Mr. Metallic

Is it me, or is the grille different? I don't rmemeber the thick bar on top. Glad they added some new parts to this kit, now revell will get some of my money since they made it worth my while.

I started this about 3 weeks ago, but made some real progress on it yesterday, so i decided to start sharing it. I was looking for the perfect vehicle to stick the Caddy engine from the new revell '49 Merc, and I figured since it was a kitbash, why not try to make it all from kitbashed or parts box refugees. The resin body is a repop of an unknown T body by my friend Bruce Bientima. I scratchbuilt the frame and leaf spring, attahced to a modified tube axle from amt 25 T. The wheels and tires are from a Road Rats diecast. I will be stealing a few hot rod goodies from a revell parts pack caddy. Seats are from AMT '56 Ford. Just have to finish up the mtor mounts and floor and it'll be ready for paint. Thanks for looking. Thanks to Steve H for the inspiration to try my making own suicide frontend. When he did his on that yellow A sedan i knew I had to try it. may not be as nice as his, but it works.

This is AMT's The Fast and The Furious Tokyo Drift Nissan 350Z. It is built box stock except for the big diameter centerline wheels. I chose these wheels over the objections of many. I was just trying to go for a clean, race inspired look, so I went with my gut. I'm happy with it. Here are a couple build tips for anyone attempting this build. First, AMT does give positive gluing surfaces for the front and rear body parts. Do yourself a favor and attach these permenantly before you start painting. They require a little pressure to stay together while gluing with a clothespin which is fine, but trying to do this without damaging the paint is nearly impossible. You may need to modify the mounting tabs where the body meets the frame, but that is about a 10 second job. All the other parts in the kit fit very well with almost no modification. Be careful with your sequence when installing the rear suspension/axle/exhaust. the directions are not clear, and many parts snake through eachother. No indication on where to paint the black window trim is given, so make your best guess(I didn't bother with it). I did however leave off the turbo setup, it didnt allow the body to meet the inner fenderwells, and really couldn't be seen anyway. http://public.fotki.com/crstan/finished_mo..._me/350z-tuner/

All 4 of my local walmarts have had these,but one thing I have noticed is that every single example I have seen has had a damaged box. is this the case elsewhere?

That's got a baaaad attitude. Nice build!

Great minds think alike I guess. Didn't Jairus do a rendering of this type of truck as well?

Beautiful paint, nice build! Wish my LHS would stock fujimi wheels

Wheels and tires are from the revell rat rods series, and the caps are 2 sets of the caps from the roth Outlaw. Thanks!

Ran into a snag on the interior. There is a visible gap between the body and fenders, so I had to make new inner fender wells and modify the seat. Now that this is done hopefully this one will finish up quick.

Final assembly has begun. The front and rear valences have been fitted and the body will soon be installed on the chassis. Hope to finish this soon.

I actually completed this one more than a month ago, but I just got around to snapping some pics. It's a mostly box stock build of AMT's classic '36 ford kit. It has a Jimmy Flintstone 5 window body and the complete engine from the AMT '63 Vette. It is a close replica of one of the "Fraternal Twins" 36 Fords featured last year in Rod and Custom. Enjoy http://public.fotki.com/crstan/finished_mo..._me/36-5window/ Follow this link to the R+C feature on the real car http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/featur...upes/index.html

It still amazes me how good those wheels in the 32 ford kit can look with just a little bit of detail painting. Love what you are doing so far Tom, don't stop now!

Yes, inca gold. Also, having a medium orange metallic in hobby laquer will be nice. I am excited about all the colors! If it rivals Tamiyas "one coat" application instead of the time consuming(albeit, very nice) MM laquer 2 part system I will be overjoyed. I have a tendancy to be overeager when it comes to painting, so if this fills my "instant gratification" painting tendancies I will be verrry happy! Thanks for the info Matt!!

One of the nicest builds i've seen of this kit. Clean build!

Beautiful build,Lyle. I built this one right when the ProModeler 40 came out using the R+Mof Md Duvall windsheild. This windsheild was intended for use with a highly modified AMT 40, but dropped onto the revell cowl. Riks customization work is beautiful(as always) and you did a fine job finishing it with your own personal touches.

Are you using the new tool Ala Kart hemi? If so, it's waaaaay undersized. If this is the case try the one in the AMT 29 ford kit. You probably know already that the 29 is the old AMT Ala Kart tool, but newer issues still have the hemi. If you know all this already just ignore me.

The engine and chassis are now finished. Once I finish repainting the seats(botched 2 tone job) I should be able to button this one up. Then i can get started on my Merc! It's the first time i have used cigarette pack foil to simulate heat shielding(under the rearend and exhaust). it looks really nice i think. The only reason i tried it was to hide the revell trademark stuff i forgot to remove, but I'll be using it again for sure!

Robert, i agree about the simplified nature of the engine and turbos, but it's fine for me in this instance as it's a quicky, box stocker. Here is an update. The chassis and interior are finished. hope to have this finished by Labor Day.

I also noticed the whitewall issue on mine. Mind you, it was a quick mockup just for ideas, but I really tried to push those inserts further into the tires and they still stuck out. When I am working on actual assembly I will just sand down the backside so they fit better. otherwise, I love this kit so far! Placement of the parting lines on the body was a little tricky to remove, but they are so faint it really didn't take much work.

And the winner is... the 6 shooter. thanks to those who took the time to vote. Stay tuned for pics of the current state of the project and plans for it's completion.

I have been patrolling the 4 local WalMarts for the last 3 weeks in search of Mercs. I did notice that the largest location has moved and expanded their model kit area. It was only sparsly filled with the old stock they had on hand,but it looked promising. The other two Walamrts have moved their model sections, but no expansion, and the 4th location is remodeling, so it's a big mess. Funny thing is that at the remodeling store is the only place I have found any Lindberg stuff. i bought myself the L700, cool kit.

Not sure what Neal used, but Model Car Garage had a very nice set in their "metalcast" line. Parts in this line are resin impregnated with finely ground metal, so they could actually be polished to get a true metallic sheen. Nice stuff, I am assuming they still have them.

I just build one of those 36's for the first time. can't post pics yet, but I will within the next couple weeks. I built it mostly box stock, and it was a fun kit to build. i definetly see more in my future! Nice build Neal, looking forward to seeing it done.

I think he said '49 Ford Anyway, in my constant visits to multiple Wally locations over the last two weeks i noticed the same thing as FloridaBoy, that they are moving their model sections. However, they seem to have expanded it considerably, more than doubling it. It's pretty empty right now, and they only have the old stock they relocated, but looks like they are preparing to get a whole lot more kits. But, it could just be all unassembled diecasts coming, who knows. I guess we will have to wait and see. I'm just excited because I haven't seen a wally model section this big an almost 10 years.

Voting closes tomorrow guys. I you haven't yet, please vote now!