but the paint is too bright for that interior. I think Greg is right about white or silver, both of which I can do. I'll wet sand in a week or so and prime it again. I'm liking the silver idea. I'll save dusty rose for a full custom or a street rod.

Yup. You nailed it, Greg. The Dusty Rose is brighter than I thought it would be. I was expecting something a bit more subtle ("dusty" ?). My original plan was white pearl. I think I can just wet sand and hit it with fine surface white, then go with plan A. The headliner had been painted and masked off a month or so ago using regular masking tape and I was getting worried it might be trouble having left it on that long. So I rushed the job. Anyway, thanks for being honest, I really do appreciate the input from all members.

Thanks, Dennis. It's gonna be a while now that the humidity is high. Not too many opportunities for me to paint now. Glad you like it.

I'm not sure where to put this thread but hopefully......anyway, those of us whom have built the Revell '29 A roadster recently know about this. For those just discovering the issue regarding part #50, relief is simply a matter of asking for a new one like I did. I got a very quick response and got the new part(s) within 2 weeks. My care package arrived today from The Fatherland in a small corrugated box, carefully packed in crinkled paper and some polyethylene full of EU air. Below is what was in the box. You can see the windshield frame is not perfect, but better than the one I got in my kit. I guess I'm spoiled because I expected a perfect part because I know that this part can be perfect because the ones I got in my other kits were but alas, this must be the best they can do now. There is a bonus, though. On the tree is a nicely plated radiator/shell, an instrument cluster, and a pair of door handles that will come in handy somewhere ?. Gotta love that.

Thanks, Greg, but what do you think of the body color with the interior color ??

I got some paint on it yesterday but Wednesday ( less humidity) would have been the best day for outdoor painting (my only option). There was an occasional gusty breeze that made it difficult and the finish suffered. This paint will need wet-sanding and re-coating. Luckily, I have plenty of Boyd's Dusty Rose enamel. I chose this color over my original idea for white pearl (Tamiya rattle can) because I thought it might be a bit more dramatic and might go well with the burgundy interior. Ya'll can be the judge of that. I present these pictures just to demonstrate the color of this amazing paint. I'm not sure the combination is great but the Dusty Rose is a really cool color for this subject, in my humble opinion ?.

Amen! ...and in my opinion, Chrysler did it best.

Whoa.....this is in a class by itself. I wish I had the patience and fortitude to bring a project to this level of excellence. Just a magnificent work! There was a time when some of us thought of these '50s cars as dinosaurs and, when in disrepair, just junkers or rust-buckets . Anyone lucky enough to have owned or driven these Mopars will tell you just how great they were. They were such fun! I think we appreciate them now more than ever. Some would say they were gaudy and over-done but beauty is in the eye...?