Snake45

This morning at Walmart I discovered Folk Art has a pearl white in their acrylic metallic line. I'm looking forward to trying it for white lenses.

I was thinking the 1G Firebird hood might be a resin copy of the 400 hood from the original '67-'68 ('69 too?), but that hood was molded in clear and IIRC didn't have any underside detail. So, not that.

I built the Revell around 1969 or 1970. A few years ago I restored it. Gotta do a post on it sometime. Tried to build another one in the '80s or '90s but by then the molds were shot and that kit's unbuildable today. But with the lovely Del Ray, we really don't need it, do we?

No, the biggest problem with this kit is that, like MPC's '69 Camaro, it was just halfassed converted from the '68 model. The wheel openings and body side character lines aren't right at all, and the body has other problems too. To get an accurate '69 Firebird, you'd have to kitbash this with something like a Revell '69 Camaro body, but I've never seen anyone want an accurate '69 Firebird enough to actually do that. I could do it, but there are about a hundred things I want to build more.

Creativity is not dead in our hobby!

Oh, I can imagine doing it with huge slicks as a "T-shirt cartoon" car.

Oh my, what a lovely box of glue bombs! I see at least two or three in there I'd have to start "rescuing" immediately. Great score!

I've been playing around with these recently. Last week I bought a bottle of Folk Art metallic blue at Walmart and am pretty happy with how it looks (just brushed on scrap styrene). Looking forward to trying to airbrush it on something. I think it will require a clear lacquer or enamel topcoat, though.

Very cool! I love retro builds. Drive on!

It's not a certainty that the brake fluid damaged the part internally, though it's a possibility. I know if you put naphtha on styrene and stress it in any way, it will crumble like a cookie, but let it dry out completely and it's fine again. I'd at least try polishing a small, easy section to see what it looks like. I'd use #1000, then #1500, then #2000 wetordry, wet, and then Wright's Silver Cream. Walmart's Trim nail stick 3-set would make quick work of it, but they haven't had them in almost a year and I don't know if they ever will again.

Happy Rat/SOHC/Side-Oiler Day!

They originally came out in Revell boxes. Have they been reissued under Monogram?

Exactly! Who has only one model going at at time? With a little luck, I'll finish up two in the next week or so, move two more up on the bench, and slot two more into the rotation!

Beautiful! When I get around to building my GT350H, that's exactly the way I want to do it. Thanks for the preview!

Dr. Snake's second opinion concurs. You'll have to sand and polish.

Or you could just squirt some Testor White Lightning into its cap, and use that. I like it better for backup lights and white turn signals/side markers, but it could work for chrome headlights, too, maybe.

It's here again!

Haven't thought about it for ages, but I MIGHT actually have one of these! I know I have their 1/75 Rufe floatplane. I hope to build it someday, and display it next to a JoHan 1/72.

Primer is a must with Aluminum Metalizer, as it will rub right off bare plastic. I forget what I used for primer on my 911--probably some Model Master military gray--but I didn't sand it, just shot the aluminum right over it. Came out great. The Tamiya silver job I just did, great big PITA. Had to strip the first one off and do it again. It was NOT a fun build, though it came out pretty okay in the end.

If you had headers, you weren't factory stock. (I had yellow Accel wires on my '69 Camaro 1974-1980, too.)

I can vouch for #2. Best silver paint I've ever done was a Monogram Porsche 911 with non-buffing Aluminum under Metalizer Sealer, rubbed out. Spectacular! I just finished a '70 Chevelle SS in Tamiya Aluminum with clearcoat, it looks okay. I did a '63 Vette in Model Master German Silver and it looks like silver metalflake. Will never use that again. Back to yellow/blue plug wires: I have NO problems with them on a Day Two, drag car, hot rod, etc. Just don't put them on something you're calling correct "factory stock." And BTW, I've seen red plug wires on some (real) early '60s rods and customs, so apparently that was a thing at some point.

My Pontiac wasn't a clearcoat with flakes in it, it was definitely metallic turquoise paint of some kind because it came off on the polishing rag. Which surprised me because other than the scuffs, it was so smooth I'd assumed it was molded in metallic turquoise plastic. Only then did I notice that the chassis/interior were molded in the same color, but solid, not metallic. Will be interesting to see if a "clear pearl" will give a metallic effect to solid color. I'm skeptical but am willing to be convinced.

Agree. Or blue. If you're building a factory stock '60s car, don't put blue or yellow plug wires on it and claim it's factory stock. It's "Day Two" at that point and you might as well put mags and flames on it and jack up the back end too.

You can spray it with Dullcoat, or a matte or semigloss clear. Also, try rubbing it with a pencil eraser. This dulls down gloss enamel. I have no idea if it will work on your paint, but it's worth a test at least.

I don't think it can be restored, as I think it was a thin coat of colored metallic lacquer. I have a '65 Pontiac promo that had a light scuff on the roof. I tried to polish it out and was surprised when the metallic color (turquoise) polished off almost immediately and with little effort. Underneath the plastic was the same color but of course not metallic. Not sure how I'm going to proceed with it. I might give it a vinyl top, or maybe just give up and repaint it completely. Got plenty of other things to work on till a solution presents itself.