Monty

Now that's what I call a great answer! Thanks, Mike!

Do you know anything about street machines or street rods? Yes, I'm sure it's an air cleaner, and I remember when these were a common aftermarket add-on. Some people liked the looks, but I assume most of their popularity was based on a combination of low cost, space configuration issues (dual carbs) and the misguided hope that the "all-access" design would result in more power from an increase in airflow. I wouldn't have run one of these on any of my 1:1 cars at gunpoint, but I've got one particular build that the scale version would be perfect for.

I was curious about the same thing. Also, for those of us who haven't built this kit, are there any tricky areas we should be aware of?

Thanks, Mr DeRagon! I knew I'd seen those vacuum advance units somewhere. The distributors look sharp, too.

Most of the time it depends on what I'm building. I've used the Detail Master setup for some of my late '60 / early '70s kits because it looks like the Mallory Unilite distributors I used to run back then. I thought the P/E retainer clips lent a touch of authenticity that other mfrs' kits didn't always have, and the 4/6/8 plug wire option made this a great add-on for those modelers doing plug wiring on 4 & 6 cylinder engines. I think my only complaint was the lack of a vacuum advance unit. OTOH, it's hard to beat M.A.D.'s HEI distributors for applications that require that setup. IIRC, M.A.D. offers 8 cap colors and 8 plug wire colors, so most stock or aftermarket setups could easily be duplicated. Unfortunately, like its DM counterpart, it also lacks a vacuum advance unit, but I believe some enterprising resin caster offers them. I haven't used them, but the guys at M.A.D. also have 4 & 6 cylinder distributors & a couple other specialized units (Ford & Hemi distributors).

I happened to see this air cleaner on another board and asked the builder about it. He said it was purchased through Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland around 15 years ago, and to the best of his knowledge, they haven't been available in this form (metal) for some time. Does anyone know if there's another aftermarket model business that offers this (non-resin, non-styrene) air cleaner as part of their inventory?

Congratulations on attempting and completing this conversion! As others have said, you've chosen a great color combination for the body and interior, and I see you've added some nice detailing touches throughout the entire build. If you don't mind sharing, what specific paint did you use on the body?

Outstanding work, especially given the kit you started with. I never thought I'd see a set of chrome reverse wheels on an old Cadillac and say "That rocks!"...and it does. Well done!

That's got to be one of the best builds of that kit I've ever seen. I shouldn't be surprised, considering who built it. *naughty word* talented Russian

Nicely done old Mopar!

I've got a number of photos my brother took of my 'Vette before I sold it. They're in a file called Pictures, but there doesn't seem to be a way to copy/paste them or even a URL to copy. Every once in a while someone needs a reference photo that I technically have, but can't share. Is there an easy way to do this? I'm not brilliant around computers, so keep that in mind with your answer

Here are some '68s that other members have built. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=85375 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=100274 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19231&p=168864 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=79417&p=1011511 Looks like it's fairly accurate and it appears to be a straightforward build. Some people are upgrading to the new AMT tampo-printed Polyglas RWL tires. I think they offer a redline tire as well, which would also be accurate for this car. Are you just looking for any C3 ('68 - '82) or did you have a specific year in mind that you were interested in building?

Looks like they may have issued that hot mess more than once. Another one to leave alone: The ARII 1/24 '80 Corvette kit. It's a curbsider with beautiful wheels and tires, but the body is noticeably "off" from the C-pillar back.

This may have been your first post, but after seeing how well this build turned out, I hope there will be many more. Welcome to our board!

Was your Gold Leaf in a spray can? If so, they don't seem to have that anymore, but they have a regular Gold as well as a very expensive Metallic Gold (TS84) in their spray can line. Gold Leaf is still available in their acrylic line (X-12).

I had a model back in the '70s that I really wanted to do paint with gold enamel. Long story short, the paint (Pactra or Testors rattle can) turned out blotchy & I've stayed away from gold as a car color since then. The pics on here show that we have some highly talented modelers who used their favorite variant of gold paint to finish off their builds. I'm loving what I see - several different shades of "gold" and all of them look good on their respective kits. Thanks to all who posted! I'll take more pics if anyone has them.

If what you're saying is true, and it sounds like it is, this could be very good news for those of us wanting a nice (non-diecast-based) '70 Charger. Man I hope they get this thing right. Dumb question (because I don't understand the process) will they be retooling the '68 or '69 molds to make a '70?

This is why I decided to allow builds painted with Dupli-Color paints. It's distinctly different from Pete's '32, but works so well on that Caddy. Thanks Al!

Nice work on that '32. That paint turned out sweet. Thanks Pete!

My post only called for hobby paints, but I changed my opening statement to stipulate omitting Testors' Inca Gold. The highlighted part of your quote is why I am hoping to see various mfrs' versions of "gold". I've seen some that were outstanding and some that looked grainy.

*Let's start with this: I love Testors Inca Gold, but I'd rather you didn't post pics of cars done in that shade as I'm looking for something more stock-looking. I'm hoping to see builds painted in Testors enamel or lacquer gold, Tamiya acrylic or lacquer gold, or Dupli-Color gold. I'm currently not in a position to go out and buy each one for "spoon tests" etc, so I'd appreciate it if you'd specify which paint you used when you post. TIA for all helpful replies.

Years ago, someone recommended Tamiya XF-66 (Light Grey) to me for these type wheels. The color's dead on, but brushing Tamiya acrylics is a PITA for me, for some reason.

I agree. I love the 1:1 car, but I'm not familiar with the kit. From what I can see of yours, it turned out very well. Who makes it and are there any other features we could see? (engine, chassis, interior, etc)

Ken, I hope you won't consider this as me talking down to you, but I'd suggest you use this wheel as a guide to painting the ones on your build. Occasionally we'll see someone only paint the spokes & neglect the back half of the rim, which really looks amateurish. You'll want to use a detailing brush (0/10) to work around the lug nuts. While you're at it, give some thought to how the color of the wheel will look with the dark blue on your build. (See Snake45's picture in post #15) These 14 & 15 inch wheels weren't usually done up in glossy colors; they were mostly light, medium or dark (flat) grey, but there have been some done in a more metallic look that were also striking in appearance. HTH