bill-e-boy

Its been a while since I last updated this post. Been on holiday and my wife has been in hospital so that pretty much took up all of the time. I have been plugging away at it mostly background stuff. Got 2K clear on the body and it has been colour sanded to 12k grit and I have the body rubbed out and polished I had to spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up the chrome pieces - just about all of the suspension is chrome and a lot of the motor goodies too. There is a lot of chrome. The chrome tree had a real issue with mould alignment - not too much flash just poor alignment. So a lot of sanding was called for. Then a going over with a Molotow pen - my bulk refill has gone off so could not airbrush it successfully. When I was doing a head count of all the chassis chrome I found the rear radius rod missing from the box. So much for thinking it was complete. Any way I found where a set was used - I have this and two other parts cars in my parts bins and there none there either. So I made some up from brass rod and tube. I made a jig so that I could solder them together. Also made some pins by heating the end of a styrene rod to give me a mushroom head that I chucked in the Dremel to clean up This is where a set of radius rods ended up but is a way good of a build to go steeling them - and they have been modified Til next time - thanks for looking

Just when you think you are getting somewhere your model gets acne. Coming along nicely

Bill - that pix is just worth so much Is this same/similar to the Challenger as well?

I am building this at the moment - rare to Americans as it was made in New Zealand by Tonka. We know these releases as NZ-AMT down here. I picked it up as a started kit and it has some parts missing. I have been able to get most of everything as I have a couple of incomplete built ups in my parts bins It was part of this catalogue available late 69 through 70 Of those I have built the following Surf-n-Go - two built and smashed now in parts bin and the one under construction 32 Phaeton - 1 in bits and one rebuilt and under glass 27 T Hillbilly Hot Rod - under glass 37 Chev Convert - under glass 56 Ford - rebuilt and under glass 57 Ford - smashed and in parts bin Mod Rod - one built as fendered roadster and one as an updated Ala Kart and at least one in the stash Double drag team - one pirated for parts and one unbuilt in the stash I have bits and pieces of a few more as I have scored a few parts boxes over the years I also have a couple that were built by my brother but they are broken and live in the parts bin Super Stang Grave Yard duo Long Nose Mustang There was later NZAMT release but I will need to dig that info out

Looking sharp Tom

And difficult to heat up to red heat too

Sometimes we set the bar too high but it is where we should be I feel. I like the rear roll pan - I fitted one too my Tudor with the Vickie chassis as there a big void to fill. With your wiggly rear end and roll pan it should make the look of rear of the car come together

The rear end looks very advanced as you suggest and looks kinda cool. I picked up a 3d printer a few months ago and have had a little play with it. First attempt was a bomb out but second showed promise. Problem is for me to get over the "short arm/long pocket syndrome" and fork out for some files and to come to grips with all the software palaver. Also being a digital agnostic to some degree does not help. In another world I live with a TT that plays those old (and now new!) style 12" black and round things and hate those little shiny disc thingies with a passion. With tubes I might add. I use computers more than most of my contemporaries but are at an age where I have lived in both worlds with and without. I suppose we would not be communicating with likeminded people on the other side of the world if we did not have access to computers and the interweb - but!!!

Looking good. I like the rear end and has worked out better than the Lil John one I am using for my 32 build. I also like the ribs on the roof, the hood treatment and the 4 Weber carbs on the engine - or is that an Inglese FI set up in keeping with the other mods to the car

Works OK but the colour does fade. I did a Tamiya McLaren about 50 years ago and it still looks good but a little faded Sometime paint fades too but doesn't seem to as much as raw plastic. The evidence is here so why not - better than a manky orange peely paint job

I have found Tamiya LP clear tends to eat into the colour coats an you end up with a less than stunning clear coat often to te point where it looks like semi-gloss clear. It is better when you let the colour gas out for a couple of weeks or more before hitting it with clear in the method above. It should not be like this with lacquer. Enamel yes, (Tamiya) lacquer no. I am going to try 2K next to see if it is better as I am not happy with Tamiya LP colour and clear coat almost to the point where I will go back to shooting enamels as I have done for 50+ years as I have got (mostly) very good results. I do like the convenience of LP paints but not always the end result at this point. A rant but this is a "forum"

Cool, nice proportions with top chop and cool colour. A very nice build

That is a cool method of applying paint and the finish came out just right for a T

That is one nice build. Everything is just so cool. Well done

Cool. Love it when someone builds an old kit. And then drives it in the rain. Primo!!!

