restoman

April 23

6 hours ago, Mr. Metallic said:

Off to a good start, nice collection of parts.

My opinion, needs some more rubber and/or bigger wheels in the rear.

Yeah, but I'm going for a 60's look, before big meats were everywhere.

I did entertain the thought, though...

April 22

The firewall fits with just some clearancing for the bell housing.

I like it far better than the kits' recessed firewall.

April 22

5 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

There sure is a whole lotta TLDR in this hobby.

Paint is actually kinda complex, and if you want to understand what you're doing rather than just muddle through with often disastrous results, it takes a little intellectual effort.

People who are happy relying on tried-and-true materials and techniques...fine.

But why bash those who want to understand...or explain...some of the chemistry?

There's a whole lotta misuse of terminology and misinformation bandied about too, both by modelers and manufacturers.

Much of it can lead to ruined paint jobs or spoiled effects, and can sour somebody on building models.

The more complete and accurate understanding you have of anything you use, the more likely you won't be making avoidable mistakes.

EDIT: A little off topic, but the bottom line comes down to, as usual, if you're not certain that specific products and techniques will work together, don't rely solely on what you "heard" or what advice you get here, or even what it says on the products themselves.

TEST TEST TEST TEST and VERIFY before committing to using ANYTHING on a model.

Yup.

30 some-odd years in the body & paint industry had me, at one time, knowing most of the chemical differences of pretty much any paint. A lot of rather boring aspects of tech painting courses...

But, after a while, it comes down to knowing what you can and can't do with any given product, and that comes only from experience.

I've been telling prospective painters and modelers for years to practice, practice and practice. When you think you have it down pat, practice some more.

April 21

1 hour ago, FoMoCo66 said:

Ah this is going to be an awesome build. I like the mock up all ready. What kit are the wheels from?

The wheels are from the AMT parts pack.

April 21

This is Revell's 5W kit, with a few changes.

I'm using one of Drag City's nice chopped 3W bodies, with a parts bin 3W interior.

In the mock-up, I see some room, so I'll be using one of Ed's stock firewalls, too.

I ditched the bagged 9" inch in favour of a parts bin QC, bin truck arms and leaf spring, and some homemade shock mounts, crossmember, and track arm.

The kit front end will go in pretty much as-supplied.

The Hemi will use Firepower heads, valve covers, intake & Strombergs from Replicas & Miniatures.

Still need to dig up a set of headers.

Kit tires with chrome reverse rims.

I'm thinking a medium grey with a light brown leather-look interior...

Comments always welcome!

April 17

On 4/14/2024 at 1:32 PM, Dave Darby said:

Looks great! For the record, AMT totally miss-labeled this kit. It's actually a 75-76 Dodge Dart Sport.

With '73 and up Duster fenders.

April 17

Nice!!!!

April 11

It's not just USPS... Canada Post is the same, and we pay a lot more for the screw-ups!

April 5

5 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

It can be argued that the $10,000 annual award made by Amazon to recipients of its engineering scholarship is likewise fairly insignificant, when one looks at the vast resources Amazon has to draw from compared to Metal Supermarket, and the cost disparity between an engineering degree and the typical vocational program.

I don't know about you, but $2500 would pretty much cover my annual utilities in a small house, and I'd certainly be very happy to have one less expenditure to have to deal with...especially if I were working while in training.

Exactly.

Every little bit helps, and if it helps someone make the decision to go into the trades, I don't see any issues with it.

February 29

On 2/26/2024 at 7:23 PM, tim boyd said:

Many of the most respected Mopar restorers have said (in print) that the engines were painted ata the factory with the exhaust manifolds attached, but the manifolds were not intended to wear paint. The net result was varying degrees of engine paint overspray on the manifolds resulting from the paint applications to the engine block/valve covers/manifolds etc. When combined with the rust overlay that quickly developed as noted in the posts above, the net appearance was something like this....

... And the small block's by-pass hose from the manifold to the water pump was always painted from the factory.

