Zoom Zoom

No pics yet; it's on the back burner now (body is mostly in primer) as it was pushed aside by a couple of new kits for reviews and I need to build another IROC Porsche 911 for our show in November. Our themes for '07 are diamonds (cars of '32) and gold (cars of '57), that's why the singlecab will be a '57. I probably won't work on it until November or later now. Actually the safari glass might take some visual weight away from the interior, focus on the glass and not the sparse interior. I'm going to upgrade the seat to the simpler upholstery pattern and split, and the door panels won't be too difficult to make w/sheet material. They're really simple vehicles anyway, the kit glass doesn't fit the resin cab too well so that's why I'm going in a different direction...also will do the sliding side glass.

Those are really cool! Taillights are a problem w/the model, but maybe we can cast some from the upcoming Hasegawa 328 reissues?? I think they're the best but not 100% sure if they're updated from a 308. Just a bit more than a week and we're at the Petite LeMans 8)

I know the basic kits are simplified, but yours look great! They're easy to modify and detail. I'm working on a resin '57 singlecab; AAM's resin body that was done prior to Hasegawa's. Fortunately he did an early '60's body vs. the '67 style in the kit, I'm backdating to a '57 by filling the front turn signals and scratchbuilding them and the taillights. A friend gave me the Hasegawa side/rear gates which are better than the resin pieces. I'm making mine into a mild rat and will also make opening safari windows on the front. Mine will be a bit rusty, with faded paint, a few dents, and it will be lowered in front and use Polar Lights Herbie wheels/tires.

Fujimi makes many 18" wheels, you just have to know what to look for. HLJ's listings usually tell you what size. Or if you wonder about a specific wheel, ask on the board. Many of their older wheels are 15-16", but new ones are often 18's or 19's. And as you've found, if you want Aoshima rims you have to get them when they're released, they only do short runs and don't keep them in the catalog.

*Bump* Gregg and Jairus will be joining us 8) , and our tables are nearly sold out. Should be a great show! Themes are Porsches and Pony Cars. http://www.acme-ipms.com/2005_nnl.htm

ACME/IPMS-ACME Atlanta Car Model Enthusiasts. Great group of modelers, and a great yearly NNL. 2006 will be our 10th anniversary NNL. Check out our website! http://www.acme-ipms.com/

The main reason for the thick sides is the simple fact that a diecast vs. plastic body has to be thicker, not for strength but simply because the inner "male" core of the mold has to have a clear path to pop the body off; plastic kits have an inner core that allows a bit of an undercut, and once the part has been cooled the ejector pins literally pop the plastic part off of the core, even w/the undercut (usually from the midpoint of a door through the rocker panels). The plastic is flexible and they can do that; the metal is solid. The plastic bodies have to have a uniform wall thickness, where metal doesn't. That's why the body sides in diecast are thick, and often the profile of the body is flatter than prototypical because there can be no undercut at all w/diecast. If you look at a lot of Revell's more modern diecast models, they're pretty thin and have the same wall thickness as plastic kits, until you get to the bodysides. Until/unless they use an inner core that could possibly retract (doubtful), diecast bodies will be a compromise over plastic. Certain slab-sided subjects lend themselves a lot better to diecast than the more organic shapes of many cars, especially cars of the '60's and later.

Probably the same thing they've done w/many musclecar kits, and include a second set of big/little pro-touring wheels. Hmmmm, do a '70 Firebird as a Firebird (non-T/A or Formula; flat hood, no spoilers/slats) w/modern rims....hmmmm... 8) Pretty ho-hum list for the most part; hope there is more announced at the hobby show.

You are correct; the decals must be applied over a smooth/glossy surface and then you can dullcoat them to match the surrounding surface.

Magificent 8) It's a great feeling when you finish a project like this! Great design, and the tag fits it perfectly :wink:

Got this horrible picture from their website, taken from a terrible angle. I guess it's close enough, hard to tell, the hood looks a bit "inflated". I see custom potential if nothing else...

Hmmm...really would be cool to have someone cast up the incredibly-rare '69 Rebel. But any cool AMC should be popular w/the resin crowd. They're very underappreciated :roll: :wink:

Brian Venable is building a Z car; it's nowhere near Tamiya or Fujimi-league, but it's sufficient for an overt tuner. The body looks chopped, the body contours are a bit off, the wheels included are cartoonish 26", but it has a decent engine. I've heard a pretty scathing review elsewhere of the Evo, the proportions are "diecast chunky", the wheel openings are huge because of the cartoonish wheels. Basically they're unassembled plastic kits for a Dub City/Jada mindset. Either you like 'em, or not.

