FenderMender

A 1:18 scale Welly 1999 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Extended Cab pulling a modified Maisto motorcycle trailer with two 1:18 scale Harley-Davidsons, a damaged white 2000 Harley- Davidson FLSTF™ Fat Boy® and a yellow and silver 2004 Harley-Davidson FXSTDSE2 CVO. All of these models were found at a thrift shop. To attach the trailer a removable hitch was made from card stock, aluminum and plastic. The trailer was also fixed so that it can now transport motorcycles in three areas rather than just the one as per the factory. The 1973 BMW R75/5 cycle and Chevy pickup are by Welly in 1:18 scale. Everything else is by Maisto. Thanks for looking... Joining in for a visit are two old 1:18 scale Maistos: a red 2000 Ducati Supersport 900 and a yellow 2000 Honda CBR 600 F4. Got loaded on the truck bed a damaged Welly 1973 BMW R75/5. The last pickup of the day of a severly damaged and wrecked white Maisto 2008 Ducati 848. It's a shame as it is missing both tires and all the fairings.

This article says it all as a preamble to my Magnum post: https://www.allpar.com/cars/lx/magnum-2018.html#:~:text=Since the Dodge Magnum was killed off after the 2008,crossovers and hatchbacks soar in Now this 1:25 scale Revell 'Large' (Germany) diecast kit was bought around 2006 on closeout. The model is a custom Dodge Magnum RT which features scissor doors, simulated TV monitors in multiple locations, opening hood and pan HEMI engine and, of course, oversize rims with red calipers. Revell wanted to capture the current street scene of the mid 2000s. As the article suggests, perhaps we will see the return of a new Magnum in the near future, albeit, not as extravagant as Revell's version. Thanks for looking... [Forgot to properly close the door before shooting this and #5 pic]

Out of the box, these 1:43 scale Wellys show a goodly amount of wonderful detailing and precision. The castings and paint are crisp and clean. Bought at a dollar store in 2013, all the Welly NEX (New Exploration) models do feature quite a bit of plastic, yet it serves its purposes very well with rolled up windows all around and authentic-looking tires and wheels. Pretty impressive at such a low price point. Thanks for looking... Mini Cooper S Audi R8 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Volkswagen The Beetle Aston Martin V12 Vantage Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

JT, that makes perfect sense due to you being in a very large metropolis and in the big state of Texas where everything is bigger! Since I live in a "rural" state and sparsely populated to boot, spotting any foreign cars are on the rarer side. The only Alfa that I know of here is an older vintage restored convertible one owned by my niece which isn't driven in public very much at all. As for newer foreign models, have never seen one. Seen a couple of Maseratis, a Fiskar, two or three Ferraris and Lambos, and an older De Tomasa over the years. LOL

Sorry about that Randy. You are absolutely right. It does indeed have an opening hood and an engine underneath. Before shooting the pictures, I checked the chassis' bottom and it just was one piece with the engine and transmission and all the other components included in the single mold. I assumed the hood was sealed, too, as it was quite tight fitting. So much for assumptions. I should have checked further before hastily taking pictures. LOL

Here's one you don't see everyday on the open road... at least not here in the States. It's a 1:24 scale Motor Max Alfa Romeo 159 Sportswagon. Unusual model in that all windows are shown in the up position. Two doors open and that's it, however. Wheels roll on straight metal axles, so no steering. Bargain brand, no engine. Tight-fitting hood opens up revealing an all black , one-piece engine. Shut line was so tight I thought it was sealed. But it is an Alfa. And that's a good thing for those who like Alfas.

This 1:32 scale diecast 1923 Chevrolet Series D one-ton truck is made by New Ray from their Classic Collection. New Ray is a budget brand noted for their many truck castings among others. Their detailing is fair and presentable in most cases. The Chevy truck here has but two opening panels-the hood. Rendering of the engine is modest. Wheels are mounted on straight metal axles, so no stearable action. The graphics are nice and the gas tanks look realistic enough, but are molded as one single unit and are not removable. Neither does the tail gate open. The bed is painted and textured to resemble wood. For its low cost and old-time appeal, however, it's easily a diecast model worth having. As far as I know, New Ray maybe the only maker of a 1923 Chevy truck! Thanks for looking...

