DJMar

The small Testors bottle, as in enamel? Lacquer over enamel is a no-no. Enamel over lacquer is ok. You can't use a lacquer over that without risking a paint disaster.

Perfect time of year for this!?

Always love to see a Z! Nice color choice, she looks good.

Yes please on the reissue. '55 or '57, it doesn't matter. ?? They could actually spruce this one up with some different wheels & tires, and maybe some new engine goodies.

That is so awesome! The flames really set the whole package off. Really nice paint and bodywork. I don't know much about boats, but that engine sure is impressive. Makes me wish I had held on to at least one or two of those Dodge pickup annual kits from the mid-70s.

This hits me right in the nostalgia. I miss PHR, R&C and CC. Online mags are just not the same. But yes, Project X was one of the coolest long term, long running builds a magazine ever did.

There were a few diecasts from Autoworld and Danbury Mint, among others. R&R Vacuumcraft and Ron Cash offered some resin bodies/kits a while back. There might have been more, but I can't recall any others at the moment. I don't believe there has ever been a full on plastic kit of one. Jimmy Flinstone still offers a chopped resin body. https://jimmyflintstonestudios.com/NB277--1948-Divco-Chopped-Delivery_p_344.html

Just my two copper about this issue. I first built this kit a few years back and I remember something similar. The problem I encountered was mainly with the firewall. It needs to sit tight to the chassis pan. The instructions show the firewall attaching to the interior panels, but I've found if you build it that way, the firewall is pulled back and up, and leaves the gap you showed. My experience was that the firewall needs to be clamped and glued in place to the chassis pan so that there is no gap. This leaves you with a gap on the interior panels, which I solved with some styrene strip extensions. I also ended up refilling and drilling the mounting hole in the front suspension in order to drop the front end even more, but as already pointed out, the wheels wells get tight quickly. I was using some pretty small & narrow tires compared to what you've got on there. This is just a mockup from the stash but you get the idea. I know this doesn't solve your issue, as you said everything is touching where it should be touching. It's more of a heads up for others building this one.

I wonder if you can mix the AK semi with AK flat and give it a thin coat to tone things down a little? I don't think it looks bad, honestly. Like you said, it's totally plausible that the scale owner went a little heavy on the vinyl dressing! Also, that chassis looks good, super sano.

She's a beauty! Love the color. Chrome work is really nice, especially around the rear panel. ? This build makes me wish I had squirreled away one more of those bodies for a future project.

That is one tasty El Camino! That blue & white scheme is hard to beat. The completed kit still looks great, considering how old the molds are. Nice one! ?

That is a great color for this car! ??

I'm cool with a rolling "deadline". I've got mine mocked up and most of the parts in primer, but there's no way I'm going to lay down color and assemble everything in 8 days. And let's face it, it might be more like 8 months...

Not sure if you've seen this, it may be of some help. https://www.torqtalk.com/home/arp-bob-florines-jon-kaase-racing-boss-nine-shotgun-powered-57-ford-del-rio-ranch-wagon-part-1-the-build

The kit items are a pretty nice representation of the Pontiac 8 hole spinner hubcaps. I like them quite a lot, but I'm not sure if they fit other tires that well.

Two thumbs up on the color scheme! Looks good.

Looking sweet in primer! I have to tell you, this makes me want to pull this kit out of the stash. Are you planning to use the kit wheels & tires?

Initially, this is what I thought as well, but when you look closer, things get a little...weird. I tried to find a photo of a stock Olds that was at least close to the original regarding composition. Take a look. I thought it might be a trick of the light in the original photo, camera angle & shadows, that sort of thing, but there appears to be more than a minor difference in the lower fender shape, especially when you look at the leading edge of the fender lip. Even more interesting, the lower part of the rear bumper in the original pic clearly follows the fender line, which looks to be angled down and towards the body, and not away from the body as the stock photo shows. Side by side. The mystery deepens! I know that the '61 was a one year body style (as were most body styles back then) and I cannot find pics of any 1961 Oldsmobile that would explain this. Custom bodywork? Super rare "1 of none" factory special? Sign of the end times? @NOBLNG What was the size of the original pic? The one I pulled from the site is 4032x3024 @ 2.3MB. Just curious, as I don't think we're going to be able to tell much more from this angle, no matter the photo resolution.

That's a bummer, my friend. It's a little late now, but if I use Tamiya TS sprays for a topcoat and get overspray, I'll use a little rubbing alcohol on a q-tip to gently try to rub the offending color off. You have to be careful with this as you can burn through your topcoat, but a gentle touch works wonders a lot of the time. The method can dull the paint a little but the repair disappears under clear. Sorry you had to repaint, that's just frustrating. ?

For sure a '61 Olds 88 series. One year only body style, IIRC. Do you happen to have a shot of the rear of that car from the show? Is it possible it's just the camera angle and shadows that are making it look different than stock in the pic? Modifying the lower fenders, bumper and rear pan on that car would be quite a bit of customizing work. Now I'm curious...

I still have a few of the old Model Master spray bombs of the stuff. I was planning on testing one out on a Monogram '70 Challenger TA kit I'm building. Is there such a thing as having too many FM3 Mopars on your shelf?

Nice call on the front mounted rack. It's a great little detail for the trailer. ??

All the time. Right now I've got 4 or 5 projects on the bench and I'm just cycling through all of them. Sometimes I'll pack those 4 or 5 up and replace them with 4 or 5 different kits. ? The Chevelle looks great, btw. Is that the AMT kit? I've never built one.

It certainly looks that way to me, and it also appears the side trim "V" is extended towards the rear of the car. It's really hard to be sure since the pics aren't scaled, but the old eyeball engineering says yes.