Oldcarfan27

Lemme guess, then Tom Zs cat went and knocked his project into the litter box? ? What is it with cats and model kits? Years ago, I had one that decided that old vintage plastic model parts tasted good and proceeded to chew on irreplaceable parts with vigor. AARRGGHH!

I can't tell, Real or Model? I showed these pics to one of my coworkers - he said "real" for the rusty old car, but "model" for the newer looking vending machines. Until I showed him the pic of the rusty old car next to the vending machines and he wasn't so sure anymore. That's impressive! You fooled the brain to thinking the miniature is the real thing. That's the ultimate compliment.

Woa, Echo, echo. Sounds like we all had the same ideas at the same time! GMTA

Just sand away the parting lines and polish the plastic like you would a paint job. Biggest problem is the swirl marks and translucency in the plastic. Swirl marks I have no fixes for, but if the plastic is translucent - try painting the inside of the body with an opaque color. Black, if you want it darker, light grey if you want it lighter. Cool thing about polishing the plastic - no scratches, chips or burn through. Bad thing about polished plastic - can't blend mismatched colors or touch up glue marks, so be careful!

The Buick decals would be awesome, but what will we be able to put them on? Unless you know about a collonade Buick kit I'm unaware of. I really like the Silverado decal sheets (I own a 90 Shorty). The tailgate panel is an aluminum stamped piece with raised edges and borders around the letters, which it looks like you captured. But did you get the multiple horizontal lines through the whole thing? The AMT kit decal is just a grey solid background which isn't correct, neither are the letters. I tried to find a good clear photo online, but the low resolution lost the horizontal lines. Hopefully, you can see them a little bit in the pic I've attached. Don't forget to add the EFI (electronic fuel injection) decals for the tailgate too. You really are good at this! I think you've found your calling.

I know there was a famous article back then, dealing with the Hirohata Merc, and a new Caddy engine and then driving it across the country to an east coast car show and back. Quite a bit longer than a couple days and he enjoyed the drive!

That's not fair, the owner's of those custom cars were older teenagers and young guys fresh back from the war. New cars were a luxury in the late 40s and early 50s, until mass production made them cheap a few years later. These guys only had access to cheap old Fords and run down pre-war cars. It's not like they could AFFORD a new Cadillac or expensive luxury car, they had to made the best with what they had and they did start out trying to make an old Ford look like a Caddy or Packard. Sometimes making them look better! Imagine a young kid today trying to afford a Tesla or a Porsche. But instead starting with a 10 year old Subaru or Honda - same perspective.

Makes me wish it was a more mainstream car like a Lincoln, Cadillac or even a vintage Mercedes. It's not like we've seen a lot of these Chinese limos around. And if model companies are always spouting off about producing kits that can sell enough to recoup the investment - then why would they make this?

I don't care if they're rare or not, I just enjoy seeing all the cool old and unusual box art on this thread! I think vintage boxes have some sort of subliminal message that says "buy me and build me!" That's also why I have to keep up with what Round 2 releases, their retro boxes keep calling me to look and buy. I already own a couple of each of these, But I would have to buy more if they reissued them. They call out to me! I anxiously await the reissue of these... And I have to wonder why THIS one hasn't yet been reissued, when we know everything for it still exists.... Or this.. Yes, they're all based on recent repops, but the box art on these is just soooo much fun. I want them all! What say you?

Kinda sounds like plastic surgery on some famous people we know.

Whoa, you did all that from the Monogram kit? I would've never even considered that one. Very impressive!

Maybe that was Murphy's opinion on your color choice! LOL Actually, that happened to me too. I had just finished spraying the best paint job of my life (to hear me tell it), when I turned to put the spray can down and bumped the table it was sitting on and "plop" right onto the floor. So I feel your pain! Of course I had a ton of bodywork already done on it, so stripping the paint off messed up most of that too. Needless to say, that project never got finished.

He's right, why would you need to wax it? Wax is basically a protectant from the UV, but since it's probably going to spend very little time out in the sun and weather, that's a moot point anyway. If you want to put a protectant on the car, you could do like they do on the real cars and use a spray detailer on a cloth and wipe it on. Detailer is clear and is used instead of wax to keep dark colors from getting swirl scratch marks and wax residue off of the paint before a car show. It's also used on flat black paint to keep the finish consistent. But for you it's optional, you don't need it.

