hedotwo

I've found that if you minimize handling by pre-fitting those pieces that need it, will really help maintain the Molotow shine. That and being sure to wash your hands really well to eliminate alot of the oils before handling pieces. I found some tight fitting thin cotton gloves that I'll use also. Like most of us I dry the pieces as much as I have patience to. The dehydrator definitely shortens the time. Once the build is finished and in my display case I no longer worry about handling, although other folks find that an issue down the road.

Just what I'm in the market to purchase. I'll have to run to town tomorrow and see if they have it. Then again, gas to drive 25 miles one way (even in my Civic) to HL puts a dent in the Alumilite savings Thanks for the tip Mark

Slow progress, but progress. Spent time getting the interior to fit correctly to allow the stance to be better than what the kit wanted. This AMT 71 kit is basically pretty sketchy when it comes to stock stance. It was way too high to look natural IMO. After getting the stance where I wanted it I began work on the side pipe, having to shorten the length more to what I had. Also foiled the side marker lights and used clear orange and clear red. I made the flag "sticker" decals for the front fenders and applied. Last thing I was able to finish was cutting the headlights to allow them to fit deep into the headlight buckets rather than the stock "bugeye" look. Hoping to get more done this coming week... Below is a mockup of the side pipe before I cut it shorter.

Just finished a great trade with Brian (DRIPTROIT 71) and wouldn't hesitate to trade with him again. Thanks Brian!

I think Bill covered the "mechanical separation" of parts really well. Patience is probably your best tool . I've done many of these disassemblies and for the most part they all differ in how you approach taking them apart. The type of glue used varies as does the ease of disassembly. I've seen many types used and obviously the amount used. My most commonly used tools for disassembly are the straight chisel tip xacto, a set of small screwdrivers, various saw blades that are held with your knife holder, dremel, and the thin saw/scribe blades sold by Tamiya and Hasegawa. Clear glass removal can give me the most heartburn and I often just throw in the towel and mask off the glass really well after polishing. Not sure why but it seems we used WAY too much glue on glass as kids

Same experience I had. The durability seemed better than Molotow and the shine was close enough for me. Alot of times you really don't need a full chrome shine on trim pieces anyway. I've found that finger oils make a big difference in handling these types of pieces, especially Molotow. That and ample drying time helps as well. These aren't for everyone, and everyone seems to have opinons about this type of chroming, but they have their place as far as I'm concerned. Having these markers during this period when BMF is still sorting out their issues is great. If BMF returns to their previous self I'll likely begin foiling again. Definitely quicker to use the marker rather than foil but foil is forgiving when mistakes are made. I will say that while these Gundam EX markers may be a type of ink like Molotow the tips are different. I've used mine a few times now and although I'm beginning to see the tip show signs of fibers (I guess there has to be something like this to maintain fluid while using) it's still chiseled nicely enough to maintain a straight edge. How long the tip remains like this is to be seen.

Welcome!

Got around to getting the color laid down. It's a horse apiece between MCW paints and Scalefinishes and I use them both equally. This time I used the MCW Bright Lime, which was the correct '72 Pinto color that mine had. The first pic shows the difference between Tamiya's light gray and white primers. Not much difference on the photos but in natural light you could see the spoon on the left that had the white primer, came out a bit more yellow which my memory says was more correct. The right spoon had the gray primer. I was a bit concerned choosing the white and hoped it wouldn't turn out too yellow on the body but the greenish tint came through just enough with the white. Also worked a bit on the door stripes and rear window trim. Nice change from the big chrome barges I generally build in that there's very little brightwork on these little strippers. The following pic shows me using a regular Ultra Fine Sharpie to do the black window seal but after the pic was taken I switched to the black Gundam marker I'd picked up at HL for $3.99. It's a paint (their website says acrylic) marker rather than the Sharpie being ink. I really like the way it applies compared to the Sharpie in this case. The pic of the Gundam isn't the greatest but the tip is pretty fine. I picked up a gray one as well.

Thanks guys!

Other than the '66 AMT annual Galaxie were any of the reissues molded in white? I know the AMT/Ertl version is red. The "new" R2 release maybe? Least I think it's an R2... has box art similar to the annual. Thanks

Update... finished the bumpers to my liking and now moving on to the body work. Tried to flatten the leading edge of the bumpers to ready them for the 1.5mm black chart tape to replicate the bumper strips. Down and dirty way to do the bumper strips rather than my first idea to use styrene strips. I used Testor's Dull Cote brushed onto the tape to take the sheen off. The end result looks good from a distance but could've been better. The 'ol arthritis sometimes has different standards than what I'd like to accomplish with smaller parts and such The front posed a bit more of a challenge because of the sequence doing the painting of the grille, bumper "fill in" piece and the bumper itself. The lime green was done first and I tried masking off as best I could before doing the rest. That green was important IMO. I used strips of 1mm masking tape to leave the plastic bare where the guards would go.

Welcome Pascal!

