David G.

Thank you Jim. The figures will most likely stay with the car, I just don't like having my options limited. Thank you for your kind comments David. You are correct. The Batmobile from the 60's television show was built by George Barris using the Futura as a starting point. He bought it for the princely sum of $1.00. (That's $9.68 in 2024 dollars.) Here's a photo of what it looked like when Barris acquired it from Ford. Some people are of the opinion that Barris ruined the Futura when he made the Batmobile. I feel that he rescued it from obscurity. How many concept cars from that era are just ...gone. Faded from knowledge and history. I have considered a two tone paint scheme but I'm not sure I have the proper fashion sense to design an appealing pattern. I have no examples to go by as of yet. The 1956 Lincoln is of similar design but the body style differs. -D- It's interesting how we tend to go off on those tangents, isn't it Tom? Thank you. I'm glad you like the work I've done so far. Thank you Len. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by the favorable response to my color selection. I thought there would be more push-back with the "inaccuracy" of my choice. Thank you all, I appreciate that. David G.

The tires and shocks look good! David G.

Best of luck with that David. The radiator grille is one of the iconic features of this motorcar and it just simply must be right. But I'm sure that you know that much more than I do. David G.

Hello Everybody! First color! I know that the original car was pearl white. Literally pearl white. In that thousands of seashells were ground up to make the paint. Quite an extravagance if you ask me. I'm also aware that the pale green color often associated with this car is due to an error in how some of the photos were rendered. But still, in my opinion the green is a much better color for this car. It just looks right for this car, right for the era. So much more than does the white. As always, thanks for stopping by for a look and please feel free to share any thought, opinions or comments. David G.

Thank you Greg. "Great Minds" and all that, eh? I do try my best, thank you Carl. David G.

The wheels look great! I would certainly use the opened grille. I did that on my 55 and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. "Shinkicker" That just made me smile. Nicely done! David G.

Hell Everybody! It's time for the next update on the 1965 Ford Galaxie 500 XL. In reassembling the front suspension, I found during one of the test fits that the front wheel track was a bit too wide for my liking. Not an uncommon thing to happen in model kits with poseable front steering. So using the part AMT identifies as "Front Wheel Hub" as a guide, I sawed off about 2mm from each of the wheel hub stubs. This will allow the wheels to tuck in a little closer to the steering knuckles when assembled. Moving the wheels inboard allows for a more realistic ride height and allows the wheels to swing more naturally through their entire steering arc. As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post a comment if the muse moves you. David G.

BMF can be tricky Jeff, it looks like you've done pretty good with it though. David G.

Welcome back Si! I'm glad to know that you're still plugging away at this monster of a build. Thanks for keeping us up to date. David G.

Nice progress on this David. David G.

Thank you Pierre. David G.

Hello Everybody! I don't usually post on Mondays but I'm getting too far behind in my updates, so here's one for the Chaparral. The first color coat looks pretty good, smooth even and clean. I'll let this cure for a while then do a little color sanding for a second coat. After letting the paint rest for several days, I darkened the panel lines with some Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color then waited a couple of days for that to dry before removing the blobs. Here we are all washed up and ready for the (hopefully) final coat of paint. This will work as the final coat. The panel lines look pretty good. For a build like this I'll usually darken the panel lines with Tamiya's black Panel Line Accent Color before each coat of primer or paint. I find that doing this creates a subtle shadow in the panel lines when the final coat of paint is applied. These look pretty good but maybe just a little lighter than I would like. I have some Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color in grey which I have yet to try. I may give that a shot. As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post any comments that you may find stirring in the recesses of your soul. David G.

Well, that's about as tidy a bit of work as it gets! Nicely done and a good outcome! David G.

Having the correct parts can be important. Even if no body else knows that they're correct, we do. Sometimes that's what matters most in a build. David G.

Roger that! That does make sense Len. Still, a new tooling of these classic Fords would be nice. David G.

That cleaned up pretty well. It looks good and smooth which is not always the case after a trip to the purple pond. David G.

Nice progress. David G.

Hello Everybody! AMT's 1965 Ford Galaxie 500 XL with a 3mm lift in the back and a stock ride height in the front. The perfect stance for a weekend warrior! Cheers! David G.

Paint, assembly, detail and finish, it all looks perfect! And the lighting effects are the cherry on the sundae! David G.

It's still a pretty shade of blue and nicely painted too. David G.

I do remember the comment you mentioned Len. AMT really did a good job with their tooling on the '57 Ford kit I just built... such a difference between the two kits. Maybe it's time for a new tooling of this kit. David G.

Thanks Len. Yeah, I'm lovin' these little magnetic marvels. David G.

Hello Everybody! It's time for me to post another update for the Lincoln Futura, so here it is! This kit comes with two figures. The instructions indicate that if the figures are to be used, they need to be placed into the car before adding the steering wheel. This effectively makes them more or less permanent. However, I would like to retain the option of displaying the car without the figures. Or displaying the figures in a different car. Based on that, I decided that I would make the steering wheel removable. I've drilled out the dashboard and steering wheel to accommodate a set of 3mm micro magnets. One mounted in the steering wheel column and protruding about 1mm, the second one in the dashboard inset by about 1mm, giving the steering wheel a positive location point. That way it automatically aligns itself properly when installed. With just a click and a snap, it works as it should. Now I can display the model either with or without the figures. As always, thanks for stopping by to have a look, please feel free to sign the guest book on your way out. David G.

Wow, those are cool! I see a brass brush in their future. David G.

It's like I've said for a long time: "Model builders, we're problem solvers who create our own problems to solve!" I even put that quote in my signature line. Besides, I really saw it as a part of the ongoing assembly process. Indeed that's true. Taking the time to address the issue is where the difference lies. There's no blame to be had, it's an old kit. I'm sure everything fit much better fifty years ago when the molds were clean and sharp. It's like I used to tell my son when he was young: "To blame is to B-Lame. You don't want to be lame do you?" Awww, poor AMT. They try so hard. Thanks guys, you brought a smile to my Sunday morning. David G.