MrObsessive

Well folks she's all done! A tough kit it was.................but 20 years perspective has yielded a decent looking build...............Enjoy! One SNAFU was the very faint script on the hood..........this was buried by the color and clear coats, so no amount of detail painting would bring this out.......Oh well! Other bugaboos that came about is the trunk panel that is still binding somewhat against the tulip panel, (it was slightly warped) and the fiddly fenders that were more trouble than they appear. I'll build another one of these when tthe 50th birthday of the car comes up in '13.................by then I'll be armed with more reference pics of the underside and some other changes I'll make to the trunk hinges........... Thanks everyone for all the nice comments and keeping up with this loooooong thread!

Hmmm..........The body isn't as thick as I thought..........gives me an idea for another one of their cars I was looking at. :wink: Well, the Revell of Germany Jaguar XK-SS is very close shape wise to the Disco Volante (I've got two kits).................It would be easier for me to "carve" that one out! .....................Someday!

Well, I have no wife or kids.....but I do work third shift on the job, so I try to squeeze in about 2 hours a day (if possible between 2 and 6PM) to get something done. That being said, it still can take me a few months to get something completed. The key is "something"..................that can be as little as sanding some parting lines, to building a whole assembly, to painting. Weekends, if there's not a club meeting to go to, I can get some more done if the ambition is there........................I suppose if you really want to see something through.........."results follow desire". :wink:

Nice!! My favorite era of racers.........the streamlined headrest era! What scale is that Mark? 1/24? Do you have a web addy for them as I'm looking for a '52 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante.

I had a day off along with the weekend yesterday, so I figure I want to get the Turbine Car into it's home stretch. Here's the latest................... Here's how I like to mount my wheels and tires------set the body up on the side (with a chamois cloth underneath) and keep checking the wheels for straightness while the epoxy is setting. It's best to do this one wheel at a time though.................:wink: Same for the rear wheels 'cept that this can't be mounted directly onto the chassis until the floorpan is in the car. Here she is on all fours now!.........a "mock" sitting to see how she looks. Just some details to add on the front and rear, mount the exhausts ducts and antennae and I can call this one done! The rear bumper will be particularly tricky as the inside of the bumper is supposed to be body color. Some careful masking is in order here! Gotta love that side profile!........Still looks good more than 40 years later! Too bad Chrysler just didn't mass produce this car sans the turbine engine. Hopefully, during the upcoming week I can finally put this "Under Glass"....................but here's a sneak peek at my next car!............ Hee Hee! Stay tuned!

Chris, a lot of us use different primers.......some of us swear by Tamiya primer which needs no sanding at all...........to Duplicolor which may need some sanding. Both are easy to work with and both spray very nice. I personally like to use the airbrush as that gives me more control over what comes out..............but that's me. :wink: Testor's paints are not one of my faves only because they never seem to fully cure for me without letting sit for 10 years..................but they're okay for beginners. The benefits of the more automotive based primers are 1) Durability, and 2) a more realistic final finish as the stuff is for actual cars. One caveat is to make sure the plastic is properly barriered against the hotter stuff......this is not so much of a problem with Tamiya, but the other automotive sandable primers it's a must! :shock:. These days the American manufacturers are using a new softer plastic and is very susceptible to "crazing". Automotive primers contain solvents which can damage the plastic if it's not protected properly. I use Future Floor Wax as a barrier.......others may use something called "BIN" which can be found in the hardware stores. Most of all.......nothing replaces Practice, Practice, Practice! The more you do......the better you'll become! Hope this helps!

Jeryd, the signature pic has to be somewhere on the 'net for you to post it. For instance, the pic you see under my name I have posted on my Fotki page. Simply copy and paste the addy of the pic in the signature box in your profile.................... hit "Save Changes", and it should show up. One caveat though.........make sure your pic isn't so big that it shifts the board over so far as to be difficult to read posts! :shock:

Olle, make sure that the surface you're laying the glass in as smooth as possible. Plastic burrs, clumps of paint, or rough inside edges can lead to the wavy appearance. Sometimes slight waviness can't be avoided.....in that case, I would cut a very thin edge of electrical tape and lay it along the outside perimeter to simulate weatherstripping. If you take a look at my Turbine Car thread pics in the last page or so............that's what I did.

