VW Dave

Thanks for the tip, Harry; I'll have to look closer the next time I'm in that aisle....I get my 5-minute epoxy there already.

Most of the clear enamels will yellow over time as well, so polishing the white paint is the best move.

Take about 5 years off that, and I'd say "you took the words right outta my mouse." I come from an artsy-craftsy family that also is into cars.....it just kinda happened. My late mother built models, and both of my brothers used to as well.

That really looks the business, Guy; Beyond the weathering, I really like the bungees and the headlight 'eyebrows.' Nice work on the rack as well.

Yup, and we have Dollar Tree stores here too. That's where I get my super glue, emery boards and weathering pastel applicators.

You're most likely talking about the Jackman 5-spoke; my 1:1 has chrome ones, but no kit ever had them: empinut(Bill) was working on them, and he sent me a nice pre-production set of his resin centers for my replica, but I haven't heard anything since.

Thanks for the compliment, Ryan. Lemme see what I've got for kit or resin centers...maybe we can help each other out. You have a PM, sir.

I like phantom cars when they're done up as a 'what if' factory car....I recall seeing both a convertible T/A Challenger and AAR 'Cuda at Carlisle one year, and a guy from Canada shows up nearly every year with a 64-ish Plymouth wagon modded into a 2-door with a Hemi that looks factory; his vanity tag reads "1OFNONE."

Glad to help, now let's see some pictures!! ***Ironically, after helping you, I had trouble posting pics myself the past couple of days; the glitch has been sorted, and I'm back on track now.

I'd like to do the earlier 'solid' Beetle wheels for a Manx application, using either the Hasegawa Kübel or Gunze '56 Beetle centers, and Arii/Otaki rims like I did for my Charger(minus the weathering, of course): Arii wheel & tire: And my modded deep Cragars for the Charger:

I like the Cragars against the whitewalls, and I think they'll look the business with the green body. The purple engine block might make it look like one of Barney's cars, however. My only suggestion is to paint the whitewall inserts with something like Tamiya 'racing white,' which is a slightly off-white; even when brandy new or freshly cleaned, real whitewalls aren't white white.

Looking good! I love rediscovering old projects and attacking them with new enthusiasm.

'Stunning' is a word that doesn't do that car justice.....

To make side pods, if you weren't concerned about casting them, I'd make 'stringers' like you see in model airplane construction and skin them with thin sheet styrene. Some people refer to this style of construction/fab as 'trellis' work, like you see in prototype car building. Exoto made a 1:18 diecast replica of the prototype Cobra Daytona Coupe, referred to as a 'rolling trellis:'

That would be an easier conversion, because there were factory '70 Satellite and RoadRunner convertibles

I'm thinking that one of the issues you're having is putty shrinkage. What I would do is clean out the lines between the body and the filler(trim) piece, and glue some thin styrene sheet into the gap before you continue filling and sanding. Just like doing body work on a real car, using similar material to the body can help reduce the amount of filler needed.

My friend Kathleen's Manxter runs a Subie too....just a tick over 300hp, last I knew, and there were hints that she was going to chip & intercool it next. She's done Hot Rod's 'Power Tour' twice now.

I would say that MrObsessive's suggestion would be the trick, and Bill's work speaks volumes about his abilities. Before offering any advice, my question would be: what filler(s) have you tried to use?

My late mother bought her '79 Lil Red Express from the original owner in 1981, and we later found out he was famous for his 'neutral drop' burnouts; when the 727 was given a good going-through a few years later by a local AT guru, she was informed that 1st gear was about shot.....the truck barely had 27K on the clock at that point.

I remember that too, it made the rounds on the web pretty fast after it happened....to say that GM tranny got 'brutalized' is putting it mildly.

Me likey.

Engine and chassis look very clean, and I'm looking forward to seeing what color you decide to lay on it. Personally, I'd do a medium blue metallic with a black interior...after swapping the LF and RR tires(the'yre directional, and running backwards).

Dodge never made a convertible Charger. I'm sure it could be done in scale, and I seem to recall somebody on the dodgecharger.com forums was starting a 'phantom' one based on a Coronet convertible a few years ago....don't know if they pulled it off or not. **EDIT** I remembered my id and password from the Charger forums, and did a quick search......here's one thing I turned up: The guy who posted the pic said it was for sale at a swap meet in Everett WA.

Fotki does free accounts too, that's what I started with....I simply outgrew it, however, and moved on to their premium membership about 4 years ago

Chopped lead sleds never really look right tubbed IMHO.......