stump

Good luck with the build mate, I'm sure your daughter and yourself will make a great show of it. I've not had experience with these kits, but just use caution as Mark pointed out and I'm sure things will go smoothly.

I can only echo what everyone else is saying Dave, truly inspirational craftsmanship mate. That shot, looking down on the front end, just shows how true and square you have managed to keep it all......amazing stuff man.

Mark, the speakers speak volumes regarding your dedication......Just too kool mate. Y'know, they say this sickness is curable, but I can't see it happening any time soon mate... Keep up the GREAT work bud, inspirational it is indeed.

Great stuff Jeff. But please excuse me if this is a silly question. I may have missed the idea behind the work, but is the body just out of proportion? Too long maybe? But, I do like what you're doing, looks like an interesting conversion.

Chris, BRAVO my friend, you continue to push yourself to extremes, with FANTASTIC results. Ya know.....I only come in at a tad over 5 foot mate......you're setting the bar that high, I can't even see it any more.

John, superb mate, just superb work going on here. And a HUGE thanks for posting pics AND explaining about that "Z-bar". Saved pics for reference. I admit, I had know idea when you asked if my headers cleared it. I absolutely LOVE the colour too.....think I'll need another kit, just so I can have this colour on my shelf.

Hehehe, thanks John. Yep, ground clearance is ok.....just getting the steering to a "functional" compromise will be a little more challenging..... Hey Cliffo, sorry to hear you've had a bumpy ride mate. God willing, things pick up for you in 2014 my friend. Stay strong bro. Hey........headers! GUESS what I found??????? Man, I have a Dart partially started (on the bench also) and it's getting a 440........................................ What do you think was still "in the box", still attached to their spru? HEADERS! I "LOL'd" so much when I found them. I will put them aside for another build now I got 'em........ GREAT guy alert! Mike, a true Champion, sent me an unmolested FLAT Cuda hood, along with a fantastic pair of Flowmaster mufflers...Pics later. Thank you again Mike, you saved my butt big time mate. So, settling back into my second week back at the real job (work sux)...time at the bench has eased, but not stopped. Having settled on a colour, I splashed some around the chassis and engine bay. Added some black to the chassis, and the whole lot will get some weathering added later. Fuel and brake lines run. I really love the omission of the molded lines by Revell. Makes it easier to add these things IMHO. I've left the "factory" fuel return line in place and added a home mechanic style of added fuel supply line. The inline filter (black thing with shiny ends) was made with two combination fittings from Detail Master, butted together, inside some black tubing. (RHS of photo) Made some Gabriel Hi-Jacker air shocks for the rear. Added RBMotion hardware to attach them to the modified spring shackles. Didn't have any Gabriel decals for them tho..... Once installed, I think they look right at home in there. Front end resting in place, just test fitting to make sure the new torsion bars fit. I drilled locating holes for both ends, and cut some brass wire to suit. They are approximately .924inch..............or there abouts....I think they look a bit more realistic than the plastic ones?? Still LOVING this new kit so much.......a few more are a sure thing down the road me thinks. Till next update, see you'll again soon, and thanks for stopping by. Greg

Nice work going on here Joe. The tranny hump looks "factory fitted". GREAT stuff.

That's a nice start Walter. The cage looks right at home in there. Nice touch on the Tach too.

Not wanting to buy into any accuracy issues here, just adding my 2 cents worth. Not having been privileged with too many real 1:1 encounters with 'Cuda's, to me, as a non qualified model builder, it looks like a Cuda in my eyes. I guess the biggest thing I can see that stands out is the fender lips. Now, I only have an old JoHan Cuda to compare too, and they are most definitely flatter. But in reality, still no biggie for me. I may try and sand them down just a tad, but I'm worried that I may go too far, or worse yet, they may not match....May be best left alone. The dizzy never even got a look in.....I already had one pre-wired sitting in my stash. And had I gone completely "stock", I would've just used some resin carbs to get around that issue. All in all, I think it's GREAT that Revell are producing kits that are newly tooled, of kits which are really needed. Re-pops and re-releases will always hold a special place for some guys, but I really appreciate new stuff more so. A few more of these will surely be coming my way before too long.

John, just quickly....would I be correct in assuming that the small "part cable" coming from the trans (just ahead of the first arrow) would be for the Speedo? It also appears to be going in, up on an angle. Many thanks Greg

Wohoo! Hey Chris, GREAT save mate, that looks a million dollars buddy. I just knew you would have this fix all nutted out in your head, and making it work, well that was a given, we all know your skill set mate. Two thumbs up from your Aussie bud.