February 17

I bought a set of Excel bits from one of the tool-truck guys years ago, and they were pretty decent.

Unfortunately, when I went into business, my tools got used and abused by those guys who didn't/couldn't/wouldn't care about someone else's investment and most of the numbered bits were destroyed in short order.

I bought a second set and kept them hidden away, but they aren't Excel bits, and they're not nearly as good.

January 27

I asked the local Michael's manager about their lack of kits a while ago. He said the corporate reason is "supply chain issues", but in his opinion, it was due largely to regional managers needing their fingers in every store, and model kits being slow movers for them. I said "you can't sell if you've no selection" and he simply said "that's what i meant about division managers...".

January 24

15 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Unless you're a glutton for punishment like me, and particularly enjoy building something nice from somebody else's bodged messes...

Yup.

I actually think I like dealing with glue bombs better than tackling a fresh, un-goobered kit.

The result of a lot of years in the rust & resto end of things...?

I've got a '72 Ventura GB that is slowly coming apart. The glass is toast, I'm sure, but I'm trying!

January 23

Resin, from Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland.

Decently happy with it, it got pretty fiddly towards the end, trying to not knock of any parts with my meathooks while handling it.

Comments always welcome!

January 22

Picked up a '70 T/A missing the 340 and wheels...

Raided the hoarde for a Hemi and a Dana, along with some slicks, drag fronts and Centerlines.

Single layer Chrysler Cool Vanilla paint and some custom-mixed Testors orange for the interior.

Might add some longitudinal orange side stripes...

No idea yet who Jim is, but I'm sure he'll have an identity when this one is done.

Comments always welcome.

January 21

2 hours ago, dust collectors said:

Picked up a couple of these from Norm a while back. His work is top notch. Yours is looking pretty good! Looking forward to see how you finish it, are you planning on using the fairing?

Nope, just stock-appearance.

Norm's castings are fantastic.

The front forks need a little work where the gauge cluster fits through the frame head, for a better alignment. A simple fix and it's a kit problem, nothing to do with Norm's work.

January 20

That's looking pretty good!

January 19

I'd be happy with it, too. Good work!

January 19

6 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Fine little bike. Looks great. Polished metal finish on the engine is particularly nice.

A-K Super Chrome with a coat of Future over top...

i really liked the A-K by itself, but I was handling the bike so much fitting it together, I was starting to smudge the finish.

January 19

2 hours ago, GLMFAA1 said:

looks like the AMT Triumph knock off

greg

I think the card that came with it said it was originally available in the '63 Chevy truck kit, so it's likely an AMT based kit.

January 19

Resin, from Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland.

It's going together, but what a fiddly kit...

January 18

6 hours ago, Dirty Gringo said:

I love all the little details and have to admit stole some of your ideas onto mine. One of the things was the rack/hood dolly I was trying to make one and then seen yours and looked like paperclips and thought well BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH why didn't I just do that haha. Thanks for all the detail pics love the dio .

I liberated some ideas from other folk's builds, too.

January 17

The final configuration of the interior tub.

It's a tight squeeze fitting this into the somewhat stiff resin body, but it does fit!

Due to the need to compress the sides inward to clear the wheelhouse on the body, I had to install the rear interior corners directly to the body. Once the tub is in there, the corners look great.

No pics, but the body & tub fit the frame as they should, with the fenders lining up like a proper kit.

A good bit of fitting, filing and teeth-clenching, for sure!

Comments always welcome.

January 13

From Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland.

A neat little addition for my diorama.

Comments always welcome!

January 13

Picked this up a few years ago, along with the matching Matador kit.

A fair bit of work getting a decent fit on a lot of pieces, but I'm happy with how things turned out.

I cut down the grill and made it fit a bit farther forward for a more prominent look.

Black basecoat, some gold pearl nail polish and topped with 2k clear. The gold pearl gives a bit of a bassboat flake look, perfect for a 70s street ride.

Comments always welcome!