Snake45

It's quite simple. She's an ignorant idiot who thinks she can actually think. And, in just a few short years, she'll be able to vote!

I've always thought there was something "off" about the whole front end of this kit, from the cowl forward, but I simply cannot put my finger on what it is. That said, there's no denying you did a fine, fine job with both of them. I especially like the green one. What paint did you use on it?

I'm liking it! Good luck with it and do keep us posted on your progress.

Ron, lemme ask you something. I have a mint unbuilt AMT '65 Impala HT with a trashed roof & windshield posts. I have no interest in building it as a convertible or bubbletop. I bought an AMT '66 Wildcat for a roof donor, and then Revellogram came out with a better '65 Impala HT that kind of makes grafting a replacement roof on the AMT a bit of a moot idea. So I got the idea of putting a '65 Grand Prix roof on the thing and calling it a phantom Caprice or phantom Monte Carlo or something of the kind. How do you think a GP roof would look on a '65 Impala?

Wow, you pretty much nailed it!

These are quite nice. You can be proud of them! And welcome back to the hobby! Tell us more about your '64 Skylark. I drove a '65 Special 2-door post coupe in high school, and hardly a day goes by I don't wish I had it back, or could find another one...or ANY '64 or '65 Skylark or Special 2-door hardtop or sedan in drivable condition I could afford....

I just logged into my PB to get some pics for another member and was immediately hit with an add for the $399 deal, touting it as being only "just over a dollar a day!" So evidently they're not desperate enough yet to make me an even halfway reasonable offer.

Good heavens, Big Block Chevy engines aren't rare at all in scale. The one in the Revell Yenko Camaro, a '69 L72 427, is pretty much stock and might be close to your '84 454, though I really have no idea what the latter looks like. Others might have better suggestions. But they're quite common, in several different iterations.

Nature knows: One way or another, the herd must be thinned.

I didn't mean to sound defensive or "justifying." I did and do appreciate your comments and the time and effort you spent to post them. Your points were right on and well-taken. And, going forward, they might make me take just THAT LITTLE EXTRA BIT of care to make a better restoration. I just wanted you to know that I DID read and appreciate your comments. As I mentioned before, one of the keys to these projects is to "set your bar low and keep it low." I know from experience that it's way too easy to say, "Well, if I fix, this, then I need to fix that, and then I might as well redo this OTHER thing," and then before you know it, you've got the paint stripped and the model entirely in pieces that will never be reassembled. The trick is to know the point of diminishing returns--to know what minimal efforts will result in maximum positive final effect. And keep moving. Projects like this might not be for everyone, but I enjoy them. They are marvelous "slump-busters," for me, anyway. For example, before New Years weekend, I hadn't touched a model in any meaningful way in several months. But that weekend I dug up this thing and four other things I could easily kick through the goalposts. And I made myself get 'em done. And now I'm fired up to build again. Got two or three very active projects on the bench even as we speak, and am making a little progress on one or another of them almost every day now. And so it goes. Model on, everyone!

I appreciate your honest and thoughtful and constructive critique. Hard to argue with any of your points. Flash photography can often show things that aren't apparent in "real life." For example, this thing looks like it has blue bass-boat metalflake paint on it, but its really a very subtle metallic, almost to scale. In fact, until I got it home and got a GOOD look at it, I thought it was a solid dark blue. The flash is also revealing more naked orange than I thought was visible before I took the pictures. After polishing, I DID have a hairline of orange on the razor edge of the left front fender, which I touched up with a very fine point blue Sharpie. I can see in the pics there is just the hint of such a line of orange on the rear fender edge, too, though it's not apparent in real life. I do see some orange on the chassis sides and visible areas of the interior bucket--again, these are in shadow in real life and not that apparent. But shouldn't be too much trouble to touch up with some flat black on a brush. Same with the headliner--most of it had dark blue overspray on it but I exposed a bunch of orange when I had to chisel the tube glue out to mount the rear window. And when I Kryloned the gut, I seem to have missed the same spot on the back seat that the OB did. Probably worth another squirt. The orange around the trunk lines, again, is more apparent in the pics than in real life, but they're worth another look. A wash of flat black craft acrylic might clear all that up. Maybe a pass with the blue Sharpie. As to the rear wheels...as a general rule, I like to use as many original parts as possible in these projects, unless something is missing, or damaged, or I just flat can't stand it. With the black centers, I can just barely stand them. If this is a street car, it probably shouldn't have the big slicks on the rear, should probably have something like L60s, but again, that's what it came with and it does look cool with them. But on your comment, I'm gonna take another look at those other two oddball mismatched Keystones I have and see if they might work better on the back. And I might put L60s on back there, too. Maybe. As you say, shouldn't take more than another hour or two to bring the thing up another level. Truth to tell I was rushing to get five models finished New Years weekend to get them on my 2017 DONE list, and I rushed this one to the finish line so I could move on to the next. I think I'll eventually take your advice and put that last bit of effort into it. When I do, I'll post new pics. Thanks again for your comments, old friend!

