mrmike

I built mine as a Hemi Belvedere II with a bench seat made from the kits buckets seats.

I would love to have a kit of the Volvo P1800! Of course, I would have to build Simon Templar's version from The Saint!

The "Purple Pond" is a nick-name given to Purple Power or Super Clean Industrial Strength Cleaner-Degreaser. It'll remove chrome plating from plastic parts and removes many types of paint. The longer you leave the part in the "Purple Pond", the move paint it'll remove. Jeff, the engine paint is Model Master Ford Engine Blue lacquer #28010 thinned with lacquer thinner and sprayed through my airbrush. I have had very good luck with this paint. Jeff, building a model box stock is a great change of pace and it frees one from all the stress of adding or removing details and modifications to a build. It challenges me to build a whole lot cleaner than I usually do.

This afternoon I was able to get out of work an half hour early and saw a Shelby GT350 on the way home. That inspired me to spend a little time on my Shelby when I got home. I was able to finish up the engine and the chassis early this evening. More to come...

Thank you for the kind words, Steve! I used only Kilz for primer on the body. I was afraid of losing details if I used multiple coats of various primers so I used just a few light coats of Kilz and it worked great! When I get to clearing the body, I will use Tamiya Gloss Clear TS-13. While others rave about Testors One Coat, I didn't like it at all. No matter how I tried, I couldn't get even coats of color and so for now on I will stick with product that works for me. I have used other Testors product, but the One Coat didn't impress me at all. The front valance needs to be blended in with the front fenders in order for it to look right. I have done this one the last 3 or 4 'Cudas that I have built and when I see a 'Cuda without any bodywork on the front valance, it just looks all wrong!

Thanks Charlie! Other than some touchups and a little detailing, the Hemi is complete. More to come...

The hood scoops are painted body color.

I started work on the Hemi this morning by adding the carbs with fuel lines, headers, painting the coil and starter, and drilling holes for the heater hoses. I drilled out the distributor, painted it, and added my plug wires. The coil wire will be added after the distributor is mounted and wired. The heater hoses will be added later. A mock up of the chassis and Hemi to check header fitment. Looks good! I'll extend the exhaust system to connect with the headers. More to come...

More to show on my Hemi 'Cuda. I lowered the from suspension by cutting off the kingpins from the front suspension with my razor saw. Using a piece of parts sprue, I reattached the kingpin about 1/8th inch higher. While the front suspension was drying, I attached the ducktail spoiler to the body. More to come...

Looking forward to seeing what you will do with this one, Bruce!

The floor pan is gray primer with body color overspray along the sides. IIRC, undercoating was a dealer option or from an undercoating specialist.

I think it is best that you contact Keith and ask for his price and shipping info. mofobow@hotmail.com

Thanks Luis! I finally dug out the ducktail spoiler from the box, cleaned it up and painted it. I had removed the mirrors from the doors and stashed them away with the rest of the loose parts from the "Cuda. I decided to pin them to the doors, but first I primed them with Kilz primer and will paint them later when the primer has dried. I used up the last of my Tamiya Fine Surface Gray Primer on the bottom of the interior tub and the chassis. I'll apply the body color overspray when I paint the mirrors. More to come...

Thanks Brandon! In my haste to get the body and hood painted, I forgot about the ducktail spoiler which is still in the box. I gotta get that out and painted, too!

Thanks Bruce! I have so many things going on right now, I almost can't decide on which way to turn and what to work on next.

Although it may be hard to tell from the pictures, this is four light coats of Model Master Wimbelton White Lacquer. And, the engine got a coat of Model Master Ford Engine Blue. More to come...

I found that if I use X2 (Superscript) in the blue box above the reply box, right click and a small box will appear with "paste" in it, select paste and my copied link will appear.

It has been another crazy week and I have been picking at the 'Cuda when I can. This afternoon, I was able to get some painting done. This is two light coats of Model Master Hemi Orange Lacquer. It's not a whole lot of progress, but I did say that this would be a slow build. Now that this is done, I need a beer! More to come...

Well, after much research, I have concluded that the ridges on the hood scoop are actually there, so I am forging ahead with my build. This morning I got the chassis into a coat of primer. And, I made sure I got the bottom of the interior tub. The body and hood got a coat of Krylon primer and is ready for some paint. More to come...

No problem, Sean! Charlie, I did a test of Kilz on the rear valance panel and it worked very well. The key is to use very light coats and to build it up to cover the colored plastic, then wait 24 hours before using paint. Then I used Model Master Hemi Orange Lacquer over the Kilz primer (two light coats) without any problems. This is my first time using Kilz, so I was a little apprehensive about using it...hence the test on the rear valance panel.

I think it is a safe bet that Kilz will cover that colored (purple, red, or even...orange) plastic with a couple of coats. Just go easy with it and not heavy handed!

Your Super Bee is coming along very nicely! Keep up the good work that you are doing on it.

If Kilz covers purple plastic, then it'll cover red plastic as well! I primered the hood and it can out fantastic! Unfortunately, I was heavy-handed with the primer on the body so I have much sanding to do to smooth it all out. More to come...

It has been a while since I have worked on the Shelby, so I got started this morning by removing chrome parts for a dip in the purple pond. This was only after 10 minutes of bathing which tells me that the chrome is not very thick. I started assembling the basic engine. As I removed the hood from the parts sprue, I noticed a visable mold line or defect in the mold for the hood scoop. The scoop should be rounded at the top of the scoop and this has a crease around the top of the scoop. I guess bodywork is not complete yet. More to come...

I got the carbs, valve covers, and alternator out of the purple pond and prepped for paint. I also drilled holes in the valve covers for plug wires. Ever since I started this project, I have been wondering how I was going to cover the purple plastic without having to resort to multiple layers of primer and paint. I found the answer sitting on the shelf in my shed...Kilz Primer-Sealer-Stainblocker. I sprayed the rear valance with two light coats of Kilz and painted it with two light coats of Model Master Hemi Orange Lacquer 24 hours later. Great coverage and adhesion! More to come...