explorer2770

Yep, I'm aware. I already pulled those decals, and the hood POLICE (needs to be larger), and will print some new ones once I finish some alternative markings. For some reason I must have been thinking SERVICE when I typed them up the first time. I would rather put PEOPLE COME FIRST, since that's the city's motto, but they didn't put that on the car.

Thanks guys. The kit is decent, just wish they didn't put holes in the roof for the light bars. I spend a fair amount of time filling in those holes, and then they still show up on very close inspection. The headlights and taillights pins are melted, so it takes a little more time to remove these for painting. I'm waiting on the glue to dry on the spotlight before I post some more pictures on this one. Charlie, I've been trying to figure out a way to do wheel covers for some fire chief vehicles. Instead, I made an SS version w/o rear spoiler a while ago using the wheels from the AMT '04 Pontiac GTO and bucket seats and central console from a Revell Escalade.

Working on finishing a 2005 Revell snap Impala in my hometown's current markings. In November 2011, Fremont transitioned from all white Ford Crown Vic's to black Chevrolet Impalas with white vinyl door coverings. On this one, I painted the interior to be tan (like the chief's unmarked), used the radio console from the Lindberg CV, and made my own, bigger, radar unit to replace the kit's smaller piece. Of course, Fremont doesn't use LED bars inside the cars now, so I left them off this build. The exterior drove me nuts for a while. I shaving down the molding to give it a newer look, then putty, sanding, more putty, more sanding, priming, putty, sanding, and it all looked good before the black went on. That was in November. Finally got around to properly mask the doors with BMF and spray on the white. The officer's side still needs some black touch-up. Still needs the wheels painted, a Code 3 Rx 2007 light bar, the passenger side mirror, license plates, and a few more decals to finish it out. For reference, here's a link showing the current Impalas. And a photo of the previous CVs. I'm not a real fan of the markings, simple black and white, so I'm working on building a few more variants. Will definitely paint the car white, mask the doors, then paint the black on. Here's one of the other variants that I've finished.

You can do the same cutting technique on decal sheets with a new Xacto blade and a straight-edge ruler, although it might take a few attempts to keep the size right. You can then shoot some Rustoleum reflective paint on the decal paper before you apply it to give it the reflective look. You should be able to find 1/4" white pinstripe in Advanced Auto Parts, AutoZone, and Napa auto parts stores. This will give you a 6" scale stripe. If you want a 4", you could use 3/16" pinstripe (would be 4.6" in scale, Napa BK 7354655) or cut 5/16" stripe in half (Napa BK 7354612). I know that NAPA sells 5/16" stripe kits, but you should check a local store for availability or order online.

Dave, This looks good. I love the detail that you added to the light bar. The van is nice and simple, but gets the job done. Are you going to use the custom grill for the other kit?

If I had known that that kit was in that bad of shape, I would have given you the other one. Hopefully you can work on one of the others for a while and come back to this one later.

Dave, it looks good so far. Check you email, I'm sending you a list of FD's in the county that you can choose from.

I had fun, this was my sixth trip to a Cincy Challenge and third time entering. I spent the afternoon with my friend Dave (Firemodelman) and get ideas and kits for next year. I was disappointed by the change in judging and the change in award styles. I'm already working on stuff for next year, but my willingness to attend in the future will depend on whether or not Dave attends, not the awards.