Glue Bomb Rescues and Survivor Restorations of 2018

[Snake45]

I completed 16 glue bomb “rescues” and survivor restorations this year. Only one of these required a paint-strip and repaint; on two others, I had to repaint about 20-25% to match the original. On the rest, the finish you see is what I got it with. In most cases I polished the paint or plastic with Wright's Silver Cream. The goal in these projects is not perfection, it's just to make whatever I started with look better than it was, and to have FUN doing it.

I'll show one Before and one After pic of each. Since this will require so many pics coming from so many different files on my puter, I'll break it down into 4 posts of 4 models each to make uploading easier and less confusing.

Post 1 of 4

’68 El Camino: Got in a trade last year with Bill here (GTX6970), did some work on it last year, finished on February 7.

 

’66 MPC Corvette gasser: Got as part of an eBay “junkyard” 8 or 10 years ago, started some work on it a couple years ago, finished it February 7.

 

’70 Monto Carlo: Got at local toy show last year, “rescued” over two weekends this year, finished February 18.

 

Dodge Copperhead Promo: Got at local toy show in 2016 or 2017, just dirty and scratched (no “Before” pic), cleaned and polished and did some minor paint detailing this year, finished March 4.

[Snake45]

Post 2 of 4

’70 Chevelle SS: Bought at flea market in 2014. All rework done in fairly short order this year. Finished March 19.

 

’66 Buick Wildcat: Got at local toy show in April this year, all work done shortly thereafter, finished May 5.

 

’68 Corvette MP 427: Got this one at local toy show last year. My most extensive “rescue,” bordering on a full rebuild, as I actually stripped the paint and repainted (the only full paint job I did on anything this year), and replaced the hood, wheels, and tires, but didn't alter the interior, chassis, or engine. Finished May 20.

 

’34 Ford Rod: Got at local toy show, all I did was clean it up and do a little detail painting. Finished June 17.

 

[Renegade]

Great saves. Love the black spoke mags and the black paint on the others really brings them to life.

[Snake45]

Post 3 of 4

’72 GTO: Got at local toy show this year. After polishing out the flaws in the original paint, I had to touch-up airbrush some areas but at least 75% of the original paint still shows. Finished June 24.

 

’65 GTO: Got this year at local toy show. Spent a lot of effort reworking taillight area. 100% of original parts used on this one, no replacements or substitutions, though I did spend a LOT of time trying to correct the whole rear end. Finished July 8.

 

’69 Chevelle: Got this year at local toy show. Had to repaint whole roof area but rest of paint is original. Also had to strip black paint from windows and polish them out. Finished July 29.

 

’95 Corvette ZR1: Got at local toy show this year or last. When I discovered that it was a rare factory-painted promo, I just cleaned it up, polished the glass, and put it back together; didn't lay my usual Snake-Fu on it. Finished August 12.

 

[Snake45]

Post 4 of 4

’68 Dart: Got early last year at local toy show. Most of the work here involved removing poorly applied foil and stripping and repainting the hand-brushed vinyl top. Finished September 8.

 

'62 Corvette drag car: Got this year at local toy show. Had to try to repair/match a lot of chipped original paint. Will replace the decals if I can ever find matches. Only parts I replaced were the front tires and the headlights. Finished October 22.

 

'32 Ford Vicky: Bought this year at local flea market for $3. Appears to be an early '60s build of an original issue, molded in black. Replaced all 4 tires and one valve cover, everything else here is original survivor. Finished October 27.

Mako Shark: Built by me in 1967, stripped for parts @1969-70, restored this year using the chassis of another glue bomb Mako Shark. All body parts, interior, and paint are original (paint touched up with Testor Clear Blue Acryl). Finished for the Bring Out Your Dead group completion build on December 5.

 

That's all, folks!  Thanks for looking, and as always, comments welcome!

 

Edited January 6, 2019 by Snake45

[donb]

Wow Snake. Quite a productive year. Very impressive! I like them all. That Chevelle and Buick in part 2 really caught my eye. And as you say.... Model on! 

[vamach1]

All very nicely done.  Perhaps the Dart will get the stripes, emblems and wipers added back on at some point.  I do have one question - where are the Mustangs? 

[Tom Geiger]

a whole lotta fun!    

[Snake45]

31 minutes ago, vamach1 said:

All very nicely done.  Perhaps the Dart will get the stripes, emblems and wipers added back on at some point.  I do have one question - where are the Mustangs? 

The Dart's a non-factory color, so I consider it a "Day Two," probably a late-'70s repaint, so probably no stripes. It only came with one windshield wiper, which I've left off for now. Came without door handles; I'll be ordering those from Fireball sometime soon. I haven't done the full Under Glass writeup/post on that one yet. Watch for it soon. 

As for Mustangs, I did three this year--all diecasts. You can see them in the "My 2018 Diecasts" post down in the Diecast section. 

Edited January 6, 2019 by Snake45

[RAMBENNA]

great job. they all look great

[bobthehobbyguy]

Nice work.  You've got a good eye for seeing the diamond in the rough.  Amazing difference between what you started with and the final version.

[Gramps46]

You Sir have been awarded  the title of EMT, Extreme Modeling Transformer 1st Class.  What you have done is amazing.

Gary

[bbowser]

Great saves, even more impressive that you don't use foil!

