MarkJ

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to break off the right header collector and lose it. Like I keep saying, its one step forward and two steps back for me on this build. I did manage to install the seat and dash and fix the right chain on the rear axle that somehow, I broke lose. As usual a lot of touch up work will have to be done before this baby is finished.

I totally agree, Pierre. This is as close to a flawless paint job that can be had even with an airbrush. Your talent with the brush is simply amazing. That black and yellow is the perfect combination for a race car. Can't wait to see the final result with this magnificent build you've got going on here. Model on, oh great one.

Added some more stuff to the chassis. Will need a lot of touching up once everything is in place. Very tight fit. Got the air cleaner ready again for the black base coat for the chrome. Got the hood to fit tight at the front with some wedge brackets. Not what the real car had but I hate a lose hood at the front. You have to install the hood to the front first and then push it down in the back. Needless to say, it won't be operational with hinges. Just removable. I will reveal the wedge brackets later. Might have to rethink plumbing the engine. I might have run out of talent to get that done.

thanks for stopping by Anton and commenting on the build. most appreciated.

Charlie, I think you are right about the wheels but the ones you have are perfectly fine too.

The hood is not shutting tightly in front, and I really hate that in a model. Especially a race car. I have an idea I'm going to try and will document it here if it works . Now is the time to fix it, not after I paint it.

I will repaint all the chrome parts for the engine black today and hope to Revell chrome them tomorrow. Then I can totally finish the engine except for the plumbing part.

No way I could work in a scale this small. I commend you for being able to do it and have this one totally tuned in till the end of the journey.

I went to the Texas World Speedways 500-mile in College Station first race in 1969 and the Daytona's were there and had all kinds of trouble keeping tires on them. The rubber that accumulated at the top of the track was very noticeable. I believe Bobby Issac won that race. As usual no fans turned out for that race which led to the track eventually closing. If they had built that track down just north of Galveston instead, it would still be operating today. There was a retired World War 2 blimp base in Hitchcock that could have been used because it had a lot of infrastructure already there to build that 2-mile speedway. Such a missed opportunity. Could have been the Daytona of the southwest. a destination track instead of a track in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do before and after the race and no place to stay. And I would have been living 22 miles away from it.

Oh yeah. That would be awesome. Black and gold would probably look odd on this magnificent automobile.

Really liked the results I got with the Mr. Surfacer 1000 rattle can. It went on very easily and I had no issues at all with crazing or anything else. I think after I sand it, it will be the perfect primer for the Vallejo paint I will mix up and put in a dropper bottle for easy use in the airbrush. Not looking forward to cleaning the airbrush but I'm hoping the results will be worth it. Thanks, Andrew, for the tip on the primer. Bottom of the chassis is slowly coming together.

I'm still going to do 95% of my painting with a brush just not the bodies anymore. If I could get the results, you get, I would stay with it. Now I just have to wait till conditions are right outside to shoot the airbrush.

Thanks, Pierre, but I think I'm going to be fired from the society because my body painting with the brush has dramatically gotten worse so I think I will take my knowledge gained from brush painting and mix up the right color but apply it with my new little airbrush I bought to do the chrome on the wheels with alclad chrome originally. sorry but i think I have no choice.

Got the travel stop chains installed to the rear axle. Installed the engine and radiator.

Andrew. It all has been splained to me now. Awesome stuff going on here.

You know me, Pierre. An old NASCAR guy. I'd say black and gold in homage of Smokey Yunick. Who has nothing to do with this at all, but I think it would be awesome. Just sayin. In fact, I got a new watch for Christmas and its black and gold with some diamonds at 3, 6, and 9. So I will vote for option 1 with the aluminum bonnet. The closest to my choice.

Finally got the body sanded and will prime it with the Mr. Surfacer 1000. Temps are supposed to get back in the 60's tomorrow after the freak snowstorm we experienced on tuesday. It has never snowed this much in the 51 years I have lived here south of Houston. Never thought my little truck would be covered with the white stuff.

So true. You are a master of many skills, I'm sure.

Okay, Oleg. They must have improved the chassis to body fit since I built my two next gen cars two years ago right after they were available. Both of them had a huge gap between the front of the chassis and the body. You won't need to do anything to your builds. I'm still tuned in and waiting to see your finished products. Model on fellow builder of the scale styrene kits. So many builds so little time.

Yes, Oleg. You are so right about that. I figured out a way to marry the body and chassis together but still be able to display them apart, so all that fine detail is not hidden. You just create a notch at the front of the body that the chassis goes into. I can show you how I did it or you can probably figure it out for yourself. Just let me know. Of course, my detail doesn't come close to yours in something worth seeing but I went ahead and figured it out anyway. The engineers of the kit could have built it into the kit if they had wanted to and really should have. The old kits used to be that way back in the day.

Really love the added detail, Oleg. Very clean work as well. The switch box is amazing. I know what you mean about long journey with these models, but it will all be worth it at the end with this fine build you have here.

Fenders look magnificent, Pierre. They are mirror images of each other. How you get things to match perfectly is amazing.

Thanks, Helmut. I didn't mean for it to last this long but I'm getting a little long in the tooth and make a lot of mistakes which causes a lot of do overs. I'm hoping my next build won't have as much scratch building involved. but sometimes the scratch building can be very rewarding to have something that has only been done once even if it's not that great, it's one of a kind.

Finally got the park light inserts finished. I will paint them black and install them after I repaint the body just like the door handles. Hopefully it will make for a cleaner look which I'm not that good at doing. Like to do the same thing for the headlight covers and hood louvers but that's just too much work. I don't want to spend another year on this thing.

Some more fine work from your bench, Andrew. Some of it I'm not sure what I'm looking at, but I'm sure it will come clear to me down the line. At least I hope so and if not I'm sure you will splain it to me.