StevenGuthmiller

I love those Mopar "High Impact" color names! Dodge had "Sublime", "Go-Mango", & of course, "Plum Crazy". Plymouth used names like "Vitamin C" & "Lemon Twist", & the purple was "In Violet". I read something once where Chrysler had toyed with the name "Statutory Grape" for the purple, but as you could guess, better judgement prevailed. Steve

Unfortunately, Mercury was extremely boring with their interiors at this time & most every convertible I've ever seen had a "monochromatic" interior. I did a 2-tone on mine when I built it. One solid color just doesn't cut it on these late 50s cars! Steve

According to paint charts I've seen, the code for this bright yellow was "Y-1", also known as "Top Banana". The only other yellow in '72 was a pale yellow, "Y-2", called "Yellow". Steve

Plasti-Zap medium & Testors Clear Parts Cement. All I've used for 20 years. Steve

Thanks guys! I'm not 100% sure yet John. I'm leaning towards doing it in Chestnut, although I know it's not factory correct. I just think it might need a splash of color with the black body & black top, & white would just look out of place IMO. Black would be........well, more black! Steve

I just used a candle. Steve

I'm liking it so far! Although I'm no fan of modern wheels on old cars, I like the stance! I need to dig mine out soon. I have a hole to fill in my '58-'61 Bonneville collection. Steve

I'm guessing this technique might work even better by using something harder to make the mold. Plaster or something along those lines would give you a harder mold to press into. The softer mold that I used may have a tendency to distort a bit if pressing the heated plastic into it too hard. I have some quick set drywall mud laying around that I may try. Although this seemed to work ok. Steve

Al. I went by this photo. The center is a black back ground with a gold anodized crest in the middle. The area around the fins is aluminum. Steve

Getting fairly close on the interior. For some reason, this color combo was giving me real fits to try to replicate, but I think I got fairly close. Just got the pearl coat on tonight & still have floors & foiling to do. The body is nearly finished in the polishing department & then I'll be ready to start foiling that as well. I'm sure some will find this "Chestnut" interior scheme with the black paint a little odd, & I have not seen photos of this combo, but as was the rule back then.....there are no rules. How did I do with the color guys? Steve

After several failed attempts to resin cast headlight lenses & a lot of wasted time trying, I thought I'd go back to what I know.......styrene. I decided something as small as a headlight lens should not be difficult to form from heated clear sprue. I was correct. I found a suitable donor lens & made a mold from it in Alumilite mold putty. Then took a simple piece of round clear sprue, (I'm sure any clear plastic round rod would work) heated the end until very soft & pressed it into the mold. After a few seconds of hardening, I sawed off the back to the thickness I wanted, gave the back of the lens a quick sand & a light polish to clear it back up a little & viola! Looks like I'll have all of the headlight lenses I'll ever need for future builds. Steve

There must have been a bunch of these "Junior Craftsman" kits made. I see a lot more of these around than the annual kits, though there's little difference between them. I built mine from the same kit & modified an up-top for it. As for the interior, I would guess that a matching red & black interior would have been the most likely combo. Steve

That makes more sense to me. That explains why almost all of the earlier annual kits had convertible interiors in them. Along with the fact that some of the tops on the earlier hardtops were not as nicely engraved as the rest of the body. Some of them look as if they were almost an after thought. Steve

I do mine the same way I do scripts. Foil them right before the final color coat, clean them off with a little thinner on a tooth pick, & then clear coat over them. Steve

Welcome Chris! Always good to have fresh blood! That sounds a little creepy,.......but it is Halloween season! Steve

Very nice Pat! What is that color? looks very close to 1967-'68 Ford "Lime Gold". Same color I plan on using for an upcoming '67 Galaxie build. Steve

Thank you! You know, I'm thoroughly amazed that this thread is still alive! I'm completely humbled! Thank you to all who replied!! Steve

That's what I would have done with them. Being an ex-drywaller by trade, it would have been right up my alley. & if done correctly, may have even been a selling point for the house. Who doesn't love built in cabinets! Steve

Well, I've been looking pretty much every where & it seems that these cabinets are no longer made & supposedly hard to find. Probably because the modelers & diecast collectors are buying them up. I found several different sites with recall information, so I'm assuming that could be part of the reason that we can't get them anymore. What a bummer! They look like just the ticket. Steve

Thank you guys! Steve

I'm not really sure about the MPC kits, but that looks to be likely an original issue of the '72 GTO, ie. an annual. If not, it's an early issue. I know this kit has been re-issued several times. Steve

Basically, if the kit was produced the same year as the real car, it's an annual. One of the easiest ways to tell is by the box. AMT, SMP & Johan used generic boxes for almost all of their kits from the late 50s through the early 60s regardless of make or model. The contents were identified by a stamp or label on the boxes end panel. Individual artwork came along in the mid 60s for the most part. Johan had what was called a "flat box" which came along about 1963 & went all the way through to the late 60s. If you have anything you're questioning, just post a photo of the box on the forum & it will be simple for many of the members here to tell you whether it's an original "annual" or a re-pop. The '66 Olds you spoke of I'm guessing was a Johan Toronado? There was never a full sized '66 Olds kit produced & the 442 came later. The Toronado would have come in a "flat box". Plus, as far as I know, it was never re-issued, so it would be an annual. The '69 Riv was re-popped many times, so unless it came in a box that looked a lot like this, it's not a true annual. The '72 GTO would have been an MPC kit. I'm not 100% sure on that one. Steve

How cool is that!! Don't you just love these old annuals? Light blue is not my favorite color, but I don't think you could have picked a better color combo for this car! Absolutely gorgeous!! Steve

They don't get a lot nicer than that! Get that pocket knife away from that model! If you scratch that paint, we'll have to kill you!! Steve

Very nice Hans! Check your front drivers side wheel. The "PMD" hubcap sticker is trying to escape! Steve