W-409

This is a huge improvement to the horrible looking body that rolled out of Foose's shop... Nice work on the top conversion! This made me think about buying this kit as well, especially because I have one '51 Chevy glue bomb that could very well be cut up for a project like this. But those tail lights should definitely be modified back to stock in my opinion so that is a problem... Anyway you're doing a great work here! I'm definitely not a fan of that modern engine and chassis, but the body looks very good!

This is an impressive build for sure! We don't see these Belly Tankers built too often, and this nice examples just make me want to build one even more. Fantastic work on the paint and detailing. There isn't much that hasn't been said already, but all I can say is Wow!

Wow, excellent work with this '29! Definitely one of the better Model A builds that I've seen, great job with the weathering and that stance is spot on too. Even though I'm a Chevy guy, it's nice to see something different under the hood. Actually I can't remember when I saw an Y-Block last time fitted in a Hot Rod build. Very nice work!

Wow, I just went through this whole thread and as always, I'm blown away by your building skills! Everything looks just spot on, this car looks like you could fire it up and take it to the local Drag Strip any moment. Fantastic work as always.

This is an old thread that I didn't see until now. Anyway I just had to stop in to post a compliment, as this Drag Bike turned out super fine! But of course that's not a surprise when watching John's builds. Fantastic work in every way.

Wow that looks fantastic! I'm not a fan of European or Japanese cars but it's always great to see a model that's built as nicely as this. Everything seems to be just spot on, my favorite touch is definitely the rubber seals next to the chrome trim... Great job.

After a long break I finally sat down on my workbench and did something with model cars! Last spring and summer went pretty much with Drag Racing our Stock Eliminator car, plus that now in the autumn I've been busy in the garage with my 1:1 '62 Chevy II. But now I felt like I wanted to work with plastic a bit, and instead of continuing older projects I decided to start a new one which might be a bit easier, Monogram's 1/32 scale '78 Malibu. The kit doesn't have too many parts, but the few parts that are attached to the parts trees are actually surprisingly good. Even the body looks great even though grill, lights and that kind of parts are molded as one piece to the body... It was clear right away when I got this kit that I'm not building it as a Cop Car. Since several of these G-Body Malibus were sold as new here in Finland, I want to build this to look like something that could have been cruising on Finnish roads when it was new. And because the American Cars around here back then were usually pretty poor models (four door, small engine and very few options), the 4D Sedan body style is actually a good thing. First thing was to fill the holes from kit's roof. They were meant for the emergency lights. Also those "high spots" or whatever they're called right next to the drip rail had to be removed as well... Next step was the wheels and tires. Kit comes GM steel wheels and Good Year tires with raised letters. Those raised letters just didn't fit to the original look, so I sanded them away. But then I noticed a set of AirTrax resin wheels and tires that looked just right size for this Malibu. Also those wheels were the basic steel wheels that I'm a huge fan of... So I decided to go with those instead. But how to make those AirTrax wheels fit to the kit axles? Well, I cut the piece where kit axle goes in from the original kit wheels and glued that piece to backside of the AirTrax wheel... Simple. And then the seats... I wanted to have a bench seat, but the kit comes with buckets... Well, I cut the center console away and made a rough basis for the 3rd person to sit in. I guess the final shape will be done with Bondo and sanding...

Wow! I'm a bit late to the party, but this Pontiac looks fantastic! As always with your builds, everything seems to be just right. Flawless paint job and BMF work and sharp details under the hood too. Plus that it's great to see these rare kits being built, not just sitting on collector's shelf. Great Job!

Wow, a lot of work went into that conversion! Looks like you did an excellent job with it, the bodywork looks flawless and the overall look is just right too. Nice job!

Well that's a problem! I don't want to strip the paint job on this particular body (Revell Pontiac Club De Mer) as it requires a lot of bodywork before painting and I have to assemble pretty much everything else before I can do the paint job. Nick's suggestion is good, but the problem is that I can't find any of those alternative paints here in Finland... I guess I'll ditch the idea of using Tamiya paints then and head to a local hardware store to see if they have anything that might be close. Those paints are designed for 1:1 cars but I've used them on my builds before. They're not as good as Tamiya Sprays but I can deal with them too.

