MrObsessive

Thanks Andy! One never knows in the world of models...........the sky can be the limit!

I'm not gonna comment on the first part of this quote! You can use different sized balsa wood to suit a model. I use it all the time when I need to sharpen up contour lines in plastic. Also Detail Master sells a "foam block" to use with using their cloths. Some hobby shops sell it separately, while others may sell it as part of the polishing kit. Here's a pic of using balsa wood that I cut small to hold a piece of sandpaper. This was for the '05 'Vette I was building a few years ago, and I wanted the fender creases to be a little sharper than what the kit offered. If I can hold that small piece of balsa wood with my big hands--------anyone can!

This thread certainly got my attention! I've been looking over the website and I see some interesting stuff---------some real neat ideas rolling around in my head right now. Here's what I did with some different sized watch gears to make the window regulators in my '64 GTO............ There's all kinds of possibilities with those gear sets.........

Dan the color will be Jade Mist which is a very dark metallic green. I want to make sure the hood sits right, as well as the front and rear bumpers since I'll need to modify them a bit to suit. I don't like to do final painting until everything fits like a glove. This will minimize handling the body too much after everything's all nice and painted and polished up. I'm going to be using the standard Cutlass wheelcovers with redline tires to kind of give it that '64 sleeper look.

Actually I should add that I've had the engine and chassis done for awhile........I ran into a snag on the hood as I believe I warped it beyond use. I let it sit too long in Westley's Bleche White and it wouldn't retain its original shape despite heating it with water. I recently got a new hood from Modelhaus, along with plated bumpers and taillights, and now hope to get this one done before the summer's over.

Those of you who were on the board around this time last year might remember this one. It's a repop of the rare AMT '64 Olds Cutlass done by Porky's Resin...........now offered (I think) by Bandit Resins. I had lost interest in it after running into some trouble..............but decided to get it back out of the box and start on it again hopefully to get it finally done, as it's really a nice kit. I'm kitbashing this with the AMT '66 using mostly the chassis and running gear. I'm not worried about 100% total accuracy as this won't be a showgoer (an NNL perhaps), but something nice and rare to put in my collection, as I don't have any Cutlass models to speak of. Here's some pics of what I've got done so far.........I may have to break this up into a couple posts as I believe there's a still a 10 pic limit per post. Enjoy! I'm going to redo the vent window posts here as the model doesn't quite depict the 1:1 as well as I'd like. Also missing is the front windshield header "ridge"------I'm working on that aspect at the moment, and will post pics when it's done to my satisfaction. The engine was taken out of the '66............it's mostly done, but there are some details I want to add yet. Also the battery and such are not put in place. The air cleaner was taken out of a junk Toronado kit.........I'll need to strip it and paint it the proper orange. Don't know what to do about a decal though............. Undercarriage shot......... Moving on to the interior........I was originally going to convert the interior to depict a full back seat and not the convertible one that the original had. I decided against that as I'm trying to keep this build as drama free as possible! Here I used embossing powder to make "carpeting". Some tweaking was needed on the body to get the chassis frame rails to properly sit inside the rockers with as little overhang as possible. Looks like I was able to accomplish this..........I have the frame sitting where I want it with the interior in place. Well that's it for now.............the final color will eventually be Jade Mist which I've already had mixed at a local paint jobber. Updates I may only be able to do on a Sunday............the rest of my week can be very busy with work and all and house stuff. If you'd like to see other pics of the beginning of this build from last year.........just click here. Thanks for lookin'!

A lot of folks complained about that, but I've never had a problem with it. It's funny that they (the automotive press in particular) griped about that, but never complained about the same type of dash in the Mini Cooper for instance. Oh well, Saturn (and now Pontiac) is just a memory in GM's stormy history................

You sir are correct! A Quadcoupe actually...............It's been doing quite well in this blistering heat. Later on that day, it got to 102 degrees...........too dang hot for me!

I can't remember the last time it was so hot this early in Central Pa! Perhaps it may have been the summer of '88----------that was a brutally hot time for a loooong stretch! I took this pic of my car thermometer at 10:40 AM Eastern this morning-----I just returned from the grocery store as I figured it's going to be terrifically hot if I wait til the afternoon. Not to mention the nasty attitudes people can get when it's hot, especially on the road!