My favorite Chevys are from the years 1939 to 1967, with the obvious Tri-Fives and the latter two years of the 1950s being very highly regarded. Into the 60s, each and every year marked a good one to boot. Somehow tho, the ones in the 50s seem to edge out the latter ones in appeal to me. Maybe it's just nostalgia. There are those that will probably cite the wheels on this model as being inappropriate, demeaning and disrespectful to the 50s era, and even ugly. Be that as it may, the lines of this 1:24 scale Jada custom 1959 Chevrolet Impala hardtop still ring true to 1950s nostalgia. Personally, the casting here provides a hearty dose of it. The metallic white paint job with the continental kit outback screamed to me to photograph it. Certainly not stock, certainly not completely authentic, but certainly 1950s and unique! Thanks for looking...

JT, I think it would be difficult to duplicate as the metal would break when forcing various distortions. Below are examples of 1:18 scale Revell Ford Mustangs that are continuing the cancer process. Note the years involved. Your suggestion about not having to weather them is correct, but adding to the "decay" with paints, stains and powders certainly improves the junkyard looks. I did this with the Mustangs. The Camaro has been decaying for about four years now. [In 2014 I put the following post together. In the year 2020, the three models are pretty much in the same condition except that "Ugly" has deteriorated even more.] Of all the various things that can totally ruin your diecasts, like dropping them, the one problem you definitely don't want your models to have is the dreaded diecast cancer! These two 1:18 Revell (#08753) 1965 Ford Mustang Convertibles in a teal color have had the disease since sometime before 2004. In 2004, I received the "Bad" and the "Ugly" as "gifts", in assorted pieces, and went to work on piecing them back together to try and actually salvage them. After about two weeks of work using jigs and braces and different adhesives, the models finally stayed together. Ever since then, the cancer has been growing steadily, with deep fissures in the body, swelling parts, and the cracking of joints. In 2013, a fellow collector graciously sent me an old "Good" version of the Mustang, missing the wipers and a rear wheel and tire. This copy had no cancer whatsoever, and with parts from "Ugly", is now complete, whole and healthy. "Ugly" , on the other hand, has deteriorated to the point wherein I had to relegate it to the beater junk yard. Current alterations to it were made in 2014. One headlight and turn signal light were removed and the front passenger seat deformed purposely to make it look the proper part. Debris and a spare tire in the back seat were added to the interior for extra emphasis. On "Bad", both doors are non-functional now as they were permanently glued with Gorilla glue to actually hold the entire model together. The hoods on both "Bad" and "Ugly" still work barely, but notice how wildly distorted they are. And on "Ugly", see how much the lower rear valiance protrudes from the rest of the car. "Ugly" currently suffers from a damaged front suspension and a non-stock, Dub-style rear wheel just to get it off the ground. Finally, both have lost big chunks of their rocker panels, making both models essentially two pieces- a front clip and a rear clip- held together by the chassis alone. Much has been written about this diecast cancer problem, and this particular teal Revell model is notorious for having it. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any remedy to completely stop the progression of the disease once the model is afflicted. Guess I'm "lucky" these two very sick ponies have survived for the last sixteen years. And that I have become an adopted parent of a "Good" healthy one. I knew a time would eventually come when one or both models reached their point of no return. It was quite a bit of fun with "Ugly" converting it to an almost complete wreck. "Bad's" fate is not so far in the future. Thanks for looking..... The "GOOD" in 2014 The "BAD" in 2014 The "UGLY" in 2014 Condition of "UGLY" in 2009 2020 : Here is what "Bad" and "Ugly" look like currently. The cracks you see are in the actual metal of the model, not in any body fillers. There are no opening panels on either car as all the hinges have given way to the cancer and the panels glued in place. Care has to be taken lest the models actually break in half. If it were not for the bodies glued to the chassis, they would. Engines in both are in excellent shape, however. "Bad" "Ugly"

This Motor Max (#73293) 1:24 scale diecast 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS soft top American Graffiti model kit included two sets of custom flame decals and a pre-primed body. The soft convertible top is plastic. The kit was bought new a number of years ago for five dollars and proved to be a decent one. Painting and detailing of the car was satisfying. The quality of the parts and all appeared to be quite good at that time, but after a couple of years degradation began and persists to this day. It is so severe now that if any panels were to be forced open, the hinges would surely break or the part itself would be bent out of shape and /or dislodged from the car. Essentially, the model is now "sealed" with no access to the engine, trunk or the interior via the doors. I wonder if others who have or had this particular kit met with these same problems- the dreaded diecast cancer! Thanks for looking...

