charlie8575

Even if the taillights are a smidge off, this thing looks great, Tom. Money permitting I would certainly buy one. Charlie Larkin

I'm actually in the process of trying to piece back together a c. 1988 (I was 12-13), maybe as late as 1989 (high school freshman) '65 Riv that needed a lot of cleaning up. Progress will be posted on that sooner rather than later, I hope. The problem I'm running into with this paricular car is that the engine and transmission have different extensions off of them that will force me use the base crankcase/transmission, again, without doing lots of plastic surgery that I neither enjoy nor can do well, I'll stick with those and hodge-podging my other compoents as needed. I will, however, look at some of the Riv parts (I plan on making the Riv a curbside because the engine is horrible) to see what I can make work. Thanks, Greg! Much appreciated. Update- does anyone have a spare rearview mirror, round exterior mirror and radio antenna they can spare? PM me if you meet that description. Thanks! Charlie Larkin

Hi, Rusty. While the Wildcat and the 1961-64 Chevies were all "B" bodies, there are differences with the wheelbase. The Buick is four inches longs (123", shared with the Olds 88) and it gets into the splicing and dicing I really don't want to do because I'm not a good kit-basher. The Modelhaus does have a resin copy of that bumper/grill assembly. They're about $4.50 or $5.00, and as I'm sure you know, you cannot go wrong with Don Holthaus. I like the idea of a Skylark- that'll be a nice build. Charlie Larkin

First they hold us up with inflated tickets, now this. Immoral, unethical, and should be illegal. Charlie Larkin

What a great idea, Sean. Well-done. Charlie Larkin

I'll look forward to this one coming along, Rich. I think the 1957-58 Dodges were some of the best-looking cars of the 50s, and it's nice to see one being built. Charlie Larkin

Although not a huge update on progress, I did want to share a small update. While looking for some reference pictures for painting, etc., I ran across these instruction sheet photos for the convertible kit, which might prove handy. http://www.carsandracingstuff.com/library/w/wildcat_1964convertiblecustomizingkit.php It did allow me to discover I'm missing another part- the washer fluid bottle, which I can probably make with a little tubing and some flat sheet. I also scrounged some parts from another 7th-grade build that didn't go well- in this case, a 1966 Wildcat. This will allow me to get the intake manifold, air cleaner, front cover and belt assembly, The '66 engine depicts a 425 cu. in. Wildcat 465, which had the dual 4-bbl. carbs. I also have the heads and exhaust manifolds. As I don't have the stock '64 manifolds, I'll have to try to modify these, or use the ones from the '62 Electra, depending on which parts fit better. Due to a different design of the block/transmission from the other kits, I'll have to re-use the block/transmission. I'll post up pictures of pieces a little later tonight. Charlie Larkin

Red, orange, yellow, green and purple plastic all bleed with a vengance. I would suggest the following to prevent it and to help even the color. 1. Prime with one light coat of sealer primer, such as made by Plasti-Kote or Dupli-Color for automotive applications. Sand, apply a second light coat. 2. Seal the primer with silver automotive paint (any shade of silver). This will seal the primer, the plastic and provide an absolutely uniform color. 3. Apply one coat of white, gray, or red (your choice depending on your color-coat) sandable primer. Sand, apply another coat if needed. 4. Topcoat. That should eliminate most of the problems. If you want to exercise a little extra caution, dip the parts in Pledge with Future (ex-Future) floor wax; the acrylic will seal the plastic. Proceed as above. Good luck. Charlie Larkin

Great work so far. If you make it to MassCar's next meeting, please bring that with you; I can assure you it'll be well-received. Charlie Larkin

Mark did remind me of that....warmed cans make a huge difference, and that's for any type of paint. You'll notice you'll get a lot smoother paint job, and because of the increased pressure in the can, you'll actually get more of the paint itself out of the can, helping stretch your budget for paint a little. I also hear you loud and clear about being on a limited budget. A basic airbrush, however, doesn't have to be expensive. Even a Badger 250 (about $25) is a great starting point and for most of the work car modelers do, is actually a pretty decent choice. I would recommend a compressor, however (seriously the Harbor Freight product is a good idea- useful for inflating tires, blowing out gutters, etc.), and the appropriate coupling. Essentially, for about $80, you're up and running. The HF airbrushes aren't that great, spend the extra ten bucks for the Badger. For a spray booth, use either a cardboard box or a big plastic tub, like a Sterilite or similar product. If you can, try to attach a ducting to the box to vent the fumes. Worst case, point a box-fan so that it blows out a door or window. Some ventilation is better than none. Basically, for a small upfront investment, you'll have many years of enjoyment from your tools. I think you're on the right track, Mitch, and it'll improve as you get back into things. Charlie Larkin

Too bad most of your pictures are blacked out due to "exceeded bandwith", I suspect so many people are looking up Superbirds that Photobucket thinks everyone is looking for your pictures. That said, if your interior, chassis and engine are any indication of the rest of the car, I must say you've done some very nice work. Charlie Larkin

Not yet, Carl. That will coming later today, I hope. Charlie Larkin

Interesting...didn't even know that Seattle had a hockey team; I'm actually rather surprised they don't now. Charlie Larkin

Check some of the Tamiya or other Japanese kits for seats. This whole thing is amazing. Thanks for sharing it with us. Charlie Larkin

