mrmike

Thanks Niko and Stewart!

Thanks Curt! The body got its coat of paint this afternoon. Along with the wheels and firewall. And the chassis pan got a coat of red oxide primer. More to come...

Thanks guys! WoodyRDC, if you are in need of parts, then I would like to suggest you make a posting for those in the Wanted section. This would prevent the hi-jacking of someone's WIP thread! Or, you can go out and purchase the new release of the AMT '60 Starliner. I have started working on mold lines on the body to which there are plentiful. The worst is on the drivers side under the C pillar. I guess I'll be getting out the Bondo for this as it is quite deep. And, all the way across the deck lid and fenders. More to come...

Thanks guys! Donald, I added the fuel line. All other hoses (radiator and heater) are in the kit. Clay, if it doesn't have dog hair on it, it's not mine! And, I have never met your wife! Michael, if I was to finish the story then the Dart would have been finished by Johnny at some point since High School. It wasn't for racing, although it could be quite a force to be dealt with at the stoplights. I would think that Teresa would have given the Dart to McNally since he also worked on the car. Gus, those tires probably wouldn't have lasted very long under the foot of a young hot rodder!

There simply appears to be no room at all for the steering box on the Hemi Dart. The issue appears to be with the headers and spacing around the frame. I thought about trying to make it fit and decided it wasn't worth the trouble and so I left it off.

My new project is a '60 Ford Starliner. The kit has been in the stash for a few years and it is time to build it. I am going for a tu-tone paint scheme on this one. I was originally planning on a white top and green body and interior, but I hve decided on a Tamiya TS-26 white top over Model Master Acapolco Blue Metallic body with a Model Master Federal Standard Blue interior. A few mold lines to content with and then it's off to the paint booth! More to come...

This is my '68 Hemi Dart painted with Model Master Hemi Orange Lacquer with a white interior and white bumble bee stripe.

The Story 1976- Graduation day and McNally just misses making the honor roll. He searches for his friends after the ceremony and he sees Johnny and Teresa walking towards him and he mentally prepares himself for the worst. "Congratulations Mc," says Johnny with his hand extended and clasping McNally's. "I want to apologize for everything I said to you last year. It's taken me a long time to get past my anger, I'm sorry." McNally tells Johnny and Teresa when he is leaving for boot camp and Johnny tell him that he will finish the Dart someday. He is graduating next year and wants to go to college and study engineering. They will all meet at the bus station when McNally leaves for boot camp. The Story 2011- Richard Fetal is in a hurry, emptying his desk and floor safe when McNally enters the office. "Going somewhere?" Rich jumps at the sound of McNally's voice and reaches for a file folder and throws it at McNally and runs for the side office door only to find it blocked by The Kitchen Sink. "You have the means, opportunity, and motive for killing my friend, Johnny. And, it was all over the Dart sitting in his garage." Det. Sgt. Troy walks into the office and says, "I have a warrant for your arrest," and cuffs Richard and a patrol officer escorts him out to a waiting squad car. "Thanks for your help, McNally. I'm sorry about you friend, Johnny." McNally smilles at Adam and motions to Sink to leave and they both silently walk out of the building. The Build I have completed my '68 Hemi Dart and it is post in Under Glass. I would like to thank all those who took the time to view and to comment on this build!

Amazing work on the trans and the motor! I'm still watching this fabulous build!

Thanks guys! I just hope the story is not too soapy! The Story 2011- Based on what the teenager had told McNally, a small raid on the warehouse/meeting place for car thieves is a must with McNally, Vic, and Sink. They sneak into a side door and are immediately seen by the other car thieves who split up into different directions. McNally chases one thief down a row of cartons and when cornered he turns and starts yelling and doing karate and jujitsu moves, only to be grabbed from behind be the massive hand of Sink who throws him against the wall, unconsious. The thieves are gathered together and questioned and a name is finally given to McNally...Richard Fedal, Johnny's former employer. The Build The interior is finally complete after loosing the tachometer. I dug another tach out of the parts box only to find the original later elsewhere in the house. You can see the fire extinquisher attached to the passenger side of the roll bar. I have used white glue for attaching glass to the body for a couple of years with mixed results. After using gloss clear for photoetch, I decided to try that on glass. For me this was a major improvement! McNally will return...

The Story 2011- McNally figures he'll need an extra hand with this case. He'll have Vic keep an eye on Teresa and her kids and he will go and ask "The Sink" if he is available. Rubuen Sinkowski is a BIG man! At 6 foot 5 inches tall and 260 Lbs., he was known as the Kitchen Sink when he play high school football, but now he teaches kindergarten kids and helps McNally when he can. McNally watches him playing pig pile with the kids during recess and how he is able to stand up with a bunch of 5 years olds on his back and hanging around hismassive neck. The bell rings and the children run back into the school and Sink walks over to the fence and shakes McNally hand with a hand that is 3 times the size of McNally's. "I need your help, but I can't pay you much," he tells Sink. "I'll Help. What's the job?" The Build I did a mockup with the interior, chassis, and body. I really like the stance. The Hemi looks right at home in there. I installed the shocks and added a set of traction bars from the Revell '71 'Cuda Street Machine. McNally will return...

No Hemi here. If you look at the front fender, you'll see a "383" logo. I built mine with a big block 383. http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/mrmike007/1967%20Dodge%20Charger/67Charger035.jpg

The paint code for 1970 Plum Crazy is C7. I found the code here. http://www.mymopar.com/paintcodes.htm

Awesome Caddy's! The only Caddy I have completed in recent memory is Charlie's Cadillac STS-V for my McNally, Boston PI storyline.

