Peter Lombardo

I think my humor was missed a few posts ago. I have 5 AMT 49 Merc's and I plan to build all of them plus how ever many Revell newbee's I can get. I have such great memories of this kit when I was a kit. I won my first ribbon in a model contest with a 49 Merc. It has a special place in my heart. My older brother owned a stock flat head 2 door ( I wish he still owned it) when I was 15. What a beautiful car it was, even in its tired pale green paint, it had class and always held it's head high, like it knew even then it was a pure classic. I will build all of these 49's, but the Revell version will be easier since it is pre chopped. Kind of like a "Cob salad". Anyway, Since I have been coming to this forum, I can completely agree with Marc's assessment as to the support we all try and provide each other. This is a hobby first. It should bring you pleasure. It is one of the places I go to to get away from the stress of making a living and running a business and dealing with it's problems. It helps to keep me centered. It is also a lot cheaper in the long run then going to the bar every night and drinking away problems. Don't misunderstand me, I am not ready for the anaylsis's couch but this hobby is a great place to go and relax. Look, I love it when I post a new build and hear nice comments, but the truth be told, I build them for myself. I like to try different and stimulating projects, but really, I just want to build something. I love to work out problems with each build, that is why I try and push myself everytime I begin a build. Enjoy your time here, and at the workbench. It could be intimidating to think your builds will not match up to some of the great builds posted here. I say, so what. If you enjoyed the build and did the best you could then that is all that really matters. From what I see, there is great support here....use it to your advantage.

I don't build that many import cars anymore, so maybe I just missed it, but what kit is this? It looks very interesting. It is calling out for a wild paint job. P.S. I agree with the wheel choice....I'd go with the Fujimi's.

Lets take a quick look into the future. It is late winter 2009. Chevrolet is getting ready to launch their brand new 2009 Camaro coupe. They have promised a convertible version once the coupe is up and selling. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Camaro Indy Pace Car, Chervrolet Division and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announce that the 94th running of the Indy 500 will be paced by the brand new Camaro Roadster. A special limited edition run of 500 uniquely painted Camaro's will be produced in Vanilla Creme Pearl with Burnt Orange Rally Stripes with a flame design up front and Special Door Graphics noting the date of the race. The interior replicates the 1969 version with orange leather and plaid inserts. Ok, back to reality, this is a Camaro coupe that I converted to a roadster, I added headrest flairs to the back seats and a Corvette style "waterfall" between the rear seats. The front has a new lower air dam with vents for the front brakes. I made the rally stripe patterns on the computer and cut them out on my brothers vinyl sign making cutter. ( I love this piece of equipment). The side door decals are modified from the 1969 Revell kit to reflect the future date and number of Indy 500 race. I painted the Camaro with a solid GM beige topped with Clear Effec's to give it a pearl sparkle and the used HOK Dark Orange Pearl for the stripes and HOK Yellow, Light Orange and Red for the flames. The plaid seat decals came from Scale Motorsport. Other then that, it is a Camaro coupe build. The 1969 Camaro Convertible in the background was built about 6 or 7 years ago and the only modification to it is the 3 part Nissan Snow white pearl top color (base white, pearl overcoat and clearcoat with hardener). Thanks for indulging me and as usual Complaints and or Comments are always welcome. Next up will be a Charger that you may have never seen or heard of before.

Harry, I just looked at your posting from 7/17. (I don't look at all of the headings all that often) We are thinking the exact same way. I have started to build almost this exact same car. I converted the 4 dr to a 2 dr. and was planning almost the same front end treatment (which is taken from the beautiful 68/69 design). My rear end design uses the 69 Charger style tail lights rather then the lights that Chrysler chose. Now I will have to move the build up on this one as I want to see it finished after seeing your great rendering of what Dodge should have done.

Ken, they look great. I have been thinking about doing a Mustang hardtop that would look basically like you have done. Now, I know how it would look. I tend to agree with you that Ford should make that car. Surely, it would be cheaper to produce and appeal to a different group of buyer. Nice execution. I really like the roof line on the Cougar with the reset rear window treatment. Nice work....Very cool.

Very nice. I really think Chrysler should have either produced a 2 dr version of the 300, and/or done the Charger as a coupe. I did a 2 dr 300 and have started a 2dr Charger, which is only waiting for more free time on my part for it to be finished. I like the "Hurst" idea, the colors should really look good on that car. Keep it going. I want to see more of this one as it moves toward completion.

Oh No, there goes my allowance for the next 3 months. I will need a few of these, but then what will I do with the 5 AMT 49 Merc's on my shelf? So many kits, so little time. Thanks for the review, when I saw this kit displayed at NNL East by Revell, I knew resistance was futile.

I love the color and the wheels look absolutely perfect for that period car. Curious though, what color is the roof going to be. Is it going to be vinyl and is it black or white? ( or maybe something else.) (remember the "Mod Tops" vinyl roof coverings?) Either way, looking good so far.