A little background first.... Gowland & Gowland (England) was one of the early plastic scale modeling companies. Gowland & Gowland designed 30 kits which Revell issued as the Highway Pioneers series from 1951 thru 1953. Highway Pioneers Series Two, 1/32 scale, featured these five cars molded in ( ): 1908 Buick "10" Rumble (red) 1914 Stutz Bearcat (yellow) 1915 Model "T" Ford Sedan (black) 1910 Studebaker Electric Coupe (green) 1910 Cadillac Limousine (light blue)- 2 copies These models had been built in the late 50s and put away in the hot attic in 1961. They remained there until 2007. All those years(46!) in the attic had totally warped and disfigured the models. The Studebaker's smaller parts had literally crumbled into powder, and its mangled body shed countless slivers of decayed plastic. The Studebaker's so-called "body" might be a subject of a future diorama as it is absolute junk, with no possibility of ever restoring. After completing the redo of one of the two 1910 Cadillac Limousines, the 1915 Ford Model "T" Center Door Sedan and the 1914 Stutz Bearcat, I began working on the 1908 Buick Model 10 Rumble. "The 1908 Buick Model 10 Rumble was a two-seater up front with an additional back single seat or "rumble" seat in the rear. This back seat was popularly called the “mother-in-law” seat. The Buick's four-cylinder (cast in pairs) engine produced 18 horsepower. It had a 92 inch wheelbase and a planetary transmission." This model was warped and disfigured, but not as badly as the previous ones. It was on the workbench a goodly amount of time because of its warped nature, missing parts and my inability to determine what particular parts were on the original 1:1 Buick Model 10 and what parts were or were not included in the original model kit as the kit's instruction sheet was unavailable. Specifically I struggled with the question of the windshield, its support brackets and the top- how they were configured on the 1:1 car. As per the internet, there are photos of multiple variations. I opted to scratch build a windshield and brackets for the top as a complete unit that is removable, thereby leaving the "hot rod" runabout version topless and with no windscreen. However, due to space necessary for measuring and positioning the windshield brackets, the two "running lanterns" located on the cowl will now not fit, so they are absent on the top up version although they could be mounted on the "hot rod" version permanently. This would then nix ever using the top, though. One headlight, a running lantern and the gear shift mechanism were all cast in water putty from an original part. The front axle is plastic sprue and the lower springs are strips of aluminum as all these critical pieces were missing. The original rumble seat was missing, too, so a scrap piece of plastic had cut straight pins applied to the seating area to mimic a slight tuck and roll look similar to the front seats. Black elecrical tape serves as a mat on the running boards. Fine copper wire and craft wire serve as brackets and supports for the top. The only disappointment is that the top cannot fit if the running lanterns are mounted to the cowl. Otherwise, the entire lengthy and tedious process was an enjoyable project. Suppose the final decision is: top up without running lanterns in formal mode OR top down with running lanterns affixed in hot rod mode? Thanks for looking.... Hot Rod without running lanterns: Hot Rod with running lanterns:

A little background first.... Gowland & Gowland (England) was one of the early plastic scale modeling companies. Gowland & Gowland designed 30 kits which Revell issued as the Highway Pioneers series from 1951 thru 1953. Highway Pioneers Series Two, 1/32 scale, featured these five cars molded in ( ): 1910 Cadillac Limousine (light blue)- 2 copies 1915 Model "T" Ford Center Door Sedan (black) 1908 Buick "10" Rumble (red) 1914 Stutz Bearcat (yellow) 1910 Studebaker Electric Coupe (green) These models had been built in the late 50s and put away in the hot attic in 1961. They remained there until 2007. All those years(46!) in the attic had totally warped and deformed the models. The Studebaker's smaller parts had literally crumbled into powder, and its mangled body shed countless slivers of decayed plastic. The Studebaker's so-called "body" might be a subject of a future diorama as it is absolute junk, with no possibility of ever restoring. After completing the redo of one of the two 1910 Cadillac Limousines and the 1915 Ford Model "T" Center Door Sedan recently, I began working on this 1914 Stutz Bearcat.This model wasn't quite as badly warped as the others, but still significanly so. My recollection is that when new years ago, the front suspension especially along with the main body were already warped and ill-fitting. The rear suspension's plastic had degraded so much that all that could be saved were the springs and the differential. A rear axle was made from plastic sprue. Up front, it was sort of worse in that the layout of the correct suspension wasn't at all obvious and basically out of shape. A metal flat bar was fastened to the front axle to give it strength as the plastic was extremely crumbly. The springs here, too, were misaligned and crooked. The plastic was so decrepit that when bonding with Super glue, the two surfaces held but the underlying plastic literally gave way. To gain integrity and to give joints extra strength, moldeling putty was thinly applied over them. From various photos of actual 1914 Stutz Bearcats, it appears some had a small circular windscreen mounted to the steering wheel stalk. Maybe I'll make one for this model in the future. Thanks for looking...

