Bill Anderson

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!

After finishing the '68 Dodge R/T, I cleared the work table to figure out what to do next. In degree of difficulty, it looks like the '49 Ford, Cobra, and Ford GT in that order of difficulty. Ha, like "The Three Bears", the '49 Ford looks easy, the Ford GT looks really difficult, and the Cobra looks "just right" (almost).....

Hi, With the addition of the wheels, I will have completed a '68 Dodge R/T, a fairly complicated model. My next one is a rather easy '49 Ford. After that, I will consider which of two kits to do next. Sitting on the shelf is a Revell '65 Cobra 427 (#07708) and a Tamiya Ford GT (#346). Both kits appear formidable, but the Tamiya appears to be the most complicated / difficult. Obviously, my question is, what do you (who have worked these) have to say about them, especially the challenges of construction. Thank you all so much...I'll be 80 in May and I need to get these done and on display while I can still reasonably control the ol digits.......

Thank you all! Every time I get stumped I come here and get inspiration as well as help. I just ordered the AMT/Ertl '49 2 door Coupe, and it should serve my purpose. As an aside.... My high school (Lane Tech - Chicago class of 1/62) had on site driver training, including a track where we practiced on '49-'50 Fords with stick shift. I already knew how to drive when I took the course, but it really taught me the skill of starting/stopping with a stick. The drill was basically go a distance around the track, stop, then start up and do that several times. Woe be on to any kid that shifted into second. They were immediately thrown out of the class and lost the benefit of the first part of actually getting your license. On the indoor portion of the class, we learned the rules of the road and actually got to test reaction times. I'm proud to say I was one of the 3 top times in the class - 1/4 second! We also got to watch a few movies from the Ohio State Police, graphic accident scenes and the like. One was of a young man who liked to drive with his arm hanging out the window. He hit either another car or a wall, and his arm was no more. That left on impact on me for sure! Sorry to reminisce....... Thank all, Bill Anderson Spring, Tx.

Hi, Driving to the store this morning, I saw a cherry '49 Ford sedan and it brought back an awful lot of memories. Lots of stories here, but the bottom line is I want to build one - a '49-'54 Ford Sedan in 1/24 or 1/25 scale. I see there are a few convertible kits, but I only saw two sedans. What I want is one with a flathead V8, and I can build it as I recall the one I had access to way back when. Obviously my question is, is there such a kit out there? Thank you all!

I doubt many units are sold in Asia, and the "lack of direction" is not just model cars, but also other model types I've worked with over the last few years. Right now I have two kits sitting in the closet - specifically the "new" Revell Shelby Cobra 427 (Germany) and the Tamiya Ford GT (Japan). I consider myself to be a pretty good model builder, but I have to say the instructions with these two beautiful kits are somewhat intimating. For my next build, I would like to take the easier of the two, but I haven't figured out which one that would be. Time is my enemy, for at age 79 the ol faculties are dimming. Hey, thank you all for your help!

Thanks all, that appears to be the best way. I've been building models since I was 10 (1954) so I'm not a "newbie" by any means. That said, it seems like the kits of today are lacking in "direction", and have almost zero written instructions. Exploded diagrams are great, but many are still lacking - a bit vague at best. Ha, that is likely because they are made overseas, and the language barrier is a problem.

Hi, I've made some good progress on this model, but am now at a bit of a stumbling block.... Is the assembled interior placed in the body, and then the frame attached to that assembly? OR, is the interior attached to the frame and then that assembly is inserted into the body? Thank you for your expertise! Mobilman44 - Bill Anderson

Thank you all! I think I'll do a dirty grey primer with some body overspray around the edges. Thank you again!!!

Hi ! I'm finally building the Revell '68 Dodge Charger R/T, and just finished the two motors - which imo came out pretty nice. My next step is to spray the body color - which will be a Testors Graphite Grey Metallic. In all my years (began building in late '50s) of putting together car kits, I've painted the underside of the chassis a flat black. But the instructions for this kit indicate using the body color for the chassis. Did any prototype production cars do this? Is this a new trend for proto customizers or model builders? What is your take on this.......should I paint the chassis the body color, or the typical flat black? Thanks all for your input! Mobilman44

There was a real "catch 22" in building this kit. It would have been easier to install the chassis/interior into the body if I had not installed the front and rear fascias. However, test fitting of the fascias proved that they were not an exact fit and to get that would require body putty. Ideally, one could paint the body, install the glass, attach the chassis/interior, and then apply the front and rear fascias. But the need for body putty meant that the thing would have to be painted again, etc., etc. Ha, I guess if it was all easy I'd get bored and move on to another interest..........

