Drake69

It does look like that, don't it? New pics of my progress... 426 PE badges on the manifold (hard to see with the flash), need a little paint touchup... Keys in the ignition... Some details in the grille... And rear area... Engine bay coming along nicely.... And because I wanted it.... Other details include, PE door handles, Chrysler PE star, side marker decals in red and yellow, and Detailer Black to cut down the chrome silver in the grille.

Thanks a ton! Just sent them an email for cost, payment options, and shipping to the USA. Thanks again!

I did some research and found an Australian resin website that used to carry the cigar-smoking "Rubber Duckie" hood ornament that was used in the movie "Convoy" and the recent "Death Proof", but it appears they don't have it on there for sale anymore. Anyone know where I can obtain TWO of them? I need them for both of Stuntman Mike's cars I'm planning on building. I have a COPO Nova and the Revell '69 Nova I'm going to use for it, and I have three Charger kits (Dukes Of Hazzard, '68 Limited Edition, and the Revell '69) that will go into a General Lee and the Death Proof Charger. I already have a source for the skull and lightning bolts decal for the Nova hood. Thanks!

Awesome. Much appreciatd!

Actually, I have another fallback. If what MM doesn't work I found a chrome round hemi filter in the '68 Charger RT kit. It has open diaphragms for the carbs but it is definitely for the 426 hemi engine, as a choice of build rather than the stock 440. So either way I'll be good!

I can't agree more. I'm currently on a quest to build my '70 Cuda from a '71 and various parts, and it was like a literal treasure hunt attempting to acquire everything I needed to make it work (I've had this project on hold SINCE DECEMBER!!!!). EVEN THEN, I had trouble converting the '71 body to '70, and nearly lost the kit in the process. As it stands, I've been making progress with the help of research and assistance from several members here on the board, and now I'm waiting for another part, a 426 Hemi air filter, to be shipped out to me so I won't use the oblong "440 SIX PACK" filter I have. PLEASE someone at Revellogram, AMTERTL, MPCTestors, Johan, Tamiya, WHEREVER, listen to what we're asking for!!!

Here is my dilema... Because I'm using the power bulge hood I have little clearance underneath. I can fit the white air filter under there but not this chrome one that I believe might be correct for the 426. Some shots with the hood on... If the round chrome air filter will fit over both carbs AND clear the hood, then with the curved "426 Hemi Head" decal I found I'll be good to go. I'll PM you my address info.

If you can, snap a quick pic of it so I can see what it looks like. If it's the one I think it is, I'll take it!

Not to jump his thread, but all the "Mopar Uptown" kits have opening trunks, hoods, lambo doors, large wheels/tires, and audio equipment. I'm thinking about picking up on of the Magnum kits like that. Nice build!!

I'm going to glue those down a bit behind the seats so the belt material won't look so "looped". They won't be visible when the body is on but they will definitely pass muster. The carpet is actually black felt, not flocking. I can't flock worth a darn either. And funny you should mention the air filter. I lost my pic I had showing a black air filter with "stick-outs" on a Hemi engine, so I can't use it as a reference point anymore. And since I didn't have a chrome 2-bolt air filter I was wrestling with what to do about the block. I rumaged through my Dodge/Plymouth kits for a curved "426 Hemi Head" decal and found one from another Keith Marks decal sheet. Bleeping lucky! And... thanks Keith for coming through again for me.... BUT, I would then have to probably clip the filter nozzles and try and putty up something remotely passable for a Hemi filter, which would translate to more work. Since all the Dodge kits I had were Chargers (round air filters), I decided to go back through my parts bin to check to see if I had a 2-bolt oblong Hemi air filter, which because of the large amount of Dodges/Plymouths I've already built would be a miracle. Gentlemen, perceive the miracle.... AND a clean removal of the old air filter without damage.... SO. With the Keith Marks "426 HEMI" decal I'll be set. I'll use the "HEMI" hockey sticks on the side of the body instead of the inaccurate "440" ones I had planned on and be good to go. Another lucky thing happened out of all this. The PE details I have left over from the Cuda and Challenger kits had another set of "426" plated badging for the engine manifolds, just like the ones I put on the Phantasm Cuda. I can no longer use the "440 MAGNUM" PE emblems on the power bulge hood, but I can use the "HEMICUDA" ones. Nice. Ohh, and BMF completely done on the windows. Rear panel is painted semi-gloss black and is drying, '70's taillights glued down in place and waiting for silver trim to be painted in followed by clear red paint for the lights. BMF will go around the panel just as in the 1:1 car, and the decal sheet for the kit actually has a decent " 'cuda [by PLYMOUTH] " decal and trunk lock decal for the back. Soldiering on....

