W-409

That looks plain horrible! It looks like somekind of a Lamborghini or Ferrari or something like that. And I've never liked them. This is very ugly as well, IMO. And that it doesn't have a V8. That would have been the only good thing it that one. It's just like Brian Setzer says... I should'a had a V-8, I should'a had a V-8 It's the only motor ever made that never gets there late You can get a V-6 if you wanna save gas, but I'm the kind of guy who likes to get there fast I'm late! I should'a had a V-8

Thanks Gene, Carl and Michael! Your kind comments are really appreciated! Here is a little update on the progress. I shot some Primer on the Quick Change rear end. There was a highly visible ejector mark and a couple of other flaws that needed to be smoothed out. So I smoothed out that ejector pin mark using a file and sandpaper. After taking the picture I smoothed out all the rest mold problems and it looks really smooth now - ready for the second coat of Primer. I painted wheels as well. Rear wheels are taken from this kit, front wheels are from Lindberg's '64 Dodge 330 (Ramchargers version). Both ended up being in chrome stripping first to remove that chrome plating and then I painted the wheels with Humbrol Metallic 53. Bolts were painted with Humbrol Polished Aluminum and center knobs from front wheels with Humbrol Gloss Black. I still need to add valve stems to the wheels and maybe slight black washing around the bolts and lug nuts. Rear tires are also from the kit, fronts are taken from AMT Firestone Tire Parts Pack, which means that white walls are pad printed. Front axle was glued on place, too. Radius Rods were painted Humbrol Metallic 56 and first I glued that front axle on place. It fit really nicely. However, those radius rods were a pain to install as they were too long. After lots of filing to make them shorter, they fit better now. I need to do a couple of paint touchups here and there.

Maybe Chris was testing his Front Engine Dragster build..? Really, it looks like it could be fired up & driven any moment and I'm sure this Funny Car will do the same when it's done. Super nice work all over, those tins look really nice and smooth. Keep it coming!

I'm definitely a builder. If I don't have plans to build a kit, I will definitely not buy that one. And because I can't own every car that I'd like in 1:1 scale, it's a good alternative to build models from them instead. And of course, building models is Fun!

I've built two Tamiya kits (One for my shelf, other one as a Birthday present) and those metal transfers are great. They're quite easy to install and they still look good after three years sitting on the shelf. It's a shame that MCG hasn't produced those Photo Etch sets for a while now. They would have been a great addition, even though I believe I wouldn't have bought many of them anyway...Maybe for the most interesting kits, though.

Luke's paint jobs are really unbelievable. That paint on the Chevelle looks much better than my gloss black paint job after a couple of clear coats & lots of polishing. I have done one car in black... And according to my experiences, black definitely is a hard color to get right. Not only because it needs really smooth bodywork under the paint job to look good, but it is very hard to polish nicely, too. All of the tight spots, corners etc are easily left grey and not as glossy as middle of the roof, for example. In other colors that is not seen so well, but black shows it immediately. I've done one car in black...I was planning to do a couple of other ones, too, but that's probably not gonna happen.

I'd really like to see that Hemi Hustler being reissued. Those Hemi Under Glass kits can be found quite easily, but these Hemi Hustlers are much harder to find. I know I'd buy one immediately... But I'd like to see a new Hemi Under Glass kit too.

This is absolutely the only way to make a Dats... Nissan interesting. Seriously, great job so far. That engine looks really good, sharp detailing there. I like your wheel choice as well. But I just think you should add roll cage to the back of the body (the trunk area) too.

Nice to see you building a '62 Bel Air. You nailed the engine on this one, good looking detailing. Nice paint job as always, but those wheels don't look really good under this one...Makes me think of the '90s hi tech stuff...Unfortunately. But otherwise really good job!

You never know what you'll find when unassembling an old Built Model / Glue Bomb. Seriously though, the engine looks really fresh, just like it was taken from a sealed kit's box. It's great that you were able to save it. I bought a Jo-Han '71 Barracuda Pro Stock Glue Bomb too... Can't wait to start making plans for it when it arrives! This build is definitely a great source of inspiration.

I guess they are rubber plugs just like David suggested, but here is a proof that they are there on real '65 Satellite:

Great to see you building a Chevy, too! This sure is a good looking car, it's just a shame that AMT kit is pretty simple...Especially the engine bay and chassis are not on "today's standards". You did very good job with this one, though. That paint job is really impressive. Gloss black is hard to get right, but it couldn't be any better than this. Nice and clean work overall also.

Good job on them all! Very nice models and after seeing your WIP threads, I must admire the quality of work that you create in a short time. Great builds, but that Malibu must be my favorite.

