Monty

I remember years back when Mustang enthusiasts like myself learned that Ford was going to release a "new" Mustang with a wrong-wheel-drive chassis and no plans for a V8. There was no internet then, but the various Mustang magazine editors told us who to write and where to send the letters, and we did. By the ton. And Ford blinked. That car became the Probe, and thankfully it eventually died off. Deservedly so, in our opinion. I wish a similar campaign could've been set up to keep Chrysler from tarnishing the Charger name. Question for Mark Taylor: why didn't they just make the Magnum available as a sedan and a wagon? They were the same platform, weren't they? Car names are evocative to a lot of us who grew up with the "real thing" which accounts for the howls of derisive laughter heard across the US when Oldsmobile watered down the soup one more time and issued the Calais-based 442 (What'd that stand for? 4 cylinders, 4 speed and 2 gauges?), or when Chrysler tried to pass off an Omni-based econobucket as a Charger. Just seems strange that they went from that extreme to turning the current version into a dowdy Checker knock-off. Sometimes I swear "Chrysler" and "style" are mutually exclusive terms.

Is it available anywhere here in the US? If so, could you provide a link? If not, do you have a link to an easy-to-use Japanese site? RE Japan: Is everything back under control there (are orders shipping like they were before the storm?)

I've got an old jar of Polly S water-based acrylic paint that I found on a "Discontinued" rack years ago. (Original P/N 500817). Long story short, it has dried out and I'd like to find a way to revive it, since it's not available anymore. 1) What would be the best substance to use to try and revive it? (I have a Badger paint mixer...) 2) Being a water-based acrylic, and assuming we figure out a way to salvage the paint, what can I use to retard the drying time? I used to use this primarily for lettering tires,but I found that it dries too quickly and I can only do parts of a letter per stroke (think Monogram outline letters on their GT Radials). I'm really not looking for a substitute, primarily because I think this paint's slightly off white color looks more realistic than a stark flat white of most flat acrylics. (Look at your own white lettered tires when they haven't been freshly scrubbed for about a month).

I've gotten to the place where I detest chassis plates with molded-in suspension and exhaust, not to mention axle holes that go through engine blocks, so this car, which I built back in the early 80s, needs some updates. I'm hoping there's an AMT or Revell chassis that's pretty much a drop-in fit. I'd prefer to see an actual conversion as opposed to "this chassis might work", so please show your work Bonus question for the Mopar experts: On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, how accurate is the Hemi in the Johan kit (disregarding the hole in the block)? .

It might help if you listed the date of the show.

Cesar, it looks like you had a great turnout for the contest, and it's obvious that there are quite a number of talented builders there too. Thanks for posting up all the pics!

While I'm 100% in favor of Dodge going back to a 2-door Charger, I won't GAD about this car until I know they've finally gotten rid of that Checker Marathon front end treatment they've been running since the new, 4-door Checker...sorry, Charger came out. .

Gotta love this board. I enjoy seeing these old Toronado kits being built, and in the last couple months we've had a couple other builds that were intriguing to watch, but I don't think they had to put anywhere near the amount of effort into their projects as you put into this one. My compliments for rescuing that kit and seeing the project through to completion. Object lesson for new builders: tenacity pays off. If the Dupli-Color paint you used wasn't an Olds color for that year, it should've been. By any chance, do you still have the can or know the part number?

I'm lovin' what I'm seein'. Were there WIP pictures of this build that I missed?

The ironic thing about good model photography is that it can expose a mediocre paint job. You, however, have nothing to worry about here since your photographic skills show that you have done the prep work required to obtain such a killer finish. Nice foil work, too!

Judging by the size of the wheels depicted near the ruler, I'd say this is smaller than 1/25 scale.

This will definitely be worth watching

I noticed that a couple of you implied that this kit has some serious pitfalls that make it less than fun to build. Could someone specify what all is wrong with it? I've got one of these kits stuck away for "someday" but I'd like to know what I'm getting into.

I created a post on here awhile back asking the same question. For some reason I can't seem to find the thread, but the consensus was don't use primer underneath Metalizers. OTOH, make sure the plastic is as perfect as you can get it (mold lines removed, etc).

I hope a lot of our less experienced members get a chance to see this. Erik was able to take a simple AMT curbside kit and enhance it to the point where any one of us would be proud to have it parked on our shelves. It's all about mastering the fundamentals. Can't wait to see what your next project is going to be, Erik.

If I can't find it locally, I rely on www.scalehobbyist.com .

Always nice to see one of these restored so nicely, given their scarcity. Great job on the re-do. The gold color kinda reminds me of Jay Leno's 1,000+ hp beast I know the demand for these '66 & '67 Toronados isn't great, but could you imagine AMT tooling up a new one with the kind of engineering & effort they put into their '66 Riviera?

Erik, I'm glad you came up with a better alternative to your original interior idea. It's a substantial improvement. The paint on the car looks sharp, and your grille detailing came out nicely as well. Would you mind telling me how you did the fine white lettering on the dash?

Scared me too. Thought I was gonna have to turn in my man-card. Did'ja see the spare tire?

Felix, I'm curious how you're gonna match that paint since the hobby stuff doesn't match that particular shade. You may want to see if Scalefinishes has what you need.

Looks like it turned out great, Bruce! I've got the same kit languishing in my ever-growing "git-er-done" pile. Did you encounter any assembly difficulties when your were building this one?

Just use Testors rattle can enamels. Same results, slightly lower cost.

Actually, I wrote that we only redid Dimwit's (nickname) passenger door. The paintjob had several indicators that it had been done by an amateur: flag stripes were of unequal width, bottom stripe was white, door numbers were different lengths and "General Grant" logos on the sides of the roof looked like an Asian font. Again, to be specific, I said: Seeing the quality of the work, I could only surmise that DuPont had once offered a paint-by-Braille system and that a one-handed car painter had purchased one.

True story: my first job was at a Co-op service station. (Co-ops used to be kind of a big deal in farming communities across the midwest). One of my co-workers was a Mopar nut who spent way more than he should have for a '69 Charger which the previous owner had painted as the Northern version of the General Lee. The paint was a medium blue with a Civil War-era US flag on the roof, "General Grant" along the sides of the roof and the number 00 painted on the doors instead of the General Lee's 01. Seeing the quality of the work, I could only surmise that DuPont had once offered a paint-by-Braille system and that a one-handed car painter had purchased one. For the most part, we were too tactful to disparage his dream machine, but he kinda got the idea eventually. He had stopped by the station on his day off to grab some Cokes etc for some picnic he was going to and had left his car parked alongside the building while he was inside. A few of us grabbed some Scotch tape and toilet paper and turned the 00 on his passenger door into C0-0P. The best part about it was, he had people laughing and pointing at his car in traffic, but didn't discover why until three days later.

"Now you see where relying on a formula consisting only of Time, Money and Effort will get you. Next time add the element of Thought and your results will improve."