1972coronet

I am pulling the remaineder of my hair out searching for info about Testors Car Colors spray paints from circa 1983 - late 1985 . This line of aerosols was replaced in Fall 1985 by the then-new Model Masters line . Am I the only one whom recalls this short-lived line of paints ? If anyone else recalls these paints , please share your recollections here ; and it's even better if you've got photos / links !

PappyD340 - I really like your '55 ! Nice , clean construction and sublime finish . My fave years for the Corvette just happen to be 1955-1957 .

It's too bad that you've encountered such a negative experience with Hart's Parts . At the risk of sounding condescending ; sounds like your experience is quite the anomaly . Did you ever receive your parts from him ?

I absolutely concur on the wait time ; "Do it once , do it right , or don't do it at all." A life-long favourite kit of mine has been the coveted AMT Star Truk [sic] . I'd built a number of that kit when it was new ; however , my skills were , shall we say , "not good" , so I'm looking forward to these new F-Series from Moebius ! Take your time , guys . We , the hobbiests , have already waited for umpteen years --and many have paid inflated Sothebey's auction prices on auction sites for-- a scalled version of this American icon .

I'd say go ahead with your original colour choice . Chrysler would let anyone special order any colour , especially if it was already in their chart . I've seen an EA9 Charcoal Irr' 1970 Challenger R/T ; that colour was only 'available' on the 1969 Imperial ( the "E" in the paint code = "1969" ) . It was coded "999" on the fender tag . I'm sure that the same was true --albeit under a different sales code-- for the 1968 models .

That should be a sweet Fury when you're done with it ! 1968 was the last year that one could get a 4-speed in the C-body line , with the 330 hp 383 as the top choice (no 440 / four speed available , unfortunately) . Maybe your Fury would look even sweeter with a Hurst shifter (spring 1968 & later) or an Inland shifter (up-to Spring 1968) peeking from its console ! The Jo-Han kit already has a 4-gear behoind its 'generic' Chrysler big block , so your work's cut out for ya .

Mopar Action did an article on the Mannix Dart about 3-4 years back .

Check these beauties out : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321064695204 I just bought 'em . They look super nifty ! Anyone else ever buy from this seller (and perhaps caster) ? Let me see your build with Spyders on 'em :) :)

I'd like to as many of those refugees from the "Automotive Dark Ages " (1973-1984) reissued as possible ! I realise that that isn't all together possible , as some of the originals were retooled numerous times throughout the years , many times at the expense of original interiors / engines / hoods / tyres / etc. Let's see the return of the Vega / Monza (or any H-Special , esp the Buick Skyhawk !) , the Pinto , Pinto II Mustang II , Chevette , etc. , etc. !

Personally , I use Tamiya almost exclusively . I say "almost" , as there are times when : 1.) I want to use an enamel base coat . Let's say , for instance , I'm painting a TorqueFlite transmission . Well , Tamiya's brush-on paints are a bit on the thin side (a good thing for the most part) ; and since I've never had any luck with 'building-up' coats of brush-on paints (seems like the succeeding coats 'lift' the preceding coats) , I'll use , say , Testors steel brush-on as the base . Then after that's dry , I can paint the final coat of Tamiya aluminum without any 'lifting' issues . 2.) There are some colours which Tamiya simply doesn't make ; or , maybe the enamel would be the best choice . I've also used Gunze acrylic paints , with excellent results . In regard to spray-on paints ; again , I use Tamiya whenever possible . Easily the best spray paints on the market ! The paint just "hugs" the body ! I've never had issues with orange peel , runs , drips , thinning or any other negative issues ! Conversely , I use Testors enamel Gloss Clear over the Tamiya colour coats . Why ? Same reason given above , albeit without the 'lifting' . The enamel clear just "sits" on top of the Tamiya synthetic lacquer colour . This translates into : no colour sanding / polishing / waxing ! As a side note ; I have one bottle of Tamiya Clear Red and one bottle of Gunze Clear Orange , and they're both 28 (that's right , twenty-eight) years old , and they're still just as good as the day I bought them in late 1985 !!!

1967 Darts also differ : - Tail lamps ; and the backup lamps are in the bumper - No side markers - Interior doorlock pushbuttons are further-forward than the '68 & later models (don't know if you're going so far as to add this minute detail) - Interior upholstery pattern is different These are the only in-scale differences that I can think of right off . Now all that's needed is for Revell to backdate their excellent '68 Dart kit to 1967 specs !

- 1970-1971 were available in 2 bodystyles : hardtop ("23") and convertible ("27") - 1970 was the only year for the single 4Bbl 440 'Super Commando' - 1971 340 was equipped with the then-new Carter Thermo-Quad (800 cfm) ; this continued from 1972-1974 . - 1971 was the last year for convertibles (although certain t.v. programmes had their 1971 convertibles cosmetically-converted to 1972 fascia and tail lights / panel , but retained their 1971 VIN's.) - 1972 was the last year for the Slant Six - 1972 was the year when one could order a 340 in a Barracuda ( "BH" ) model - 1972 Rally Wheel centre caps' design changed to an "acorn" shape - 1972-1974 models all had only one style steering wheel ; the Challenger shared this exact tiller. - 1973 Electronic ignition became standard - 1974 models were equipped with the then-new 360 , which replaced the 340 .

