Monty

Tamiya and Testors both offer quality acrylic paints that airbrush nicely and clean up easily. Some guys on here also use the cheap crafts-type acrylics (WalMart) for interiors etc.

More Mopar magic from Ben! Very nicely done!

Don't be discouraged, Ben. We all had to start somewhere. Stick with this forum for a while, and once you get the basics down we'll teach you the tricks to becoming a better builder in no time. All kidding aside, I know that kit is leagues above anything MPC ever produced, but I have to wonder if the folks at Revell knew it could ever turn out this nice. Obviously the paint work and engine detailing will capture most people's attention, but that interior shot is incredible. Take a bow, you deserve it. PS What's your secret for detailing the hard lines on the chassis and the wiring on the firewall so neatly?

Ya can't bead it!

I saw someone do a '76 Corvette that way once. They used some abrasives and a very light gray acrylic to make it look like someone had scrubbed the sidewall against the curb for about 10 feet. They also made the passenger side headlight lid ride up about 2 scale inches to show some of the vacuum problems they had back then. I remember thinking "If they get the t-tops to leak in the rain, they'll win hands down." PS Those are 1/20 scale tires.you're working on. You should be able to throw handfuls of white paint across the room and hit those letters. I'm guessing you're going to say you're not up to trying that, so do what Bryan says and get 'em done, Slacker!

Get those tires lettered up, ya slacker. Nice progress so far, Ray. I noticed this Monogram kit had some details the 1/20 MPC kit didn't, such as far more accurate seats (with the correct carpeted section on the back), and an actual "batwing" (aluminum brace that bolts to the back of the differential). To the best of my knowledge, none of the 1/25 '80-'82 models have that. Any particular reason you didn't do your t-tops in primer when you did the rest of the body? This is going to look sharp when you get it finished!

I picked one up some time ago for a fairly reasonable price and it seems to be very well engineered. It looks like it should turn out nicely without being difficult to build. Are there any areas of concern/foibles/hiccups I should be aware of before I start? I'll be curious to see how you guys did the taillights. I have the right hobby paints to do them, but I'm wondering if some craft-type glass stain might look better.

Humbrol makes some wonderful enamels, including a few candies and metalizer-type paints. Unlike a martini, they prefer to be (well) stirred, not shaken, for best results. If memory serves, they're a British company, so generally only larger, more well-stocked hobby shops carry them in the US. If you can't get them locally, here are the two sources I use: www.redfroghobbies.com/ http://www.hobbylinc.com/ (They're listed as Airfix paints on here.)

Good for you Jim! That steel wheels/poverty caps fetish gets annoying fairly quickly. Personally, I don't think you could've picked a better paint color or better wheels for this build.

That color was made for that car. Great choice, Frank! Did the Humbrol flow out like that on its own or did you polish/clearcoat it it? What do you prefer to reduce Humbrol enamels with?

I've always wondered if that kit had a different design team at MPC or if they just decided to go out on a high note & offer one last, great 1/25 car. Either way, it was leagues better than most of their releases. The chassis is very well designed and features poseable steering and a fairly accurate suspension. The grille utilizes paintable glue-in inserts (instead of making you detail paint the grille's chromed surface), and it features clear plastic headlight lenses instead of MPC's usual molded-in chrome units. MPC's "optional" wheels can be hit-or-miss, but this kit has a very nice set of 5-spoke mags that are period-perfect.

Different experiences, I guess. When the local shops replaced their Pactra racks, I remember seeing rows of Testors enamels in glass bottles & the majority of them had come unmixed so all the pigments etc were at the bottom. As you might suspect, that didn't exactly fill me with confidence. I still despise Testors' enamel spray cans/nozzles, so if I happen to need that color, I'll just decant it for airbrush use. That said, Testors has made some great stuff since those days, and my paint collection is proof of that.

Here are a few memories from the distant past: I can't be the only one who was caught using the "good" steak knives to cut parts off the sprues. Fortunately, Christmas wasn't far off, and I received the 3-knife X-Acto set, among other things. Was anyone else disappointed when Pactra paints started to disappear from the hobby stores? At the time, I preferred their enamels & rattle cans to Testors. I think I'd be scared to tally up what I've spent on this hobby since I started, especially when I consider how little I have to show for it. Old favorites like MPC & Johan may not be around to issue new stuff, but with Moebius & Revell making high quality, reasonably priced kits, and AMT promising new stuff, I'm still hyped about the future of the hobby.

Tim, what did you use to reduce these for airbrush use?

