MrObsessive

Okay a quick update…………..This morning I primered the body, lift off roof section, mirrors, and the hood. So far no crazing as the following pics’ll show…………… A little hard to tell because of the flat paint.........but trust me----it's all good! 8) If you’re wondering what type of primer I use it is this……… I like this shade of primer for brighter colors…….also since the Krylon I used previously for primer is all but impossible to find in this shade of gray. I used this under the color coats in the Mustang, so it’s been very consistent as far as being trouble free. I’ll let the primer sit for a few days and hopefully by mid week I can put on the color coats. Meanwhile, I can start building up the engine and chassis details. Stay tuned! :wink:

I got nosy and did some investigative work with dial calipers to see just how off the driver’s side wheel placement is as Ismael had mentioned. As the above pic has shown, I thought it was the passenger side wheel that was off. Much to my surprise this it what I came up with………. I tightened up the dial calipers when I first got a measurement on the passenger side………… Note how the wheel would be about .10†rearward than the other side!……….this is the drivers side we’re looking at. In the pic above, on the passenger side, I have the caliper right against the brake disc “shimâ€. How Revell got this measurement off is anyone’s guess……….but I have a way to fix it in due time. :wink: I figured while I have the ambition……….might as well wash the body and all body related parts up really well, and then let air dry and spray on the Future. Forgive the yellowish look of the body…………….My camera seems to have had indigestion at the moments I took these pics, although it’s probably the yellow halogen light I use when painting. I’ll let this sit overnight, and then maybe if I don’t get too busy with all the hustle and bustle of Christmas Eve, I’ll primer it. Thanks for lookin’!

I'm afraid not Billy...........I'm at a point where I won't be doing near as much full detail stuff just simply to get more models done. The exception may be the Z06 when I get around to it.......and of course the stillborn '55 Ford. I've been superdetailing stuff for 10-15 years now and it's time for a needed change. :wink:

Ha! That's what I need! In fact the job is about to get rid of a few of them..................I'm gonna see if I can talk them into giving one to me! :wink:

Ahhhh! I just love that old kit! Yours is lookin' pretty good! It's been that long since I built one for Dad as he once had a 1:1 '49 Merc.

Thanks for the heads up Ismael! Like the Mustang I'm gonna use the Future for some extra insurance.........and then it'll get primered with Rustoleum sandable primer. I've had pretty good success with that so far as far as compatiblity with the automotive paints I like to use. I have Sunset Orange paint mixed so far in a spray can by the local paint jobber.................I'll load it into an airbrush jar and spray away later. As far as the headlights go, I was thinking of using several different sized MV lenses (?).............we'll see as I get closer to that step.

That's lookin' pretty good Mike! Where do you find all those old builtups??

Well, I'm still being bitten by the modern car bug, so here's my next one that'll take me into '07........Revell's '05 Corvette. This model should be very simple to do due to Revell’s easy (at most times) assembly. The color I picked is one of my favorite GM colors…………….It’s Sunset Orange, that’ll have a simulated glass roof since Revell didn’t seem fit to replicate this in scale. Here’s a pic of a car similar to what I’ll be doing……. These are eBay pics so I could get some reference……….this car has been modified somewhat in the engine department, but I’ll be building mine bone stock. The interior I may do in a beige color, but I’ll have to see as I get closer to building it up. The first thing I did was getting rid of the mold lines and block sanding the body to get everything nice and straight. A Ted “Chopper†Lear trick I used to keep mold lines (and scripts and whatnot) from reappearing is to sand away the mold lines per normal……….then take some liquid glue and brush over the area. My choice of liquid glue is Ambroid Pro Weld. After the area has dried for awhile, you’ll notice that the mold line magically reappears! Not to worry, simply sand the area away again, and you’ll get rid of the mold line forever. See, the trick is getting the solvents to soften the plastic because the plastic once molded, has a “memoryâ€. Once the area is softened up, the molded area will show up what was molded there, be it scripts or trim or whatever. You’re getting rid of the “memory†by sanding it away because of the hot solvents in the glue…………….which since paint is not as hot as glue itself, the mold lines shouldn't reappear once painted. Thanks Ted! 8) One of the things I noticed in this model is how “soft†the body appears. I don’t know if it’s because of the new plastic or what. I wanted to sharpen up the fender creases somewhat so here’s what I did…………..I laid a piece of tape across the peak of the fender and then with a balsa sanding block and 400 grit sandpaper, sanded away lengthwise along the tape. This was repeated for the other fenders as well………….it’s something that’s not noticeable to most but something that I wanted to do for myself. Hmmm…………lets open the grille for grins……… I got out the dremel-moto tool and started to slowly grind away at the inside of the grille. One has to work slowly here, as a slip up can ruin your day! As one can see here you have to work slooooooowllllllly! You’ll start to see the grille bars showing from the other side. After I was satisfied from grinding out the plastic with the dremel, I used a riffler file to grind out the rest of what was needed. Ahhhhh, now this looks so much better! I have to admit that this was my first try at something like this! I’ll take an exacto blade and clean things up a bit around the edges. I got curious and started fitting the chassis and interior inside the body, and I noticed that peculiar wheel placement that I heard others complaining about in the past. This’ll have to be taken care of before too much chassis work is done……….if you notice that the opening of the brake discs are not quite centered in the wheelwell. I’ll have to figure a way around this one without it looking too gimmicky. Okay, that’s it for now………the next step is to clean up the paint booth (still dusty from the Mustang! ) and spray on several coats of Future Floor Wax, to get ready for primer! Stay tuned! :wink:

