MILD

G'day guys. As a new member it's quite daunting to post some pics of my first build, especially given the quality of the cars already posted, but I'm going to take the plunge and dive right in. There is no scratch build genius here, nor any artistry with the paints so I apologise for the mundaness of it all (is that even a word?). Hopefully having this thread wil spur me on to put my best foot forward and I'll get something out of the feedback. Maybe I can learn from your mistakes and not make so many of my own! The kit is the Revell 1960 hardtop Impala. It was picked as the local hobby shop had a limited supply of models and this one was closest to my interests. Plus it's paving the way to work out some bugs before I jump into that prostock Chevy Nova that I really want to build All paints used are Tamiya Enamels which is a new experience in itself. The body work is coated in Tamiya Gold pressure pack carefully selected by my 4 year old son... no matter how hard I tried there was no talking him out of it. On to the pics! I used some of the chrome dress up parts to liven the engine bay up but did not use them all to overload it. The carbies, air cleaner and rocker covers are the extent of bling in the engine bay (or future engine bay!). Apologies for the shadow in this one- I'm as new to photographing models as I am to building them! I should have turned the plate rather than move around it. The trans carries a nasty join line on top thankfully not visible once complete- I cleaned up the bottom and sump as they'll be visible. Because I'm tighter than the duck's proverbial I opted to use the same paint on the undercarriage as I did for the panels. Plus, it lessened the intial spend and didn't upset the missus as much! Next time I won't be so frugal. I picked out the X rails and a few basic details to liven it up. It still needs a little touching up with the brush (tank straps for one!). I still need to drill out the exhaust as well. I didn't realise just how fiddling sorting out the suspension was in the front. I unfortunately rushed this a little bit and should have taken more time. My lack of patience lead me to reglue a number of components in which was quite frustrating but entirely my own fault- lesson learnt! The custom, lowered components were used. My current work board- note my first paint spill! Don't worry- I make sure all my finished pieces are a long way out of harm's way while working. Next stop is actually tossing the donk in before I turn my attention to the interior. I'm a little undecided whether to go all black, black with white inserts or paint the dash gold with a black interior (I think it might look far too tacky does as such though). At the moment I'm thinking black just to hide my inevitable errors. I'm also undecided whether to try my hand with the embossing powder for carpets. Thoughts on that? Thanks for checking my thread out and I welcome any criticism or comments.

Thanks for all the replies. For the engine assembly I have been assembling that prior to painting and then use a skewer to handle it. The various other smaller items such as suspension components etc, I'm thinking I might seperate them, clean them and then use waste sprue to hold them during paint. Cheers.

G'day guys- I am just curious as to how many people here paint the smaller components whilst still on the sprue? At the moment, it is the way I am painting- mainly to preserve the part number to make assembly easier. This means touching up those areas where I clip the parts. Another observation I have made is that when painting on the sprue I am less inclined to remove all of the flash, mould lines and other defects which is either me being lazy, or my dodgy eyes prefering to hold the item and view it from each angle and run my fingers all over it to feel out the problems. In the past with wargaming miniatures I have made up small assemblies and then painted them as a whole. The difference there is the models have a nice little base to hold which makes life so much easier, where as the car sub-assemblies obviously do not. How do the old and bolds solve the problem? Do you paint on the sprue, have special stands made up to hold completed sub assemblies for paint or is there some other super method I'm missing? Thanks in advance gentlemen.

Ford Falcon - XB Coupe. 1973.

Today I bought a few paints to get my first kit done. Flat black, semi gloss black, flat white, Chevy engine red, aluminium and steel. Plus a spray primer and some Tamiya Gold. The young fella has decided it was gold or nothing... I would have preferred a champagne but I'm hoping we can make something of this gold on a 1960 Impala. I did baulk at the total cost- mostly because the wife was over my shoulder but most of those colours will see me through a few kits so I'm taking the initial outlay option!

I've spent a fair bit of time browsing BongosBasement.com.au but haven't purchased from them so can't comment on the service. Could be another good link in your arsenal though.

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome. It really is a pleasant change from those wargaming forums! I guess with all the Michaels here I had better go by Mick just to stand out from the crowd. Mark Taylor- I checked that link and it is fantastic. I have already saved it to favourites and that level of detail really is what I am aiming for (and beyond of course!). An excellent thread and a credit to you for being generous enough with your time to post it up for everyone to draw a little knowledge from. 85Firebird- unfortunately no 1:1 of my car actually exists. It's an Australian car- an old Holden Calais which is essentially an upper trim level Commodore. Holden belongs to the GM family and you may be familiar with the current Commodore as the G8. If I remember correctly, the Monaro also became your Pontiac GTO. I will be following your advice though and pick up a level 2 kit. I'm waiting for the time off work- roll on Thursday night- to head to the LHS and see what they have on offer... if I have no luck it will be to the online stores and hoping my purchase arrives early into next week. I'm sure with some patience and the wealth of knowledge in Mark's thread as well as many others I'll get the hang of it eventually. Thanks again to everyone who replied.

G'day guys. Basically, I've had the thought in the back of my mind for some time, however with a weeks holidays just around the corner I figure now is the perfect time to jump into this whole model car building hobby (obsession?). The problem I am having is where to start. I've never built a model car before. I am a miniature wargaming refugee and have spent a lot of time around RC cars and planes as well as 1:1 car building (my first love). I am most interested in building up models of classic American muscle in every guise from stock through to pro stock as well as full house drag racers. I don't want to be completely overcome, but I'm not altogether interested in level 1 kits- any suggestions of brands etc to plumb for? Also, what are some valuable tools to have at my disposal? I already have a good selection of cutters, files, drills, model vices and an airbrush but have noticed guys speaking of foils and flocking. I'm intending to do all of my panels in auto paints. If anyone can offer any advice for a beginner I'd be most grateful. Especially if there are any fellow Australians floating around who can share any local knowledge. Cheers. MILD