mrmike

Thank you guys! I appreciate the replies and at this point, all body work is complete save for the front bumper which is giving me fits! I messed up the paint on the bumper and it is in the Purple Pond taking a bath. I will repaint the bumper later this week and hopefully I can repaint it without the bumper falling to the bottom of my paint booth! That reminds me, time to clean out the paint booth! The Story The master spy awaits in his car for the Police to show up and when they do arrive, he starts the car and quietly leaves. Mr. Allen returns to the Department and at Jason's request, he writes up a report on his activities. He then returns to his cubical to continue processing field reports. He starts to think about his activities that day and wonders how much longer he can do this kind of work. Thoughts of retirement fill his mind and he concludes that it is time to retire to someplace warm and sunny. Away from the cold of Washington, DC. The Build I have finished the interior. I glued the interior to the chassis. After looking over the instructions again, I broke out the BMF and foiled the side window moldings. More to come.....

I added a black wash to the center caps and lug nuts. With the clear coat dry, I polished the body and hood with Meguiars Scratch X. Shiney! More to come.....

I'll be watching this one Brandon! Are going to post your friends completed model? It'll be great to see the completed group of racers!

Thanks Brandon and Rob! Rob, I have never heard the phrase "beer caps" used before. I have heard of hubcaps and dog dishes, but not beer caps! I guess you learn something new everyday!

I agree on the steelies and caps! I assembled the transmission and engine. I'll drill the spark plug holes and then paint later. More to come.....

Clay, the chrome letters are individual letter transfers that are applied to the manifold after it has been painted. The lettering is not molded into the manifold. You have a good idea, but it is not applicable to this.

Well Brad, I've had about 3 hours to think about the interior and I am now leaning towards keeping the bucket seats and the center console. I'm going for the stock look with steelies and caps along with the bucket seats and console.

I have had this kit in the stash for a while and I had stolen the wheels, tires, and tire decals out of it for my '05 Chrysler 300C several years ago. My original plan was to build this Coronet R/T with a set of Pegasus 19" Chrome T's, but I changed my mind when I found a set of Dodge hub caps in my parts box. I also had a set of resin steel wheels that I had purchased for a cancelled project. This one will have the 440 CI out of the Revell '69 Charger R/T. The steelies and caps. My paint will be Tamiya Light Blue Metallic with either a matching blue or white interior. I am considering making the bucket seats into a bench seat and deleting the center console, similar to my '67 Belvedere II that I built several years ago. More to come.....

Thank you Kane! The Story The master spy sits in a company car waiting for Mark to leave The Department for his meeting with Doronov. He is equipped with a multi-frequency receiver and his Walther P99 with silencer. He follows Mark to the warehouse district and stops down the street far enough as not be seen by Mark when gets out of his car. Mark walks into an alley as the master spy gets out of the company car and quickly hobbles over to the alley. He hears the muffled sound of a gun firing twice as he gets near the loading docks and sees Mark lying on the ground, bleeding. With his Walther in hand, he rounds the corner to see Doronov removing the silencer from his gun and Mr. Allen places two muffled shots into the enemy agent. The master spy places his Walther into Mark's hand since he was unarmed, turns and walks out of the ally and stops at a pay phone to call the police. The Build I have discarded the letters that I have originally used and replaced them with the decals that I have made. I wished I had thought of painting this manifold with gloss white, but the instructions said flat white and shame on Tamiya for saying so! A glossy surface would have made for a better surface for the letters. The dash is completed. As you can see, I am going for the Tiptronic II transmission since Mr. Allen has limited use of his left leg and shifting would have been really painful. More to come.....

Thank you Clay and Rob!

The decals worked perfectly! I think that part of the issue I had was the paint on the intake manifold. It was painted flat white and probably the areas for the metal letter transfers should have been gloss white. That would have given the letters a smoother surface to stick to. The Story Mr. Allen and Jason arrived at the Department and proceeded to the Director's office. They briefed the Director and showed him the pictures. The other man in the photos is identified as Doronov, a former Russian agent who has turned Jason's assistant, Mark, into his asset. The Director instructs Jason to find and stop Mark and Doronov before anymore information is leaked. The Director also asks if Mr. Allen would be interested in helping to stop Doronov. This is the opportunity that the master spy has been waiting for and it is not going to be passed up! The Build The chassis is 99% complete. The only things left to add are the exhaust and rear suspension shields and those were just painted and are drying. More to come.....

Thanks guys! This is my favorite model and I am considering taking Spenser's Mustang to the MASSCAR show March 20, 2011!

Thank you Tony!

I figured that the hottest can of lacquer I have must be the Testors One-Coat Fiery Orange. I gave my test sprue two quick shots of paint and let it be to dry. The finish was smooth and glossy with no scarring or distortion. Both primers held up and passed the test! I almost used some MCW paint, but I didn't want to go through the trouble of setting up the airbrush just to tear it down again and clean it after two quick shots of paint.

I have read about other builders encounter with the metal lettering for the intake manifold and I decided I would completely read the instructions and follow them to the letter. Well, things didn't go as I had hoped. I lost two of the letters...1-T and 1-O. I fought with these tiny letters for almost twenty minutes when I stopped, sat back in my chair, and started thinking. My decision was to take the remaining letters and scan them into my computer and print them out onto a piece inkjet decal paper. They do not have the relectiveness of the actual metal transfer, but they will be a lot easier to apply. I think these should have been included on the decal sheet as well. I now hope that this kit is not going to start fighting me! More to come.....

A trip yesterday to a Walmart Super Center gave me an opportunity to venture into the paint aisle. I perused the spray cans for a while looking for primer. I had decided not to purchase any automotive primer since it does have a tendency to be thick in nature. My thought process was to fine a plastic primer (ie; resin) for outdoor funiture. I found a can of Krylon Indoor/Outdoor primer and a can of Rust-oleum Plastic Primer (last one on the shelf @ $2.00). I tried two coats on a piece of black parts sprue to check coerage and thickness. Both worked quite well with the Krylon being a brighter shade of white. Both covered the same, but the real test will be applying color to the primer and to see how it reacts. That I'll do today. Enamel shouldn't pose any problem so I'll try some lacquer on this primer and see what happens.

Thank you guys! This was a very, very satisfying build for me, as a fan of the TV series and as a builder. This is one model that I wanted to do for a long time!

Thanks Clay and Boreham! Boreham, the wheels did not come with the kit. I have absolutely no idea where they came from other than from the bottom of my parts box.

Thank you Jason!

Thanks Charlie! I just might bring this one to MASSCAR. We shall see.

Thank you everyone for the replies on primer! I now have some ideas as to what I can look for for my future builds. I really appreciate the replies.

Thanks Luis! I have been using Tamiya primer for years and it is getting expensive and I should find a substitute. I keep hearing about sandable primers from Duplicolor and Plasticote that other modelers use but no one decribes the properties of the primer. I used Duplicolor primer on my 1:1 '98 Dodge Dakota and found it to be a little thick for using on a model. Maybe I have been spoiled by the Tamiya primer.

Thank you Michael!

Thanks Peter and Charlie! Charlie, I am looking for suggestion on primer since the Tamiya primer is no longer imported. I have used automotive primer for 1:1 bodywork and I fine it to be quite thick. If I can find a primer that is close to the properties of the Tamiya primer and available in white. I can pit up with a little bit of thickness, just as long as it doesn't hide details like molded scripts.

Thanks DW and Charlie! After gluing the sides of the body to the chassis, the underside looked substantially better without the gaps. I have finished Spenser's '65 Mustang and it is posted in Under Glass. My thanks to all who took the time to look at and to comment on my WIP.