mrmike

OK, I wonder why there is such an interest in the SA forum when we have MCM? I would have thought that this was the to be and yet, there is the repeated discussions about SA. While some of the discussion is light-hearted, some of the comments have been a bit more targeted towards being complaints about SA, which I thought was a no-no here. Yes, SA has changed their format again and many members there are up in arms about it. I understand the inherent rivalry since both have a magazine and a forum but, I once read that any comments made about SA here was forbidden since they have their forum and MCM has theirs. So, what gives as I am just trying to understand what is what here. How about it Harry, can you clarify this for myself and others?

Thanks Shane! With the exception of the engine, driveshaft, and some touchups, the chassis is complete. I'm liking the stance now! Now I can concentrate on the engine. More to come...

Thanks guys! I can understand how another project can capture one's attention, which is why I limit myself to two projects at a time. This allows me to at least finish a project before starting another. It also helps keep the bench from getting too cluttered. Your daughter's van looks like quite the custom scratch building project! I'll have to look into it more. Let me know if you can make it to this years Classic Plastic Model Club Show so I can make it a point of meeting you. Dave, I would like to have a meatier tire, but I have what I have and it looks good to me. I have seen thinner rubber bands on 1:1 cars and I don't like them at all. Those are usually the type of vehicles that goes crashing over every tiny crack and pebble in the road with no give in the suspension.

Tonight, I was trying to figure out a way to lower the Lightning and I found a solution. In the rear, I cut down the forward mounting blocks for the rear springs. With the rear suspension in place and a wheel and tire mocked up. On the front Twin I-beams, it was a simple matter of cutting off 1 1/2 coils from the springs. More to come...

Thanks guys! Jim, I think a Duster as a hardtop looks better than a Duster as a coupe. Why Chrysler didn't do this, I don't know.

Thank you Bill! I have changed my mind on the paint. I am going to use Tamiya TS-39 Mica Red. I had issues with Testors One Coat Revvin' Red on a street rod that I built so I reconsidered my paint choice and went with the Tamiya.

Thanks guys! Charlie, I used red oxide primer on the A100. The doors had only a light coat of primer applied when I took the pictures, that is why they look orangey.

The disc brakes have been painted and installed on the wheels. The interior is complete and ready for installation. The only bodywork necessary is to fill a sink mark on the right rear fender of the box. More to come...

A little time spent on the A100 this afternoon. Another coat of primer on the body, tailgate and doors. I need to spend some more time on the tailgate sanding. I made carpet with embossing powder and added a coat of paint to the top side of the floor pan. More to come...

I've picking away at the Lightning off and on during the afternoon. I got the rotors painted with red calipers. The engine has been partially disassembled, cleaned up and I drilled the heads for plug wires. The chassis has been carefully disassembled for detailing. The suspension will not be attached until the chassis and body have been rejoined so I can determine a new ride height for the Lightning. More to come...

Great looking Coronet Carl! I like the color and the wheels.

Thank you my fellow modelers for the nice comments! I am really happy with how this Duster turned out and for a while I started to have my doubts. Instead of making rash decisions, I thought about how I wanted this model to look and took my time getting it there. The end result speaks for itself!

I can be! I have finished my '71 Duster 340+6 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 WIP.

This is my '71 Duster 340+6 finished as a hardtop with Tamiya TS-31 Bright Orange with a black and gunmetal interior.

The body and other parts after their bath. A little bodywork and some primer to check my progress. I found something that these wheels need...disc brakes! These were left over parts from the Shelby Mustang kits that I built. I drilled out the centers with a 1/4" drill bit chucked into my cordless drill and carefully drilled away. I'll paint them up and install them. More to come...

Since my Duster is 99% complete, I thought I would give you a sneak peak before heading off to bed. Just some touchups and it'll be done! Final pics in the morning. More to come...

My condolences on the loss of your good and loyal friend. I know the heartbreak that goes with it. I just passed my 1st anniversary of losing my good buddy, Dakota. I feel your loss.

Thanks guys and thank you Chuck for the tip on the steering wheel. Unfortunately, I do not have a Taurus SHO kit so the kit steering wheel will remain. Shane, I really liked how your truck turned out! Since I haven't got a decent Ford hood scoop in the stash or the parts box, I'll just add the stripes.

Thanks John! I am hoping to find some time soon to try and get the Duster buttoned up.

The wheels in the blue box art kit are the '68 Mustang GT styled wheels. I'd rather have the Mercury Styled Steel wheels which are available from Missing Link Resin.

Yesterday, I decided to add some stripes between the taillights ala the 1970 Duster 340. I also added some 340 lettering to the hood scoops and then I cleared the body and hood this morning. Having dealt with the side windows on my '70 Duster 340 WIP a couple of years ago, I deepened the channel in the side panel. And, I thinned the edges of the windows...just to be on the safe side. I don't want to take a chance of these windows popping out when I insert the interior and chassis. More to come...

I got my decals on last night. Just the hockey stick stripes from Keith Marks. But, what's this? It is new kit glass! A BIG THANK YOU to fellow Classic Plastic Model Club member John for the glass. Yes, I am taking the easy road to finishing my Duster. The glass was freely offered by John and I decided to take it. John is number one in my book! More to come...

Thanks guys for the comments! I owned an '87 F150 Lariat XLT short bed for 13 years and sold it with 187,000+ miles on the odometer. It was time for it to go as it was becoming a money pit and I didn't have the money to fix it any longer. Anyway, dis-assembly has begun and the body and interior are headed to the kitchen sink for a nice warm bath with Dawn dish detergent. More to come... Well, it appears that my thread has been moved by a Mod or Admin from On The Workbench to the Pickup Trucks section. While I am initially not happy about it, a simple and brief heads up would have been nice instead of me going into a near panic mode searching for this thread only to have to find it here. I have seen other threads about pickups in the On The Workbench section and it does make me wonder why the move. OK, I am off my soapbox now and moving forward and I would appreciate no other comments made on this small matter. Thanks.

This is a great looking Lightning! I like your detailing and the tu-tone paint scheme. Excellent!

This is a rebuild of an AMT model I built about 15+ years ago. I was never really happy with the final product, especially the floppy wheels and the wheel design. Having recently built the Revell Ford F150 SVT Lightning with different wheels and tires, I had the stock wheels and tires left over and thought they would look good on the AMT F150 Lightning. This should be a basic disassembly and rebuild with new paint and maybe some sort of hood scoop and stripes. My paint will be Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red. Now to look through my parts box for a hood scoop and some decals. More to come...