A little background first.... Gowland & Gowland (England) was one of the early plastic scale modeling companies. Gowland & Gowland designed 30 kits which Revell issued as the Highway Pioneers series from 1951 thru 1953. Highway Pioneers Series Two, 1/32 scale, featured these five cars molded in ( ): 1910 Cadillac Limousine (light blue)- 2 copies 1915 Model "T" Ford Center Door Sedan (black) 1908 Buick "10" Rumble (red) 1914 Stutz Bearcat (yellow) 1910 Studebaker Electric Coupe (green) These models had been built in the late 50s and put away in the hot attic in 1961. They remained there until 2007. All those years(46!) in the attic had totally warped and deformed the models. The Studebaker's smaller parts had literally crumbled into powder, and its mangled body shed countless slivers of decayed plastic. The Studebaker's so-called "body" might be a subject of a future diorama as it is absolute junk, with no possibility of ever restoring. After completing the redo of one of the two 1910 Cadillac Limousines recently, I opted to finish working on this 1915 Model "T" Ford Center Door Sedan. Seven clamps were used for about two months to attempt to get the two main body parts aligned; seven clamps were also used for the same time period as well to possibly straighten up the chassis/fenders part. The two main body parts were Gorilla glued together requiring seven clamps. Then the now single unit main body needed further straightening under heat to match up correctly with the chassis/fenders part in an assembly process. This work took six clamps and four or five heating sessions. To join the chassis/fenders to the main body was a royal pain as various clamps were needed to finally bring the parts snugly together utilizing Gorilla Glue Clear. The glue is quite strong, fills gaps and is paintable. But it takes 24 hours to reach its full strength. I wait at least 36 to 48 to be sure, as parts under stress possibly separating when the clamps are removed would necessitate starting the job all over again, which indeed, happened. The second attempt bore fruit as the glue held completely tight under the stress when the clamps were removed and the joint fit snugly. Luckily, all the remaining smaller parts, two side lanterns, wheels, seats and the front radiator/axle unit were all intact and complete and only needed proper coloring. These parts were not deformed in any way. Finally, it all came together out of the "fog" looking like this:

A little background first.... Gowland & Gowland (England) was one of the early plastic scale modeling companies. Gowland & Gowland designed 30 kits which Revell issued as the Highway Pioneers series from 1951 thru 1953. Highway Pioneers Series Two, 1/32 scale, featured these five cars molded in ( ): 1908 Buick "10" Rumble (red) 1914 Stutz Bearcat (yellow) 1915 Model "T" Ford Sedan (black) 1910 Studebaker Electric Coupe (green) 1910 Cadillac Limousine (light blue)- 2 copies These models had been built in the late 50s and put away in the hot attic in 1961. They remained there until 2007. All those years(46!) in the attic had totally warped and disfigured the models. The Studebaker's smaller parts had literally crumbled into powder, and its mangled body shed countless slivers of decayed plastic. The Studebaker's so-called "body" might be a subject of a future diorama as it is absolute junk, with no possibility of ever restoring. Okay, now there was another 1910 Cadillac Limousine in extremely rough and terrible shape, the worst of the lot besides the Studebaker. This is the model I chose to start on first of the group to "restore" and is shown below. The Cadillac did have its wheels fortunately, but like the rest of the models, was extremely warped, so much so, that the possibility of getting it to a point wherein the two body halves would actually align and join up somewhat seemed almost impossible as all joining edges were crooked, incompatible and uneven, Heating the larger misaligned plastic body parts wasn't viable as the thinner and/or projecting parts on it would get distorted. So all the models above were subjected to over two month's worth of jigs, braces, weights and clamps. Many types of clamps- bar clamps, 'C' clamps, hand clamps, alligator clips, clothes pins, etc. Mechanical methods and techniques were used to straighten and to get the parts back to a semblance of their original shape. The Cadillac was missing a headlight lantern, a tail light lantern, license plate, rear valance, left front spring assembly, both axles incomplete, and a huge depression in the roof which required extensive filling and sanding to "repair". Upon its completion, I'm having a hard time believing it came out as it did, as I had initially thought it couldn't be done. My adhesive of choice and the saviour of the model was Gorilla Clear. Now its on to the other 1910 Cadillac, the Buick, the Stutz or the Model "T", whichever is the most difficult to redo. LOL Thanks for looking....