Well, I got the thing together, without breaking anything - although I trimmed the top of each side of the firewall a bit. It doesn't show so no harm done. I wore latex gloves and my optivisor and worked slowly. I had to spread the body in a number of places and my fear was to the the dreaded "crackkkk". But I didn't and even the fan can thru unscathed. I've been building models since the '50s, and this was the most difficult major step in building that I can recall - and IMO it should not have been. The instructions show the interior attached to the chassis before completion. And the YouTube videos show the front/rear fascias attached first as well. Go figure....... I've said this before, but it bears repeating. The instruction sheets these days are just minimal. No step by step verbiage, no "helpful hints, and some are pretty vague in parts. I suspect its due to their foreign manufacture and/or money saving strategy. The thing is - and I know this from experience with young people - the kits are often made harder than need be and they are scaring off new modelers. Anyway, got it together, need to finish off the wheels and battery and such, and then move on to a '68 Dodger Charger RT....... Thanks all!

Hi, Well, I have the chassis and interior complete and joined. I have the body complete with scoops and front/rear fascia attached and lights & glass installed - nicely painted in pearl black. My next step is a serious problem however - joining the body with the chassis/interior. I'm not a newbie, and I've played with it, researched YouTube videos (they overlook this step), and I'm getting pretty frustrated. Do you have any advice or guidance? Thank you all! Bill Anderson Spring, Tx

Thanks all for the sites and words of wisdom. As in the model railroading world, I learned that product announcements were often wishful thinking as far as availability dates. Looks like the model car world is the same.

What is the best reliable avenue to learn of new kits being available or in the works? Internet, websites, or what?

Being a car nut young guy in the '60s, I recall when the Corvairs came out and over their short run we (me and my car nut buddies) had really mixed feelings about them. The early ones especially, looked like underpowered boxes - especially the rear end. And they tended to collect black oil stains all over the rear. They appeared to be unstable but we didn't know that for certain. Frankly, we didn't think much of them. However, the Corsa version changed all of that. It was really nice. That change in styling - especially the rear - made (to us guys) a huge difference.

Yes, I've come to that conclusion........... It's proven that the chassis Can be inserted into a bumpered body, and as you all indicated, painted with the bumper assemblies attached will make for a much nicer end result. I'm thinking I can get the bumpers attached and smoothed out today, and I already have the spoiler piece in place. So it should be ready to paint tomorrow or Monday. Thanks all once again. Kind of funny... I'm an old hat on the Kalmbach model train forum (since 2004) but still a newbie here. Ha, it's given me a charge to be more patient with the train newbies.....

Hi again, I've come to the point where I'm ditching my quest for the Revell 07708 kit. For me, it just doesn't seem to be worth the wait and I'm not ordering one from overseas. So, my question is....... What is the "best" 427 Cobra kit that has a full windscreen, representative of a "street" Cobra, and made in white plastic? Sorry to be so anal about this........but I guess that trait is pretty common amongst us modelers.

Thanks all for your comments and suggestions. I'm playing with the options now, and to be really honest, I'm just not sure what I'll end up doing.

Well, I'm thinking I agree with the instructions......the radiator is affixed to the body shell first. I'd love to put the bumpers on first and "blend in" , but I'm concerned I'll have a serious hassle getting the body onto the chassis. I nice YouTube video shows one with the bumpers applied to the body first and then painted as a whole. But did the modeler have a problem getting it on the chassis? I know its a different world out there (compared to my car model building of the 60s-70s), but I do miss the WRITTEN step by step instructions. I think they are history, now that most (all???) kits are built elsewhere.

Hi, I'm at a crucial build point with the subject model and am facing a couple of confusing points. The chassis and interior is complete, and the body is ready for painting (as soon as we dry out a bit here). - My first question is, is the radiator assembly glued to the chassis or the body - obviously before they are mated? - Are the front and rear bumper assemblys attached before or after the mating of the chassis/body? In reviewing some YouTube videos, and the instructions, I'm getting mixed signals. Thanks all for your input!

Hi, I'm "late to the party" but may I add my wants to the list..... 1962-3 Ford Falcon Futura (I had a red '63 with buckets and factory 4 speed) 2015-22 Ford F150 (other than Raptor or Super Duty)... there are so many of these out there (I had two) and no model kits.

In the last few years I've gotten back to building the cars of my youth (50s-60s). I've found that the instructions no longer have the "step by step" verbiage and the exploded pics can be pretty vague as to what exactly goes where exactly. The kits are from all the major manufacturers (AMT, Revell, Tamiya, etc.), so its not just one company that "could do better" IMO. But then it hit me....all of these kits are made overseas, whereas the kits of my youth were all made in America - which again, IMO, would reflect a language barrier that has to constantly be overcome in preparing instruction sheets. That is certainly understandable, but it sure does give me (and others) a bit more of a challenge.