mrmike

I've been wanting to do another build with my McNally, Boston PI storyline and I have found one. This kit I've had in the stash for a while and I've been wanting to build it and now I have the excuse. The focus here is on the WIP and not the story. The story is only to show what is influencing the build. The Build The kit is the Lindberg Dodge Dakota Sport. The red plastic looked so good that I decided to just polish it with Meguiars Scratch X to a nice shine! I am trying to make the raised lettering white with a Gelly Rolly pen. The Story The page was loud and specific, "Vic, call on line two!" Victor Arronski picks up the wallphone to hear McNally's voice, "Vic, I need you and Kate." Vic answers, "Where and when", and writes down the address. "I'll be there and ready." Vic heads to his office, closes the door and opens the gun safe and pulls out his Bravo-51, aka Kate and packs it along with some ammo. He gets into his red Dakota Sport and heads over to the address McNally gave him. Vic and McNally met in the Army and discovered a common ground...cars! While Vic went off to sniper school and McNally went to the Army Criminal Investigative Division, both kept in touch with each other. When Vic's tour ended, he headed home to Boston and to start his auto repair shop. McNally followed a few years later to join the Boston Police Department. They help each other often and when they disagree on something, they try not to let interfere with their friendship. More to come.....

Thanks Steve. It's a definitely different project for sure! I got the body painted. The sprue on the left has been painted Testors Black enamel in prep for Alclad II Chrome paint. The engine block on the right has been painted with Mopar Performance Street Hemi Orange enamel. The wheels and tires are assembled with the fronts mounted on the chassis. The supercharger is in progress. More to come.....

Thanks Ian! The decals came with the kit. Keith Marks makes a set for the '70 GTX but it does not include the 440+6 air cleaner decal. http://public.fotki.com/mofobow/plymouth/gtx/70_gtx/ You can contact Keith and ask for pricing and shipping. mofobow@hotmail.com

Thanks Brian! When I built this car over 4 years ago, I had missed a lot of the details that I had included in the build this time around. And, I recently got into contact with the owner of the real Mannix Dart! A very nice guy and very helpful, too! He supplied me with some details of the car that I had not known about before. I also got a link to a show on Discovery HD Theater called Drive featuring the restored Mannix Dart. Enjoy! http://www.hittv.com/DRIVE/mannix.html

Thanks Juergen and Niko!

Nice GTO, Charlie! Wow, two in a week! You're cruisin' now!

Thanks guys! I almost wish I didn't have to add the front and rear spoilers as this looked so good without them. I just love this color!

This is little side project that I am going to do while I wait on a paint order so I can start my Spenser For Hire '65 Mustang. I am starting this with the MPC re-issue. The paint will be Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red. More to come.....

Thanks Charlie! It came out better than I thought it would! Even with the warped body and chassis!

This is my '71 GTX with a 440 6 Barrel. Painted with MCW Lucerne Blue Metallic and a white interior.

Brandon, I have mentioned this to you before and what I am about to say is not meant to hurt or insult you. I would like to see you do better and I know you have the potential to do so. What I see here looks good, but your model is incomplete. The rear shocks are missing, the exhaust manifolds are not hooked up or are missing, no backup lights or exhaust tips, excess silver trim paint on the roof and body. Brandon, please don't get mad or upset. I think you need to go back and finish your Charger. In the end, you'll be happier with your finished product. If you need any advise or suggestions, feel free to ask! We are all here to help you.

Thanks Bruce! When I started this project, I had noticed a warp in the chassis and the body. I tried to remove the warpage as much as I can and now that the model is almost complete, the warpage has returned. My solution is to remove the front suspension and modify one of the spindles to get the model to sit flat on all four wheels. I am not looking forward to making modifications at this stage of the build, but I want this GTX to look as good as possible.

Well, I went and messed up the hood decal really, really bad! The only solution was to mask and paint the hood with Tamiya Semi Gloss Black. While the can of paint was out, I painted the front and rear spoilers, as well. I then installed the front and rear bumpers. My GTX is nearly done! More to come.....

Thanks guys! My usual procedure is to drill out the center of the kit distributor, take 4 wires cut to 4 inches in length and fold them in half, put glue into the distributor cap and insert the wires. Fan out the wires and insert a coil wire in the center and allow to dry. I've been doing this for several years, but I have been trying pre-wired distributors from M.A.D.

Are you referring to the window moldings? No paint there, just Bare Metal Foil, time and patience. While doing some additional research on the '71 GTX, I found this. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Plymouth-GTX-440-6bbl-4spd-dana-air-grabber-1-62-/320621441819?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4aa686f31b Anyone have $36,900 they can loan to me?

Thanks Brian and DW! DW, I use Model Master Leather paint for most of my woodgrain trim. Depending upon the woodgrain trim, I also use Testors Flat Brown and Model Master Wood.

Thanks Charlie! It is coming out really well! And, I have taken it apart again so I can do some more detailing. I'm wiring the battery and running heater hoses. I was going to mount the radiator but I think I'll wait until I get the chassis back in for the last time. It's coming out better than I thought it would.

This is my lion of a Golden Retriever. All 105 lbs of him! I have about 15 pictures of Dakota that change randomly.

Thanks Nico and Mike! Using my razor saw, I cut off the spindles and miunted them high on the front suspension. The rear suspension was moved forward by drilling new mounting holes for the rear springs. I filled in the holes in the frame with round styrene stock. I made a pair of shocks using the same round styrene stock. I finished foiling. I mocked up the body, interior, and the chassis to check the stance and I like it! With the hood in place. More to come.....

The dash is completed. And installed into the completed interior bucket. The shifter sat too high on the console so I enlarged the mounting hole and the shifter went in further, right to where it should be. A mockup to check the stance. The rear axle needs to be moved forward and the front suspension needs to be dropped. I do like how these tires fit with the body! More to come.....

Thanks Donald and Brandon. Donald, I am honored that you think of me as a craftsman, but I think of myself as a modeler who is trying to improve my skills. This model is not perfect, nor would I ever try to proclaim it as so. There are areas that need improvement and I may try to do that just as long as I can do so without making a total mess out of it. Thanks.

Elmers makes a white acrylic fine tip pen that may work. Yesterday, I clearcoated the body and hood. This morning I polished them with Meguirs Scratch X. I glued the wheels to the wheelbacks and found that the tires didn't fit as I had hoped for. I pulled these tires from my parts box and they came from the AMT '66 Galaxie 500 kit. The motor is almost complete and needs some touch ups. The air cleaner is in need of paint detailing. More to come.....

Thanks everyone! This rebuild came out better than I had hoped for. The mobile phone was an almost-last-minute decision and it came out really great. It helped to have found a straight-on picture of one on-line. I reduced the image and cut out the upper portion of the picture and glued it onto the phone and then I ran a wire from the handset to the phone base. I want to do another TV Private Eye, my favorite-Spenser For Hire's first season '66 Mustang, even though Spenser says it's a '65.

Thanks Paul, DW, and Mike. DW, the Gelly Roll pen I got at Michaels Craft store a couple of years ago. I don't think they carry them anymore due to the ink drying out inside the pen. I have two of them and I know at least one of them still works. I have never used them on chrome so I don't know if clearcoat would help. If I black-out a grille, I use flat black paint and take my time to do a good job.

I use Mopar Street Hemi Orange Engine Enamel on my Mopar motors (had the can for a 1:1 project) and I find that Model Master International Orange is a spot on replacement.