If I understand the history of MPC correctly, they were founded by former AMT executive George Toteff, who left to start his own model line. His first release, a '64(?) Corvette, allegedly had some outstanding detailing for the time (metal coil springs!) but over the years, MPC's undercarriages became fairly simplistic, engine bays were fairly devoid of other details, and they almost never deviated from molded-in chrome headlights, despite the fact that AMT had been using separate, clear lenses for years. That said, they offered kits no one else did ('70-'81 Firebird kits with Trans Am and Formula building options, a '70 Grand Prix, the Dodge Charger III, various mid-'70s Dodge pickups etc.) When they put their minds to it, they could create some great stuff. I haven't built one, but I'm told the 1/16 427 Cobra is incredibly well done. Most of their Connoisseur Classics also seem to be very well designed, but apparently weren't as popular as anticipated. Toward the end, though, some of their releases, such as the Chevette and the Ford EXP, really puzzled me. OTOH, many MPC kits will bring $40.00+ on ebay, so.... As for favorites, I have a number of their '75-'82 Corvettes. They take some work to make them more accurate, as MPC didn't always keep up with the changes, but they were definitely better than the AMT Corvette offerings at the time.

Paul, I meant to ask this earlier: What scale is this?

I'm guessing some of you will recommend a gel pen, but I can't imagine one being able to to obtain such crisp results in 1/25 scale. If you've been able to pull this off successfully (with or without a gel pen), please post instructions and pictures.

Phenomenal build and excellent photography, Paul. Impressive!

Yeah, the rest of the country could choose between the L-48 with 190 hp/280 lb ft or the L-82 with 230 hp/270 lb ft. I found out it's very difficult to find an L-82 with a factory 4 speed, and the gov't-mandated 85-mph speedometer was a bit of a shock. My 1/20 Corvette kits are stuck clear at the back of my storage cabinets. What do you think of the Monogram kit as far as accuracy is concerned?

Having owned a nicely modified '80 for 20 years, you know I'll be watching this build. I happened to luck out a few years ago when I found this same Monogram kit as well as an MPC 1/20 '80 'Vette dirt cheap. The Monogram kit seems to have a slight edge on parts accuracy, but I still plan to use the MPC kit's poseable steering, just because I like it as a feature. If you think yours was hot inside, try driving one with mirrored t-tops in Texas. Apparently Chevy wasn't aware that the Scandanavians had already invented the sauna.

Best four years of my life, and not necessarily for the pop culture reasons that spring to most people's minds. First, going out of state helped me put the cliques and social castes that are part and parcel of a small town high school way behind me. Second, I had a little more incentive, thanks to my dad's wisdom. He co-signed for my student loans, but emphasized that any forthcoming loans would depend on the previous year's GPA. Since I had worked for a few years after high school, I was old enough to live off campus with two friends for all for years. Long story short, where I had occasionally done enough to get by in high school, I thrived in this atmosphere. As far as models, I only built two during those years. This one, which we were required to buy and build for an art class. I kept it "box stock". and this one. I met a very pretty girl there whose dad ran a Chevy dealership in the western part of the state. The funny part was, she loved classic ('65-'73) Mustangs, and I had a '73 fastback at the time. I couldn't find a model of mine, so I built this one for her. Painted it Testors Sapphire Blue with a nicely detailed engine bay, interior and chassis, not to mention the four perfectly done white outline letter tires that came with the kit. You guys would've loved it. She, OTOH, wasn't exactly overwhelmed, but she did keep it on one of her shelves till I lost track of her a year or so later. Go Pokes!

Here's the most recent example that I can think of. This model cannot be built as depicted on the box art by using only what you find in the kit. I bought one, naively assuming that it would have MPC's Cragar SS wheels and that the decal sheet would have two or three different colors of stock Mopar stripes (black & white, possibly red). There are no Cragar SS wheels and no stock Mopar stripes. The kit did have some nice Centerline-type wheels, but the decal sheet was mostly made up of ugly blue & green custom/street striping. Assuming someone like Keith Marks even made correct GTX decals, they'd probably cost at least $10.00 plus shipping, so I wasn't terribly happy with AMT/Round2/whoever.

Yeah, yeah, nice tires. Now go crank out a bunch and put 'em on your website. My credit card's been kicking holes in my billfold ever since you made your announcement, so get a move on! Sincerely, Bob the .gif thief

Sweet paint, Shane! It looks like you took one of those pics on the hood of something interesting. Have we seen this 1:1 vehicle? Open question for the board: Pardon my ignorance, but what is the greenish thing between the rear axle and the gas tank?

Well said! The best example of this is the amount of input Moebius sought in order to get the Hudson correct vs all those expensive automotive subjects Trumpeter released that ended up needing lots of plastic surgery.