bh1701

Even though the AMT kit had its issues, you did an excellent job on this! The color on the exterior looks correct to me. What paint did you use for the outside? I have the new Polar Lights kit to build some day - but probably won't get to it for a while. I hope somebody has produced an interior detail kit for it by then! Bart

I saved about 25-30 of cars I built when I was younger with the hopes of restoring them like I did with this kit. But, I threw out probably about 60 to 70 other kits that had no special memories for me at that time or had too many missing pieces. In retrospect, there were a lot of models I wished I had kept - Mustangs, Camaros, Vettes, Thunderbirds and such. ?

Looks great!

I have completed a restoration of my AMT 1967 Corvette that I originally built back in 1967. When originally built, it was bright orange with orange/yellow tie-dye fabric crudely glued to the seats. As you can see from the original interior photo, my teenage skills for detailing were seriously lacking! I disassembled the kit, stripped the paint and salvaged as much as I could. The original hood I used was not prototypical for a 67, and the seats could not be rescued once the tie-dye fabric was removed. Thanks to several members of the forum (Muncie and Snake45), I was able to secure new seats, a new hood, and new tires and wheels. I painted the whitewalls on the tires using a white gel pen. The gauges are from Best Model Car Parts. The exterior color is Tamiya TS-54 Light Metallic Blue. This was also my first try at foiling scripts/emblems/gas cap. Not perfect, but I was satisfied with my first attempt. I applied the foil prior to the last color coat. In retrospect, I think with my next attempt, I will apply the foil before the final primer coat(s). After the first few color coats, I may do a preliminary removal of the paint to expose the foil (before too many coats of paint are put over the foil). Then, after the final color coats, I'll remove the paint again. I think one of the issues I had with this kit was that the foil was so much brighter than the body color. I don't think there would be any way that the blue over the edges of the foil would ever have matched the rest of the car. The blue on the rest of the car got deeper with every coat, and the silver under the paint was never going to catch up to match! I need to try to trim the foil a bit closer to the script next time, also. I was worried about trimming too close and not having enough foil laying down on the body portions of the car. Thanks for looking! Bart

Gareth, I found this kit on Ebay. It was around $35 US Dollars, plus some shipping charges and taxes. Bart

I have a few questions about doing dashboard gauges and other dashboard details. I have a number of the gauges that BestModelCarParts makes for a number of kits in my stash of unbuilt kits. Wondering how you would install these gauges - specifically on a 67 Corvette dash that I have just ordered the gauges for. 1) Would you just cut the gauges out and glue them over the existing gauges? If so, - what glue would you use? - how would you cut the circular gauges out? 2) Or, would you use drills and files to remove the gauges and other details from the dash and secure the gauges from behind? (which would eliminate the concern with cutting out a round gauge from the sheet) Would appreciate your thoughts and any other advice you might have for me. Thanks, Bart

Here is a 64 Ford Galaxie 500XL (AMT Blueprinter kit) that I just completed. This was built for and given to my neighbor; this was one of his first cars that he remembers quite fondly. Exterior paint is Tamiya TS-14 Black, I used Vallejo Black wash on the front grill and the on the Galaxie emblem on the rear of the car; I have just started using this product and am very pleased with the results! Bare Metal foil was done for the window trim and the "spear" on the side of the car. The "FORD" script on the hood and rear are hand painted. All chrome detail in the interior was also hand painted. I stole the wheels and hubcaps from a 60 Ford Starliner kit to match his car. (looks like the Starliner will be getting some new wheels when I build it). Thanks for looking, Bart

Here's a sample of my foiling - using the tips and suggestions mentioned here. I think it looks pretty good! I appreciate the advice! I used a much lighter touch with the blade - and only experienced one or two places where I cut down through the paint. These were all around the rear window, especially at or near the rounded corners. A little hard to keep the blade pretty flat when you have to round a corner. I touched up these spots with some black and a very fine paint brush. But, much better results than I was getting before. The vent windows, letters on the hood and truck were hand painted. Thanks, Bart

I will be using Tamiya's TS-54 Light Blue Metallic on an upcoming kit. I usually use Tamiya's white or gray primer on my kits. Is this what I should use, or is there something different I should do with a metallic paint? Thanks, Bart

Thanks for everyone's ideas. I'll be heading out today to get some of the Tamiya Cotton Swabs that were suggested, and I will continue to work on applying as little pressure as needed from the blade! Bart

I have been using Bare Metal foil on my last 2 models. I have noticed an issue and wonder if anyone can help me figure out what I am doing wrong. Both kits were done with Tamiya spray paints ( a couple of coats of gray primer, a mist coat of body color and then 3 wet coats of body color, and 3 wet coats of clear). I did polish the kits before foiling. I am using a new #11 blade with each kit. The foil is applied, pushed down using my fingertip, and the edges are burnished using a toothpick prior to trimming, I have noticed that when I pull the excess foil off that sometimes there will be spots where I can see a fine line next to the trim where the original white body color (or maybe the primer) is showing. My thoughts are that I am burnishing too strongly, using too much pressure when cutting (although I feel like I am just dragging the blade lightly along the edges), or that Tamiya paint is just really thin (I like Tamiya for the range of colors and the smooth finish you can achieve, but have always felt that it can be easily chipped). Suggestions? Also wondering if there is a better clear coat (spray can variety) to use over Tamiya spray paint that creates a thicker and harder clear shell over the body color? Appreciate your help! Bart

