MrObsessive

I'm not normally a truck guy but I DO like L-700's! I've got a few of them (One an untouched IMC original with the flatbed)................I need to try building one of these days. Keep us updated........you're off to a good start!

That is a very clean conversion! Sometimes it's hard to make a hatchback into a convertible, but yours looks really sharp! Ain't that the truth!! And they wonder why they're losing bucketloads of money!

I echo what Bob said about fillers........................Yes, if you have a lot of bodywork to do, it's best to use as much plastic as possible and then fill in the rest with putty. My personal favorite is Dynatron Putty-Cote (a Bondo product). It's a two part mix, feather edges beautifully, and is readily available at my local auto body supply shop. Here's a few pics of Dynatron in action......................... This was a project I was working on a while back but got stalled due to some unobtainium parts (until recently).........a '55 Ford Victoria being converted from AMT's '56. Note the gap being filled in with sheet plastic..............The roof had to be split because the AMT body was a little too wide for the Lindberg '53 Ford roof--------even though they're the same scale! Now I primer the area with sandable primer (Krylon) and then apply the Dynatron when the primer is dry............. Once the putty is dry, sand and feather edge everything down and you'll be good to go! Yes, this'll be on track for me to finish after I finish the Magnum! As Bluesman Mark mentioned, the cheap Bondo should be just fine.....................I'm kinda stuck on my Dynatron because it's worked so well for me in the past. HTH!

Aaron, Keith Marks makes the '66 Hertz Shelby decals...........in fact he has an auction on eBay right now for a set. I'm not sure if he makes the '07 set.......................Revell was to come out with a kit of the '07 Shelby GT500 but IIRC it was either cancelled or put on hold. HTH!

For those interested......................here's an example when Alclad is at its best for wheels with the black undercoat.................. My 2005 'Vette I did a while ago........... I've seen 1:1 'Vette's with the more natural aluminum wheels, but I like the polished look better! Cruz your '57 is more of a mild custom so your manifold would be fine!

Cruz, when I do items such as manifolds or exhausts, etc..............I just airbrush it straight out of the bottle. This gives it more of a natural metal finish than using the black undercoat first. Using a black undecoat for valve covers or wheels is a good idea because it gives a look of polished aluminum which are not always bright chrome on some vehicles.

Wow! That's a long lost car! I can't remember the last time I've seen one of those on the road. I gotta see what you're gonna do with that Fiat Jeff! What color did you have in mind? That green looks to be one of the colors they came in back then. I once owned a '78 124 Spyder..........it ran really well until one day it threw a timing belt------something Fiat's were notorious for back in those days.

Jody, I have done my two tone paint job like the following.................. 1)I primer the entire body with sandable primer such as Krylon, or other instances Tamiya primer. 2)If I'm doing a '55 Chevy in say turquoise and white the white gets painted first...............sometimes I may do the entire body in white, other times it may be just the one section in white to minimize paint incompatibilty in case the paints are of different brands. 3)Once the first color has completely dried (either by time or forced by dehydrator) I'll mask off the first color with Tamiya tape and Parafilm. Now some guys may clear coat the edges to keep the paint from seeping under.........I've never done that as with the airbrush, I just don't spray so heavy to get the buildup where it's masked off. After the second color has thoroughly dried, carefully pull the tape straight back and you shouldn't have any peel off of the color. Tamiya tape IMO is the best to use for masking as it is of low tack and when burnished down properly can't be beat. I've never had good luck with regular masking tape as the tack quality is inconsistent and I've pulled paint away due to the adhesive being a bit much. The Mustang's stripes you see below were done with Tamiya tape and Parafilm.................. After everything was dried, I just clearcoated it and rubbed it out later. As with anything "practice makes perfect"! Hope this helps!

Okay...........There's a bit of ground to cover here, so I'll try not to overload you with too much. For starters, it's a good idea NOT to use model cement around clear plastic parts! The solvents in the glue will permanently scar the clear because it too is made from styrene. To attach something to a clear part such as a mirror or whatnot, it's best to use 5 min. epoxy (2 part) or some guys have gotten away with something as simple as white glue such as Elmer's..........but this is not quite as strong. It's always a good idea for if you're going to glue something that has chrome on it to scrape the chrome away from the area to be joined to get the best adhesion. You mention that you got brushes for painting...................however for painting bodies you may want to try practicing spray painting first as that will give you the best finish even though your new at this. Testor's makes a variety of hobby paints of the actual car color, but as I mention practice will make perfect here. If you have some scrap poster board or some other item this would be good. The brushes you got would be good for painting small parts such as maybe the engine block, interior pieces, etc. Any type of lacquer or hobby enamel thinner should clean the brushes................you may want to purchase a couple hobby airbrush jars with lids and pour some of the thinner in that to clean your brushes. The sandpaper................Hmmmmmmm................I generally don't care for hobby store sandpapers. I really hate that plastic backing on it they use. It's cheaper to go to the hardware store and pick up some 400-600 grit sandpaper for bodywork. They're good however for getting rid of parting lines, blending body contours together such as front and rear fascias, etc. After you get proficient with painting.........there's something called polishing cloths which when used properly will give your paint job a glass like shine. That's for much later down the road though..............

