MrObsessive

Looks good Kenny! Johan really knew what they were doing with those '68-'70 Mopar B-Bodies! The AMT B-bodies ('68 Roadrunner and '69 GTX Conv.) never looked quite right to me, despite that they've got far superior detail in the engines and chassis. Good to see this one back albeit in resin!

George, that's the one! When I first seen this car back in the mid '90's I was really taken by it! I had never heard of this car before, let alone seen a Mustang with an IRS in it also. The color on the model is actually '68 Ford Diamond Green overcoated with Tamiya Clear Green with some gold pearl powder mixed in. Apparently, this was just how the 1:1 was painted as it started life as a '68 Diamond Green California Special.

I had an article (Don't remember which one) that was back around '94-'95 which had a GREAT pic spread on this car. I think that's when I first noticed the differences on the coupe and fastback rear quarters. I now have a bunch of pics on my hard disc which I think came from that Mustang Monthly article. I also have some nice decals from Keith Marks which are exactly like the 1:1. What I don't like about the model is the car just sits up too high, and the hip/beltline area still doesn't seem quite right comparing it to the 1:1. I also remember actually getting a hold of the guy who owned this car and at the time (1995) he had just sold the car for something like $75,000! I'm sure it's worth considerably more now!

I have one of those tops for an AMT '69 Chevelle convertible George, but the top is a bit too big for the car...........I'd like to get one of these Olds kits just the same because it's a unique subject. After I get it I'll see if that top fits the body. I love the parts layout------looks like it should go together well, but Len and Bill will give us the lowdown on that!

Thanks for giving us a looksee into what's there Len! Looks like there's no up-top though...............that's too bad. The body looks absolutely great and I don't mind the separate windshield frame-------saves a lot of grief due to bending/cracking headers.

Now someone try and tell me that wouldn't pass for Harry's ROM if it were totally done! Add in some rusted brake and fuel lines, and it would be a dead ringer! Outstanding job Virgil!!

Nice score on those Dave! I built both of those Fujimi kits as well years ago, the Porsche particularly has its pitfalls-------if you ever want to build it let me know as I can clue you in as to what to look out for. I've since got new kits (my cat wrecked the Porsche )----I also have the "Hardtop" and the Carrera Coupe version as well. I don't think I've ever seen those Renwal kits built anywhere at all...........they'd make interesting conversation pieces for sure.

Hmmm........seems as though the '66 Olds which wasn't out too long ago, should have an engine very close to the '64 save perhaps for the air cleaner. Also, that kit has the separate frame and floorpan which would make it nice for those that want to super-detail it with fuel/brake lines and such-----but the '65 GTO chassis should be nice for those that want to do a quick build.

Aaaaahh another nice one! I can see the '67 Mustang chassis working well under that one!

I like that! Very nice and clean casting it looks from here! Can that be kitbashed with the newer AMT '66 Olds kit for the chassis and whatnot?

Solid colors like this, there's no need to clear-coat. I think it's a waste of paint as there's enough hardener in the color coat itself that with enough polishing, the solid color will buff out to a brilliant shine. Metallic colors should be clearcoated as you don't want to sand those..........the metallic flakes are not evenly suspended in the coats, and if you try to rub those out------it can lead to a swirly, mottled finish which doesn't look good at all. In some cases if you get a few dust particles, you can rub those out in metallics and then clear-coat. The only exception to this are paints that are a bit pearlescent. Those you can rub out, but clear-coat wont hide where you did this-----you have to lightly repaint the area you rubbed out. Frankly, too much clear-coat can also give a fake, dipped in shellac look which doesn't lend itself well to a replica stock car as you mentioned. Customs though it's perfectly fine because, well it's a custom! I just keep waxing the roof with the chamois cloth until they're gone! Sometimes it can take a while, sometimes not long at all. It will all depend on how well you rub out the surface and that you don't skip any grits on the cloths. You want to work from 3200, all the way up to the 12,000 grit. Depending on how well your paint laid down in the beginning, sometimes you can start with the 3600, or 4000 and work your way up. If you get an area that's still a little orange peeled, you can go back over that area with the cloths..........once again go through the whole sequence of cloths, not skipping any. There's no need to remove the wax if you need to do this. Hope this helps!

You're right about the coupe vs. the fastback styling Ryan. One can't just hack off the roof-------the quarters are actually a bit taller on the coupe than they are on the fastback, and the "hips" aren't as high. Here's a half-hearted attempt at a '68 "Green Hornet" I built years ago in 1996(?). I took the roof off a '66, modified it somewhat for a '68, and also modified the quarters. In hindsight, I would just use the whole upper section including part of the rear quarters and trunk of the '66, and graft it on to the lower section of the '68 to get the right proportions------but I didn't know that back then! I may do this car again someday with the correct ride height, and I also have the correct '68 Shelby 10 spoke wheels from GMP now.

Luis is the one you gotta watch out for if you're ridin' with him down there! Man, I sure wish I could be there......especially this time of the year with the cold setting in up here.

