Jon Cole

And you deserve it! That's a ###### fine looking Ron Fellows C6-R you built! Paint and decals are the first things that will grab your eye (OWW!) when looking at a late-model race car. Plus the fact that you had to find aftermarket decals to do up Rons car is a plus.

Mitch- Welcome to our place! I applaud your gusto, but few, if any people, no matter what they strive for, reach "perfection" right out of the gate. By setting your goals so high, you are just setting yourself up for a knockdown. First, if you can afford two model kits (which you have done), you can afford two spray cans (paint, and clear). You start by learning to paint with spray cans, and work your way up to an airbrush. It's like this- if you wanted to start learning tomorrow to go car racing, would you buy something you could run and learn on at a local track, or... would you expect Jack Roush or Joe Gibbs to just hire you on the spot? Buy some spray. If you want to go with enamel, you will need a primer, and your color. Clearcoating is optional, but not necessary as enamels are gloss right out of the can. DO expect to wait longer for the paint to dry. If you want to go with lacquer, you may not need a primer, but I think it's the safest way to go. Only if you are spraying a paint that just so happens to be the same color as the plastic would I skip the primer. And one large non-hobby type lacquer primer such as Dupli-Color or Plasti-Kote will last you several models. Just remember no matter if you are spraying primer or color, do NOT expect, or even try to get full coverage with one spray. That is where the "mist one or two coats" comes in to use. Some, but not all lacquers need a clear coat after the color. Not all lacquers dry to a gloss. I suggest you do not wait too long between the color, and the clear. I have read that twenty minutes is the longest you should wait, otherwise you risk a nasty reaction between the two. Mineral Spirits? You don't need that at all. Unless you are doing oil-based house paints. And God I hope you're not going iin that direction. Please park your airbrush for a while (it will wait!) and learn to paint car bodies with spray cans. I guarantee you can afford the cans needed to paint. We all spend on our self indulgances, learning to paint could be yours. And when you do master all this, and want to start using that airbrush, try airbrushing engine blocks! That's how I learned to mix paints. At least it's easier to soak an engine block in the purple pond, than a bigger car body if something goes wwrong. Good luck! And never throw away old parts! You may need something there some day.

Welcome to... page 4! OK, I haven't read the other 3 pages, so excuse me if this has been mentioned, but I think the skeletons alone will be a good reason to buy this kit! They can go good with a bunch of rat rod builds, and it is easier to cut & reposition a skeleton! Another idea... cut the body off behind the front seats... good hot rod material maybe? Only downer is the price! HEY REVELL! How about a coupon for a couple of bucks off our next purchase in each kit!

I never bought this one as a kid... are the tank treads molded to the rear wheel sets as one assembly? Hope not.

I WANT IT!

The goldline Firestone tire decals came (IIRC) in the last issue of the Monogram Chaparral 2D. I believe Revell (or was it Monogram?) did a new decal sheet for that issue. The tires were first washed with thinner & wiped dry. After I applied the decals and let them dry, I shot the tires with dullcote. The rear wheels are from Perry's resin.

Weathhering is weathering, regardless of the body color. Others here on the board have experience with weathering. I would imagine if you check out the Floquil paint line, they have a good variety of colors such as "grime" "mud" "rust" "dust" (rhyme unintended) that can be misted on with an airbrush. Otherwise, I do have a fair album of Chaparral cars that may come in handy. http://public.fotki.com/JCole/chaparral/ I see you are doing the second version of the 2D. Whose resin kit did the casting? I am looking forward to your build... I built the first version

There is a guy in our club who can make louvers... but he uses plastic hoods. Ironic that you went and made a nice metal deck. What he does is draw out the louver pattern on the hood. It is all measured out to look good. The trick is to use a chisel tip in your X-Acto knife. I think he just pushes it in slightly, and pivot the knife handle upward a bit to lift the plastic. I don't recall if he thins the plastic on the backside or not. Whatever it is, it works for him. As for metal stamping, it does have a place in our hobby. I used two blocks of wood, and the male-female patterns were made from thick plastic. I didn't make them fit tight, as I knew the aluminum sheet was either too strong, or too thick to expect a crisp bend... I also had two holes so I could line everything up. Then the moment of truth... I gave it a good wack with a rubber mallet! Looked OK I thought. So I cut it down to the shape of the firewall, and polished it up with metal polish... Making a firewall is one thing... but a louver punch? That I want to see!

IMHO, enamel primer is good for only one thing... Throwing it out! Lacquer is chemically "hotter" then enamel. It's OK to spray lacquer or enamel OVER lacquer primer... NEVER put enamel primer down, and try to top coat with anything hot like lacquer. So invest in some good automotive primers such as Dupli-Color, or Plasti-Kote. Also, LACQUER primer by Tamiya and Testors are good stuff. The thing about Testors, I can imagine some getting confused and grapping a can of their enamel primer, instead of their lacquer primer. BEWARE of that!

Good start! As you said, it still needs wet-sanding, then some clear. If the clear starts to look dry, try to either slow down just a little, and/or move in just a little closer with each pass. And, be sure each spray fan is overlapping by about 50% I know the end result will look great!

Nice pics! Thanks for posting.