Very interesting idea. A little shading to the smoke will help quite a bit. But I think it needs one more touch to add a real note of realism to the photo. See if you can place a driver figure in the drivers seat. Even if it is just the upper torso and arms for the photo, it will make it look that much more realistic. Neat picture and idea, though.

Thanks Bill. The windshield fit problem is because the AMT 300 nose clip has a different lower windshield radius then the Revell body. So the Revell windshield that otherwise fits fine, leaves a gap at the bottom. Your Magnum should be fine should you decide to use the kit supplied windshield. I thought about using acetate for the windshield, which is what I did on the 4 dr 300 that has a chopped top that I built, but opted for the kit windshield for the sake of speed. By the way, I really am looking forward to seeing your Magnum build as it nears completion. I tend to be impatient when building so I don't always take the kind of care I need, certainly not as careful or precise as you are.

You hit it right on the money. I had the same problem with the windshield gap. I also filled it with clear epoxy. I then painted it black. The windshield wipers cover most of the problem area. But with all of the problems I encountered with all of the doors and hood and things and stuff fitting properly, the windshield was the least of my problems. Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it.

Fourth and final group of pictures:

Third group of pictures:

Second group of pictures:

Ok, just off the workbench, this is the 300 Touring Wagon that I had at NNL East on the primer table next to the Dodge Magnum Super Bee Concept. I made a few minor changes from the original drawing I did back in March. The plan was always to have sliding rear doors, Lambo front doors and two tone paint, but I added an orange tribal stripe, with a charcoal "shadow" stripe under it, to the final model as it was looking a little too sedate. When I started the project, I had no idea how I was going to do the two different style doors. They would not be using normal hinges. One night as I was working on the car, I was thinking about how to do the front Lambo hinges. I thought about building a complicated hinge like the new "UpTown" Revell kits have, but I thought I could do something easier. While I was thinking about it, I was using one of those new "Floss Holder" units to do a little flossing. I saw the thing on the work table and it hit me. It was the perfect size and shape for a Lambo hinge. You can see how I cut it and installed it. It works as good as I could have wanted any hinge to work. The rear doors required brass rods with tracks built into the floor and roof for the brass "slides" to move in. I fabricated struts for the rear hatch and hood, ala Bill Geary, only mine used wire insulation instead of brass tubing, which I now have acquired from a better stocked hobby shop then my local guy. I had made struts before, but never this thin. So thanks Bill for showing that the tiny little buggers could be built. I used metal washers from Home Depot for the disc brakes and wire mesh for the Bentley Grill. I have to say, this was a tiring and tedious build. With all of the openings, hinges and moving things, it really worked me over. Also, because I reworked the Chrysler interior into the Dodge body, there were "fit" problems all over the place. This was a difficult build that I had to handle far more then I wanted to. I am glad this one is done. It completes my Chrysler 300 modified builds The 300 chopped 4 door cruiser, Luxury convertible, woody convertible, 2 door coupe and now the touring wagon. All of these are on the Flickr site if you haven't seen them yet. Overall, I am pretty happy with the final look of this touring wagon, I am glad I did it, and the next time I do Lambo or sliding doors, I will know all of the tricks and pitfalls. Your comments/complaints are always welcome. Next to be finished is the Camaro Convertible concept which is currently waiting for a delivery of Aftermarket parts to complete it. I really like how this one is looking and it has a neat little twist to it. Thanks for looking. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpl3k/sets/72157594500070294/

Nice job on the doors, I really like to see opening features on these cars. Absolutely beautiful job on the flat head. Flat head engines have so much character, and you really brought it out on that engine. I'm looking forward to see this painted. Keep it going.

Bill, your build is beautiful as usual. I saw, what I think is the best part of this car first hand at NNL East....The motor. The detail work you did to that was truly amazing. Too bad it gets covered up. The level of workmanship is tremendous on the entire car, but the engine could stand on it's own. Great job...It was also fun to follow along step by step.

Hot off the workbench, I just finished and photographed my Super Bee prototype. (So new, the glue is not fully dry on the headlight covers). I showed this at NNL East in March on the primer table along with the 300 Touring Wagon(not done yet), but second in line to be finished after my Camaro Roadster concept. The Super Bee has a Dodge Magnum front clip, Chrysler 300c body, converted to a 2 door, the roof from a 1970 Super Bee (modified) and the tail lights from the same '70 Super Bee. Paint is Tamiya Chrome Yellow covered by Clear Effec to give it some sparkle. The stripes and lettering are computer cut and also painted with Tamiya paint then clear coated and waxed. The wheels were a steal from Radio Shack at a close out price of $1.97. (never thought I would use them, but I really like how the look on the Super Bee) Wheel spinners came from an Accurate Miniatures Grand Sport Corvette. I enclosed a few shots of this one early on so you can see the progress. I also shot a few pictures with the Dodge's Brother, the 300C Coupe. I guess you can tell I like coupes over 4 doors. ( After the shots were done, I realized I did not have the 300's door closed all the way, and I was too lazy to set up again and re-shoot it)Thanks for looking and comments/complaints always welcome. These are the drawings I did for how expected the cars to look. I made a few detail changes to the Super Bee. I blacked out the hood and rear view mirrors then added the graphic for "Super Bee" on both sides, changed the stripe to a straight one instead of turning down, as it makes the car look longer and did away with the fuel filler door on the rear fender as it looked to me to break up the flowing line of the car.

