James W

Those are some great looking cars. My favorite is #12. Thanks for the stories. I did not know that they raced convertibles after 58 or 59.

I like the enclosed closet for drying paint. Looks like you already have a primium on shelf space however. It is nice to set up a build room from scratch. Then in a couple years it is good to do it again 'cause you know all the things you would change by then. Congrats on a great room to build, that is more than many guys have.

A friend of mine, a very talented and prolific builder, finished one and said, "Never Again!" Research your alternatives is my suggestion.

In 1:25 I use Evergreen plastic about .040 inch square. I drill into the end of the piece with a .020 drill and into the side then chop it off to the length I want. As seen below, I add some .020 wire and paint. Many fuel blocks are just a block of metal that has been drilled and taped for fuel lines. No need to get real fancy in a small scale. Hope this helps.

It's got a nice stance and the color is perfect if not 'correct'. Nice build, don't wait so long for the next one.

You could add powder such as flour or baking powder to your red oxide /rust color undercoat in clumps. Then after you have painted over it, pick away the top color coat with a hobby knife point to expose the rusty material.

Lookin' good Dave. I need to get one. I've had a picture of a 29 with a B engine on my work bench for years. It was at Portland Tranny show a while back. Idea. Instead of fixing the bodywork, create some 'weld' marks and spot primer.

In 69 or 68 the AMX was shorter . They both shared the same structure, but the AMX was a shortened floorpan and had no back seats. Javelins had back seats. Later, the AMX was a version of the Javelin, but they had identical bodys/floorpans. I'm not sure of the years the change was made.

There is a product called 'Sophisticated Finishes' which uses paints with a high metalic content, iron or copper for instance, and an oxidizing solution to create the finish you are talking about. The paint you are talking about might work with an oxidizer, but then you may as well buy the stuff made to work that way. I like your thinking. I'm always looking to use things differently to create an effect I want. I have worked for years to make stuff look rusted, with some good results. I think if you have been around here long you know there are some guys here that do a fantastic job weathering. I am still playing with the 'Sophisticated' paints to see how I can use them, but I also see the benefit of painting and using pastels to make the look I want. Good to have you here, and show us what you are working on.

Looks pretty staight forward to do a vacuum formed hood instead. Just an idea.

Don't rub through the finish!

That is a great tip. I have done similar things on different occasions. If you don't have the right tool, see if you can make it!

That paint job turned out great. You can be proud. What will you try next?

Mike, as Pete said there are different solutions to each problem. I have heard much said about corrosive degreasers as paint strippers, but their use is limited. My reason for using PP on the two models I did was because the degreasers are a little easier to clean up and even use in my work area inside the house(no bad smell). And most of the paint came off both models right down to the plastic, each had been repainted at least once in it's life with different colors that had then been painted over. Another reason to use degreasers is that I have heard that brake fluid makes plastic brittle. I have not experienced this but thought I would try PP on these old bodies just in case. When it came down to the end, I did more damage to the Plymouth trying to scrub the paint off than if I had used the brake fluid from the start. And that is why I decided to share this. Good old brake fluid dose a nice job. Caveat emptor.

The interior work is very nice and the roll cage structure is well executed even if you think it's heavy. The next smaller size would have been a little too light in my opinion.

Congrats on the up grade! I had planned to come but got lost on I-10 coming through Houston and just went back home. Now that it's over, get back to your work bench so you have something to post about!!

Here is an old build-up I found last spring. I am in the process of removing the paint to repair the body and rebuild the whole thing. The starting point. Traded a good promo for two glue bombs to satisfy the builder in me After weeks in the Purple Power Pond, some of the paint just was not coming off. Observation; if it dose not come off in the first day or three it won't come off in a week or three. Here is the same model(other side) after only 36 hours in brake fluid(non-silicone type) it easily came off with a tooth brush. Close-up of emblem that had been filled with paint. There is no way to remove this without damaging the detail unless the paint is softened. Conclusion; Purple Power is a corrosive degreaser that works well on paint that has not cured completely or is otherwise disposed to fall off a model body. But it dose not soak into paint that has acheived that ideal rock hard status. Like I said above, the paint that had not softened in the first few days of soaking was no closer to coming off after weeks of soaking. It just had no effect beyond a point. Brake fluid breaks down the paint and softens it regardless off its state. The brake fluid is a true solvent. Further, I had damaged the body by trying to make the PP work, scrubbing and heating and just handling the body so much that some of the previous glue work and fragile featrues were stressed. I have in the past left parts in brake fluid for months without affecting the plastic. I hope this helps someone who is not sure where to turn if the Purple Power dose not do the job. It works to a point, but that is it.

That is the way I would have ordered it too. Nicely done light weather on the chassis.

I'm glad to see you guys have gotten the tongue-in-cheek nature of this build. I was thinking more along the lines of a production Futura than Batmobile gone-to-the-races that seems to keep surfacing, but it is what it is. I'll just say that this is one tough kit to build. I'd love to build another and do it up like a factory prodution sedan, maybe change the roofline to something more conventional. But man would that take alot of work to get this thing looking good enough for that. The gaps and misalignments of panels and trim. It is a beautiful car. The kit is just a little primative.

That's a good looking body to start with, I never would have thought of it. I like the character lines below the side windows, they give a hint of identitiy. Keep going on this for sure!

I've picked up several pairs of readers at the Dollar Store. I started with +1.00 and cut the tops so they act like bi-focals, but I also have +1.75 and +2.75 and swap them around depending on how close up I want to work on something. If nothing else they are cheap and quicker than an appointment.

Sorry, there is no engine. The kit is a curbside, I put an air cleaner in the hood and pipes out the trunk. That's all you get. I have not glued the windshield in place yet. I might leave it off and put a deflector on the hood in front of the driver, but I kind of like it this way.

I knew when I built this one it would be as if it were a common vehicle, but it took a while to figure out that it was going to be a saturday night warrior. Thanks for lookin'

That is some very nice surface rust if I've ever seen it. And the pitted chrome is just right. A very well done piece.

The AMT 55 Chevy Stepside pickup has a similar wheel. It appears a little more flat than the ones you have pictured.