Monty

This might be easier to answer if you told us what you were trying to accomplish. For example, Bill's suggestion would probably be great for most things, but wouldn't be as practical for something like changing the color on a set of multi-spoke wheels.

Important question: do those wheels have 4 lugs or 5? A quick Google search showed that there are a lot of 4-lug wheels out there for 1:1 Civics. Maybe they're meant for the older ones.

Casey's right on this. Here's another option: Humbrol offers tinlets of clear enamel red #1321 & clear enamel orange #1322 that work well for this kind of thing. You can get them from redfroghobbies.com or your local HobbyTown.

A positive attitude like that is an excellent way to begin. As you've said, this board has several quality casters, which, to my way of thinking, can only make modeling an even more pleasant experience. I happened to bring up Danny's site because he offers two versions of that Mopar wheel (standard & deep). In addition, if you've purchased parts from him before, you already know how high his quality standards are. I look forward to seeing what you have to offer. If the Pentastar boys are as underrepresented as you say, you may have a small gold mine on your hands.

Fred, would you consider posting up some pics of the car, especially the WIP stuff? For some reason I can't get enough of those old MPC 'Vettes, and I don't think I've ever seen this one built.

I'm not out to deprive Kevin of a sale, but this guy has 'em in regular and deep dish. He's a member here, and he makes good stuff! http://www.scenesunltd.com/Wheels.html

Years ago, I came across a rather unique ebay bid. The seller was offering a Heller Ferrari 512S kit along with an UMi modellwerke conversion kit to change it into a 512M. The conversion kit contains a vacuum-cast body in thin, white plastic as well as a thin, clear vacuum-cast plastic body. (The instruction sheet tells why both are included). You also get Fred Cady Sunoco decals, a P/E set and an instruction pamphlet. I recently traded my 512S kit away, so I no longer have any need for this, but I'd like to know what its value is, as I'll probably put it up for trade. I wasn't able to find anything current on ebay, so... what do you think it's worth, and what are you basing that on?

Well said. Thank you!

We don't get to see a lot of Javelins on here, so it's nice to see yours, Dan. Nice masking on the side graphics! I wish Revell would crank out a full detail '71-'74 for us. I've heard the JoHan Javelin glue kits have an older AMC engine in them. (Imagine someone kitting a '71 Mustang with a Y-block...)

Eric, I love the color you chose for this one. What paint is it?

I love purple too! I may have to look into those HOK paints.

Just out of curiosity, what color are you painting it?

I recently received a Barnes & Noble gift certificate and now I'm interested in hearing your recommendations for interesting books about car models & the car model industry. For example, I think there's supposed to be a fairly good book about Monogram. I don't know if the books still have to be in print in order to buy them through B&N, so if you can provide me with the actual title & author, or even better, with the ISBN, I can check on that.

Mark, can we assume this is the Tamiya kit? I have yet to build one of their kits, but they seem to be very well engineered. Based on what I see here, I think your novice status will soon be a thing of the past.

I've still got one of these that I bought back in the early '80s. Never got around to building it, which is kind of strange since I was fascinated by so many of the cars in the Can-Am series. Can't wait to see what Ray does with this one.

That, or take a look at the box art for Revell's Greenwood Stars & Stripes Corvette: http://www.shopping.com/Revell-Revell-1-25-John-Greenwood-Corvette-Coupe-Sebring-1971/info (For some reason I can't post pics here anymore).

I know GM only offered these hoods for a certain period of time, but I've seen aftermarket pieces (Ecklers etc) on 1:1 '78-'82 'Vettes. In the world of modeling, I'm sure there are any number of casters who carry regular L88 Corvette hoods, but the later C3s featured longer hoods that went to the base of the windshield, eliminating the cowl area. These are the hoods that I'd like to have turned into an L88 setup. The underside doen't need to be modified, as this is mostly for appearance. I hope a caster can come through, 'cuz I inhale vigorously at scratchbuilding.

Looks like Jimmy Flintstone "borrowed" MPC's 1977 'Vette Van design and changed a few things (fender gills and roof shape) so he could call it his own. If you happen to have any of the MPC C3 chassis, you might consider them as an alternative as they feature poseable front wheels and independent halfshafts on the IRS. OTOH, by using this body, I can see you getting creative with unique headlight options and possibly some kind of specialty work on the "bread van" section, such as a tinted moon roof, or a swing-up rear window a la the AMT '55 Nomad.

