mrmike

And, that is with NO clearcoat or polishing! I haven't added the wet coats yet...

Thanks Carl! I have finished the engine this morning. I painted the valve covers and exhaust manifolds with some semi-gloss clear to knock down the chrome plated shine. I painted the spokes of the wheels to resemble American Racing Torque Thrust wheels. I've been working on lowering the stock suspension and I'm pretty happy with how it looks. I'll paint it up and assemble the chassis and suspension and post pictures later. More to come...

Thanks guys! I sanded and washed the body yesterday and painted it this morning. I did not prime or use a base coat of paint in another color. I know that some paint had puddled on the chassis, but believe it or not...most of that paint has dissipated from the corners. The paint on the roof has some trash in it so I'll be sanding that out soon when the paint has had some time to cure. I think that once I have sanded, painted again, and then cleared the paint, it will pop enough for me. I've decided on the interior colors...Dark Copper with white trim. I'll clean up the edges and smooth out the irregularities later. The engine is painted and is awaiting additional pieces and detailing. More to come...

I assembled the big block Ford motor this morning and found that it wouldn't fit the chassis unless I did a lot of hacking on the frame. Instead, I am going to use the kit Flathead which fits this chassis anyway. I can't justify doing major surgery on the frame. I painted the '48 Ford this morning with several mist coats of Testors Colors By Boyd Lime Pearl. I'll let this paint sit for a while and add a wet coat later. I thinking of a Dark Copper interior with white trim. More to come...

After seeing pictures of a '48 Ford Street Rod in a magazine, I had to build one myself. Since I haven't used enamel paint in a while, body work will come first so I can paint the body and let it dry while I work on the rest of the kit. I would like to thank Classic Plastic Model Club member John for selling me this kit. Here is what I'm going to attempt...since I am using the lowered suspension on my '48 Woody, I will use the stock suspension on the Coupe and figure a way to lower it without having to alter the suspension too much. I scrounged a big block Ford from my parts box and will see if I can fit it into the engine bay of the '48 Coupe. If not, I'll get a small block Ford from an old model sitting on the shelf. I also have a dual exhaust system from the Revell '64 Fairlane. Here is the kit I am using... My paint is Testors Colors By Boyd Lime Pearl #52907. I haven't been revved up like this for a build in quite a while! More to come...

Looks great Felix! Great job!

Thank you Ray! Been working on the chassis this afternoon. Nearly done save for the air cleaner assembly and the wheels and tires. Many little decals to apply to the air cleaner assembly. More to come...

Thank you Andre, Brian, and Felix!

Thanks guys! Time. I did nothing to the rims, so I surmise that time has faded the chrome a bit. Then again, they could have been that way when I first built the kit back in the mid '80s. I don't remember...time has a funny way of doing that...

The engine has been installed into the chassis. Chassis construction has begun with the exhaust and front suspension components. More to come...

Thanks Cliffo! I started on the engine this evening. The basic engine has been assembled and painted. More to come...

Thank you guys for the nice comments!

Thanks guys! I have completed my ZZ Top Eliminator and it is posted in Under Glass. I would like to thank all those who took the time to view and to comment on my build.

This is my ZZ Top Eliminator '33 Ford painted with Tamiya TS-49 Bright Red.

This is a build I am doing for the Classic Plastic Model Club 1/24 Scale Box Stock Club Challenge for our show on October 6, 2013. I am building the Revell of Germany Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. I was going to wait until later in the year to start this project, but I fear that time may not be on my side especially with a Skill Level 4 kit that I am not familiar with. After reading reviews of this kit in several places, the doors have been known to be warped and I want to be sure they are straight. My paint will be Tamiya TS-85 Bright Mica Red. I am hoping this build does not come back to bite me especially since I have high hopes for this kit and for placing well during the Club Challenge. More to come...

Thanks Shane, Bill, and Carl! After doing much research to start with, I have read of the finicky body panels and build fit of this kit and many of those were not finished. I can't remember having these issues when I first built this kit, but hey...that was a long time ago. Now I find that the engine side panels are a finicky fit and so I have gone and glued them on and tape them in place until the glue has had sufficient time to set up. The one thing I cannot find are interior pictures of the Eliminator. I'll leave the interior detailed as I originally did back when I first built the kit. For the most part, I am in the home stretch with the Eliminator. Hopefully, I'll finish it today. More to come...

Thanks for the nice words guys! I have added my wires and plug boots and installed the engine back into the chassis. The view from the top! I masked the grille for paint. When I started to disassemble the Eliminator, the grille didn't sit right because of the radiator sitting too high in the chassis. I fixed that by notching the radiator base to slide into the chassis more. The grille has been painted. More to come...

Thanks Bill!

Thanks Marshall! The engine is in progress at the moment. I've drilled out the distributor and the heads for plug wires and plug boots. The chassis is up on four wheels again. A mockup with the body. More to come...

Thank you guys! The dash and console woodgrain are decals! I have yet to try the woodgrain painting process and I may try it someday. As long as there are woodgrain decals in the kit, I'll be using them. Charlie, why do you need the uptop for a convertible? Isn't the idea behind a convertible is to have the top down and to see the interior? I have yet to understand why many modelers want to have a convertible kit, but to have the uptop to cover everything up. Nothing wrong with having the uptop in the kit, just don't understand the need to have it when you want to show off the interior. I happen to love my new Nikon L310 camera with its 21X zoom and 14.1 megapixels, but it shows all the little flaws in my work. Especially with the small decals being off-centered. Even small dust particles show up and it is starting to annoy me. I guess I'll just have to try harder and do a better job.

I foiled the trim around the bucket seat bases. The interior is now completed. Have a look... More to come...

Thanks Carl and John! After several hours of tedious work, I completed the side panels with decals and foil. The interior is under construction. More to come...

Thanks guys! And, to think that this shade of brown was even offered on '59* Caddies! I bought that paint years ago without having a need for it until I decided to build this kit. It's not often I use my airbrush and I must say, it came out very well.

James, I highly recommend this kit! It's not perfect, but then what kit is?!! Charlie, it is unfortunate that Shabo went out of business and I wish I knew why. At this point I can only speculate. The instrument panel has been painted and decals have been applied. The center console, steering wheel and steering column have been detailed and awaiting to be assembled. The side panels have been paint detailed and are awaiting BMF and decals. More to come...

Thanks Tomo! I think you'll like where this will end up at. The body and chassis was painted this morning with Tamiya TS-49 Bright Red. I'll let the paint dry and then give it a quick and easy polishing. More to come...