Early '64 with the Stage III 426 Maxie ?

Thanks , Tom ! As much positive press as Don and his products receive , it's great to see some photos of his artwork ! It's hard to *justify* spending $50 - $100+ on something sight-unseen ; then you see the products , and suddenly its , Okay , now I get it ! I spy some Motor Wheels Spyder wheels in the background ... and I still have some coin in my paypal budget ...

That's right ! I have the exact same 1975 Dart Sport promo , in the exact same colour ! For the last 22 years of owning it , I have fought the temptation to 'modify' it or detail paint it (and foil the trim).

:) You're right but , rest assured , I didn't forget about it ; I just thought , Why bother ?

Yesterday I received the MoPar Steel Wheels and M/T Hemi Valve Covers from Scenes Unlimited , and are these parts impressive ! I bought the 15x6" / 15x8" (two 'big-n-little' sizes) steel wheels for use on my pending Revell 1969 Dart GTS 383 ; and the Mickey Thompson Hemi valve covers for use on the Revell 1968 Hemi Dart . Ordering was as easy as it gets . Scenes' website is easy to navigate ; high-res photos for every-thing on their page ; and super easy checkout . Highly Recommended !

Vaughn seems like he's certainly a standup fellow . Quick service ; easy to deal with ; and absolutely top notch castings ! Now if only he'd make a Dual-Gate shifter and console for the Hemi Dart ... although it doesn't seem like a difficult part to make myself

Super nice R5 Turbo , Andy ! There were a small handful of those beasts which made it stateside ; there were two in my hometown ! Were all of the Tamiya R5's the motorised version , or did they also release a detailled version ?

Thanks much for sharing your gorgeous 1975 Dart Sport with us , Alan . Soon as I posted this thread last night , your Y1 Blaze Yellow Sport was the first thing I thought of ! I can't remember ; is your Sport built from the kit or the Promo ?

I haven't access to the equipment that's necessary to share photos here , unfortunately .

Along with my aforementioned Hart's Parts resin interior parts , I also received my 1972 - 1978 Dodge 14" deluxe wheel covers ( "W11" ) from our resident resin caster extraordinare , Missing Link Resins . The turnaround time from order-placed-to-my-mailbox was super quick ; a normal practise of Missing Link . Per usual , the parts were packaged with extra care ; some Michigan-area newspaper crumbles , with the parts themselves carefully placed in a size-appropriate ZipLoc baggie. The coveted parts are perfect reprlicas of Dodge's sales code "W11" deluxe wheel covers . The "1:1" versions were first released in 1972 as upgrade 'covers (versus the base modelles' hub caps) , and were around in one form or another through circa 1978 . The plating is , of course , top notch ; but these parts' beauty 'shines' in their accuracy ! How the heck did the part's master scale down the "DODGE" impressions on the covers' centres ??? The psudo cooling fins are righteous , too !! Take note , all ye whom are building 1972 & later Chargers , Challengers , Darts , Demons ( please cast another batch of your excellent 1972 Demon , Kevin !) , B-vans and D-100 pickups ! These are the right pieces for your builds ! Mine are going to find themselves on the soon-to-be-reissued 1975-1976 Dart Sport from Round2 . Kudos , Kevin , at Missing Link ! Highly Recommended !

I just received the 'corrected' interior conversion parts for the Revell 1968 Hurst-Hemi Dart as created by Hart's Parts , and I am duly impressed !! After what seemed like one day , I received my parts from Hart ! Talk about quick turn-around ! The parts were packaged quite nicely , to say the least ; a typical mailling cardboard box , lined with excelsior , with the door panels , dash board and Bostrom seats , tucked loosely in a ZipLoc bag . Very nice ! The parts themselves are gorgeous ; nice "270" trim level door panels ; super nice Bostrom bucket seats ; and , a dash board with the climate contols deleted , and a "radio 'delete'" bezel in its respective placement . The casting is superb ! They could easily pass for styrene pieces ! Kudos to Mr. Hart ! Highly Recommended !

Thanks for the link , John ! I , too , was wracking my brain trying to remember that caster's name and where the site was ! I purchased a set of his Chrysler deep and narrow steel wheels and his super nice M/T valve covers for the Hemi ! Splendid pieces from that caster !

Concept-wise , that '56 F-100 was ahead of its time . The box art always intrigued me ; the first one I ever bought was the early 70's reissue (the blue one) . I don't recall ever finishing it ; probably gave it to my neighbour . I tried again when the Big Ten was issued ; failed miserably again . By the time of the Street Demons release (circa 1983) , I was again tempted by its box art . It just looked so awesome ! That was the last time I bought one , as I was so turned off by its overkill application of chrome plating (a Revell and MPC issue at the time !) , and by its raked bed , that I just boxed it up and forgot about it ... until the 1987 earthquake . When the 1995-ish issue was restored to its 1962 origins ( with , at last , those stock wheels with hub caps) made it tough for me to pass on trying the kit again ! Still apprehensive ! Thanks for the cool retro review , Casey