Very slick job on that old Poncho Marc! I'm with you about the "glass"..............It's all I use (acetate) for windows as the kit glass is always too thick and distorted looking in a lot of older and some new kits. The only kit manufacturer that seems to get kit glass right may be Tamiya.........but their kits are pricey anyway!

Now that's comin' along beautifully Luis! You just don't see many of those built anymore! You started that a week ago...............It takes me that long just to figure out the paint color!

To echo what Russ said, I got mine at an Arts and Crafts store called "A.C. Moore". However, when I mentioned I was looking for acetate, I too got a blank stare. They called it clear stencil sheet which happens to be made of acetate. The size I use is .010" which for me is perfect for wraparound windshields an such without having to fight it. Maybe try your local Arts and Crafts store such as a Michaels....or if all else fails, there's always the 'net. :wink:

Ha! If I only were that good! :mrgreen: :wink:

Ditto about the rear window........I thought also that the angle of the trailing edge of the C pillar wasn't quite right but that might just be my perception. Yours is lookin' pretty good!...............It's amazing what a little detail change will do for a model!

Beautiful job Bob!! One of my favorite vintage racing Jags!! That Tamiya British Racing Green is perfect!

Wow!................such an ambitious project! I would consider clear acetate sheet for the windows since a Murcielago has no complex compound curves for the glass. I've had no problems with yellowing as I've had models built with acetate windows for 10 years now. Acetate can be found at the arts and crafts stores.............but they call it "clear stencil sheet". For the tailights..............you can try red tinted sheet but you'll have to play around with the shapes as they're a bit more complex. Or maybe carve them out of clear red plastic forks or spoons. :wink: If you can scratchbuild the basic tailight shape...............maybe you can try something called "Thermoform" to mold over the shape. Not a lot of hobby shops carry Thermoform (made by Squadron) but it can be found over the 'net. Likewise, the headlight covers can be made using the acetate or the Thermoform as needed. Not so sure 'bout the tires...................if you can make some out of black resin with a mold that may be your best bet.............some of the resin guys on here maybe able to help you with that. Hope some of this helps...........keep us posted on what looks to be a sharp project!

LOL! How 'bout large, XL and XXL!! And yes I can say that because I'm a big guy too!

Thanks so much for the compliment!

Jim, I've gotten my tools from various places over the years....................from hobby shops to car shows to online. I have a link here that has just about everything model related and then some! You'll probably spend all day checking it out though!

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!! That is the best series II GTO I have ever seen!..............and the way you did those doors is absolutely perfect!! OUTSTANDING!!

Yep! But the kind that has the separate swivel so the pin vise is not constantly turning in your palm. :shock: I have drill bits running from #61-80 for the super fine stuff. :wink:

Jim, just keep an eye on the "On the Workbench section". I myself have a long thread going on the Chrysler Turbine Car...............but I can't always touch on every little nuance when something is under construction. Sometimes pics either don't turn out right or I just simply forget to take a pic of a particular detail I'm building............You'll pick up a lot of hints though by just following a lot of the builds there. Keep buildin'!

Gotta give it to the T-Bird here! While the '59 Olds has a lot of street presence.................The T-Bird gets my vote due to the fact that it was the last of the 2 seaters besides Corvette to come from an American company (Ford) until the debut of the AMC AMX in 1968. Also it would be one of the first postwar cars to be discovered by collectors as early as the early '60's. The Olds while nice............was a lot like the other GM offerings for '59 and not quite as distinctive as a stand alone model like the Thunderbird. Ya gotta love that top photo.........if that doesn't say "1957" I dunno what does!

James, the Ferrari engine you see in my signature came from Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland, run by Norm Veber. It's a multi media engine kit which is mostly resin but includes some photoetch, engine wiring, brass tubing, and HO scale bolts. It took about 2 weeks to put together and comes with it own assembly booklet. It belongs to this car I built here.........a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB This was built during 1998-99 and it's among my favorites!

Lookin' good so far man! As far as the body shape...........that's definitely late '50's GM! GM and Ford may have had the same beltline "dip" back then.........but they had very distinctive body shapes and rooflines!

Thanks for the mention about Future Floor Wax...........It has saved me many a headache as far as this new plastic is concerned. I've even used it to barrier the plastic against Alclad which is some really hot stuff! :shock: