#1 model citizen

Thanks!

Aussome!

The Saabs were cool. Don't see many of them around here! Just what was the aluminum(?) bodied car with fender skirts all around. Kind of looked lie a Jag/Porsche hybrid to me.

They also did a '60 Valiant. Revell produced a'62 Valiant & a '62 Dodge Lancer GT. The Valiant was issued in both white & Metal Glow versions. I also have an odd ball kit (I think it is a Palmer , but I don't recall for for sure. I'll update when I have a chance to look) that says its a 1963 Valiant (2nd generation) but inside is a crude 1st generation Valiant UPDATE: Well I was almost right. The '60 Valiant was issued under SMP label. (3'n 1) The '62 Valiant was issued "Metal Flake" (not Metal Glow). The odd ball '63 Valiant was manufactured by Premiere (not Palmer) & even pictures a 1st generation Valiant on the box!

I also get Hemmings Classic Car & I keep the issues of both, too.

My issue arrived last week and just had time to skimmed through it, but it looks to be very informative. Can't wait to do an indepth read, but I keep falling farther behind in keeping pace with the now 4 periodicals I get. I think I spend most of my reading time on this site. I got to say its a great reference material for vintage stock autos.

I had 2 black '65 Valiants and a red '64. I also had a '63 in blue, but as I recall it was a darker than powder blue metallic. A neighbor had a 1st gen Valiant that he had repainted yellow. I think it was green originally... And yes a '64,'65 Dart would find a home on my model shelf!

Well believe it or not I at one time had 4 Valiants: a '63 2dr sedan that I bought to flip, a '64 V200 convertible, and 2 '65 Signet convertibles, 1 being a parts car. My favorite was the rather rusty & ratty '65 after I replaced the original 170 cid engine with a 225 from my '61 Dodge wagon that some one totaled as it sat parked on the street. It was fast! I did a little light to light racing with a friend in his 350 T-bird. I would be up to 35 mph before he would catch up with me. He could not believe he was being left in the dust by a single bb,l 6 cylinder until he looked under the hood. I sadly had to sell the car. The guy bought it replaced the 6 with a small block V8. He had to do quite a bit of tweaking to out do the performance of that spunky slant 6! I do truly miss both the wagon & the fun I had with the Valiant. I hope that some day I can find a few of those models you have. I do have a couple of 1st gen Valiants; an unbuilt '60 and a very clean built '61 got off Ebay. I also have an unbuilt '65 Barracuda and '66 Barracuda that has built and disassembled but very worthy of a rebuild.

That's a pretty cool Valiant. Is that a Mustang roof? And did you rework the engine compartment? Did it even start out with an engine compartment?

When I polish plastic I 1st carefully remove the mold lines with various grits of sand paper. I will start with 600-800 grit and carefully smooth away the mold lines taking care not to go too far beyond the mold lines. I then continue to go over the offending areas wet sanding with 800 then 1000, 1500 & 2000 grits. (You may then want to continue with a polishing kit on just the areas you have been working or the whole body. I usually don't) I then polish the whole thing with Novus 2, though others use all sorts of different polishing agents such as automotive polishes and Snake has already suggested silver polish. So use whatever you have at hand. I rub firmly, supporting the backside of the area I'm working. It can take some time, but as you work you see just what it will take to achieve the results you want. Be careful to not to rub to hard on delicate areas like roof pillars, etc. If you find a good polish, pass it along to the rest of us! good luck no matter which way you go & keep us updated on the progress.

I don't think you would have any difficulty painting this model. You are not working with a color that is hard to conceal & it doesn't appear to have a high gloss. I would sand the bare plastic with 400 or 600 grit sand paper and primer it. You might even be able to paint it without primer if your'e painting it a green, black, or another dark opaque color. I would use 600 grit sand paper if painting without the primer.

I recall demolition derbies on the school playground at recess & lunch. I would use "a little extra" glue to try to outdo the the competition. This work well on 1 particular '61 Chevy, nicely brushed painted a custom mix of a less than pretty blue. I had done well winning several rounds. but it eventually suffered an irrepairable blow to the front fender. It was really only a piece of plastic that had chipped off, but my prized Chevy was now ruined and I retired from the derby, not wanting to suffer such financial loss in the future.

Love them Darts!

x2. Very nicely done!

If it is molded in high gloss finish, there are no major dimples to fill and I like the color I will remove the mold lines, polish it & call it good. Sadly almost all models have flaws to be fixed. Even worse is cutting down the high gloss finish so paint will stick if you do decide to paint it. If it is molded in red, orange or yellow, you may have bleed through issues as well. I had a Dodge Caravan molded in red that I attempted multiple times to paint white with all different primers, colors, multiple coats, & even silver & gold as suggested by the knowledgeable & helpful folk on this site without success. The red would always bleed through. Bottom line is finish it to your liking; its your model!

As a long time MoPar owner I can tell you the primer is gray but most of the underside is body colored over spray. (My T&C minivan doesn't have much over spray beyond the rocker panels, but thats's a much newer and different vehicle).Also most have been undercoated black. Cars of your model's era use a low gloss black for the frame rails, suspension, steering, rear axle & drive shaft. Even though these components all use this same approximate color, you may want to use different blacks on the various components to add a little detail interest. The black on 1:1 cars isn't a perfect match from part to part since they are made of different materials and painted at different times at different locations with different paint lots, and possibly different paint formulas/suppliers/manufacturers, (but you probably already know that )

I would have to agree. Also the character lines along the the rear window & edge of the roof need to be removed. I am just assuming these alterations have yet to be addressed. This is a very fun, interesting &, dare I say, an exciting build to watch!

The headlights are particularly well done.

YAY! I done good! I assumed a rant would have been long winded!

Thanks, Paul! That's quite a good technique and I imagine I will find several projects to use it on.

I agree & just didn't remember to do it. I'll fix that immediately, if I can Oh, BTW I don't see the rant. Did it get taken down? Note: just went in and deleted what I could. I couldn't remove the links

That is cool and looks like its its simple & easy and something I could do! I would like to see more!

Looks like a good repair! Did you make the mold with Silly Putty? What type of resin (or other agent) did you use? And did you place the mold onto the body to be repair before filling it with resin?

Thanks Bill! All that is highly informative. Thanks for including links to the older threads, too. I just wish that the pics that are now missing from those threads were still visible

Thanks Cale. those are some great pics. Just the type I was hoping for!