*Queue urgent-sounding news music* FLASH! Wildcat escapes anchorings! Pictures to follow! It appears I'll have to do a little repair to that cross-member, but the freed engine is a major hurdle.I suspect the soapy water being frozen expanded enough to loosen things up and the "wetter water" made it happen. Charlie Larkin

Thanks for the tip, Tom. I'll admit that the only part of physics I ever caught on to was mechanics and not the rest of the stuff, and as for chemistry....hah! Well, I do know enough to never mix sodium or potassium with water. Part of my thinking was also that the continual cold might simply make the glue more brittle, but you might have a point...perhaps we both do. Given this, I might as well go inspect progress now... Charlie Larkin

The gray primer on the green area might be a good strategy to handle that. I would suggest two steps. 1. Paint the white over white primer. 2. Using some scrap, try the green over the white over white, and then on some gray primer, and see which you prefer. Charlie Larkin

Hmmm....the Racing White will look good for the Colonial White, as it was a slightly cream-color. I'd recommend a white primer underneath to keep it from going too cream-color. I'm not sure about the metallic green, I'm kind of curious to see how it'll look on this car. You may wish to consider decanting it and darkening it a little with some black or their BRG, might work on the shape a bit better. Whatever you decide, I know a first-rate model will be the result. These Fords are a nice kit, I have two (one regular and the police car), and the quality of the the molding and parts are very good, and will result in a nice product with minimal fuss in putting it together. Good to see you back at the bench and McNally back on the board. Charlie Larkin

The home-town crowd (Mike, Mike and Albie) know my attachment to odd-ball, rare and long-gone kits and the cars they tend to represent. The support and interest is both humbling and gratifying. For that matter, anyone who reads my posts and thoughts here knows my tastes tend towards things that are different and interesting. One quick update- I just tried moving stuff around on the chassis, and the soapy water appears to be working somewhat, I'm going to give it a little more time to see how it works in the end, probably fully overnight. I'm still standing ready with razor saw, chisel blade and some other stuff in case it doesn't work. Charlie Larkin

You're not too far off of what I was thinking, Andy. I might try the razor saw blade for my modeling knife and see if that does the job. I also have a Bare-Metal scribing tool, which I might also give a shot at. I don't have a Dremel and don't have the funds for one at the moment, so this will be the way I'll have to do it. I know I'll be using the engine from the '62 Buick I picked up, along with a few of the under-hood details to make things looks a little better and to replace missing parts. I will need an alternator to make this look right, as the '62 still used a generator; I'm looking for one in my spares, or if someone else has one floating around they can spare, let me know. Charlie Larkin

Mitch, Experience with this paint has shown 2-3 days is generally adequate for waiting. However, if you're not entirely sure, go ahead and wait a week. It will be absolutely dry and hardened after that, but I've been able to clear it successfully after a day or two. The key is light mist coats, at least an hour between them. Charlie Larkin

That's rather depressing. I'm hoping sometime, someone will find a good material for tires, instead of vinyl or the rubbery stuff the Japanese use that just splits. Charlie Larkin

Scale Finishes and Model Car World are both indispensable resources for paint, especially if you do a lot of fleets or rep-stock. MCW is lacquer, Scale Finishes is enamel, and can formulate newer colors for you. Both are great products. Tamiya's cements are very good, but I still keep a tube of Testors around for parts that work better with the slow-drying gel that is Testors in the tube. Their acrylic paints are very good; I haven't used their spray paints, but they're supposed to be outstanding. I also like Testors clear parts cement- it works well. Unlike a lot of people, I still like using Testors and Testors Model Master enamels. I find them to be my main-stays for many things I do. Testors Acryl line of paint is also very nice stuff. If you can get it conveniently, I also like the line of Humbrol paints from England. I also use Testors lacquers and think they're fantastic. For primers, I strongly recommend Plasti-Kote, as their solvents are less aggressive than the Dupli-Color and Rust-Oleum primers and it works well. For surfaces that might be a bit delicate, either Testors enamel primer or their lacquer primer are a good choice. I like Excel blades a little better than X-Acto, and recommend those. X-Acto and/or Excel bar clamps are handy, as are the ratcheting mini-clamps that Sears and many other hardware stores sell. Don't forget rubber bands, spring-loaded C-clamps and the big binder clamps you can get at stationers. Beyond that, I like Xuron cutters, and recommend a good cutting mat. I find useful tools here and there, so keep your eye open for them. Foil, files, Testors and other makes of wet-dry sanding films and a bunch of other stuff like that are indispensible items, too. Welcome back. And very nice Studebaker you have there. Charlie Larkin

I took a few minutes a few minutes ago and decided to see how the cryogenic operations on the chassis were proceeding, so after taking the parts out of the freezer after about three days in the freezer. As you can see, the chrome is thoroughly frosted, just like a real car in the winter. That big blob of glue at the rear transmission cross-member is being quite stubborn, however. The parts cleaning tub is soapy water, using the water-wetting idea Dad and I had talked about, I gave it a thorough soaking and it's back in the freezer. Greg Wann has graciously offered to cast me a chassis plate for me if this one can't be made to work effectively. Next up will be some work on the interior. Charlie Larkin

Thanks for the tip, Curt. I'll give that a try if nothing else I have lined up works. I've heard that stuff is pretty good, so I'd like to see how good it is. Charlie Larkin