Yeah, I probably could've smoothed it out more, but it's far better than what it would have been if I gave up. The dash is actually a decal included in this kit, otherwise I would have painted it brown with yellow stain.

After a long wait I've finally been able to get this project started. Kit is the '71 Hemi Cuda Street Machine from Revell, front grille and taillights from DENCON Resin, wheels and center caps came from a Dodge 330 Lindberg kit, paint is Modelmaster One-Coat Lacquer Revving Red, decals by Keith Marks, and PE detail from MCG (left over from the last '71 Cuda and '70 Challenger PE sheets...). Air filter is parts box, will have the "440 Super Commando" round decal placed on it later... Right away I ran into trouble with the primer I had picked. Ordinarily, I would be using Tamiya Primer and nothing else, but there is none to be found here or anywhere (supposedly!), so on suggestion I tried to use Krylon primer. Never will do that again, let me tell you. Secondly, since the "shark gills" on the side fenders need to be removed, I used Squadron putty and lots of sanding to get her smoothed out, or so I thought (more on that later...). And lastly, the grille did not sit tightly in the front, causing the valences to look even more "buck-toothed" than usual, so I used Milliput behind the grille and valences followed by Squadron to line them up. EVERYTHING SHOWED UP ONCE THE PRIMER HIT, VALENCES STARTED CRACKING, AND ALLIGATOR MOTTLING ALL IN THE PRIMER AND THROUGH THE TAMIYA DULL RED I HAD SPRAYED ON AFTERWARDS... So, 4- and 5-letter words shouted in lieu of taking a hammer to it, I sanded it all down with 400 grit paper, sprayed Tamiya Flat Black to cover as much as I could, sanded again with 2000 grit paper, then hit the car with the red lacquer... MUCH BETTER.... And lastly, a few shots of the interior..... Boldly going onward....

Thanks for all the comments, I am really learning a ton here! Alright. I managed to save myself and this car body, but it wasn't easy. The first thing I did was sand as much as I could using 400 grit paper until I had the best surface I could get, then with a hobby knife rescored the door panels and side markers as best I could. a while back my father told me of a trick where he used a flat black base with a heavy sitting lacquer paint to mask bad primering, so I started with a few coats of Tamiya F. Black, sanded with 2000 grit paper, then hit it with ModelMaster One-Coat Revving Red Lacquer. I'll let the pictures speak for itself... It actually de-emphasized the bottom panels and smoothed out all the scaling issues from the primer! Passenger-side gills disappeared completely, driver-side takes close scrutiny to see. Thanks for all the recommendations and tips!

The lhs didn't have Guards Red in Tamiya so I bought what I could get. I haven't sprayed it yet but it would have been after I had a smooth body. The krylon was picked up as an alternative to Tamiya primer on suggestion by others, but it looks to be a Big Mistake. I need a Reliable primer suggestion until Tamiya can get its act together!

Ok, I REALLY need some help with this one.... I an attempting to build a 1970 Hemi Barracuda out of a '71 Cuda Street Machine and have hit a wall with this issue. First the pix showing my progress, trouble, and tools. Using two different kinds of putty, Milliput and Squadron White Putty... Trying to use Krylon Primer and Tamiya Dull Red as a base, Guards Red will be the finishing coat. Sanding sticks are from 100 grain, then 400, 600, 800, and finally 2000 (have higher for polishing pads...) Alligator texture from the Krylon showing through the Dull Red, front fender will NOT SMOOTH OUT, no matter how hard I try... (look carefully at the upper part of the fender, you can still see the putty coverup of the shark gills. I swear they were smooth before I started!) Front shot of the valences, not looking any better... Other side, same problem as everywhere else, only covered-up gills are even more pronounced!!! Why I may just want to strip everything. Nothing will smooth down AT ALL... The real issue here is with what I did with the Milliput. I used a good portion of it behind the grille to fill in gaps on either side and to get the valences to try and mate up, beforehand they were REALLY buck-toothed. Milliput dissolves in water to help the sculpting process, so I have no idea what will happen if I dip this in Purple Power to remove all the primer and paint. I tried to stick with a single-direction stroke when sanding after the primer, but it completely refused to smooth out, and now the car body seems like it has an alligator-skin appearance in direct light. In addition, the putty just will not thin out to where I can get an even smoothness back to the body, and laying more putty down just causes it to bulge out more. I actually thought about puttying up the entire front quarter panel, top to bottom, and then trying to smooth it all out front to back, but I shouldn't have to do that, should I? How is it everyone else can put small amounts of putty down and come through with a natural body paintjob? I'm in Richmond, VA. I will GO to an expert's house to watch and learn this. I have had pretty good success with sanding and puttying before, but on a much smaller scale. HELP?!?!

