W-409

I saw one of these for sale at a local Model Car Show for a good price. It was still sealed, so I kept it on my shelf for a while, but now I had to open it to see what's inside. My hopes weren't very high with this kit, because I knew it's a Snap Kit and I saw how few parts there were from the building instructions that are on the side and bottom of the box. The body shapes look very good to me, but it has lots of flash and mold lines to be removed. Also there are a couple of major sink marks that will need some filler. Overall, it looks good, though, but if you want to add an engine and opening hood, you'll need to do a lot of work with styrene and/or kitbashing. I'm not going that route with mine, I'll build this as a Curbside Stock Eliminator Drag Car, and then my '73 Chevelle will be a Full Detail build. Chassis is really simplified, too. Only separate parts are plastic axles and wheel/tire combos. Everything else is molded in, so careful detail painting is required. Tires are really nice with beautiful white walls, as in many other Jo-Han kits, so they should look good when the model is done. Interior is very simple, too. It is built from four parts, tub with molded in.... Well, it's easier to tell what is Not molded in: Dash, steering wheel and shifter. Everything else is molded in, so careful detail painting is required there as well. I'm bit disappointed because it has bucket seats, as I'd have preferred a bench seat. I can't say much about the windows, because the ones my kit had, are from some other Jo-Han kit. Chrome parts look very good, though some flash can be found. But otherwise they look great. I'm just afraid of painting the black areas on bumbers...

Okay I might not be the best guy to answer this, since I'm not the best builder in the world, but I'll try to help since no one else has posted nothing. What is a good brush paint and what ones should I get? Tamiya looks pretty affordable, so I would like to use them if they are decent paints? I also like flat colors. I have used mainly Revell and Humbrol Enamel paints that work great. I have Tamiyas as well, and they are great. I think the Revell & Humbrol Enamels are a bit easier to paint, but that's probably because I'm used to them more than with Tamiya paints. Both are good, though, and you can do nice work with both paints. What basic setup would be a good assortment of colors? This depends on the subject a lot, but I use the most different black paints (Gloss, Matte and Semi-Gloss), different silvers, gun metals, orange, red etc. What's a good not too thick fine mist primer and color? I use Automotive Primer. It works great for me, some people use Tamiya primer, but it's not that easily available here in Finland, so I like to use the Automotive stuff from your local Auto Parts Dealer. Same thing with the regular paints and clear coats. Sometimes I use Tamiya for them, if the color is just right. Sand paper size for parts and body? For the body I use usually 600 and 1,000 grit sandpapers. Sometimes I use even 400 grit, but that's pretty rare. After paint and clear, I polish the paint job with a Micro Mesh Polishing Kit. I have no idea about the flat clear... I usually never do flat paint jobs. I hope this helps.

Thanks Fellas! I'm glad you like it, and I'm really happy how it came out. Next I'll probably finish my '62 Impala Super Stock that is not far away from completed. I just need to polish the body, put BMF on and do the final assembly.

Thanks guys for the nice words. And thanks Tom for making this Master and Kevin for casting this into resin and sending two of them here in Finland! My dad was really happy with the quality of his '73, too. Thanks for the English words, too. Sometimes I ran into these problems, as I don't speak English as my native language... Edit: At the same time I guess I'll build a '75 Olds Cutlass as a Stock Eliminator Drag Car as well. It'll be a Curbside, though, Chevelle will be a "Full Detail".

This turned out excellent! It sure doesn't matter what you build, it's always top notch quality! I can't believe how fast you build these models, even with the Mini Me's I couldn't build a clean model in that period of time. These look great, the amount of detail in them is spectacular, and your paint jobs are always one of the bests. Really nice work again.

