Snake45

I think you mean 119".

Right out of the can. If I'm gonna airbrush primer, I pick a Model Master military flat that's as close as possible to the final color. But I'm doing less and less of that these days, and using the cheap, easy Walmart stuff more and more. Right out of the can.

We got word they made it to Albany, GA. I looked it up and that's only barely out of FL, but at least they're out of FL and maybe have some head start on others. I've been keeping an eye on the various predicted tracks and models, and it doesn't look to me like there anywhere completely "safe" east of the Mississippi and south of the Mason-Dixon line. In other words, this thing could bring death and/or destruction pretty much anywhere in the southeast quarter of the USA. Cazart!

My wife's sister and her husband hit the road from Ft. Myers early this morning. I hope they have enough gas to get to where they can get more gas. They were planning to hunker down somewhere in Georgia. I told them they're probably going to need to come even farther north.

I'm using cheap Walmart flat white and flat black almost exclusively these days. I did love their gray even more, but they stopped making or carrying it. Wonderful stuff, works almost as well as Tamiya at a tiny fraction of the cost. One of the last few bargains left in the world.

For most of my junior high and high school years, the top part of my left hand was painted some wild color--candy red, metalflake green, and so forth. My Mom eventually gave up even asking me to try to wash it off before dinner.

Got my blue one yesterday. It's even better than Roger said. Shape is outstanding, the paint is quite nice, and size is very close to the 1/25 Lindberg/Palmer '74 body I just happened to have on the bench. It's definitely one of Welly's best--maybe their VERY best. I think with a little Snake-Fu, it'll look good enough to sit on the shelf with my real 1/25 models, not just with the other diecasts. I LIKE Challengers, but don't LOVE them. I've wanted to do a model of one for a long time, but there's always something I want to do more jumping ahead in line. This thing should very nicely fill the Challenger slot on my shelf. Now, Welly, how about a good 1/25 '70 Barracuda of some kind?

They might not be 100% correct, but I paint them with a dark gray such as (military) Gunship Gray, Panzer Gray, or Euro 1 Gray for the dark parts, and a flat aluminum for the light parts. These colors look good in scale. You DON'T want black for the dark color, or chrome for the spokes. You want some kind of dark gray and a flat silver color. If you want, you could make a more accurate dark color by mixing some flat or semigloss black into Testor Steel. The much-missed old Pactra Steel was a great color, but the Testor Steel is much lighter--not much darker than their Aluminum.

Corba (sic)--I kinda like that!

Whine and moan all you want, but that's a pretty nice looking model!

I stick my bodies on an old quart beer bottle for painting. For decades I held the bottle in my bare hand but lately have gotten tired of painting my hand. I don't use gloves but I HAVE starting putting my hand in a gray Walmart plastic bag, the kind you drag 10 or 15 of home every week when you grocery shop. Works great! Use once, throw away, cost: $0.00.

Got mine in the mail today. Have only had time for a quick look. Overall shape and look are pretty impressive. They hosed the shape of the roof somehow--I think it's in the shape of the side window openings--but otherwise very nice. I saw some molding flash on the wheel spokes and taillight bezels, but that's easily taken care of. Doors and hood don't open, but the trunk does, with some kind of opening whacky weapons chest therein. Photos and a more detailed review as soon as I get time. And then it will get some Snake-Fu.

From the review: Priced at $299.95 (Astro Blue), $365.95 (Verde Green or Sahara Mist Tribute Editions), $449.95 (Regal Black Homage Edition), or $465.95 (Burgundy Mist, Flame Red or Arctic White Enthusiasts Edition), includes worldwide shipping and handling. Wow! I have a pair of, I think, Maisto '65 Rivs (one silver, one blue-gray) in nominal 1/26 that I paid $10 and $15 for at the local toy show. They're VERY nice in shape and look good on my shelf.

Chevy Engine Red is a brilliant red-orange. Maybe you can find a generic red-orange that would work. Or, if you're airbrushing, just mix some bright red and some orange and you're there. I've used the big cans of real-car Chev Engine Red on kit engines. No problems with them being too hot, but I find they go on a bit thick and a bit too shiny, giving a not particularly realistic look. Best way to use them is to lay on several very light coats, which gives a thinner and a slightly pebbly appearance that looks good on an engine.

I don't often swap out chassis these days, except for the occasional "special" build, but we are truly blessed these days in having a great range of good chassis to put under older kit bodies.

Thanks for the extra pics! Very, VERY nice indeed. You say "loosely based on," but that's a better replica than many dedicated replicas that I've seen. What's the hood from?

Future should be dry/cured/handleable after 24 hours. It will be glossy, but if there's high humidity, it can dry milky or cloudy. But it will not tolerate ANY alcohol or ammonia (such as window cleaner) at all. I'd advise practicing on something you don't care about before spraying it on something you do. It handles a bit different from most paints. When you think you've got enough laid on, you actually have WAY too much. Go slow and light. The upside to the stuff is that it can be removed instantly with rubbing alcohol or ammonia. Frankly, after a couple decades of playing with the stuff, mainly on model airplanes, I've moved on to other products for clear-coating cars. Still use it sometimes for glossing decal areas on flat-painted model airplanes, though.

Ah, but are you paid well--very, VERY well, I hope--for this?

I know the Korean company Idea knocked off several Monogram airplanes (F4U-4, Stuka) and at least one Fujimi kit (P-51D). All of these were very inferior copies. The Russian company ICM knocked off Tamiya's P-51D. From what I've read/heard, it's as good as the original, or almost so, and modelers happily build them without apology.

About a decade ago I bought a lot or group of kits off eBay. When they came, they had nicely printed stickers on them (gold, maybe?) that said something like, "From the Personal Collection of Fred Ertl Jr." I wonder if that makes them worth anything? I don't even remember what kits they are. They're all still in the box they shipped in, and I haven't opened any of the kit boxes. I should dig that box out and see what I've got.

Very, VERY nice! Yes, more pictures, please, and more details on how you rescued that Corvette.

If the Phil Bonner Warbucks Mustang is one of the AMT first-gen funnies, then it would be a '65. The kit is actually based on the '66 tooling, not that there's much difference, but the "factory" Mustang funnies were based on largely stock Mustangs in '65 and had stretched noses, faired-over headlights, and many more modifications in '66. I THINK Bonner had one of the stretched ones in '66.

Don't overlook red primers. I've seen some that are in that "oxblood" neighborhood, and you can hit it with a satin or semigloss clearcoat for a leather or vinyl look.

The Landy book has no details, or mention, or photos, of a '68 Super Bee. It does specifically say that he did NOT campaign a 383 Super Bee that year. There are many photos of the R/T. The pic above seems to have been from the same photo shoot as a number of other pics of the Charger and R/T together, and I believe these photos were taken before the SB was even introduced. I believe with a high degree of confidence that the car in the pic is the R/T, not a SB. Unless, of course, someone can come up with a photo or other good evidence.

I'd say go to Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Hobby Lobby and see what they have in the Krylon and Rustoleum lines. I'll bet they have something that will work for you. In fact, at Walmart just this morning I was looking at a Krylon red that I wouldn't call especially bright, but I don't know if it would be dark enough for what you want. Come to think of it, you can go on the Krylon and Rustoleum websites and look at all their different colors in their various rattlecan lines.