Thanks so much, Gene! I always try to look for new materials to scratchbuild parts from. Maybe the same parts could be bought as aftermarket items, but I have realized that I don't have the money to buy everything and it's a lot of fun when I can build things from raw materials and especially I'm happy if they look like they should. Today I was able to work on this a little. There was a driveshaft molded in to the Quick Change rear end and because I have different clutch cover and a transmission on my build, it would not work anyway. And actually it didn't look too good either so I will be making a new one later on. I removed mold seams from that rear end, removed chrome plating and shot some Primer on it. I have no picture of the part in Primer though. I removed mold lines from Radius Rods, too. Also there were a couple of ejector pin marks to get rid of. Then the chrome plating was stripped off. In the next picture other radius rod is cleaned up, other one is just like I cut it from the parts tree. In the picture after that one, both of them are cleaned up. But when looking at the pics I noticed I missed two more ejector pin marks on those radius rods. They will be removed before painting as well. I also found a suitable pair of front wheels to work on this. They are from Lindberg '64 Dodge 330 kit - The Ramchargers version. I stripped the chrome plating from them as well.

Thanks for the comments! I appreciate them. Jim: Heh, I'd sure love to do that, but that's a bit far away. I think I will have to go to the model car contest in Jyväskylä instead... Not much, but today I was able to shoot the first coat of clear to the hood. I wanted to go slowly with this as there has been lots of problems during the paint. So I sprayed only a light coat of clear on and I will spray another clear coat tomorrow...Then it should be ready for final polishing. Next I should get back to work with the engine bay and chassis. Interior is done and engine & chassis need only minor detailing. For some reason the hood looks like pink in the picture....In reality it seems to be the same shade of red as the body.

Gene: Thanks! I didn't spray a clear coat this time before that actual color. When the chrome trim will be covered by BMF, masking is not so critical than if I was painting an area with different color in the middle of the roof, for example. Then I would have used clear coat, I guess. Stan... Thank You! Your models are great inspiration sources so I hope we'll see your posts in the future as well. Carl: Thanks! I highly appreciate the way you take time to look these updates each time and post often as well. This is a really small update, but I'm so happy that I finally got the hood almost done for final Primer coat and then paint. Only minor smoothing is needed. I sanded the Bondos smooth and sprayed a coat of grey Primer on. Next I will have to spray light coat of white Primer so then the blue will be same shade than on the body.

Thanks Ernest, Carl and Randy! Your kind comments mean a lot to me & keep me motivated working on this Mustang. Carl: Yep, it's great when the racing is in blood as you said...It keeps me wanting to build more and more Drag Cars. Nowadays almost every kit I buy is planned to be a Drag Car. But of course street cars are neat as well and I build them in the side.

I think Casey made a really good suggestion there. Personally I'd like to keep Drag Racing Models and NASCAR sections as they are now, but if someone changed them, I think that would be the best thing to do what Casey suggested.

I've only used a flat screwdriver (A small one), to pull the parts apart if I can fit it between the parts. If not, I try with a hobby knife. Some paint stripping liquids can also work on glues, but don't know if they affect on this old glue. If nothing else helps, I use a saw to cut the parts apart. Depending on the situation and what the part is, I will use either a razor saw or a photo etch saw.

I can imagine the pain when decaling that one. I'm always really nervous when installing bigger decals than those little sponsor decals and I bet this wasn't easy! It looks very good though. Nice paint and detailing too, engine looks really sharp. Glad to see one of these being built. And BTW: Great to see a Drag Car posted in Drag Racing Models section. In Under Glass they seem to get lost between other models.

Thanks for the kind words, Danno! Much appreciated !

Well, after a short break in the building process, I was sure that my first clear coat was completely dry . Today I took this one out again and shot another coat of clear on the body before going to sand my Bondo work on 1:1 '60 Impala. It turned out pretty smooth and shiny so I'm really happy and it should be a perfect starting point for polishing. The shapes on the body will make the polishing a challenge though. There is a Model Car Contest on January 31st so I hope I can get this one done by then.

Thanks Gene and Darryl, Much Appreciated! Here are two pics of the body with the tapes removed. That white paint job turned out decent: Not the smoothest ever as there is a bit of orange peel but I believe it can be saved easily with a good clear coat and polishing. Luckily my masking tapes workedand white paint didn't go into blue areas. Now I will let it dry properly before clear coating it.

Thanks Tyrone and Stan! I appreciate the kind words, especially when you both have built super nice tube chassis Drag Cars with many scratchbuilt & modified parts. I think the cage is not quite done yet even if I originally thought so. A couple of tubes need to be added after looking more closely to rear cages. Nothing much though. I will keep you guys posted once I get some more work done on this.

It is a great kit in my opinion. I don't have the Hot Rod version, but I do have that regular '64 Falcon and '65 Ranchero also by Trumpeter and both of them are super nice. Personally I don't see big issues with the body and what I've built so far it goes together really nicely. I will need to get an other '64 Falcon kit, too to build an old Drag Car.