MrObsessive

LOL!!!

IMO, PLEASE don't use Testors grey primer paint! MANY years ago I tried it and for me it never fully dried. I don't consider it a true primer------you're better off using an actual automotive primer such as Plastikote, or Duplicolor. The rattle can Royal Blue and Flat Black I can tell you will take quite bit of time to dry. With humid weather coming your way by next week (I live in PA), will almost guarantee that they won't cure fully anytime soon. One way to get around that is to get a food dehydrator with a temp control. Set the temp for 105°, and I've had bodies with enamel paint become fully dry and able to be handled within a day. Hope this helps!

Túlio, that is super nice! I read the book back in the '80's and I gotta tell ya.........the book was MUCH, MUCH more intense than the movie! It was a lot more violent, and if the movie were done as the book was written, it would have been quite a long one. Many more scenes happened in the book that didn't make the cut in the movie. BTW, what I've mentioned is by no means a cut against anyone who's built the car, and like it the way it is. I happened to see a VERY nice one at the recent Mid Atlantic NNL, and it does build up into a quite nice model. It's just that for me, I'm forever wanting to change things on model bodies to suit my tastes, especially if said car holds certain memories for me going back to childhood.

Thanks Charlie! I consider that a compliment! The only fly in the ointment is what I have planned for the body, I don't think a resin caster would be able to do it. I plan to open up everything, and then of course there's the making of door jambs, A pillar reinforcements, etc. Maybe I could do two bodies? I'm not sure as what I have going on in my mind on how to fix it is indeed a LOT of work, and would almost require the body being redone from road to roof. As Steve mentioned, I think there are others that cast the Plymouth, albeit maybe not necessarily a Belvedere, or a '58 for that matter. As I mentioned before, this one's been on my mind for quite some time now, and it's more than likely the next '50's car I tackle once I get through at least a coupla three more builds.

WOW! Very nice!! I've always liked that concept and it's hard to believe that it's nearly 30 YEARS OLD!

Ha! That would been just the time the borough police would have showed up out of nowhere and said GOTCHA! I was a couple blocks from home and the speed limit on my street is 25 MPH. Sometimes doing 30 is pushing it depending on who's on the beat at that particular moment.

Couldn't help but notice this on my speedometer on the way home from work yesterday.................. Way too many sixes on there for my tastes! Now if the temp would have been 66 degrees outside.......................

Very nice..........and CLEAN! Harry, that wasn't me but Jon Cole that started a thread a while back on fixing the body. This is on my radar for one of my next '50's builds, but it'll be awhile. I do have some fixes in the works for this one stealing the idea from Jon, but with a different take on it. Think what I did with the '59 Impala, but this one'll be a bit more difficult as it involves most of the body including the roof. This car hits a bit personal with me since it's one of the first cars I can remember my Dad buying, and I can remember riding in it quite often as a little kid (Dad's was a '57). Dad bought his sometime in the 1965-66 time frame, and when AMT made an announcement that this kit was coming out, I was more than happy as I've always loved this car. I can remember looking no further than the box art and knew that the car was off in more ways than one. The body is fixable, but for me it'll take quite a bit of work to make it the way I want---------the hardest part for me will be replicating that side trim, and getting the pattern right. I have something I can use for that as well, but for the time being I want to settle down a bit after getting the Impala done, thus the box stock BMW I'm doing now. Maybe look for a WIP on it sometime next year after I finish the Shelby I have planned?

You've got my attention! One question though............does the body have the Desoto scripts on them? I thought that the set I have from MCG for the Chrysler 300C had them on there but they don't. Ooooo! That is one beautiful car! That color is perfect for that one! Hmmm..................

1975-76 Laguna!!

One car I've not seen anyone attempt yet is the '76-'77 Buick Regal/Century twins. The formal rooflined model I always liked but I can't remember which model offered which. The rear end is especially nice on those with those low-set taillights. Folks may poo-poo the '70's cars 'cuz to some they may be "boring". That may be true to an extent especially when it comes to performance, but a lot were pretty good looking cars considering the times. Certainly better than some of the stuff I see on the roads today!

Bea Arthur? She has that "look" about her!

I really LIKE what I'm seeing here! This brings back some memories as I remember when these were new as a high schooler. In fact, this was our Driver's Ed car (a '77) and it along with the '76-'77 Olds Cutlass were some of my favorites of GM's "Colonnade" styling. Forget the '78's----------GM really uglied those up with their new downsizing program, and it just wasn't the same. You're actually doing something I've thought about for a long time, but just haven't had the ambition to try yet. Take Johan's '75 Cutlass and turn it into a '76-'77 Cutlass Supreme. Aaaaahhh------maybe one of these days! And yes, you're right..........economies of scale won't let the major model manufacturers to make something like this unfortunately. It's up to us I guess out here in the lunatic fringe to make these cars ourselves as best we can.

I just clicked on their site and it works for me. I have a few things in mind, but I'll double check to see if it's what I truly need before I order. Yeah, I can't blame them either. As the saying goes "All good things must come to an end".