Well I did some test fitting with my Chevelle. Looks like the rear axle from Revell '67 Chevelle fits almost perfectly, only with minor modifications to original Lower A-Arms (Is that the correct name?). But that doesn't matter with my build, since I'll scratchbuild my own (It'll be a Stocker). On the front, original front axle system would fit probably good with some cutting (Haven't tried yet). Rear axle is how it will sit, front end is just mocked up without any front axle system. I'll start my build really soon...

Thanks Everyone for the kind comments! I appreciate them a lot. The paint turned out better than I expected. This was my first time using Tamiya Spray Paints, and it was really different from the regular Maston Sprays that I use. The paint came out with more pressure, but I got the hang of it really fast. Also the paint job turned out very good straight from the Spray Cans, so polishing was a bit easier to do. Harry mentioned the opened tailgate window... That was one detail I thought I should add, because when I get the Boat and Trailer combo done, I'll install Water Skis hanging out of that window. Originally I thought about a surf board, but that would be too heavy for that acetate window. These unique subjects are a lot of fun to build. Same thing with older kits, somehow it's a different feeling when you're building a 40 year-old kit compared to new kit. I also like Longroofs a lot. Thanks!!!

Yep! :lol: I don't visit all categories so often, even though I know there is interesting stuff. Maybe I should give that View New Content button a try.

I agree with this completely. I truly enjoy this build every time I visit here in Drag Racing Models. Your work is spectacular, this Funny Car will be a real Masterpiece when it's done. The tin work looks very good, as well as the Escape Hatch. Keep it coming.

Yep! I have Revell 2010 Camaro kit that I'm going to convert into a COPO Camaro. Just need to gather all parts together before I can start... But yes, I'd be highly interested in that.

I bought this kit from a Model Car Show in November. Yes, I finished it pretty fast. The plan was to build a Surf Wagon/Mild Custom and this is really a Part One of this project. I'll be building a V8 Drag Boat and Trailer, too, and the Oldsmobile will be the hauler for those. I thought about building this one with only some modifications to make it look a bit better. But when I saw the kit's interior tub, I knew that something needed to be done. After some thinking, I ended up scratchbuilding new door panels from sheet styrene. I was going to install the interior on the chassis floor, so I had to use some styrene to fill some gaps and holes from the upside of the chassis pan. Also the trunk (Floor and sidewalls) was scratchbuilt from styrene. Backseat is from Revell's '69 Nova with some styrene added, front seats come from my parts box and center console is from AMT '57 Ford with some cutting and modifying. I used flocking on the floor and painted the interior gold, as it matches well to the body color. Engine needed some modifications, too. There was a metal axle hole on the block that was so high that it almost hit the cylinder heads. I filled it, added a carburetor and did some detailing for the engine. Though, I wanted to keep it simple, because this kit's engine bay was really simplified and I didn't feel like modifying that area. That air tube on air cleaner is made from metal and I black washed the engine a bit to give it some depth. Chassis has molded in axles and everything. I kept the rear end as it is, I just installed the axles I made as low as possible. On the front I filled the axle holes on the chassis and didn't use any axles at all. I just glued the tires on correct spot once the body was installed on the chassis. Body has no body mods. It's just painted with Tamiya TS-20 Metallic Green and Clear Coat. Then I polished it, put the BMF on and made windows from acetate, since the kit parts didn't fit. Grille was detailed with paint: Detailer black wash, some paint for the chromed Headlights and flat black. It was really tricky to paint that part so, that there was no need to wipe excess paint off from the letters. Register plates are Finnish, and they don't mean "Old-51" as someone might wonder, it's "Oldsi" that is a Finnish Word for "Olds". I finished this on Friday for a Model Car show that was Yesterday. And as my surprise, it won the Custom Car class!

Well said, Bernard! I don't use the View New Content button at all, I like to go through these categories in "Old Fashioned" way. I have to say that my heart skipped a beat when I saw this thread had been moved to Community Builds, even if it's not a Community Build, just a thread to show what you're working on Saturdays, and that should definitely be in On The Workbench. Well, no need to post any pics in this thread now, since I'm not going to take part in this "Community Build".

