mrmike

I have sealed all my home-made decals with the Liquid Decal Film and have never had a problem with it. It should be compatible with the Testors decals paper.

Last night, I completed the nose with lights and grille. The rear vent with markers and backup lights are complete and mounted to the body. I completed the taillight assemblies last night before turning in. I took a page from my photoetch experience and used clear gloss enamel to glue the clear lenses together instead of model glue which would marr the surface if I wasn't spot on with part placement. More to come...

I found the Badger Paint Mixer to be one of those tools that you have to have! I don't use all the time, but it's there when I need it.

Don, the seat color is Model Master Insignia Red, thinned and sprayed through my airbrush.

That is a great looking Crown Vic, Nick! I like the responder lights!

As I am getting closer to completing my Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, I have begun to think about this uncompleted build. I had lost interest in it and after reading one of my older builds elsewhere, I made the comment about completing my projects instead of just throwing them back into the box like I have done here. And now, I feel somewhat ashamed for doing so. This Hemi Road Runner is coming back out of the box and it will be completed. I want to wetsand and polish the body again and finish assembling. I owe it to myself and to all those who were following this build. My 1968 Plymouth Hemi Road Runner is back on the bench!

This sounds like a good project! I built a similar version with a Ross Gibson 426 Hemi/4 speed, bucket seats and console from the AMT '70 Challenger R/T, but I kept the standard hood. Good luck on your project! http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/mrmike007/1971%20Dodge%20Charger%20RT%20Hemi/?action=view&current=1971DodgeChargerRTHemi-23.jpg

The dash is finished and installed into the interior. A closeup of the dash showing the decals and the SLR metallic letters on the center stack. A view of the seats from over the dash. More to come...

Thank you Don and Charlie! Charlie, you might see this one! The interior is coming along nicely. The dash is in progress. I need to add the instrument decals and the instrument pod to the dash. More to come...

I got both taillights out of the '70 rear panel and fitted into the '71 rear panel. The AAR front end is in the process of being fitted into the '71 body. Bye-bye billboards! More to come...

It's amazing what can happen when a pretty girl breaks down on the side of the road and a bunch of guys who haven't a clue about fixing cars will do. Tonight, I started removing one of the taillights from the AAR's rear panel by scribing around it with the backside of a chisel-point hobby knife. I removed the taillight in about 10-15 minutes of scribing. I have to open up the opening for the taillight. Just is just a mockup and I still have more material to remove from the Hemi 'Cuda's rear panel. More to come...

I had some time this afternoon and started painting some interior pieces. The interior back panel. Seats and instrument pads. Door panels. More to come...

Thanks for the warning, Don! Hopefully it won't be an issue since I only added two thin coats of paint and two thin coats of clear.

Thanks for the support guys! I have decided to cut out the taillights from the AAR rear panel and glue them into the rear panel of the Hemi 'Cuda which is molded to the body. The AAR rear panel would require too much work to fit into the Hemi 'Cuda body.

Well, somewhere along the way in life, I used the exhaust manifolds for another project. I rummaged around in my parts box and found a set of headers that should fit the 'Cuda. Thanks Eelco, but I found the ducktail spoiler that would fit the decklid of this 'Cuda in my parts box. More to come...

Thank you Sam and Cole!

I like where you are going with this build, Cliff! The color is really cool! Looking forward to more.

Thanks Cesar, but I do have a set of decals from Keith Marks. Here's the can of Hemi Orange paint from Model Master that I'll use on the '70 Hemi Cuda. My decals from Keith Marks for the 'Cuda. I washed the body and hood. I'll remove the billboard decals and clean up any flaws. The spoiler mounting holes will be filled since I do not want the wing spoiler on the back. If I can find a ducktail spoiler in my parts box, I'll add that instead. More to come...

Now that my Starliner is complete, I can get back to the SLR. One of the features of this kit is the diecast metal plate for the chassis. Why this is, I don't know. It does add some weight to the model and may even strengthen the interior and chassis assembly. A unique item to the SLR is the exhaust tips mounted behind the front wheels. The engine cover is still in progress. More to come...

Thank you John! I appreciate that coming from the well respected builder that you are! I have seen your work which is awesome!

I hope to see it then, Gordon!

Thank you guys! I really do like this Starliner. It came out as I had hoped for. If I was to change anything, it would be to make the whitewalls a little wider.

I have started deconstruction. The billboard decals will be replace with a set of hockey stick stripes. The chrome piece is the tail panel from the AAR. The '71 has a molded in tail panel. I'll score the tail panel and remove it and fit the AAR panel in. The '71 tail panel will eventually go into the AAR. The rest of the '71 Hemi 'Cuda in pieces and awaiting cleaning and repainting. More to come...

Thanks for the support guys! This should prove to be an interesting project and challenge. Keep watching!

When it was first introduced, I fell in love with Plymouth's 1970 Barracuda series. Especially the 'Cuda with it's 340 4-bbl. and all the way up to the awesome 426 Hemi! 1971 came and the 'Cuda became gaudy with the billboard graphics, fender vents and ugly grille. About a month ago, I saw a model of a '70 'Cuda and the builder says it was made by Monogram. What?!! Monogram?!! How can that be? The builder described his build as a '71 Hemi 'Cuda with the front and rear pieces from the '70 AAR 'Cuda. The more I looked, the more i wanted to build one for myself. Why didn't I think of this before??? I happen to have both of these models sitting on the bookcase, coated with dust, and in need of repair. I will deconstruct both models and turn the '71 into a '70 using the AAR pieces and fill in the fender side vents. I'll wire and plumb the engine and lower the suspension. I will turn the AAR 'Cuda into a phantom '71 AAR 'Cuda later. This is gonna be GREAT! More to come... BTW...I am well aware of the issues with both of these kits and I refuse to discuss them. If you want to discuss them, do it elsewhere...not here!