Bill Anderson

Thank you all! For this model, I will spray the body/hood the color of the stripes, and then tape the stripe area and spray the rest of the body the metallic blue. I did the sequence the opposite on the '49 Ford and it turned out okay, but I think it could have been better.

Hi, Everytime I work on a model I wrestle with the question with many individual parts - do I paint before partial assembly or after? Also, do I paint while on the sprue or after I remove and clean it up? Ha, there is just no single answer for this, as I find each situation presents that question. For motor assembly, I paint the parts and try not to paint where I know glue will hit. Easier said than done of course. For the chassis, I've done it a few ways. Some I've painted by hand (brush) and tried to keep paint from where parts attach. And some I took to the spray room (garage) and sprayed and later scrapped the areas where glue needed to be used. Honestly, I've been satisfied or unhappy with both methods - depending on the outcome. Of course, either way requires touch up afterwards, and I'm thankful I inherited a bunch of expensive small brushes from my Mother in Law.

Hi, I'm obviously late to the party, but thought I'd add as I was up close and personal with a number of carbs back in the late '50s, '60s and '70s. The colors ranged from a burnt white, grey, silver, bronze, burnt iron, and even more. Obviously, to be correct, you need to look up the specific vehicle (or a motor with the carb(s) in question) image and go by that.

Living here just north of Houston, I would guess that 1/3 of the vehicles out here are pick-ups. Have to add, the other thirds are SUVs and then sedans/sports cars. So one would think that there would be a market for late model pick-up kits, perhaps even more than other groupings. But they just ain't out there......

I'm surprised sitting on its side for even that long of time would warp it so much. I know (from experience) heat will do it, but maybe it was like that to begin with (factory goof).

I'm pretty sure we all have a wish list of kits we would like to see produced. When I left model railroading and returned to building car kits, I wanted to replicate my favorite vehicles that I had since my first one in 1961. I did manage to build a '57 Ford ragtop, a '75 Gran Torino, and a fairly close '80 5.0 Mustang (from a '80 kit). But there are a few left on my wish list: - a late model ('15 - '24) Ford F150, preferably a supercab. - a '95-'00 Ford Explorer Sport. - a '63 Ford Falcon - a '70 Ford Torino 4 dr HT - a '10-15 Ford Escape - a '13-'15 Ford Edge - a '90-'92 Ford Ranger supercab The vehicles on my list were fairly common, but obviously not on the kit makers list. I've researched as best I can, but maybe I've overlooked a kit or two that would work. But hey, that's my list, what is yours? ENJOY, Bill Anderson

OKAY, I like that. You also verified that what I thought was the "door handle" is in fact just that!

Yes, there really isn't much to them. Not sure if I'll paint it flat black, or scratch a panel with a pocket or two. Thank you for the response!

I'm building the Revel 1965 427 Cobra, and finished the motor and chassis and now I'm almost done with the interior. Well, it hit me, there are no interior door panels with this kit. Of course I then realized this model is built for racing, and door panels are just extra weight. That said, I want this to be "for the street" and was wondering if other cobra kits do in fact have door interior side panels. Sure would appreciate any info on this! Thank you Bill Anderson

Yes, and thank you! My plan is to "mix to please" - and will experiment with a bit of yellow or maybe a super light brown. I've been building models and scenery and structures (model railroads) since the mid '50s and never cease to be amazed at the varying shades of color. The palette is just endless.

Thank you! I assumed they were a bright white, but the pics I've pulled up could be more silvery. But, white it is (I like that) and that is what I will use. Again, thank you!

Hi, I've looked at several pics of blue Cobras and can't determine if those that have "white" stripes are truly white or silver or ??? Could anyone help me out here? Thank you!

Back when, we were Ford or Chevy guys and stayed loyal thru thick and thin. The Chrysler faithful never came to be until the start of the muscle car era. I test drove a '65 (?) Dodge with a 383 and a 4 speed. Man, it jumped when I hit 2nd. The salesman started yelling, and I'll never forget Dad (both in back seat) said "shut up, he knows how to drive". WOW!

