Exotics_Builder

I’ve taken this as far as I think practical although I may go back and visit the hood some. It just did not fit well from the get-go. I’ve shaved the edges to the point where the hood is touching the radiator shroud and other parts of the engine bay. No impact from the air cleaner, so I will probably chew on it a bit more or just leave it be. Although better than some older AMT releases, the reissue I have has some major shortcomings. Besides the aforementioned hood fit, the parts of the pickup bed did not join well and had gaps requiring a lot of putty work in an area with detail that would be quite hard to retain. The tailgate did not fit well, and I decided to glue in place positioning as best I could. The passenger side body detail is “softer” than the driver’s side. The firewall does not reflect any El Camino photos I’ve used for reference plus there is no brake master cylinder there. The engine squeezes into the engine bay requiring the headers to touch the frame. Not really visible but not what I like to see. There is no starter included even though shown in the instructions. With the fit into the body, the headers would have “collided” with one anyways (I tried with a parts box piece). So, I simulated one with a piece of Evergreen Rod cut to about the right length. Again, it is buried from view, but not to my liking. Summarizing the work. · 3-inch chop · Modified pickup bed · Highly modified and detailed interior · Shaved off door handles and trim and added custom side trim · Added rear fender skirts · “Built up” the chrome trim on the fins and pickup bed surround as they were soft · Modified the front end using the kit custom pieces and “eyebrow” fillers from the Revell 59 Impala · Upgraded the dashboard as it was lacking a lot of detail · Seats and door cards from Revell 59 Impala · Detailed the 348 engine and added air cleaner from parts box · Painted Bob’s Paint Crème Brulé and cleared with Tamiya TS13 Clear. The chop was easier than I anticipated, at least in the front curved A-pillar. The B-pillar needed some attention as it is quite thin and needed a bit of stiffening. This was also my first use of Bob’s Paint and needed a little practice to thin appropriately. Reasonably satisfied with the result.

I’ve taken this as far as I think practical although I may go back and visit the hood some. It just did not fit well from the get-go. I’ve shaved the edges to the point where the hood is touching the radiator shroud and other parts of the engine bay. No impact from the air cleaner, so I will probably chew on it a bit more or just leave it be. Although better than some older AMT releases, the reissue I have has some major shortcomings. Besides the aforementioned hood fit, the parts of the pickup bed did not join well and had gaps requiring a lot of putty work in an area with detail that would be quite hard to retain. The tailgate did not fit well, and I decided to glue in place positioning as best I could. The passenger side body detail is “softer” than the driver’s side. The firewall does not reflect any El Camino photos I’ve used for reference plus there is no brake master cylinder there. The engine squeezes into the engine bay requiring the headers to touch the frame. Not really visible but not what I like to see. There is no starter included even though shown in the instructions. With the fit into the body, the headers would have “collided” with one anyways (I tried with a parts box piece). So, I simulated one with a piece of Evergreen Rod cut to about the right length. Again, it is buried from view, but not to my liking. Summarizing the work. · 3-inch chop · Modified pickup bed · Highly modified and detailed interior · Shaved off door handles and trim and added custom side trim · Added rear fender skirts · “Built up” the chrome trim on the fins and pickup bed surround as they were soft · Modified the front end using the kit custom pieces and “eyebrow” fillers from the Revell 59 Impala · Upgraded the dashboard as it was lacking a lot of detail · Seats and door cards from Revell 59 Impala · Detailed the 348 engine and added air cleaner from parts box · Painted Bob’s Paint Crème Brulé and cleared with Tamiya TS13 Clear. The chop was easier than I anticipated, at least in the front curved A-pillar. The B-pillar needed some attention as it is quite thin and needed a bit of stiffening. This was also my first use of Bob’s Paint and needed a little practice to thin appropriately. Reasonably satisfied with the result.

Arrived yesterday

Some orders arrived the other day and then I went to a sale where the owner had a bunch of purchased collections up for the buying

Got a few goodies from Europe in yesterday's mail

Had to do a little more adjustment of the floor of the interior to get the chassis to finally lay in. The engine has pieces from the parts box to improve. I did add a dip stick and some Detail Master PE to “hang” the generator. The engine bay does not seem to match any of the reference photos I have nor the Revell 59 Impala, but it will do. The 348 was a very tight fit (it is a wide engine in 1:1, but the headers from the kit are touching the frame to get it to fit right. Not visible, but not a happy camper. Also, the hood sticks up a bit even with some shaving I had to do to improve it. There is no interference with the air cleaner or engine parts as the problem manifested itself in test fitting with no engine in place. Even initial test fitting of the kit out of the box showed that was going to be a problem. Remaining, I need to finish off the engine bay including touch up; finish the hood; add the front wheels; add the last chrome bits; and call it done.

Ditto

Did you check here? https://www.revell-service.de/en/

Model Car Garage has a few PE sets for Pontiacs, most geared to GTO's. There is no particular set I am aware that would mate to the mid-60's big Pontiacs. Nor have I have seen decal sets either that might have the script.

Ditto

I had that happen when using Bob's paints Creme Brulee color. I followed the thinning guideline, and my test shots got the webbing until I thinned it much more. I use an Iwata Eclipse at about 20 PSI. I think this effect was due to the pearl material in the paint. At least that is my guess.

Got my Ferrari SF90 Stradale kit yesterday from Alpha Models

Got my Ferrari SF90 Stradale today from Alpha Models

Glad I still have some originals left unbuilt. The 454 SS engine was a disgrace, though. Looks as if they used the small block and changed the heads.

Yesterday I went to the Pacific Northwest Model Car Fest. Did not see anything in the swap meet that I did not already have or not in the interest zone. Did enter 5 models and came away with these

Didn't "back date" it, but crafted this from it 23 years back.

Same here

Back at the El Camino after a lot of disruptions this month. Finishing up the interior. Starting with the kit interior, I removed parts of the seats and the door panels and incorporated ones from the custom option of the Revell 59 Impala. Then I added “carpeting” and detailed up the dashboard using specialty foil, Evergreen plastic half round, Best Model Car Parts gauges, photo-etched speaker grill, steering wheel from the parts box and carved out a spot for a radio I removed from another dashboard. Other than gear shifter, this is as far as I am going with this.

Over the course of the next year, I plan to really thin the "stash". I did go to a Model/Craft Store rummage sale where bought-out collections (among other things) were being sold at reasonable prices. I found a few aftermarket parts that will work on some planned projects and got them at a good price.

Got these from C1 Models. I was trying to figure out how to upgrade the Revell Land Rover kit. Then Chris Hale showed the line of options (as well as specific models from the Bond Spectre movie). My order arrived the other day.

I've got buried in the stash along with the bass boat. I won't be able to look for it until Saturday.

Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland has offered Vacuum advances as a separate item

Several orders. Good stuff. Never had a problem

I think I either need to start thinning the herd or ramp up my building. This is just the Ferraris

Came today