Mr. Metallic

Very nice clean build. Nice photography too.

Alright, finally an update. Did a little polishing on the body parts to get them ready for final assembly. Before: And after: I might be happy going this far because I'm not sure I want to lose the fact that it's plastic. This level was achieved with a few minutes of using Meguiars Scratch-X. It was recommended that I could go further by using Novus, so I may test it out, But like i said I think I may be happy with where it is now. Anyway, I'm hoping that this will allow me to get into final assembly very soon.

Good news/bad news for me as far as this kit series goes. Bad news first- apparently I sold off the Mustang, Nova and Falcon examples I had of this kit series (all were Model King issues). So the only one I have is the Pontiac, and the Chevelle i just bought. Good news is I was sorting though the built ups I got from my father in law (who passed 4 years ago) to see what i actually got. Among them are 2 Mustangs. They don't appear to be complete, but I plan on restoring them somehow. Once i get my photo area cleaned off I'll snap some pics.

Glad you returned and brought this one across the finish line. I know a lot of us were following along. Your execution is awesome.

Looking good Alan. I'll be following closely.

Yeah and very often they don't even bother to take the ollies sticker off or at least black out the price they paid ?

I'm glad someone was able to help him out, especially the wheels. The people are what make this hobby great!

Not all resin bodies are created equal. Some out there are nearly indistinguishable from a plastic kit body (Replicas and Miniatures of Md, Drag City Casting and others). Then there's others (like many of Jimmy's bodies) that require more work. I'm not picking on you, just saying that just because something is a "resin body" doesn't automatically mean it will require lots of work. Let me tell you I speak from experience with Jimmy's bodies, you may want to clean it a little more before going further. Let me fill you in what I know about his process. He is in the business of mass producing his bodies, that's how he is able to sell them at a lower price point. He uses the molds over and over and over again (many more times than a typical resin caster), and the further into the run you get the thicker the bodies are. If you like one of his products it's best to get it as early in the production run as possible. or buy it in person so you can evaluate the amount of work you'll have to do. As far as cleaning it goes you will probably need more than Dawn. For awhile there he was using some very stubborn mold release (another part of the mass production process). When i built this Edsel wagon I had it all the way through final primer when I noticed there were spots on the body where the primer would rub off if handled. I soaked the body in Westleys for about a 1/2 hour, rinsed it off, washed it with Dawn dish soap, let it dry, and then rubbed it down with 91% alcohol to ensure I had all of the release agent removed. Then I hit it with primer again and everything was good. i even tested the adherence by sticking a piece of masking tape on the body in a few places to make sure the primer didn't come off. I follow this process with any Jimmy body now just in case he is still using the stuff. Better safe than sorry. I usually wipe any resin body down with alcohol before I start working on it.

Hi Tom, good to see you here. That 3D part is interesting. I've not seen someone create a 3D body panel like that yet. I've seen some grills and stuff like that, but not a body part intended to replace a kit part. Whoever designed it appears to have done their homework because it appears to fit the body quite well.

Wish i could help. Hopefully someone has the front wheels floating around their parts box.

The wheels are based on real ones. The info is located somewhere within the kit review thread on this kit. But i recollect that it was some sort of sport or racing car wheel.

Thanks for the cheerleading Bil. Haven't had any bench time over the last ten days since I've been wrapped up in a refresh of our bedroom. We purchased a new bedroom set and decided to paint and redo the trim in the room before we got the new furniture, hence the urgency to get it done before the new furniture arrived. Pretty much wrapped that up last night so hoping to get some significant bench time this weekend. Fingers crossed! What's really left to do is polish the yellow body parts and final assembly.

Good to see you trying to power through the slump just like I am. And you're right, these Monogram hot rod kits are the perfect thing for that, that's why I'm building my SweeTee. Of course in typical ADL fashion you had to do SOME kitbashing, right? ? You know I love this kit, having built four versions of this kit in the last few years. Thanks for turning me on to those slotted wheels. I always bypass them because they are always chrome and just didn't trip my trigger. But seeing them stripped down i can see they have pretty decent detail, and will probably look good painted to simulate the Dow coating or in magnesium/gunmetal. Now you've got my gears turning, haha. And thanks for the heads up on the axle on the Thom Taylor 34, didn't realize that was in there, or the Deuce valve covers in the Beach Boys 32. You are the king of hot rod kitbashing my friend. Now keep pushing this to the finish line!

Haha that's a great phrase. I have lots of them around my bench too. Project is looking good. Since you asked I would actually think about an off white on the wheels.

