MrObsessive

A little off subject, but your story reminds me of something I saw on eBay just a couple days ago. I saw listed a Johan 1971 Eldorado kit which was not sealed. As I'm looking through the pics, I'm looking for pics of the model but all I see are pics of a stripped AMT '59 Pontiac convertible and its parts. There were a bunch of pics but none of the Eldo listed. So I wrote the seller and said to them that their auction listing is a bit confusing. You have listed a '71 Eldo, but all I see are pics of the Johan box, but the model is definitely a '59 Pontiac sitting outside of it. So which model is the auction for?? The Eldorado (not seen but the box), or the Pontiac? He wrote back and said that "somehow" the models were switched and that the auction was for the '71 Eldorado. He pulled the auction but as I check the vintage section all the time on the 'Bay, somehow that Eldorado hasn't made it back to its box to be listed again...........nor the Poncho for that matter!

I learned a lesson about "sealed" kits many years ago in the mid '80's. I was off work due to an accident I had there, and couldn't do anything more than sit at home and look through the model magazines (SAE) or build. I came across an ad in SAE (pre internet days) for a sealed AMT "Golden Classics" '53 Studebaker Starliner coupe. The seller was asking $20 for it and at the time (1985-'86) that was a good chunk of change for a kit. I was excited as could be when the kit finally got to my place.............opened it up, and much to my chagrin only to see the body completely leaned over on one side. Almost as if it was set against something warm, and the body warped. Nothing else in the box was damaged. Chassis was straight, no tire burn, nothing missing-----just a body that was absolutely worthless. Since the kit was sealed, I would have had a hard time complaining to the seller as they could claim ignorance. I figured it was probably damaged from the factory, and they went ahead and shipped it anyway. Sooooo............from that point on I never bought another old sealed kit again. I ended up using the body for paint practice as it was useless for anything else.

Looking over my collection of built kits, I just have one TV car! While the Mach 5 was just a "cartoon car", I tried to build what might be a street legal version if the car existed in 1:1. I built this back in the early '90's-----long before the internet and long before any computer or digicam. Also waaaaay before I noticed any model kits of this car which are out there now. I used the lower section of a forlorn Italeri Ferrari 250 GTO------the front fenders are the custom fenders out of the AMT Silhouette kit. The headrest, fins, rear deck, etc were all scratchbuilt using good 'ole sheet plastic, CA glue and putty. The wheels came out of the Testor's Metal Series AMX kit, and as soon as I saw those I said "MACH 5!" Everything else came out of the parts box, and IIRC it took something like maybe six months to get this one together. I just remembered that I also built a model of MPC's K.I.T.T. back in the late '80's, but that's sitting in a box in several pieces as it didn't survive a couple moves. I may take some time out and restore that one some time.

Absolutely gorgeous save! Those Corvettes are some of Revell's best! Just goes to show that when they want to get the details right..............they can!

In another thread this subject was brought up about roof sections for a '65-'66 Impala Sport Sedan. Someone suggested the roof off of the Monogram '64 GTO which to my eyes has about the correct contours in the C pillar area. Now that would be 1/24, so you'd have to do some tweaking, but there's also the separate roof section in the AMT '65 GTO which you could tweak. Hadn't thought about the '67-'68 Camaro roof for the full size Chevy four door hardtops........with some work that would do also!

I think that would go for convertibles too Bill. Inside of the A pillars in my '65 Dart Convertible were definitely chrome! Looked nice, but was a terrific distraction depending on which angle the sun was hitting it. That may part of the reason they ceased that practice. It could be too much of a hazard when driving.

Chuck has it been 10 YEARS?? Hard to believe I've had the kit that long! And yes, enthusiasm for it is still on high tilt..........it's the reason you're still seeing aftermarket goodies for them. Who knows, Hasegawa might surprise us and reissue that one again. If or when they do, I'd scarf one up IMMEDIATELY, as they'll disappear faster than a $100 bill on a New York street! They don't come with the PE set for wheels.............I got mine aftermarket through KH photoetch (I think that's the name of them). IIRC, that kit was offered pretty much as a one time run for each version, so that drives the price up as it is. I could be wrong on that, but I've not seen that kit reissued since it debuted in the late '00's. (still hard to believe!)

To add what Tom said above, your BMF will only look as good as the surface underneath. If the chrome on your model is not rubbed out to be as smooth as possible, no amount of BMF will fix that. Sooooo.........this means before you put on the BMF, get out your polishing cloths and or sanding sticks and make that surface as billiard table smooth as you can. I've seen really nice put together models only to have distracting crinkles and orange peel show where they didn't take the time to rub those surfaces out. And yes, this all takes time! It's not unusual for me to foil a car the likes of a '58 Chevy for instance, taking the better part of a week to do so working an hour or so at a time. Yes, for me it takes that long considering how much chrome that car has, and doing what I've described above so the chrome can be the best it can be. This is the best advice that can be given! Having been a judge in contests in the past, I've seen cars knocked out of first place due to the reasons I've shown above. One car while very nicely put together, the builder didn't take the time to make that BMF as good as it could have been, while an identical car built by a different builder, got the first place trophy because they did take the time and effort.

Those were all new '56's. Great pic as it's nice to see this in living color and not black and white!

Was that this one here Bill? Actually, that's not a bad price at all! It sounds like it should be a fairly straightforward resto. That's probably what I'll have to keep my eyes on...........one that's restorable and not a total glue bomb. The fact you got the box with it too is a plus!

Oh so YOU got that one? I saw that but didn't bother to watch it as I knew the price would be more than I'm willing to pay.............right now. I'd love to see Moebius do that one since they're on a roll with Ford F100 pickups. We'll have to wait and see!