I just had a chance to open your posting today, yes, I am a little late, but I couldn't believe my eyes. That is absolutely the best smaller scale (less then 1/12) Ferrari I have ever seen. Bar none. It is perfect. Over the years I have been impressed with your work in the magazines, but this car is truly gorgeous. The rest of us can only marval at this kind of talent. Ferrari's and Jaguar's...there's something about Ferrari's and Jag's. Beautiful build.

Sure, just let me know. Interesting side note. The red Shelby you sent a picture of has the word "shelby" spread across the rear. The reference shots that I had from a Mustang Mag, show it on the left side and some photos I took with my cell phone at the dealership had the same setup. It was my understanding that the version like the red car was an early prototype but what do I know? Small point, but I know how some of us get crazy over the smallest detail.

Interesting idea. That low roofline really makes the car look sleeker. The body side contour line that runs from low rear to high front, is really accentuated with this roof line. Nice, I will look forward to seeing the finished build.

Great job, crazy fast build. I don't think I can stay awake for more the 3 hours at a time anymore, I sleep in short bursts these days, so I need longer to build anything. I have done two C5R's and have one more C5 and the C6 to build yet. Eventhough the Revell C6R builds to a beautiful race car, after the body mod's, I am still disappointed that they chose to simpify the chassis and engine detail. Oh well, beautiful build, you sure got it right. Ismael, I saw the same thing about the paint, you are right. I use an old plastic bag over my hand when I paint items that I hold in my hand. I am not afraid to get dirty, but people look at me funny when I have a rainbow on my hand.

Bob, Beautiful build, it may have been simple, but we all know there are countless ways something can go wrong. Very smooth. I will forever marvel at how some manufacturers get it, Jaguar, Ferrari, Porsche, even Honda (new Civic) seem to understand how to move a man's soul through a sexy design. It doesn't cost any more to make it beautiful. Jaguar always seemed to understand sexy and beautiful better then anyone else.

Darin, that is REALLY nice. I think you got the "edge" details of the seat "humps" sharper, and therefore more accurate then mine. Looks really good. If I could redo mine, I think I would go with a lighter, brighter color. It is such a dynamic automobile that it needs an exciting color. In hind sight, my color choice was too subdued. When you get around to the Shelby, let me know as I have another set of vinyl stripe tape that can make the striping a little easier. I also made the rocker stripes with the computer cut vinyl but they did not work out because they were just too small for the knife blade to cut out on the vinyl. Great job, keep it going. We all need to keep pushing one another to reach a little higher everytime we build. Take a few chances, it's only plastic. It's like that Dorito commercial, "Crunch all you want, we'll make more"

Here is the complete3d Shelby GT500. This started life as a Revell 06 Mustang GT Kit #85-2339. The engine was donated by Revell Mustang Super Stallion kit # 85-2571 with a modified intake from the Mustang GT. Fog lights came from MV Products LS21 (HO Train Lenses). The hood opening grills came from Plano Models Products #305, HO Tank car platforms, cut down to fit the openings, painted black. The Cobra Snake scripts came from two Model Car Garage MCG 2153 Mustang Scripts. Brakes are Pegasus #1093 19'' Disc Brakes. Wheels and Tires are Pegasus #2303 23" Phat Daddies. Front grills are cut from Scale Scenics Aluminum Micro Mesh, painted black. Rocker panel stripes came from AMT 1968 Shelby Mustang, kit 3 6541. Stripes were computer cut to the correct size. Once the car was primed, sanded, painted white, sanded, painted pearl white down the center, clear coated, the vinyl stripes were installed and the car was painted Intense Blue. Once dry, tape was removed and the car was clear coated. Once dried, it was polished with wax. Brian asked me about the headers and exhaust. The headers came from the Super Stallion and the exhaust was the Mustang GT with slight modification. I made the front wheels pose able and lowered the stance but 1/8 of an inch, but if I could do it again, I would lower it even more. I am pretty happy with the result and love the fact that I beat any manufacturer to the Shelby GT500 party. The Ford GT was finished a few months ago. It is an AMT Ford GT That has opening doors and front hood, which was scratch detailed from pictures I took of the actual car in a Ford showroom. I scratch built the rear deck based upon the conversion that can be done to the actual car. The entire rear deck lid front half was rebuilt. I detailed the engine and engine bay, replaced all grills with mesh and painted the car Very Dark Purple with white decal stripes. Again, I like the way it came out, I also did a coupe version, with opening everything that was photographed by that other magazine for the NNL East picture spread. Thanks for looking. Enjoy the summer, I am.