FASTBACK340

Wow…. what the heck is with manufacturers ?!?!? This is from Revells web site: If a kit is missing several pieces, or is severely damaged, the first course of action is to return the kit to place of purchase. If vendor does not accept return, we may request complete kit (incomplete kit returns will not be reviewed) be returned to Revell at your expense. If it is determined missing parts or kit damage is Revell's fault, kit will be replaced, at Revell's expense, with a similar kit. If it is determined the kit met all of our quality expectations, Revell will return kit to sender with no additional responsibility on Revell's side. To receive replacement part, the following must be submitted via regular mail: 1) Original sales receipt. 2) UPC code cutout from the box. 3) Photocopy of instruction sheet, with requested part circled, to assist in quickly identifying required part. If above items are not included with correspondence, parts request may be denied. Now, if I send them my kit (yeah, right….), which is missing an entire chrome tree, they clearly state they will NOT review incomplete kits. Now isn't that a neat little loophole to avoid responsibility, especially since I'm missing an entire set of wheels and who-knows-what-else? I'm not building it right now, I'm just using what I can take from any Dart kit. But it kind of leave a bad taste, especially after reading a similar rant about Mobius in another thread. Anyone here can add some info on what to expect from Revell if I do pursue this?

I've been raiding a Revell Hemi Dart kit for my Barracuda build and I just noticed something: my kit came without the Keystone wheels. Can someone please post a picture of the second chrome sheet? Looks like I'm missing a bunch of little bits for the Hemi too. How is Revell's customer service? I bought this kit from my LHS and it was a mint, factory sealed kit.

You can justify the color: Claim the fender tag paint code is 999 Chrysler would paint your new car a competitors color under this option. I've seen a `69 Barracuda painted Omaha Orange (Ford color) from the factory. Whereas the code would denote color (for example my car is LL1, Turquoise) these special order cars were all 999. So, there you go! Color is fine, and it looks really nice. And isn't that what matters?

Hole Shot Drag Racing is pretty good too. You can race heads-up, handicap, pro-tree, etc. Measures your reaction time, et, speed, you have a shift light to change gears, and you can race a physical opponent, or the game. Good range of cars from sub-8.00 to slower than 13.00. And my all time favorite time-burner: Pocket Tanks

I started reading the topic, not the post date, before the thread went to Hell. Then I realized it was a SIX YEAR OLD thread!?!?! Goes to show how topical the discontinuation of NASCAR kits is to me. Six years and it doesn't mean a thing to me. I haven't watched NASCAR since Richard Petty was behind the wheel, or more accurately, since they were STOCK CARS. Doesn't matter if it's Football, Baseball, NASCAR,etc…. the corporate greed factor is disgusting in this country. Without this becoming a politics rant, let it go away. Quietly….

OK…. while I did spend some time at the bench this afternoon, it was a relaxed day as Amy went shopping and the dog decided to sleep instead of harassing me, that lovable mutt. Although I realized I have to invest in a new chair, I had fun. Aside from doing the fiberglassing, I also installed the cable brackets for the emergency brake cables and the rear brake line bracket, which went in after these pictures were uploaded. I also removed the cast-in gas tank straps and I made my own J hook brackets for the upcoming straps w/J hooks. Here I made the brackets by drilling two #70 holes in some thin brass strip and bending them 90 degrees. I then cut slots in the frame from the inside with a saw. Giving me nice, clean slots through the floorpan. Then I dropped the strip through the slots In the back I folded a piece of wider brass strip and made the slotted tip for the J hooks to grab, Separated the two pieces and dropped them through the floorpan. I'll make the wraps from thin stainless steel shim stock I have, the J hooks from wire. Simple mounts that need to be sturdy. I hate having thin pieces snap off after painting forcing either a re-paint or repair. These brass pieces are super glued in nice & solidly.

OK, here's that final tip on strengthening butt-joint panels. This trick I learned from the late Tony Delvecchio, president of the LIARS club until his passing. He was an incredible customizer that had an eye for what would work, and what wouldn't. This is how he held some of them together. Materials needed are 3/4 ounce fiberglass mat from the R/C dept. of a well stocked hobby store. A straight edge, a hard surface to cut on, scissors, toothpicks or a small steel paddle, Xacto w/ a fresh blade, and gap filling super glue. Cut it to a smaller size on a hard surface. The closer to the final size the better. If you trim it with scissors it will shred a bit and get sloppy. Once it's laid over the area that needs to be reinforced, you soak it with super glue. Smooth it out and work the glue into the matting. It will soak up the glue on it's own. Just push it down tight against the surface your strengthening. When it dries it is very stiff. It can be cut and sanded after it cures, but trimming now makes your life easier later. Now you have a fiberglass reinforced patch overlapping the two pieces. A piece of plastic was used also, but due to the shape the matting conforms better, creating a stronger patch. Plus it's very thin and won't interfere with other components. This works for top chops, frame sectioning, altering wheelbases. Anywhere you need to add strength to an assemble that may flex and crack. Great tip Tony. Thank you.

The transmission tunnel modification is a great touch! Build-on!

I didn't mean it as criticism, your doing really good work. And I didn't mean to come across…. well, impolite or rude. Just trying to offer a helpful observation.

