ModelcarJR

Body looks good, Mike! I hope you can work out the warp. ??

Engine, chassis, and interior are complete. Body fits well and the front inner fenders are pretty straight. Interior and exterior go pretty well together. Next are wheels and windows. Thanks for looking! ?

Thanks, Carl, David, and Dan! I appreciate your comments! Finished the engine and some of the interior detail. Next is chassis and engine bay so that I can put the interior together. I nicked the bottom of the steering wheel while cutting it from the sprue. Might have to do a little more work on it. It looks better to the naked eye. Here are a few photos. Thanks for looking! ?

Thanks, All! I appreciate your comments! Some people might call this Pink. If it was a 55 Chrysler it would be called Sunset Rose. I'm fine with Pearl Light Red like the can says. Its rubbed out and foiled. Now I can work more on the interior, engine and chassis. I haven't done that yet because I have a mental block about finishing anything on the rest of the build until I have the body painted, rubbed out and foiled. Then I can start on the rest. Thanks for looking! ?

Thanks, Dan! Yes, changing colors was a concern. But since this one is off the rails a bit, I decided to go rogue. First, I cleaned up the body and then decided on the color I was going to use. Something I already had on the shelf that would go with the interior that was already painted. I could have changed colors of the interior but didn't want to do that. I thought about exterior colors like red (already have one in red), white would look OK with the interior but I really don't like white as an exterior color. So I chose a color that is not anything close to a 66 Ford color. Next I painted the edxterior with Tamiya white primer and then the color coat, Tamiya Pearl Light Red. Here are a couple of photos. Thanks for looking! ?

Thanks, David and Carl! I appreciate your comments! Unfortunately, I had some build-up of clear in the mid-line dart that I tried to get out and re-paint but that was unsuccessful. So now its in the oven cleaner and I'll have to start over on the body. I thought I had a full can of the Toreador metallic but I don't. So I'll have to figure out a new color. Dupli-color is now $14.99 plus tax at the local O'reilly's so I refuse to buy anymore! Thanks for looking! ?

Looking good, Dan! Is that the Testors paint or did you find something else?

Thanks, Carl! I appreciate your comment! Good news! The second coat covered Here are the steps I used for this one. First I painted the body and hood. I had already foiled the FORD and FAIRLANE lettering before I painted. Once the second coat of paint had dried I took a small Tamiya cotton swab, dipped it in lacquer thinner and revealed the lettering one letter at a time. The first 3 photos shows the revealed, foiled, lettering and the dull finish of the paint that I also rubbed out a bit with 6000 cloth. Next I added two coats of Tamiya Clear (Photos 4 and 5). I also painted the interior the same color and used some clear on the dash steering wheel and column. I still need to add some Dullcote to the seats (photo 6). Tomorrow, I'll rub out the body using sanding cloths and Scratch -X and be ready for foil. Thanks for looking! ?

I've had a slight set-back while painting. First, my brand new can of Dupli-Color spit on me and left a couple of splatters on the top. I shook the can plenty and even heated it up in hot water. I tried to wipe off the nozzle and the tip fell out. I decided to let the paint flash for a few minutes and took the can inside and replaced the tip with one from a partial can of the same paint that I had. In the meantime, a pop-up thunderstorm formed and I had to take the body inside to gas out in the garage. I rubbed out the top a bit but that is making the two splatters worse. So I am hoping that I can add another coat of paint today and cover the splatters. If not, I guess I'll have to put it in the purple pool and re-paint. Thanks for looking! ?

Thanks, Patrick! I appreciate your comment! I have seen the color described in car photos as red-brown. It appears to be lighter than my color choice. There used to be a Testors color in lacquer called Dark Bronze Metallic (68 Dodge Dart below). But it doesn't have much red in it and its not available anymore anyway. The color I have is Dark Toreador Metallic, which is darker but does have some red in it (49 mercury below). I could just buy the actual color from MCW but I would have to break out the airbrush after I wait a couple of weeks for delivery. Exact color doesn't mean that much to me and I know I can get a good paint job from the Dupli-color. I have everything in primer now and after I add a silver base coat to the body I'll paint the Dupli-color. Thanks for looking!

