Harry Joy

Like everyone else, dish-washing soap is what I use. I prefer ones that smell like lemon.

I prefer shop-brand generic extra thick CAs, with an accelerator, and Tamiya Extra Thin.

This has been one of the single most educational threads I've seen on the forum so far - although I must admit I haven't gone more than 20 or so pages back in the general forum so far. (I'll have to wait for another hip replacement to work through the other 600+.) I searched several times for info on the AMT annuals and never got anything this good. Thanks folks, I'm learning much more than I thought I would!

Sweet! This is one I've got to do - I really need to do all the 442s. What is the finish paint?

What kind of glue did you use? Also, Tamiya masking tape is easy to work with. You can also use the yellow Frog tape from any paint shop, which is very similar to the Tamiya but a lot cheaper (but not quite as reliable).

Thanks again, as I said above. Gotta say, on both the Riviera and the GTO I've got on the bench now, those "nubs" are driving me nuts. I hate using filler unless I absolutely have too. On the Riviera, I sanded out the trunk to remove the sink marks, and thought I did an adequate job of it. Until I put a metallic finish on the model. I gave in and puttied the trunk on the GTO. Looks like I beat the sink marks on this one.

Ah! Got it now. I was reading things a little too literally. I pulled out one of the old boxes I have, of the 1964 Mercury Marauder, and it is molded just like that. Thank you very much, Art Anderson. Most educational post. Read it once already, about to read it again to stick it in the memory banks more thoroughly! Edsel-Dan, that will go into the same flawed cranium!

Hm. I haven't seen years molded on bumpers.

Thanks guys. The 1966 Olds 442 is a much more modern kit, not one of the annuals. The info everyone has given has helped enormously! I have not seen anything resembling an original box, and mostly have been curious about the term itself and what it applies to and reissues are likely the only thing I'll ever come across. Collectibility is not something that interests me - just knowing what I am looking at with some of these re-pops. The GTO instructions have a RC2 brand from 2006 in the fine print, but the kit seems somewhat antique, and filled with flash and molding issues. I have enjoyed the heck out of building it, but have wondered throughout the build how I can know what is inside a box before I buy it. Looks like Snake is right in that there may be no way to know, without asking one of you. It all may be meaningless in the long run, as these are the cars I like, so I should just keep buying them. I guess one other question would be if some cars were molded multiple times by AMT. Are there cases where the same car was molded twice? Seems sort of far-fetched considering the difficulties AMT has had since the 70s.

Thanks man. So my own nose will tell me what I have then. Again, makes sense. Of the three AMT kits I've done in the last few months, there was a definite difference between kits. The first was the 1966 Olds, then the 1969 Riviera, and I am about to complete a 1972 Pontiac GTO (as soon as I have a dry couple of days). The Riviera and the GTO are very much alike, and the Olds is more modern. But even the Riviera and the GTO seem to be from slightly different eras.

OK, makes more sense. So how do you know if a kit you have is or isn't an annual?

This probably seems obvious to folks who've been building cars for a long time, but I am somewhat confused over what constitutes an AMT "Annual" kit. I've searched the net with little luck, as everywhere I see it mentioned everyone assumes you know what they are. I have gathered that they are older AMT kits, often the "3-in-1" kits, but what else defines them? I ask this after having finished three AMTs in a row (just paint left on the third), and the last two were pretty primitive compared to the first. I suspect that I'll be mainly building AMT for a while, since they seem to have catered to the GM/Chrysler 60s/70s cars I prefer. It would help to know what is meant by "Annual".

I noticed those too. Gives the impression that the owner has certain priorities.

What really got me about this car was how it was parked. This shopping center is VERY crowded on Saturdays, and finding a good spot is not easy. But gosh darn it, this fellow was NOT going to let someone scratch his paint.

AMT Heavy Chevy, Rosco P Coltrane cruiser, and an '87 Buick. Decided I need some non-60s cars in the stash.

Hm, this must be why they discontinued "WordLens". That app was available up until a year ago, although the copy I downloaded still works. I have found it essential, as my wife is not a native English speaker and there is not much English in my household some days.

Very thankful for the help, because I'd never heard of the shop before! I almost picked up another kit but passed on it. But I ended up grabbing it after seeing a re-run on Velocity last night that featured a similar make. Just had to have it! And the first order did in fact show up today. I like that ya'll give me control over shipping. Over the years, I've come to distrust EVERYone but the USPS when it comes to boxed orders.

Yep. Excel is the simplest thing to use. I track all my kits, and certain paints and aftermarket, using it. A long time ago, I downloaded a sheet off the net for this, but long ago figured out that it's easier to just make my own, since I can adjust everything to fit my own needs.

The 1969 Riviera that I posted below on Sunday did not come with headlight or taillight lens. It was not kitted with them. I was not happy with the bare chrome look, so I built up lens covers with the very same Micro Krystal Clear posted above by Earl Marischal, which I then gave a light coat of Future. I think they turned out pretty great. In my pictures posted, the lens covers were not 100% dry yet, so they appear just a tad cloudy, but they are very clear and glossy now. In my instrument panels, I put just a few drops of Future and that's enough to give the appearance of lens', but I am too impatient to build up big parts that way. The combination of Micro Krystal Clear and Future works perfectly.

I ended up dropped a hundred bucks at MegaHobbies, on wheels and kit. They should be in my hands soon! I'd never heard of the outfit, but he had what I wanted!

If you are scared of the decals shattering in water, the decal film is a good way to give you some hope of getting usable decals. It doesn't need to be applied thickly. Thin coats are best. I don't usually use the Microscale solution anymore though. In most cases, I airbrush some Future on the decals, or even a gloss coat of lacquer. Both dry much faster and go on much thinner.

She is doing fine now. She's getting better day to day. I tried like the dickens to convince her to pull out a kit and have a go at it while I was at work today. She loves getting hourly updates on my progress on each car I build, but doesn't want to take up the clippers and sanding sticks herself (except when she is doing her nails).

Thanks!

Nice. How does the Duplicolor clear go down? I've been using Testor's Wet Look, and am not 100% sold on it.

Thanks again everyone. I went with Duplicolor Sunburst Gold. That's a modern Ford color, but it seemed close to what I wanted. I'm thinking about using the same color for a 1954 Bel Air at some point, and this was a bit of a test for it.