MILD

I made a slight mistake last night- that being the decal for the hood badge did not match the moulded in lettering. A smarter man would have sanded the moulded lettering back before decalling but not me. Tonight I pcked the moulded lettering out to save it. It's not really my best work and the blown up photo does it no justice but the effect on the model in real life is passable.

The paint looks fantastic and the colour really suits. I've been eyeing this kit off so will be following the build with interest.

Some Gunze clear coat, some Pacer canopy glue and a couple of knives to help me with the foiling. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll have a completed model to go along with it! I hope so because I'm currently bidding on my next project on eBay and promised myself it would be one car on the go at a time

I was wondering about that Jim. I dare say the moulded recess pretty much dictates how the decals are placed, however I'm definitely not immune to make some very, very basic mistakes. No pics tonight, but I did black out the rims as previously suggested and it really did bring them to life Far more interesting than a plain chrome dish! I'm in two minds at the moment but may very well go with the knock offs as well. I think it'll look a little tougher with them on. The body decalling is done- hopefully the weather will be kind and I can get some clear down. It seems my foiling may also extend to the front bar extention that runs between the four horizontal slats on the front guard as well. I'm curious to see how I get along with it- I imagine my patience will be well and truly tested

Jim- thanks for the kind words and tips. With the masking tape, do you apply it right up to the raised window moulding to prevent cutting into the paint or am I mis-interpreting what you are suggesting? jjsipes- thanks for the photos. Something I have struggled with is finding good, decently sized pics. I must be looking in the wrong spots I would have prefered a more traditional colour like the red, but my young fella won that argument! Dave- I think I have some Citadel black wash somewhere, provided it hasn't turned to dust. Can you remember which particular areas needed work to aid fitting it all up? Out of curiousity, did you mount the interior tub to the body before fitting to the chassis like in the instructions or mount it to the chassis and trunk before fitting the body over the top? And thanks for the kind words about the engine. I merely built it how I'd build a real one- hopefully next time I'll go into a bit more detail and wire and plumb it!

The kit is quite close to finished now. I intend on applying the body decals tomorrow, sorting out the bumper sub assemblies and applying some black wash to the rims and grille tomorrow. The next day will see the clear go on, and I will be delving into the black art of foiling over the weekend. I am going to try my hand using kitchen aluminium foil and white glue. It'll probably be a bit more than I can handle but I'm figuring nothing ventured, nothing gained so I'm going for it. The one question I have is where exactly should I be foiling on the A pillar? Did the 1960 have a solid chrome A pillar or was it just the window surrounds themselves? I have tried looking at a few pics online but nothing is jumping out. If someone could point me in the right direction it would be awesome. Thanks gents.

I recently flocked some carpet on my Impala. I used a basic brown I had at the time and then painted it black. Painting could be one way of doing it. Another could be masking the thinner strip, flocking, removing the tape once dry and then applying a light coat of glue in the bare area and laying the gold down. I guess the biggest trick would be taking the required amount of care

G'day Del- I just checked the instructions and it seems the decals are placed correctly. Further to that, the tapered edge of the decal follows the moulded recess on bottom of the seat. If I had put the decals around the other way, they would have to be applied over the moulded contour rather than following it. I just assumed the decal would follow the recess as it is in the pics but would love further clarification on the point. Either way- I'm running with it now. Thanks for taking the time to check it ou and leave input though. I do honestly appreciate it. I don't suppose anyone else has pictures of the upholstery decals done reversed to the way I have done them? edit- I've done a search of the board for pics of other builds... you've definitely got me thinking now

G'day guys- can anyone recommend a good glossy clear coat to put over Tamiya TS-21 gold and Revell decals. I have heard some reports that the Tamiya clear (TS-13?) is a little too harsh and eats decals. I really don't want to ruin the work I've put into the car so would love any advice that could be offered. I am looking at pressure packs only at this stage. Cheers.

G'day Phil. I'm curious as to what diametre brass tube was used for the end pipes? It's a fantastic addition to the model.

Thanks once more for the kind comments. I must give a lot of credit to the forum- most, if not all, of my knowledge on the topic has come from a lot of reading this forum. I think there is something to be learnt from the out of box builds as well as some of the extremely involved custom pieces (which are simply amazing). Modlbldr- I will definitely take that on board. The instructions in the kit described painting out certain areas of the rims however I worried I'd make a mess. I think I will follow your advice and give them a lick of paint to break up the chrome a little. I'll just be sure to have a cotton bud with some thinners readily available! Slugnasty- perhaps the closest thing I came to art was some limited mucking around with wargaming minitures as a kid. That was a number of years ago and lets just say my results were less than stellar. I'd like to think most of my apprenticeship was served growing up watching my father who is an avid RC-Aero modeller of the WW1 vintage. He basically scratch builds everything, is fastidious in all he does and whose ability to make something out of nothing amazes me to this day. Aftershox- believe me I has no bloody idea what embossing powder or silvering was before I stumbled across this excellent forum. Dragline- I spend probably too much time reading the tips and tricks on this forum... I probably should spend more time experimenting and practicing myself rather than riding on the coat tails of the posters here I still have much work to do on the car. I need to paint the forward third of the bottom of the interior tub in gold as it is visible from beneath. The boot / trunk area needs another coat of black to better blend the repaint I was forced to do around the spare. The exhausts need drilling, the rims need painting and the body needs polishing and a clear coat. I will be sure to keep you all posted on my progress.