Before I go and spend a bunch of money on hobby paints, has anyone had good results spraying a candy color over pearl white? The idea I'm considering is Tamiya candy blue stripes over a Testors White Lightning pearl white body, but I don't know if the pearl white will provide the kind of base (like silver or gold) that would keep the blue from appearing washed out. I'm asking because these spray cans are around $7.00 apiece here, and I don't want to waste money on something that won't work. If you've done this and have pics, I'd love to see them.

Nice work on that! I still wonder why none of the kit mfrs think the '70 is worth another shot...

To the best of my knowledge, the last time they released it was around 1978.

I built this kit as a kid and loved it, despite the fact that it was molded in a hideous, eggplant-like shade of styrene that JoHan would've balked at. I wasn't aware that there were body panel discrepancies, so I'll watch to see how you handle them. I do remember wishing I could do something to make the doors fit better since I'd prefer to keep them operational. The tiny amount of research I've done so far seems to indicate that this engine has two distributors, so spark plug wiring will take some time and effort, but the payoff should be worth it. Matt, would you mind incorporating your refrence materials in with your WIP pics so we can use them too? I can't wait to see how this turns out!

1963 full-detail Corvette 1973 Pontiac Grand Am 1983 Hurst Olds

The guy pushing 1/20 scale models was George Toteff. I remember being elated the first time I heard that MPC had done up a decently detailed '69 AMX. Imagine my disappointment when I learned what scale it was. Thanks for cluing me in on the age of the Lindberg Gremlin. I'd never even heard of it until its latest release, and I didn't pay much attention to it then because of the scale issue. As I said, some of the 1/20 stuff they did was very nice. I recall being impressed when a friend of mine showed me their '94 Firebird kit. If it had been made in 1/24 or 1/25 scale, I probably would have chosen it over anything comparable from AMT, Revell or Monogram at the time. I'm not a big fan of most mid-'60s Mopars, but you're not the first one to mention that Lindberg could have done so much more with their Plymouths and Dodges. OTOH, some of the stuff they did (Hoppin' Hydros, anyone?) just leaves me convinced they'd prefer to be a cheesy plastic toy company.

I don't think there's ever been a more schizophrenic model company than Lindberg, especially during the '90s. The '53 Ford and '66 Chevelle proved they were capable of designing models that could hang with anything else in 1/25, but, just like MPC, they seemed determined to shove 1/20 scale models up everyone's dorsal orifice. These 1/20 kits were generally very well done, but as MPC found out, there's not enough interest in 1/20 scale kits to make them viable. I have no doubt that AMT is cleaning up on the 1/25 Gremlin they reissued, despite its flaws, because it's in a scale that the majority of us have been building since who knows when. Only a schizophrenic company like Lindberg would look at information like that and insist on cranking out...a 1/20 Gremlin. OK, enough 1/20 bashing. Let's go to the other extreme Lindberg's known for: 1/32. Every auto model magazine "wish list" I've seen since the early '90s has had the '73 Pontiac Grand Am on it, but for some reason, no one has taken up the challenge, although Lindberg did create a series of 1/32 snap kits that included the Grand Am as well as a number of other models. Unfortunately, they're more like 12-piece toys than anything you'd feel pround to display. OTOH, those of you who like building "donks" would've appreciated the oversized tires & wheels. I guess I'm just wondering where Lindberg would be now if they'd put a little more thought into what they decide to produce. Case in point: the Gremlin. On the positive side, it looks like they decided to do an earlier model Gremlin than AMT's '76, which is what most of is would have preferred. And even Lindberg wouldn't have had to sweat too hard to outdo the AMT kit for features and accuracy (such as a kit without a wire axle through the engine). Coulda been a big win in the right scale... Now imagine that the same people who engineered the '53 Ford kit were assigned to do a full-detail 1/25 '73 Grand Am. Too bad we'll never see it. If Lindberg survives, they will probably be happy to just continue pooping out more snapper cop cars and more 1/32 junk.