Harry P. Posted April 26, 2015 Posted April 26, 2015 This is the MInicraft 1/16 Cadillac V16 Town Car. I actually bought this kit–and started building it–way back in the late '90s! I got as far as getting the engine/chassis finished, then for some reason that I can't remember anymore, I put everything back in the box and put the box in my closet. And there it sat until… Fast forward 15 years or so. I'm in the closet looking for last year's tax returns (it was early April… tax filing time!), and I saw the old Cadillac kit up on a top shelf. After all these years, something made me pull it out and get back to finishing it! This car was obviously meant for the very rich… it wasn't a car you drove, it was a car you were driven in, by your chauffeur. Class all the way. I didn't want to go with an all black car. While very formal and very typical, to me it looked a bit too much like a hearse! I wanted to liven things up a bit while still keeping thing more or less "formal." I went with a two-tone paint job with red accents. If I was Mr. Moneybags back in the day, this is how I would have had my Town Car painted. The kit is very well detailed… high parts count, excellent parts fit (mostly). Over the years, the whitewall inserts (which are vinyl) had turned a pretty gross shade of yellow… so I had to snap the wheels off the chassis, take apart each wheel/tire, and spray the WW inserts with Dupli-Color vinyl dye to get them back to white. The kit includes the trunk hardware on the chrome tree… but there's no actual trunk! So I had to scrachbuild one. Also… I lost the hood ornament somewhere, somehow. Until I figure out a fix, the grille shell remains unornamented! The finished model makes for a pretty impressive shelf piece. It's a large model (of course, the original was a large car!). I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out, Pros: High parts count, lots of detail, doors fit very well with tight, consistent shut lines. Choice of open wire wheels with hubcaps or full wheel covers. Luggage rack can be built opened up or folded. Cons: Poor hood fit, windshield wipers have no attachment points (I had to scratchbuild the wiper stems and drill the windshield header to mount them). Trunk hardware is included in kit, but no trunk!!! As always, feel free to comment, critique, criticize or question.
wayne swayze Posted April 26, 2015 Posted April 26, 2015 Stunning...as usual Harry! I really like the interior wood trim! Again, beautifully done!
Hubert Rollins Posted April 27, 2015 Posted April 27, 2015 Man! That's nice!! Super- detailed and slick!
philo426 Posted April 27, 2015 Posted April 27, 2015 Looks great Harry,but I think a hood ornament would be nice!
Harry P. Posted April 27, 2015 Author Posted April 27, 2015 Looks great Harry,but I think a hood ornament would be nice! Did you read my intro?
sjordan2 Posted April 27, 2015 Posted April 27, 2015 (edited) Another stunner. What material did you use for the top? Edited April 27, 2015 by sjordan2
Harry P. Posted April 27, 2015 Author Posted April 27, 2015 Another stunner. What material did you use for the top? Black acrylic craft paint mixed with Future. The top texture is molded into the plastic.
berr13 Posted April 27, 2015 Posted April 27, 2015 Beautiful, Harry...is that more antique bronze paint? Very elegant!
Harry P. Posted April 27, 2015 Author Posted April 27, 2015 Beautiful, Harry...is that more antique bronze paint? Very elegant! Yes! It's the same paint I used on my '37 Packard.
chunkypeanutbutter Posted April 27, 2015 Posted April 27, 2015 What'd you use for the trunk hardware? Sheet plastic, sprayed with Spaz Stix?
Harry P. Posted April 27, 2015 Author Posted April 27, 2015 What'd you use for the trunk hardware? Sheet plastic, sprayed with Spaz Stix? The hardware comes with the kit on one of the chrome trees, But no trunk! So I scratchbuilt one to fit the luggage rack. And oddly enough, there's no mention of a trunk (or the hardware that comes with the kit) in the instructions.
slusher Posted April 27, 2015 Posted April 27, 2015 A beautiful model Harry. Top notch work as always by you friend...
Art Anderson Posted April 27, 2015 Posted April 27, 2015 Well, that is a Fleetwood town car--you COULD have painted it all white, like Joan Crawford (yeah, Mommie Dearest!) had her's done! But, I like your choice of colors far better. Nice piece of work there! Art
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