MrObsessive

Wouldn't the '58 Plymouth be an easier donor than the Chrysler? IIRC, the Dodges and Plymouths shared similar wheelbases back then, and the kit chassis should fit without a lot of surgery. Engines are another story as they were different in those years. That police car looks to be an early '57 run..............it's missing its lower "teeth".

The Impala is coming along slowly but surely. I'm going to "de-content" some of the original working features I had planned for it. With 10 hour days working at my own job, and now with things to do around the house as the weather gets warmer, time is at a real premium these days. I did get the body work done..........at least 99% done! There's always something else that I can add........... I was working on the engine and wanted to get the basics painted, when much to my surprise I no longer had the Chevy engine orange paint that I wanted to use. It got washed away in the basement when the house got flooded a year and half ago. So, it's time to run out and get some more paint. Later on this week (if I get time) I'll try to post pics of the body work that's done. As far as the Mako Shark II, it's buried under some model boxes somewhere. I do know that some time ago, I had totally taken it apart and put the parts in separate bags to prevent loss. As I mentioned, I'll need to practice on a junk body the fadeaway paint job, so that it can look halfway reasonable!

One of the reasons I post in larger bold type is so that I can see it! True one can zoom in their browser, but there are a number of folks that come on here who aren't exactly computer geeks and may not know that. Another reason I like the bold/colored font, is it kinda spruces up the joint a little bit than the standard black on white type. EDIT: BTW, I have my Windows Mail set up the same way. It automatically has the font type at 14 in bold, and in blue. That way, older people I know can read what I wrote them and it's easier on my 50+ year old eyes as well!

That's an excellent airbrush job on the body Dan! You beat me to it as I also have an old Mako Shark II rebuilder that's begging to be done. I've never done a fade away paint job like you've done, so some practicing for me is in order. One tip about dust that might help........before I paint (add color to the color cup), I'll "dry airbrush" the body close to the suction fan. Sort of a miniature blow off before painting. This minimizes any stray dust floating around, and works for me 99% of the time. Keep up the great work-------------it's coming along great!

All of my reference pics of a particular car I'm working on I load into my iPhone. Very portable, takes up little space, and if I need to jump on the 'net for a second, I can do that as well.

I believe the '66 Ford was a full body on frame car, while the '65 Lincolns and T-Birds were unit construction. The floorpan out of the '62 T-Bird would be the better way to go as they did not change much from '61-'66. Of course you'd need to lengthen the floorpan as someone mentioned, but you'd have all the detail you'd want.

:lol:

Beautiful paint Geoff! You're doing a MUCH better job of building and painting this than I attempted years ago with this kit!

This is just one man's opinion, but I would advise against just shooting paint over bare plastic. Why? Because paint on plastic looks just like that------paint on plastic. I personally like to have the appearance of a SOLID metal appearance on my builtups. Not to mention, some plastics are rather opaque and if the model is sitting in just the right light, you'll see light shining through the body. Not a good appearance IMO. I guess you could avoid this if you paint the inside of the body to get rid of the see through look, but then there's still that pesky plastic-look finish............ Hope this helps! Edit: Oh! In answer to your other issue-------yes, I have had yellow plastic bleed through lighter colors such as white or powder blues. I would strongly urge giving the body a primer coat to be on the safe side. Better yet, If I were building this, I'd either use Future first or barrier the plastic with BIN Zinsser sealer.

That's a nice and clean build........excellent paint! My Uncle I believe owned just about every Corvair model that Chevrolet made at one time or another, so I'm very familiar with them. Right down to the way they sound when they're firing up--------------very unique sound! Unfortunately, my Uncle passed away in '09, and I never found out what happened to the last Corvair he had. It was a '66 Monza 2dr hardtop painted "Willow Green" with a black interior. I have an old builtup of a '66 that I'd like to restore sometime to match his car. And yes, GM could have defended that car much better than they did. I can't help but wonder if the Vega was actually Chevy's attempt at restyling the Corvair. Its styling looks somewhat like an evolution of what the Corvair might have become. Of course the Vega was front engined, but its styling would have been in the works at the time the 'Vair was in its last years of production. Here's a tidbit I thought I heard years ago..................does anyone know the truth about the other divisions "compacts" for 1961 being based on the Corvair's floor pan? I had heard the Pontiac Tempest was based in part on the Corvair as well as the Buick Skylark, and Olds F-85. Maybe I'm remembering things wrong, but there was some tension in the other divisions ranks that Chevy was getting their compact for '60, but the other divisions were left out in the cold. Just wonderin'..............

As been mentioned, avoid the AMT Daytona Charger like the plague! The Revell Daytona hands down is a much, much better kit! Not hard to build, and lends itself to some very nice detailing. As far as the Superbird, Johan made the better of the two as far as body accuracy is concerned, but falls short in chassis details. Also the Johan kit is 1/25 if that's important to you. Be prepared to do some searching for the Johan Superbird however! They do turn up on eBay from time to time, but unbuilt examples can go for big bucks. Easier (and cheaper) to find a rebuilder that hasn't been glued to death. Here's my Revell Daytona I did a bunch of years ago. I have two more of these kits to one day kitbash with my rebuilder Johan Superbird.

