Snake45

I was taking another look at the Revell snapper vs AMT vs Monogram bodies last night, with a Classic Metalwork diecast thrown in as well. The Revell snapper definitely has the most accurate body sides. I can kinda see what Ron is talking about about "the greenhouse is too short." Didn't get a chance to lay a caliper on anything yet but it looks like the roof area might be just a hair short front-to-back and a hair short in height, almost like it's chopped just a bit. It might be that the window openings are on the small size, and opening them up a bit might help. (Not gonna do that, as the body I'm working with is already painted.) These problems are so subtle--to my eye, anyway--that I wouldn't have noticed them if Ron hadn't mentioned it. It's not going to keep me from finishing this build. The cowl induction dome on the Revell snapper hood is definitely too small--too short, possible a little too narrow as well. I didn't get to investigate it closely, but it looks like the AMT hood might fit the Revell snapper body, if you want to do a full-detail build (or just can't live with the small dome). If it's not a direct drop-in, I'm virtually certain it could be made to work with little work. I'm starting to think we could use an all-new full-detail '70 Chevelle kit in 1/25. If they could set it up so that '71 and '72 adaptations could be added later, so much the better. But honestly, I just don't see it happening.

No, but I might be doing the same thing with the '67 Cyclone soon.

MUCH better. Great color, too! Drive on!

I wish Revell would reissue the Monogram 1/32s--Fiat, Willys, '34 Ford, Lotus, etc. They were kinda cool little kits! (I still have a built Lotus survivor in remarkably good shape considering it's over 50 years old.)

Don't forget you'd have to chop that chassis four scale inches. Not a big deal if you know it going in--don't discover it after you've got the chassis built and detailed!

On second look, this is about as nice a build of that kit as I've seen. I have my problems with this kit itself, but you got everything it had to give out of it, my friend. What's next from you?

Believe it or not, I am an editor.

I thought it looked familiar. Sweet work!

Really? You could get a Pontiac engine in an Elky in '66 and '67?

Sweet! But you need one in Harbor Blue with Larkspur Blue top.

Very nice. Nicer than the original IMHO. Great color--what's the paint?

Couple weeks ago I bought a Black Widow just 'cause I hate driving all the way to Hobby Lobby and coming home empty handed. Now I know what it wants to be.

"Period sales brochures" are a good and helpful reference, but far from authoritative or definitive. Most of them were produced and printed up in summer, long before the first cars were anywhere near the showrooms. All kinds of things would be added during a model year run, likewise other things could be dropped or changed before production even began. Just sayin'.

Didn't at least one issue of the AMT Sunbeam Tiger have Minilites? Those might pass for 13" in 1/24. They might be 5-bolt, though.

Very cool, clean, and interesting build! One could debate whether the SOHC would destroy the rear tires or the rear end first, or just wheelie-flip the whole car over onto its back, but there's no denying the craftsmanship and care in this build. Well done and model on!

The wood trim upper part as seen in the third (blue) pic might have been an option, or it might have been a Malibu thing (see nameplate on the glovebox).

And BTW, the worst primer I've ever used was Model Master Primer in the bottle. I cut it with lac thinner and shot it as normal, and when I went to sand it, it gummed up like nothing I've ever seen. Last time I ever used it and of course I'll never buy it again. But I use plenty of their other flat paints as primers with no problem at all.

I never worry about engines on my diecasts. They're purely shelf models. I'm working on one right now where the hood won't lay down unless you press on it (not uncommon with diecasts). I'm planning to superglue it shut. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy that Mustang, but if I ran across one at the toy show or something for $10 or less, I'd buy it and Snake-slap it into a decent shelfer. I've done it with worse.

Very nice!

Don't forget that a paint doesn't have to be marketed as "primer" to be a good primer. Try several kinds of rattlecan flat paints and see if you find one that sands well and works as a good primer for you. When airbrushing, my standard procedure is to prime a car body with the closest Model Master military flat paint I have to the final color I'll be shooting.

Really? They still have it listed on their website. http://www.plastikote.com/products/Primer/Sandable-Primer.html Although you're right it is harder to find than it used to be. Not as good distribution as before.

Plastikote T235 is my go-to on the rare occasion when I need a high-build, sandable primer. It's gray. I think they have it in other colors under other part numbers.

Now that you mention it, I think the instruction sheet calls them "Cal" or "Cal Custom" Road Runner wheels. And I seem to recall trying to find something about them under that name with a similar lack of success. Interestingly, I recently found one of mine with several wheels I lent to Brad for duplication in the early '90s, so it's very possible that R&M of Maryland offers these, or did at some point. I know they cloned my '66 Charger and '68 Camaro dog dish wheels and this was with them, so maybe, just maybe....

Unusual subject and a good plan. Drive on!

Oh yeah. I been carefully collecting a set of all the '66 custom parts and hope to build a completely box-stock '66 custom in the very near future. (I have a body with missing windshield frame and some other damage that's still pretty nice but too far gone to bring back to factory stock.)