John, that is super BEAUTIFUL!! The lines of that car suit the paint job very well which is out of this world! Who doesn't love a quad F car?? A Fifties, Finned, Freeway, Flyer!

Tony, I think (hope!) BMF Co. has cleaned up their act as the sheet I was using here I bought about six months ago and is still going strong. I know a while back there were a LOT of complaints about BMF not sticking well either right out of the package, or shortly after using it. I can attest to that as I quit buying it after a while and was using another brand. Back about six months ago, I was in our LHS and he had BMF which had "new" stickers on the envelope. I had asked him if he had any complaints about BMF not working well and he said "No, I haven't heard anything!" Don't you just love it when no one knows/hears anything?? 'Cuz I was hearing complaints all over the place about BMF not sticking at all or only in certain spots on the sheet. Anyway, I have no complaints so far, and lets hope BMF keeps up their end of the bargain! I can remember though back in the early-mid '90's having sheets that were at least five years old, and were still sticking quite well. Something changed along the way........... Good tip about the eraser, I wouldn't have thought of that! I used to use cotton swabs for burnishing, but got tired of pulling the little strands out of the darnedest places when it came time to pull the excess off!

Tell me about it! I gotta admit though...........when at first glance someone mistakes my model for a diecast, I don't take offense-------I take as I did my job well in making sure the paint job is as metal-like and solid as possible!

First, I want to thank you guys for all of the nice words and encouragement so far! This is going slower than I'd like due to some setbacks, but I'll plod along as this thread has quite a few hits now! The body is all rubbed out and polished for the most part. Some spots around the edges of the hood and roof need touching up with the cloths and polish, but it's pretty much done. Please pardon the dust as it rolled over on the board, and I didn't see it until after I loaded it on Fotki. I want to move on now to getting good results from BMF. A number of times I've noticed trim when BMF is applied, has a wrinkly, craggy appearance to it. I can't stress enough how important it is to make sure the trim is FULLY RUBBED AND POLISHED OUT! BMF will NOT hide the imperfections underneath! It will only MAGNIFY them if the prep work beforehand is not done. Here I'm starting with the side trim on the Merc. I want a piece that's larger than the trim itself to go over the section. Next, once the BMF is on, you want to burnish the foil down to where you can see perfectly the outline that's going to be trimmed. Once again I like to use the chamois cloth for this as it's perfect for this job IMO. We can now see very well the trim under the foil......... Next, and this is where a lot of complaints come in, you'll need a BRAND NEW SHARP Exacto blade to trim the foil away. Some folks blacken the edge with a black magic marker........I didn't do that here as I can see where the blade is going. Also very important..............do NOT press hard on the surface! Let the weight of the knife do the work for you! Pressing too hard will lead to a slipped knife and put a gouge in your paint that you worked so hard to get. Work slowly and carefully and you'll get the results you want. I should add that doing this does require a steady hand however. That's something I can't teach folks to do..........one either has steady hands or they don't. It's no shame if you don't..........I just want to add that's a big help if one can have a steady hand when using Bare Metal Foil. After the trim is cut with the blade, pull back on the excess slowly-----not too fast that it tears into the main piece you want to cover. And here we are! A nice trimmed piece that after it's covered with the foil, has been rubbed out with the chamois, and looking pretty. I'll work on getting the whole car done, and post it here when it's all finished. Thanks for staying tuned in!

Mike, I think you'll want to get rid of that bug before giving it to Harry!

Yeah, their stuff can't be beat for us guys into superdetail! Also since their simulated bolts are made of brass thus sturdy, getting those working features to work makes it nice too! Like Harry said, you gotta be a little choosy where to put them because they are a bit pricey considering. For static things, Walthers makes some nice plastic bolt heads which translate well into 1/24-25th.

Amazing Virgil! I would have never thought to use SALT to make rust bubbles! Good subject matter too as you've got lots of real estate to work with! That's a cool airbrush as well!

Aaaahhh! I can see the rear bumper too! I'm hoping this one will have a couple options-------I'll hold off on questions until they get rolling on it

Thanks for the suggestions about the fabrics guys! When I'm able to get around better (without crutches and back to work), I'll check those out. I went with brass because I needed something that would be solderable without any drama. Also, where I get my brass, it's very plentiful (local train shop in Gettysburg) and they carry all sorts of sizes including I.D. 3/64" brass tubing which is perfect for soldering mini piano hinges for the top frame.

Charlie, I get them from Norm Veber of Replicas and Miniatures. Here's a pic of the package with his address on it. Norm doesn't have a website so you'll have to drop him a line................ Norm does have email so you can contact him through there............ replmincomd@aol.com HTH!

Hey that looks sharp! I kinda like the look without the whitewalls...........gives a sort of sleeper look to it! I have this kit, and I've never given it much of a look, but then I'm biased towards the original AMT '65 as I have one of those too. Just goes to show with some extra work this can be made to look real nice!