ChrisBcritter

That tiny lathe was cool, too - another "Why didn't I think of that?" idea.

They always have those pyramid-shaped custom taillights, don't they? Let me know if you need the stock bezels; I've cast up a few sets. Just hit them with your Molotow pen BMF silver Sharpie, add a little piece of clear red for the lens, and done. The front wheelcovers are from the '61/'62 Buick Special wagon; good trading material if you can cut off the tire melt.

I'm using the transparent red dye Alumilite makes for their two-part clear resin. It doesn't take very much - a small drop will tint 1/4 teaspoon of resin very dark. They also make an orange dye you can use for turn signals.

Looking good so far, Gareth! For all who asked, the wheel covers are resin copies of Jo-Han 1957 Plymouth promo wheels (I found ONE usable one in Model Empire's parts sale bin). They have the right look when the centers are slightly flattened with a ring added, and are the right size to fit either the kit tires or your usual AMT Firestones. Gotta be honest, though - I was always a WLS listener growing up, and a devotee of John Records Landecker...

Very sharp, Gareth - looking forward to seeing your WCFL Cutlass!

Bill, I just went through this thread and I'm amazed at your skills! Will be ordering the '60 Ford pickup emblems soon. Just a thought - how about the nose and rear door lettering, front door emblems and all the door handles for the Jimmy Flintstone early '60s Ford Econoline? It's a nice kit, but it's missing all those things. Thanks for all the nice work!

Update: Looks like the taillight experiment worked! Practiced on a few smaller lenses in the clear mold; 1:15 on top, then turned it over for another :30 and they cured with little to no dye fade (if anyone needs a set of '41 Plymouth or '52 Chevy clear red lenses, first PM gets 'em).

The 300-watt UV light arrived today. Put it to the test with AlumiUV on a headlight lens mold and, while it wasn't the 3-5 seconds Alumilite said, in one minute it was fully cured. Next I molded a set of '63 Plymouth Fury turn signals and got the same result; it was a clear rubber mold so I bet that helped. Later I'll try tinting the stuff red and see if I can get some good '65 Belvedere lenses (since Moebius didn't make them that way), and I'll see how Bondic reacts as well.

Nice work Craig!

with baseball bats

If the last 1998 issue was the one with the Linda Vaughn figure, then it may still be stateside - although Linda won't be: (from an eBay listing)

I can imagine using the V8-60 midget's engine to upgrade a T speedster - or downgrade a '37 Ford sedan. Was that engine detailed well enough to do some kitbashing? Back on topic. Again, any idea if the Hurst Hairy Olds was obtained by Atlantis, or would Revell have kept it?

Yes, made reservations

Sweeeeet!

Gently sawed the Torqueflite off the MPC '65 Dodge engine and did the same with the '62 Newport's 3-speed; got the automatic to mate with the Revell engine - crooked at first; sanded the trans a little and the block a lot to straighten them. Added 3 mm to the tailshaft and looks like it will drop right into the chassis. Also carved up the interior from the parts car, grinding away the door panels to get at the front seat so I can separate it and fill the gaps in the sides. Doing this will save some detailing headaches later, I hope...

And if you don't smoke, look at the foil seal on a container of Philadelphia Cream Cheese. It's a bit heavier than cigarette foil. Plus the cream cheese tastes better on a cracker than a cigarette does.

Then there was this '66 Fairlane GT promo which I took back to original. Before... ...and after: Tough part was getting that black paint off and its stains out, eventually got it with Testors ELO stripper and a lot of elbow grease. Got the bumpers redone by GT Kustom Krome (after dislodging the front one which was held on with half a bottle of Elmers Glue), touched up the taillight bezels and wheelcovers with Molotow, gave it a final polish, and done. Couldn't do much with the stripes (nobody I know of repros them, and neither the original kit nor the new version have them).

So hard to deal with the early promos, although some manage to shrink fairly evenly without too much twisting. Case in point: this '58 Chevy Nomad wagon. It was a bank promo and the coin box pressed against the roof, which kept it pretty straight. I compensated for the shrinkage by narrowing the rear bumper, moving the rear wheels forward, and adding material to the front fenders to fill in where they'd pulled away from the front bumper. Separating the windshield from the rest of the glass and a lot of filing inside the cowl and A-pillars got it to fit much better. Some paint touchups, repairs and a ton of BMF finished it - although someday I'll get the bumpers rechromed. Before: After:

Don't burnish it; just take a cotton swab sideways and roll the side of the tip over the foil to flatten it.

Coming right up!

Went by the Deerfield store and they were starting the reset. One of the stockers handed me a freshly-marked-to-$7.99 '62 Electra; I'll donate it to the LMMCC raffle next weekend (our first meeting since February). Went to the clearance section and found a marked-down '40 Ford sedan stuck behind some armor and aircraft kits and picked it up too. Haven't built one in over 40 years, so might as well... Went to Vernon Hills and they were doing the ultimate reset - stripping the store bare to schlep it all off to Norridge, so nothing there.

The front clip may be tough; take a look at a Jo-Han Rambler Marlin as a possible donor to get the more square shape for the top half of the fenders, grille opening, and hood.

Nobody misses Premier

Hit a local Goodwill store today and spotted a Revell 1/48 B-25J kit that looked complete for $2.99. Got it home and checked more thoroughly - no clear parts. Checked Revell's site - no replacement parts shipped to the USA now because of you-know-what-19 (plus they charge some unspecified fee). Found new clear trees on eBay for 15.00 shipped, which will make the total cost about what I would have paid at Michael's for a sealed one with a 50% off coupon. Take gun, point at foot, squeeze trigger.

Hit the Niles store today; found some aircraft and armor kits on clearance and one 1/20 scale Toyota pickup. There were holes for the kits Rich Costello mentioned, plus a lot of openings for Gundam kits. There's a bin on the top shelf with seven or eight Revell '68 Chevelles, but not marked down. Will try Deerfield again tomorrow and Vernon Hills.