That's good news; a few people have been asking where to get the AMX; Kevin had told me @ the NNL East that he'd eventually be doing them again. Now if Testors would get the '69 AMX reissue out as promised :roll: :wink:

The 175 is a good airbrush. I have three now; one for solid colors, one for metallics, one for clear. Bear Air has good prices on them.

Looking great so far 8)

I'll second the fact that Easy Off is excellent at removing chrome (plating vanishes before your eyes, clear takes longer). In addition to gloves, you must wear some sort of mask as you cannot breathe the stuff.

Lee, yes that's the same model you saw at that show. I had forgotten what year I restored it. I've got a '69 Javelin restorable kit waiting for it's turn :wink:

I also use a Badger 175 Crescendo (medium tip) with good results. And as Jairus mentioned, the key to the best looking finish is the base coat. If it's not glass-smooth, the chrome won't look nearly as good. Apply the chrome coats lightly; make a light pass and watch the chrome "settle", do several (enough so the black is completely covered and the finish is still reflective) and a few minutes after they're applied you buff off the overspray with a soft cloth and it shines up nicely. Then don't touch the Alclad if at all possible! It's not very durable. Get some cotton gloves made for handling delicate parts, and always apply the chrome parts last. It took me awhile to get comfortable w/Alclad (and Spaz Stix; basically the same stuff from another mfg.). I had to do some spoon tests and redo several bumpers before having decent success. I'd suggest testing it out before going straight to a project; as I had crappy results a few times from my inexperience. Now if they'd just make this chrome stuff able to take a clearcoat...I've tried several low-solvent clears from Future to urethane and they all kill the sheen :cry:

Thanks Ismael. I've been having fun this year building the unexpected/oddball kind of stuff. It's Testors lacquer Big Bad Blue, a factory color for this car. In some light it looks great, other times it looks slightly washed out.

Thanks for the replies! Here's the AMX with my '68 Javelin:

Thanks! I had no choice but to keep plugging away at it; the kit was discontinued prior to the dehydrator incident. I spent about 3 hours over a pan of hot water on the stove carefully getting the shape back. The bumpers warped this past weekend when I was drying the black base coats. But it goes back to the right shape....mostly...though the body did seem to suffer a slight amount of shrinkage in a few places, somewhat hidden by my use of the black shadow mask that's not along the upper body line which bows a bit too much. And I also realized it hasn't been 1 year, it's been 2 that I've been simmering with this thing :roll: Our pony car theme for this year's NNL got me to finish it up. The AMX is one of a handful of '60's cars I'd really love to own. Maybe you'll be lucky to get yours back! My Dad's boss had a '68 Javelin when they were new. The shadow mask was such a trademark for a '70 I had to do it! It'll look good next to my lime green '68 Javelin restro promo w/black vinyl roof and black side stripes :wink:

Awesome work! Nice vintage feel to it.

This is an OOP Motor City Resin 1970 AMX repopped from an original ’70 annual kit. Nicely cast from a very clean mold, yet I had problems with the kit (mostly my fault, but the resin was kind of soft and warped badly in my dehydrator where I've never had problems with resin before) with numerous glitches along the way causing me to take well over a year to build it. I was inspired to build a ’70 after seeing one featured on a Speed Channel muscle car show; the black shadow mask and the “sidepipe†rocker trim and the hood scoop looked particularly cool on the ’70. Wheels/tires are from a Revell ’67 GTX, redlines are Shabo dry transfers. The black shadow mask is airbrushed Tamiya TS semigloss black, the separation stripes are BMF toned down w/semigloss clear to look like the silver factory stripes. AMX tags were made on the computer and printed on my laser printer. I’m happy w/the overall appearance which matches pictures of a 1:1 that I really dug when I saw it, and I’m relieved to have this one finally done considering how it tried my patience many times. It currently has no engine, it may get one someday but right now it’s as done as it’s going to get.

Looks good, though I think it needs to be about half that width. Once you've done this a couple times it gets easier. I have a dedicated fineline airbrush that makes it fairly easy to do the job. I can't remember what Steve uses; I use Testors candy blue and candy green (more blue than green) transferred and applied lightly and when it's dry I polish out the overspray.