chepp

Man, it's good that you didn't say which year!* Here's one I dreamt up in about 2015 and did a little work on it then let it rest for a couple of years. Earlier this year I got back to it but then stopped to work on others. See pix of its progress here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/131480986@N08/albums/72157706546512444 The '66 Riv has the body narrowed but the four fenders are more-or-less in their original locations. EDIT: * I just saw that the newest deadline will be June 30, 2019 — two days from now.

Straightliner59, that is looking good! Keep going.

I've used their model railroad colors and like it. I've ONLY used their thinner when needed for airbrushing. It's supposed to be ready for airbrushing and it usually is but as it ages the thinner disappears and you need to add a little. From what I've read on model railroad forums DO NOT thin it with acetone even though that apparently is part of its content. For airbrush clean-up I use a tiny bit of their thinner to get the color out then use cheap lacquer thinner to be sure.

Yes, you're right. But it has a lot of "American" in it as a foreign car: Opel was owned by GM and about 70,000 of the 103,000 produced were sold in the U.S. at Buick dealers. "American designers Clare MacKichan (a legend and the designer of the iconic ’55 Chevy) and Chuck Jordan were transplanted from GM’s home office to Opel’s Russelsheim headquarters to shape the GT’s body alongside Opel stylist Erhard Schnell. " Source: https://drivezing.com/opel-gt-german-corvette-sold-buick/ 1963 is a very good choice of year. In addition to the first C3, I like these: Buick Riviera -- first year Pontiac Grand Prix -- first year Dodge and Plymouth factory super stock versions Ford Galaxie -- 1963-1/2 fastback roof Studebaker Avanti -- first year (I'm not too keen on the styling but it's a significant car that deserves mention)

Since the OP asked for one year, I'll choose 1968 only. It doesn't seem a popular choice among the other posters, though, but I don't know why. I'll agree with this: 1972coronet MCM Ohana Members 3,098 posts Location:Murrieta 92562 , Ca Full Name:John Shoe Posted May 17 1968 and 1970 ; to wit : 1968 : - Road Runner / Super Bee - Charger - Hurst / Hemi Dart - 340 Dart / Barracuda - G.M.'s A-bodies ( not a bad one in the bunch ! ) - Javelin - Mustang 428 Cobra Jet *Coupe* - Cougar I'll add these, too: Corvette (first year of the Mako Shark II inspired body) Opel GT Mustang GT California Special (and Rocky Mountain Special) Ford Torino Cobra Jet American Motors AMX (I'd pick this over the Javelin)

Based on this thread I ordered the set of three micro chisels from UMM-USA. They arrived yesterday and I quickly tried them out on some ejector pin flash on the underside of a body. They work great! I can see using them for a bunch of tasks, especially in tight places. Thanks to all for bringing this up and providing the vendor info.

It might have been Dennis Doty's Jaguar XKE. Mark Gustavson announced at GSL that it would be placed in the International Model Car Builders Museum.

I spoke with him briefly while he was photographing models at GSL in Salt Lake City this past Saturday. He said that his back was still painful but he seemed to be in good spirits.

An alternative to buying your own 3D printer is joining a local maker space and using theirs. It's a learning experience and they need to have a printer that is good enough that the layers it "prints" are fine enough for your needs. I belong to one in Upland, CA. Their finest printer is a little too coarse for my taste but I think that they will be getting a resin printer that should be well-suited for making 1/25 parts.

That's a nice custom -- I like the clean, simplified look as well as the expertly applied beautiful color.

Here are photos of the AMT/Ertl 1966 Buick Riviera engine in the stock kit 30083 with millimeter rulers so someone can compare it to a real one for scale. Here is a mock-up of the stock chassis and rear axle with kit tires. The kit doesn't have any custom or lowered suspension parts. If I lowered it there would hardly be any travel for the tires in the wheel wells. Does the lowrider kit use smaller diameter tires in addition to the lowered suspension parts?

Well, one -- sort of. Buick sent a then-new '66 Riviera promo to my father (he owned a '64) and he gave it to me since I was an avid 13-year-old model car builder. I hacked it up in an attempt to make it into a funny car but didn't get very far. That Cycolac (trademark for ABS) plastic was too difficult for me to work with. Currently I'm building a '66 Riv radical custom made from the really nice AMT kit -- look for it at the GSL in May.

Gregg, may you have a speedy and pain-free recovery. I admire you for all that you have done for the magazine and for persevering despite many obstacles.

B with the wheels from A.

If the rules really mean "anything 1967" it was the Summer of Love so a hippie flower-power deco'd VW microbus of any year older than 1968 ought to be OK.

You're right, it's a broad question. I'm 65 and have been building since I was a kid, including writing how-to articles for the minor magazines in the '70s and '80s. I recommend starting with minimal tools and very slowly adding to them as you come across a situation that more would be useful. You could start with a box of single-edge razor blades, a couple sheets of 240, 320 and 400 wet-or-dry sandpaper and a hobby knife with a pack of #11 blades. A tiny container of 2-part auto body filler (be sure to get the catalyst that comes with it) would be good. Beyond that, stick with spray cans until you come across a very good reason to move on to an airbrush. After that, add things as you need them like a set of miniature files and a set of pin vise drill bits and handle.

You're right! I should have done some research. I must have been building a 1958 at the time mentioned -- and several years later a 1962.

It's great to read about how people got into the hobby. The story of my first kit building experience is pretty similar to some of them. In 1959 or 1960 I received some kits* that were way beyond my abilities as a 6- or 7-year-old. I don't know who gave them to me -- my father nor anyone else around me was a model builder. I was a good reader and had lots of patience, though, so I finished building the Saratoga and Imperial kits -- probably with lots of glue and no paint. I didn't like the metal Hubley kit, though, and never went beyond looking at the parts. Filing away the flash to make them fit was something I had no concept of -- Mom probably threw it away because of the sharp metal edges. For a few years after that I'd receive a random plane or even a Patton tank kit along with a car (such as a red '56 or so Buick -- 1/32 scale?) that I would build unpainted. About 1963 my neighborhood buddies and I started to spend our own money to buy $1.49 to $2.00 AMT kits that we would paint and years later include details like sewing thread wiring. *Saratoga aircraft carrier, late '50s Chrysler Imperial (had freestanding headlights and the taillights were on top of the rear fenders) and a Hubley metal Ford Model A.

...and a couple more.

Here are some more. Could those Halibrand wheels have been the inspiration for Chevrolet Rally wheels?

X2 about Pegasus. They are closed on Mondays, though.

I regret not having photos of my childhood and early teen builds. My only one is a very blurry Instamatic print of my first good (cleanly painted and assembled with sewing thread wiring) model from about age ten. I read somewhere that people are more likely to regret what they didn't do instead of regretting what they did do.

I miss the higher quality appearance of the paint and parts fit of the older classic cars. Today, for example, a Lincoln and a Focus have the same level of orangepeeled paint and excessive/unequal panel gaps. On an older classic car the body would never, and I mean never, have many of the visible panel joints that a luxury car today has. The older ones had the panel joints leaded and smoothly finished.

1. Revell Dave Deal "Deal's Wheels" Trans-Um Tirebird -- in Japanese packaging. Not built. 2. [brand name not available] 1975 Indy 500 winner. Not built. Both were given to me by the former Revell R&D and sales manager whom I later worked for at Zee Toys in the 1980s.

I'll be there. Last year was my first time.