Aaahhh! That's a beautiful Jag Curtis.....and in a BEAUTIFUL color! The looks alone can sway anyone that's into cars as art! It looks like it just oooozes down the road.

I'll be watching this one as I have a mint AMT version of this kit, but I've been too chicken to start it. I've always LOVED the styling of this car and it was one of Bill Mitchell's greatest designs! This goes to show that a FWD car CAN be styled to look great, and NOT have the goofy proportions that I see on way too many FWD cars today. My Uncle once had a '66 Toro-------white with a maroon interior IIRC. I thought it was one of the coolest cars on the road back when he had it!

Both those Mopars are super cool and look great! While we're reminiscing about Chrysler------when I was a kid my Dad had a 1960 Valiant which I thought looked really sharp at night with the "green glowing" dashboard! The look of that dash still leaves an impression to this day! He also had before the Valiant a '57 Plymouth Belvedere------------I can't remember if the dash glowed green on that one or not. We're talking circa 1965-66 when he sold it and I was a wee one.

Cruz, I'm partial to the '55-'57 T-Birds (especially '55's), but that is one super slick Bird! It would be a crying shame if it's NOT featured in a mag down the road! I'm glad you put on the skirts..........that body style always seemed "naked" without 'em.

Even manual working lights can be a chore! You'll want to make sure there are no huge gaps around the perimeter of the headlight doors, and then you'll need to find (or make) a small but delicate tool to open and close 'em. Here's a couple pics on a '69 Daytona I did years ago, (The wrong wiper motor car! )-----------I used '57 Chrysler headlights as a base, and with some good pics went from there. The lenses themselves are MV ones picked up at a train shop. They also used to open together, but the rod inside has worn out so I can only open them up individually. As I said, this was a LOT of work and you'll need to take your time to get it to look decent. HTH!

You'll be limited on the amount and size of pics you can post here using the site's hosting setup. Do yourself a favor and pick up a Photobucket or Fotki account to link pics from. There's an excellent tutorial here which will show you in particular how to link photos and post here from Photobucket. Hope this helps!

Accuracy can be subjective among various kits to different people-----but I gotta tell ya that the above Mopars especially the '67 Coronet leave a lot to be desired IMO. I have that particular kit, and comparing it to plenty of 1:1 pics I have------it looks like the back end of the car was scrunched down in an accident! Particularly where the C pillar meets the beltline...........I think Revell made a major goof. They did a better job on the beltline/quarters of the '67 Charger though. Both the '67 GTX and Coronet's rooflines are too flat especially at the rear window area----should be a subtle curve not perfectly flat. This stuck out to me like a sore thumb when one example I got-----the roof was warped back there so I had it replaced. Revell sent me a new body and as I thought, the roof is just too flat compared to 1:1 pics I have. At least they did fix the roof on the '69 Charger................that was a big relief as that's my favorite of all of those Mopars. Interestingly, a few years ago I got a "conversion" off eBay of someone who was trying to convert MPC's '67 Charger into a Coronet hardtop. The fellow must have noticed the same thing I did as he corrected the too flat area in the back window..........but he made a mess of the trunk area. My plan is to someday fix it using the Revell trunk and taillights. I don't mean to step on anyone's toes who may have built these particular models.........but there's a lot of times when Revell (and others) get things "almost right"--------but it's usually an area that can be most visible (at least to me) when something is really wrong.

I recently had a laptop from a friend of mine's cousin who had a very NASTY virus on it due to it being hacked! All I can say is make sure you have a STRONG password to all of your accounts, and also be sure you have the latest and greatest antivirus/malware software on your setup. Also keep the updates up-to-date! There's a particularly nasty bug going around right now called TDS-4 which is part of the TDSS system put out back in '08. It's almost undetectable unless you notice your computer doing weird things. Contained in that virus is a keylogger which is one way that hackers can get your passwords to your accounts. These days BE CAREFUL!!

