MarkJ

Got some more stuff done to the front end of the build and think it will turn out okay when all is said and done. I have decided not to prime this build. I watched a guy on a you tube video painting with Createx paint and he just roughed up the body with the hercules cloth and went straight to paint and got spectacular results. I have heard before that you don't really have to prime for acrylic paint unless the original body is cast in a dark color. It would be great to leave out a step in doing this build. I hate to have to prime and sand.

Looking great John as always. I know what you mean about trouble posting. I can no longer view any of my modeling sites on my phone. All I get is a warning that somebody might be trying to steal my information. I can't even go to the noaa weather site anymore which makes it hard to keep up with the weather when I'm out and about in my car.

So true.

Actually, Kevin. This kit is so badly engineered that if it is built right out of the box the hood will not seal to the top of the grille. I wondered why I have seen so many models built from this kit that have the hood with a gap at the grille. They weren't built wrong just the kit is wrong. I guess I will have to add material to the front of the hood and sand it smooth so it's not apparent. I'm also going to add material to each side of the grille to fill in that space.

Been working on changing the grille on this 1972 monte Carlo kit to a 1971 Monte Carlo that Bobby Allison actually campaigned in 1972. The photos are actually in reverse order so keep that in mind when looking at them. They show the removal of the park lights from the sides of the grille and taking the ends of the grille and putting them where they are supposed to go for a 71 monte carlo. The photo of the actual car is from a you tube video that shows the park lights in the bumper and just a grille above the bumper. It also shows that part of the bumper is painted body color red and some of it is left chrome, which makes this car unique from the way his other Monte Carlos were painted during that season. I will add park light covers to the bumper later.

Sounds good, Keven. But whatever you choose you really can't go wrong. Every color photo, which are very few from back then, is different. Just choose the one that you personally like the best.

Kevin, I think I have another photo of the malibu you are doing posted below for you to see that color. It was taken at the fall Talladega race

I believe it's just an orangey red. but it's really hard to know exactly but doubt that its neon. About the only special paint they used back then was enhanced metallic or pearl from what I can still remember. JMHO.

Ken, another over the top, excellent build from your bench where everything was accomplished at an extremely high level. The detailed engine compartment filled with scratch-built items that replaced the kit ones. Cleanliness of the build was perfect, and paint and decals were accomplished flawlessly. Someone viewing the photos not knowing it was a scale model would absolutely believe they were viewing photos of a 1;1 automobile. I watched the wip with enjoyment and was shocked when you said you were finished in such a short time. Again, magnificent build to join all your other masterpieces. Looking forward with great anticipation to your next project.

Well, you know, Kevin that might be the correct color for his 73 Malibu. That car and the one I'm building are like apples and oranges. Steve, the Merc is a test body I'm using to see how to use my new airbrush and what paint I want to use on the real build body. Thanks for stopping by Carl and commenting. It's always very appreciated Thanks, Jim. Hopefully I will get a lot of use out of that old mule. So far, I'm liking what it's telling me. Spoons and paper don tell the whole story for me.

Very nice work going on here, Andrew. So small but yet so precise.

Kevin, you are right about photos. It's hard to say what is the real shade of red the actual car was. Every photo of the real car I have looks different. I'm just going to go with the red that looks good to me. Thanks for checking in on the build.

You are welcome, Mark. And thank you for the kind words about the build. It is much appreciated.

Thanks, Mike. Pretty happy so far with the flow of the project. Learning a lot about the new airbrush using the test body. Shooting on a white spoon or piece of white paper doesn't show the actual results that I would be looking for to learn how to use it.

Got my brush cleaned using the black sharpie system on paper towel I thought of for not getting the parts mixed up or not knowing where the part was from in the airbrush. This thing has so many parts and springs I needed extra help. But I got it cleaned and the wicked gold metallic on white primer looks so much better than the wicked pearl gold on gray primer, so I will go with it on the real build body when I get the body ready for paint. I also liked the wicked red and think it will look really good with clear on it as well as the metallic gold. So, I'm all set for starting the build on the Monte Carlo. But I will clean the airbrush before I do that, so I don't forget like last time.

I like to clean my brush where I work in the house so that leaves out using lacquer thinner. I only use acryics so i don't need something that hot to clean my brush.

Good luck with the bmf. It's not as good as it used to be.

Wow . It looks like you already added the clear coat. Magnificent paint job. What kind of clear will you use?

Well, I went out on a glorious afternoon to paint my test body and low and behold I found that I had forgot to clean my new airbrush from the last time I use it. I tried to just run 91% alcohol through it and it finally started working but not good enough to actually paint with it. I'm going to have to clean it today and hope for good weather again this afternoon. One thing about this new brush is, it's got a lot of pieces to clean and it's hard to remember how to put it all back together. I'm going to lay out a piece of paper towel down on my work area and put all the pieces in the way they look when they are back together in exploded view of course and mark a little spot with magic marker on the paper and after I clean each part put it back on the spot. hopefully this will help.

sounds like good advice, Alan. I think you will like it. One little 2x2 inch pad will probably last forever. Sounds good, Bob. Whatever works is what I always say

Thats true, Bob. It will be a learning process for me. Some things will still need sandpaper. I mostly will use it for raw bodies and primer. I'm hoping not to use it at all on color coats and clears. I did not need anything on my Camaro for those two items except floor finish at the end to seal the decals.

Got the sides ready for paint tomorrow if the weather allows it. Buffed off the sides with a Hercules fine sanding pad I saw a guy use with great results on a YouTube video. it seems to smooth out the surface without leaving sanding scratches that can show through the paint sometimes. Also mixed up the paint to be ready if I have a go. Will paint one side red and the other side metallic gold instead of the pearl gold I used the first time, just to see if the met gold looks better. Plus, it will be on a white base instead of gray. The one shown below is a medium pad which would be way to rough for a model car. I used the fine version, but they look the same except the fine is a lighter color. You cut a small square out of the pad you get, and it looks like it will last a long time. not like sandpaper, and you can use it dry which makes for a cleaner work area.

Got the body ready to paint the sides. Had to reshoot the sides with white primer. Will shoot one side with red and the other side with metallic gold .

Yours is Much better, Bruce.

Thank you, Bruce. Like you said, even though it's a reproduction, it might actually be a former Junior Johnson/ Bobby Allison car as well that the guy updated. I doubt if the intake and carb are the same or the way the air cleaner looks but other things under the hood I could use as a guide. It's a double snorkel air cleaner but it's probably a round stock air cleaner that snorkels were added to. Not that plastic one.