Snake45

And here it is with the AMT '72 stocker (except wheels from a '70 Camaro) I built a few years ago. Note the differences in the front ends between the AMT and MPC bodies. [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB24_zpsd5mnovo6.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB25_zpsud4zlilw.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB28_zps08jukpkj.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB30_zpsfkcycchh.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB32_zpsanqpvioi.jpg.html][/URL] So it's not perfect, but it was a fun, challenging project that resulted in something just barely fit to sit on my shelf. Well, my high school builds shelf, anyway. It seems to fit in nicely with some of the freakish rides I produced “back in the day.” Thanks for looking, and as always, comments are welcome. Have at it!

This built MPC-bodied '72 Chevelle's wild fade paint job caught my eye at the local Toy & Train show last year. I didn't buy it—probably because I was already spending too much money on other stuff, if I know me—but the next day regretted passing it by. It wasn't there the next month (I forget if that vendor wasn't there, or he just didn't bring it), but it was back the month after that, and I quickly forked over the $10 asking price, thinking, “I can do SOMETHING with this freaky, unloved backbirth.” Here's what the poor thing looked like when I brought it home. Note the left A-pillar. [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB01_zpswe2zycae.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB03_zpstzffy2we.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB05_zpslw8m5zwo.jpg.html][/URL] I wanted to keep the paint job, which was the whole reason for buying it in first place, but my options were limited by the cutout in the hood specifically shaped for the Crower injector scoop. I could only come up with two ideas: Cover the hood hole with a black or aluminum-colored “Grumpy lump” and make it an early/mid-'70s Modified Production drag car (there's no way a thing like this could have been competitive in a Supercharged Gas class), or finish it as a mid/late '70s “Street Freak” of the kind that Hot Rod and Car Craft used to highlight in those days, between articles on vans, pickups, and “mini-muscle” cars. This was all before monster-tubbed “Pro Streets” hit the scene, y'unnerstand. I went the latter way. After my standard surgical disassembly with Xacto, thin screwdriver, and choice cuss words, my first order of business was to repair the severely bent (nearly to the point of breaking) left windshield A-pillar, which I accomplished using my trademark “fauxberglass” technique, as described here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/121962-fauxberglass-for-thin-strong-repairs/ That done, I needed to address the finish, which was both ultraglossy AND orange-peeled/dimpled (probably Testor Wet Look Clear). My initial plan was to shoot some more Wet Look Clear on it and rub that out, but decided that there was already way too much paint on the thing as it was (the door lines are barely visible), so I ended up just giving the body a quick polish with Wright's Silver Cream, which somewhat subdued both the “wet look” and the orange peel. Hey, it's still not one of MY paint jobs, but it's a little better than it was, and is now darn close to semi-presentable. It is what it is. Next up was to drop the rear end a few scale inches, and install some more age/type appropriate wheels and tires. I put AMT Parts Pack slicks on wheels from the MPC/AMT '57 Vette Gasser, an unbuildable kit that's a parts mine for things like this. That simple change made the model look 100% better (IMHO, of course). From there it was just a matter of laying my normal Snake-fu on the thing: Detailed grille, taillights, parking lights, and so forth, and Silver Sharpie'd all the window trim. Didn't keep clock on it but I probably have somewhere between 10 and 20 hours in it altogether. [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB07_zpslgifusai.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB09_zpswb5x0bzb.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB11_zpsyvqk4noe.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB14_zpsnkcyyhpm.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB17_zpsoibbvv0h.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB18_zpsfqoyku1i.jpg.html][/URL] You might (or might not) notice that the left side has some sort of “frosting” or “fog” in the paint that I couldn't figure out how to get out or fix. Here's the right side, which doesn't have the “fogginess” of the left: [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Snake45/media/Model%20Cars/Chevelles/72ChevelleB20_zpshfht94dz.jpg.html][/URL]

Very cool! What's the paint? It looks passably close to '66 Aztec Bronze.

If I were doing it, I'd scribe in the body's missing "panel lines"--front fender separations, front and rear caps, and so on. But that's just me, and you asked for comments.

They weren't in mine, and they're clearly not on the front (at least) wheels of the box art on that one. I seem to recall that the rears on mine were Torque-Thrust-"ish", and I replaced the fronts with Atlases from a Revell Yenko Camaro to more closely match them. I just looked at a Monogram 1/24 '57 Chevy, and it seems to have them (or something very much like them), but it looks like all four are the same size (rears not deeper).

I'd recommend either the AMT '63 or the Revell '67 Coupe over the reissued MPC '67 every day of the week. Actually, if you just want the '63-'67 shape on your shelf and don't care which year and aren't put off by curbside, the Revell '63 snappers--coupe and roadster--are fine, fine little kits. I've built two of each and would happily do another if the mood struck me--and who knows, it just might, if they reissue them in interesting colors (I have them in red, dark metallic blue, metallic red, and purple.)