JOHNNY SOCKO!! That's a name I haven't heard in years!! I used to watch that along with "Space Giants". Remember that? Anyway, here's my story............I was always a car kid------growing up in the '60's and '70's cars were distinct enough then that you could literally tell from blocks away, what was coming up the road. I too from the age of seven, could name most cars on the road at the time. Back in '78 when I was 17 and a senior in high school, I got one of my first jobs at a local McDonalds. Easy and nice enough for a kid, but I COULD NEVER get a Saturday off! It used to make my Dad irritated as he used to say someone was getting Saturdays off......why not me?? Anyway, I finally had a Saturday off after working there for a couple months, and wouldn't you know it, it was raining. Feeling rather depressed that I couldn't do anything outside, I jumped in my car (I had a '69 Dodge Dart at the time) and went to the local mall to look around. I stumble across a hobby/craft shop called "Allied Hobbies" and decide to take a look through. There were all sorts of things there! One of the things that caught my eye was the rows and rows of model kits there! About 10 years earlier, I remember my Mom bought me a couple model kits for Christmas, but I wasn't interested in them for whatever reason, and wanted the Hot Wheels instead. She never bought me anymore, and I don't know what happened to the models.................IIRC, they were kits of a '40 Ford, and a '68-'69 Chevelle. One kit that got my attention straight up in the hobby shop was Monogram's '57 Corvette which I think may have been a new kit that year or the year earlier. I was hooked on the box art as I've always loved that vintage Corvette. I used to see them from time to time even then and just loved 'em. I bought the kit and a tube of glue and I was hooked! Of course, I made a total mess of the kit, but no matter...............I would go back and try another and did a little better the next time. I guess you could say one of the reasons I build models is #1, for the enjoyment---------and #2, there's something to be said about holding a classic vehicle right in the palm of your hand. You sure can't do that with a 1:1 car! Nor if I wanted a real one, I'd certainly have no room to store them after a short time. I also like to build cars that were once common sights on the streets of my town. Be it the finned and chromed barges of the '50's (the first cars I can remember seeing) or the rumbling muscle cars that screeched away from the stoplights.......or your average everyday grocery getters that are no longer on the roads today. They bring back memories for me..........some nice, some not so nice.

Not to hijack Simon's thread, but here's another one of Norm's V12's buillt. I had to reconfigure the throttle linkage for a right hand drive car though.....................

I want to add that I built one of these back in the '80's and I don't remember any big issues with how it went together. The interior they give you is not quite accurate as they use the same seats and door panels out of the 250 GTO........this is where Norm's resin replacement pieces will come in very handy. Also, I've never liked Italeri's knobby generic tires and wire wheels-----so a definite upgrade would be needed there as well.

Interesting info Jack! In fact, I wish I had known this a little earlier, because I could have saved some bucks on the 'Bay as I won an original Italeri kit a few days ago. I went ahead and also ordered another of Norm Veber's fantastic resin Ferrari engine kit for this car, as well as the interior bits and pieces. I should tell you that Norm's engine kit is NOT for the faint of heart! I've built two of these engines in the past, and it's definitely a model in of itself! If you're not used to tedious and really tiny parts.............well let's just say you've been warned! Nicely built, you can't beat this engine for detail and shear visual appeal. There's lots of info about this car on the 'net, as well as some engine shots................certainly a car well worth spending some time on as Simon has done. I got to see this car up close and personal when he had it at the Birmingham NNL in '05, and it's more beautiful in person than the pics shown here can justify!

Interesting enough, when I first got Captain in May of '02 at the local shelter, he was just six weeks old-----and he was in a pen with his mother (who was a Calico) and another kitten that looked just like him. I can't remember if it was a male or female. I suspect that his Dad was a Maine Coon as that's what folks have been telling me that he looks just like one. They wanted me to take both of them, but at the time I couldn't deal with two kittens. I ended up with KitKat about a month later however, as a lady I worked with that had him was about to be evicted if she didn't get rid of him. Sadly, I had to put him down the day after Thanksgiving in '09. Captain can be rather vocal as well...........especially when it's time for food!

That's some very interesting info on the design evolutions of the C3 and up Corvettes-------something I've never heard before. I just hope the next Gen 'Vette gets away from that too flat/cut off rear end, and brings back some "swoop". John your concept is looking mighty nice! For some reason, the back end of yours seems more suited to your concept than the 1:1. Maybe it's the extra length that helps?

Yeah what Monty said-------OUTSTANDING!! That's got to be the slickest black paint job I've ever seen on a large scale car!

I can't give you an exact coat count. Alclad Chrome is something you have to mist on lightly to get the results you want. I know that too heavy a coat will make the finish more like aluminum taking away the chrome effect. Also, I'm not sure about using lacquer paint as I've always used Alclad's black to be on the safe side. As Harry said, any enamel should work however. You can always test it out to see if the lacquer would work.