Brandon, you are improving with every model you complete! I must echo the comments made by the others and add that you need to slow down and take your time building. When you rush, you end up forgetting something in the box, as you did with the driveshaft. Your Charger looks simular to one I built. http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/mrmike007/1967%20Dodge%20Charger/67Charger031.jpg

Yes they are, but it's what I have and anything in my parts box are simply too big or too wide. If I start playing around with ID and OD, I'll end up with a hole I just can't fill on the outside!

The Story 1976- It is late March and the Dart is not done. McNally is working his afterschool job at Piccolo's Hardware when a young women approaches him. "McNally, my name is Teresa, I'm John's girlfriend. Can I talk to you?" "Yeah, let's go outside." Teresa tells him that she feels like she is the cause of the tension between McNally and Johnny and how she would like to try and ease that tension and get the boys back together. McNally explains that the tension has caused him to reconsider his goals and when he graduates from high school in a few months, he'll be enlisting into the Army. "My Dad is a cop and I want to follow in his footsteps and become one myself someday. You are not the cause of the tension between Johnny and myself. I think it was just bound to happen." The Build Another hurdle done! I have foiled the body this afternoon. Considering my economic situation, I have developed a way to foil using less BMF by being much more precise with my measurements. As a result of being more precise, I have reduced the amount of waste of BMF by 75%. That should leave more foil for more projects down the road! I even did the side markers. All that is needed here is a tiny drop of clear red or clear orange paint. McNally will return...

Frank, the hood has been repaired. I can't see any trace of the burnt score lines! Another thing I don't like about this kit is the wobbly wheels. My solution worked in two ways for me. 1. By adding some styrene to the wheel retainers, I eliminated the wobble. 2. Due to the depth of the SEL steel wheels I used, this helped push the wheel and tire out into the fender well for a better stance. A mockup to check the stance. I like it!! More to come.....

I have nearly destroyed the hub caps for this build! When I got them from Scale Equipment Limited, they were mounted to a plastic "X" for plating and I really struggled to get them removed and down to the correct thickness for mounting to the wheels. A couple shots of the completed chassis. More to come.....

The Story 1975- Armed with a variety of motor mounts and pads, the boys get the Hemi into it's new home and start to assemble the front clip onto the body. But, Johnny's mind is on his new girlfriend and it is bothering McNally since it is more of a distraction and it is causing them to fall behind the schedule they had set for themselves. It has gotten to the point that McNally will take the Dart off Johnny's hands if he looses interest in the car altogether and will finish it himself. "John, I will not interfere with your relationship with Teresa, who I think is a really nice person, but we had set a goal and we have way fallen behind. Let's finish the car before the beginning of fall or it'll never get done," he says. Johnny gets mad at his friend and says, "You're just jealous cause you don't have a girlfriend," yells Johnny and he storms out of the garage leaving McNally alone...again. The Build I started removing the inner lip on the mags and sanding the backs smooth. The wheel backs were painted gloss black and with Alclad II Chrome paint. The completed wheels and tires with Shabo tire graphics. McNally will return...

The Story 2011- McNally's cell phone rings while he is talking to Vic. It's Teresa telling him that someone is trying to break into the house and the garage. "Call the Police! I'm on my way," he says. McNally and Vic arrive seconds after the Police and identify themselves. The Police go to the house while McNally and Vic cover the garage. McNally goes in through the partially open garage door as Vic goes to the side door. Vic flicks on the lights and a teenager tries to escape through the side window only to be captured by McNally. The cops cuff the teen and place him in the cruiser for the ride to the station. The Build The Hemi is finished and ready to be installed into the chassis. The wheels and tires on the right are ready for some Shabo lettering. The wheelbacks on the left are leftovers from a Landy Dart I built a few years ago. They will be painted gloss black and painted with Alclad II Chrome paint. The Cragars in the center will be trimmed on the inside to narrow the wheel. McNally will return...

These are some really great responses! I agree that for a 100% factory stock look, black or gray wires are the way to go. For anything else, the sky's the limit! It just bugs me sometimes when someone questions me on my color choice of plug wires. The majority of my builds are a stock appearing muscle car, but I like to put my own twist on it by changing something. To me, the plug wire color is not a big deal, especially when the model is going to sit on my shelf with the hood closed.

Thanks Niko! The interior is complete and ready to be installed into the body. More to come.....

The is something that has been bugging me for a while and I would like to hear opinions from others about this. I have been using blue and red wrapping wire from Radio Shack for my plug wires for years and lately it seems that I have committed some sort of crime by using this wrapping wire. I have heard this on this forum and several others that I belong to. Well, here's the deal- I find that purchasing plug wire in 3-foot lengths to be overly expensive.I am not about to start stripping telephone cable or old electronics for black wire.The majority of my builds are not "Factory Stock".Coloring wire is a pain, but I do it if I really, really need to.I just don't care! If the color of the wire appeals to me for a particular build, I'll use it. I have seen other builders use wire that is the scale size of radiator hose, and no one tells tell them it's wrong. So why question me about the wire color? I didn't post this because I am upset with some one's comment. It is because I have heard these comments off and on for a couple of years. I recently saw a model detailed with sewing thread for plug wires and no one said anything about it to the builder. IMHO, the model looked great overall and I was easily able to look past the sewing thread plug wires. I am in no way calling out anyone nor would I ever do that. I just want to hear some opinions from other builders. Does plug wire color really matter?

Thanks Randy and Clay! I'm still sorting out some details that I want to add. I'm so happy with the hood right now, I could scream for joy!