taaron76

BMF is too fragile to apply before wet sanding and polishing. I tend to put some elbow grease in when polishing and I'm positive it wouldn't stick. Just make sure you clean out the grooves before applying BMF, in case there is any lingering polish left over. Tim

Today I got the Cuda primed and painted. The base color is Testors Pearl Purple, followed up with 5 coats of Tamiya clear. I was going to go with just plain old Tamiya purple, but figured I'd give it a little more life. I also try to paint the body and body pieces right after I get the suspension modified and the wheels fit. My logic is that since I put a few coats of base coat/clear coat (ok, 8 total coats), I like to bake it for 24 hours and then let it "gas" out for 10-14 days. This will ensure that the surface is more than ready when I start wet sanding and buffing. Tonight I tried something a little different from what I typically do with Tamiya paints. After the first 2 clear coats, I started to thin eat clear coat with .5ml more of clear per coat. So I started with 23ml of Tamiya clear, thinned with 8ml of denatured alcohol and ended up with 9.5-10ml of denatured alcohol total to let the last 2-3 coats of clear really lay down. So far, it has seemed to work great! I got to try out my new compressor that my wonderful wife bought me for Valentine's day. New compressor: Everything was painted @ 40 PSI: 3 Base coats of Testors Purple Pearl: Clear coat 1: Clear coat 2: Clear coat 3: Clear coat 4: Clear coat 5: As soon as I put it in the dehydrator, the paint will lay down a little more, so there shouldn't be any orange peel. If there is, it won't be much, but this will wet sand and polish out nicely! Clear coat 5 on the hood:

I worked on the suspension today in order to get the stance correct. Luckily, there was lots of room to work underneath those big wheel wells, so not much modifying was needed to lower to get the stance right. On the front suspension, I cut both spindles off and drilled new holes above where the old ones were. The new spindles/axles are mounted as shown through the frame in order to make it more durable. I originally thought I was going to have to cut the springs off the rear axle and use lowering blocks, but I only had to cut the old axles off and drill in the new one so the Pegasus 19" wheels would fit. Not much to do on the rear to get the stance I was looking for. Here's how she will sit once completed.

Amen!

Thank you all! Tim

Sweet! Tim

Carl, it's pristine my friend! Very, very nice!!! Tim

It's coming along great, Jim! What model is next? I want to be sure I never work on the same model as you are, in order to keep from embarrassing myself. lol On the flip side, I love "borrowing" your ideas and incorporating them into my builds. Tim

Looking good, Joe... We'll have a new president in office by the time this one is done, but this will be one detailed Challenger. Good stuff! Tim

Nice build, Niko. I'll be following this one. Tim

This is gonna be cool! Nice!!! Tim

Roger, I was digging through my boxes of unused tires and such, but couldn't find any GYE that fit. I would have been nice to have a slightly larger wheel or tire in the back, but I think I can pull it off and get the look I was hoping for. I do love the width of the Pegasus wheels though. Tim

These wheels are 19" and if you compare stock wheels and tires, the stock ones are actually bigger... But so is ride height as well. Color scheme is Tamiya purple with the flat black rear quarter panel decal. Tim

... and on to the next one, '71 Hemi Cuda. My wife wants it stock colors, but with different wheels. Of course the suspension has to be modified to sit the way I want, but that shouldn't be too bad on this kit. As long as she supports my habit, I'll keep building them for her. lol Tim

Nice build, Al. Question for you though... What year is that and where did you get it? My friend has a nicely restored one and I want to build one for him, but I can't find it anywhere. Thanks! Tim

Thanks, Chris! Tim

No sweat... No offense taken. I thought i fixed it. lol

Easy fix... Done. Funny you caught that. Lol Tim

lol Thanks! Tim

Thank for all of the great compliments! However, I just noticed I forgot to add the drivers side mirror. Tim

I believe so, its a Revell kit. Not sure of the history on it though. Thanks for the compliments! Tim

What type of paints are you using? I only use acrylics now, but I bought this spray booth over Christmas with LED's and it works perfectly. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NLQ019A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Tim

Thanks for the compliments! This one turned out pretty good and I am extremely satisfied how the detailing and paint turned out. I've set the bar high for my next build. Tim

Nice job, Rich! Tim

Look good, Joe! Is there an actual lens on that turn signal, or are you just applying amber over it? Tim