DJMar

Hakosuka! That's a lovely 1st gen GT-R.

Sweet!

I love the color, is it Testors Purple Metal Flake?

This was a pretty infamous mislabeling goof by AMT back in the day.

A few years back, I bought a quart of Duplicolor Paint Shop gray primer (BSP100) for some touch up on my '53 F100. I had about half of it left over, so I've been using that when shooting lacquer. It's amazing how long a pint of primer will last. It is ready to go straight out of the container. I didn't buy it specifically to use on models, but it works well if you lay down multiple thin coats. I haven't had any problems with it. I do like MCW standard gray primer as well, but haven't used any in the last 3-4 years.

Yep, use the light blue (light grip) mat for paper, and set your machine to cut regular paper (or light cardstock). Each machine is a little different, so I don't know the exact settings for the one you're using, but a standard pressure cut usually works just fine.

I've used a Cricut for both cutting masks and cutting solid color decals. With something like these 911 designs, you could certainly do either. Masking frisket paper is readily available at most craft stores. As for decals, I've had good results using BMF's line of Expert's Choice paper, although there are a ton of other options out there. Expert's Choice has a limited color palette (white, clear, gray and gold) but I often just use the white film and airbrush the final color over the top before application. One tip: be sure you use a brand new, fresh blade in the cutting head of the Cricut when using decal paper.

The AMT Craftsman Series are nice and simple builds, but I would also suggest looking at some older Monogram 1:24 scale kits, which go together well and are not overly complicated. Their muscle car kits from the mid-to-late 80s are fun to build and look good finished. Since most of these are out of production, you can find them on eBay and the like. Shop around a bit for the best prices, and you might be able to land most of these for around the same street price as a new AMT kit ($30-$35), give or take. Some potential candidates: 1965 Mustang 2+2, 1966 Shelby GT350H 1964 GTO (soon to be re-released by Revell), also available as a 2'n1 kit Also the 1969 GTO (recent re-release by Revell, so it's readily available) 1970 Dodge Challenger Another Mopar, the 1969 Dodge Super Bee 1970 Mustang Boss 302 or Boss 429 While browsing eBay, I came across a few of these kits for around $30, some with free shipping. The deals are out there, you just have to look. I think these kits will give you a hassle free build with good detail, without being overwhelming.

Great kit. It's one of Monogram's best efforts of the 80s, imho. It's cool to see this one back, especially the 2'n1 version of the kit (I need more of those big GT Radial rear tires).

Looks really sweet. What's the color?

I do love a 4th gen 'Bird, especially ones prior to the '98 refresh. I never built this particular kit, but it looks like a winner. AMT was cranking out some good stuff in the mid-90s.

Yes, the steering geometry on lowered Effies is a whole other ball of wax. But I've seen a few notched front frames to go along with the axle flip on 1:1s, so you're right on. The whole project is coming along nicely. I spent countless hours and too many busted knuckles on my own '53 F100, and I'll tell you, building the kit is a lot easier.

I've seen the flipped front axle (SOA to SUA) on some 1:1 Effies, and while you can do it, it can lead to some clearance and handling issues. A lot of F100 owners will get new leafs for the front end that 1) lower the ride height and 2) center the wheel in the fender. Some go with a dropped axle or a dropped axle with new springs. But in general, these trucks are relatively easy to lower without a ton of mods and still ride decently. On the kit, it's much easier to flip the axle then it is to do anything else. I'd say your build has got a stance that would be totally workable on a real '53. And yes, that radiator is from the original, lime green issue of the Revell Malibu SS Pro Street "Max Rat" kit.

Revell skipped the chrome on the recent reissue of the '85 Z28, too. I'm sure it's a time/cost/process saving step to eliminate the plating, but whatever the case, it also happens to be accurate. Neither the '85 Camaro nor the '85 Fiero have chrome wheels (or valve covers or alternator, for that matter). The only thing "missing" the chrome plating in those kits are the mirror faces, and that can be handled in a jiffy with some BMF or Molotow. As for the Stranger Things Camaro, the only thing on the 1:1 car that was chromed were the wheel trim rings and center cap. Yes, it would have been nicer for some to have the wheels plated for ease of painting, but honestly, that's not going to be a deal breaker for most people buying that kit. And I think that's the point. In this economy, companies are going to do whatever they can to cut corners while still getting us to buy product. So yeah, the bottom line is literally the bottom line. Revell saves a few pennies by skipping plating on some of their kits where it's not "needed". The accuracy crowd cheers. The convenience crowd complains. Some modelers don't care. And the Don't Like It, Don't Buy it crowd says...

1) The original issue wheels were plated, but they were also molded open, as they are in the reissue. 2) There were no "recessed black areas" on the stock wheels; it's more of a medium/graphite gray. As you can see in the pic below (1985 Fiero GT), those recessed areas just kind of blend into shadows at scale viewing distances. You could probably replicate the effect with something like Tamiya's grey panel line accent or a simple gray wash.

You can probably find any generic set of PE harness-buckles-hardware that are era appropriate and go with that. Gofer Racing, Detail Master & Scale Motorsport all offer some sort of racing harness that could probably adapted to your model. Research is your friend here.

Really cool build and a nice print. Love the color. A friend of mine had an original back in the early 80s, I would swap rides on his for runs around the block on my Stingray (which was cool but in a very different way).

Jawa approved!

I would definitely try sanding that down with some very fine grits (2000, 2500, 3200 and up) to see if you could get the paint spill off. If the Tamiya paint underneath is fully cured, you might be able to remove most of it without too much damage to the blue underneath. Go slow, use a gentle touch and see what happens. You can always go back and use more aggressive grits if the finer stuff isn't working. Then, a trunk repaint. I wouldn't use paint thinner at all in this case.

Just a heads up, FYI, etc. for y'all. I'm not sure this has been mentioned before, but I just ran into this issue yesterday. If you are hosting photos on imgur.com, and then linking them in your posts here, it's possible that some users may not be able to see them. Some ISPs have throttled and/or blocked access to that website and all its content. When I first encountered the issue, I thought it might be my browser security configuration, so I tried several different browsers with no change. After a little searching and hair pulling, I realized my main ISP (Comcast/Xfinity) was blocking site access and giving back 409 conflict errors. Luckily, I also have secondary internet because of work (T-Mobile), and I was able to see everything just fine using it. Ditto on access via my phone (Verizon). This isn't an issue with the MCM board, obviously, but if any mods want to add their thoughts on this issue, feel free. I understand that posting photos from outside sites saves space on the forum end of things.

None of your pics are showing up, if you click the link it gives you a 409 error at imgur. Edit: I realized that my ISP was blocking access to imgur.

Wow, I haven't seen those kits in forever, especially the Dust Devil version. That's a cool score, Desert Dawgs and all. I'm kind of jealous that you've got a 2wd frame in that box.

Nice work on that exhaust!

Great lineup, thanks for posting them. Even though the Ramcharger aficionado in me is silently screaming, this gives me ideas.