mrmike

I noticed the lack of the seat back after I had started on body work and was looking through the rest of the kit. I was a relative easy fix on my behalf, but really? No seat back? What were they thinking?!!!

Thanks Dan and Joe! The real ones are hard to find, especially around here. They were used hard and put away wet. Many were rolling rust buckets. The kits have been hoarded or built over the years. I got three that will be built over time.

You are correct Tom. Scale is the big issue here and there is a big difference between the AMT Joker/Goon Car and the Yodel police cars. The 1/24 Scale Yodels seems a tad bit bigger in 1/24 scale compared to other models that I have in that scale. To me, the difference is just too big and I do get into the habit of wanting to scratch build something from time to time.

I started filling in the holes in the chassis for the electronic bits and pieces and extending the rear axle. One of the things I had noticed was the front seat had no back to it. So out came my tools and a sheet of .020 plain styrene, did a little tracing and some cutting and I have a seat back for the front seat. When the glue had dried, the body and chassis when into the paint booth for some primer. More to come...

Looking good! This looks almost like the '53 Ford convertible that my Dad owned back in the day! My Dad's '53 had an actual Continental kit instead of tack-on fake tire carrier.

Thank you Carl, Marty, and Tulio! Dixon Hill?!!! Are you referring to the Holodeck character from ST:TNG? Well, everyone gotta love a character from the imagination! McNally loves his American cars, but the Beetle was his first car as a teenager. The oldest car he would drive is his late father's '57 Ford Custom aka Spearmint and not something from the '40s.

Even though it has been raining today, I got out of the house and went down to the LHS to look around and to pick up some paint for the Fury. I got a can of Tamiya TS-14 Black and Tamiya TS-26 Pure White. I detailed the radio and microphone after assembling the unit and adding the microphone. Sometime in the late '60s or early '70s, LAPD added numbers to the roofs of their patrol units for identification for the helicopters to see. I wanted 012 in tribute to Martin Milner who played Off. Pete Malloy and I found some number decals in my decal stash. More to come...

Thank you Joe! Much appreciated!

Thank you Anders, Max, and David!

I assembled the wheels and tires last night before turning in. I started sanding the mold lines on the body and there are a lot of them. On the outside and inside of the body. The body is ready for its initial coat of primer to check my work. The worst of the mold lines were along the tops of the front fenders. More to come...

Thank you Perry and Mike! I had written a McNally story for this build called Beetle Beginnings. It is much shorter than the original story, but it does feature most of the highlights. Here's the link to the WIP which features the story. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/134054-1968-volkswagen-beetle-is-done/

Thank you guys! Yes, this is the Revell kit. I think it is a re-boxed kit from Revell of Germany.

Thank you Carl!

Thank you John! With my Club's Show coming up in about 2 months, I wanted to build something that wasn't too involved (ie curbside), but something I could add some detail to. I may add 012 to the roof as a tribute to Martin Milner who passed away in September 2015. I've been wanting these kits for a while and haven't been able to get any until recently. I have one earmarked for Rick Hunter's car from the TV show Hunter starring Fred Dwyer. The last one I have maybe a CHP or San Diego Sheriff cruiser. We shall see... The interior bucket is all black in color and would look good unpainted as the rubber floor mats. I will have to mask off the floor so I can paint the rest of the interior tan. I have already made my "can lights", but I need to find reflectors and lenses for them so I can complete them. Making them was easier than I originally thought. Good for me! Keep watching!

This is my '68 VW Beetle painted with Tamiya TS-23 Light Blue and the chassis is dry-brushed to represent an older car. The body and glass have nicks and scratches and the paint is far from perfect.

