David G.

After all is said and done, that'll be the answer. The engine is already in gloss black with the appropriate aluminum, steel and iron bits. The valve covers are gold and the aircleaner will be stripped of its chrome in a bleach bath and painted gold to match the valve covers. whew! Thanks to everybody who chimed in on this one. That's what I like about this community, there is never a shortage of answers to a question. David G.

OK, that's really interesting. It matches nothing that I've learned up to this point. Regardless of the silver sheetmetal, the one in the photo isn't even Ford Blue. sigh Maybe it has to do with the engine's configuration. The one in the kit I have has an "R" designation, meaning that it's a 4v interceptor, and that (supposedly) is why it wears black. At this point, it seems that one could argue a good point for just about any color combination. Still, thanks for the link. David G.

Ed, According to the kit directions and the results of my previous question about the engine color in this particular kit, gloss black seems to be the correct paint for the engine overall, with the valve covers in gold. Based on the current consensus, I think the aircleaner should be gold to match the valve covers. It seems to make the most sense. At first I was a bit bummed-out about painting the engine all in gloss black. With the fender wells and firewall in semi-gloss black, I thought much of the engine detail would be lost in a sea of darkness, so to speak. But I took it as an interesting challenge to overcome, and I've hit on a few ideas for some subtle touches that should make it work. All you guys are a great source of ideas and inspiration, and I do so enjoy batting concepts and ideas back and forth with you. Thanks, David G.

Thanks, your suggestion about the body paint seems to be the reasonable option, based on the information you provide. Thanks again, guys. David G. It seems that painting the aircleaner in gold to match the valve covers makes the most sense. I'm glad to find that "chrome" is definitely out. It just didn't seem right to me.

That's what I did too and it seems that Ford put that engine in everything from the 1958 Edsel to the 1976 F-150. The air cleaner colors ranged from chrome to blue, gold, white, black and rusted metal with several of those colors associated with Galaxie and Starliner applications. Not knowing which of these, if any, were original, prompted me to post the question here with the hope that somebody will have first-hand knowledge of which color would be the correct factory configuration. I do thank you for taking the time to reply, though. David G.

Wanting to be as accurate as I can, I have a couple of more questions about the AMT 60 Ford Starliner that I'm building. 1. The stock air cleaner that is in the kit is plated. I find it hard to imagine that the 1:1 car would have had a chrome plated air cleaner. If that's true, then I'm OK with it, but I think it would have been painted. My question is, if it was originally painted, what color would it have been? The engine in question is the V8 352 R Interceptor with a 4 bbl carb. 2. I've seen many modelers replicate the body color overspray on the floorpan of the car chassis. Would there have been such a thing as "underspray"? I mean to say that the fenders and other body panels would have likely had a primer coat on their inside surfaces. Should this inside surface be visible in some locations, like the slight overhang of a fender wheelwell beyond the inner wheelhousing, would the primer coat (oxide red?) be visible or whould this area be painted the same as the body color? I know, these may seem like picky points, but this is a decent kit and I want to do it justice. Any tips would, as always, be appreciated. Thanks in advance, David G. p.s. I did do a Google image search and came up dry on these two points, otherwise, I wouldn't ask.

I was there and met some fellow modelers, picked up a few kits and enjoyed the wonderful contest entries. However, I had no idea that this was such a big event with people traveling such great distances to attend. How lucky I am to have such a great show right in my own back yard; I actually live about 1.5 miles from the venue! Thanks to all of those folks who did the work so the rest of us could play!

Well, you've changed my mind about this kit. I've always thought of this as a goofy "cartoon" kit; not really intended for a "serious" build. Now that I see what you've done with it, wow! I think I'll go shopping for one of these this afternoon just to see what I can do with it. Thanks for the inspiration.

That turned out nicely! You managed to do one thing I couldn't, paint the rubber window gaskets black. I tried three times, with different paints, to get the paint on the proper areas without it wicking up the inside edges of the window frames. I ended up having to repaint the roof due to my efforts. How did you manage to get your window gaskets to look so good?

