62rebel

Aside from cutting the glass into pieces and hand-fitting them to the overly thick frames, the next best thing is to thin them from the backside. I've done this with varying degrees of success, but it's laborious and can be disastrous if the lines are allowed to wander. This series of kits was a great departure from AMT norm at the time, although some of the features are quite clunky and oversized to present-day standards. Those stovebolt sixes were jewels at the time of this kit's release.

I bought it solely for the interior tub; building the SOHC was secondary. Having the extra parts and no basic block to start from gave me a reason. Actually, I only used a THIRD of the tub, grafted onto two-thirds of the original '66 tub...

I should add, that the box usually has a pictogram on the bottom showing the parts trees; this kit as well as the original version '57 Chevy do NOT; the Chevy kit is also heavily decontented I am sure. Veteran builders looking to find those optional parts and buying THESE particular editions will be badly caught out.

I picked up this kit today with a 40% off coupon just for the interior tub to finish my '66 Fastback conversion, and just picking up the box I could tell there was something wrong with this venerable kit... Round 2 decontented this kit back to "stock only", removing dozens of optional parts, especially the excellent SOHC 427 parts... HL prices this kit at $18.99, which isn't gosh awful with a 40% coupon but kind of harsh at full price. Heck, even the TIRES have had the lettering removed. The basic FE engine assembly is still there, and I raided my parts box for a good set of SOHC parts to build one up just for kicks. The rest of the kit is really showing it's age, and except for the engine and body shell, is really falling by the wayside. The "Lime Gold" styrene is a poor attempt at best to approximate the box art color, as well.

Thanks for the rim explanation, I wasn't aware of the "magnesium" effect. I used my set on my '34 Ford pickup build and left the plating as is, with piecrust slicks on the back. I used one of the blowers on the Revell '57 Ford build and added the dual intake tube from the AMT '64 Mercury custom engine option.. the frame and running gear is buried somewhere in the closet. This kit is a veritable gold mine of parts... like the Double Dragster kit.

So, instead of searching through a couple of hundred threads, how about simply repeating the explanation as to the pebbly surface of those wheels? Would it really have side tracked this thread at all to have done that?

That is an amazing build, and I wonder how it was accomplished with a kit most builders faint at the thought of trying to build... like many kits from the sixties and seventies that don't come from Monogram. I'm truly impressed with the realism of the build.

how much bandwidth is taken up by repeatedly quoting posts, pictures and all?

"glue" is a thick, sticky substance used to ADHERE two or more parts together in a MECHANICAL bond. White glue, epoxy, anything that doesn't fuse the materials together. "cement" is a somewhat thick solution of solvent and plastic binders, that bonds in two ways, one by adhering (poorly) and the other by FUSING the parts together (if used in correct quantities and on the right materials). "liquid cement" is a blend of solvents (usually MEK, acetone, etc) that FUSES styrene and ABS plastics by dissolving the edges in contact along the seams. As stated above, it creates the strongest bonds, sets fairly quickly, and is less work to clean up joins with. "Super Glue", or cyanoacrylates, are commonly used fast-setting glues and will join dissimilar materials (sometimes) and fog up chrome plated or clear parts left unprotected. I personally stick to liquid cement and good old Testor's red tube cement. "Super glue" has ruined SO MANY parts in my builds I refuse to use it anymore.

I've scraped the backsides of the grilles down to paper thin so I could open them up properly, it's tedious and fiddly. some grilles don't have enough relief to do this. Opened a few '30's grilles like that. lots of work.

if it's a light color and you want to detail paint the inside of the body, shoot a coat or two of light grey or white inside and THEN detail paint headliners, etc... the light color will act as a reflector and won't let the dark details muddle the exterior. That said, I seldom leave a kit in the plastic.... seems like predominately Monogram kits are molded in bright colors, and I seldom build those.