A cool car Bill

I had heard of progressively thinning lacquer as you build up coats and I have used this method and it works OK. But I have not spayed just thinners as last coat. One thing you do need to watch out for is thinning metallics too much as you can end up with tiger striping. May give it a go one day as the better the finish before colour sanding and polishing the better

A cool trio All the bottom frame needs now is a small pie cut just ahead of the reveal at the fire wall to move the front end up a tad - "traditional" to go along with the Z in the rear

Nice build. It has a nice 60's feel to it

@Kit Karson. I used the same colour combo of Titanium Silver and Metallic orange on a 56 Nomad I built a little while ago - It is a great combination. Silver was on top

Looks like I wont make the cut off deadline. I have too much to do and no time left before we head off on holiday from Monday till the middle of October. Coming to US for a family holiday. Disneyland, Vegas, Longbeach for the swapmeet and more slum time around LA. It is the shitty 11hr flight NZ to LA that I am not looking forward. Hope to have some fun time with the grandsnots and their parents. I know LA and California is not all of the US but it is accessible to us from NZ although now there are direct flights NZ to Detroit - 16hr flights

Sanded body down and mixed up a new batch of paint using a brand new bottle from my stash. Last one of this colour. This time thinned with Testors air brush thinners. laid down 4 flash coats and one heavy coat and it is looking good except for a couple of boogers on the roof. Will sand those back and recoat but happy with way things are looking Its great using old style Testors paints even with all the slow drying hassles and sticky paint residue. Like meeting up with a good mate you have not seen for a few years and your conversation just seems to carry on from the last time you saw him(her).

It is a neat kit. Just looked on line and $85 on Fleabay for a partly assembled kit and Model Roundup has one for $149 that looks mint boxed?? They certainly are a bit pricey. I dont feel so bad starting with a glue bomb but would think twice about laying out lots of readies for a mint one

Not a news paper add - a give away in each model you opened. A cool way to prompt you into deciding what the next model will be. Choices, choices On the paint front - I sanded the body out and now trying with some more paint and some old Testors thinners. Will update when I see how it goes

What impressed me was the complexity of the frame and for the time good quality moulding. The frame was advanced for the late 60's with independant front and rear suspensions with coil over shocks. Even the motor is impressive and I have used one in a 29 Roadster build a number of years ago. Well times have changed and I now see it as twee and a bit clunky. At least the motor does not have axle holes through the block like a lot of the kits from that period. On with the build - A vintage kit deserves vintage paint. Used Testors small square jar metallic green for the chassis and motor. All good Intention is to use Testors French Blue for the body as per the box art. First lots of prep with filling and priming. The clear top insert was glue damaged so I thought I would just paint it all body colour. To prep the body all of the vinyl like engraving was smoothed off and the rest of the body prepped with sink holes filled and all sanded. First primer was with SMS primer. Man this stuff has coarse finish but sands back nicely. More prep and a final prime with Tamiya primer. I use the square bottles thinned down to shoot though the air brush. Final sand and ready for colour Mixed up the Testors with some lacquer thinners and shot a few coats. Some greeblies got in there so sanded back with 1500 and shot some more colour. Well it aint pretty. This is the worst - the top of the body. Some other areas have been affected too. Very disappointed. It looks like a paint reaction between the hot primers and the enamel paint or the use of too hot thinners in the paint reacting with the freshly sanded colour coats from the earlier session. Not too sure what from here. I will try to sand back and let it sit to gas out and have another go. All else fails into the tank it goes. Should know better Oh well I can work on the chassis while the paint cures So much for a quick build