Bill, some of those I have in hardtop form, others in convertibles. One I absolutely don't have and I wish I did is that '61 Ford F100! Each time I see one of those on the 'Bay as an untouched kit, I can just about guarantee that the price will either be sky high as a BIN, or will be bid up to the Stratosphere. The '61 Thunderbird hardtop I got reeeeall lucky on a few years ago when I was able to get a pristine promo with no cracks or breaks whatsoever for a BIN of $50 IIRC. Of course, I can't have too many 1961 models............they're all as old as I am!

Interesting pic of those '61 models! I see what looks to be a '60 El Camino listed. Was Chevy planning a '61 model but changed up at the 11th hour, or was the '61 model going to have '60 carryover styling (it WAS a truck after all)? Some of those models unbuilt/unpainted in the original box are literally worth a MINT!

I've pretty much stopped buying BMF from the hobby shops in the past couple years due to the troubles described above. Since then, I've bought directly online from them and if there's been an issue (there hasn't), I can talk to them directly and get another sheet. That pretty much sums it up for me. BMF is probably one of if not THE best thing to come along for model detailing ever! One just has to PRACTICE using it, and if you've got a bad sheet either let the LHS know about it, or call the company directly and let them know. BTW, I've never resorted to putting BMF in the refrigerator or any such thing. I seriously doubt that BMF Co. refrigerates their product, nor is the stuff brought on refrigerated trucks. I've had sheets last literally for years in the distant past, with no cracking believe it or not. I was told by someone in the know that one reason you might see "rippling" or a stippled effect on the sheet is how the adhesive may have been applied in the process. Someone may have put it on too heavy, and no amount of burnishing will get rid of the stippling. Best to let BMF Co. know about it and get a replacement sheet. For the cost of $10 which includes shipping, I think it's the better route to go with no drama included with the LHS which may not want to replace the sheets. Just my never to be humble opinion.

Excellent job on the weathering........it DOES look a lot more realistic! About the Shelby...........I ordered it right around the time I started working on my much smaller Shelby Green Hornet. I'm a "one model at a time" kind of guy, and it's very difficult for me to do multiple models at once like some folks are able to do. Also, I found the build sequence to be rather odd and somewhat haphazard in how they want you to build it. I first like to get the bodywork out of the way, but in the instance of the '67, it's already painted and there's not a lot one needs to do to it 'cept put the parts together. I wanted to start on the engine, but DeAgostini only sent the upper part of the engine at first, and I just received the block and other parts a few months ago. As of now, I have only a couple more subscription parts to get, and I'm a lot further along in my 1/25 Shelby now. Later on, once I have all the parts lined up and organized, I can then do the detailing on the engine and whatnot a little at a time. The sheer size of this beast and other things I want to do to it that DeAgostini did not include will take me quite some time to finish. One of them being an actual sequential turn signal setup which the car doesn't include. There's rear lights that turn on, but I want to make mine flash like I used to see the 1:1's do as a kid when those cars were new. Also, the ad stated that the car had working windows.............it does not. Soooooo, out come my watch gears as I'd like to make actual crank windows which would be MUCH easier since this is in 1/8 scale. Keep up the TERRIFIC work on this one and yes, I too would like to see more of the 1/8 DeAgostini/Eaglemoss vehicles built on the board!

Yup sure is!.....Hasegawa. I have the kit along with PE wheels and parts, just for whatever reason haven't gotten the urge to build it yet. One day the "bug" will strike me, and I'll be busy building it!

I've never seen this car before till today...........what a beauty!

Thanks Jason!

Well, if all else fails I can always resort to fixing that terrible front end! I've given up on D-Mold ever producing their corrected front end again as each time I go to their site it's "out of stock". It would take some work, but it can be done.

I converted ROG's Jaguar XKSS into the short nose D-Type as basically that's what those were, just made street legal. The hard part about that kit is getting the hood to lay flush against the cowl while you're assembling it. Other than that, it was crafting up the streamlined headrest and fin, the cockpit "split" or brace, and some interior changes. The photo album I have of that model can be seen here. The car I used as a reference was one that was featured in Road and Track magazine in the late '90's. I have a couple of those Jag kits in my stash yet, and since I now have the Jaguar book I'd like to someday make a regular street going car out of that kit. One of the prettiest designs of the '50's!

I'm absolutely lovin' the detail on this! It keeps bringing me back to when I was building my short nose D-Type nearly 20 years ago now! Super slick paint job you got on her now.........that was one of the trickier parts for me as I had to paint mine essentially "inside/out". Building/painting the interior first, and then painting the outside nearly fully assembled. Or something to that effect........... I used LOTS of Parafilm to keep the painted protected as the constant handling I had to do would have marred the paint eventually. I think on mine I had to put the wheels on the suspension also at the same time due to the low cut rear wheel wells and put in everything as a unit. A wee bit tricky, but with all the terrific work you've done so far, I'm sure you'll pull this off.

Had to think about this one for a bit with a little digging. I KNOW I've seen this before, but I zeroed in on what I think this is! Yeah, a car I've not seen here in the States at all! I wouldn't call this car ugly.......just very different and certainly appropriate for its time period.

You mean like these two here Ron?? I have no idea!

Yup! That's the one I've seen! With some mods it could be made to look quite good, and it should fit the newer '69 kits without too much fuss.

I don't think there was ever a kit of this car (Devin D), but I'd sure love for there to be! One of the sexier designs of the late '50's/early '60's (I think this is a '60), and you could make it either Porsche or Corvair powered!