RickRollerLT1

Fresh off 'da bench! Built from this kit ] Obviously the custom option got my attention. Nicely detailed kit and went together OK for the most part. Front bumper and grille+hood trim piece assemblies were very fiddly, and mine being slightly warped didn't help matters much. Metal pins for the custom brakes/suspension were hitting the custom wheels making them impossible to say put, so they were left out and directly glued to the plastic backers going in the brakes. Aside from a '59 Corvette steering wheel (the stock unit broke on the tree) and flame decals from the '66 Malibu, this one's pretty much OOB with it's custom option. Exterior is Tamiya TS-92 Metallic Orange cleared with Pledge.

Fresh off 'da bench! Polar Lights Snap '65 Dodge Coronet Max Wedge built from the best surviving parts from several built ups. KB Toys had dozens of these dirt cheap back in the day and 14yr old me tried my hand at them. This kit is rather detailed for a snap kit. However, even now and then these were very tough to assemble due to clunky, ill fitting parts! The body/bumpers/frame/chassis fitment especially is the stuff nightmares come from! I see why these were heavily marked down as most kids would have been scared off upon opening the box! Anyway, since this was rebuilt from the best parts of junk built ups I had, I did the best I could with some of the worst fitment examples. As usual, customization was done as several essential pieces were missing or went to other projects since originally built in 2007/8. Dodge Viper V10 and stuff like electronic fan and tat. New front and rear suspensions were used to lower the 4x4 height as much as possible. Dodge Charger exhaust with tips coming from intake stacks from an old dragster thing. Wheels/tires/brakes custom pieces from a Revell Calli' Wheels '67 Chevelle SS. Body was originally factory painted Tan and stripped with a 91% Alcohol & 9% Paint thinner mix. Exterior is Tamiya Clear Red over Rustoluem Silver, cleared with Pledge.

Fresh off da' bench! From the Round 2 Hot Wheels of a 1990s era AMT tool. Never built this one before as I assumed it was a regurgitated 1960s era tool (those old AMT '32s left much to be desired with their molded in junk). Turns out its a nicely detailed piece like the 39 Chevy Wagon Rod (which I'm planning to get next!) This ones mostly box stock. Nice custom and resto mod styling that fits up my alley! Windshield and roof were a massive PTA to hold and line up. The front glass broke, but luckily in the middle where the windshield frame covers most of it up. At least on my example everything was slightly warped and twisted to a degree, which didn't help matters especially with the hood. These Hot Wheels kits come with stickers and waterslide decals. Normally I use the latter, but my kit had them crumpled up and all tore apart upon application. The stickers surprisingly look pretty good and the Metallic Green gives them a painted metallic sheen. Some additional decals were added from other places. Exterior is Tamiya TS-20 Metallic Green, cleared with Pldege.

Fresh off 'da bench! Round 2 reissue of AMT Snap kit with drastic modifications. Opened up hood, added widebody parts, mirrors, and rear bumper from a spare MPC Supra with hood scoops from a Mopar thing. Hilux front grill was modded to fit trimmed and narrowed Supra front bumper. New headlights and tailights were added to replace the molded in junk. Things strut tower points, radiator, and supports were added in the engine bay. Turbocharged 1G-GEU comes direct from the MPC Supra, with an custom intake and intercooler setup. Parts of the molded in exhaust was used with the MPC Supra's. Front suspension comes from a scrap AMT '95 Supra, and the rear off a Revell '94 Mustang GT. Wheels come from the Revell California Wheels '57 Bel Air 150. Decals come from the MPC Supra and some Revell and Tamiya subjects. Exterior is Tamiya TS-92 Metallic Orange cleared with Pledge.

Fresh off the workbench! Yep, another one of these Round 2 reissues of the Bomex/F&F Supra. Obviously, you all see this kit is one of my personal favorites. Not much in the way of major kitbashing. Wheels & tires were changed out with ones from the Revell Acura Integra and Revell MCM '02 Camaro SS. Chrome parts like valve cover and NOS bottles were sprayed with Tamiya Clear Blue. Exterior is Tamiya TS-97 Pearl Yellow, cleared with Pledge.

Can a mod move this to the under glass section? Something must have happened and it got posted in the WIP section. Thanks!

Anudda one of deze fresh off the workbench! From the recent Round 2 reissue! Front glass (at least on this one) was a massive PTA to put in and line up. Mine got fooked up but luckily I had a tinted one from a parts kit. The tinted front goes better with the lovers and stuff. LSA 6.2L swapped on a Bord Warner T56. Custom dual exhaust. Other parts coming from the recent Round 2 reissue of the Bomex/F&F Supra. Wheels and tires custom BBS units from the Revell Subraru Impreza WRX STi Exterior is a custom mixed Orange Crush Pearl, made using Rustoluem orange with a mist of Tamiya TS-97 Pearl Yellow. All cleared with Pledge.

