Monty

Rich, thanks for taking the time to do that. Was this shot over bare plastic? Primer? Silver/gold undercoat? I love the Boyd's colors, but I've noticed the overall color can often be affected by what they're sprayed over. That '57's gonna be nice!

Jason, I'm going to make a suggestion that will improve the look of your engine & help you with future builds as well. While I can certainly respect someone making their own distributor & adding spark plug wires, the size of the wires can have an effect on how accurate a given model looks. In your case, the plug wires look to be the size of battery cables. Here's a recent thread on determining the correct size of wiring to use for this: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=56674&hl=wiring In answer to your question about preassmbled cap & wire kits, a lot of us use these guys. http://www.madmodeling.com/store/ccp0-catshow/distributors.html Again, I hope you'll take this as a helpful suggestion instead of seeing it as criticism. I like how you're doing the exhaust manifolds and the engine bay. Can't wait to see it finished!

I'll be doing a paint run this weekend and I may add a can of this stuff to my shopping basket depending on what you guys show me. Indoor and outdoor shots would be great, if you have both. TIA!

Rich, any chance you could post up a pic of your work with this paint? I'd like to see how it turned out, too.

Looks like a fantastic kit! Am I wrong in thinking you guys were considering issuing '73-'75 Laguna S3 parts to go with it?

I agree about painting the recesses on the Keystone wheels. Use a 0/10 pointed brush and semi-gloss black (use acrylic if you're worried about mistakes). A few minutes work yields spectacular results. If you don't make your own distributors or need something more accurate than you can make (in my case HEI) you can't go wrong with M.A.D. http://www.madmodeling.com/store/ccp0-catshow/distributors.html Great selection of wire and cap colors!

If only they had a movie tie-in,like The Falcon and the Tow Man...

Jonathan, I understand what it is that you don't want, but I wonder if you'd mind taking a challenge. Let's pretend you're in charge of greenlighting projects for a model company. With the high costs of tooling and the necessity of selling X number of kits to make a profit, issuing one "dog" could be hazardous to the company, while a 2nd error in judgment might be detrimental enough to cost you your job. Here's your challenge: Give me a list of 10 non-AARP-type cars you'd issue that you're sure generations X & Y would buy like old guys buy '32 Fords. Rob, et al, feel free to create your own lists.

Clever idea using Metalizer as body paint. Nothing wrong with the original, but I really like the new version much better. Nicely done!

Pretty much what I was going to say. Love that Chrysler color!

Oh, I like this. Did you guys see the screens behind the hood scoops? Paul, did you have to cut the air cleaner assembly apart to paint the filter itself?

I swear I've seen at least one Monogram kit (1/24) that had these, but I can't recall which one(s).

I'm kind of split on this. I thought the '70-'74 Cudas had incredibly well styled front ends, but I preferred the '70 & '71 Challengers over all of them. If we're talking '72-'74, then the Cuda wins hands down. Al, I swear you and I have the same taste in paint colors.

This used to be my other hobby till the guy who ran the racetracks had to shut it all down. He carried service parts for about everything as well as hop-up parts for some of the more common brands, so the majority of my cars run very well. He also offered three different sizes (height) of black silicone slicks, which were a godsend to most of those cars. My Tyco II cars (button pickups) with low rear tires were a blast to drive. I bought one just like this little beast shortly before he closed. http://slotcarcollectibles3.homestead.com/files/Tomy_bk_SauberMerc2.JPG It was fast to begin with, but I added about $100.00 worth of hop-up parts (gold-plated pick-up shoes, better armature, better magnets, pneumatic rear tires on alloy wheels) and it flat flew. The problem was, that black body made it impossible to keep track of while racing. IIRC, there's at least one business that offers special wheels & inserts for both original ThunderJet cars as well as the Magna-Traction cars of the mid-70s.

Well worth the wait, Brett!

Very nicely done. I love seeing all the details you've added, painted and otherwise (door locks!) When you combine those with a clean build and a fantastic paint job, you end up with a spectacular build like this.

Don't bother going there for hobby stuff. IIRC, Mark had been getting a lot of his stuff at Hobby Lobby in Cheyenne.

Tell 'em how you achieved those shades of blue on the Freightliner

If this is your first model, you seem to have a decent grasp of how things work. I would've assumed that Dupli-Color paint, sprayed in that kind of volume, would've etched the plastic. I'm guessing you either did some great mist coats or you had a great primer on there. That said, it's hard to argue with the results when the color looks like that. Don't take this as me talking down to you, but be careful with those 1:1 automotive paints around styrene plastic. Test your mix on some of the empty sprues (parts trees) from the same kit before you spray the body. I agree with the others - having seen what you can do with a spray gun, I can't wait to see what you can do with an airbrush.

Tommy, do your local hobby shops carry Evergreen plastic? You may have to fabricate the chassis on your own, but it might not be such an ordeal if you have all the right stuff. http://www.evergreenscalemodels.com/Shapes.htm#Channels

Surely there's a better way than that...

Add the AMT '67 Impala to that list up top.

I don't think they ever did an '80 w/ a 301T, but this '79 can't be all that different, can it? I haven't built this kit, but I assume it has the basics for your 301T. http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-MPC-1-25-1979-TURBO-TRANS-AM-INDIANAPOLIS-500-PACE-CAR-SEALED-/251228060429?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item3a7e5bfb0d#ht_628wt_679 The only other major thing you'll have to contend with is finding an MPC '77 Trans Am if you want a roof without t-tops.

I certaily admire the way you stuck with that kit to the finish. The segment on the tail light panel was excellent, and you really nailed it in regard to Monogram's D- effort on the master cylinder & brake booster. C'mon Monogram, if MPC can tool 'em up, so can you. That half-melted-lump look is a deterrent to kit buyers who understand what they're looking at. Also enjoyed your write-up on your '80 T/A. Since you're obviously not averse to a challenge, have you considered trying to modify MPC's '79 Trans Am into a replica of your '80?

AMT's '70 Monte Carlo also has a separate frame, although it may still be a little longer than you want. How good are your modeling skills? Frames like these can be lengthened or cut down.