I was going to start a thread on this last week when I picked up the book tie in. I'm not sure how readily available it would be over there in America, but it's worth picking up if you can. Some great detail about the various topics covered in the show. Plus its bloody funny

I've done a bit more on the car recently. Please don't hold back with the constructive criticism- I'd love any help you can offer. Being a first build I know I have a lot to learn so turn to the more experienced heads to help me along. Onto the pics and a few comments: The bay with the radiator support in place. I had painted the support black before realising it would be better in gold. I tried my hardest to unwarp it! I have tried to add a bit of detail with the paints on the radiator cap and the battery posts. The second photo is more to show the decal on the battery. There is an imperfection in the paint, however the decal is nice flat and silvering free! I need to do a bit of clean up with the paints here. The dash needs a second coat of paint and smoothing around the edges. I am happy with the instrument decals which I was fretting about getting wrong. The instructions suggest doing the interior in white which I'd guess blends the white on the upholstery decals. Personally, I like the contrast between the black and the white. I think it ties in well and adds a little interest to an otherwise drab interior- I deliberately chose the semi-gloss black to minimise the effect any obvious mistakes I made I couldn't get embossing powder so very thinly flocked and painted the carpet. I figured I'd throw the whole thing together as it stands to take a look at the progress. The white ring in the back is my attempt at a white vinyl spare wheel cover. Again I wanted to add a little interest to that area of the car. This build has taught me a few important things. The first being patience is a virtue! Patience to better clean imperfections from parts before painting, patience to build up the paint on parts slowly and patience to wait until the glue is dried before trying to get too far ahead. Ideally I would have spent the time to break out the putty and fill a few minor gaps where parts did not line up particularly well. Gentlemen, I turn to you for advice and pointers to fix any faults with this model and better prepare me for my next attempt. Thanks for looking at the thread!

According to the Engrish scrawled on the label it's decal 'softer'

Shouldn't that be 'WHO'? Thanks to all who replied- I gave it a crack after it had dried and while it didn't damage the decal any more than was intended, it did lift it slightly so I will reapply to sit it back down. I think I am doing something wrong with the product as it really doesn't seem as aggressive as stated. I was using a make up remover (gotta love the wife's supply draw) to apply downward pressure after applying and I think it maybe didn't have enough time to get to work before it soaked up. I didn't notice any wrinkling as I had read about either.

Gentlemen- I am in the middle of applying my decals and now have a question. I want to poke a pin through the locating holes for the armrests etc which will punch through the upholstery decals. Should I do this before or after applying the Mr Mark Softer? Thanks in advance.

Some Mr Mark Setter and Mr Mark Softer. My search for embossing powder was fruitless so I resorted to flocking and painting but very happy with the finish... now the decals are giving me nightmares before I even begin!

Perhaps the water wasn't hot enough- I'll try boiling water and see how I go. Thanks for the replies gentlemen.

After reading through the search results for close to an hour, getting distracted and not finding what I am after I'm forced to create a new thread. I'm currently trying to address a warped radiator support panel on a Revell 1960 Impala that does not want to come straight. The warp is just severe enough where I'm not entirely convinced that I can bend it back and expect the glue to hold it straight. I have tried using hot water to soften the plastic slightly and then weigh it down against a flat board over night however the warp is still there. Has anyone got any ideas as to how to get around it? Cheers.

Have some good ol' Australian genius: Rod Hadfield's Merlin V12 equipped 55 Chev. It was road registered at one stage... I think 3000hp was the stated output. This gentleman has built some amazing cars- one debuted last year at Summernats (big Aussie show) powered by an old Tank engine. Google the Warman Special if you are interested.

G'day mate- like you I am also new to the hobby. Whilst I'm not entirely qualified to answer the question- I'm less than half way through my first build- I'm happy to help where I can. The tutorial link highway posted has been of great help to me, so I'd like to second that recommendation. As for supplies I've found a couple of items to be essential. Firstly, a goodset of clippers to remove items from the sprue. It sounds mundane, but a good set of flat cut clippers will potentially save on cleaning where the part joins the sprue and should eliminate breaking small parts by trying to twist them free. I've also found that a small file set has been invaluable in cleaning mould lines, join lines and various imperfections. My files are far from expensive. I got a set of six files, perfectly sized for model building and in a variety of profiles for a few bucks from what would be close to an American dollar store. Some will cringe at the cheapness, but they have served me well so far and at that price if they deteriorate rapidly it's no great loss. For paint prep and minor correction, I stole a few items from my wifes nail drawer. Namely various grits in emery boards / nail buffing things. As far as tools go- I've done well so far with just those. I do have a very small drill for exhausts and the like and will no doubt collect more and more specialised tools as I go, but for now and for the budget concious I think it'll keep you out of trouble. I also made sure I picked up some decent poly cement (I got Humbrol Precision Poly) with a needle tip so I didn't create a glue bomb first time out struggling with an old tube of superglue! I will need to go back to get some of their clear plastic safe stuff soon though. Oh- and pick up some small brushes for painting while your at the store as well I know some people will disagree but I see it as buying the correct tool for the job as the need arises. It saves you going out, paying a bomb on things you think you'll need and never using them. Plus, if you decide the hobby isn't for you, you won't have a neat collection of modelling tools sitting around doing nothing!

A Fedor fan or a happy coincidence?

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. The plan for the weekend is to get the motor in and begin work on the interior. I've laid about four mist coats of the gold over the panels, let it dry and blocked it back a little. I'm aiming to put a few heavier flow coats on this weekend depending on the weather. I'm off to do a bit of research into getting a super smooth finish now!

That paintwork is simply amazing. It's like glass! How did you get it so smooth?

I simply love how subtle that champagne is... it was the colour I wanted for my Impala. That model looks fantastic.