StevenGuthmiller

Just for giggles, I decided to add some rudimentary top mechanism detail to the inside of the rag top. Steve

Steve

It’s probably going to be a tall order, and most likely not worth the effort in my opinion. I’m always thinking in terms of scale with things like this as when you consider that everything needs to be 1/25th the size of the real article, that doesn’t leave a lot of room to achieve the texture, yet still keep it in scale. My thought would be that Brian’s suggestion would be the most likely to be successful and still remain somewhat to scale, but even then could be difficult to execute, and once done, is likely to be more or less unnoticeable in any case. Personally, I think that I’d just stick to trying to do a convincing regular vinyl top, which in itself is not always an easy undertaking if you want it to look in scale. My opinion is that in a great number of cases, attempted vinyl tops on models exhibit way too much texture as is. Steve

Something makes me think that the scale of something like this would be way off. Steve

Good luck to your friend! Steve

The Revell ‘69 Dart has an automatic. I used it with the Hemi in my ‘68 Coronet. Steve

On hold. Decided to start a ‘64 Pontiac Lemans instead. Steve

I appreciate that Trevor, but I bought a brand new Revell '66 Goat to rob for parts for this project, and the console in the '66 is exactly the same as the '64. Steve

Thanks everyone! Getting closer on the top, and beginning to open up the body so that the top sits down inside rather than just resting on top. I narrowed the rear glass by adding some fill panels to the sides, and then added a thin piece of shaped plastic to the bottom of the rear window opening. This will give me something to attach the rear window to, and insure that it will retain it's concave shape when the top is not in place. Once fitment is exactly where I want it, I'll begin adding the boot snap trim and finish up the piping and seals around the window opening. Steve

I’ve never trusted those clips in the first place. I’ve had old kits with them that there seemed like there was a possibility of breaking the hood when opening it. Don’t know how else to explain it, but personally, I would never use them. I’ve just gotten myself used to knowing that the hood is loose, and take that into consideration when handling the model. Eventually it just becomes force of habit. Steve

For a ‘64 Dodge, there’s no need to go through all of the work of making bucks and vacuum forming glass. The windshield is relatively flat without any compound curves and should be pretty easy to replicate in clear sheet plastic. I use .007 “Lay Film”, tape it in place, glue with clear epoxy where there’s no tape, and once cured, remove the tape and add more epoxy. once done the glass should be perfectly formed in place, and with the epoxy, it’s not going anywhere. I’ve used nothing but variations of this technique for some time. Haven’t used kit glass for any of my builds for some years. Steve

I can’t disagree with any of that, but I guess if I made the decision to build a box stock model, and enter it in a contest, I would just build it as it came from the box and go with that. In any case, if it so happened that it did not meet the rules for that particular category, I wouldn’t let that stop me from entering it in a different category. Steve

I suppose that there might be a way to thin kit glass if you really want to do a heck of a lot of work for absolutely no reason, but I wouldn’t know how. I’d be interested, and very surprised, to see if anyone has ever attempted it. I have my doubts. Steve

Exactly. Without knowing a particular contests specific rules, there’s no way of knowing, which is why my suggestion is to build it how you want to build it, and let the proverbial “contest chips” fall where they may. It really makes little difference which categories you compete in. The category Itself has little bearing on the quality of the competition. Every category has it’s “gods” that you’ll have to compete with. Steve

My understanding is that you may only decorate with paint, and foil for a box stock build. Everything else must be contained in the box. There may be variations as to what may be performed as modifications from show to show, but if you suspect that there may be issues, just do what you want to the project and then enter it into the corresponding category. I would never let my creativity be dictated by a contest category. Compete in whatever category your build ends up in. Steve

No. Mostly rod and strip. Steve

My understanding is that the rear window was plastic. Steve

Thanks guys! Began some of the piping and side window seals this afternoon. It's beginning to take shape! Steve

A little more progress on the convertible up top. Added the top bows, filled with glazing putty and sanded. Also added the "beading" along the rear bow ahead of the rear window opening. I will still be adding the piping, or beading around the window openings, and then removing the portion of the top below the rear window before I prime to see what I've really got so far. Looks a little like a mess at the moment, but the shapes are looking fairly good as far as I can tell. Steve

Steve

Epic! Steve

That is true. It feels a lot like wax paper. Something makes me think not really compatible with paint. So far, I’m still thinking a couple of coats of primer filler is my likely avenue. Steve

Sure. Whatever works. I just use eBay because I can shop according to who has what at want at the best price so I don’t have to search through a dozen different sites. Just easier for me. Steve

If he needs some, I'll just let you send them. Makes more sense to mail more than one. Steve

No. Any high gloss base will work just fine. As a matter of fact, it doesn't even need to be black. Many use gloss blue as a base to give it a little different hue. Steve