The MPC detailed chassis is of course better than the one-piece AMT's, but I'm going to disagree as regards the body. Both kits are very, VERY similar in shape (the hoods are almost a perfect interchange), and both are inaccurate in the same way--they're just a little sharper, a little "sleeker," than the real car, though this doesn't really offend the eye and you have to study the matter in some detail to see it. But in detail and crispness of molding, the AMT body is much the better. The MPC molds are now so worn that the door lines are almost nonexistent. There is one way the MPC body is superior to the AMT, though--the A pillars (windshield frame). AMT correctly molded these for 1963, and then never went back and changed them for subsequent annual years. MPC's kit started as a '64 and thus has correct '64-'67 A-pillars. Actually I guess this isn't an issue at all if you're building an AMT '63 as a '63, but if you want to convert it to another year, or if you're working with an original AMT '64 through '67, it's an issue that needs to be dealt with. Oh yeah, the annual MPC '66 is the only source for an accurate '65-'66 big block hood. And the MPC '66-'67 factory side exhaust is more accurate than AMT's (not that either part has survived into the reissue era, so that's kind of moot). What? I'm a Sting Ray Nerd? Guilty as charged.

Another good tip is, after laying down your masking tape, hit the edges with either clear, or the masked color. Then shoot your second color. Personally, I NEVER trust the tape's edge "out of the box." It's rough, and it's dirty. I lay the tape on a sheet of styrene and cut strips with straightedge and razor. I've have very, very few problems with masking tape. And I use whatever Walmart is selling this week--I think it's usually Duck brand.

Not the one I built. Not sure I remember any issue that had them, but perhaps one or more did.

Yup. See what I mean? It's the first thing a skilled/experienced modeler sees, and after that, he's not too interested in the rest of the model. In any kind of contest or competition, those mold lines will take you out of consideration instantly. Very soon, YOU will be one of those guys who sees and can't stand those mold lines, too. As I said, you've got the right equipment, you've got the skills, and apparently you've got the desire to do a good job and produce a GREAT model. Drive on!

To be very honest with you, your best move at this point would be to strip all your paint, sand off all those molding lines, and then paint again. Whether or not you try to fix your paint "blemishes" and then clear-coat, when you polish, you're going to eventually "rub through" on those molding lines, and then you'll have to fix THAT. And even if you don't, the molding lines are so apparent to the eye that no one is going to notice any dust or other paint-boogers. You've got the right paint equipment, and are well along toward mastering the "right technique." (I use a variation of the Yost method myself, to spectacular effect.) But the best paint job in the world can't cover up bad bodywork. You seem to have the talent and the skill to do good work. With just a little effort, you could be doing GREAT work. I know this post might seem at first to be a bit of a "downer," but I am trying to help and encourage you here. Really!

Shiny!

What kit is that?

Here's what I did with mine. I think it even holds its own with a Franklin Mint (or is it Danbury? Can't remember.)

If I HAD to have it, I'd leave it the way it is, and paint the rear of it stoplight red like a huge CHMSL.

If it was built by Traco, it might be similar to the Penske/Donohue Camaros. Back in the early '90s, Hot Rod magazine had an excellent feature on the restored Penske '68 car and IIRC there were good pics of the cage and other interior appointments (amazingly, it had stock door upholstery panels). If you can't find that mag, I bet you could find similar pics of those cars on the net.

Judging from the chart and pics of the model above, I'd say Model Master Nassau Blue would be a pretty good match for UU-1.

Yup. I'm about to sand that thing off one I'm working on.

I think that one's Brittany Blue.

That particular shade of B-5 (there were several variations) looks very much like Model Master Nassau Blue.

I think it looks better without that roof scoop. BUT, of course, it's YOUR model.

I didn't think '67 Shelbys were available in that color, but a quick google-image search proved me wrong. I like the darker color better, but they don't look half bad in the medium blue, either.

I'd try to let it dry out for a few weeks, and see if it comes back to normal. If not, I might try coating it with superglue, as I do with common putty to strengthen and stabilize it. Common naphtha (lighter fluid) will soak into kit styrene, and not melt it, but will turn it crumbly, like a cookie. But let it dry out thoroughly and it's fine. I wonder if something like that might happen here.

I just stir it with a wood stick. Works for me. For thinned paint for airbrushing, I just shake the snot out of it.

That's a correct '67 Ford color, but he asked about Night Mist Blue, another '67 Ford color, which is much darker. FWIW, when I build my '67 Shelby kit, I want to do it in the same color, and I'm going to use the Arctic Blue.