This is a classic case of taking a fairly unattractive automobile and, with just a little imagination and a little work, turning it into a real eyesore!

Beautiful work, and that color really screams '50s! Well done!

Very very nice, very clean! Congrats on scoring this rare find and on building it so nicely!

Yes it is. Very cool!

You don't see these built often, and you did a fine job with it. Model on!

Very sharp build! A couple of the photos could almost pass for "real." Nicely done!

Never used this, but I've tried several different liquid masks over the years and have never seen one that works anywhere near as well as what you can make yourself from thinned Elmer's glue, a drop or two of dishwashing liquid, and maybe some food coloring if you want. Costs pennies and you can mix the stuff up by the pint if you want.

OMG, if Revellogram goes OOB, what will I do? I have a certain number of them in my stash, but I'm afraid it's not quite enough to last my great-great-grandchildren their whole lives....

Very nice and you really captured the early '60s vibe!

What a sharp, clean build. Many of the pics could easily be mistaken for a real car.

Wow--could pass for pics of a real one! Nicely done!

No, no--the front Keystones are mismatched left and right. I bought a baggie of four Keystones from a vendor, and when I got home and looked at them, they were four completely different wheels!. Finally realized that I could use them up on the fronts of projects like this, with opens or dish mags or something on the rear, because you can't see both sides at the same time anyway.

Didn't even know I needed this until I ran across it by accident on eBay, looking for something else entirely. The Buy It Now price was so reasonable (with free shipping, no less!) I almost sprained my finger hitting the button. Don't think you'll ever find a simpler model airplane. Four pieces--top, bottom, canopy glass, and arresting hook, plus two or three pieces for the display stand. This was originally a manufacturer's promotional model from the 1950s. Micro Scale discovered the molds back in the '70s and produced a run of several of different types of them. They were relatively expensive back then, and some of them are REALLY expensive these days, but I got this one for a really good price. I plan to build it and paint it Glossy Sea Blue and display it proudly. If it goes well, it might inspire me to build the other two of these I have in the stash--Douglas A2D Skyshark, and Convair XF-92. Yes, I know Tamiya kits this airplane today. I have one, and will build it sooner or later. And display it right next to this one.

Thanks. It takes what that Mike guy on the American Pickers show would call "a good eye." Not every glue bomb is a candidate for one of these quickie refurbs. You're looking for something complete, undamaged by breakage or glue, and with fairly decent paint. And, if it's a commonly available kit, CHEAP. There's no sense in spending a dime on anything that you'll have to paint-strip and repaint if you can go buy a complete, mint, unbuilt kit at Hobby Lobby for $15 or so. Now, if a subject is rare or long OOP, that's a different game. Such a glue bomb is worth more money and more investment of time and effort. The other trick is, when you start on one of these projects, set your bar low and keep it low. To keep a project quick and cheap, forget any notion of turning it into an "A-build" showpiece. Personally, my goal is just to get it to look as good as something I might have built and been proud of when I was 14-16 years old. If something comes out better than that, I'm especially pleased. I hope I'm inspiring others to "rescue" some worthy glue bombs. I hate to see a savable model tossed in the trash.