ChrisBcritter

It was pretty basic; I just channeled the AMT body over one of the MPC Super Stockers chassis, cut down the rockers, and added window frames (carved from a Revell '53 Chevy) to make it look like a slightly chopped two-door sedan. A few heat-induced crumples, a brush paint job, some gray-brown "weathering" applied with a toothbrush splatter, and that was that. As to its fate, I traded it and the rest of the junkyard diorama to Tom Beauchamp and Gary Neuhardt for some unbuilt kits. They incorporated much of it into their display for the World of Wheels car show; last I saw in the late seventies, the car was repainted solid red, with "Brame Auto Body" added to the rear quarters . Since then...?

Big relief to hear! Looking forward to it.

Looks terrific, Del! If it's any help, here's a couple shots of a base model LeMans dash, with no a/c and radio delete: Sorry it's a bit blurry. This was a coupe but you get the idea.

How about a real '60s touch - use the Cibie lights from the Fireball 500? They're one-piece chrome but could be recast in clear (I could be persuaded to make a set!) Any thought about taillights? The custom units from the '64 Falcon kit come to mind:

I'm tempted to get the new Pepper Shaker, since the last one I built in the early '70s didn't have a lot left from the original kit: I do have some extra NOS Styline front ends that aren't in the new kit - anyone have the Styline rear end? Let's talk trades...

I'm in the minority here, I bet, but it would have been nice to get the stock full wheel covers on this kit. Luckily I have an extra set from the AMT Bonneville (thanks to Tom aka feretzrus for casting them from my originals!).

Should be pointed out that, back in the day, many hot rodders who couldn't find a real T roadster body would make do with the front half of a touring. These were easily spotted by the front edges of the rear door jambs that remained after the rear half was cut off. Not elegant, but definitely period-correct!

Maybe mine? '64 roof and rear package shelf transplanted to '65 convertible body and interior. Missing Link did a '65 sedan body a while back; when I asked if it would be reissued the answer was "no". And I would love to see a photoetch set for it, maybe with extra "Continental" scripts in the larger size for the '61-'63 kits.

Wonder how they chose the license number? 1CJL526 was a 1981 Nissan 200SX that last passed smog in 1997, per the CA DMV smog test site.

Oh yes, I keep it pointed away from me and toward the mold - and then plug it in. Another successful experiment on the '58 Ford: Took the mold for the taillights, first added clear resin over the backup lights and cured it. Then did the lenses a layer at a time like usual. Once they were cured, I poured regular two-part Alumilite white resin in the mold to make the bezels. Once that was cured, I was able to pull the complete units from the mold (what a relief!). Now to figure out those backup lenses with the tiny red reflectors for the '64 Chevelle...

The experiment continues. I bought a small plug-in HouLight 10-watt LED UV light on Amazon for a little over $20 shipped. So far, here's the scoop: Clear parts are now cured solid, no stickyness, with about 1- or 1 1/2-minute exposure (I just put the light on top of the mold or slightly above it). I attempted to make some larger parts - wheelcovers - and it does work, although regular 2-part resin seems to work a little better. There's a small surface tension issue with the clear that the two-part doesn't have - sometimes it pulls away from the mold slightly as it's curing. Small pieces work well - I'm turning out headlight lenses easily. As for the red lenses, it's still tricky, and I still have to use thin layers, but they're curing a bit better. One new wrinkle: I tried curing some taillight lenses for 3-4 minutes with the surprise result that the red dye faded away a lot!

Sweet - hope I can make mine look so good!

Looking forward to more, Tony!

Since it's Brazilian, maybe this would be more likely?

I resolved to finish something this year, and I did - restored a damaged '64 Caddy convertible promo, after I dismantled it to cast the front bench seat. Rah rah for me ; meantime, the '58 Ford still isn't finished and I've started at least three other projects...

Yeah - I got ten years on you and if a bum like me can do it...

Revell had another contest like this in Boy's Life magazine in 1964; first prize was a retired F-86F Sabre jet fighter. A Cub Scout in North Highlands, CA won it and had the plane displayed at his school; it later was moved to Gaviota, CA and finally ended up at McClellan AFB where it's still on display: http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=58069&p=572914#p572914 (scroll down to my first post)

Got the roadster near mint unbuilt for $3 at the DuPage meet; it's in my to-do pile. Looks like a very nicely detailed kit, and yes, I'm looking forward to fitting those headlights too!

Thanks! The Mini underpinnings are what interested me too. Always trying to think of some use for odd parts like that.

Nice clean build! I know some of the old Revell show cars can be fiddly to assemble; any issues with this one? And can we see a shot of the drivetrain from underneath, or is it enclosed?

Nice to see you do justice to one of the old Pyro Classics. Have you built one of their '32 Pierce Arrows yet?

Been sniffin' the glue again, son?

Note how the artist made 1/25 scale cars look like 1/12 scale. And how you'd build a channeled Deuce 5-window with an exposed engine from All-Star parts is beyond me, unless you had some Aurora and Pyro kits to borrow from... That said, hey Round2 - Scale Stars '32 and '40 Fords next, pleeeeeze!

Has anyone here ever tried to build this '64 Starfire based on a Jo-Han '63? You'd need these wheels from the AMT '65 Olds 88 (or use the '66 Nova wheelcovers), but largely it would involve modifying the extreme front and rear. The talent on this board could do it, I bet. Maybe a task for Airtrax?

A couple photos of the car I picked up at the Pasadena City College flea market many years ago: Note if you're building it as it appeared in the movie, the twin windscreens stop at the cowl, there's no center divider between the seats, and the headrests are thinner.