Thanks, All! I appreciate your comments! ?

Thanks, Dan and Bill! I appreciate your comments! ?

I had some good luck at the last model car contest and vendor show a couple of weeks ago. I bought $5 of raffle tickets and hit on three. In addition, I bought 4 kits in the wrapper for $100. The 3 kits I won are reasonably retail priced at about $150. The four I bought are retail priced at $180. So, its time to get started on one of these kits and I chose the 66 Ford Fairlane GT/GTA. I have built this one before about 30 years ago and although it still looks OK I could have done a better job on a few things. I didn't add the stripe on the side, tires are a bit ragged, and I didn't detail the hood vents or add the red paint between the front bumper and grill. Paint could always be better and I didn't add any engine detail. So I am going to build this one again. The original was inspired by one that a friend of mine had when he was 16. Brand new, red with a black interior. I don't know how he got his dad to purchase it for him. This one is going to be painted differently. I am going to use Dark Toreador Metallic to substitute for Emberglo metallic, a 1966 color. I can use it inside and out as that was also a matching interior color and I'll dull it down with some dullcote. So here we go!

Close, its my wife's 66 Mustang. She grew up in a Ford household and I grew up in a Chevy household. I thought she had a 66 fastback when she was growing up but it was actually a 67. I couldn't find a fastback reasonably priced for her 50th birthday so I got this 66 coupe. I never had a 57 growing up but had a 58, 61, and 63 I always wanted a 57 and rebuilt this one with lots of purchased help over 3 years in the early 90s. We used to go to some Saturday night old car meets but its a lot of work. Now, its a lot of work just to keep them running. I wanted to get them out and wash them but with temps in the 100s I'll have to wait for better days. Thanks for asking!

Nice job on the hinges, Sonny! I wanted to help with the ride height and hope you don't mind. I built this same kit a few months ago using Tamiya Orange Metallic over silver. I didn't modify anything on the chassis and the tires may be from the parts box but are the right size. The bottom of the chrome rocker at the front of the car is about 1/2" from the ground and the rocker at the rear in front of the back wheel is about 5/8" from the ground. This compares favorably with my 1:1 in the garage which is 10" at the front wheel and 12" at the back wheel. I haven't figured out if that works out scale-wise but both demonstrate a slight rake that really looks like its level. Good luck with your build! ?

This is an old AMT kit painted Dupli-Color bright red inside and out with a flocked carpet. Tires out of the parts box and the hood and doors will open but the trunk is glued shut. Poseable steering. A rather pedestrian build of an old kit. Thanks for looking! ?

Thanks, Dan, Mike and Sonny! I appreciate your comments! Not sure on the origins of this kit but it certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Its finished but in the process I think I have damaged the paint a bit and the foil looks bad compared to how foil used to look. I have a new sheet so I am hoping for a better result on the next build. I have used chrome pen in several places where foil either wouldn't stick well or has come off. But it has dulled sufficiently now to look like chrome paint. So, I would classify this one as a rather pedestrian build of an old kit. Here are a few photos. Thanks for looking! ?

Hey, Dan! I built this one about two years ago. Its a nice kit but I was a little disappointed with the position of the rear wheels. I should have (and may still) shorten the driveshaft and front of the springs to move the rear wheels forward. I think I also forgot to thin down the wheel opening flares. Here's a photo so you can see the rear wheel position. Good luck with your build! ?

Thanks, Dan and Carl! I appreciate your comments! Its on wheels! But not without some re-work. First, the left front wheel fell off. The spring glue joint had come apart so I repaired it. While doing that I noticed that the wiring harness, a plastic piece in the kit, had fallen off and was wedged under the left front inner fender liner and the belly pan. How did that happen? No wonder the front of the belly pan was so hard to glue down. So I removed it and glued it to the valve cover this time and now the belly pan fits much nicer. So now it all over except for the hardware. I'll be working on that this afternoon and evening. Thanks for looking!

