Muncie

AAARGH!, I've been there, too. Might be easier to grind it out and reapply the putty closer to the shape that it needs to be.

If you are looking for attachment/structure as well as shape, consider an epoxy putty. There is a brand, A+B, Comes in two parts in white packages, A on one, B on the other. Unfortunately, it's a large quantity and relatively not cheap. It has many other uses. It will stick to many materials and is darn near permanent when it dries. There may be smaller packages that I haven't found. You tear off how much you need, knead the two parts together until it's completely mixed. It can be worked and molded wet (will even cure underwater). Mix it up, use some water and mold it into shape. You don't get much time and it will dry hard as a rock and ready for primer. Not easy to sand if it's even possible. Best to keep your epoxy a little under where you want it and use a spot putty or thick primer to bring it up to final shape. It's been a long time since I have used it so there may be new products out there. I noticed a two part epoxy putty in a more reasonable quantity at the local hobby shop in the gaming /figures section. I don't know it if works the same but I suspect it will.

In an area like this - recessed with a curved shape and inside corner, it pays off to mold the filler as close as you can instead of piling it on. Just a finger wipe will do and will eliminate a lot of sanding.

Claude, so true, and well done!

My first look, I thought I was looking at different models. These are all very impressive transformations! Very well done.

For sure, there is a lot of commonality between the different Freightliner COE cab models. Freightliner was more of a custom truck builder during these years and their market share was on the low side. Production volume was pretty low. This page is probably from about 1975 before Freightliner dropped White from the nameplates. The 21 Series is probably somewhere shortly after Freightliner stopped building non-tilt COEs about 1958. Freightliner's changes were more evolutionary than following a model year schedule. And they maximized existing tooling instead of making changes that would require a total production line make over. Even the FLC conventional cab that appeared about 1975 is more of a variation to the COE than a unique model.

Thanks Tim, Always look forward to your annual report. Good to see you spent some time n the basement.

I go with what Steve says, what he says is right on about Duplicolor 1699 and it is also my choice. I've learned a lot from his posts. Primer sealer is a barrier layer and will seal color if it has enough coats. I did a not very scientific sharpie test for another purpose. The sharpie bled thru 2 to 3 coats, but 5 to 6 light coats if left to dry properly stopped it. 1699 goes on so smooth that it did not need sanding. (enough coats that you cannot see the color below plus a couple more for good measure.) But if it is sanded, it should get a couple more coats before final color. Basically, it's following the method in the paint manufacturer's instructions that was used for the old automotive primer sealers that I started out with model cars a very long time ago. Automotive primer sealer is actually a barrier between whatever sins or materials are below and the final top coat colors. At one time, auto body shops had to deal with refinishing cars painted at the factory with enamel (sometimes with multiple color replacement panels) using the new lacquer paints. The lacquer could damage the enamel below so Primer Sealer was cheap insurance to having an unhappy customer come back. Ditzler had a primer sealer that you could poor into the gun without thinner, would dry quick, didn't have to be sanded and was inexpensive. Haven't done that kind of project in a long time so I know little about the current materials in the body shops today.

To paraphrase things a bit, land speed cars running at SCTA Speed Week and the USFRA World Finals events have competition numbers and class designations. I think they always have. With several hundred cars at speed week, it would be impossible to sort out the cars without a number. They aren't always easy to see but they are there as required by the rules. The graphics can be the size of a door or as small as a parts decal. Sometimes difficult to find. The only exceptions that I can think of are if the car is just out for a photo shoot before it makes a run or the car is still under construction and not making a run. It is very rare and expensive for somebody to build a car and run it by itself for a record. SCTA and USFRA crews (mostly volunteers) have lots of people that spend several long days preparing the salt and setting up equipment before an event. That would be impossible for a single car unless it was very well funded. If a competition model is being presented without a number, documentation would be a great idea. Documentation is a good idea anyway depending on what IPMS requires or suggests. ,

That's fortunate - A two in one 1971 and 1972 kit with parts for both Road Runner and GTX seems more possible. I prefer 1971 but I'm aware many others would like the '72. Decals for emblems and side marker lights works for me - I would remove them anyway. If it could be a rebody on the 1971 Charger chassis - so much the better. Just spit balling a few ideas...

Are there variations in the interiors for 1971 and 1972?

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a thousand pictures worth? doesn't get better than that, thank you for the link.

definitely would like to see a 1971 or 1972, Road Runner or GTX come back. Some chassis changes will also be needed if it is based on something in the current tooling catalog. Over time, the chassis has gone thru several revisions from dual exhaust to single exhaust with a catalytic converter and maybe back again. But I think it would be worth it. Round 2 has been doing a great job on the kits they are bringing back.

Awesome, I can hear it running on Lake Gairdner right now!

The exhaust on a 1957 Chevrolet exits under the rear bumper (or out the side behind the rear tire on a wagon/Nomad). The opening in the bumper end under the tail lamps is filled either with a back up lamp or a trim plate. The black trim under that opening is simply a recess in the bumper end that can be painted or blacked out with reproduction stickers. Somebody could reroute the exhaust thru the bumper end, but it is not a common modification.

absolutely beautiful - great colors, great fade, great paint, well built... love it!

