Snake45

For those who came in late, the "workbench" portion of this story can be seen here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=93341 Long story short, it's a promo friction toy that came to me with the body apparently etched or crazed by some kind of chemical. I spent about 30-40 hours sanding and polishing it out, and along the way grew fond of the bright blue plastic. The hood trim, front marker lights, door handles, and rear fender emblems are kitchen foil. The rest of the chrome trim is either silver Sharpie or Testor silver paint. I'm not 100% happy with the wheel/tire placement, but I'll sort that out another day. I also need to come up with some kind of fix for the broken rear license plate. But for now, this one is off the Shelf of Doom and officially "under glass." Thanks for looking.

Magnificent model! Is that color Classic Copper? I've got an original AMT 70 annual to restore (non-RS, with vinyl top) and I'm thinking of Classic Copper for the paint. I hope mine comes out as well as yours! Well done!

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. Most of mine are Mirror Delete cars.

Time to wrap this project up. Last problem to solve is the headliner. Near as I can tell, '68 Javelins with white guts had white headliners (some cars with white guts have black headliners), but there's no really good way to paint white on this project without it looking horrible. I finally got the bright idea to do the headliner in white vinyl tape, which could do double duty by holding the glass in as well. It all went according to plan, just for a change. That out of the way, time to nail it all together. Decided to set the original friction-motor chassis aside and "borrow" a chassis from a '74 Javelin/AMX kit to hang it on (hat tip to Big Tall Dad). Here it is, in company with the original JoHan '68 Javelin kit that I built back in 1968. And now it's off to the "Under Glass" section for more completed photos. See you there.

I'd love to see the Chevelle too but I believe the body became the dirt track racer and is now too far gone to be brought back. You could make your own with any of the kits (such as Rat Packer) and the Revell '65 Z16, though. I'm thinking of going that way myself.

Chevy had a color in '69 called Burnished Brown 61 that's not too far from that. Nice work.

Very nice! I don't build many AFVs but I like looking at them. Well done!

That old AMT '62 Vette is a truly wretched kit due mainly to the severely undersized headlights (and I've earned the right to say that, having wrestled one into submission just a couple years ago). That said, I was severely tempted to buy one of them in the orange flake just 'cause it's so cool. I'm glad YOU did--you did a really nice job with the thing, and I'll bet you even had a certain amount of fun along the way. Well done and model on!

I might at some point be taken by the mood to add the black stripes (I have a couple '70 kits bought just for parts). Till then, it's a "stripe delete" car.

Thanks for the kind words, all. I wish someone would do "real" decals of this one. I'd build it again, using my present-day skills. I can see several things I would have done differently now. But I'm not hand-painting those evil 37s again. Come to think of it, I have a 'net friend who makes air racer decals. Think I'll drop him a note and try to talk him into it.

There's nothing in the rest of the song that leads me to believe that's a drag strip. Sounds like he's just cruising to me. I think every population center of any size whatsoever in America has a "strip" of some sort where the kids cruise and hang out. We had two even here in tiny Dickberg.

I'm late to this party, and the kit hasn't yet showed up in my area. I'm planning to get at least one, sooner or later. Does anyone remember in the old Car Model magazine, in 1966 or '67, someone used a much-modified Sizzler frame to build a '66 Skylark-bodied funny car? I always thought that was pretty cool and might try doing something similar with the new one. Also, somewhere in the same timeframe, somebody modified the Bantam body back to "stock" (well, kinda-sorta, or at least closer to stock than what came out of the box) and used it for a street rod. That would be fun to do, too, except I see the huge difference in size (of that body) between the old and new kits. I wonder if it would work. Anyone even contemplating such a "conversion"?

Thanks so much for this--very helpful! I have the '80s "pro street" version of the kit (molded in black IIRC). I hope to build it as the Motown Missile. Any tips you can give me toward that endeavor would be appreciated. Thanks again!

Great song, maybe the quintessential "California Song," but there's barely a hot rod in it. One line about a car that's "never been beat." "Beat" at what it doesn't say.

Absolutely fabulous! You're bringing back memories. I had an original MPC kit as a kid and I was doing it as Dick Landy's but it was lost in a house fire. Have wanted another one ever since. Been thinking of buying one of the Modelhaus repros and seeing if I can make a SuperBee out of it. Your build shows what can be done with good resin. Well done and model on!

Very most way cool! I have the old Lindberg version of this kit and would like to actually build it someday. Will be watching to see how yours turns out. Good luck and model on!

Yes, I can think of at least two at the moment. I have original, mint, all cherry parts in the box, original AMT annual kits of '66 Barracuda and '66 Mustang coupe/convertible/halftop that I don't envision building. Just looking at and fondling the original, complete 1966 parts gives me a certain amount of pleasure.

Hendrix or Clapton?

Gotta love a satin-black night fighter! Well done and model on!

I'm talking about the residue from Micro Metal Foil Adhesive, which is some pretty serious stuff...VERY sticky (or it wouldn't be any good) but it comes right off with rubbing alcohol...unfortunately so does all the new Testors lacquers, which I otherwise like VERY much. Oh, BTW, I'm finding that many of the Krylon and Rustoleum "fast dry enamels" must be lacquers, too, because they also come off with rubbing alcohol. Nearly ruined a great rubbed out paint job on a GTO discovering THAT little fact.

I think I could live with that if you'd throw in '63-'67 Corvettes. And expand the '69 Camaros to all first-gens. But you're so right about tri-five Chevies. I just finished one and have at least four (maybe more, I'd have to count) in some stage of construction at the moment and actually hope to finish in the near future. And can think of at least a dozen after those that I'd like to do. Here's one now. A Walmart diecast, I'll be turning it from a hideous "West Coast Chopper" lowrider into a legitimate street cruiser with plenty of '60s attitude. You say it's a "valuable collector's item"? The "collectors" should thank me because I'm about to make all theirs just that much more valuable. :lol:

I've thought of some other things to try taking adhesive off lacquer without removing the lacquer: Goo Gone Lighter fluid Paint thinner Kroil Tape of some kind--masking tape, scotch tape, duck tape? I'll try to do some experiments and report back. Also, would something like Dawn dishwashing liquid be good for removing WD-40 residue?

I almost never put mirrors on as they usually just get broken off and lost anyway. If it came with the kit, it's still in the box and I can install it if I ever need it. Besides which, I'm a Retro guy, and "back in the day" the car kits didn't come with mirrors so I never got in the habit of putting them on or got used to seeing them. Heck, go far enough back in the day and the real cars didn't have them either!

I also have been wanting to do one of these, or something very much in the same vein. I have an Attempt I in the stash, have been looking for cycle wheels--and then recently opened up a Tweety Pie, oh joy oh joy! Model on--we'll be watching!

I wish I had a buck for every time I've read this exact same thread on the model airplane boards, just substitute "Me-109s, P-51s and Spitfires" for "32 Fords, 57 Chevies and '69 Camaros." I could go out and buy a whole bunch more '57 Chevies and '69 Camaros! (Hey, some things you just never get tired of.)