R. Thorne

Decided to trial fit the wheels and tires while eating supper. Also trimmed up the frame. Then sanded the backs of the wheels (just had to try out my new dspiae sander/grinder). Put some dull cote on the tires to take some of the sheen away.

Well, the gold Testors enamel turned out like BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH, so, decided to put some old red enamel on over it after about a week of dry time. That turned out less than average, but I am moving on. Lesson learned. Leave Testors enamel alone and remember why I have been using Tamiya TS series cans for the last 4 or 5 years.

Thanks, Bob. It was fun and brought back memories of my junior Stock Racing days. What more can you ask of a model kit?

Outstanding! Could we see some chassis pics?

More than happy to answer. They are adhesive stick double backed dots I am trying instead of tape or fun tac. They were helpful in this instance because they are about 1/16” thick and the air cleaner base could be more fully painted. Thank you for all the tips you have posted on this forum, Greg.

An in between drag cars (waiting for parts) stock build. Love the engine detail. Removed the seam line on front fenders. No primer, no other sanding of the body. Had some old Testors metallic gold spray enamel that I decided to use (probably regret it). Looks awful after the initial spray, but after drying a few minutes, it levels out. The finish is flat with no gloss. Put some Tamiya silver plate on the engine.

Thanks, Roger. It was an interesting experience and I think I got a little better with the Hasegawa chrome.

A toothpick with bluetac works pretty good. I am currently experimenting with this. So far, so good.

Thanks for the suggestion. I don’t normally do shading or weathering, but you are right. That engine sure looks too orange.

Thank you.

“That thing got a hemi and a stick shift in it?” “yup.” Shades of Bob Reed.

Thanks, Mike. I am going to leave that smudge on the top of the left front fender to remind me not to use too much ca glue the next time. I had the car upside down gluing the frame on and I found out later it had drained on to the fender.

Saturday was a full day with timeouts in between painting. Primed with 1 light coat, then 1 medium, base gold the same way, then clear red (1 light, then 2 medium), clear (1 light then 1 medium). This was all done in 1 day. I usually waited 5-10 minutes between coats, then, an hour or so between different colors. Finished about 2 o’clock this morning. It looks good, so, moving on.

Thanks, Tony. Got the 3 hoods cleaned up in Purple stuff, then primed with Tamiya white primer. Noticed some runs where I had painted the body with clear red. Sanded it down, noticed a couple of other spots, so, decided to start again and dunked it in 91% alcohol. This took place on Friday.

Thanks, guys. Comments good or bad and questions are always welcomed.

Also, worked pretty good and reminded me of a 1:1 type drop light when laid on the top of the car.

Stopped and started a lot on this one. It is representative of a 265 cu. In. Chevy with a single four barrel (4gc) carb and a 3 speed stick shift Stock Eliminator car. Scattershield came from a 57 Nomad kit, aftermarket fenderwell headers, Lakewood traction bars from I don’t know where land, cast my own tires (7” cheater slicks) from the AMT Surf Woody that comes with 4 slicks. Most of the parts came from the Revell Del Ray kit. Paint is Tamiya spray cans. Chrome trim is Hasegawa. Don’t remember where the wheels came from. More information about how I got started on this build is on the WIP thread. Critiques, comments, questions, are always welcomed.

Calling it done. Installed top hose and battery with the help of my “drop light “. One spot of ca glue leaked off frame rails onto left front fender. I had put too much on. Will post a couple pics in the finished section.

Finally got these hoods from Greg Wann, so, I’m back on the Firebird after finishing the 56 Stocker.

Front and rear bumpers installed. Photos sure show up errors (broken decal on trunk, for example) that you wouldn’t normally notice.

Tried a new ca glue from Deluxe materials. I like the texture and applicator bottle. Seems to work a little quicker and stronger (as my fingers will attest) than the bsi gold I normally use. Ground some off the bottom of the interior tub for a better fit and glued it in. Glued the grille/splash pan/front bumper together.

Put some “shoe polish” class designation and numbers on with my new acrylic markers. One side with the brush end and one with the marker end. Don’t know which I like the best. Who ever heard of “permanent “ numbers back then? Then, you gotta have a few decals on the windows. Tried some from the 63 Corvette kit that disintegrated in water. So, had some considerably newer Slixx ones that worked fine. Where would we be without the aftermarket guys?

Made some side windows using an adhesive back scratch pad and some .005” clear plastic. Used the gs hypo to install ‘em along with toothpick/fun tack and the handy flashlight that came with the tweezers. Worst part about the gs hypo cement is getting that tiny needle in the cap back in the tube female hole. The small light helps illuminate that chore, but it is tedious. Put door handles, windshield wipers, and some other trim pieces on. Letting her dry overnight and should be able to put her together tomorrow.

Well, there’s also the ultra high tech toothpick with fun tack for handling small parts. May be too expensive and complicated, though.

Just got these today and tried them out. Proper bench lighting is always important, but sometimes I do work away from the bench in another room. While I have a lighted head band, the glare (especially on gloss black finishes) is often a hindrance. Saw these on Amazon for $5.99 (they are now$4.73!) and decided to take a chance. The quality looks good and I believe the light can be used on other tweezers. Anyway, they helped me to see better installing some chrome trim on my ‘56.