Thank you! I was unsure of it until it was finished. To tell the truth, back in my early car nut days, the guys typically ended up with their "bombs" painted in red or black primer - rarely progressing to the paint stage. But no one was really upset about that, for just having a set of wheels was all that mattered.

A couple more pics.....

Well, I finally "finished" the model and its safe in a display case. I just turned 80, and the occasionally shaking hands helped make this relatively easy kit a bit of a struggle. My goal here was to make a representation of what I would have done to a prototype back in the late '50s, early '60s - if I had the skill sets and money of course. Have to add, the "rake" and the Lake pipes made a big difference in my view - really bringing me back to that time.

I ordered a dispenser of Tamiya tape and it is the same tape I used (but I didn't know the brand). I believe I said it was yellow, but its really orange. Anyway, it worked extremely well for me, and I've got enough for a long time.

Now that is NICE !!!

Alright, you sold me.......Ebay here I come!

Thanks for the tip! The results with the black tape really was upsetting, almost to the point of dumping the project. Thankfully, the orange tape saved my bacon.

Well, it wasn't easy, but I decided to do the racing stripes and finally got it finished to my satisfaction. I did learn a couple of things in the process: - painting a vehicle pearl white (or any white) just doesn't look all that great to me. That really surprised me, and of course its all a matter of taste. - not all model masking tape is created equal. I started out using a black 1/4 inch tape and it leaked, causing me to repaint the white. I found a roll of orange tape (also 1/4 inch wide but just a hair wider than the black tape, and it was perfect with zero leaks. I cannot tell its brand or where I got it from (Hobby Lobby, Micro Mart ?) but it really works. Here is the painted shell, and if you look close you will see a couple places that had to be "fixed", but for my first attempt I'll let that go.

Well, I got my striping tape and laid out two racing stripes and painted them dark blue. Ending up looking good, but I've got a couple spots where the paint "leaked", which bugs me as I went to extra effort to assure the tape was pressed down to give a nice seal. Anyway, I ordered a bottle of the pearl white and will use that for touch up. IMO, the stripes are the right size and the color is good, but the ol Ford just doesn't meet my expectations with that pearl white paint. I'm sure (?) that when its completed it will look better, but I don't think I'll mess with any version of white in the future. I will show a pic or two, but not until its complete. Thanks for your help!

Never thought of a two tone - something quite common back in the '50s. Come to think of it, Dad had a '56 Pontiac that was blue/white. Thank you!

Hi, Thank you all for the insight. I bit the bullet and took the body parts to the garage and sprayed the white plastic model. As it "dried" pretty fast, I hung out in the garage and managed to get a few light coats on it. The paint covered nicely (Tamiya never disappoints) and I just brought the pieces into the house, with the body still on the metal parts holder (worthy tool from Micromart). On close examination, the paint job looks pretty good. But to my taste, its "blah". I asked myself, who would paint an old car pearl white? So I do recall a guy in high school (Lane Tech '62) that had a 51 Ford and it was light beige with a single wide blue racing stripe. That looked pretty good back then. But most cars have two stripes, so I'm thinking I could do that in a dark blue (interior is shades of blue). The thing is, I've got the tape and the paint, but putting down stripes looks pretty difficult. Would I be biting off more than I can chew? Of course if I screwed it up, I could just spray the whole thing a dark blue and forgetaboutit........ Your thoughts???

Hi, I'm building an AMT 1949 Ford Coupe and am almost ready to paint the body. The object of the model is to have it look like I would have done a prototype back in my late teens - if I had the money/skills. When I bought the kit, I decided to paint it a pearl white, and picked up a can of Tamiya Pearl White (TS45). But now I'm wondering if this will look right or not - totally being pearl white. My reason for writing is to throw out an idea...... The kit is formed in white plastic. If I painted it a gloss blue (the interior is shades of blue), and then sprayed over it with the Pearl White, what would be the result? Would the pearl white just cover up the blue, or would it result in a "pearl blue/white", or would it look like a blue car with white particles spread all over it? So my question is, have any of you tried using pearl white in a way different from the straight color? Or ? Your help and comments are greatly appreciated!