I was on vacation Thanksgiving week and was hoping to get more bench time, but sadly it didn't work out that way. I have changed the wheel/tire combo. The 3D printed slicks I got were nicely done, but I was still having trouble finishing them nicely with the whitewall and tire lettering and getting a black to match the tone and sheen of the kit front tires. Plus, the sidewall was very thin and cracked several times. Decided to go with the tires from the Round2 AMT Gasser wheel/tire parts pack. I had the slicks mocked up at one point early on the SweeTee but they are only 75% of the size of the kit supplied slicks so I was afraid they would look too small. Well, I tried them again now that I have the suspensions finalized and I think they look great. This is the actual stance, and I think it mimics the box art very well. Dig it man.

Things are starting to come together. Had to finish up a couple modifications before I started final assembly, and those involve the stance, now that i have finally decided on rolling stock. First up is the front. I devised this trick on another Monogram T build I have going. Most people if they aren't familiar with the kit might not realize where the change was made, put it actually gets you about a 2-3 inch scale drop. I removed the flange molded to the bottom of the grill shell that has the tab for mounting the front spring by making a vertical cut, flush with the front surface of the shell. It's a delicate piece, so take your time. I protected the grill shell with tape. here you can see after the cut. Then I took the flange and sanded the ends until it fit between the uprights of the shell. Then I glued it in it's new home. Compared to the original shell you can see the drop. The drop in the rear is more subtle, probably only losing 1-2 inches of height. But it's simple to do and worth it. Here is the unmodified assembly. First thing is to cut the tabs on the bottom of the spring that attach to the axle. Then I removed material from the underside of the crossmember to allow the spring to slide up inside it, and cut small C notches in the frame rails to allow clearance for the spring to move in real life.

Got a few things done during my short stint at the bench last night. Got a bunch of items either painted or touched up with Molotow. Sprayed the 3D slicks with some Duplicolor primer and they look good. It really makes the details pop. Still struggling to find a paint that matches the kit supplied front tires in color and sheen. Also got the interior flocked. Installed the items in need to secure the pickup bed option to the frame. There may have been better ways to do this, but I'm pretty happy. I drilled holes through the side of the frame near the rear crossmember and inserted and old metal axle from an AMT kit. Should disappear once the suspension is on place. This will give the magnets something to meet up with. Getting all the magnets placed and secured where I want them was a little tricky, these little suckers are pretty strong. I placed the center magnet and glued it down with super glue. But when I tried to place the outboard magnets they wanted to join the first magnet. So, I held a magnet on the underside of the bed and then put another magnet on top. That actually let me slide the magnet around until it was perfectly positioned. I applied glue, and once that is cured I'll just pull away the magnet on the bottom and should be good to go. On to modifying the wheels. When Bob Spedding @TooOld built his SweeTee he discovered the wheels looked better with the spokes that are molded on the wheel backs removed. I like the look he achieved, so I'm borrowing his idea. In order to still attach the wheels to the axle I needed to retain the center hub. So I cut that away and glued it to the back of the wheel front. Then a trimmed away what remained of the spokes from the rim. Original on the left, modified on the right. Subtle, but better. I got the rear wheel sets modified, but when I started working on the front disaster struck. As I was removing the center hub on this very rare wheel, it shattered into 3 pieces. They are clean breaks so I'm hopeful I can get it all glued back together because I'm sure finding a replacement will be very difficult. Fingers crossed.

I'd thank you, but I did the same, so now we both get credit when it comes back

I love working on glass. Glue and paint spills can be cleaned up with a razor blade after they dry and it provides and nice flat surface to work on. You can also put reference pictures under there to keep them out of the way. You can also cut on there too, but I prefer my cutting pad for that.

Someone pointed out to me offline that there is no lug nut detail on these wheels. My immediate thought was that I could just use a spinner and turn them into knockoff, so I swiped a set from a Revell 29 Model A. Drilled a small dimple in the backside so it would sit over that molded detail, but looking at the big pictures on my monitor this morning Monogram actually added a center nut. But I still like the look of the knock off. The spokes of the wheel will be painted with magnesium, so that will really make the knockoff stand out. The only thing holding me back is it too much of a change from the box art?

Other than seeing it on a list from a distributor a few months ago I have heard no mention of the 32 Ford sedan again. Is this really coming back or not?

No worries. Thanks for taking the time to answer.

I can't help myself from buying the Monogram 32 Ford roadsters, any version, almost any time I see it. The tooling that started out as the Little Deuce. That has the best kit based traditional hot rod suspension and brakes available, especially the front. Thanks to Dave Darby for turning me on to those years ago. They used to be everywhere at shows and swaps for next to nothing, but I think since people figured out about the suspension the prices have gone up. Thankfully Ollies got their hands on some earlier this year and I was able to score a couple more.

The most recent reissue is in a Hot Wheels themed box

I agree. There's a lot of great box art out there, but for me this is #1. Really wish Revell would move forward with the long rumored Nomad version of their 57 tooling (not the 60's tooling, but the new one) and would throw a set of the flame decals in the box and use this artwork. Not sure it's ever going to happen at this point, but i"m still hopeful. And yes, i am aware of MCW's 57 Nomad conversion.