64Comet404

I have been lucky enough to find most of my grail kits, but there are still a few I want to find. Unbuilt AMT 1968 Ford Galaxie: Every started kit or built-up I have seen has managed to mess up the front suspension. JoHan 1968-69 AMC Javelin, clean rebuilder or unbuilt. AMT 1958 Ford Hardtop. JoHan 1965 Plymouth Hardtop (I have a line on a built-up from a friend, so I should be able to remove this one from the list)

The Benz kit number is 24040, so it’s close enough for government work. I hope their replacement policy covers your purchase.

The only Corvettes I remember seeing that resembled a Palmer kit were found on those old amusement park kiddie kar rides.

Paint will adhere to the brass etch, but I wanted to darken it before painting, just in case the paint chipped (now a moot point). Annealing the metal allows it to be formed and take shape easier. The spokes for the Benz have a pronounced 'offset' (right word?) in pictures and instructions, and annealing the metal should help me in producing the proper shape without distorting/stressing the pieces.

Mea Culpa. I took the initial measurement with my dial caliper, which gave me a reading of 0.006” and change. When converting to fractions, I misread as 0.06”, which is 1/16”. And for another stupid human trick, remember how I said it was easy to restore the spokes to their proper shape? I forgot to anneal the pieces before painting, so when I tried to form the spokes to the rim, guess what...THEY BOUNCED BACK!!! (Why can’t I find the beating head against wall emoji when I really need it!). You are not seeing this, this is not really happening...

Looking forward to this rebuild, Eric. It’s a kit that I have wanted to build for many years.

I have managed to get a few more steps done since my last post. The frame did set square, so I did some light seam removal before gluing in more of the cross braces. Thankfully, most of these pieces will be black, so I can build it up before painting. I also glued some of the multi-piece assemblies together, such as the engine and various tanks. Since I used liquid glue for assembly, I will give the parts a day or two to ‘gas out’ before I start sanding and painting. There was a slight mishap with the wheels. If you look at the pictures in the first post, you will notice the front spokes are sitting on top of a pill bottle. They stayed there until this morning, when I reached for the bottle and tried to open it! One set of spokes was undamaged, but the other set looked like an injured daddy long-legs. Lucky for me that 1/16” brass is forgiving, and was soon straightened. One issue with the kit is the lack of a seam between the rim and tire, not that you would really notice it. I sprayed the tires with TS-82 rubber black, and once the wheel/tire halves are assembled, I plan to paint the tire area in a dark grey, which will hopefully trick the eye. If not, there is always weathering!

The frame and structure of the kit is made of several parts, so I started trimming and gluing. I placed as many of the cross braces in place (without gluing), so hopefully the frame will stay square as the glue dries.

Great looking build. I have one in the stash, and I am hoping ICM produces the figures for the Marne taxis (just like they did for their 1:35 version).

1965 Grand Prix had those parts. Great looking builds, have considered building the durability and safari cars over the years.

I picked up one of the new ICM kits last Sunday, and had intended to throw it in the stash. With a few weeks downtime on my schedule, I figured I could get started and see how buildable the kit actually is. The first step is to prepare the photoetch for painting. I trimmed the pieces from the fret, and immersed them in Blacken-It. Once dry, a quick spray of Tamiya metal primer should have them ready for paint. The owner of the hobby shop warned me about one problem with this kit, which I want to pass along. If you buy this kit, open it up at the shop and check the contents. Apparently, some buyers have opened up the box and found a model of a Panzer tank.

I picked up some paints which were on sale at my LHS. Hoping to get some projects moved forward during my unexpected vacation.

The AMT '67 Mustang has a nice 1/25 version, and you can create a good 1/24 version using parts from the Monogram '65 Mustang and '66 GT350 kits.

I was planning on being off for spring break, but now have a three-week vacation due to the school closures. Picked up a few bottles of paint today, and will try and get some kits finished for the (hopefully not cancelled) upcoming show season.

Some of the problems could be due to the kit plastic. Over the years, I have had some issues with the styrene used in AMT's mid-1970s releases, just not as forgiving as earlier and later plastic compounds.

I have never built either version, but I have a friend who built the Revell Enzo and he spent plenty of time swearing at it (he posts here, so I will let him describe his experiences first hand).

Drove down to Toronto for the Group 25 swap meet. Had a great time reconnecting with old friends, and managed to find a few kits to bring home with me. I came across the ICM Patent-wagen at a hobby shop after the show.

I picked up this truck a couple of days ago, and the three Fords today. The ‘30 coupe and ‘32 roadster were incomplete, but I have enough parts to complete.

My Comet wagon had the same issue, and it did not matter how carefully you filled up the tank. As soon as you were close to full, the tax would spit back over the quarter panel.

For cars tooled in the 1980's by Monogram, a builder had a number of choices. This is going from memory, so I may miss a few. Mustang: 1983 convertible, 1985 SVO Corvette: 1981 snap kit, 1982 Collector's Edition, 1984 snap kit, 1985 coupe, 1986 convertible Camaro: 1981 snap kit, 1983 snap kit, 1985 snap kit Firebird: 1981 snap kit, 1982 T/A, 1983 T/A, 1985 T/A Chrysler: 1982 Charger snap kit, 1985 Shelby Charger snap kit, 1985 Daytona snap kit Fiero: 1985 Monte Carlo: 1986 SS Thunderbird: 1987 Turbo Coupe I didn't list many of the kits introduced after Monogram and Revell merged in 1986, so there are probably many more to be added.

I remember reading about the convertible top article, but I can't remember if the model was one of the pieces which resides at the Model Car Museum. If you ever wish to read about a modeller overcoming adversity, look up the story of Dave Shuklis and prepare to be amazed.

I don't know if anyone else is seeing this on their screen, but I was scrolling down the thread, and agreeing with some of the posted comments. Yes, these tools have plenty of flash, and you can definitely find earlier issues of some of these kits at reasonable prices. Anyway, I get down to the end of the comments, and what is the advertisement showing...A PLASMA CUTTER!!! (Just what every builder of reissued car models needs in their workshop!) You know that there is consensus when even the 'bots are agreeing with you on the subject!?

I decided to sort through my specialty paints and make sure there weren’t any dead bottles. I found two which had gummed up beyond saving, but that’s not bad for paint that was almost twenty years old. I may even get some building done while watching the Cup race from California.

Xuron cutters aren't too bad, but my favourites are sold by Tamiya. They cost me $40 back in the mid-'90s, but they are still as sharp and as precise as when I first bought them.

Bought this a few days back, but haven’t had a chance to photograph it.