The paint looks great so far. I picked one of these at the Desert Scale Classic; the one with the continental kit. I'll have to keep an eye on yours to see what cool ideas you come up with.

From what I can see, it looks good so far! The weathering is coming along nicely.

No, that would be my wife. I'm a car modeler and Trekker (only uncooth outsiders use "Trekkie.")

I mean no offense by this, but my first imperssion was that you had given the car a face, like Benny the Cab from the Roger Rabbit movie. I could totally see this as a cartoon character, chugging along, playing some happy little tune through its calliope steam pipes. Don't get me wrong, it's a good sketch, it's just that that's how it first struck me. Regards, David G.

But then nobody would look at the cars! What does that say for those of us who are both?

It looks great. The level of detail is good, but the stance clinches it. The car just seems to have mass and looks like it's waiting to spring off the line. I have a question about the tail lights. The ones in the picture obviously aren't stock, did the kit come that way or is that a modification you made? Regards, David G.

Thanks J, the timeline info will help on future builds. To fill the cavities, I cut styrene strips and wedged them in edgewise, used Plastruct to hold them in place, trimmed the tops down and filed them flush. Now I'm waiting for the spot putty to dry so I can sand and paint. BTW, I really enjoy your artwork. I assume you're the same Jairus I'm thinking of, I mean there can't be too many folks that share such a unique name. Thanks for the tips, David G.

Ryan, Thanks for the links, they're awsome, they'll help tremendously with the frame details! I did several searches, but didn't find those pages. What did we ever do without the internet? What color do you plan on painting yours? I'm going to try to duplicate Ford's Orchid Gray. Thanks Tons, David G.

Hey All, I'm building Revell's 1960 Ford Starliner and the frame is cast as a channel frame. Since the front of the frame will be visible when the hood is open, I was wondering if leaving it as a channel frame would be accurate, or should I close off the top and box it. I don't recall ever seeing a car that had a channel frame in the front, but I've never seen a '60 Starliner frame either. As always, any advise offered would be appreciated. Thanks again, David G.

Ziinng! Maybe that's why they're called "Zingers"

Thanks, they're my favorite feature. For mine, I painted it brown first, let it dry completely, then covered some areas with dampened salt before I painted the red. While the red paint was dry but still soft, I cleaned away the salt. Some of the salt will want to stick and you may have to rub to remove it, just be careful not to rub the brown paint off. After I had the red looking mostly like I wanted it to, I drybrushed with flat tan and flat black. I then followed with a thin wash of black. I hope that helps, you can also cruise the Tips, Tricks and Tutorials section for some great ideas in more detail.

I've got the Chrysler and Nova bagged up and ready to go, I'll see you Saturday! Regards, David G.

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone. It's always a pleasure to post my projects here. Brian, I'll be at the swap meet on Saturday. I plan on bringing the Chrysler and Nova with me, if you still want to trade. David

I love builds like this that seem to have a story or a history behind them. Great job!

Folks have been saying that there haven't been enough pictures posted lately. Well, here's my entry into the Post Apocolyptic Community Build. It's also my first Community Build entry... ever. The Reaver is a dirt track racer that I knocked together in a few weeks. the front is from from the remains of the '58 Impala that I sacrificed for the Chevy Proton. The back comes from a badly warped '57 Chevy that I picked up on one of my swap meet sweeps. Twin internally mounted .50 cal machine guns Desert Dog off road racing tires The engine is a modified 688 cid gasoline engine adapted to run on hydrogen fuel. The access hatches in the tops of the fenders allow for loading and servicing the .50 cals. Enhanced tailfins The view from above Rear oil and smoke dischargers. Oil doesn't cause much difficulty on a dirt track surface... until you ignite it. Fans of Firefly and Serenity will identify with the name... and hopefully the tailfins, too! Thanks for taking the time to check it out. As always, please feel free to offer honest critiques evaluations and suggestions. Thanks, David G.

Excellent work on the Caprice, Brian. The dash detail is just wonderful. I learned to drive in these old supercars, and I still have one. I take it out once in a while and grind up a couple of Hondas then put it back in the garage. Maybe I'll drive it to the Phoenix swap meet on Saturday.