Thanks, Skip! I didn't know that about the side windows. However, it wouldn't work for this build as the wing window and the side window is all one piece of glass. I guess I could have cut some acetate for the wings but I didn't. So I installed the whole window on both sides. Finished the chassis and engine and the body is ready to mount. I left out some of the crossmember parts that I am sure perform a function for the 1:1 but they will only get in the way for this build. I also left the battery out since it won't be seen and I can always use a battery in the parts box. I have already test-fitted and it will be a challenge tucking the belly pan under the body. I thought the working poseable steering would be too flimsy, but it worked out. I should be able to finish this one tomorrow! Thanks for looking! ?

Thanks, Mike! I recently purchased some new foil and haven't used it yet but I hope its as good as the old stuff. Finished the body and installed the interior. The dash is two pieces so I glued the top onto the dash bottom and detailed the face a bit with foil, chrome pen and dry brush which I an not very good at. Then it installed into the body by gluing each corner to the door jams. No glue on the top. Then I installed the firewall without glue until it was in place and then ran some glue around each end of the firewall. That way there is no glue on the firewall top and the body. I also installed the trunk floor but realized that I had it in upside down and had painted it that way. The hood installed easily being trapped by the inner fenders. However, the trunk hinging left a lot to be desired. It was either going to come loose, break or be finicky with the trunk not closing without gaps. So instead of displaying the spare tire wannabe, I chose to glue the trunk lid shut which also eliminated the need for a trunk floor. So now I can display the interior and display the engine with the opening features but I won't have to fool with the trunk lid. One other point. The side windows have each fallen off. They are just two semi-flat pieces of clear plastic to glue onto the flat surface of the door window opening. A photo below shows the very sophisticated assembly. I ruined the chrome foil around 1 window picking off the excess glue, so I just used the chrome pen and let it dry overnight. Hopefully, if I don't touch it again it will still look good. Thanks for looking!

Thanks, All! I appreciate your comments! Bill, I'll post some pics of the interior installation when I get there. Pierre, I am not sure how it compares to the Tamiya kit as I haven never built the Tamiya kit. But the prestige kits were very popular back in the day (late 80s/early 90s). I built the 63 Ford Galaxie 500 in this series and it is still one of my favorite builds. I finally foiled all the windows, etc. and it took a couple of days due the the poor performance of the BMF (lots of white glue) and the fact that the trim is so skinny. I don't like how they manufactured the side vent with the insert that has to be glued in. There is no way to make it look right with foil and chrome pen. So here are a couple of photos. I also had some good luck at my last contest for the year. A first and third place in Street Rod and a third in Street Machine. Its funny that the Street Rod models are both painted my new favorite color, Dark Toreador Metallic. Maybe I should paint all my models with this color! None of my models that swept the Street Stock category in the last contest placed. Different contest, different participants, different judges. You just never know until you participate. Thanks for looking! ? 1st and 3rd Street Rod Third, Street Machine

I've got this one mostly rubbed out so I thought its time to install the gullwing doors. There should be enough play inthe slot for the door pins to be able to pull the door out away from the plastic I added underneath the cross bar in order to place the gullwings in the open position. Three photos; before the gullwing doors, open gullwing doors and closed gullwing doors so that you can see the gap has been pretty much closed with the strips of plastic. so far so good. Next, finish polishing and add BMF. Thanks for looking!

Looks great, Bob! The color turned out great and your workmanship certainly is on display! Ready for the Show! ??

Thanks, Mike and Ray! I appreciate your comments! I'll let you know how it goes as I get more into the build. As I mentioned earlier, there were a lot of mold lines, flash and excess plastic on many parts. I took so much plastic off the gullwing doors that there is a gap on top at the crossbar. I used a couple of pieces of plastic strip glued on the inside of the cross bar to close the gap and won't interfere with the keepers for the pins on the door. I didn't try to make it flush with the crossbar with any putty as that would have been tough to square off on top. I'm just trying to make to gap less noticeable. I rubbed out the body pieces a bit yesterday and this morning to even up the finish and get rid of some of the blush, although the clear should take care of it, if the clear doesn't blush. So at 11 AM it was 95 degrees with 50% humidity so I went for it with a can of Tamiya clear. I got a good gloss finish for the most part. I'll still have to rub it out but I think I can work with this. Contest this Saturday, one of the two I go to each year. This one won't be ready but I have a few others. Thanks for looking! ?