BigEdsGarage

I decided the other night that I need to dig out some unfinished projects and get them done. I've been away from the bench for years now and started opening up boxes I forgot I had. I was particularly excited to finish up a Scale Equipment Ltd. resin Hurst/Olds kit I had started about 7 years ago. I had painted and decaled the body, cleared, foiled and polished it, so I figured this would be an easy build to finish. Well, when I opened the box I saw the Model Master clear I had applied years ago had yellowed terribly to the point where the car didn't look white any more!!!! Now I am torn between just finishing it the way it is, or stripping it and repainting it. I'd hate to ruin this body as it was a fairly expensive kit and I am not sure if I can still get the decals. Here are a couple pics of the corrupted clear, it is a lot worse in person as the camera washed out some of the yellowing. The gloss clear on the body is the worst part, the semi gloss seemed to be acceptable. What a buzz kill! It's back in the box and on the shelf again.

Great build! I love it. Everything just works very nicely together.

I'd love to hear some tips on how everyone blacks out their grilles or other items where the raised areas need to remain chrome or painted. Just wondering what product/method everyone likes to use. I had always used thinned black enamel with pretty good results. I recently tried the same with thinned water based Tamiya paint thinking it would be easier to remove if I messed up but wasn't thrilled with the results. I have also read on this forum that some people use a product called "the Detailer". Then I have also heard people say to use India ink. So the question is.....what does everyone like best?

Great job on this build. I really like the color combo and the decision to use the wheel covers instead of mags. Very realistic and believable representation of the real thing!

What an incredible build! Watching the progress and all the attention to detail was and is truly inspiring. Great job!

This is a build I have wanted to do for years. I'll be following this one too. Looks very cool so far! Who can forget this scene..... Chevy block? Yeah. 396? 454 No S**t! What kind of transmission? 4 Speed You build the headers? Yeah How fast does she go? Depends on who's around.

Thanks for the input and replies guys, I really appreciate it! I'm glad to see that the laser/ink jet decals CAN look good on models. Again, thanks for the pics of your work. This has sparked my enthusiasm to give decal making a try and get working on this project. Tim, the lace effect on the Corvair is awesome! I've been working on a resin 67 Plymouth Satellite wagon that I wanted to do as a 70's super stocker. The body will be white with some purple and blue faded edging on the body lines. Here is what I have designed so far for decals using Photoshop. I have Illustrator but haven't learned it yet, so unfortunately no vector art yet. Hopefully the decals will print well on clear decal paper and not change color much over the white paint. I'd love to be able to print these on an Alps. One other question......any preference for what to use to top coat the decals after printing them?

OK, so I have read up on making my own decals. I should have no problem producing the artwork and scaling it down. Get good quality paper, top coat before submersing, it all seems pretty easy. Unfortunately I don't own an Alps printer and will need to use an ink or laser jet. I realize the ink jet decals are somewhat transparent so these will be used on a white car. Just wondering if anyone here has pics of models with decals they have made on them. I have read a lot of posts on several sites about what and how to do make the decals, but there weren't many showing the results. Anyone have any pics of home made decals?

I agree! The colors really work well on that body.

I bet you could get the scoop close if you cut down a Boss 429 scoop or an early Mopar superstock style scoop like in the S&M GTX or the 67 Coronet kit (readily available in resin) and added the center piece to separate the opening. I can't recall a 70-71 Torino GT kit but that would be another close match.

Thanks so much for the kind words guys. I gotta say a lot of the inspiration came from seeing the work other members here have posted. Kenny, I didn't really take any in progress pics but I do have one of the body pieces being fitted and glued together. I didn't take any others though.....figured I would never finish this one so why bother...lol. The other 2 pics aren't the best and were taken in the mock up stages (missing shocks and mounts, front nose mounts, rad support, etc.) but you can see I grafted the T-Bird frame rails and front suspension onto the truck frame just in front of the crossmember, no more straight axle. The rear rails were formed with evergreen strip, heated over a candle and bent into shape. The bed needed to be cut and the rails stick through the floor.

Absolutely beautiful!! The paint and interior are fantastic. Is that red oxide primer you used on the underside of the floorboards?

Hey guys, I've been lurking here for a while taking in all the cool builds and great info shared on the site. I figured I would post a few pics of my latest creation that is nearly complete. This was my first attempt to build a 50's style custom. The project (named El Guapo) is a combination of a Monogram 56 T-Bird and what started out as an AMT 53 Ford. The cab was chopped, sectioned and channeled, the roof was sectioned and a visor built into it from the front section of the T Bird hard top. I used the T-Bird windshield frame and then reshaped the doors to slant forward to match the frame. The bed is from the 53 with a roll pan added. I used 48 Ford truck fenders on it and grafted in the T-Bird fins and tailights that I layed down sideways. I made a simple bumper from some evergreen strip and painted it with Alclad. The nose of the truck is basically the T-Bird nose with the 53 truck hood grafted in, raked slightly and joined to the T-Bird header panel and fenders. For the center of the hood I then cut out the T-Bird scoop and molded it in. I cut the T-Bird fenders off at the vents. The rear portion of the front fenders is actually the front section of the custom rear fenders in the 53 truck kit. I also added some evergreen strip and molded it in to match the horizontal lines on the rear 48 truck fenders. The grille is modified from the 53 truck to fit in the stock T-Bird opening, headlights are from a 53 Victoria and have been deeply recessed, T-Bird bumper was smoothed and painted with Alclad. The interior uses the T-Bird dash and seat, custom made door panels and the 53 Victoria steering wheel. The frame has the T-Bird front section and suspension grafted onto the truck rails and I scratch built arched rear rails and moved the spring hangers up on the frame then moved the axle to the top of the springs to drop it low. The motor is a flathead with resin Offy covers and a tri-power setup with Stromberg 97's, photoetched linkage and spun aluminum air cleaners. It's not finished yet, and the engine detail and hoses are all I really need to finish on this project. Wheels and tires are from the T-Bird kit with the truck hubcaps. The red on the wheels is Dodge Viper red that I used from a touch up bottle. Paint is 3 coats of HOK "Burple" base coat metallic topped with 5 coats of HOK Kandy Cobalt Blue. This is a real hard color to capture accurately with the camera but it seems to change between a purplish blue to a bright candy blue. You can kinda get the idea by looking at the sides of bed compared to the hood or fenders. And a comparison to a stock build of the 53 (the red truck was built around 1984 or so)