Absolutely none Bill. The '58 kit was COMPLETELY new tooling from stem to stern! I have to wonder about the '62 as well that was just released. I believe that also was new tooling, but I'm not sure about that. The '58 however shares nothing with the old multi-piece kits.

I have a few...........my '58 Chevy, '57 Corvette, and a '61 Ferrari 250 GT SWB that was left hand drive, but I converted it to RHD for this particular car.

Clorox will do absolutely nothing to remove chrome plating! The one thing that works for me and I've been using it for years is Easy Off Oven Cleaner in the yellow can. The fume free stuff is worthless and does nothing. Some have mentioned Castrol Super Clean......I've not tried that, but I like a product that not only removes the chrome, but also removes the coating underneath that they use so the chrome will adhere. I found out the hard way if that base isn't removed, one can run into big problems later. Also, it goes without saying that you want to keep in mind all the safety precautions when using this stuff. The ingredients are rather nasty and can do a real job on your skin!

Both the '58 and the '59 Revell kits are somewhat hard to find. They do turn up on the 'Bay but not super often and usually at a much higher price than they should. Surprising that Revell hasn't seen fit to reissue either of these with new box art. There's a '58 on eBay right now if you check here..............high priced but it's the only one I see listed at the moment.

Keep checking eBay Anne............they do turn up as I've seen them from time to time. I have one, but I'm not interested in building it as of yet (I don't want to part with it though! ). Excellent kit with a couple foibles that are minor.

I was sincerely hoping for a glue kit of a Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky ever since they came out in '06/'07. Now with both divisions gone it's likely we'll never see one. The Sky could have been the closest thing to an "affordable" 'Vette that we've ever had. It's interesting that GM didn't let Chevrolet use that car as an alternative sports car for Chevy, and let the Corvette have its own standalone dealers. Not sure how that would have worked, but the Corvette has gotten so danged expensive, it looks out of place with the rest of the Chevrolet lineup price wise.

Geoff I absolutely love this car! I built three of these variants back in the late '80's early '90's. While they can be a bit fiddly, they do build into beautiful models if one takes their time. One thing to watch out for though-----the instructions want you to install the transaxle into the floorpan, and then install the engine afterwards. Bad Idea! what you end up with is a HUGE gap between the engine and trans.....one that to me looks unsightly especially if you're one that likes to show undercarriage detail. I'd recommend building the transaxle and engine as a whole unit and then install the works at the same time. Much better appearance. Keep us posted...........there's enough detail in that kit to keep you busy for awhile!

Jim, that may be true as far as it goes..........but it depends on the type of car being modeled as you said. While most (if not all cars) being built today have "swivel" or "pivot" hinges, old cars out of the '50's thru the mid '60's used gooseneck type hinges where the door swings outward. This is where research is paramount! I built a Turbine Car here years ago, and I had to significantly rework the hinges as they weren't quite right to my liking............I wanted them to look and function more like the 1:1. If you click on the pic, you'll see what needed to be done to make it correct. I guess it all depends on how much time one is willing to spend on his or her project. It's all about fun, and for me sweating the details is well............fun! Not everyone sees it that way or should they.

Andrew if you click here, it'll take you to a thread that I started a while back on a '59 Chevy Impala WIP. I go through and show how I cut open the doors and other parts, as well as making the hinges. I haven't worked on it for awhile, but it's back on the bench and I'll have some more progress pics before long. Hope this helps!

As I mentioned in another post, the shape of the hardtop in the Seville was the biggest turnoff for me and looks nothing like the C-Bodied hardtops for 1957-58. It resembles more of a '58-'59 Rambler than anything else! If you want to get crazy, you could take the roof off of a Revell or AMT '58 Chevy-------but since the kit is 1/24th, you'd have to do some "stretching and widening" to get it to look right. Another faux pas in the hardtop is the shape of the windshield pillars. Should have just a bit more rake to them------even more so than Chevy and Pontiac's '58 B-Bodied 2 dr hardtops.

Anne, there's a GORGEOUS '62 Fuelie 'Vette on eBay right now. Some engine shots, but tons of interior and undercarriage pics as well. The link that Bill gave you was a good one as it shows just where things are going. I've done like you and have bought shop manuals in the past if I want to get superdetailed. Sometimes the 'net just doesn't have all what I need as far as how and where lines are run. If you click on the pic below, it'll take you right to the auction........... Edit: Also Anne, you could always post your question on the various and sundry Corvette Forums out there on the 'net, to give you more info on what you might want. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to help as some of them may be model builders as well. Some of them may be restoring a '62 and would have some excellent photos.

Rich despite the kit's flaws.......that is one mighty nice and sharp Cadillac! I have the hardtop version (Seville) and was thinking about building it...........the top shape is what's putting me off, but I have a way to fix that. ...........And Happy Birthday!

Future is not meant for hardwood floors------it's meant for linoleum tile floors seen in a lot of kitchens. I have to wonder these days with so many new floors being "self shining", if Future is actually bought by more model builders than the general public themselves!

Happy Birthday George! Hope you had a good one!