taaron76

Nice build, Bill! Well done and nice and clean! Tim

Welcome back, John. Nice work! Tim

Looking good, Tony! For your first build, you are doing a great job!!! As far as the decals... you can clear over them, but being this is your first build, I personally wouldn't. I wouldn't let my advice deter you, but I'm not sure if you are planning on wetsanding and buffing or not, either. The decals should stay on fine without any clear added. When you clear coat, you don't have to do the grill and all the other stuff... just the body and hood, etc. Tim

I am the dilemma part of the build... to decal or not decal, that is the question. I'm going to spray a coat of flat clear over the black HEMI decal that goes on the rear quarter panel, but I'm undecided on whether or not I should put it on. I finished all of the BMF, but still have the turn signals, spoiler, mirrors, emblems, hood pins, side-fender vents, door handles and a coat of wax left to do. Not a bunch, so hopefully mid-week the Hemi Cuda will be complete. I need to figure out why the hood won't sit all the way down. The Shaker is holding it up a tad, but I'll fix it.

Nice, Tom! Great work!!! Tim

Almost there! Looks great!!! Tim

Thanks, Joe! I appreciate the vote of confidence. These things are so addicting, and therapeutic all at the same time. The B-2 is an amazing aircraft and that's what the shaker reminds me of. It's my 4th favorite plane, behind the SR-71, A-10 and of course all the models of the C-130 since I have spent lots of time in one of those. There's nothing better than hearing the 105 on the gunship go off. The sound of peace!!!

I've had the best results with denatured alcohol, plus it's $4.50 for a big can of it at Lowe's or Home Depot. That sucks that you can't get it up there in your neck of the woods, Pat. To each their own, but whatever gives your eye the best results. Tim

Thanks, Dave, I appreciate the comments. This was my first Mopar build and I absolutely love this car, and learned a lot about it along the way. There are some very knowledgeable Mopar guys on this board and they were a huge help to me. There's a lot of knowledge and I soak it up like a sponge. I use a Nikon D3200 with a 50mm-300mm zoom inside of a photo booth I made for under $50.00. It was worth it in the end since I try to keep my pics consistent... plus, it's fun to take pics of all my work as well. If you look at my Fotki page, I have my booth under Misc, I think. Tim

A couple of pics of the 426 completed, with and without the B-2 Bomber on top. Tim

I freed up a little time to get the body wetsanded and polished... no wax yet. There isn't a spec of dust or imperfection of any kind in this paint job. I apologize for boasting a little, but they get better with each build and I'm a little proud of at least that part of the build. I finished up the front grill, got the bumpers mounted and started inside of the engine bay. I should be able to start the BMF process tonight and then finish up all of the little details that take the longest. Thanks for looking! Tim

I'll post some tomorrow. I got the grill painted silver and started on assembling the chassis. I have to paint those dang molded-in exhaust, then I can mount the rear suspension and axle. Detailing the interior after that... The interior on these are pretty basic. Tim

Joe - I slapped some paint on the fan clutch today. Tim

John - Thanks for the info! My goal is to make it as close as possible, with enough detail to make it look good. It'd be easy to go crazy on the 426, but hopefully I put enough detail in it so far that it's presentabke, without disrespecting it or Mopar lovers. Tim

Thanks, Tom. I've been putting 5 coats of clear on the last 4 or 5 builds and it makes the world of difference. Thanks for the compliments! Tim

Those headers came out sweet! Tim

SWEET! Tim

That's pretty cool! Tim

Another small update... I only had time to wetsand and buff the roof, but I only put about 10 minutes into it before it was ready for wax. The paint on this one came out flawless, so that really helped not having to wetsand as much. I anticipate the rest of the car coming out just as good as the roof. With 5 coats of clear, I guess it should. Anyhow, this "life" thing keeps getting in the way of my model building... if anyone has figured out how to get around it, let me know your secret. lol It appears to be dust on the roof just above the upside down M or W, but it is the light reflecting off of the primer can. Took me a minute to figure out what it was. Tim

Perfect! Thanks, Dale! Tim

Hi guys, My question is, can you spray clear (whatever sheen you want) over the decal(s) prior to putting it on the model? I am working on a '71 Hemi Cuda and the Hemi decal that goes on the back isn't as flat, sheen-wise, as I'd like it to be. If I sprayed acrylic flat clear over it, cut it out and then tried to apply it, would it work? It would be a super light coat just to knock some of the glossy look off. Is there a better was to dull down the sheen of a decal? Tim

10 years!?! Lol. I'm lucky if mine last 45 days. Haha Tim

Eric, that's some amazing work! Tim

Nice! Tim

Not a major update due to time, but I added the heater core lines from the engine that will connect to the firewall. I also added the headers... Tomorrow I will focus on the interior and chassis, hopefully. Tim