Looks great! My first car was a 66 Mustang in Prairie Bronze - so this brings back lots of memories! Bart

An amazing restoration! Great work! Bart

Thanks. And yes, I did get the flux capacitor to work. ? If I made any mistakes while building, I just fired it up and went back a few minutes in time to stop myself! ? The flux capacitor, dashboard gauges, and the device that's used to set the destination time were all images I found on/printed from the internet. Cutting the tiny little circular gauges out of the printout was quite a challenge. Bart

Thanks, Glenn. I saw the BTTF DeLorean pics you posted recently. Your version looks great, too! The Polar Lights kit featured (in their words) "a new authentic looking brushed metal look that captures the brushed stainless steel of the real car". The finish looked very nice, but it was not a smooth surface and I noticed it collected dust and lint pretty easily. I sprayed some semi-gloss clear over the body after all the wires were painted. That gave me a much smoother surface and eliminated it grabbing any pieces of dust or lint that were anywhere near it! Bart

Beautiful build! Congratulations!

My latest completion - the 1/25 scale Back to the Future DeLorean from Polar Lights. Painting all of the colored wires on the exterior and interior was a lot of fun! I added a few more wires to the interior going from the dash back to the flux capacitor. Besides the painting of the wires, the hardest part was getting the chassis/interior assembly to snap into the body. The interior is much wider than the narrow lower part of the body, and getting the back of the "engine area" platform to go over a little lip by the rear of the car was not easy - probably spent 15-20 minutes and a bit of swearing to get this done! Thanks for looking! Bart

Steve, That is an outstanding build! I also read through your WIP post and was impressed with all of the work you put into this. I urge folks to look at that post, too, to see the incredible work you did on the interior (especially the dashboard). The shine on this model is amazing, so here is my one question for you. What's your process for polishing the model? What kind of polish do you use, what do you apply it with, and what's the technique? (Sorry, I guess that was more than one question!) Thanks, Bart

Thanks! The exterior color is Tamiya TS-15 Blue over Tamiya gray primer. The interior was sprayed with some metallic blue from an old can I had laying around - it was a big spray can that I probably got at a K-Mart or hardware store many, many years ago. Bart

A nice, clean build. I like it!

I like the custom plate, and the model, too!

Yes, the kit did take some liberties with the actual car! When I got ready to put the chrome stars in the taillights, I was surprised to see that they were not like the real car. I had my painting notes that mentioned the backup light which was nowhere to be seen on the model. I think the actual cars also had the letters GALAXIE on the trunk lid. The model omitted this detail, too. However, I was OK with that since it eliminated hand painting 7 more letters on the model! You're in Sweden with a classic American car? Are there a lot of collectors with classic US cars over there? Bart

I recently completed this AMT 1/25th scale 1963 Ford Galaxie 500XL. It was an older kit (the box called it a "Prestige" kit). I had in my stash and finally decided to tackle it. This is also my 2nd attempt at using Bare Metal foil. My first attempt was on a model that was molded in color. This is my first try on a painted body. I ran into a few issues at the beginning, but managed to figure things out. All of the scripts and emblems are hand painted (still not ready to try doing these with BMF!). All of the silver trim on the interior was also hand painted. Not entirely pleased with the black wash on the grill - my usual approach was not working and I tried some other methods. Eventually I just gave up trying and figured this was as good as I was going to be able to do. Thanks for looking, Bart

Excellent work! I have a 60 Starliner waiting to be built - I hope mine comes close to what you have achieved!

Yes, I am here, too! N Gauge trains and Model Cars - 2 of my hobbies! I did some internet research on TX plates and discovered that my info was out of date. Back in 2015, the plates on my 2007 Mustang hit 7 years and I got new plates sent to me with a new number. This is what I found for the current process: As of November 1, 2016, the State of Texas will no longer automatically replace your General-Issued plates after 7 years. However, you may still apply at your county tax office for replacement plates if the license plate needs to be replaced for cosmetic or readability reasons. Specialty license plates (vanity plates) with personalized numbers are issued for a one, five, or ten year term. At the end of each term, prior to expiration, your annual registration renewal notice will remind you that it is time to renew. If your specialty plate selection is not renewed within 60 days of expiration, the TxDMV system will automatically cancel the specialty plate selection, making it available for anyone to order. Looks like vanity plates remain the same as long as you remember to renew them at the specified interval. The vanity plates are not cheap - otherwise I would have tried to get some for my Mustang! The rate for the 5 year subscription is $495. As far as the "replacement" plates for the general issued plates, I couldn't determine if the replacement has a new number on it or if it stays the same. Bart