Dragonhawk1066

Outstanding work!

Outstanding!!

Very nice!

My initial mock-up showed I had clearance for the rear wheels, but while assembling the bed, I noticed that I was mistaken, and surgery was in order. I measured and cut out the inner bed wall, and then very carefully cut pieces out of the bed floor. I used a pill bottle to make the arches and .020 sheet styrene to fill in the arches. I thought I had everything measured correctly, so I primed, painted and cleared the fender tubs with Pledge yesterday. Upon re-assembling the bed this morning, it was apparent that the tubs were just a bit too small. So, back to the pill bottle and sheet styrene to make a couple more to be painted Monday.

Thanks for the great comments everyone! I finished the interior and pinned the SSR side view mirrors. I also sprayed on two coats of Tamiya Smoke to tone down the wheels.

Looking good! I just finished that kit myself, although I didn't kitbash it, I did highly modify it and it was a lot of fun. I actually bought two of them as one was mis- marked and I couldn't pass it up for the price, but thankfully the flash and mold lines on mine aren't nearly as bad as your pics. Looking forward to seeing this one come to life!

Thanks, I airbrushed them. I airbrush craft paints all the time, mostly for engines, chassis, and interiors. I have also airbrushed several bodies with the metallics. They definitely need to be thinned though. I started using just plain blue automotive windshield washer fluid, which works well. I now use a "homebrew" thinner that consists of 3 parts distilled water, 1 part isopropyl alcohol, and 5-6 drops of glycerin, as a flow improver, per 8 oz. batch and the results are great.

Nice looking Cutlass!

Very nice! Looks good in Bahama Blue!

Nice looking Nova in a great color!

And finally to get things current, I spent the morning wet-sanding and polishing the body parts. I ended up using Micro Mesh Polishing Pads starting at 6000, then 8000, and 12000. After that was some Novus #2 polish and then Meguiar's Ceaner Wax. I tried starting wet-sanding with 4000 and then 6000 wet/dry sandpaper, but both were too abrasive for the Createx UVLS Clear, so the polishing pads ended up being the perfect starting point. I really like my experience with these Createx Paints so far.

The interior tub was left in the gray primer, and the seats were given a two-tone using a custom mix of craft paints. I hand painted the door handles and window cranks with Molotow Chrome. The gauge cluster was painted and detailed and Molotow was also used for the bezel. I painted Molotow on the steering wheel, and drilled holes and used wire for the column shifter, turn signal, and tilt wheel lever.

The engine was painted with Decoart Dazzling Metallics Zinc, the transmission in aluminum, and then detailed and assembled.

Then it was time to make something of the woodgrain bed floor. I airbrushed the piece with Apple Barrel Khaki craft paint. I then brush painted Apple Barrel Nutmeg Brown over the Khaki, making sure not to get any thick spots. After that I dry-brushed Delta Ceramcoat Black using both straight strokes and a swirling motion to try to give it a natural look. It turned out pretty good, so I brushed on a coat of Matte Varnish and let it dry overnight. In the morning, I taped off the the bed and trimmed out the slats to airbrush the Molotow Chrome. When that was done, I carefully pulled up the tape and surprised myself with what I think is a pretty nice looking woodgrain bed.

I did the prep work for the body, including sanding off the door handles. I primed it with Stynylrez Gray Primer, and then shot the Turquoise, using five coats. Two lighter coats, two medium coats, and a heavy coat. I really like the Createx paints so far and absolutely love this color.

It's kind of far along in the process to start a WIP thread, but I thought I'd start one anyways, lol. I got the inspiration from Scott Inman, aka lghtngyello03 for this one. I'll be using the engine/transmission, seats, wheels/tires, and hopefully exhaust from the SSR. The color will be Createx Pearlized Turquoise. I opened up the grill, stripped the rest of the chrome and re-chromed it by airbrushing Molotow from the refill tube. I cut and flattened the front springs, and mounted the rear springs under the mounts to lower the suspensions. I'm not going for an ultra-low ride, so the height is pretty much where I want it.

Very nice! I really like that color, I'm going to have to look for it next time I go paint shopping.

Great color and shine!

Great looking interior, and excellent weathering on the motor/transmission.

Very nice!

Excellent work!!

Condolences on your loss, these things are never easy. The Mustang is looking fantastic, I just started the same kit and I'm really impressed with it so far. Your dash and interior are excellent, and the wheels look great. Mine will be Brittany Blue (or as close as I can get with a craft paint mixture), with a blue interior, and if my interior looks close to the quality of yours, I'll be very happy.

Looks good! Would never know it was so traumatized.

Outstanding!!

Looks great! Love the white/gold! It's almost impossible to make decals look good over molded in vents.