Truth on the "Challenger" absentee. Our LHS had them for around that price a month or so ago.

Yup, you guys mentioned most of mine already (Bullitt, Ronin, Vanishing Point, Death Proof, Dirty Mary, etc....) Here's a few ya'll missed tho...... 1: The Car - pre-Christine and after The Duel. A George Barris nightmare.... 2: The Transporter - REALLY SHOCKED no one mentioned this one. 3: The Matrix: Reloaded - pure adrenaline chase scene on the open highway through oncoming traffic. 4: Cannonball Run movies - Gumball Rally was finally mentioned, but no one said this one yet. 5: The Dukes Of Hazzard - Retarded remake, but the Charger steals the show every time. 6: Most of the 007 movies - Spy Who Loved Me in the Lotus car/sub. 7: The Love Bug - grew up on this.... 8: Freebie and the Bean - where The Blues Brothers writers got their car chase ideas from. 9: Death Race 2000 - with Carradine and Stallone. Better just open up the top of your head, set your brain in a box by the end table, and veg out on this one!!! 10: Hooper - can't mention Smokey and the Bandit without this one. 11: The Last Chase - corny movie with Lee Majors, but where else are you gonna see a race car/Sabre jet faceoff? 12: Akira - YES. It's a cartoon movie. Rival gang bikers slogging it out in downtown Tokyo at reckless speeds..... 13: Speed - bomb-loaded bus. Nice. 14: Die Hard With A Vengeance - Simon says...

Speaking of this, I just got outbid on the Aoshima conversion kit that changes the Mad Max II (Road Warrior) kit into the original Interceptor. Is eBay the only source left for finding these resin kits?

We have them in Virginia... Word was they received lots of overstock from a Lindberg warehouse that was heavily damaged (kits are perfectly fine), enough where they couldn't store it anymore. They made a deal with Ollies to sell to them what they had at basement prices, and they've been selling lots of Lindberg kits most hobby stores have in stock at 150% or more in price. I'm now looking at my 2 Space Shuttle w/ Booster Rockets that usually go for $45 ~ $55 each that I got for $10 each. Worth it.

I would use the Windex long before I would use straight ammonia. If it's too strong I would imagine it melting the plastic.

As always, thanks!!!

Thanks, will do! Alright, the Bird has flown the coop! Finished pics are in the "Under Glass" section.

Just completed this fun one, and it was a blast!!! Kit came with plastic tires, pulled out some nice scuffed vinyl ones for a better appearance... Although I don't have any good pics of it, the interior is black carpeted with nice parts-box seats, original Revell Firebird steering wheel, 80's Camaro door panels, and gold trim on black. Decals are mostly left over from the Revell kit with a few of the MPC Blackbird decals thrown in. Added gold trim around the fenders to connect up the front and rear gold bumpers, gold around the windows, and gold around the hatch windows. Wheels were from the Lindberg kit and were stripped then spray-painted gold.

^^^ Very good point. Ok. As of this Tuesday, DENCON has successfully sent me my part. Seeing as how it took from January 23rd to May 31st, I can only hope they are starting to work themselves out of their situation. The piece is well detailed with no faults I can find, so it should work well with my model. Again, I hope DENCON can make it through their troubles and continue to provide great parts like this one. Anyone else with outstanding DENCON orders, post up and let us know if you've received any word or your product yet.

More pix... Gold trim completed, car has been dipped in Future and decals are on. Hood had to be redipped to seal in the Firebird, but is drying now. Car is assembled and is waiting on the hood before final pix are taken.