Thanks David! I'll order some of that paint and give it a try too!

I was away for a little while and now I can see some fantastic work on this thread again! That engine looks like a work of art, in fact when you get all of the plumbing and wiring done that engine will look like it could be fired up any moment. Of course the whole chassis and body are looking fantastic as well, and that subtle weathering on those tires...Wow - they look so realistic!

I've used Tamiya TS-13 Clear several times on top of other TS-series spray paints and so far I've had no problems. Now I'm just wondering if that TS-13 clear will work on top of Tamiya AS-spray paints which are designed for aircrafts and other military applications. I need this paint color for a car body, so it will have to be clear coated so that it's glossy. So has anyone tried to clear those AS-spray paints with TS-clear succesfully? I wouldn't want to order those paints if they don't work with each others...

That is very cool build! I've always liked this Comet body so I'm very happy to see finally a proper model kit of it. You did a great job turning it into a Factory Experimental car. Fantastic job with all of those details on exterior, interior, under the hood and on the chassis. There's nothing I'd change, really nice job.

Wow, this looks great! I've had that kit on my hands a couple of times but never bought it. Now after seeing this one I'd like to build one as well. Excellent job getting that kit together, and I really like that color combo too. Green and Gold fit perfectly together in my opinion. Very nice and clean build overall.

I'm a bit late, but Thanks Bruce for the kind words! They're appreciated. Now the next thing will be finishing my '64 Thunderbolt. Hopefully I'll find some time to work on that soon.

Well, I'm much happier to look at a Chevy built in Australia than any new car that is built by a Japanese make. And those Korean "Chevrolets" / Daewoos or whatever junk they are... They are a big no-no. Anyway I'll just say I have zero interest for that Toyota, but I'll definitely buy one Chevy NASCAR kit when it's out. Now, back to the actual subject.

Yep I know those cars are the same technology no matter what make the body is. The thing is, even that Toyota logo scares me away, I grew up on a family that always had "real" American Cars (here in Finland) and my all cars are Chevrolets as well. I could never imagine having a Japanese car myself. European or Japanese cars just don't do it for me... Sorry, but even if it was built in the States, the Toyota logo just ruins it in my opinion.

WOW! That is very cool! I really like the blue color and that panel paint job. They fit very well to the style of this build. Same thing goes with those blue tinted windows and scoop, they're just right for a build like this. Engine with lots of chrome is a nice touch too... The overall look is just perfect, and all little details just finish it off. Fantastic work!

'65 Impala is a very nice body, so great to see that you've built one! That white color fits very well on it and the chrome parts and darker panel lines make it look really good. Very nicely done as always!

Wow, I've seen that build at a local Model Car Show around here and I was quietly hoping that some day we'll see a resin kit of this! Now this is some great news! Usually AirTrax is selling some damaged bodies at local show in side of selling the complete kits, so if I see a Lincoln body in there I'll be sure to buy one. I see a Lead Sled coming...

This looks interesting! I'm more into Vintage Stock Cars, but when the Chevrolets are out I guess I'll pick up one. And if the prices drop like Tony said, I could probably buy a Ford as well somewhere in the future, but it's for sure that I'll see no Toyotas around here. NASCAR is an American sport so I'm not too crazy about seeing those "ricers" racing in there...

Wow that is very cool! It looks like something that could be seen Match Racing at local Drag Strip. The paint job is looking great, how did you do the rivets? Cool and Unique build for sure.

Thanks Guys! I really appreciate it! Joe, great to hear I'm not the only one who builds slowly!

Wow! That turned out very nice, especially when considering how tiny it is. All of the extra work you did with all of the details really paid off, this is a major improvement to that kit. Congrats on the award too, even without seeing the other entries I'm sure it went into the right direction!