gman

Nice save- I experienced some issues using SEM paint touching up 1:1 automotive dash surfaces. That paint, while the sheen and texture is "right" uses a fairly hot solvent, which can affect underlying paint coats.

That is one helluva paint job- looks great on that.

...as for the distributor cap, that style was included in many Fords in the late 80's to early 90's. If anyone has a pic of Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland FH-20 crab-style distributor cap, it may be close.

You are indeed a lucky man. I was trying to order multiples of those photoetch sets back when the Thunderbolt was a newish kit. Performance Detail Products folded not long after, and I never got the chance to order.

If the shape of the seat is close, you can make some templates to mark out the trim area from multiple layers of masking tape- scribe around your templates to carve the trim into the seat, and foil after painting.

Use the highest position on the front king pin parts to check how low the front end goes with the kit parts- test fit. If it isn't low enough, it shouldn't be too hard to scratch build some king pin replacements that allow the front to sit lower than it does out of the box. For the rear axle, it comes with inserts to raise the rear springs (part #12) for stock height, and omitting these will lower the rear end- a pair of scratch built styrene lowering blocks mounted between the trailing arms (part #18) and the differential should get things down some in combination with trimming down the springs...you'll want to shorten the shocks too. If the control arms and driveshaft hit the floor pan with your chosen amount of lowering in the rear, notching the floor pan around the control arms and deepening the tunnel the driveshaft goes through with a round file will help.

I think Norm will likely have tires to fit, depending on what sort of look you want. Thankfully, a little piece of the Modelhaus lives on (for additional options): https://www.modelhaustires.com

Excellent skills all around. The faux wood work on the dash is excellent. I would be very interested in hearing about how you did those seats- a very in-scale upholstery look you have there.

I can relate to all of those points. Thank you for allowing us to go along on the journey(s) and see what solutions you have applied along the way.

That build really works- all the work and modifications look seamless. Well-done.

Excellent job- that looks extremely smooth. Your paint laid down and covered well, polished well. That should be a beautiful build when you are done.

That is a great build- would love to have that in full size. Nicely done, realistic finishes. Looks great.

Sometimes even the same store will change things up- I've found kits marked down in the clearance section, and the same identical kit in the model section still at full price. To compound matters, there are other kits in the regular kit section that are marked down. (I ferret them out regardless)

Well worth the wait- it resulted in a truly great looking model that captures the look of the real thing, and a look of the real thing in a very specific period. Home run!

Based on this thread, I find there is quite a time delay before kits marked down on clearance that appear in one part of the US appear in other parts. (that means I have to visit the closest Hobby Lobby to home semi-regularly, and some times miss out)

I was at the nearest HL to me last week- no clearance kits. I would have come home with two or more if I had seen that selection on clearance.

Very nicely done.

Very nice build, ultra smooth paint job. Well done.

https://www.sunwardhobbies.ca/tamiya-spray-paint-ts36/ ^^ you could order some from north of the border, unless you need more than 2 cans

I do understand what you are saying, and it wasn't my intention to over-simplify. I won't claim to have the ability to cast complex parts, and while I certainly wouldn't mind learning, I don't have a pressure pot or vacuum pot. I have done some DIY casting of simple parts, and with some practice they came out very usable. With necessity being the inspiration, my casting has been limited to duplicating parts I need for my own use from kits I don't imagine will be re-issued, or that would be extremely expensive if I had to source another kit for parts. I've tried Por-A-Kast resin with a few different mold rubber products, and luckily only had air bubbles where they didn't show on the visible surface of the cast parts. The spirit of my comment was that if someone was going to send in parts from a "holy grail" type kit, casting a copy might save some agony if the worst happened and that part got lost. I understand that might not be practical for everyone or every possible part. I have purchased parts kits with usable chrome for not much more than it costs to have a half dozen pieces re-plated, but I also understand with more rare subjects that isn't always possible. I would imagine rare parts and reworked parts are the ones most likely to get sent in for services like George (and other platers) offer. I have a number of parts that would look so much better without mold seams under the plating...thankfully, they are more garden variety parts- lower stakes if they were to be lost.

I suppose if a part you want chromed is priceless and irreplaceable (and needs a new layer of chrome anyway), it might be cheap insurance to take a mold and make a few resin copies, and send those in for plating rather than the original styrene. Even though a casting kit like those from Alumilight isn't cheap, the cost & risk would be lower than trying to source an extremely rare part in order to complete a vintage OOP model.

Impeccable finishing- where it shows, and where it doesn't after assembly.

I would have to agree- that looks stunning so far. Your build is coming along nicely.

The best I can suggest? Use the photos uploaded to various places on the web to narrow down what you want, and buy without hesitation. Great parts.

^^ this powerplant (with the addition of a cooling system) would look right at home between the fenders with that chop- Monogram's Li'l Coffin.