** SORRY ** Double-post.

I need a new chair at my bench. My upper back is hurting….. I could have stuffed 2 pieces of plastic under the spring perches, but I decided it was just as easy to make shackles. I took a length of 3/32" brass strip & folded it over itself twice and drilled 2 sets of #78 holes. After trimming and filing I temporarily pinned it all together. Once I make a set of longer shocks from brass tube that will support the weight as these are thin…. but look pretty darn good. And as a teaser-shot, we painted the engine. Once it's dry we can start the assembly. I fab'ed up a set of sheet metal valve covers and I am making the breathers next. I might start painting some suspension/steering bits and let things dry and get back on the Pink `70. We're moving forward!

G`morning all. Been busy wasting the morning…. now it's time to go to work. As much as I'd love to watch the young Ladies ice skating on the Olypmics, I have a small block Mopar to address. I also have to spot-prime the chassis splice and post the final amendment to the splice strengthening. I removed all the manufacturer logo's and have modified the rear leaf springs & shackles. Some simple detail painting alone will make this pop nicely. I remember building the `69 version when it first came out and I still love it today. I'll be back later……. *

I agree. I always thought the tin cars looked cheap & cheesy, even as a child I didn't like them. I was 7yrs. old collecting Corgi's, which were very nicely scaled and detailed for the time. I liked Matchbox cars better than Hot Wheels (initially….) because the M-B's were more realistic. Now those old imported tin cans are worth coin. Who knew?

Let's see: I can go on-line, be inspired by a builder in Europe, order my kit from Japan, get correct automotive colors mailed to my house so I can finish my bare metal foiled and polished replica of the perfect build. Including a set of photo-etched keys in the scale ignition switch. Gee…. kinda hard to put my finger on any one thing here. Just kinda loving it and not asking too many questions, if ya know what I mean!

The Lindberg `64 Plymouth Fury has a real nice slant six. If your serious, send me your mailing address and I'll ship you the parts to build one. I have a few extras laying in the parts bucket.

Last coat is straight lacquer? Hmmm…. I understand what it does and can't wait to try it. Thanks for the link and looking forward to your site.

Wow… more Mopar's going together. And an A body with a Hemi no less. You have my attention, build on.

Bob, your doing great despite getting "one of those kits" that was hand delivered by the F`up Fairies. I hate those little SOB's…. But you got a handle on it. If you wanted an easy build, buy a Tamiya kit. For your $45+ all you have to do is shake the box and it goes together. Builds like your `66 Chevy are the teachers and you learn from it. And never mind it being a Chevy and you being a Mopar guy. I'm going through a few issues with my build too, and it's blood for me, not the unfamiliar. Stay with it. Patience and perseverance is the greatest tool on your workbench.

Your doing a great job with the modifications. This is rolling along nicely! BTW: On later model vehicles the doors open into the body line, trunks swing away. On Tyler's fabrication, if the hinge pivots were on the doors, instead of the fender, it would be prototypical of the actual car. This is NOT a critique of Tyler's build as he's doing a great job already and there's no fault with it. Just an unsolicited statement from a guy who's been around too many cars over the years….. BTW: Nice job on the door panel fillers!

OK, quick update: When it comes to assembling anything, measure, align, inspect, and repeat BEFORE you super-glue it together. Yours truly just realized he roached the first block. Fortunately I had a second 340 6Bbl. kit to rob the block from, but now I skipped an important step after assembly when it comes to resin: cleaning the mold release off the pieces BEFORE applying primer/paint. My engine is going for a swim in Lake Castrol tonight. Clean your resin in Westleys Bleach White. The resin was greasier than a Pork chop, beautifully detailed…. but loads of contamination. My bad… still doing stupid things. Feel like I never took a hiatus!

WOAH! Very NICE work! I love the color and the way you applied it. It's beautiful! That finish….. wow!

Been through some issues with my Wife too, so you have my sympathy. I wish the best for a positive outcome.

<sniff-sniff> It's not there yet….. Looking good Rich! Can't wait to see updates!

I hate when I can't devote the amount of time I want to at the bench…. In my previous update I mentioned the Ross Gibson resin engine being a bear to assemble. I'm going to try and show where and how to deal with the fitment of raw resin pieces. By no means is this the final word, just what works for me. As always, if someone can amend my procedure, please do so. When looking at the mating surface of raw cast resin it looks rounded. That's where you have to carefully level the surface so it mates smoothly and tightly without removing too much material. I start by drawing with a Sharpie on the surface I want to sand. A cross-hatch pattern gives good reference. I usually give the part one or two swipes to see how aggressive the sandpaper is removing material and how fast the piece will level out. Here you can see the marker reference being sanded off showing me where to apply pressure. I lay a piece of fresh medium grit paper (approx. 220) and apply light pressure to where it needs to have material removed. BTW: Your not cheese-grating bondo here…. GO EASY AND S-L-O-W! Eventually, you'll have that nice, smooth surface. You can see the marker is gone and the edges are nice and crisp. Slow, methodical work pays off. Here you can see the backside of the timing chain cover, nice and flush. It's almost 10:00 pm and I chose to post this how-to instead of getting involved at the bench this late at night. I'm off this weekend so I'll probably get some seat time. I have too much just sitting right now…..