Ace-Garageguy

Is that a microballoon slurry you're using for filler on the rear flares? Sure looks like it. Nice work. You might want to look closely at the shape of the rear door cut-line on the 1:1 FIA where it clears the rear flare. It's kind of ugly (IMHO) and has a reverse curve in it...not as pretty as on yours and some of the other Cobra bodies where the curve is bulged towards the rear. The FIA has the curve bulged towards the front (to clear the flare).

The reason I qualified the statement with "where you need primer" is because you mentioned using Duplicolor topcoats. The lacquers MAY cause crazing of the plastic without primer, and that's also why I'm adamant about testing on the actual plastic of your intended paint victim, with the specific products you're thinking of using. I've ruined enough stuff, and wasted enough time fixing messes over the years to be careful now. I've used Scotch-brite in the past, and had good results. I think the very fine gray one is the way to go. BUT, I've also looked at the results of SB under a magnifier, and the fibers still tend to ride over some areas adjacent to raised details, whereas scrubbing with the abrasive cleaner and toothbrush gets in all the crevices. This is an issue because.....When you paint a model, paint tends to collect slightly more in the creases. Paint tends to shrink as it dries, as the solvents evaporate out. Where there is more paint, as in the creases, there will be more shrinkage. If you paint with something that doesn't etch the surface somewhat to enhance adhesion, you CAN have so much shrinkage over time that the paint will start to crack and peel from the crevices first. I've actually seen this happen on older models, and carefully analyzed why. I found that, even though the models HAD been scuff-sanded, they hadn't been scuffed in the creases and low areas adjacent to raised detail. It all made sense, and now I err on the side of overkill and scuff everything with an abrasive cleanser.

No bull......The "scratch filler" primer, the one that says "high build formula" on the label, is the one you want to use over bodywork, putty, modifications, etc. It fills sanding scratches because it IS a high-ish build product. You may have to prime-sand-prime-sand etc. several times to fix all the flaws in bodywork, so you don't want to do this on areas where you want to preserve fine detail. I would recommend on your trailer, where you need a primer and you want to PRESERVE fine detail that you use the 'sandable' (NOT HIGH BUILD) primer: 1) first THOROUGHLY scrub the plastic with Soft-Scrub, Comet or something similar and a toothbrush. This will have the same effect as sanding, to give the primer a little 'tooth' to grab on to, without obliterating detail, but will get in all the little spaces between rivets...and 2) prime it with the 'sandable' which is NOT high build, and therefor won't hide the details. Try to learn to shoot it slick and dust-free. When it's thoroughly dry, scuff it with the abrasive cleaner and toothbrush again, but not too agressively. Same effect as sanding...a little tooth for the paint to grab, but no flattening of the details. ALSO TEST !!!!! TEST thouroughly on the BACK of the parts you're going to prime and paint. Different plastics in the poly-styrene family react differently with different coatings, and the "on the back of a plastic spoon" advice won't necessarily show you how your particular model's plastic will react. Use the same primer / paint you want to use on the outside of the model. Don't rush it. It's cheaper to wait a bit for everything to dry completely than to strip the model or have to replace it when the paint crazes.

Man, I'd forgotten they even made the short-wheelbase van. Nice job on the conversion so far.

Really nice. I love to see old working-trucks done so well.

That door fit looks good. Nice work.

Very nice. I second what Oliver Jantrix has to say....more, please.

....maybe not many, but maybe more than you think. I know one very serious WW2 aircraft modeler who has modelled every version of the Spitfire ever built in 1:1, from the baby-blue prototype all the way through the last bubble-canopy Mk.24, and the Spiteful, Seafires and Seafang, all in 1/32 scale. It's a pretty astounding collection, by the way. To get them all, he had to do a LOT of kit-mingling, heavy modification and scratchbuilding. Now he's starting on P-47s. I also know a retired fighter jock who has built every version (not unit marking variations, but mission-specific variants, like the Wild Weasel) of the F-4, and a helo guy with mutiple Hueys and Cobras, all in the same scales. Same helo guy is converting one of the 1/24 Monogram Hueys into a Cobra. Lots of work. Point is, though these aren't creative 'customs' like car models often are, or 'freelance' as the model railroad guys call it, they ARE heavily modified.

Hey Ron, the model's looking good. Love your inspiration shot too. I think you've got it. Good idea using the cut-down fender unit to simulate the frame reveal.

When you consider the relative complexity of an injection molded toothbrush handle and a model car kit, and the smallness of the model market relative to the market for toothbrushes, a model car kit looks like a pretty good deal, pricewise. Of course, that's only one way to look at it. And the truth is that ANY manufactured item can be made cheaper AND better if the manufacturing company is operating as lean and efficiently as possible, with highly skilled and motivated and talented people in every position. Good luck finding that in any industry.....except maybe Rutan's company, Scaled Composites.