Ditto to what Chris said..............I use BMF or Tamiya Tape for masking and sometimes Parafilm. Go with whatever works for you.........can't hurt to test things out beforehand. As Bo Jackson used to say......."Just do it!"

Getting back to the half @**ed molded manifolds.........I made a "border" around the perimeter of the manifold. This I filled in with epoxy so it at least gives the manifold some bulk. As I'm typing this the epoxy is still curing..........I want to make sure it's rock hard before painting. Revell probably did this because the engine is not seen that well once it's mounted and the service cover is in place.......but it still looks cheap as ######! Here's the engine mostly built up (except for the exhaust manifolds and the alternator). The block was painted with Krylon OSHA Safety Orange which is a dead on match for Chrysler Hemi Orange. To complete the tailgate work I finished up the bottom part of the opening................the tailgate itself still closes flush (including the inner panel). I'm not going to paint the body until near the end because I want to make sure the interior sits right in relation to the reworked tailgate end, and that the chassis simply drops in with as little fiddliness as possible! Thanks for lookin! More...................later!

I decided to get a little more daring and cut out the molded grille opening. Just a little more clean up around the edges............and it'll be set for painting later. I'm gonna replace the molded in screen with this stuff. I picked the brass screen at a local hobby shop named Tommy Gilbert's-----a VERY well stocked train shop! A lot of train details translate into model cars. Like the tailgate, I made struts and hinges for the hood. Yes, that's an actual nickel to give a perspective on how tiny those bolts are! I stopped the bodywork for awhile and decided to turn my attention to the engine...........It was then I noticed this---------------------AAAAAAAAARRRGGGHH!!!!!! I HATE HALF @**ED MOLDED PARTS!! How difficult is it to mold something whole?? These look great on one side.......did the engineer get amnesia and forget the other side?? Did I mention I hate half @**ed molded parts??? Anyway, I used Alclad to paint what's supposed to be aluminum-----this stuff's great for realism! More to come..............

Hee Hee! Thanks! I had in mind more on getting the handle's push button to open the door instead of forcing it open or shut by pulling on it.......................Stay tuned!

It's a good idea to put on a primer coat because you want the body (particularly) not to have an opaque "see thru" look. In other words, you want the body to look as solid as possible. I've been to shows as a judge and a casual observer where someone did a good job painting, but the light shined right through it, giving it a toy like appearance. Also depending on the color of the plastic (red comes to mind! ) you want a color that's not to difficult to cover. Most paints don't have tight enough pigments (Krylon might be the exception) to leave out primer coats. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Tamiya color sprays--------while they are good in their own right, they're just too "soft" for my tastes as I do a lot of rubbing out with wax later. Not to mention for what they cost............I can get some automotive paint and have some left over for future projects. Tamiya does make a very good primer paint though-----it comes in gray and white. They make two versions, a regular and a "Super fine". They dry very quickly, and spray well out of the can.

Thanks for keeping us up to date Harry........I always wondered how those Pocher kits latched their doors. Gives me an idea for something in 1/25!

Pretty much both Tony...............if you were searching for a particular name for instance and they were a fairly frequent poster here, their name should show up pretty much near the beginning of Google's search findings. For instance if you were to type in my name under google................you'll see in the middle of the page the web addy for my Fotki page. Or, type in my user name (ie: Mr Obsessive) and you'll see the link that'll bring you here and for Fotki.

Excellent job on Pontiac's "Impala" Randy! The Bare Metal Foil alone can be enough to make anyone weep! I can remember '58 Pontiac's (In fact all GM '58's) very well as a kid as they were fairly numerous into the late '60's..............a neighbor across the street from us had the more plain Chieftan(?). (Am I becoming an 'Old Fart"??)

Yep.....You're right about that! Nothing against Tom or the others, but I like this format much better. A lot more on topic stuff without having to wade through tons of posts I'd rather not see. I don't post there anymore although I lurk there occasionally......................gets to be too acrimonious at times. Not to mention.................TOO MUCH SPAM!!

Ron, I was going to use them on the old IMC '64 Cougar II down the road. I don't care for the wires in the kit, and the ones he PE's are about the right size and kind with the proper offset. Yes! If he has an email or web addy...................Lemme know or PM me. Thanks!

I like that '57 'Vette! That's a beaut! Is Herb still in the Photoetch business? He has a set of Dayton type wires I've been wantin' to get for years!

MCW does sell what you're looking for......................... just click here and scroll down a bit. He even sells the decals for the Melrose Missile. Edit: Here's a pic of a builtup on his site...........

Steve, if you're having trouble telling which posts are new......you can click on the "View New Posts" button near the top of the page. Kind of a quick search to view what's new instead of scrolling all the way down the board.

Hmmmm..................I didn't know that! I got a junk 'Lil Van kit lying around somewhere.....................now if I can just find a junker '64 Corvair.............

That's what I've been using Ken and I swear by them! I also use the temporary window insertion for my spray booth. I can't bring myself to cutting a hole in the wall..........probably because it's in a spare bedroom that I build...........might turn off future buyers if I decide to sell the place someday! Here is the link for the paint stands BTW...........

Ohhh man! One of my favorite VW's ever! I'm sooooo tempted to find an unwanted junk '64 Corvair coupe kit and kitbash one of those. Even better would be if one of the foreign kitmakers would see fit to kit a Type 34 VW!