Like the wheels in A, and the meatier rubber in B (but it probably doesn't work that way)

There are some truck kits out there with simplified one-piece drive shafts that would have a mid-ship driveline support in the real world. General rule. the driveline should be no longer than 70 inches between the centers of the u-joints. The drivelines do not go straight thru - there is a small angle between the drivelines so the bearings in the u-joints move to stay lubed. There is a fair amount of engineering in it.

Just a thought - it might be easier and look better to get a sheet of flat Evergreen clear plastic and cut all of the windows. All of the windows in those old White Freightliners are flat glass.

I keep looking for hot rod pickups in the car categories out of habit... In my world, a truck has a gross vehicle weight capacity greater than 16,000 pounds.

Alan, Great looking Model A - perfectly represents the Tim Boyd tribute. Excellent job extending the cab, the proportions are right on. And it's F... FFF-word powered like Tim would do. (still some words this Chevy guy can't say) Well done!

It might not be the polishes that you are using. Not what I use, but all of them are good products. It could be what you are polishing with. At one time, I used paper towels and noticed I was starting to get some haze in my final polish. It turned out that different brands seemed to be "more abrasive" (for lack of a better word). I went back to the better brand and the shine came back. Sometime later, the paper towel maker must have changed their manufacturing process because I started getting haze again. Now I use a good microfiber towel that I only use for polishing.

Outstanding!

Awesome and well done - it is interesting to see one of these going together. From the Hydroplane and Race Boat (Thunderboat) Museum in Kent Washington. They have several boats on display, a restoration/race shop in back, and are (or used to be) part of a vintage boat race series. I believe they have this boat in their collection. cool stuff, neat people, worth a stop. 1968 U-1 Miss Budweiser - Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum (ning.com) 1968 U-1 Miss Budweiser Reprinted from Skid Fin Magazine, 2003, Volume 1 Number 2. The newest member of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum’s fleet is the 1968 Miss Budweiser. The ’68 Bud (the sixth Miss Budweiser) was designed and built by Seattle’s Ed Karelsen and is an exact copy of the 1967/1968 National Champion Miss Bardahl. The 1968 Budweiser was first driven by Bill Sterett Sr., who won the Gold Cup and National Championship in 1969. The ’68 Budweiser is the only surviving Karelsen round-bowed unlimited. Five boats of this design were built in the late 1960s, and they dominated unlimited racing from 1967 to 1971, wining four Gold Cups and five National Championships. In 1970, Dean Chenoweth took over the cockpit, drove the boat to a victory in the 1970 Gold Cup and claimed the National Championship. That same year boat builder Ed Karelsen, the Budweiser team and Chenoweth took part in one of the most amazing accomplishments in the history of boat racing. On July 19 in the first heat of the 1970 Atomic Cup in Tri-Cities, Washington, the Miss Budweiser dove nose-first in rough water on the second lap. The accident tore away 10 feet of the Budweiser’s bow and ripped the deck all the way back to the model well. It also sent the boat tot he bottom of the Columbia River and driver Dean Chenoweth to the hospital. After the race the boat was salvaged and taken back to Seattle. Starting on the morning of July 20, 1970, the Budweiser crew, let by crew chief George McKernan, worked around the clock with builder “Fast” Eddie Karelsen to repair the boat. By Friday, July 31, the damaged boat was repaired, repainted, and back in the pits. Chenoweth, nursing a sprained left arm, qualified the boat, and on Sunday, August 2, 1970, he won the race. Local newspapers heralded the achievement with headlines that read, “From Columbia’s Bottom to Seafair’s Top” and “Miss Bud Resurfaces to Win!” Chenoweth won the National Championship with the Miss Budweiser team again in 1971. In 1972, Chenoweth moved to the Notre Dame, and Terry Sterett, Bill Sterett’s son, became the first driver to compete in a hull previously driven by his father. The boat was retired in 1973 and eventually sold. She appeared briefly in 1974 as the Country Boy and then n 1975 as the first Miss Vernor’s. The boat was later bought back by Anheuser-Busch, repainted as the Miss Budweiser, and given to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation. It was displayed at the Indy Museum of Speed for a short time but was moved into long-term storage. This winter, the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum acquired the boat, and she will not be on display at the Hydroplane Museum in Seattle. The ’68 Bud is cosmetically in beautiful shape and makes a wonderful display. No decision has been make about restoring the boat to running condition, but it’s fun to imagine this beautiful gold and red boat streaking across Lake Washington.

I agree with SWG. He's one of the best around here for sure. The thinners in the top coat got thru to the plastic. You can see a mold line in the plastic on the fender thru the paint. Another thing that may have happened is sanding the primer may have reduced the thickness of the primer and that made it easier for the top coat to do some damage. The first coats of the final color should be sprayed very lightly and allowed to dry a little before heavier coats are applied.