Bills72sj

I compliment your efforts as well. Nice one.

The tricks I have used for decals are as follows. Freshly printed or very old decals use Testors 9200 spray decal bonder. One mist coat then 10 minutes later a medium wet coat and let cure at least 24 hours. It makes them tough and flexible. Trim decals right up as close to the artwork as your dexterity and eyesight will allow. soak in warm water with one drop of Dawn dish soap. Leave the decal in the water and just jostle it occasionally with a toothpick until it just releases from the backing paper. When it is ready, move it directly to the surface with your fingers or a Q-tip. The dish soap allows you to move the decal around quite a bit until it is perfectly placed. Before laying, use a Q-tip to apply decal set (or plain white vinegar) to wet the paint surface. Use Q-tips, not paper towels to soak up excess water. Use additional Q-tips to GENTLY dab the center of the decal and get it to adhere from the center outward. I have had 100% success using these methods.

I too really enjoyed this kit. When you go to install the windows, cut out the "ceiling" portion. This will give the side windows enough flexibility to fit against their frames. You may also wish to sand down the top perimeter of the interior before you stuff it in the body. Otherwise you may split your cab halves apart. Below are links to my two recent WIPs for some other things you may wish to add/try. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/148169-brbo-2020-triple-drive-white-freightliner-coe/ http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/147002-white-freightliner-coe-day-cab-dual-drive/?tab=comments#comment-2158654

Nice color and well detailed. This kit was the 1st one I tackled when I got back into the hobby in 1988.

Steve, To add some input on the engine bay I looked through some of my builds in regards to the firewall and cowl. The Monte firewall with the A/C evaporator box is pretty close. The top of the cowl has the 3 vents in approximately the correct size and shape but lack detail as far as the eggcrate vent pattern over the openings. With your skillset I am sure you could overcome that obstacle with some screen material. All my Chevelles of that vintage have the same lame, detail-less cowls. The 69 Olds 442 cowl has some grille detail in the openings molded in, but it is too fine and the openings are a bit too narrow. On a separate subject, the A/C compressor from the Monte appears correct but mounts to the wrong side of the engine. This will make all the kit's hoses all wrong. But since they are just hoses, I am sure coming up with flexible substitutes will be no issue for you. The large fan shroud will likely have to be made from scratch. The Monte shroud has too much ribbed, support detail and also appears to be too small in diameter. The fan shroud is a serious fail in all the MPC Grand Prix kits of that vintage. The pics are from a gluebomb restoration of a 70 I did years ago.

You are correct on the appearance of the engine setback. On my 1:1 I have actually changed camshafts without even having to unbolt the A/C condenser from the radiator support. There is so much room with the fan, shroud and radiator out, you can climb in and sit on the sway bar to change the timing chain.

Keep at it and you could go for the Blues Brother's remake. lol

Most impressive. You are doing a masterful job of a very special subject.

FYI the 70-72 Monte Carlo (and 69-72 Grand Prix) roofline is the correct one for Cutlass Supremes. I think the standard Cutlass' had more of a Chevelle roof line.

I love this. Very well done!

Take a look (listen) to this...

As noted above 69-72 Grand Prixs had their own 116" wheelbase. 70-72 Monte Carlo had the 114" WB 4 door A-body frame. The Monte and the GP share the same roof skin which was later authorized for Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme in 1972 (Maybe 71). The front windshield and all 4 side windows are the same as the Chevelle, GTO and their GM cousins. The back glass was unique. Good donor kits with decent detail are the 70 Monte, 68 El Camino and 69 Olds 442 and Hurst Olds. You will have to figure out whether to add to the frame in front of the firewall or behind the rear seat. I will be following this one with great interest as I have owned at least one 1:1 70-72 Grand Prix continually since 1982. Below is a pic when I owned 3 at the same time briefly.

For quick blasts, I will take warmed paint and room temperature parts and do a quick blast outside. If I have a lot of painting I will set up my temporary paint booth in our spare bedroom.

I love 2nd Gen Chargers. 2 built, 7 unbuilt. Following.

Great build and photography!

Very beautiful model. Lovely color. Poor choice for a rock crawler. Too much rear overhang LOL.

This definitely not a hobby to make money on builds. The parts count is too high and details and mods are very time consuming. If you want a hobby that makes money, restore Ferraris or Shelbys. Just be prepared for a significant investment.

Thank you for the inspiration. I too am going with white painted stripes. The white was painted today. The stripes will be masked then the color will be laid on top.

Well done. The shine on the roof is most impressive.

You could take another visit to HL and see if they have any white brick paper for your walls. You could swing by the doll house section to see if the have any doors. The pic is of my diorama showing the scale of the white brick paper.

Well done. Good purpose for a more door.

I agree with many here. You will never know what you can do until you try. I am currently building a resin 1970 El Camino into a Pro Street car. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/147713-1970-pro-street-el-camino/page/2/

I have a parts box build that won me some resin hoods from Ed Fluck. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/146939-hot-wheels-681968-el-camino/?tab=comments#comment-2157638

I have had pretty good luck keeping them in ziplock baggies and storing them in a wooden recipe box in a drawer to keep them in the dark.

Nice job on well... EVERYTHING!