Steamboat

I feel your pain. The pre-painted body is nice, and the Torque-Thrust wheels are awesome. I could never get the twist out of the body, though, no matter how hard I tried. The left front wheel doesn't touch the ground.

I think it was the snapper. It was pre-painted. The detail on the transmission is surprising.

I went through all my built models trying to determine which has the best 727 Torqueflight transmission. Here are the results: #1 - Polar Lights 1965 Dodge #2 - Revell '69 Dodge Dart (on right, MPC on left, sorry for the bad focus) #3 - Johan Chrysler turbine car The rest - Lindberg '64 Dodge Johan '68 Chrysler 300 (nice torsion bars too! - NOT) Lindberg Little Red Wagon If anyone knows of others that have more detail, feel free to add.

727 Torqueflight transmission - Here's a pic of the chassis. I really can't identify which kit this transmission came from. I'll start a separate post in tips, trick and tutorials showing all the transmissions I've looked at.

I wish I could pinpoint where the torqueflight came from. The best I could find was a 1/25 scale tranny which is a bit small. I bought about 50 engines from eBay a while back and saved anything that looked like a Mopar. No idea what kit it came from. I'll take a pic when I get a chance. Maybe someone on the site can identify it.

Very nice job. That was always a fun kit.

Here's the article, from Mopar Action magazine, February 2011

I just finished this one after a 5+ year build. It's is a representation of the documented last 'Cuda convertible to roll off the line. There is much conjecture as to why it ended up with the non-matching orange seats! I used a seat from the AMT Duster kit, and re-scribed the pattern on it to represent the base trim level 'Cuda seat. I then cloned that seat in resin to make the other seat. The pattern is carried over to the rear seat. The dash has a Rallye instrument cluster grafted in from an AMT kit. The steering wheel is modified from a Coronet. The engine was borrowed from the Monogram Challenger T/A, changed over to 4-bbl carb. Feel free to comment. I hope you like it!

That is a BEAUTIFUL build! I like the pictures where the car is reflected in water. How did you do that?

Can't wait to see how this one turns out. I've got a '69 that is patiently waiting to be built.

Progress on the Mustang: The body was primed with Rustoleum primer and partly top coated with Testor's flat green. The Rustoleum went on smooth and thin and I am very happy with the finish. The 1:1 car was painted flat green with a brush before I got it. This model represents the car partly through the restoration. Chassis with engine and exhaust, weathered and ready for final assembly: Hope you like. I'll post more progress pics soon.

Nice work! I like the blue streak on the tires. Nice detail, Is that a decal?

I've used Tamiya lacquer, Model Master clear enamel, and Future for clear coat. I've gotten yellowing decals when using the Mode Master enamel, but never with the Tamiya lacquer. With both Tamiya lacquer and Future, I've had problems with the decals wrinkling, but only occasionally. It's still too early to tell whether Future allows yellowing as I've only been using it for about a year.

I've always loved the XJ12's. Nice work on the distributor. I'm sure having 12 wires to deal with really added to the fun!

Completed the engine today. It's as rusty and crusty as it was back in 1976. Paints used were Testors black acrylic and gold. It was then washed with thinned flat black, and dry brushed with Testors rust. Once in the car, it'll get an overall wash of thinned gray too.

Looking good. A comment on the air cleaner: if you want ultimate accuracy the snorkels should be absent for '69. The air comes in from underneath. It's a taller air cleaner with a smaller diameter. The one from the 383 should be pretty close.

This is going to be a build of the first 1:1 car I owned. I bought it for $100 when I was 16, and yanked out the worn-out 6 and swapped in a 260 from a Falcon. It was a learning experience! The dents in the door are where I kicked it continuously. I was an angry young man! Ride height adjusted in the rear for the worn-out leaf springs. You've got to love metal axles! Chassis detail is not a priority on this one. The 4-lug wheels remained on the 1:1 car after the engine swap. I cast these in resin, cloned from a Tamiya Lotus Seven kit, thanks to fellow modeler from this site for the tip. The distributor on left supplied in the AMT kit is meager to say the least. Thanks to this site for a tip on casting your own distributor, I cast some pieces of wire insulation into a resin copy of a distributor from my parts box. The distributor vacuum advance sits right up front for all to see, so I thought I would add one. The following pics show the process of making one from some old pieces of sprue and a piece of wire. More to come..

Very nice build. Don't know about the seats, but the engine scales very well to 1:25. I did some research for a friend who was looking for a 427 cammer for a race car he was building, and he ended up using this engine. I'm building a 1:25 Mustang and a 1:24 Barracuda right now, and I've been meaning to check the scale accuracy. The Mustang seems impossibly small compared to the Cuda, even with the scale difference.

Super nice build. That color looks great on one of my all-time favorite cars.

Nice build of a very unusual subject. It looks way better than the 1:1 cars did!

It was the Testors kit. It built up well though. I had some fit issues with hoses around the turbo, but they can't be seen with the engine in the body. The engine is made up of 49 pieces!

Does anyone have a trick for making realistic rear view mirrors? I have tried BMF and polished aluminum, but am still not satisfied with the results.

Sweet! Nice clean build.

Thanks guys for the kind comments! The outside mirrors are actually aluminum cut from a soda can and polished. I originally tried BMF and didn't like it, so this was my attempt to find something shiny. I'll post a question in the Q&A about whether anyone has a trick for these.

Just finished my 4th build of the year. When I got the kit, the roof was crushed and the a-pillars and vent window frames were all broken. I felt bad for the little car and had to restore it. Paint is Duplicolor GM blue with clearcoat by Future. I could only salvage 2 of the decals, even with Micro Mark's help - the front Porsche medallion and the PORSCHE lettering on the tail lights, but that in itself was a lifesaver. Thanks to the members for pointing me towards a set of instructions. Comments are welcome!