Welcome aboard Randy! Those are excellent builds............I especially LOVE that Lamborghini!! 8)

Slantasaurus, thanks so much for that link! Those are nice photos as that's the first I've seen of the actual engine "in the flesh"! John, I'm gonna try to dig around for the kit I want to build sometime next year.................I originally built one in the late '70's ('79?) and I remember the kit was quite a bit fiddly. Of course I had only been building for about a year back then so my skills and techniques weren't what they are today. Actually, I have two kits.............but in one of them the body was warped, so that one may be unbuildable. That's one of the caveats when building one-------some of the warpage occurs around the rocker panels, making the doors fit terribly. The kit can be built quite nice, as I've seen some excellent examples at shows............but it's one of those kits that everything has to be test fitted along the way.

WOW! What a fantastic site!! He even has pics of the models he's built! I think that's where I saved a video of the 40 out of the 50 cars being crushed many years ago :cry:................but had forgotten all about it! Thanks Ken! I saved a BUNCH of pics off of that one--------it looks more and more that the color Mopar used for it's standard lineup for '66-'67 is very close, if not exactly what they used for the Turbine Car. Too bad Chrysler couldn't have just used that bodystyle sans the turbine engine for a Dodge Dart maybe?

Do any of you folks know if the color of the original Turbine Car is the same as the Turbine Bronze Chryco used in 1966-67? I'm asking because the full detail kit is on my to do list in 2007.........:twisted: Thanks for any help! :wink:

Bobby, for my car bodies, I'll use Automotive paints as much as possible. Probably since I build mostly replica stock, this is the only type of paints to use to get the exact color. The hobby paints IMO are still very limited. I also find them to be more durable to rubbing out when it comes time to wet sand. If the color is solid (non metallic) I simply wet sand with the polishing cloths and then rub out with Meguiar's Car Cleaner Wax. If it's a metallic, then I rub very lightly with 3600-4000 grit polishing cloth to get the dusties out and then clear with Tamiya Clear X-22. I use this type of clear as it's a very mild clear and can be used over anything. The only caveat is that it can take a looooooong time to dry unless you use a dehydrator. For interiors, I'll use the water based acrylics or hobby enamels where I can, otherwise it's a variation of the automotive stuff depending on the color I'm doing.

Chris, I'm glad you made some noise about it---------I see on the other board that Revell HAS finally taken notice and hopefully will do something about it. This was NOT a problem with their kits that were made before '04 or thereabouts. I've even heard that the reissue 1/12 '69 Camaro was having the crazing problem! YIKES!! :shock:

Hi Don! My experience with the Tamiya clear colors over clear plastic is that you have to put it on in very light coats. Like any candy type colors it will want to gravitate towards any edges..............so you have to apply it in mist coats so that each successive coat will have something to "grab". I don't know about "lightly" scuffing the glass beforehand................seems as though that may fog the windshield somewhat, even though you've painted it on the inside. If you can practice on a derelict windshield, that may be the way to go so there won't be any surprises!

I think the '61's had the suicide doors-----not the '58-'60 style. Interestingly, the four door still had a pillar..........not a true hardtop like the suicide doored '57-'58 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham

UUUUUGGGHHH!! Even when I was a little kid in the '60's I thought they were ugly cars! Compared to the year before ('57), and what was to come later (the gorgeous '61), the designers must have been on an LSD trip when they designed that one! But as others have said.......if you were to get into a time machine and land on Anytown St. circa 1961, the car would not have been that gawd awful compared to today.

