Scottnkat

Well, I had decided that I was going to just do a nice simple out of the box build for my next car. I pulled out the JoHan Richard Petty Superbird thinking I would do that. After looking at that kit, I realized that there was no way I could build that box stock and I would have to change alot. So back into the box it went and the box went back on the shelf. This started a process where I would pull boxes out, review the contents, decide that I couldn't stop without doing at least something to the kits, then put them back. This has gone on for two days. Finally I pulled out the Monogram '71 Plymouth Satellite. The kit is really of a Roadrunner, but Monogram couldn't use that title, so they called it the sister car's name. I had bought this used and upon review I found it was missing parts. Well, I hate having an incomplete kit, so I decided "Screw it! I'm not gonna do a simple box stock build after all!" First thing I had to do was to try to bend the body back into shape. It had broken and become warped while sitting in the box. Once I got it back into shape, I then glued the roof back on with the front A pillars. Here's the body now: The kit was missing the interior tub (which, considering that it's going to become a racecar, isn't really needed), so I will be working right off the frame. The first thing I have done is I have started making the transmission tunnel. There's still alot of work to go and like I said, it is missing parts. Maybe after this is done I will try doing something box stock...

Thank you for the compliment, Jon

Thanks, Jim - your comments are always appreciated

Thank you for the comments, guys. I do appreciate it. I figured that there was probably an annual kit, but I had never seen one - thank you for that correction, Ron.

Thank you, Bob. The original cars were painted in gold - here's a pic that I used for reference: I found a few pics of the pace cars - a few of which had a white interior. I personally prefer a lighter interior myself, so I decided to do the white interior on my build.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I appreciate it

I used the Testors Inca Gold - I'm usually an enamel guy, but I thought this would be a nice change.

Forgot the engine shots:

I decided that I wanted to build a '61 Indy 500 Pace Car. As many of you know, there is no '61 Thunderbird kit, so I had to modify the '62 kit. I started by sanding off all the trim, then making the '61 trim for it. The hood also differs between the two years, so I sanded down some half round sprue, rounded the ends, then applied that to the hood to make the hood appear as a '61. I hope you enjoy the pics:

Thanks, Bart

Here's a pic of the decals that I made:

I made some for myself to use. PM me if you want

Thanks for the comments, guys - I appreciate it

Here's a couple of pics of my kids working on their kits: Here's Genevieve (9) painting the exterior trim on her Corvette: In this pic, Damien is painting his Plymouth Prowler: Here's Stephen (13) wet sanding his A-10 Warthog: Here's Genevieve again learning how to use a single action airbrush: Even the 15 year old does models - here she is working on a Ghost Rider vinyl kit:

Thanks for the comments, guys - I appreciate it

Great lighting job on that! I love it! I wish I were able to do lighting like that!! Really outstanding job

Here's the headlights on: the taillights light up, too and the TV on the dash lights up And here it is sitting in it's case: I'm not 100% happy with the vents on the side - I am thinking that they should be darker - the aluminum frame and steel insert just looks too light to me - I may pull those off and do them up darker at a later date.

My son wanted me to build the Keaton Batmobile from the Tim Burton movie. I picked up the kit used and it was missing pieces such as the rear taillights, axles, etc. But I tried my hand at making it into something good. I also tried to make it look a little different - I added a little touch of bronze to the satin black paint that I used on the body just to make it stand out. This was also my first time working with LEDs on my own (without the use of a pre-made lighting kit). Here's how the car came out:

I bought a '68 Roadrunner and got the body of a '69 GTX when I unwrapped it. Almost everything fit, but I needed to change some stuff on the body.

My kids that are still at home all build models. The oldest of them (a 15 year old) is currently building a vinyl model of Ghost Rider. She's been working on it for some time and doesn't do it too often, but she does work on them and enjoys them. She is currently saving up $60 to buy the large Shelby GT model that came out a few months ago. The 13 year old is currently building an A10 Warthog. He wants to do it in a three color camouflage pattern. He has two more kits waiting for this to be finished. The 11 year old is almost done building his Plymouth Prowler and was talking last night about which kit to do next (he has a stash of four more cars). Finally, my 9 year old is a modeling fanatic - so much so that she decided to give her seats a purple bath when she wasn't happy with how the paint came out. She constantly has a model build going (currently working on a '64 Impala) and loves figuring out what colors she will do or things that she will do in order to make it "better". She recently completed a '50 Mercury police car and is already planning on her Firebird when the Impala is done.

Thank you, Roger. I appreciate it.

Thank you, Felix. I appreciate it. Thank you, Jason. I am happy with the four I have done so far, especially considering that a year and a half ago I couldn't even use my left hand to hold anything. Model building has been very therapeutic for me, and I appreciate that support and kind words.

He he he - that's cool, Bart. We're never too old to adopt more modern terms (even if I do find myself saying "far out" still) - it means you're young at heart!!

Tommy, thank you for the compliment. With the other three all blue ones, it does stand out in the Petty car lineup I have going on. I'm looking forward to seeing your Mercury when you get started - that will be fun! I have the Jo-Han Superbird so yes, I will be getting to it. I just need to decide if I will try to work with the original Jo-Han kit, or if I can somehow get the extra cash to buy another kit to use for the chassis as the Jo-Han underside leaves something to be desired.

Thank you, Bruce. In all honesty, I had never seen this paint job or even heard of it until relatively recently. When I started the build, I was actually planning on doing the black top version, but this ended up coming out instead. Funny how things happen like that. Cole, thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it.