cartpix

It looks great. I would "dirty up" the motor, a bit more. See if you can find some cheap, black, acrylic paint (arts & crafts store like Michael's), thin it with water, & brush it on. Then maybe some earth tone pastels (sand some off, really fine) for dust. I've heard it here, the secret of weathering is knowing when to stop.

I've had pretty good results with Dawn Power Dissolver. It comes in a trigger pump bottle. I squirt some in covered plastic container & let it sit, over night (sometimes longer), & it takes off the chrome & the lacquer under coat.

42 out of 44, 95%. I'm really mad at myself because I missed the last 2 Chevelles (68 & 69) & I'm a Chevy guy. Oh well, no one is perfect.

More like $18 - $20 (Tower Hobbies), still reasonable with my formula, above. Also, see Tom Greiger's response, about Round 2 having to buy out all those old molds.

You're comparing apples & oranges. A $2 kit, in '72, had a chassis with molded exhaust, front & rear suspension. The interior was a 1 piece tub, sometimes with molded in seats, and bad detail. The engine was a blob of parts, with a hole in the oil pan, for the metal axles to go through. Did I mention the metal axles. Parts count was about half that of a newer kit. Now we have multi-piece chassis, with separate suspension, with springs, shocks, & sway bars. Interiors consist of the floor, finely detailed, separate side panels, & dashboards with decal gauges. The engines are accurate representations of the real thing, carbs that look like carbs, & many have decals for the air cleaners & valve covers. Oh yeah, oil pans without holes. In 1972, the US national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was 36 cents, today it's $3.32 per gallon average, close to 10 times the price. So that $2 kit, time 10, plus all the extra parts & detail comes out to be a pretty good deal, to me. Your mileage may vary.

For me, it was CA glue, aftermarket parts, & Scale Auto mag. I could still do without the Internet (it sometimes keeps me away from the bench) but it sure is useful, for research, easier access to the aftermarket (no more SASE envelopes), & the forums are like a model club, that meets 24/7.

I have issues with thinning & air pressure. I use Testors Model Master paint. I have heard the correct thinning is 2 paint to 1 thinner. Is this correct? I have been experimenting with lacquer thinner & neptha. I like the finish I get, with neptha, but I have to "import" it, since California has proclaimed it a bad thing (you can still have it shipped here, though). I shoot at about 20 - 30 psi. The problem I am having is inconsistency. Any suggestions? Other techniques? As for the original question, I usually have paint left over, from one bottle of Model Master, but not much.

Welcome to the Wednesday night meeting of Plastic Models Anonymous. I'm Jeff & I'm addicted to plastic... Nice build. JC. I can see why you chose the 911 engine & transaxle. Great scratch building, on the suspension parts.

Here's a few of mine

It's a pretty good kit, as I remember. The rivet counters would probably be able to find fault, with it. It's an old tooling, from the early 60's, I believe. It has stock parts & IIRC, it's a "metal axle" kit. The Revell 32 Fords are better but can't be built stock, out of the box.

I read all 72 pages, today. Awesome amount of work. It's amazing how great it's turning out, with all the 1st time techniques, you are doing. Make sure to take pictures, when you blow it up with firecrackers. LOL

Here's a link to my build. It's on the back burner, for now, but I want to start it back up, soon. http://cartpix.com/models/wagon/index.html Your's is cool to. I just like the way, the back of the b-pillar looks, on the El Camino.

I like it better in black. Can't wait to see more.

Not to detract from your beautiful build, Chevy started doing the panels, inset, in 1955. & continued it until the last deliveries, in 1960. If they had continued into the Chevelle line, they would have most likely used the inset panels & would have used sedan doors, so the b-pillars would be straight up & down. I started a 66 SD, myself, by grafting a wagon roof onto an El Camino. I'm going to do inset panels but will leave the b-pillar slanted, like Tom Daniel's Street Fighter.

Great build. I love the way you detailed the wheels, where the hub caps were removed.

awesome, clean build.

Beautiful build. I, too, am not wild about the large wheels but painting them orange, really sets off the dark paint.

Yes I do.

Yes, you do have EXACTLY the same problem I do. LOL

Daddyfink, do you have the same problem, I do? When you finish a build, do you stand / sit, in front of your vast collection, for a couple hours, trying to figure out, what to build next?

One got dropped off, on my porch, last month. It was as thick as 2 average sized paper back books.

I'm a gear head & I can have all the cars, I ever wanted, & they don't take any garage space. Plus, it's a great escape. And like JM485 said, chicks dig it.

The last kit, I finished, last year, was a shelved kit. The first one, this year, was a shelved one. Both had painted bodies. My current build, while not painted, was started. Yesterday, I was looking for a part & found my 56 Chevy Del Ray was painted (metallic), but the roof had streaks & a puddle. It's next in the line up, as a 2 tone. The 56 "bumped" another unfinished kit, down a spot. Even though this thread started after re-starting the first build of the year, it has made me rethink several unfinished projects. My 4th kit, on this year's schedule, will be an untouched kit.

Thanks for all the comments. Since a lot of you mentioned the color it's painted Testors Colors by Boyd Pearl Orange. Testors has a pearl orange, in their Model Master line. I think it might be the same color. The wheels are from the Monogram Ownes Corning Corvette & the tires are from my parts box. All other parts are from the kit. sjordan2, the kit is the Revell 68 Corvette L88, the red one. It's still available, as a 2 in 1 kit.

Thanks for all the kind words. Yes, plowboy, it was worth the fight. It may not be worthy of a contest, but it looks great, in my display case. I hope it will kick start me, on a record build year. I only have to build more than 5 models, to beat 2011. So, here's to 5 more!