Just a bit of progress... worked on the bumper guards a bit today. Used some 060x156 strip and made the needed notches and angle to have it mate up to the bumpers. I added a small strip of 040 half round on the face of guards. I'm happy with them. Flattened the leading edge of both bumpers in preparation to adding a bumper strip.

Seems really close to the '64 we had. Thanks!

Thanks a bunch Chris!

Anyone here have one of these 1/24 Greenlight '64 Winnebago travel trailers? I'm just wondering how the 1/24 trailer would look with a 1/25 pickup. Sometimes the scale difference can be large and sometimes not.

You may be right David. My memory from 50 years ago remembers Ansen as being what I'd bought. I remember them being something I could afford anyway ?. The style, as you know, was really popular late '60's through the early 70's and there was likely a number of manufacturers that had similar.

I picked one up at HL yesterday and tried it out on some scrap. One thing I noticed right off was the tip was different than a Molotow of the same size. This one seems a bit harder and chiseled nicely. It measures about 2.5mm at the tip. Molotows 2mm is rounded and can be kind of fuzzy. I find I usually use the 2mm Molotow rather than the 1mm because it seems less likely to pool up where you don't want it to. Besides, it covers better IMO. First impression of the Gundam marker is good and it may take the place of the 2mm Molotow. We'll see. Gundam 2.5mm: Molotow 2mm:

At a minimum the price guide is a great compilation of what was available and when. You can generally also see if the kit had ever been reissued. While the prices listed are obviously a starting point it will help those just beginning to collect/build avoid paying way too much for kits listed on ebay as "rare" "super rare" or "ultra rare". We've all seen those on ebay and have to chuckle, but they're preying on the new, uninformed collectors. So, don't use the current guide for actually buying or selling, but rather for the info it provides. My take on this.

Amazing you brought up the fact you were rear-ended. I too, was rear-ended and like you it never exploded! For those too young to remember, Pintos were said to be prone to gas tank explosions when hit in the rear.

So I finally am getting around to building a car that means alot to me. As a 19 year old I brought this '72 Pinto coupe home on 12/31/1971 and it cost me just under $2k brand new with WW's, bumper guards, AM radio and floor mats. Cash, no loan. Do kids today pay cash today at 19? This wasn't my first car, but it was the first "new" car for me. The stock 1600cc OHV 4cyl was short lived as I swapped it out by June with a 2000cc OHC that I'd found from a station wagon in a local junkyard. Easy swap out for the anemic stock engine but the 2L had an automatic where my 1.6 came with a 4 speed. I was able to mate the two with a clutch from a Lotus powered Cortina which took some research pre-internet! From my memory (50 years ago) I remember I'd added a tubing header (I think it might have been a Hooker), slotted aluminum rims (I think Ansen's), D or E 60 series tires, aluminum intake with either a real small Holley 4bbl or a large Holley 2bbl. I had an exhaust pipe fabbed up to meet a Thrush (I think) side pipe. Not two, just one ?. A couple of pix from '72 show the car without my adding the lower black striping, fender USA flag sticker, and side pipe. One shows the original OHV cyl. The wedding pic is from the summer of '73 when we got married and show the dress up stuff I'd added by then. Color was Bright Lime and the interior was a darkish green and bright white. I'm starting with an AMT '71 Wonder Pony kit (real close to the '72 other than the seat pleating I think) and needed to source a side pipe, tires/rims (thanks to Steve aka Rodent), some engine parts, and the fender decals (which I made). The bumper guards needed to be made from scratch and needed to add the obligatory Sun tach that we all seemed to have. This won't be a show winner but I'll be happy with it. Primered with Tamiya white. The gray made the shade more green than I remember, but the white brought out more of the yellow I remember. The engine is in primer too. I know, I know, the tranny is an automatic but I never sweat the stuff I never see once it's in the display case. The 2.0 as far as I'm going to take it. It's close to what I remember and that's the main thing. The older I get, the less I spend time on detailing. Some will roll their eyes but I've been doing this long enough to know what I like, and don't like, doing when building ?. Struggled a bit with getting the firewall/dash/glass/interior to look to my liking. Finally got it where I was ok with it. Next up I'll start working on the bumper guards. Thanks!

Kind of a follow up... I just searched for a Winnebago trailer and found that there was a diecast 1:24 1964 Winnebago travel trailer made. Amazing, of all the trailers they could have chose they chose a '64. Downside to this is that it appears to be longer than the 15' trailer we had and it's 1:24 scale. Granted not all 1:24 stuff appears larger than 1:25 but I wouldn't want it to look out of scale. Plus, it might be fun to scratch build one. Obviously wouldn't look as good as the diecast but I can overlook that if I do it myself ?

Years ago, when I was into WWII armor building I subbed to FSM. Be nice to see that article if it was online. I have some ideas already how I'll approach building it. The topper and maybe the '64 sixteen foot Winnebago ? Thanks

PM sent Brian, thanks!