Dragline

I took some pix to show the technique Im talking about in detail. This particular application will need another coat but that's the beauty of this, it can handle multiple handlings and coats. Ultimately you want the panel line to be smooth and blemish free with no odd or angular edges Here's all you need: Tamiya [or any acrylic based paint] in the color you want. A model in neeed of panel line definition. A #11 blade [i like using old ones with broken tips for some reason]. Some ammonia based glass cleaner [it's diluted so it's not as strong as straight ammonia]. A little piece of old T-shirt. The finer the material, the better your result. I'm just making an example so I used what was handy. I scribe the panel a little to get rid of any foreign materials and give the paint something to bite into. A light touch is all you need Paint the panel line. Neatness does count a wee bit here since you don't want to clean up a mess. But, no need to be picky either. Take your cloth that you cut out at about 3" x 3" and fold it till it's tightly packed. Spray window cleaner onto the cloth till it's relatively moist and rub the panel line at and angle to the panel line and not parallel to it. The result should at least look like this if not better. This panel needs another go but it's already shaping up. The beauty is neither the acrylic paint nor the glass cleaner will mess with your finish and you can do this as much as you like. Dont like it? Spray on the glass cleaner, wait a minute and run under water. The panel will clean up and you can try again till it's to your liking. Hope this helps. Bob

For panel lines like that I use Tamiya semi gloss black or a color alomost the same but darkened, but always Tamiya. I try to be careful but I also make sure the panel lines are full. Then, I go back over the car with a cloth with Windex soaked on it and carefully wipe the panels down. Comes out POYFECT every time. BTW, nice car. Bob

Just beautiful......... I was not a big fan of this body style before today. You changed my way of thinking. Bob

Stunning paint! You are skilled indeed. Bob

I remember a post I wrote quite some time ago complaining of mold and parting lines on completed model so I won't dish on that again. However, I always take the part off the sprue and clean it up. How can you test fit parts without taking them off in the first place? Sanding parting lines is a simple but effective way of turning mediocre OOB models into show stopping little treasures. Use the painting tips most have outlined here [i use many of them] and you are good to go. The idea here is to recreate a 1:1 item and those things don't have the lines the kit has due to the molding process. There are exceptions of course like transmissions and the odd intake manifold. As always, you the builder must decide how much effort you wish to put into a project to see the end result you seek. Bob

Reissue or re=make conversions for both Grumpy Jenkins cars. Bob

Very striking color combo. Very nice indeed sir. Bob

As nice a short tracker as I've ever seen. Nice detailing as well. Bob

STUNNING Black Beauty.... If I said I watched this when it first came out on TV, would that show my age???? Gorgeous model with fine details. I can see Bruce Lee behind the wheel of this one. Bob

Great looking bracket car. The diorama is insanely cool! Nice detail eveywhere you look. Superb. Bob

Dasa Nice! I'ma smella da nitro. Period Perfect. Bob

They were a BIG help and I cannot thank you enough. Glad you like the end result. Bob

THIS is extremely cool! I need a ramp truck for my 64 Dodge AA/FC too. Cool one Gary Bob

The opportunities here are just mind blowing. Once that type of machinery comes down, I expect scale modeling to change forever! Bob

I somehow missed this one too??? Geez. Beautiful one here [again]..... Chassis looks particularly slick. Bob

Just getting around to looking at this John. RIDONCULOUS! Do you have a wedge up shot? Sweet... Bob

Now that I see all the work I can see you'll fit in SUPER around here. Very nice and well executed. If they don't make it, make it yourself! Bob

Marlowe, solder will of course work but I think Plastruct is the answer for a tube chassis. If you have a decent HS near you they should have a rack. Solder will end up weighing a ton. Bob

Got some paint and decals on her today. Painted it at 1:45 with Tamiya yellow. Decaled it an hour later. It's a wonder what direct sunlight and 90 degree temps do to this paint. Ready for clearcoat and BMF in the next couple of days. Comments always welcomed. Bob

At first I was confused. I read it like it was a diecast and you were just showing it to us. Now I see that you altered a car to be what you wanted. I feel the fool. Well done indeed sir. Welcome to the forums and if you build drag cars we'll get along just fine. Let's see some more. Bob

First time I've ever seen this kit built. I love the shag carpet. John, you are showing your years with this build. LOL Bob

After giving it some thought here is how I glued the body top to the bottom. I started with the nose with Zap and just glued the very front. I used Testors liquid cement [it's very strong] for the portion up to the front of the headers. I let that dry overnight and then glued the rear portion down with Zap. The chassis was a bit warped but it has positive places to glue it down in the rear and the front that are hidden when assembled. I agree with Khart, gluing things that are in a finished state is tricky and can lead to disaster. But, it went together fine. Scraping the paint from the portions top and bottom of the body were key. It's a basic skill, but I sometimes glue glued surfaces together myself. Then, when they fall apart later I cuss and give myself a talking to. I usually listen. For a while. LOL How they built these things in the 60's and 70's is anybody's guess. Give those kits a GO! Bob

Judging by the response there are a few 1/2 built Hippie Hemi kits out there. No body off shots, it's glued together forever. About the only issue I had was gluing the rear top portion to the the bottom. Seemed to be kicked out a bit but I used Zap and taped it for about 10 mins and it was good. The body did seem a tad warped but it's thin so it conforms. The decals didn't like Tamiya clear to much, but other than that it went together OK. Not much else to say. Perhaps I got a good one? LOL Bob

Box stock except for plug wires and a fuel line. Tamiya Met blue w/yellow chassis. Thanks for lookin. Bob

My Mongoose AA/FC was getting lonely so I figured I'd make it a playmate. This was a 1/2 built that was in a bad way from a long time ago. I bought the double kit when it was first released and it went through 4 moves and several girlfriends. Time has come to get it back in order and built so I took a break from making wire wheels for my Garlits car to bust this one out. Nothing fancy just plug wires and poetic licence as to the colors. As one thread said here, "build for yourself". That's what I'm doing. Bob