DoctorLarry

Got some more work done on the chassis. Got a cage fitted and finished the dash/firewall. Did some painting on various parts. From the limited pictures of the car, the interior was a light color. I used Tamiya Insignia White, which was a light gray matte color virtually identical to the color of the molded plastic on the TBird kits. I am detailing out the chassis parts and getting ready to plumb and wire everything. A few more cage pieces to fit as well as the trunk and package tray fillers.

The proverbial chop saw came out on this one...

Chassis in the body and rear suspension mock-up on a spare unpainted body: (workspace as usual is a disaster area)

More progress. Started on a chassis based on photos I have of Cale Yarborough' Busch Olds. It was for sale a couple of years back and they had about 20 or so high resolution pictures of all aspects of the car so I figure it is a fairly good representation of a typical "Holman Moody front/back half" stock car chassis. I use a representative floor pan and chassis from that area. In this case it was a 72 Cutlass. It has the same wheelbase as the Century and tucks up in the body nicely. I cut the front frame horns off and measure the front of a Bill Elliott T Bird chassis and glue the front frame stub on, then reinforce it with plates. I cut out the floor pans in the back to mount the T Bird truck arm. I move the springs forward so I can mount a second shock in front of the rear end. Then I fill in the floors like they did with new plastic sheet. I cut out the gas tank and put the tank and floor tub for the tank in from the T Bird. For the cage, I start with the T Bird tunnel and firewall and trim the cage down to fit in the car. Then I make a new main hoop, top hoop, front bars and fill it in. The seat is from a later model NASCAR Olds as is the engine. Using Tim's advice, I use the oil pan from the T Bird to locate the engine in the chassis. It is closer to the real thing but obviously more work than using the T Bird chassis.

I guess it is accurate, then!

I did not know how many people knew it but I saw the inventory shrinking so I just put out a heads up.

Examples to look for?

Dave, my hobby guy said not just MM but all small bottles as well. Rust Oleum is killing it all, he said.

Hobby Town has 125 locations nation wide. According to their web site 100 are franchise-owned, which makes them a little more "local".

Did not ask them. My hobby shop person said they were looking at Revell and another European line as replacements. This is Hobby Town, which I think is a national chain.

Just for info to all my buds here: after noticing supplies dwindling I asked my hobby shop friend and he confirmed. Rust Oleum has bought the Testor's line and is phasing them out. Evidently they were a money loser so stock up while you can. Model Master as well as the small enamel bottles. Gone.

After noticing dwindling selection at Hobby Lobby and my favorite hobby store, I asked the store person about Testor's paints. They are no more. Rust-Oleum bought the line and determined that hobby paint was an expensive money loser so they are ending the line. You will still be able to get military and aircraft colors from other vendors but the automotive line that was a Testor's market will be gone shortly. Stock up while you can. This is Model Master as well as the small bottles of enamels. Bummer.

I talked t my guy at the hobby shop I g to. He said the old Squadron, which was pasty and kind of grainy, had issues with it drying up in the tubes and becoming hard to get out before the tube was empty and they had a lot of complaints. So the new stuff is rather runny and like was said, does dry pretty hard. I like it because it is the same color as amber resin bodies so I use it to fill pinholes and it disappears. For larger fills on resin bodies, I mix my own by using thick super glue mixed with talcum powder. It sticks great to resin and sands surprisingly easy. I use Tamiya white after that because it sands smooth followed by auto spot putty to fix the small imperfections.

If it were a real car it would be a "20 footer". The pictures make it look better than it is!

Shot some paint and started on decals. Some guess work as the pictures on the net are not very clear. I used Tamiya Yellow and Tamiya light blue. I have used Tamiya paint before and had no issues but this was a challenge. The yellow was thin and did not want to cover and I kept getting fish eyes in the paint even after cleaning it multiple times with wax and grease remover. Then my masking tape bled through in spots so I had to sand and gently rub to get the paint lines clean. Not my best effort by a long shot. Still needs more decals, clear coat and trim paint. Oh, and a chassis!

Got it. GTO is in the works now.

Don't know if this is totally "scratch': Body heavily modified, scratch built seats, door panels and console, grille panel, bumpers and tail light panel

They did not show it in stock. I saw the two Curb numbers but only the yellow showed in the search.

The Collonade Cutlass cars had a 112 inch wheelbase, same as the 68-72 Cutlass. If you want similar (but not exact) frame and suspension, use a 72 Cutlass. It will work with trimming and the suspension details are mostly correct. The sway bars mounted differently on the earlier cars but at first glance the suspension looked the same Floor pans are different but mot folks would not know that unless they owned the real thing.

Looked at the web site. No listing for the blue, just the yellow. Thanks for the info!

Based on some other posts about using the Krylon paints I may go back to Tamiya or Testor's lacquers. Fast dry, easy to fix mistakes and polish out nicely. As Tim points out, they do shrink and dry out over time versus catalyzed paints but they are much less hassle than urethanes. On my 1-1 cars, different story though. Any ideas on a yellow lacquer? Other boards suggest Testor's Big Bad Blue or Tamiya TS-23 for the "Petty blue" color.

In the interest of having multiple projects that will take forever to get done, I am starting on an actual build instead of another resin. I just finished the formal roof Buick Century that was used by a few teams (Dale Earnhardt, Buddy Baker and A. J. Foyt, I think). I have decals for all three but I am starting with the Earnhardt car. YellowSportwagon has don the Baker car by cutting up Salvinos cars and doing the body that way. This body is my own version done in resin. I will use a modified T Bird chassis and engine from one of the Monogram NASCAR kits (got a few cheap and their engines have good detail). I will plumb it and detail it out. From pictures I have (there are very few) it looks like the interior is black. Anybody know? His 77 Cutlass was blue inside.

Resin body ready for this one:

I finally have my 75 Buick Pace Car 98% done. It is ready for clay and mold making. Continuing in the forgotten GM vein, I am starting on a 74 GTO. I saw a picture of a 74 in a dark green, Pinemist Green. I ordered some decals from Rays Kits so well on the way. Nova body, Ventura nose, Cut the hole in the hood. Grilles from a Firebird as place holders to do the real ones. I ordered some MCW honeycomb plastic for the grilles. Tail light panel will be modified from a 68 Revell Firebird. Interior from a junker Ventura bought off EBAY. Nova console and dash. This one is easy compared to the Buicks!

Beautiful job. Love the license tags. Had a few of those in the day.