Fresh off da bench! From the AMT glue kit. Mostly OOP build. Fairly easy except for the front headlight buckets and lenses. This bit is what nightmares are made out of and was almost Monogram Bugatti EB-10 levels of just bad everything! Major PTA to get them to even stay fit and line up! Exterior is a custom Hugger Orange pearl using a Red basecoat coated with Tamiya Clear Pearl, followed by Tamiya Clear Orange on top. All cleared with Pledge.

Tamiya kit fresh off 'da bench! Modifications are 6.2L 2014 Corvette LT V8 mated to a Borg-Warner T6. Vortech Supercharger and new headers were added. Dual exhaust system was made using remains of the stock exhaust and a Camaro ZL1. Rear bumper had cutouts to allow for the dual tips. Wheels and tires are the custom units from a Revell '09 Challenger, and Recaro seats from a Dodge Viper. Exterior is a Dark Metallic Green custom mixed using Tamiya Racing Blue and Clear Orange, all cleared with Pledge.

Revell/Monogram #‎7494 fresh off 'da bench! Those side skirt/fender flair pieces were warped and torqued like mad! Required lots of careful bending (and filler to repair broken spots right in the centers). Modifications are Turbo setup, and wheels and tires from a Shelby Series 1. Exterior is Tamiya TS-97 Pearl Yellow, cleared with Pledge.

...or how to make Orangeade from moldy Oranges! Built from this issue of the old decrepit AMT 66 Mustang. "Special" features are custom drag slick tires that are wayyyyyyy to wide for this car, badly molded leftover parts from earlier issues, loads of flash, very ill fitting body parts, and the worlds saddest decal sheet (generic 1986 MUSTANG vanity plate and a I ❤️ Model Cars sticker) (Pic from the interwebs) The funky lookin' boxart car leaves much to be desired, but the newly parts like the seats, steering wheels, wheels/tires, and 427-ish motor are pretty decent. First course of action was ditching the 1960s half baked promo style frame. Was looking for a spare '67 to cut up it's engine bay and guts up, didn't have any but did locate a spare unmolested chassis from a AMT '68 GT500. Free of molded promo junk and was a perfect fit underneath the '66, but it was clear other modifications were needed as the inner front fender wells were too narrow for the custom wheels and the rears well were nothing at all. The fronts were replaced with wiiidddeee rear fender wells and the fronts in the rears from a old Revell '03 Dodge Viper frame. Front and rear suspensions were from a C6 Vette and a '96 Impala SS respectively, with doodads like sway bars, brakes, ect. coming from the spares bin. The Resto Rod 427 had it's tranny cut off and lent to another project. A spare 5.8 L from a AMT '94 Ford Lightning SVT was used, with the automatic swapped out with a Borg Warner T56 trans cut from a '93-02 Camaro/Firebird LT/LS1. The 5.8 was fitted with custom headers, custom intake, and a vortech supercharger setup. Exhaust system was modified from the '68 GT500 with mufflers and exhaust tips from a Corvette of some era. After hours of sanding and finessing of the body, the custom front and rear bumper pans and hood scoop were used. The custom rear bumper was used as-is, but the front bumper had the lower parts shaved off to match the look of the boxart car. These were dechromed and resprayed Rustoluem Bright Chrome. Rear spoiler from a '82 MPC Trans Am was used since it worked so well with the lines of the '66. Front grill was discarded and used mesh in place. Interior uses the Resto Rods seats and steering wheel, and the leftover 60s custom roll cage. The center console automatic stuff wouldn't mesh with the T56 so a six speed shifter was raided from the spares bin replacing the auto stick. Front headlights were missing, so spares were used from a :66 Chevy C-10 grille. Exterior is a custom mixed Orange Crush Pearl made using Rustoluem orange with a mist of Tamiya TS-97 Pearl Yellow and cleared with Pledge. Since I was 10, I had always wanted a custom Pearl Orange Mustang ever since having some in the Need for Speed Underground and Most Wanted games. Almost 20 years later, I got my wish.

Since R2 has the 007 license (with the 73 Mustang and 70 Ford Interceptor to go by), I'd be a no brainer to repop the Austin Martin DB-6 and Toyota 2000GT vert. Unlike several other MPC molds that were butchered back and forth, those two were only issued once and should be intact.