I don't think anyone in his right mind would expect a model car body to be scale 20 or 22 gage thickness (16?), but I think we have the right to expect the EXTERIOR MEASUREMENTS of the parts represented to be scaled accurately (within reason). If they are, the proportions will be correct. They can't help it. It's math, ya know, and it just doesn't lie. And while we're at it, spare me the old saw about liberties needing to be taken with models to make them look right etc. etc. etc. It's BULL, often repeated by people who repeat what they've heard and have no empirical evidence to back it up. If you photograph a model from the same relative viewing angle as you'd look at a real car from, with a lens that doesn't cause stupid distortions, a correctly scaled model's proportions will appear exactly the same as 1:1. I've done it repeatedly and know it's true from analyzing the results.

No bull. Depending on how deep the fingerprints (or scratches) are, you can start with 400 or 600 grit paper WET until you can't feel the damage with your fingernail any more. Then jump to 3200 wet, 6000 wet, 8000 wet and finally 12,000 wet...just like you're sanding a paint job. A very fine polishing compound will bring the new factory gloss and clarity back.....if you do it right. I promise. Use PLENTY of water and change it and swill out the container every time you change grits of sandpaper. Use some kind of sanding block too, as un-supported paper will make all kinds of waves in your 'glass'. By the way....I've made some poorly made, wavy kit windshields look great by block-sanding them to take the waves out, and then finishing out as described above. THE BEST TRICK IS TO NOT GET ANY GLUE ON THE WINDOWS. Read the thread below about gluing windows.

No matter what adhesive you use, if you read all the answers above, the common part of the various techniques is to fit the windows and jig them in place to avoid fingerprints. High octane must do this too, as 5-miunte epoxy doesn't have "instant grab".

I've got the old Caddy, a retractable Ford and 2 versions of the '57 wagon / Ranchero. Though challenging to build nicely, thay CAN be made into beautiful models without a whole lot of corrections to get the proportions right. They were reasonably accurate for the technology available at the time. For the technology available when the last Ala Kart with the stupidly-tiny engine, the Monogram '34 snapper Ford with the WAY TOO SHORT HOOD, and the ridicululously WAY UNDERSCALE chopped '34 Ford on the tube chassis were tooled, there's no excuse. I'm NOT TALKING ABOUT HAIR SPLITTING DETAIL. I'm talking about GROSS INACCURACY.

Yup, LT-5.

Low-yield nuclear weapons will open all of the paint containers in a several-mile radius. Saves a lot of time.

In my experience, gluing in windows with CA (super glue), tube glue or liquid glue is a recipe for disaster. The best product I've found to date is Micro Kristal Klear from Microscale. It is NOT solvent based so it doesn't etch the 'glass' or leave 'fumimg' marks like CA. It is water-soluable and is similar to a thicker (less water) version of Elmer's white glue (PVA, or poly-vinyl-acetate). It is white, and dries clear. It also dries s-l-o-w-l-y, so it's essential to fit your windows well, clamp or otherwise fixture them in place, and apply the PVA glue to the inside edges you can get to and leave it alone while it dries. If you do a clean job, you will have an invisible, slightly rubbery bond between the window and the body. Many people are dis-satisfied with the stuff because they try to use it like an instant or quick-drying product, and it simply won't work that way. Used correctly, it's foolproof. But until it's completely dry, it has about zero strength. It also works well to glue chrome parts to a build during final assembly, or gluing assemblies together when you don't want to risk solvent damage or 'smoking' (CA) on a painted surface.

I'm liking the concept.......

Whoa !!! Nice !!!

Or a big hammer if you're not into firearms. Either way, it makes the paint a little difficult to use.

Measure the real component. Divide by the denominator for the scale you're working in. Simple math. For example: many plug wires are 8mm. This converts to .314961 inches (a little bigger than 1/4 inch, or .25") Divide .314961 by 25 for 1/25 scale. You get 0.01259844 So use .0125 wire for an 8mm plug wire. It is about 28 gage. Close enough. This chart will let you convert from the diameter you figure out (look in the second column) to the gage wire you need (read the gage in the first column): http://www.powerstre...m/Wire_Size.htm

I've never seen a Cobra done in this style before. Very nice work.

As for the right underbody / primer color, have a look at the chassis shots of this car. http://www.rkmotorscharlotte.com/sales/inventory/active/1971-Plymouth-HEMI-Cuda/133269#!/188545 Though it's heavily undercoated, SOME of the chassis shows a red-oxide primer. IF this is in fact a 'survivor', or even if it's a very well and thouroughly faked counterfeit (don't laugh....I've seen an entirely FAKE Corvette C2 Grand Sport roadster, passed off as the real deal, and I unknowingly made fiberglas parts for it) it's a pretty good bet this is the right Mopar primer color for the era.

Yup.

It's a really pretty little 'T', and well within the range of what someone who loved his car could have done to dress it up. I've got a couple of these boxed, and thanks to you, I think I'll build one stock for a change of pace. Thanks for the inspiration.