Custom Mike

Tell John he does nice work, it looks to be a perfect match for the real car! The 2k Clears are a great product, I use 'em occasionally...that means when my can of activator hasn't dried up!

Absolutely gorgeous Bill, I'm glad you didn't give up on it!

Colby, keep your eyes on harbor Freight, they have them all the time for a decent price!

Nice use of the A-10 engines!

I prefer the "Eyeball it, cut, cuss a lot, measure, cut it wrong again" method, it's so much more satisfying when you finally get it right! Ben, who care how long it takes, build for yourself above all, and every mistake you make will just make you a better builder in the long run. No matter what, finish it off, even if it isn't what you pictured in the first place. The biggest stumbling block to scratch-building and customizing is not finishing. Once you've got some success under your belt, whether it's right or not, you can move on to the next one with the confidence that you'll finish. And amazingly, the next one will be better!

If I don't repaint at least once, I'm not trying it seems, so you're not alone. Looks like the rest is coming along nicely at least, I hope you don't have too much bodywork to redo!

Can't go wrong with Plum Crazy, and it's nice and smooth too!

Sounds like another beauty is on the way Steven, bring it, my popcorn is ready!

Man, you sure picked a tough one to get looking good, but from what you've shown so far, it looks like you'll get a nice result!

Chassis looks great Greg, and the modification to the shifter plate on the console is very nicely done!

Dave, you definitely have a rare option on that vinyl top, I've been to literally hundreds of car shows, and have never seen that vinyl top once!

David, using Nail Polish is very simple, all you need is Lacquer thinner, and at least two bottles of the color you want to spray (One to thin down for spraying, a second just in case you mess up, Nail Polish colors change rapidly so the color you buy today will be slightly different in 3-6 months!). Thin the Nail polish down 50/50, or about the consistency of Milk. I usually pour half the Nail Polish out into a paint bottle, and add thinner to the paint bottle, throwing in a BB (Or ball bearing) for mixing, then add some thinner to the Nail Polish bottle so the remainder is also ready to spray. Then you spray as you normally would. One word of advice though, you'll need a good quality Primer/Sealer, because you're using a Lacquer based paint. If you don't use a Primer/Sealer, you'll ruin the styrene. I use Dupli Color Primer/Sealer myself, I'm not sure what the equivalent is in the UK, but I'm sure someone will chime in with that. One other warning, some Nail Polish colors are translucent, so they'll require a base color that will make them look right, or tons of color coats to get the color right. Always test the color on a scrap piece first to see if it covers the plastic in one pass or not, prior to thinning it. That way you'll know if you need a base color to help out.

Nice work Pat, very sinister!

David, take lots of reference pics please, my memory is good, but I'm sure I could use a refresher, the last I saw of mine was in 1988.

David, I didn't see a flat hood listed on their page. The one that Brian posted from Time Machine looks like the exact same hood I've got, rear vents included, so if I was looking for one currently, I'd go with the Time Machine piece, and for $5, it's a pretty good deal...but I've never ordered from them, so I wouldn't be able to vouch for the quality, but I'm sure someone here has bought a piece from them. EDIT: Time Machine also has the hideaway headlight inserts if you want/need them, click on the link and scroll down to the last item on the page, only $2 a set! http://www.timemachineresin.bravehost.com/parts.html

David, here's a link to the pics on my Fotki page, since I can't get pictures to load here, I also sent Kevin over at Missing Link a message on Facebook to see if it's still available. http://public.fotki.com/customike/works-in-progress/1972-dodge-charger-/

David, I got my flat hood from Missing Link also, I believe it's from the old MPC '74 Charger kit, but who knows, all I know is it's a dead-on match for the flat hood I had on the car (Except the underside, but I'll live with it!), ask if they still produce it, that's how I found out they had it!

Mine earned the name "The Beast", she was tough as nails, I got the original 318 up to 293,000 miles before it finally gave up on me. Have you done the upper/lower ball joints and inner/outer tie rod ends on your yet? Mine would last between 113,000 and 117,000 miles before they had to be replaced. It was an issue with that particular body style, when the Charger finally had to be sent to the junkyard, I bought a '71 Road Runner (340 automatic, Dark Green Metallic, Green full vinyl top, Green interior, that car hated my guts and wanted me dead!), the same problems with the front suspension popped up on it at the same mileage range. And my vinyl top was the normal white vinyl, take a picture of the top and post it, I've never seen one like that. Oh, and my name is actually Mike (It's hidden at the bottom of my posts), I stuck the Olaf in there to mess with people...if you're not having fun, you're not living!

Dave, I'm going to be doing the same conversion once I can find some Firestone S/S Radials, that's my holdup. I've got all the parts you have from Missing Link, and a set of hideaway headlight grilles that I got from Smblkdodge Resins, but their website is currently down, so I don't know where you can find them.Mine was Butterscotch with a White half vinyl top, and a Dark Green interior...yes, it came from the factory that way! I had a bunch of oddball options, along with a 318 like yours. So my interior is almost a perfect match for the AMT kit, just swap for an automatic and make it an ugly green and I'll be set! A bit of Silver paint and a PE Charger script and they'll be good to go, they fit beautifully in the kit grille or the Missing Link one!

I kind of figured it was unavoidable, but you've got much more knowledge when it comes to things like that than I do. I just throw glue and paint at 'em and hope for the best! Craig, thanks for the tip, I tried it and it works great. Much different than before, but actually easier!

Since I've been sidelined, I haven't tried posting any pics for a while, and Rob's right, the "Img" option is missing from the reply tab....what happened? Art, I've got one question, does your front bumper have the big seam on the sides? Mine's going to need to be stripped, smoothed out, and re-chromed, That's the biggest problem I've seen on this kit so far, so I'm extremely happy with it.

I'm along for the ride Art, I just got mine last week, and once my shoulder allows it, I'm going to start slinging glue again with this beauty as my first build back!

What can be said that hasn't already been posted...excellent color choice, great photos, and a super clean build, another beauty Yuri!

Joe, I'll be watching this one, I've built this kit many times as a young glue-bomber, and never once did it come out well...but the M-80's took care of any evidence! The new stance is much, much better than the Gasser look, (Just my opinion), any other wild ideas in store for this baby?

Simply gorgeous Joe, I wouldn't change a thing! Have you tried snapping a few pictures outside to see if the flames show up better? I know they're on the truck because I watched the WIP, but it might make it easier for others to see.