Monty

They'd have every right to think I was strange if I camped out next to your mail box.

Donn, you'll be happy to know that your pictures and advice in this thread were the impetus behind my purchase of your Airbrushing DVD this afternoon. I'm hoping to get to the level described above. Do you think I'll have the DVD by Christmas?

Even though these are supposed to be real car colors, I've heard that the metallics have an oversized flake, which is not what I want for a stock-appearing paint job. Also, please let me know if you used a dark primer, a light primer or no primer under your paint. Yes, I'm aware that it's been discontinued, but you can still get it on ebay.

That's what I'm talkin' about! Thanks!

Are these just knockoffs of AMT's too-skinny Firestones or something else? Anybody got a picture that puts this tire in context?

It seems there may be more than one version. Two minutes of Googling resulted in these pictures. I'm guessing this was the original, painted and upholstered in green and white. Newer version seems to be blue & white... I'll let the model kit & show car historians take it from here.

If any of our members are thinking about buying their first airbrush, there's a lot of helpful information on here. Don, I noticed your reviews included several Badger airbrushes but only one Paasche. I'd be curious to see what you think of the Paasche VL.

Donn, after seeing other pics of your work the other day, I was impressed. This sounds like an interesting solution to Doug's problem. Would you happen to have an example of this combo we could see?

I haven't tried this myself, but I've seen numerous airbrush users recommend Windex for reducing acrylic paint.

Looks like you nailed this one, Felix. Great work on the details, too. What did you use to make the hard lines on the chassis?

What, no entry from Mikey?

I've used these air filters on almost every car I've owned, but I've never been able to capture the look of the element itself on my models. Years ago, someone on the Spotlight Hobbies board did a quick tutorial on painting the conical units that attach to F/I units, but I forgot to copy the info. (the same colors would also be used for the circular open element units found on many muscle cars). If you decide to answer, please post pics of your work.

Glad to hear you've found another paint medium you like. Couple questions for you (or Donn) 1) Can you shoot this combo over bare plastic without crazing? 2) If not, what primer do you recommend? 3) Is there still a need to use a dehydrator, or will the paint dry quickly enough without it?

I love what I'm seeing here - an HEI ignition and a Q-Jet carb! The plug wires even have that owner-installed look which matches up nicely with the 1:1 pictures. As to your exhaust dilemma, Google Micro-Mark and see if they have some kind of scraper that would allow you to remove the molded in piece while leaving the rest of the chassis undisturbed. I look forward to seeing more progress on this kit.

Nice job on that conversion! Great color, too. Is the paint Testors, MCW or Scale Finishes?

I've got this kit but haven't built it yet. Would you mind elaborating on what makes it so terrible? You and James (JTRACING) started your Fairlane kits at about the same time, and both of you had some very nice engine bay detailing going on. I was hoping to see his done soon too, but he seems to have disappeared. As several others have said, if you can take a bad model and make it look this good, you have every right to be proud.

If you want to save some money and make a paint booth to suit your personal preferences, you may want to post a request for instructions over on the Spotlight Hobbies board. There's one person in particular (kind of an unusual name that I can't recall) who has used his engineering skills to design one that does everything well & can be built by the average peron. As you might expect of an engineer, he'll tell you what size of fan(s) you'll need & what kind of fan(s) to buy to avoid explosions. I had a friend who built his own booth, and he incorporated a lazy-suzan type platform that could be spun from underneath so he could move the model to a more optimal angle for spraying. OTOH, I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about a Pace booth except for tightwads like myself who balk at the price.

John is apparently a practitioner of styrene alchemy - capable of turning a mediocre kit into a worthwhile build. Nice job! John, what paint did you use on the body?

Well, that's humbling. You only need three days to knock out a build that looks like it just rolled off a showroom floor, while it takes me three weeks to decide on a color. Couple questions if you don't mind: 1) Did you also use the '69 Chassis? 2) The paint gives it a very factory stock look. What paint did you use.

I hope nobody is taking my engine/paint comments as criticism of Josh's kit. MPC obviously either didn't know or didn't care about the lack of a big block for the 1975 'Vettes, and in regard to paint color options, I don't think Chevrolet ever made a Corvette body that wouldn't look good in black. Jeff, the original engine in my 1:1 '80 Corvette was a smog-crippled L48 with 190 hp and 280 lb-ft. of torque so I kicked around the idea of swapping a big block in there too, but I was concerned that the extra weight would diminish its handling. My solution was a GM ZZ4 roller cam small block with (make Tim Allen grunting sounds here) Twisted Wedge aluminium heads, Hooker headers, Jet spec-built Q-Jet and DUI ignition. Josh's build has inspired me to dig out my MPC kits and see if I can replicate my '80. Hope my paint turns out half as nice as his.

I wouldn't call yours boring. I've seen too many C3s ruined by applications of too much money and not enough forethought. If you've ever seen Corvette Summer, you know what I mean). After seeing how your build turned out, it makes me think Chevy erred by not offering black as one of the paint options on '70-'76 Corvettes. IMHO, MPC did OK on the chassis. It just takes a little research to get things accurate. Fortunately, I belong to a great forum, http://corvetteforum.com so it's easier to find info on any year 'Vette I happen to be building. You're a far better modeler than I if you can coax an amazing paint job like that out of a Testors rattle-can. I'll never trust a Testors nozzle again.

Josh, for a C3 lover like myself, it's always nice to see one built without all the usual tacky add-ons. I've got one of these kits stuck away somewhere, awaiting a donor small block (1974 was the last year big blocks were installed in Corvettes). Gotta ask: What all did you use to pull off that immaculate paint job? Tamiya lacquer?

Lookin' good! Did you use Humbrol #19 for the car color?

You seem to be one of those resourceful people who sees model-use potential in everything (a commendable trait I seem to lack). Looks like this project will be worth watching. I appreciate your posting the olds engine color info too, as that can be confusing. If you don't mind, I'm hoping you will explain what you're doing with the headlights. In the third picture, it appears that you've cut them out and backstopped the hole with flat, white styrene. If memory serves, this is one of the few kits MPC designed that has headlight recesses and engraved clear lenses to cover them, as opposed to their usual chrome-plated headlights molded with the rest of the grille. Was MPC that far off or is this a 442 / Cutlass "S" difference?

Nailed it! Well done!