I completely agree! ? And imagine how they stood out in the conservative 50s! Look at the buildings and things in the background for comparison.

Customs started out after WW2 by returning GIs as a way to update or streamline the older cars to look newer and sleeker. If you've seen the early customs, you'd understand their appeal. The earliest customs were very beautiful and modern for the time and actually IMPROVED the styling of the car. Don't forget, these builders did influence new car styling by around 1955 or 56. Low, lean styling, hardtops, vibrant candy and metallic paints and jet age details weren't introduced until the customizers tried them first. By the late 50s, owners were just trying to outdo each other with "gotcha" gimmicks and bizarre changes just for the sake of change. Enter the 1960s and things just got ridiculous - athough there were a few inspired gems then too. By the way, lowrider enthusiasts owe their start to these early builders. Hydraulic suspension, swivel bucket seats with tuck and roll upholstery and multi-color panel paint jobs started here. So even if you don't like period customs, more than likely something on your latest build was inspired from that short time in automotive history!

Or it will return ONLY after you've given up on the project and just sold it on Ebay!

I agree, why risk what you've got started already - just keep it the same for now. Try the auto primer next time. Also, regardless of what primer you use, you'll want to block sand it before paint, as primers leave a small amount of texture that WILL show up under the final color. Real car builders block sand the primers before painting for the best finish - why shouldn't we?

Sounds like you're doing all the right steps. I don't know the texture of the final finish, but if it has any orange peel, in 1/25 scale, that texture would look like cottage cheese. The only way to smooth that out to look like a scale paint job is to use a polishing kit - multiple sanding sheets with grits in the thousands, foam block, polishing cream and water. When it's glass smooth and shiny, then use the glaze, wax and decals. I'm not sure if the decals are compatible with Meguire's waxes, so I can't tell you whether you should apply them before or after waxing. Maybe another builder can help you with that advice. As far as the flat black, you SHOULD be able to paint it after polishing, but BEFORE waxing - paint won't work on top of wax, don't do it! And don't put wax on flat black paint either, it won't come off without damage. I prefer to use lacquer paints on the body of my cars. Because all of the abuse the paint will receive when polishing, you want to have a hard paint surface to work from. I've found many enamels stay too soft to polish. And ALWAYS REMEMBER, Enamel paint on top of Lacquer paint is OK, but Lacquer paint on top of Enamel paint is a NO NO!!

Snake, I see you've met him too!

▪Joints or seams only disappear when I want them to show. ▪The quality of a paint job is in direct contrast to the cost of the kit. ▪The likelihood of finding a part that gets lost in the carpet is in opposite proportion to the urgency of completing the project at hand. ▪A model kit is only rare if the desire to find it is urgent. ▪That fourth wheel always knows when to hide when it's needed most. ▪The glue ALWAYS runs out just before the last part needs it! ▪The likelihood of that freshly painted body falling to the ground before it dries is in direct proportion to the amount of body work done beforehand. ▪Paint removers work best on insignificant parts. ▪The paint color chosen only matches the reference pictures BEFORE the paint touches the body.

You like Cobras? Wait, so that means you MUST like the Sylvester Stallone movie "Cobra" too! You have to or your not true to your devotion, right? And the beer and the Mustang II and.... Just, havin a little fun, hope it's OK. ?

Pat, To quote the beatniks of the 60s, "Cool threads, Man!"

Chances are your heirs aren't going to spend the time itemizing and trying to get the full value of the collection. They'll probably only get pennies on the dollar for it all - better enjoy them now! Collectors irritate me, they cry for mint, unbuilt stuff so they can flip it for a windfall - but when you offer it for sale they only make pathetic offers for it. So I say, "Tuff to them - I'll let my son or grandkids make glue bombs out of them when I'm gone". Nuts to the profiteers, if they loved them they would appreciate them. Not swindle you out of them to make a fast buck! None of us builders will ever live long enough to regret building the "Last One", so just enjoy and share them as you would care to, that's what the hobby is about.

But the best part of this kit is that it "helps prevent cavities" ?

I heard it's BMF, but the gold foil doesn't stick - Oh, well. Better luck next 17,000.