Made me laugh. I got in some big trouble as a youth, and all too often since. My parents were big Bridge Players and always wondered where their expensive cards were going.
Beautiful looking Baby Bird. Did you open the doors ? I built one of these a Long long time ago and did it with the dish slot wheels they had in the kit. I don't remember having opening doors.
Those are some great looking builds. I like the Olds engine and stock Carb.in the 33/34 Ford. Spent many formative years in the 'burbs of Chicago. Common to have a race between mother nature and your 36-month payment book from GMAC to see which would end first.
Excellent paint finish and detailing of the engine and chassis. I like the theme of this build, and this often happened to these cars as they were inexpensive, light weight and pretty much a Camero with a sedan body.
Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. The fitment problems with the front end has always been my excuse for not building this kit. I look forward to getting some ideas for correcting the ill-fitting parts.
I would do whatever it takes to get those wheels and tires under this. Maybe even narrow the track a little or heat and widen the wheel wells if need be.
I agree with the others on the paint color. Looks great from here. You mentioned thinking about using a different primer color in the future. Since this is based on a grey primer then going to a brown might make the color a little darker. Tamiya also offers a pink colored primer and that or their white would give you a lighter or maybe even a brighter shade of red depending on what you're going for.