If you're pressed for time (and you shouldn't be) you can try a trick I've used a few times; cut a paper mask that you can slip through the window openings and tape together mimicking the plastic cones vets put on our pets... either masking off the top or bottom as necessary. This could also be used by setting the body inside a container and letting the mask seal off the bottom. It requires careful handling at all times, of course. for other styles of color breaks where your division line falls on the body, this won't work at all. I don't know how the prepainted kits are done when they come in two-tones, but I imagine it's a quick process or it wouldn't be profitable.

all of them. even the ones I haven't touched, I plan through in my head while other stuff is going on. And I get them "finished" fairly often, if "finished" means I don't ever plan to touch it again unless it needs repairs. got a half dozen under the workbench that i'm actively working on; one has the body gassing out waiting for trim painting, glass installation and interior work. several others are in various stages of completion, one or two might end up in "parts limbo" while I search for critical parts. But I always have something I can pop the top on, do a little cleanup here and there, paint on, etc...

very nice work

I recall an article where someone HAD used the diabolical device to open doors and trunks: his method was to use two bodies! One, to cut the doors and trunk lids out of, well inside the shut lines, and then finish the openings to size and shape with sanding and carving; then do the opposite to the OTHER body, to get "clean" pieces.... no small wonder builders like that had parts boxes filled to overflowing.... two, or maybe MORE kits to do ONE example....

the air cleaner and oil pan would be the same Ford blue as the block.

It was mentioned that sanding will eventually destroy the surface and remove details, and I want to add that sanding uncured paint(s) is almost a sure recipe for trouble. Use any of the recommended methods for stripping paint instead; leave the sanding for bodywork, filler shaping, and cured paint. AND don't cut corners on sandpaper; buy the good stuff. cheap papers will shed grit into the paint, filler, etc, and clog up repeatedly. if you're painting in a cold room, warm your cans in a pan of hot water. This thins the paint, raises the pressure in nearly-empty cans (I'm a cheapskate, I use up every last drop) and helps the paint "flow" when it hits the body. let 'em gas out completely before doing anything else. don't even worry about drips or runs at this point; let that paint cure and sand those glitches out later. You'll get the hang of knowing when to stop shooting color, what will cover and what won't, eventually. Don't rush your work, especially paint. I've got two Autolite Hi-Per Mustangs that I've been restoring for about three years now... hesitating putting any color on that 50 year old plastic until it's a perfect surface...

My uncle's next door neighbor Clay built the CHP version in the late seventies, his Dad let him display it in their living room, it looked so good. Not many folks allowed "toys" on the furniture back then..

I'm doing the Ghoul Duo as well; in the spirit of the kits' ages, I'm brush painting the Koach. I wish the kits were a little more detailed but I recognize that they were, especially the Koach, intended for really young builders. Still, it's a fun kit and I hope I can get it close to box art.

super glue is neither super, nor glue, when it is needed to be both. what instantaneously bonds skin to part will take 3.7 million years to set while assembling parts

Bill, that's a neat thing to know about the access plugs. I'm no MoPar expert and less on Hemi's, I wouldn't have caught that otherwise. Thanks!

Jan, I'm curious; what makes you say the engine isn't accurate in the kit? It's probably the best representation of the last version of the flathead Ford V8 in a current kit. Only the AMT '49 Mercury has a comparable example.

having owned several Falcons and a Fairlane, and my Dad owning a Comet, the high stance is normal for stock examples. Remember, there were still millions of miles of unpaved roads in the sixties... ground clearance was trumps over tearing out an oil pan riding low

you can repair that axle by drilling the broken ends and putting a short metal rod inside it; the firewall, IIRC, was mostly flat with sides curved to follow the body sides, so, it could be easily rebuilt from plastic card. the cut out door can be simply cemented back in place with plastic card as backer. now, for the heavily glued "glass"... progressively finer grades of sandpaper is one method... ending with fine polishing compound. that said, that's a LOT of effort to rescue glued glass... perhaps a fellow builder can provide a set from a junker for you? Getting the glass out without damaging the glass further or damaging the body will be difficult but not impossible.

not the first, and surely won't be the last time the instructions were wrong