Casey

Sand, sand, and sand some more. Looks good, Liam...now to get the other side to match. One more thing- you can crop your pictures straight from your Photobucket account using the "Edit" dropdown tab (second from the left, once you scroll the cursor over the picture.

I was worried after reading the post title you were starting with the Testors/Barris Supervan kit. Wasn't there a (cancelled) F1 class for vans with midship mounted engines in the late '80s/early '90s? I thought I remembered a blurb in Hot Rod mentioning a Renault Espace with a mid-mounted V10...

What type of metal were the 1:1 wheels made out of? Steel?

You can always raise the top of the rear wheel arches to make them even wit the front wheel arches, as seen in the pic above....put those files and sanding sticks to work, Liam!

Try e-maiing him directly, Mike. I think that's the easiest way.

Well, maybe not the wheels, but the overall look is there. The T-bird has so me really clean styling lines, so you don't need to do a ton of reworking to get it to look even better.

The link Greg posted is also in the Kit Reviews section, in the Revell Rat Roaster kit topic: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=49169&hl=%2Brat+%2Broaster

Thanks, for the kind words, Mike. I think people would've probably noticed, though, as the engine would've been tilted even further to the passenger side without the clearance blister. I try to improve upon the kit parts without completely replacing them when possible, as sometimes just thinning, cleaning up around each part, or giving the individual parts a bit more definition makes a difference when viewed as a whole. Things like thinning the steering wheel rim, drilling out frame drain holes, and separating parts which were molded together but should be separate help to add some realism and are relatively easy to do. Still undecided on the battery tray, but I've been looking at members' projects over at FABO.com, and I see some more changes I want to make on the '69. I may try to whip up an 8-1/4" rearend, too, as an 8-3/4" rear seems like overkill in a Slant Six-equipped car. I'm really enjoying this build and have been very motivated to keep working on it, so kudos to Chuck for getting this CB started.

Yes, it is. I suggest you go one step duller (if that makes sense), instead of too glossy. There are very few things in an interior which are super glossy, save for wood steering wheels and trimwork/inserts and a dash pad which has had a heavy dousing with Armor All. Vinyl does have a slight sheen, but it's rarely what I would call "shiny", leather even less so. You can always use clear gloss and clear dull coatings to alter the sheens, too, and even intermix them to get the exact sheen you desire.

Are these the "bloated" ex-GT Radial tires? I received a few in a parts lot and noticed they were considerably, um, chubbier(?) than both the originals with lettering and later blank sidewall versions.

How modern? The Revell Dodge Magnum SRT-8's Hemi is quite nice.

Drill 'em out. Molded in headlights never look good IMHO. Start with a 1/8" bit and enlarge the holes with a round needle file. It'll be a lot of work with four headlights to do, but the results will be worth it.

Thanks, Stephen, it's moving in the right direction. My plan to keep the rear bumper chrome intact didn't last long, so it will need to be re-plated. I was able to get the '69 tail light bezels and plain tail panel test fit against the body, then welded all three pieces together with Testors liquid cement. I need to add two small filler strips beneath each bezel and better tail panel-to-bumper attachment points, but it all fits pretty well at this point: I fine tuned the firewall blister and did another test fit with the engine and trans, so I will make any final adjustments once the engine is positively located:

That looks like the actual spare wheel and tire (without much detail) and not a cover? Looking good so far, Mark.

I think you were thinking of Revell's '48 Ford Woody, Art, as I don't think Revell has yet produced a '40 Ford Woody. Or maybe you were thinking of this one : http://www.rocketfin.com/resin_product.cfm?id=2156

I think there is a limit, but Ray's question seemed to be more about how than how many.

I would suggest you remove the rear fender skirts, Liam. The T-bird body will look a lot sportier without them, and it will visually take away some of the body's bulk.

Is the middle car an A38?

I did a little more work on the K-member tonight, removing the torsion bars and strut rods (both of which will be replaced with rod stock) and brackets, then cleaning up more of he "overlap" areas where there is excess material between parts. I will add engine mount brackets to the topside of the K-member after I get it positively located against the frame rails. I also glued the 3-speed A-230 trans together, so this one's gonna be a three-on-the-tree. I have to admit it was a great idea on Lindberg's part to create both an auto and a 3-speed manual transmissions to go behind the Slant Six. I decided to use the '68 Dart's Super Stock style hood, which required filling the scoop opening with sheet styrene and eliminating the hood pin depressions. I drilled the depressions through and plugged the holes with styrene rod, then welded it all together. The filler piece is slightly lower than the rest of the hood, but a skim coat of body filler should take care of that: I wanted to use the smooth, base model rear tail panel from the '68 kit, so I cut the '69 tail light buckets free from the '69 bumper (the Revell '69 GTS kit's bumpers have molded in bumper guard depressions, so you have to use the bumper guards...no thanks! ). I will use the '68's rear bumper, remove the '68 buckets, add the '69 buckets and the '68 plain tail panel, and hopefully do it well enough that it won't need to be rechromed. I don't think the thin filler strip will be used with the plain tail panel, but I will see how it looks without it, and add it if necessary: The trans tunnel filler pieces I glued in last night were roughed into shape, then I discovered a small gap where the tunnel and firewall meet, so I welded two filler strips to the backside of the firewall to close the gap. The filler strips will also provide a little extra thickness where some of the firewall will be removed for bellhousing clearance:

Much better. Nice work, Jordan. It seems odd the wipers are for a RHD version, though?

Love the wheels and the teardrop scoop.

It not strictly necessary, as it won't provide any extra "protection", other than to maybe prevent the decals from peeling up if they are not fully adhered to the body in some areas. You do need to be careful when clearcoating over decals, however, as certain paints will not react well with the decals. Usually, light mist coats are applied over decals to seal them, then heavier coats can be applied after the lighter mist coats have "flashed off". If you're polishing the paint and you use a metallic or candy paint as the topcoat, then yes, you DO need to apply clear as the final layer(s) if you plan to polish the paint. If it's a solid, opaque color like black, white, etc., you do not need a clear topcoat..but some people like to add one anyway. Some automotive type (such as Duplicolor) spray paints are a BC/CC (basecoat/clearcoat) two-stage finish, so the cap will tell you if a clearcoat is required when using a Duplicolor color.

It's just another/different way to add pictures to a post, Ray. If the pictures are on your computer's hard drive, they can be easily uploaded and added to your post using the attachment feature.

Ah, I see. It wasn't clear to me which box was opened. Disregard my earlier comment, since you can no longer do what I suggested. I would just keep it as is for another week or so, and await a response from the seller.

How do you know the same kit is inside the box if you didn't open it?