This is a 1:18 scale plastic bodied Mercedes-Benz GL-550 model made by Jingwei Industrial Company, Limited in China which specilizes in developing, producing and selling remote control cars, especially the copyright ones, such as Hummer, Audi, Cadillac, Chevrolet etc. I came across this model at a local thrift store and from a distance thought it might be a higher end diecast model. The looks of it are very nice, the trim work and wheels well done and with a detailed interior. No opening panels, but with spring suspension and operable lights both front and rear. The kicker was that this model was only one dollar. Thanks for looking....

From Chenghai, China via Jingwei Industrial Company, Limited (*) comes these two 1:24 scale 2012 Chevrolet Corvette C6Rs. They are featherweight plastic bodied, no interiors, no opening parts, metal axles and rear wheel driven by a geared, fast-turning (when pushed a few brisk times) metal flywheel arrangement. Both models were one dollar each from a local thrift store. The "Corvette Racing"-logoed rear wing model had an unrepairable drive gear missing two of its teeth, so its "engine" won't function. The other "Sirius one will haul, assuming enough "revs" are provided. Due to their lightness, weights were installed internally to give them some substantial mass and heft. And because of their cheap price and their questionable quality, they were bought strictly for possible use as donor cars. But for now, I do like the flaired fenders and the graphics of these two. (*) Jingwei Industrial Company, Limited specilizes in developing, producing and selling remote control cars, especially the copyright ones, such as Hummer, Audi, Cadillac, Chevrolet etc. This explains precisely why these two models are the way they are. Thanks for looking...

This 1:24 scale diecast model of a 1954 Chevrolet lowrider is by Malibu International Ltd. "Long Beach Lowrider Repair". Malibu did a decent job with the interior, the straight six engine and the underside. Fairly well built and hefty, too. The hood won't close tightly for some reason. And the exhaust pipe was just a rectangular plastic glob which needed to be altered. It was colored silver and two holes drilled to improve the appearance. The scallops are water slide decals which you don't see often on diecast models. Its most notable and unusual feature, however, is a fully poseable suspension which I found fairly difficult to quickly change from slammed to raised, but much easier vice versa. And in the slammed position the lines look so fine, hence it's pretty much left in that position all the time. Who knows how long the poseable mechanism will last anyway, so why overtax it. LOL The shaved hood and truck lid, as well as the frenched in tail lights, provides some old school custom charm. Thanks for looking....

This 1/25 scale 2010 Ford Mustang GT convertible was built stock from Revell's Snap Tite kit which I found at a local thrift shop for only $1.51! The kit was missing the four metal screws to attach the chassis to the body, and the two metal axles for the wheels. Everything else was included. Metal screws were found in my parts bin and axles with the proper diameter were made from clothes hanger wire. With a little patience in painting and detailing (putting on those pesky stickers), the model came out better than expected. In a few reviews of this kit, someone wrote that the snap-on parts don't stay put, ie.the side mirrors. I thought mine were secure but after finishing photographing the car and getting ready to put it on the shelf, I saw the passenger side one was missing. Oh no. Luckily, it wasn't lost in the vast outdoors but quite near the shelf where it now rests. Phew. Thanks for looking....