The Story It is Sunday night and young McNally is in his room reading. He hears the doorbell ring and his Mom answering the door. His Mom calls him downstairs and to bring the picture with him. Downstairs he is introduced to Mrs. Clara Tomlinson, Richard's older sister and she would like to see the picture and he shows it to her and she smiles. The older man and the young girl in the picture is Everett's best friend Clarence Jenkins and his granddaugther, Lisa. Clarence had passed 10 years ago and Lisa is married with three children of her own and living in Colorado. Young McNally says she can have the picture which is a copy of the original which the Police have and Clara thanks him for the picture and offers to pay him for his time and research. He says she owes him nothing for the picture or his time spent as it was an education for him. Clara thanks young McNally and his Mother, zips up her overcoat and leaves the house, getting into her car and driving away. Young McNally's Mom congradulates her son on a fine job done and he says he needs to talk to her about something...his future. When he graduates high school, he is going to join the US Army and study Criminal Justice instead of going to a Community College and studying Finance. His Mom says that whatever field he chooses to go into is fine with her and that he has her full support. This make young McNally very happy, but his last year in High School was very difficult on him as his parents split up and eventually divorced while he was in the Service, his Mom disappeared into Boston's High Society, his best friend Johnny thought he was jealous of his girlfriend and got mad and stopped talking to him, and his father became a drunken Police Officer. Life can be so unfair to a teenager. The Build I have finished my '68 VW Beetle and it is posted in Under Glass. I would like to thank all those who have taken the time to view and to comment on my WIP.

I created a set of can lights using two pieces of 3/16" round tubing, strips of .010X.030 on the ends of the tubing, and 1/16" round stock for a mount under the can lights. These are painted with Gloss Black paint and will get reflectors and lenses from my parts box.

This is a tribute build to the late Jon Talcott, a fallen member of the Classic Plastic Model Club. Jon liked municipal builds, usually Massachusetts State Police, but this is an LAPD Patrol Car. I am using the Yodel Los Angeles City Police 1978 Dodge Monaco which I'll be converting to a 1978 Plymouth Fury based upon my research. This is Chrysler's badge engineering at its best! The Yodel Monaco and Fury kits have the required grilles and taillights, so all that is needed is to swap the chrome sprues with the correct grilles. My paint will be Gloss Black and Gloss White for the body and tan for the interior.

My favorite car that I have never have or ever will own...the Jensen Interceptor! Chrysler 440 power, Torqueflite auto all wrapped in sexy British styling!

I use 26 AWG wrapping wire that I got from the local Radio Shack before they closed. Been using that for years.

I am attempting finish foiling the Dart with foil that has almost no adhesive on it. I am struggling with this right now, but I will get through it with sheer determination. I'm using Micrscale Micro Metal Foil Adhesive and the cleanup after the foil has been applied has doubled my usual cleanup prior to gloss coat. Trying to use foil cut closer to the section I am foiling. Touch up will be fun! More to come...

Thanks Michael! The reason I wanted this kit was that it had all the stock parts that I was looking for. I didn't have to go chasing after stock type wheels and tires or any other parts needed for this build. One thing I read during my research was that Sam Cade's Jeep was a V-6 model and I haven't been able to confirm that little fact. There is so little information about this Jeep anywhere. Even pictures are almost non-existent.

This is what happens when you feel bored and you don't want to work on your projects, but you feel the need to relieve that boredom and you do something like this... There are several guns and tools in this kit. I decided to assemble the machine gun stand and mount the machine gun after I painted it with Model Master Gunmetal and I drilled out the end of the barrel and hollowed out the handle. The machine gun appears to be a M2 .50 caliber gun. More to come...

I got a 1/24 scale "Tuff" steering wheel from Mr. Prestigious who was going to use it in his '63 Fury Pro Street. He was concerned about what colors that were available for this wheel and whether they would clash in his interior. After some discussion, it was decided to go with the stock kit steering wheel and he gave me the "Tuff" steering wheel. I placed the wheel on the bench and looked at it off and on during the last week or so. I decided to use it on the Dart. The kit wheel on the left and the "Tuff" wheel on the right. While I am waiting for the pie plate decal to snuggle down on the air filter housing, I have it 99% finished. More to come...

Thanks David and Anders! I normally don't do this, but I found the firing order for the 340 engine and wired the engine this way. I glued the ignition coil onto the intake manifold. When that is dry, I'll add the coil wire to the coil. I usually call people anal for going to this length, but I had to try it and it wasn't any more difficult this way. I may do this more in the future as long as I am using a pre-wired distributor. If I am wiring the distributor in my usual fashion with one hole, then I won't bother. More to come...