Snake45

Yeah, I routinely do that. No matter how you handle the trim from that point--BMF, silver paint, Silver Sharpie, whatever--it just makes it easier and results in a cleaner-looking job. It's a little extra time and effort but I find that it's worth it in both process and result.

So has mine. It's cute that she thinks that actually means anything.

Yup. It's called "natural selection" or "thinning the herd." About 1982 Ruger started stamping a long warning on the barrels of all their firearms, warning the user to read the instruction manual, and if you didn't have a manual, where/how to get one, and so forth. I'll never forget the American Rifleman's review of Ruger's then-new Mark II .22 pistol: "And when you get tired of shooting it, you can read it."

Ron, life without BMF is possible. I get along just fine without it, using kitchen foil, Silver Sharpies, and Testor Chrome Silver, both brushed and airbrushed. Now, if they discontinue Silver Sharpies, I'm in trouble. That's why I buy a couple new ones at Walmart every so often whether I "need" them or not. I know they will keep for at least four to six years if unopened. I've become so dependent on them that I can at least relate to your feelings for BMF. I didn't think life after Pactra Flat Aluminum was possible. It is, but just barely, and it's not nearly as good. There are still days I miss that wonderful stuff so much I could cry.

There's a whole thread in Under Glass but it would take me a while to find. But here's the in-progress build thread: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/93345-65-chevelle-modified-production-finished-pics-107/?page=1

Absolutely not. Now, the '70 Yenko Novas were COPOs. They were built at the factory with LT-1s, otherwise unavailable in Nova. But, unlike Camaros and Chevelles, the factory built no '69 427 Novas, though some dealers did.

Here's what that Nassau Blue looks like straight from the can--no polish, no rub-out, no clear-coat, no wax.

I forgot to mention, you'll usually want the pebbly effect on the intake manifold, too. (I'm talking here mainly about '60s-'70s American cars. Not that familiar with anything else, such as foreign, modern, or antiques.)

Yeah, for engine blocks/heads I usually lay on a pebbly coat of primer, and then a pebbly coat of color. You don't want a "wet" coat of color or it will flow and ruin the desired effect. Remember that you DON'T want this effect on the oil pan or front cover, which are usually very smooth.

GTX6970 (Bill) is a Great Trader. Just got some stuff from him and it was exactly as described (if not even better) and well packaged for shipment. I'll deal with him again anytime!

Very nice! You really made some tasty lemonade with this one. It's SO nice I'd have never guessed it was originally a Tom Daniel joint....

Rob is correct, and this irritates me about this kit. Without semi-major conversion work, you can ONLY build it as one of the 201 Z16s--and IIRC they were only built in three colors--yellow, red, and black. If you can scrounge up a rebuildable AMT '65 Chevelle funny car body with all its trim intact and usable, you can graft in the lower quarter panels from the Revell Z16 and build a common '65 SS Chevelle (with an engine swap, of course). I've been thinking of building a Z16 in yellow with Dave Strickler decals on it as a phantom A/Stock or B/FX racer. I have a set of Fred Cady decals for one of his earlier Chevies that are in black, but should have been in turquoise.

I haven't yet found a spray adhesive that doesn't spray on with a texture that will show through the finished job. I use the Micro product and just smear it on the foil with a fingertip--nothing to clean up but my finger! Oh, BTW, it helps to rough up the backside of the foil with 0000 steel wool or Scotchbrite, or else the Micro adhesive will bead up and leave bare spots.

The AMT '69 Chevelle SS396 has, in every issue since 1969, retained the lower body chrome strip leftover from the '68 SS396. It's wrong for a '69 SS, but is correct for a Malibu, so if you want to build a plain-Jane Malibu, you got that going for you.

What? I don't remember this on any other kit than that one. I just sanded and polished it off of mine. Not a big deal once you get over your fear of clear styrene.

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone! I forgot to mention one other major PITA with this model: Final assembly. The thing is extremely well engineered for fit. You have to get everything in exactly the right place, and then it all fits perfectly and snaps right into place. But it might take you five or six attempts to get that chassis into the body (with interior) before you hit on the right combination. It kind of reminded me of trying to put a Ruger .22 automatic pistol together after you've taken it apart--there are a couple dozen wrong ways to do it, but only one right way, and sometimes you just have to keep at it till you get it right. It made me feel sad for the poor Chinese workers who had to build the promos. Imagine trying to accomplish that feat dozens if not hundreds of times a day. I guess if you did enough of them, you'd get to where you could hit the sweet spot first time, every time.

I remember when VH1 did the documentary on the dying Warren Zevon, at one point he quoted some old philosopher who said, "When we buy books, we think we are buying the time to read them." I believe the same is true of us and our kits.

Huh. I don't remember that, except for maybe the big Monogram 1/8 T, Deuce, Corvette, and Jag, perhaps. But my local Sears always had model kits in the toy department, especially around Christmastime. I have a distinct memory of seeing a bunch of the AMT Reggie Jackson series kits there, and the 1/16 Mustangs and Tri-5 Chevies. That would have been, what, the '80s?

When doing this kind of work, I always keep some wooden toothpicks handy. They're great for wiping/scraping wet trim paint off if caught immediately. After it's dried, rubbing alcohol will often work. It's good on enamels but will damage or remove acrylics and Testor lacquers.

Very nice! And you did a good job taking off the rear fender trim, which is trickier than it looks.

It came out pretty well for the modest investment and a little effort. Heck, I think the unpainted $7 Wonder can even hold its own sitting next to a $100+ Franklin Mint '68, more or less—don't you?

AMT '70 Corvette snapper—basically, an unassembled promo. I don't remember when or where I bought it, but the box, with some crush damage, is marked “$7 AS IS—NO RETURN.” A minor flood in my basement in 2010 further damaged the box, instructions, and decals. But when I finally got the urge to build the thing, I found all the parts were present and the only damage was a small crack in the body above the left side of the front bumper. I fixed this as best I could with liquid cement, and didn't have to resort to touching it up with a dab of paint. If you look closely, you MIGHT be able to see it in these pics. This is another one for my Polished Plastic collection. The nice red styrene was polished out with Walmart Trim nail sticks and Wright's Silver Cream. I went with tan interior to keep a black headliner from showing through and darkening the red in the roof area. I was able to use the water-damaged kit license plate decals by just cutting them out and white-gluing them on, backing paper and all. (I often do this even with non-damaged license plate decals.) Rocker panel trim is kitchen foil and Micro Metal Foil Adhesive. Window trim is my beloved Silver Sharpie. Small trim is Testor Chrome Silver. The biggest pain in this build was the chrome trim on the taillights. If I were to do it again, I would just foil the entire lens and then flow Model Master Clear Red Acryl into where the red should be. BTW, the backup lights and front parking lights are Testor White Lightning pearl decanted and brushed over Testor Flat White—an experiment.

...but not their possession (so you could keep what you had, you just couldn't get any more), could you keep building for the rest of your life? I'm pretty sure I could, assuming that things like paints, glues, etc. would still be available. (And, to paraphrase one of my alltime favorite bumper stickers: WHEN MODEL KITS ARE OUTLAWED, I'LL BE AN OUTLAW.)

I'm liking this color more every time I see it....

I just realized I could build a model of that! I'm pretty sure I have an old slot car motor around here somewhere....