^Agreed. Using a enamel/lacquer primer underneath will make it easier for the Purple/Super Clean to undo a botch job with a Tamiya final coat. PP/SC will weaken and take off any loose glue joints and filler work too, so be careful there. I don't use Tamiya primer myself (mainly due to high costs for such a small can) and hearing it can be a PTA to remove under any coats. I had dealt in restoring gluebombs where the bodies werepainted Testors/Rustoluem/Krylon (which came off like melted butter with PP/SC) but the primer layer (in those cases, probably Tamiya or Duplicolor) underneath was almost indestructible. 91% rubbing alcohol with a tiny swig of Testors jar paint thinner takes care of that pesky layer! Very rarely there be a situation where a primer coat would not only just be unaffected by PP/SC and 91% rubbing alcohol, but had real bad crazing that even ate into the body! I encountered this once with a built up '02 Camaro SS, the body painted this runny, bubbly Yellow and looked flat and very gritty due to heavy crazing. Stripping the yellow reveled a grey primer coat that was resistant to PP/SC. Put it in a 91% bath alcohol with touch of Testors paint thinner, 3 days the bath was grey but the body turned into light grey! The primer coat some dunderhead builder used was most likely a self etching type and was so strong, it indented itself into the plastic applied on! Quick wipe had no leftover pigments, but when sanding down everything was greyish white. Had to do 800grit sanding on most of the body parts followed by 1200, and luckily the True Value grey primer coat filled in the bad crazing from the old paintjob.

Revell/Monogram #‎7360 (snap version) fresh off 'da bench! Snap kit similar to the glue versions, only with the motor and rear suspension becoming simplified blobs. Rear suspension was upgraded with the one from a old built '02 SS. 427 Big Block came off an old Revell '69 Corvette build, with the 93's Borg Warner T56 tranny cut to adapt and custom fuel injected setup. Added cowl induction scoop using leftover custom piece from an MPC Toyota Celica Supra. Adapted well to the stock hood with some filling and such. Wheels and tires are from an Aoshima Bomex RX7. Exterior replicates what GM calls "Dark Green Gray Metallic", custom mixed using Tamiya Racing Blue and Clear Orange and cleared with Pledge. This attempt came out much better than and the Midnight Purple turning out Maroon on the '93 Trans Am.

Last I checked, Walmart, Michael's, local hardwar places, and Hobby Lobby stores in my area had Krylon sprays. Not that I used them much (since I primarily use Rustoluem, Tamiya, and cheap no name sprays), but just a heads up.

Sucks hearing about the paint as dat Maroon looked really boss! Rustoluem is Enamel Lacquer and it looks like the clear reaction in the door creases were spots that weren't dried or cured all the way. How long did you let the paint cure before the clear coat? I've had real bad luck with clear sprays in the past, those old Testors enamels were the absolute worst! No matter if sanding down, waiting for low humidity days, or waiting months to cure they're widely inconsistent. Next time you clear, I'd recommend ether Pledge Future/Revive It (if you can find it now as it's OOP) or Quick Shine Multi-Surface Floor Finish (which I'm hearing works well as a replacement for that OOP Pledge product). I've had good results with Pledge Revive it and it can be brushed/dunked on or sent through an airbrush. One tip I'd strongly recommend is having the body fully cure between 7 days for lacquers/acrylics and up to 3 weeks for enamels before application, as the Pledge can react to uncured paint and cause what is called "Spider webbing".

Not today, but on Tuesday Hobby lobby not only got new stuff in and had a 40% off sale, but... They finally got these suckers in! Walked out the door $44 for the two! Then on Friday after helping out GF, I went to another HL on my way back and grabbed another two of these before the sale ends! One of them was opened missing wheels & tires and the cashier did it 60% off. No more paying Evilbay prices for original issues! Surprised I didn't see any of these new issues up there (yet).

If you have the monster truck versions (which are based on the C-1500 tool), those have the same glass. The monster truck was most recently issued as the USA-1 and the Coca Cola.

This also shares guts with their 78-81 Pontiac Firebirds. This tool was last seen in 2006-7 as the 1979 Firebird Street Machine (green car on box). I remember building the Firebird issue because of the crazy widebody kit on the box, but seeing the chassis and motor, blegghhhh!!!! I remember 14 year old me hacked up a dirt cheap C5 corvette and used it's guts and frame underneath the Firebird. Granted my execution 2007 era was, shall we say "not the best", but I had the right idea. Basically, if one has the skill and parts they can create iced tea lemonaid out of moldy teabags and rancid lemons.

Is this the Revell '67 goat! Looks great overall! The "flatness" you experienced is due to the paint reacting to the plastic. Many kits starting from the "Made in China" era are molded in plastic that is very susceptible to reacting (and sometimes melting) with certain solvents. Using a good enamel/lacquer primer underneath will (in most cases) not react with the plastic surface and allow you to use any type of paint you want over it. The Tamiya paints are really good, but they tend to be very hot on modern plastics so you must use a good base coat with primer underneath. Also helps to have a flat or gloss black base coat (over the primer) before the metallic finisher coat of your choice. This will make the metallic highlights pop better than just putting the main coat over grey primer or just the bare body alone.