Welcome aboard! Hmmmm.........I can't think of any kit that's readily available for something like that. :?: TKM may offer something similar...........his stuff can be found (at times) on eBay, but his quality is, well..........let's say "challenging" at best. :wink: As far as scratchbuilding, Monograms old '53 Chevy kit would be a good starting point as they shared the same basic bodyshell for '53. The Poncho's wheelbase would be longer by a few inches though.

If you're having trouble with the decals.............try a "Hot Towel" method. Basically take a paper towl.....dip it in hot water--------as much as you can stand------squeeze off excess water, and then press down on the model. The heat from the paper towel will help the decal to form around irregular curves. You could also try Micro Sol..........but I don't know if you have any on hand, and my method is the cheapie way to go. :wink:

Hi Rob! I used the optional wheels that are in the Revell '59 'Vette kit. They had to be shoehorned in the kit's tires as I wanted to keep the correct tread pattern as the actual car. Revell didn't include those "Bullitt" type wheels with the kit...............and I think current gen 'Stangs look best with them. :wink:

Well I got my latest grail via UPS just the other day. In the nice brown truck came Danbury's 1/12 scale '56 Corvette! I wanted their '57 when it came out early this year, but for some reason there was only a very short run on them and was soon cancelled, much to my chagrin. Danbury sent me a mailing showing me this beauty and it was an instant GOTTA HAVE!! Here's a few pics of what it looks like.............believe me when I tell you that everything works! The only thing this model doesn't do is run! Ismael, if you're out there........you'll especially love this one! 8) More can be seen here. Now if they can just do a '55 or '57 T-Bird in that scale..........

Wow! Check out that mirror finish! Nothing looks better than a black car with a perfect shine! 8) Excellent Job!!

No, I had no problem with a warped windshield.......however Revell needs to work on the way they mold the glass on their sprues. I truly hate tags that can still be seen even after you've cut it as cleanly as possible :x I've always wondered why glass need be so distorted?? Is it that difficult to mold clear plastic that it looks like you're looking through coke bottle lens glasses? :?

Well it's finally HERE!! The long awaited 2006 Dodge Magnum kit! I was hoping a kit of this would come out ever since the car was intro'd for 2005. Initial impressions of the kit are favorable.........but I can see where someone of modest build experience may run into trouble....... Body: Revell has captured the lines of the wagon very well with all the little nuances that make this such a tough looking car on the street! All the creases and bulges are in the right places and the kit is molded with the front and rear facias as separate pieces The trouble lies in the fact that there are very noticeable sink marks in the "D" pillars that will definitely need filling in. Also the sides of the body and the roof has a kinda wavy "roughness" to it..............a balsa sanding block and 600 grit sandpaper will be needed! Interior: The interior is very well represented for the SRT8 version.........from the brochure I have, the seats have a subtle two tone gray touch to them, with red stitching. Seats are molded in a nice texture so painting these should be a snap. Engine: The engine an approximately 16 piece affair and is nicely engraved.............it definitely has a Tamiya feel to it. The engine represents the 6.1L version and the block should be painted Hemi Orange, while the heads, oil pan, and front cover should be painted aluminum. Chassis and Suspension: The chassis is nicely engraved and looks like it should build up very well! All the attendent suspension pieces are represented albeit in somewhat simplified form. Some painting differentiation should pick these out quite well. Brakes are 4 wheel disc with molded on calipers..........and an nicely done exhaust system. Wheels and Tires: SRT8's come standard with 20 inchers and the prerequisite low profile tires. In the kit there's an optional set that can be used.......but it not a wheel offered by Chrysler. The stock wheels seem to me a little on the small side for 20"..........but this will have to be seen when I build the car. Glass is molded in clear for the windshield, headlight covers, and the rear tailights and the rear quarter windows, sunroof, and backlite are molded in a smoke color..............Nice touch Revell!! Decals are printed in the typical Revell fashion which is excellent! But once again, the decals are color specific, so paint your car wisely! :wink: All in all this is a very well done kit.............I should warn you that the box is PACKED!! If you empty the contents out.........you should have a contest with your friends to see who can put everything back together again! With some careful prep of the body, this should build into a very nice model of one of the hottest cars on the road! If you'd like to see hi res pics of what I've shown here......just click HERE, and click on "Get Original Uploaded Photo". Enjoy!