adamelvis

I like the accessories from Detail Master and Model Car Garage. I was able to get the '71 Hemi Cuda Dress Up Kit from MCG and wanted to use the photo-etched grills. This means you have to drill out the holes or grind down the back. I used the Dremel on the back of the grill. The fog lights in this kit are just a chrome plated item that you glue in place with no clear lens to go over top. That's not acceptable, so I had the idea to drill out the hole for the fog lights and mount them from behind the grill. Then I used scrap clear plastic and cut out my own lenses to mount in the front of the grill. When drilling out the whole, I left a very small edge in place for my clear lens to settle down on. The photo doesn't pick it up, but there is definitely that depth perception of theses "sunken" fog lights. A little too aggressive with the Dremel drill and you can see I came through the grill in a few spots. No to worry, I will fill it in from behind with a little putty and all will be fine. I plan to have a functional hood pin set up with the wire coming through the grill as in the reference photo below. TCB, Adam

Trunk work. Never hinged a trunk before. Seen lots of pictures and videos, so I'm hoping it works out ok. Now I have to add details inside like a trunk mat and possibly a spare tire & jack !

Finished work. TCB, Adam

Oops, yes you are correct. Those would be the 23". They fit the car better than the 19". Adam

I'll post photos of the finished build in Under Glass. thanks for the comments guys ! TCB, Adam

Nice Ride !! TCB, Adam

What a build ! This needs to been done for real !! Great creation Joseph! TCB, Adam

Those wheels will compliment your Charger nicely !! TCB, Adam

Love that blue. And your BMF work on the interior door panels & seats is perfect ! TCB, Adam

Nice color Jason. I have a Boss 429 on my list and would love to paint it the same as yours. Are you going with a black hood and rear wing? I was thinking of using a carbon fiber decal on mine, as I'm going pro touring with my build. TCB, Adam

Engine work. I had originally planned on adding a 572 Chevrolet crate motor with a big billet aluminum air cleaner, but then the hood would not close..... The problems we face with big motors... LOL !! So, I went with the original 454 engine. Ran the fuel lines, added throttle linkage and return spring. Scratch built oil dipstick with leftover spark plug wiring. Also, added the alternator support bracket. The photo-etched hose clamps were a bugger to glue on, as you have to put a curl in them, so they wrap around your radiator hose nicely. The detail is great, but it's so darn small to see. Below is a really good tip, for all those men who use electric shavers. When you replace the old shaver screen & blades, keep the screen and you can use it for things like a air filter screen, or a/c vents under the hood, etc. Upgraded the steering wheel to the SS option and added speaker grills in the back. Gotta have tunes !! Interior details include flocking, adding the turn signal lever, GM seat belts, window cranks, Chevelle badging and keys in the ignition. I've been adding interior roof liners into my builds lately. This is a real easy thing to do and I am surprised of how many great modelers forget this detail. Firstly, I cut out the excess plastic around the window molds (usually that big chunk that keeps the front & rear windows together as one piece) then I simply use clear masking tape and tape it into place. Next, I use Post-It notes as my template and figure out my measurements. Then cut the template out from a twill patch (Walmart $5) and glue it down with fabric glue. Sometime, I end up trimming off the clear plastic that has the mounting hole for the rear view mirror. In the pic below, you can see that I had to make my own base for the mirror to mount to. I used small tube styrene, cut it on a angle, sanded the edges and used the chrome pen. A dot of glue and in place it goes. Sun visors are another easy scratch built item for the interior. Primed in black. Next up .... exterior and final body assembly. TCB, Adam

Nice Truck !! TCB, Adam

Here is a tribute build for my father in law who passed away a few years ago. Lime Green, was his favorite color. And when asked what his favorite muscle car was.... 71' Cuda was his reply. Theses are wheels that I thought looked like a modern version of the stock Mopar wheels. Although, there is a guy named Steve Zimmerman (Steve Z) who makes custom wheels and he has a stock version that are in scale to a 19' front 21" rear, I believe. They look smokin' hot, but in the end, I went with the Mr. Model ones above from Brazil. More to come.... TCB, Adam

How may times have we asked the question, " What would be your favorite muscle car? " LOL. Well, that is a question I asked my older brother (circa 1963) and his response was .... a 70' Chevelle SS jet black with with stripes, white interior, stock 454 under the hood and upgraded brakes with large 20" rims. So, off I was on a mission to do just that, build his favorite muscle car. Although AMT has some good choices in car models currently on the market, I do find their molds a real pain to work with and not very detailed. There is a lot of flashing and prominent mold lines to deal with. You will see some of these issues as I post my results of this build. The door panels had very small details and the arm rest was almost non existing. I scratch built one myself and added photo-etched window cranks. Here you can see the bucket seats and center console were molded together as one piece. I used a saw and was able to cut them out nicely. Another bad idea was the molded in driveshaft. LOL. This also was cut out and later I just used a driveshaft from my parts box. A simple method of making your own coil springs would be to use scrap wire or open up a paper clip and bend it around a round toothpic, small screwdriver shaft or lolipop stick (yes, I have little kids). These are methods I used and afterwards, paint it the color of your choice. Theses are the Pegasus 20" Chrome T's wheels & tires. The bottom corner of the rear panel is rounded off, but this is suppose to be finished squared. I glue a very small piece to the bottom of the bumper trim and was able to make it look right. The side of the bumper had to be sanded down, due to the wrinkle in the chrome. I later used the marvelous Molotow Chrome pen to finish it off. In the picture above, you will see that this kit has a 1/4 inch gap between the firewall and interior cab. This gap would still be visible once you installed the undercarriage. I used scrap clear plastic (from regular packaged items you buy at a grocery or hardware store) to build a cover and heated up a piece and molded it around the cap of my wife's nail polish bottle. It was the perfect shape for the transmission tunnel ! Below, you can see it worked fine, no gaps. You will also notice that I ran my brake lines underneath too. I will post more photos of Engine, Interior and Final assembly. Also, a few more tips for you guys as well. TCB, Adam

That Blue is Beautiful. Great engine work too ! TCB, Adam

Beautiful, Clean, Flawless Deuce ! TCB, Adam

What a beautiful, clean, classic Deuce !! TCB, Adam

WOW ! AT first I thought I was looking at real photos of the car, then finally scrolling down to the bottom, I noticed this was your model. ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS !! TCB, Adam

Nice clean build John. Is the steering wheel upside down? lol. TCB, Adam

Cool....Very Cool. Great tip on the piping !! I also use a similar method when doing custom chrome trim on Hot Rod & modified custom bodies. TCB, Adam

Sweet !! TCB, Adam

AMAZING DEUCES !! TCB, Adam

It is Tamiya Mica Blue. TCB, Adam

I love Foose builds. Can't wait to see how this turns out. !! TCB, Adam

I ordered a bunch of flame stencils from Lazy Modeler, got most of the parts I was searching for: Wheels, Duval Windshield, Steering Wheel, Instrument Panel, Edelbrock Engine Dressup kit & Gas Tank. Will look at completing it this summer 2018 ! TCB, Adam