Aurora 1960 Ford Thunderbird from the "Famous Sports Car" series Kit Number 520-49 Scale: 1:32 Released in 1962 Original price: 49 cents Current price: $65.00 This previously constructed vintage glue bomb* was found in an old dusty cardboard box of antiquated and broken up balsa airplane models and parts from the 1960s. It had no wheels, no dash or steering wheel, no windshield glass or frame, no hardtop and no convertible boot. And it was liberally covered in glue, actually heavily welded together with such, and assembled incorrectly with misaligned parts causing them to warp over time as a result. This model would have been tossed into the trash long ago by most builders as being too far gone- a complete disaster. I certainly doubted if it could be saved myself. But it was challenging to see what could possibly be made of it somehow. (The grille and taillights were definitely cool parts at least.) The process of just getting it into reasonable pieces through disassembly was a big chore as the parts were so thickly glued together to an extreme. And restoring the plastic pieces to some semblance of smooth required very careful and prolonged scraping, sanding and filing so as to not destroy their integrity. * In this case, the glue bomb was a kit that someone, a childhood friend of mine at the time perhaps, didn't (a) know how to assemble or didn't read the instructions and follow them, (b) didn't care how it looked as long as it took just a short while to "build" and (c) usually ended up in a fiery mess involving firecrackers and dad's lighter fluid. This one ended up in my parent's attic for about sixty years! The project took about a month's time working here and there and debating in my mind whether it was worth it to continue or not. Gradually things began to get better and progress happened slowly. Much research viewing photos was done on the internet to get the proper look and proportions for parts that had to be scratch built. A major problem was the wheels and tires. There was nothing in my parts bin that would suffice; so castings were made from one tire/wheel that I had that looked the right size. The dash was a real headache to construct. Lots and lots of trial and errors. Finally, gluing the model back together taxed my patience to the limit, being that the warped parts would not align as they had done previously when dry fitting them together. With glue on them, all four major pieces, two body sides, chassis (with the interior tub loose in place on it) and top, had to be fastened and positioned together all at once, there was no other sequence that would work. What a royal pain in the keister. My original intention was to put a great paint job on it after filling in all the pits, cavities and gaps, but this was nixed by the complicated assembly process that would certainly foul up an otherwise clean paint job. I chose, before assembling, to handbrush a flat finish on it, be it mottled some, suggesting an older, non-garaged car exposed to much sunshine and inclement weather. LOL The model looks far better in hand than in the photos below. Thanks for looking... BEFORE: AFTER:

Anyone remember these? The Hawk Model Company made these all plastic Salt Flat race cars in 1961. Underneath the model was a rubber band, that when wound up, would power the wheels via a plastic gear mechanism. I found this in my parent's attic after some fifty years there. Thanks for looking...

This 1:32 scale model of a 1928 Lincoln Coupe Roadster is by Arko. The model was released in 2003. With a nice paint job, opening doors, rumble seat and a two-sided hood, the model photographs quite well. I really enjoy looking at these big old luxury cars from this era with all their additional trim and accessories, be they 1:1 or whatever scale. Thanks for looking...

If my failing memory serves me at all, it seems to me that it might have been from some stock custom parts included in a Thunderbird kit of its time.

Awesome work, Jim. You really know your stuff and your persistence in getting the job done is inspirational and admirable.

Classic Metal Works 1/24 scale 1963 Chevrolet Impala SS 409 is a diecast kit of some sixty parts with the moulds being by Welly. The detail is pretty good considering this is a bargain kit; for example, the rear panel has the round machined designs on it just like the actual 1:1 car. Also, the 409 engine is replicated reasonably well with chromed exhaust manifolds and a chrome air cleaner. To make the model more visually appealing, thin felt was used on the floor to mimic carpet The door panels' interior trim was highlighted in silver. The seats were painted flat red in contrast to the rest of the interior. The grille was blackwashed and the exhaust pipe tips were silvered. Since the ride height seemed too high, both the car's front and rear were lowered. Thanks for looking....

Stopped by Michael's hobby store a while back and came across this 1:32 scale Monogram Snap Tite kit of a Mack "R" Conventional and Fruehauf Tanker (85-1961). The box had been opened and a few parts had already been put together. The price was enticing though. Regularly twenty five bucks at retail but this one was marked down to six fifty with some missing parts. At the counter the clerk said four bucks after I showed him the sticker indicating the missing parts! Spending time to detail this kit was definitely worth the effort. I started by painting the interior of the sleeper although it cannot be seen unless the two side windows are cut open which I thought about doing AFTER the cab was assembled. Blackwashing the grille helped a lot as well as "chroming" various parts with a silver marker. All the graphics are stickers and are not water slide decals. These are sort of hard to work with and are not as presentable as water slides, leaving unsightly edges if not trimmed closely to the art and clearly showing fingerprints if not carefully handled. For folks familiar with the modest size of 1:32 scale automobiles, this big rig will surprise you, measuring almost a full two feet in length. Thanks for looking...