Hey guys, thank you all very much for your pleasant comments, you're all too kind. JC, yeah, the guys name is Greg, he only works from a dingy little shed in his backyard, not a real professional set up at all. Thanks man. Cliffo!! Mate, been way too long between catchups hasn't it. Yep, not sure the eyes are appreciating the downsizing, but I can live with that. Too much you need to source or make yourself with them big ones. LOL And hold that thought on the headers...........More below. Tom, thanks so much for your fine offer mate. I should be good, thanks. I just PM'd Mike. Mike, PM just headed your way, cheers man. Well, test fitting went ahead as planned......the day didn't go totally to plan, with lawn mowing this morning, then we got inundated with visitors (family.....couldn't turn them away LOL)..... Snapped a couple of photos this arvo with things in place....................... Headers on...... Just another view, intake and carb just sitting on there. TEASER alert! This pic shows the colour choice. I really really wanted Lemon Twist, but not having an air-brush, and not being able to import true colours from the likes of MCW (?), I just decided to go with this...I have a couple of cans on hand (Tamiya TS-16).................... It shows the extra notching to the engine mounts a bit better now it has colour. Ok........I was still pretty happy at this point. It fits in there nice and snug. From below, I was starting to feel pangs of anxiety right about here......K-member just resting in place....Can you see my problem? This angle shows it a bit clearer........the tie-rod assembly hasn't been fitted yet. So Cliffo old mate, you might still get a PM........I'm thinking I might try and just make another set. I can save these/this motor for a more Pro-touring build maybe.... With a fully modified chassis, I could make use of a front steer arrangement, steering linkage ahead of the engine cross member maybe..... I'll get back to you Cliff if I get cold feet on new headers. LOL Well, I'm back to work as of tomorrow, so updates will be a bit limited, but I shall keep the ball rolling. Thanks again for stopping by guys, stay tuned..... Cheers Greg

Great stuff.......LOVE the foot! PM coming shortly too Mike, thanks.

Nice stuff Mike, those interior panels and seats look pretty awesome to my eye. Oh, and the motor. Starting to wish I'd opted to paint my motor orange now....... guess that just means I'll need to get another kit.

Nice....those colours really pop, hey. Fantastic start so far.

AWESOME! This really is, just too kool for words, I love the whole deal, and your work is very clean. Nice work.

C'mon John, second page and still no pics/progress?.......................................................................................................................................... Looking forward with eager anticipation to watch this one develop John, the combo sounds like a pretty neat set up.

That's a very promising start Randy, and you have a nice clean style to your building, great work mate.

Mark, if you make that "functional", I'm giving things away......................................... Great work man. What do you have planned for speakers?

Fred, that is a super clean build mate, GREAT work!

Thanks so much Oscar. Tomorrow is truth or dare day.....see if they still fit in as per earlier tests. LOL I know starter clearance is ok, and they will clear the torsion bars......and at the last test, they cleared the notches to the engine mounts...................Now they are properly glued in place, I hope nothing changes.

Well, this may well be a first.....can't recall having posted a WIP for anything other than large scale, at least not for a very long time.... So, the newly tooled 1/25 Cuda from Revell. I can honestly say I was really looking forward to getting my dirty little paws all over this one. And I ain't disappointed. My decals arrived flat, packed neatly at the bottom, most parts don't appear to have a real lot of flash, if any at all.... My only gripe was with the hoods. Both warped, one far worse than the other. I tried to straighten it, but my clumsy hands over powered it and........S N A P ! And guess which hood that would be???? Yep, the shaker. So, that result pretty much drove me in the direction I've gone.....hot street car, full of Hi-Po options reminiscent of what was available back in the day... Big'n'little Cragars, wide meat out the back......you get where I'm heading...... I would have gone with a factory stock Hemi, had the hood survived. Well, to start off, I glued the motor sections together, where all good builds start, right. And looking through the parts trees, I was kinda shocked/surprised, not to see the familiar Hooker style headers. I mean, these have been in nearly ALL Mopar offerings from Revell for how long? Well, forever it seams. Nope, not this time. Even though other "custom" items are included for a street machine version, no headers..... I sent word to the exhaust shop that I needed a new set of Hookers made up. The boys worked tirelessly for two nights. Once they arrived here at the shop, I had to add some 4-into-1 collectors, scavenged from an old set of pro stock headers. Flanges were added and drilled to accept some tiny bolts from RBMotion. A reducing cone was shaped from 3.2mm tube, it will allow the 2.5mm (75mm in 1:1) exhaust pipes to be fitted towards the end of the build. Finally got them finished today, well tonight....only about an hour ago (10.30pm local time). They are now glued in place on the motor, so a final "test" fit in the morning will tell me if we got the measurements and sizes correct. The chassis has already had extra meat taken out for clearance at the motor mounts. Not real clear, sorry, but you can see both sides now have a notch to allow header fitment. Induction wise....I opted for a single hi-rise Torker style inlet manifold. I've got a pic saved with what I wanted, but after searching my hidden stash, come up blank. What I did find was an old NASCAR Ford inlet. Ok, so the runners don't match the Hemi heads....... I carefully sliced/sawed it down the centre, front to rear, then added a wafer thin piece of sheet stock between the two halves, and re-glued, aligning the runners to suit the Hemi. I had to modify the inlet on top as well, so this was built up with scrap pieces and some putty. With some new side plates and a base, some extra putty, I was pretty pleased with this result. So, the chassis has been through round 1 and 2 of proceedings, I filled un-necessary wholes, removed the raised copyright marks and so on. I drilled a lot (all??) of the chassis holes as well, just to give them a more 3D appearance. It got a coat of primer and colour coat today, and I started running brake and fuel lines tonight. I will get some more pics tomorrow. Stat tuned, I'm not sure how long this will take, but it should build quicker than my 1/12 projects. Cheers Greg

Mike, this will be a nice one to follow, I'm pretty fond of that black beast myself and can see me getting another Cuda to do a build specific on it. I thought of putting those very same monster meats in under the tail of mine, but opted for older Amt M/T's from their Motion Camaro kit. And yes, shame those Flowmasters are no longer available, I was going to raise my hand for a set too.

Nice clean build you got going there, I like it very much. And another here in favour of those awesome tyre decals, they look so much better than any of my attempts to paint that kinda detail.