Great work, as always, Brett! Smooth paint job and nice work with the decals. Also your engine proves, that a very nice model can be built without wiring or anything. Great work.

Thanks Guys! I really appreciate the kind words. This kind of subject that really interests me is something that I want to get "right". Well, even if it won't be a 100% perfect replica, it'll be close. Now I can get back to this with full attack since I just finished my '61 Olds Wagon Mild Custom. I'll take pics of it and post it in Under Glass in a couple of days, so stay tuned...

That's looking really good so far. It's always nice to see these Stockers that would pass the Tech Inspection. Now when I've built the 1:1 '74 Chevelle with my Dad, I know much more about these, compared to the amount of information I had when I built the Nova. Your details are looking excellent in here. Especially the interior is looking good, and I like the tachometer a lot. Your wheel choice is also perfect, those fit really nicely on this car.

I have an old ('50s?) suitcase that I use to transport my models. I can fit 9 or 10 models inside it, but usually I'm bringing about 7 models in a show. I put the models in there and with polishing clothes I "lock them on place". They don't move and the only thing that has ever happened is that once Chevy Van's register plate came off.

Yep, I should have said it more clearly... So I meant that the Pickup and Light Commercial Model category should be put together with regular On The Workbench and Unger Glass section. But I don't think it's bad like this, either.

Well, if El Caminos and Rancheros are allowed in Under Glass, why they are being moved to Trucks section all the time? Personally, I think that the separate Drag Racing and NASCAR sections are the best part of this forum. It might be because those subjects interest me the most, but also there are very talented builders and it's nice to find all of those threads in one place. I don't think it's a good idea to post everything in On The Workbench and Under Glass. Same thing with the Large Scale section. I think it should be its own category, too. Only thing I'd change would be that Trucks could be in their own section as they are now, but Pickups and Light Commercial Vehicles etc should be in On The Workbench and Under Glass. But that's just my opinion...

Thanks Guys! Well, not sure about the fast way with the Oil Pan... I still need some putty for that oil pan, but it was primered a while ago and I took the picture that day, but looks like I never posted it. So this is the first Primer coat, and still more putty is needed.

Nice Dragsters! They prove that a nice model can be built without additional detailing, when the builder is as talented as you are. Also this Double Dragster kit is top notch with its building options...Nice work! And a Happy Birthday, John!

You did a great job with this one! That detailing is superb, especially the engine looks so real. It is my favorite part of this build, even if the rest is looking excellent, too. Not my style because of that "too low" stance, but I still like it very much.

Detail Master makes Photo Etch Electric Fan kit. I have a couple of them, and they look excellent. I have not assembled one yet, though, but I guess there shouldn't be a big problem with that.

Yup, that's the Ramchargers' first Race Car, "High & Mighty" Plymouth's engine with home made Headers and Tunnel Ram Intake. Maybe a bit weird looking, but it was fast, since it set up new record in C/A immediately.

Very nice build, especially when thinking about the quality of the kit you started with. I like the color on it and paint job looks good, too. The little changes that you made, were good ideas. It looks much better than if it was built straight from the box. Maybe a bit black washing on the grille and detail painting the chrome headlights would make it even better? Though, it's looking excellent like it is, too.

Thanks Matti. Nice video, too. I just remembered that I haven't posted new pics in a long time. Well, here we go: First some Drag Racing: FHRA Nitro Nationals that is an European Championship Event. Here's our team's Race Report: http://lindstromracing.proboards.com/thread/5/fhra-nitro-nationals-2013 All Pictures. Then another Drag Race Event at Kalajoki Airport. This is the place where I drove my License... Race Report can be found Here. (This Malibu in the second picture is a Legendary Street Racer that was built here in Finland from an old Taxi somewhere in the 1980s). All Pictures. Then something else as well.... Forssa Pick Nick. All Pics.