LennyB

It 0009. It’s semi-transparent and like working with an old Testors candy. You get light and dark areas. After 5 coats still not covering. Same problem on my other builds initially. What I finally did was a base coat with a similar opaque color first then topped with the wicked. But I couldn’t find a similar opaque for this one. The other projects came out good doing it this way so you can get good results with this stuff. But it’s a lot of work. Three coats of Mr Color and three clear and I’m done. A whole lot easier. ☺️

I think the battery is strong enough to turn her over now? time to head on down the road and catch everyone in the rear view mirror? Except for the early galaxies the headlights are now molded as part of the grill and chromed. Taillights are still clear red as far as I know.

Oh, you are just dying to build a 41 gasser…….with a fiberglass nose. ?‍♂️

Yes, ever since they came out with the “Blueprinter” release the kit has been a curbside. Whenever I find a junker of an early version i will tend to grab it. At the right price of course. ? Although most of the lighted versions I find are missing the battery box and lights. Not a big deal as the clear headlights and taillights are what you want?

Thanks Greg. I made the mistake of buying a couple of flights of the stuff, now I feel like pouring it down the sink?

Of late I've been spending more time outside working on full size models rather then at the work bench. I did manage to get some progress made on the Woody. Even so, it was a bit of a struggle. I had planned to paint this with Wicked Phthalo Green which is a sort of dark blue/green. Just like the other Wicked colors I had problems with this being semi-transparent and it did not cover well. I looked for an opaque green in the Creaex color line to lay down first as I did with my other projects but came up empty. I didn't like the results so I gave the body a bath and started again. I ordered some Mr Color Dark Green and it arrived just in time for this weekend. I have not used this product before but I am very happy with the results. It's not really the color I envisioned at the start of this project but I would like to move forward and I think it will do well enough. I laid down three coats yesterday. And then today I finished it off with some 2K clear. I had also purchased some Mr Hobby Gloss Topcoat for this but went with the 2K instead. I'm really liking the 2K these days as I find it cooperates well. Aside from three tiny bits of debris in the paint , which will easily sand out, this came out beautiful. The whole thing will need to be wet sanded as it's a bit too glossy for the era. I masked off the wood sections and the roof as I didn't want any extra paint buildup to contend with. Although a bit snuck thru. Gonna let this sit for a week or so and then I will need to do some woodworking. Thanks for stopping in.

Taillights yes, gauges no. And a battery box with two AA batteries hidden in the trunk.

I understand exactly what you mean by wasting a body. I have so many projects I would like to upgrade with a better chassis but then what do you do with the rest of the kit you steal the parts from? I used to have mixed feelings about these sellers on eBay who break down kits into pieces and sell off the components. Potentially selling a kit for 10 times what it’s worth, if they can sell each bit that is. But I have surrendered and bought a few chassis that way. Also bought a bunch of junkers for the same reason. Maybe 3D printing can fill this void in the future with upgraded components for some of these vintage kits. There I go rambling again, think I’ve been out in the sun too long?

If you ever get the urge to do a ‘64 Galaxie you might be interested to know the original AMT’s came with working headlights.

The give away is the number of fill caps. 6V batteries only have three. 12V would have six.

David, I think what we have to keep in mind here is that the Galaxies were originally designed as promos and then offered as kits. So the fact that this chassis is as good as it is is surprising. Most of the AMT annual kits from the era were this way. My first introduction to AMT was through promos from the dealerships. Some of the early kits, such as the 62 Fairlane, came right out of the promo molds. Complete with written vehicle highlights on the chassis. I think the first release of the 63 Galaxie that Jim is working on came that way. The 57 on the other hand was designed at the start to be a kit. So yes, a new tooling of these cars would be welcome. The 65-70 AMT galaxies all had variations of the same chassis( I will get into that with my next project) but I don’t know if that’s true for the real car. If it is that would mean a new release from any of these years would benefit all of them. Did that make sense? I know I’m rambling. Sorry for the headache Jim?

Jim, those Starliner parts really work well on the ‘63 and add so much to the kit. You can be certain I’m gonna steal a few of these ideas?

Cool idea on the steering wheel David. Another use for those mighty little ?

I think I mentioned this before, either here or another thread, about what AMT did with these Galaxie chassis being wierd. I have a Galaxie project on my to do list that I’ve been trying to figure out a chassis to use for it and it’s hard to follow their logic. Just like the convertible interiors in the hardtops, but that’s another story.

50 years ago I built one of the originals and painted it an even darker blue (duplicolor lacquer). Then to lighten things up I put a white vinyl top on it made from an old t-shirt. When I look at the model now the top looks ridiculous, and dirty, but I did win a contest with it.

Wait a minute, isn’t this the point where we’re supposed to blame AMT for this?

Looking good Donald, colors are really sharp. Is that the battery the kit came with? ‘57 Bird is 12 volts and that's a 6 volt battery

It’s amazing how much work these simple projects take. Nice to see it’s coming along ?

Jim, I have used Bondic to make crank windows. Dries instantly under UV light and if you stick a small metal rod into it before you dry it you have a post to mount it with.

Cool concept, before and after?

David, looking good. It's odd how they made this chassis. And it gets even odder in the following years. I think starting in '67 they modified it and cut out the whole belly and exposed the bottom of the interior tub and the exhaust was completely separate. Then by '69 they put everything back and molded the exhaust and axle in place again.

Thanks, hoping for smooth sailing now that the paint is done. Yeah right, that's never going to happen.

Right, which is why I hate the Subaru ads that their cars have "symmetrical all wheel drive". It has to be asymmetrical. I can see now that I wasn't clear in my post above and we went way off on a tangent starting from flat tires. Let's get some air in those things and get this post rolling in the right direction.?

Thanks Carl, it sure put up a fight.

So then this is probably derived from the old Monogram kit. I built one of those back in the day. Thanks, I will make a note of it.