Snake45

I know that one! They're from the original AMT annual '66 Vette roadster. If they're not, they're very similar to those wheels. I've been carefully hoarding a couple sets of those and am planning on using them on some retro-stalgia '60s custom builds.

This might be kind of obvious, but here goes anyway: Stop using Metalizer as a primer! I wouldn't have tried it more than twice. Once might be a fluke. Twice means it's a technique that's not gonna work. Patient: "Doctor, it hurts when I do this." Doctor: "Don't DO that."

I guess you were a big fan of The Office and now enjoy Modern Family. Me too.

Local toy show. Big score--makes up for coming home empty handed last month. Two mint AMT '60 Corvettes, $8 each (one will become a '61). Built '72 GTO that should make a great weekend "glue bomb rescue" project a la my recent '69 Charger. Built '66 Wildcat I can use for something. Built glue bomb-ish Mustang II (no wheels or tires, but good and complete body) I can do something with. Built EARLY ISSUE AMT '72 Nova, without all the roof problems that all the reissues have had--that one's worth a full rebuild. Couple good sets of tires, and about a dozen useful decal sheets. Boo-ya!

I just finished a glue bomb rescue of a '70 Monte Carlo. Everywhere but the hood, the paint was good enough to respond to a "light polish," but the hood was the worst orange peel I've ever seen. I worked on polishing it for two nights and got it very shiny, but still very orange peeled. Finally got it down to a barely marginally acceptable level of OP but by then the color was starting to lighten up. Had to strip and repaint it. Fortunately, I was able to match the color. (Plan B would have been to paint the fender tops to match the hood, if it had been close but not quite close enough, and Plan C would have been to paint the whole hood matte black.)

One of my alltime favorite MASH lines was not by him, but about him (probably from Hawkeye): "His family crest is one beaver paying another beaver to build him a dam."

Preach It, Brother Steve! Can I get a AY-MEN from the choir? I agree with every word of this. Note the part about show cars and customs looking good in ultra-high gloss, even obviously repainted first class street cruisers. But a factory paint job wants to be more subdued and subtle, especially the '50s-'60s-'70s stuff we all love so much.

Then my work here is done! Actually, looking at the built frame pic above, that might make a cool little dune buggy on its own. Couple seats and a roll bar, hmmmmm. In addition to my original, I got two more of these last time they were reissued about a decade ago. Now with all the ideas flowing, I'm thinking of getting a couple more. I'm still not a fan of the top. I wonder if the custom fastback top from the AMT 260 Cobra could be adapted to work with it, and how that might look? Oh, and I also have an original Hot Wheels Python. I don't collect Hot Wheels, never have, but I have a (very) few of them, including this one and a first-issue '55 Nomad.

Very cool! I drove a '76 Skyhawk V6 for about five years. Peppy little beast! I liked it. I like where you're going with this. I scored a Monza promo cheap at the toy show last year. Only problem is some of the left front corner is broken off. That wouldn't be a HUGE problem except the thing is painted a nice metallic avocado green I'd like to save. I can rebuild what's missing, but the real challenge will be to match the paint. Good luck with yours. Drive on!

I happen to agree with you but I think we might be in the minority. At any rate, "too shiny" is not a problem most modelers complain about. Usually it's difficult to get a model shiny enough.

Unless, of course, you're going to paint it Carousel Red. I hunted down an orange one just because I want to do one for my Polished Plastic collection.

Is that all? You make it sound simple. Actually, it sounds like more work than I have a couple whole builds I've done. Good to know yours didn't fit any better than any of mine, though. Well done!

Great work, beautiful color! And the finish looks very factory, too. Well done and drive on!

I've noticed over the last few years that reading comprehension seems to be a dying skill. (It's not as bad here as some other websites I could name.)

Very cool! Where did you get the Gurney decals?

Don't use heat on that windshield frame. You'll ruin it. You MIGHT be able to bend it back into shape enough to glue the windshield to it. I restored a model recently where the windshield frame was quite bent, but I was able to super-glue the windshield to it and now you'd never know it. That one wasn't as bad as this. You might end up having to scratchbuild it.

Yeah, THAT's the kinda thing I was looking for. Thanks!

I was able to walk away from this three weeks running at Walmart. Just couldn't get over the size. In a related story, today Walmart had a Motor Max 2017 Camaro I hadn't seen before. I just finished building the AMT curbside kit, so had a real good fresh handle on the size and shape. It looked REALLY nice except the paint. A bright candy green, it was thin in places and had runs in others. And it would have been impossible to fix or touch up without a complete repaint. If it had been in a nice solid color I'd have bought it, but I walked away. But I'm gonna keep my eye open for a good one in my travels. https://www.diecastmodelswholesale.com/2017-chevrolet-camaro-zl1-metallic-green-1-24-diecast-car-model-by-motormax/ I see Diecast Warehouse has them listed in "Burgundy" and blue, too. I suspect they're also "candy" colors and therefore subject to the same flaws as the green one I saw. Not mail/net ordering this one--I want to see it in 3D before I buy.

Yah, looks like you've still got a little bulge in that area, but there's enough meat there to sand it down on your "good" one. Forgot to mention that you did a VERY nice job of fitting and mating the front fenders, always a tough go with this kit (or every one I've tried to work on, anyway). Bad fit wouldn't necessary have been a bad thing on this particular build, but you did it so well it looks like a one-piece body. Nicely done!

Different and interesting! Is that the top from the Revell '68 roadster?

Not long ago I got in the mood to build an old AMT '32 Ford roadster as an early '60s Altered, a la the box parts, and went looking for one there for ideas/inspiration. And didn't find a single one! Several '32 Ford coupes as Altereds, maybe even a random Vickie or sedan, but no roadsters! Did I miss one/some? Or were the Deuce roadster bodies even at that point too desirable/valuable to turn into an Altered monster?

Oh yeah, that whole front suspension is a deal-breaker for me. To fix it I'd have to sacrifice the frame and front end of some kit I'd rather build more.

Me neither. I have an original first-issue one I've had since new that I've marked up with my own modifications to make it symmetrical. Maybe I'll actually do it someday. The VW front suspension also gave me the idea of making a dune buggy body out of it. But that funky roof has to go. I'll come up with something else, or just leave it a roadster.

Different and therefore interesting!

AMT '69 Chevelle's rear seat is a separate piece you might be able to work with.