I guess I am one of the few who built the 'Vanishing Point' die-cast bodied plastic kits, and I think Revell did a great job on it. I generally don't care a bit what the body is made from, as long as the overall look is good. Frankly, the 'roll under' of the lower body sides was never even noticed by me until I read it here, it is still so slight that it is of no distraction to me. My biggest complaint on the body is the poor fit of the hood to the fenders, and that becomes a non-issue if it is displayed with the hood open- not removed. I don't recall how I did it, but the hood will stay in the raised position on mine. I also replaced the intake with the dual snorkel setup from the '71 Charger. My mistake there, as I realized when it was done that I now had a 440 intake on a car with R/T emblems. I don't speak "engine" well enough to know what a '70 R/T had under the hood, I'm under the impression that it may be something "smaller" as in the 383. Also as previously stated, there are no screws visible under the kit. the chassis and drivetrain look right to my eye. Just my .02¢

"Super Clean" is a cleaner/degreaser that can be purchased in any hardware or home supply store. I think even Wal-Mart has it. It used to be called "Castrol Super Clean", we usually call it "the purple stuff" or "the purple pond". Buy a spray bottle, open the top and pour it in a safe plastic container just big enough to hold the body, and let it soak overnight. You can always use Google Image to find a picture of it.

I usually pirate another kit (kitbash) for the parts I use. That leaves you with the leftover parts for another model project someday. Or, you can buy a copy of Model Cars Magazine, and check out the ads placed by the aftermarket.

I just want to be sure here that “fisheyes†are not being confused with “orange peelâ€. A “fisheye†in a paint looks like a few dimples here and there, whereas “orange peel†is just that- looks bumpy like the surface of an orange. The fisheye is usually the result of a contaminate. It could be from not washing the surface, or a fingerprint to something as seemingly innocent as a nearby motor oil change (if you spray in your garage, for example). Orange peel is usually a failure of the paint to flow out smooth. This can be caused by spraying too fast, or too far away from the surface, or (if you are airbrushing) not enough thinner. I have had good luck with both Tamiya and Testors lacquer. The worst aerosol I have used so far is Krylon. I used to have good luck with it, but I believe they now (in the past few years) have a new type nozzle which sprays like a fire hose! As stated by others, they are formulated for home and shop use. Yet I know someone who prefers Krylon as his standard model paint. Speaking of spray nozzles, some of the most beautiful paint jobs I have seen on models are by a friend who uses Testors Enamel in combo with a polishing kit. He suggests throwing away the white nozzles. Use only the Testors black nozzles. He saves them when he is done, soaks them in an old capped airbrush jar in lacquer thinner.

Randy- You did it awesome! I can't wait to start building mine! Also, where can I find "Embossing Powder"? Thanks.

Welcome to the show! Having a well supplied workbench is a good thing to have. You want to check out the various glues other than 'model cement', and consider having some various plastic and metal tubes, rods, and wires. Below is a pic of some of my stash. The "piano" wire I tagged for the drill bit number tto use. I'm always using that. Plus there is aluminum, brass, and plastic rod. All those items can be handy when fastening wheels, etc. You will need a 'jewelers drill bit' set from #60 to #80, and like the plastic sheet and rods, and wires, they can be found at any well stocked hobby shop. Look for brands like K&S for metal supplies, for plastic look for Evergreen, or Plastruct. Good luck! Keep us posted.

I've got issue #142 right here on my desk. Tell your mailman to buy his/her own!

What Aaron says! Of those three, I have bought from Micro-Mark. They're good. The hobby is disappearing from the local shopping plazas and store fronts. We now live in the internet age. Sooo... time to get a credit card, buy on-line, and rack up the debt like the rest of us!!!

BTW CH, Check out some photos I have... there is a few pics in there you may appreciate! The MISC. file: http://public.fotki.com/JCole/limos--no-caddys-or/ I have a few ''Cadaverllac's'' http://public.fotki.com/JCole/11_chevy__gm...dillac-limos-h/ Lincolns, Mercs, and maybe a Ford or two: http://public.fotki.com/JCole/11_fomoco/11-lincoln--merc-li/

Yeah, I understand, sometimes it feels that way. BUT, if you know it doesn't seem right, than chances are it's just the way this "internet" is. It's not you... and it's not us. It's just the way it is. What I do is just keep on posting. Odds are, someone is reading it! And if not, well, it wouldn't be the first time I was found bouncing off the walls, talking to myself! Also, I've noticed that nothing is more certain to get a response, than posting pics of a model you just built! In my case, I finish about two a year on average. Translated... I get "recognized" about twice a year! LoL! It's all good. No matter what, the sun will still rise tomorrow. Just keep on smilin', and keep on postin'!

Jeff: If you have a home printer, you can print the plate out yourself. You just paste the photo of the plate in a Word program, or an art program, and shrink it down until the plate is 7/16" long. My program has a ruler across the top of the screen, and that does help. Always do a test print before you make the final print on high-quality photo paper. I suspect you could do the inspection sticker the same way. You won't have hi-resolution quality, but it's a lot cheaper than paying for printing. Your quality may vary. If you can figure out how to size it down to 7/16, you have a scale plate! And that will be more accurate sized than some AMT plate decals from a few years back! Here is one I made:

I have been researching reference photos on late-model Dodge Chargers including R/T's, SRT8's, and Superbees, plus whatever else I found. Please help yourself. My Fotki photo album: http://public.fotki.com/JCole/11_mopar-1/d...-chargers-of-t/

If anyone would like reference photos of Dodge Challengers, feel free to check out and help yourself to my Fotki photos. I have been working on a late model Mopar kit, and have collected pics of everything I could find, including engine, drivetrain, and interiors. I have R/T's SRT8's, Hurst Editions, and more. I guess I'm a bit compulsive on finding out where each hose & wire goes to. Here's the link, all pics in chronological order: http://public.fotki.com/JCole/11_mopar-1/1...dge-challenger/

Nice car show Chris. Thanks for posting!