customline

Yup. Totally thought of that one, Bill. I just "won" some lenses tonight that may work for this. They won't be as spectacular as those pictured above but, if they fit, I'm in business. And the Impala stays out of the box ☺️. I appreciate your interest, Bill, it is always welcome.

Well, it's difficult to work with. ?

Ahhh.....the Volvo powered rat-rod.....do you mean one of the Revell '56 kits?

You nailed it! Very cool Deuce ?

Steve, that would probably work on styrene but whatever they make tail lights from is sorta brittle and hard. Spinning the sprue chucked in my Micro and running against 220 grit it takes forever to shape a bullet taper on it. I had the fastest cutting with a file but it was difficult to match the contours of 6 pieces. While test fitting the new lenses I lost one to the "floor who eats dropped tiny parts". ?. Looking for alternatives, I shopped the parts merchant's on flea bay but not much luck there. I then searched through some of my kits for some decent red clear sprue and found some perfect size bullets in the AMT '57 Ford Fairlane kit but only four of them. Gotta find 2 more or make them from sprue to match the 4 I have. I must succeed or this one goes back in the box. ?

Yup, that's what I did. The material (clear red sprue) that I had to work with was not consistently shaped (round) and I had a bad time making a .....anyway, I will be looking for more sprue to work with because I don't like the ones I made. Gotta go through my kits. Thanks for your thoughts, Joe.

I found it difficult to shape this type of material. I thought it would be easier ? but with some practice and the use of better ("rounder") material, I might be able to make all 6 bullets closer in contour. These are a bit too random in shape. Uniformity is a problem. They are pretty small and are therefore hard to handle. I may need to try again but I think when these are in place they may be good enough. I have glued a "base" to each one so I can install them from the back side after everything else is done.

OK, I did it. I made bullets. With my Micro. On low. ?. Problem is the clear red sprue stock is not really round. But it fit in the Micro and I was off and running. I'm happy with 'em and that's all I'm saying. ?. I also drilled the lights out. I'm commited. Done deal. Wish me luck.

Thanks for a great tip, Joe. I will check it out!

Gotcha. You are absolutely right. Truthfully though, it irks me that I have to scribe those lines. Some of them are difficult to do cleanly. One little slip with a #11 and you add an extra step in paint prep. For anyone interested in adding panel lines, Dymo tape makes a great guide. Just stick it on.

The "new improved" type from years ago will curl, but it is manageable. The "ultra bright" must be handled very carefully and, for me, it's difficult (I'm old and impatient ?.) The Merc really looks great, Steve.?

I'm a big fan of the full size Ford and Merc body styles and have avoided these kit because of the screw bottom all-in-one chassis, curbside platform. Am I being too snobby? I'm beginning to think so. ? it's actually kind of nostalgic ?. Those annuals were a buck fifty, remember? Anyway, what flavor BMF did you use and how did you find the quality? I still have some of the really old, good stuff ("new improved") that I save for the critical work. The "ultra bright chrome" that I acquired a few years back really sucks so I use it for interiors and such (it's difficult to handle because it rolls up into a useless spiral- it's just too thin.) If it's good now, I need to get some.

I want one! This kit is my Father's Day present (from me to me) . Beautiful job, Tom. Is that Boyd's Ice Blue Pearl ?

All righty, then, thank you, Steven. I dunno, is it important? As long as we are aware of this issue, we can fix it if we want to. We spend a lot of time adding wires and starter solenoids and dash panel print-outs because we are trying to achieve a level of realism. Panel lines kinda fall into that realm. It's just something to be aware of if you want to be accurate. Am I being petty? I suppose so. Compared to the firewall issue with this kit, it's nothing, really. I rest my case. ? by the way, Steven, that ragtop is very likely a "best in show". Outstanding!

Thanks, L M. You should see what you can't see in the picture ☺️

Exactly, Steve. Exactly ? I'm kinda anal about this sort of stuff and I didn't think much about it the first time I noticed it. But recently (like yesterday ?) I noticed it again. So now I have a new thing to be anal about. YAY! ? I've only been at this since about 1962 but my anal retention tendency didn't show until sometime in the 21st century (but it's only this stuff, I couldn't care less about everything else.) ?

OK, I get that...I was pointing it out because it's very easy to overlook it and if accuracy is a goal, it would need to be addressed. And I'm in that kind of a mood. ?

I've been noticing this lately on even some of the "good" kits and I wonder if anyone else has. Not a big thing but....huh? How could they miss this? I guess nobody in the design department ever changed out a front fender. Check yours! ?

Thanks, Steve. I gotta say that B.M.P. instrument panel is extremely sharp and clear. I only use them when i need to but they make a tremendous difference and, on this particular dash, it's the star of the show. Love 'em!

Oh yeah, the kit I'm working with is an older one with lots of flash in the worst places like the A pillars and the rear deck trim. I don't mind a few sink holes, but you need good smooth trim if you want the foil to look good. I hope to see more decal sheets including the instrument panels, but I really think Michael Hansen's photo reduced panels (Best Model Products) are the cat's pajamas. I think they look better than the decals. The white on the A pillars is filler, trying to smooth out the horrible mess left behind by the flash and subsequent restoration of the lines. The left post is so bad that I may need to cut it out and try to replace it with strip styrene( I hope not ?). Very tedious.

Yup. Chrome Reversed rims. Everybody had 'em! Nice detailing, Jim. You nailed it!

Thanks, Sam, I just wanted to point out one of the many deficiencies of this particular kit.

I am here to help! (Well, you asked for it ?) an all chromed rear axle housing, even back in the day, is a fairly expensive proposition. Unless we will be entering this roadster to compete for the AMBR, the axle housing should probably be painted with a nice neat aluminum quick-change attached. Just my opinion ?

I'm waiting for the instrument cluster printout from Best Model Products to complete the interior but I just want to point out something I noticed after it was too late to do anything about it. (It was an "oh well..." moment.) The tub is made for a convertible. Just sayin'. ? But it's not too late to cut off the roof! just kidding ?

I just looked at the "Advanced Custom", Eric.....FREAKING INGENIOUS! THATS how you do it! Very inspired. Paint is off the hook!