Longbox55

That kind of contradicts the whole "preservation, not restoration" thing, doesn't it. If they were going to go as far as using a donor car for repairs, they might as well go ahead and restore her to factory new condition. Notice I said "were". From what I can find, all work ceased on her sometime in '09, Ultra One even pulled all updates from their site. Seems the owners of the car ran out of funds for the preservation, and the city of Tulsa are not willing to help. There is a rumor that someone offered to at least bring her back to Tulsa, free of charge, but was turned down. There are also rumors that once the cleaning was done, she pretty much fell apart under her own weight, and the comapny covered it up. I've also seen where she's supposedly in a storage container somewhare on the comapnies property. Hard telling what's the truth on this, but it seems most likely that Miss Belvedere will never see the light of day again.

There's a reason the clearcoat didn't last, there never was one to begin with! They didn't start clearcoating cars until the mid-'80s.

Nice tip, looks pretty good on the wheel. However, you may want to use a shorter length of wire. Just eyeballing it, the length shown appears to be the 3" "Curbfeelers" whch shouldn't be used in a wheel of that type on a 1:1. For an average wheel, mag, open steel, or with a trim ring like the one shown, the average 1:1 valve stem would only be 1.25"-1.5" long overall, with perhaps 1"-1.25" sticking out. The longer 2" and 3" stems are really only used on wheels with full hubcaps, usually older rwd wheels where the stem hole is farther in from the access hole in the cap. Same deal, only a small part will be visable with the cap in place. Side note, on a 1:1, a stem that's too long used in an open wheel application, where the stem isn't supported, will actually flex when the vehicle is driven. They can flex enoung to make the tire lose air pressure, but not show a leak when checked with the tire in a static sitiation.

That's no longer available, as Sears discontinued carrying paint about a year ago, and K-Mart has went to carrying Rustoleum and Platicoat.

All I want to know is this, Who's gonna get the the first one out of the mold???

You are correct about the winners being notified by E-mail. I'm not one of the winners, though, as I didn't enter. I am, however, a registered member of the Gearz site, and was one of the dozen or so "regulars" before the site changed to the "What Are You Workin' On" format that's on it now. I get regular notifications from them as to what's coming up on the show, inclusing some from a couple of the guys that work for/with Stacey (Randy and Coy).

According to the E-mail they sent me, the official winners announcement will be around the first week of August, but the winners should already have been contacted before then.

I don't have any pix, but if you're looking for a chrome finish, Alclad or BMF would be a better choice. The Stainless Metallizer doesn't buff out to that high of a shine, unlike real stainless, which can actually outshine chrome if polished correctly.

Duplicolor primer is another good choice. It works very well with both Tamiya and Testors laquers.

With the hobby laquers, 91% rubbing alcohol will remove it very quickly, usually withing a few minuits.

Yeah, Carfax is about the biggest ripoff out there, The "report" only lists what has actually been reported, anything not repaired or done under the table isn't going to be on there. BTW, I was only joking with the Ford comment, though I personally only own Chevrolet vehicles. Neither one has ever failed me. The "new" one is 26 years old, the older one (my daily driver) is 56 years old, with over 250K on the odometer.

Sure you guys aren't talking about a FORD??

I redid the chrome on mine with Alclad. Call me insane (it won't be the first time! ), but I did mask off all the chrome trim and sprayed it with Alclad, just so it would be consistant.

If you do leave the rear trim off, you will need to do some filling, as the trim sits in a recess molded in the body. It's not too deep, maybe 1/16". The best way to fill it would be to use some strip stock cut to size, then filler of choice to take care of any gaps and to blend it in.

Yes, the rear trim is separate on the new tool kit. The front trim is molded on, though. Not sure why they did it that way, the old tool Revell '55 had separate trim front and rear.

I've never had any crazing with the Testors or Tamiya laquers, I use them regularly without primer. However, I have seen some colors (Nassau Blue Metallic is the main culprit) that will show draft lines in the plastic. It doesn't do it all the time, it seems to vary depending on the kit. Even then, I've had times where I've done two bodies at the same time, from kits manufacturerd areound the same time from the same company, one will show draft lines, the other won't. The clear does mute the effect some.

I have a few of those kits as well, sourced from both Hobby Lobby and Hobbytown. They're identical to the sets that Micromark sells. For the coarser grits, I get the bulk pack from the local hardware store, 3M Sandblaster for any dry sanding (it doesn't clog up like regular sandpaper), and 3M Wet or Dry for the finer grits for finish wet sanding (400-1500 grit). I also keep 2000 and 2500 on hand from the local body supply store, thoguh I use that more on my 1:1 projects than models.

Bondo Professional Glazing and Spot Putty. It's a 2 part catalized putty, similar to the Bondo filler in the cans, but much finer in consistancy. It's about $6 at the flaps.

Not trying to nitpick or anything, but that truck is a '58, rather than a '59. '59s have a different hood emblem, and the side badging is shaped like a rocket rather than a jet. Otherwise, both year trucks are the same.

Maisto made a diecast of the Liberty, I don't know if it's still in production or not. I do know that the earlier Cherokee will not work for a conversion, about the only part that carried over between the two was the rear axle. Everything else is different. Doug, otuside the US, the Liberty is sold as the Cherokee. I didn't know that myself until I saw this thread, had to look it up to see for myself.

I've never seen anyhting like that before. What's the purpose of the weight?

I looked on Micro Marks site, the only bits I saw were the regular drill bits for Dremels, Those are also readily available at any hardware store, try Menards or Lowes.

Great pix. Nice to see a '67 'Vette with the correct wheels on it.

Don't put diecast in the Purple Pond, either, you won't get it back. The lye in the purple cleaners will eat the aluminum in the alloy.

Another one that works is Testors Laquer Gloss Black. Just don't clearcoat it. Comes of about the same sheen as the EDP finish found on 1:1 replacement body panels.