Mark, I used Norm Veber's Replica and Miniatures resin redline tires for this one. Yeah, that's one of the first things that I took note of when I was test fitting the chassis together. The tires are simply too big for this era of car. I believe I used Norm's 14" ones as they seemed a bit more appropriate than the 15 inchers he has also. The redlines on his 15" ones-------the diameter of it is a bit larger and not as close to the wheel as I'd like. Nice tires just the same, and in fact I just saw Norm yesterday at the Mid-Atlantic NNL and ordered a 15" set from him as he didn't have them on hand. Let's just say those are for a "future" WIP in the not too distant future which has yet to be named. To get the car to sit right, I did tweak the front spindles just a teensy bit, and the rear sat too low originally because RC2 modeled the inside sail panels too shallow. I added some plastic to those sail panels to make them taller, painted them red to match, so that it raised the rear end a bit and gets rid of the "saggy butt" look. Just to add, if you want to see pics of the build from start to finish, you can click here.

Here are a few of mine................ Built during 1995-96....... An '05 done maybe 10 years ago now............ A '67 finished not quite a year ago...........

?????????????????? I've never heard of such a thing and I strongly advise against it! If you mean a clear coat as far as over a paint job.............absolutely not! Those are for gluing, not getting a nice shiny paint job! Of course I don't know everything, so maybe this is something way out there totally new. Just the same, I wouldn't try it.

Embossing powder is all I use for carpeting anymore. Like others have said, to my eyes it's much more in scale appearing than flocking, especially for 1/24-1/25 scale. Flocking is OK for larger scales say 1/16 on up, but it still has that "fuzzy/hairy" look to me although not as much in those scales. Here are a few pics of embossing powder on recent models I did.............. '59 Chevy...... '67 Mustang........ IMO, I think the embossing powders give you a much wider scale of colors to choose from than flocking, and I've not found it to shed/flake much if at all once it's fully dry on your paint/white glue.

1961............Decisions, decisions! Out of all of these though, I'd probably pick this one........ It's a car my Dad had told me he wanted reeealll bad! But back then my Mom was expecting me, and the car was something like $5000! A LOT of money for a car in 1960-61. That's what Dad was making in an entire year back in those days, and he had to turn it down. Love this car though.............plenty of trunk room for odds and ends, PLENTY of go power to certainly get out of its own way (and others), and roomy enough for a small family for those nice trips. Unfortunately, especially here in the Northeast, the dreaded tinworm would claim a lot of these, so it would be an endless battle to keep the rust at bay. Ya gotta love that styling though! Those soaring fins, Mopar's interpretation of a "bubbletop" roof, and those odd but neat looking canted headlights.

Beautiful work on that engine bay Steve! That really adds a lot to the car! On the question of why those mid '60's Fury's aren't seen........it may be that like their late '50's counterparts, many of them rusted to the point that led to early junking. Particularly those in the upper Midwest and Northeast. I remember seeing only one around here during the mid '90's.......an older lady driving it and in fact it looked a lot like the model you're building. It was a pale yellow kind of color, and was very clean for what was then a 30 year old car. They were certainly good looking cars, and while styling is subjective, I liked these just as much as what GM offered back in '65-'66. By '67, all the full sizers to me were too bulky looking including those from Mother Mopar.

Very clean work! That paint is super glossy! IIRC, the deck lid on the 'vert is a bit more horizontal than the hardtop. This is another one that I've got planned, and yeah, you'd have to do a pie cut to get the angle right. Heaven knows when I'd get to it...........one project at a time!

The instructions call for Tamiya XF-6 Copper. I used that as I'm staying mostly by the book (except for the wheel fitment) as much as possible. Normally, I go with what looks right, but in this case I'm gonna follow the "rules" with this one. I may even clearcoat it in their X-22 which is quite good BTW as it dries rock hard when fully cured. Interesting enough, when it came time to do the wheel spindles and tie rods, the original Revell of Germany instructions (the Alpina kit I have is ROG) tells you to heat swage the tips so that the tie rods will stay on. Tamiya's instructions don't mention this, but I can tell you that this is a MUST! The first turn of the steering and they're gonna pop off! I did that with a candle and an Exacto blade, so that's one surprise I won't have.

No, a 5-0 brush and a very steady hand! I tried those Sharpie silver pens, and all they did was make a mess! So I resorted to the best way I know how-----anchor my wrist against the table, and steady as she goes. As I type this, I've run into a snag with the front wheels. Seems as though the front struts are preventing the wheels and tires from going inside the fenders (or at least even) like I have the rears. Soooo---------I'm gonna have to resort to some fancy footwork to make those wheels fit! I'm going to have to break out my Dremel Moto-Tool, and some grinding will be in order to force 'em. Sigh..........things were going well up to this point, but it explains the way-too-far-out appearance of the wheels on the Alpina BMW 850i kit I also have. The stance is simply not correct for this car and I intend to fix it!

The board seems to be suffering from indigestion this morning as I'm having trouble getting it to load properly, and I did get the 404 Error message-----as recently as just a few minutes ago on my latest post. Everything else on the 'net shows up right away. Maybe some housecleaning is in order for the board??

Bruce, I'm not sure as I bought mine years ago. Tapani offers some unique subjects that I doubt we'll ever see by anyone else. If you check my Fokti album, I have pics of the Volvo kit. Unfortunately, his kits are a bit on the high side due to the Euro/Dollar relationship, but you can best bet you'll be one of the few that has these oddball models on the show table. I don't think Tapani has a website------------maybe someone can check in to give some info how to reach him.