Revell/Monogram #‎2965 (glue version) fresh off 'da bench! Added Ram-air style scoop comes from a '98 Firebird Formula, adapted well to the '93 hood with some filling and such. Scratchbuilt Pro-charger setup using parts from a Revell Saleen Mustang Speedster. Wheels are from the Revell 'Vette Agin with the backs and tires off a Revell Ford F-150 Lightning. Exterior is a Metallic Maroon custom mixed using Tamiya Mica Blue and Clear Red, cleared with Pledge. The aim was to replicate Midnight Purple and the results turning out Maroon I was not happy with originally. But the Brown interior helps it go well and grew on me after a while.

Hopefully next week is a 40% off week so I can gets me two or three of those MPC Supras!

Finished back in May. Built from a started (quite sad) Revell original 1992 issue. It was quite glued up in places, the frame and hood were badly warped, and parts of the body and fender flares/side trim were cracked and (sloppily) reglued together. Sanding and filler took care of most of the heavy glue and broken joints on the body and cab, and an old '92 S-10 builder raided for parts had a pristine hood and a much better frame to work with. Unfortunately, the V6 and 4WD was so badly gunked up with glue and not only a motor swap was in order, but a conversion to RWD also needed. Front suspension was taken and modified from a C5 'Vette, and rear suspension modded and extended from a AMT '95 Camaro. An LT1 was also sourced from the AMT '95 Camaro with a custom Vortech supercharger setup made from an old turbo and curved sprue. Valve covers and headers came from the 350 in the AMT '34 Ford Coupe. The stock exhaust was badly glue smeared and in pieces, so a custom side exhaust was made using mufflers and stuff from the spares bin and sprue. Other parts like radiator, seats, steering wheel, came from the spares bin. Brakes, wheels are from an old X-mods set sitting on the rear custom tires from a Revel MCM '02 Camaro. A 2011 issue of the Syclone had extra decals from a leftover build and were used to replace the badly water damaged ones in the started '92 issue. Also had spare Coca Cola decals from a AMT Ford Pinto, so figured why not use those and make a CC Syclone! Exterior is Tamiya TS-74 Clear Red over Rustoluem Aluminum, cleared with Pledge. TBH, the red and black are true Coca Cola colors as the whites are only accents and not used on interiors like R2 tends to do.

Fresh off da bench! Unlike the Orange Californian and the Johan '70 Toronado, this one went for a more stock approach as a break from heavy duty customizations. While certain goofy features of the Californian were toned down or omitted, this one went on more of a lowrider/donk style considering the original had some bling to it. Since the stock frame was being used, I wasn't crazy about the molded in junk but seeing how HPI guy did his box stock one, decided to do his methiod of keeping the frame basic with silver detailing. Changes made were: Adding driveshafts from a cut up FRWD driveshaft, a major upgrade from the metal axle promo leftover. Extending front suspension torso bars as the kits pieces didn't go all the way to the frame Added custom air cleaner from the AMT Restorods '69 Cougar Disc brakes from a Revell Saleen Mustang Wire wheels and tires from the Revell '86 Monte Carlo Exterior is Testors Color Shift Blue Galaxy, cleared with Pledge.

Fresh off the workbench! This old (and quite rare) Johan '70 Olds Toronado started out as a sad looking 5 buck gluebomb find at a swap meet. The motor was all glue smeared together (though the chrome transmission came off with ease) and the chassis was almost welded into the lower interior tub. The body (despite having gallons of red and silver brush painted on) was complete, though the chrome on the bumpers were all worn. Glass was a major issue as the stock pieces were all caked up with glue and fingerprints. This project was nearly scrapped since anything Johan related is hard to come by, at any price. After digging through the spares bin and projects graveyard, it was discovered the front and rear glass from a scrapped AMT '66 Buick Rivera work perfectly since the shapes were really close (and 1:1s were on a similar platform, though the Rivera obviously was the standard FR setup). When another 1990 Ford Thunderbird frame and LS7 motor were located, the project went full steam ahead from there. All the mods done here are similar to the ones performed on the Orange MPC Toronado Californian. The interior tub floor was rebuilt with styrene, glue, and filler, and added a center console to allow for a driveshaft. Several parts come from a Mustang Super Stallion, a Z06 C6, the spares bin, and sheet styrene for things like exhaust, driveshafts, suspension, brakes, radiator, etc. Wheel & tire combo are custom units from the Revell California Wheels '69 Corvette. Exterior is TS-52 Candy Lime Green with two coats of TS-65 Pearl Clear (to give it an enhanced luster in certain angles of light), cleared with Pledge.