oldcarfan

I love what you're going for! Those are such cool cars.

This has to be a first! A taxidermied Alaskan Brown Bear being taken somewhere.

My thoughts too, I may try some dull coat on it and see how that looks. I found a good photo of an original issue set of VW floor mats and may try to print those.

It's been a week since I posted any progress, as we had the grandbaby for 5 days. The weather was great the whole time but this week it's showing it's range. We went from mid 80s to 50 in one day, and now we're looking at below freezing and possible sleet by the weekend. Whatever, I'm glad I insulated my workshop before finishing the interior. I can keep it warm with just a small electric heater. As for progress, the new body's paint is dry. If you remember, the original body became a casualty of domestic doggie terrorism. I replaced that body with one from the AMT release of the ESCI kit which is molded in yellow plastic. I did the usual prep, washing, and sanding before priming. I primed with the usual Duplicolor grey sandable and sanded that. I had just enough Go Mango to respray and it looks nice. Now for the bad: I'm not sure what the issue is, but the yellow plastic doesn't seem to like paint. I'm having to be extra careful because I can chip the paint and primer with even a fingernail. I prepped the body the same way I did the ESCI white molded parts and those turned out fine, so I'm wondering if it's something in the yellow plastic. If anyone has built the AMT release, and wants to chime in, I'm curious. I think I can work around it with caution, so fingers crossed. In other news, I made progress with the interior. The roll bar is in place and looks good. It's a combination of kit parts and some stuff I had left over from another project. I bought a pack of textured foil on Amazon last year. It came in a bag of 20 sheets about 1 1/2 x 3 inches each. It's the same thickness as BareMetal foil and looks like the stuff used in cigarette packs. If painted black it would probably look like vinyl roof material. Not sure why I got it originally, but it works as heat/noise insulation used in old race cars. I applied it with white glue but something more sticky might work better. Still on the fence if I like the look or not. Chime in if you have any ideas. Just got the fire extinguisher done and in place and I'm working on the dash. I found a CB radio in the parts stash and a few other 70s pieces. Now I just need a tiny Fuzzbuster!

I tried something last night. Last year I bought a bundle of textured foil last year. It's basically little sheets of cigarette pack foil. Anyway it looks like the heat proofing stuff that my dad used when he was a helicopter mechanic back in the day. I do remember him bringing home scraps and using it in his Mustang project around 1976. He said it made the car quieter and cooler. I'm not sure I like it so I'm looking for opinions on if it's too much. If I keep it I'll probably add a couple of floor mats in the front.

I bought some organizing bins and found a few supplies that I forgot I'd bought.

I'd love to see the Corvair! Also, the 60-63 Falcon 65 Fairlane and the 61-62 Buick Special wagon which I think used the Nova chassis.

This is my 'project'. It belonged to my dad and when he passed I took it to keep it from going to the scrap yard. It's nearly rust free and it would probably start with a little work, but everytime I go out there I feel overwhelmed. I don't really know much about starting a vehicle that's been sitting for a few years and it also holds a lot of memories.

I'd go with the teal/white or the black if it were mine. The black would be cool in a moonshine runner kind of way.

Apparently that rule about China keeping everything applies across the board. My FIL has an old Honda generator. It broke down and the guy told him to go buy a Predator engine from Harbor Freight. It seems that engine is the Honda one that they copied part for part. He said it bolted in place exactly like the Honda one.

Even though they are inaccurate, these kits can be a fun kitbash. Combine one with a Tamiya Datsun 240Z and you have a kit car!

Some of these re do kits aren't really my thing, but I buy them to encourage them to keep it going. I do love the Nova wagon, and I'll be buying the 60 Chevy wagon too. As for other releases, I wrote to someone at Round 2 years ago about backdating the MPC Camaro into the 75, and the Chevy Impala, Dodge Van, Pinto and Vega among others into their pre-big bumper versions. They were nice enough to reply and said something along the lines of it wouldn't be feasible to restore the molds. Maybe new tech will make it possible. I've got some of the 60 and 63 Ford trucks waiting in the pile. And you are right, it's nice being able to get old kits without paying eBay prices. Even though the fan base for modeling as a whole may be shrinking, the new technology and other developments is for sure ushering in a golden age.

I got nothing model related today, but I did unload 72 12x12 red cement pavers from a trailer to the back yard. A lot harder than my model building!

I suppose the tooling for this is gone now, but I'd buy a couple of resin repops if someone did one.

I think you are right! Round 2 could introduce a way to remake long lost tools. I read a while back that other industries are using the same technology to do short run parts for relatively cheap. This could put Round 2 a leap ahead of their competition. It would be cool if they decided to redo the early MPC kits too. I'd love the chance build a 71 Pinto, and Vega, and a 74 Camaro! Maybe they could make some kind of deal to produce kits based on old Johan releases as well.

I've already got a 72 and 73 Cougar to build someday, but I'll take another Nova. Didn't someone make a 4 door conversion for this at one time?

Amazing build!

I'm like you, I have more kits than time. Of course that doesn't mean I don't keep buying, especially JDM stuff and Porsches. I need to sell off a bunch of kits, but it just seems like too much trouble.

Nice looking build! I have a long story, so skip it if you want. We bought a 96 Grand Cherokee in that dark green color about eight years ago for our son when he started driving. Had to rebuild the transmission and the A/C never worked which sucks in 110 degree Texas summers, but it carried him through High School. About that time I came across two of the Tamiya Grand Cherokees and bought them with the idea of building a model of his, but I never got around to it. Maybe I need to dig one of them out some day. Eventually we passed the real one on to a friend whose 3 year old Rogue puked up its CVT transmission. She used it for two years until she could afford something new and then passed it on. The last I heard it was still trucking along.

When I was little, my dad had a Mattel Vac Form and a tiny lathe that could do brass and aluminum. He was an aircraft mechanic so he used the full size versions and somewhere he got these for his hobby building. I would love to have those tools now!

As with Danbury Mint, once the tooling got to China, it stays in China. If I remember right, Danbury sent their tooling there to save money. The situation seemed to work for them until with no notice, Chinese officials took the tools and passed them on to a Chinese company to reuse, essentially put an end to Danbury's diecast car business.

I got paint on the replacement body shell a few days go and it's dry! I used the last of the Go Mango, but it came out pretty nice. I also built a round fuel cell to fit the spare tire well. It's based one from a 70's SCCA racer. I planned to use the kit's roll bar, but went a different way. The new one has a lot more detail and looks better to me.

I got the roll bar done and in place. I planned to use the one provided with the kit, but like this one more. I also built a round fuel cell to go in the spare tire well. It's based on one I saw in an old SCCA photo. I figure that along with the stock tank should be enough to allow for a decent range. And finally, I got the new shell back from the paint shop. I used up the last of the Go Mango, so I'll have to be extra careful with this one!

I got some parts for my Cannonball entry from Etsy. Got a pair of binoculars, a cassette recorder, and some assorted things that would have been used in 1975.

Looking good!