[Jmaracing]

Great looking models

[djflyer]

You get the best results from what seems as the most simple methods.  All fantastic recoveries!

Btw - I have one of those Monogram Bugatti 35's if youre still loooking.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, djflyer said:

You get the best results from what seems as the most simple methods.  All fantastic recoveries!

Btw - I have one of those Monogram Bugatti 35's if youre still loooking.

Thanks! And yes, I'm still looking for a Bugatti. Email me with your trade needs: SnakeACP45 at AOL dot com. 

[Plastic_Passion]

Love what you've done with your goats. The vette aside I like how you've basically achieved what the original builder was going for. That being said, I really enjoy that vette. I see your hood was doing the same thing mine was doing too. 

[Sport Suburban]

Those are really cool.

[Oldcarfan27]

What I like about your saves is that you essentially preserved the original builders work and intent. Thereby saving the cars as a look into the past.

Very interesting way to complete so many models!

[Hmann68]

A lot of hard work and nice results in 2018 from you, can’t wait to see what ‘19 brings ?

[Snake45]

17 hours ago, bbowser said:

Great saves, even more impressive that you don't use foil!

I use foil when it's the easiest or best way to get the result I want. There's foil on three of these. The '70 Monte Carlo has foil lower body trim. The '68 Vette has the emblems done with the foil-under-paint method. I had intended to do all the chrome on the '66 Buick land yacht with foil, but the first thing I did was the hood "streak," and I discovered that the rubbing alcohol I always use to clean up foil glue residue was taking off the red paint, so had to switch gears at the last minute on that idea. So there's foil on the hood of that one, but the rest is all Silver Sharpie (and a little dry-brushed Testor Chrome Silver).  Thanks for the kind words! 

[Snake45]

On 1/6/2019 at 12:41 PM, Renegade said:

Great saves. Love the black spoke mags and the black paint on the others really brings them to life.

Thanks. A little wheel detailing really goes a long way, doesn't it? 

 

On 1/6/2019 at 1:15 PM, donb said:

Wow Snake. Quite a productive year. Very impressive! I like them all. That Chevelle and Buick in part 2 really caught my eye. And as you say.... Model on! 

Thanks! I haven't written up the details of that red Chevelle in Under Glass yet. Will try to get to it sometime soon. 

 

On 1/6/2019 at 2:10 PM, Tom Geiger said:

a whole lotta fun!    

As a fellow survivor restorer and glue bomb rebuilder, I know you know that it was! The pressure for perfection is off with these things, and you can really enjoy yourself. 

 

On 1/6/2019 at 2:22 PM, RAMBENNA said:

great job. they all look great

Thanks for the kind words! 

 

23 hours ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Nice work.  You've got a good eye for seeing the diamond in the rough.  Amazing difference between what you started with and the final version.

Thanks! It's all about what Mike Wolfe on American Pickers calls "good bones." Is it complete? Can the paint be shined up a little, or touched up? Do I think I can make it look better without a WHOLE lot of time? And, is it cheap? If I can get it on the shelf with one-fourth the time and money that a new kit would cost me to build, it's a winner. 

 

23 hours ago, Gramps46 said:

You Sir have been awarded  the title of EMT, Extreme Modeling Transformer 1st Class.  What you have done is amazing.

Gary

I am honored. Of course, I do have Fifth Degree Black Belt in Snake-Fu. 

 

22 hours ago, Jmaracing said:

Great looking models

Thanks Joe! Model on! 

 

16 hours ago, Plastic_Passion said:

Love what you've done with your goats. The vette aside I like how you've basically achieved what the original builder was going for. That being said, I really enjoy that vette. I see your hood was doing the same thing mine was doing too. 

Yes, I usually try to honor the OB's original intent, at least as much as I can stand. I'll replace wheels and tires with ones I deem more "appropriate," and adjust the stance sometimes, but generally, I'd like the OB to be pleased with it if he could ever see it again. Also, you'll notice that none of these is particularly rare, valuable, or desirable (or expensive). Anything like that, I have few qualms about stripping back to bare styrene and building back up as good as I can--and MY way.  Thanks for the kind words. 

 

15 hours ago, Sport Suburban said:

Those are really cool.

I really appreciate this coming from you, one of my favorite builders on this board and one whose tastes are so close to my own. Thanks! 

 

14 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

What I like about your saves is that you essentially preserved the original builders work and intent. Thereby saving the cars as a look into the past.

Very interesting way to complete so many models!

Yeah, as I replied to Plastic Passion. These things are also a way back to MY past, as I feel like a kid again working on them and having FUN! I've often said that for these "rescues," my goal is to make them look like something I might have built in 1968. If I can make one look like I built it in 1969 (when I was getting pretty good), I'm ecstatic!  (Most of these bombs start out looking like something I built in 1966.) Thanks for the kind words! 

 

7 hours ago, Hmann68 said:

A lot of hard work and nice results in 2018 from you, can’t wait to see what ‘19 brings ?

Thanks! I can't wait, either. Got a few projects planned already, a couple even underway....stay tuned and MODEL ON, EVERYONE! 

[SawgrassRaven]

On 1/6/2019 at 12:38 PM, Snake45 said:

 

 

 

Snake, what's the best way to paint a chrome wheel so that there's a black inside like that? I've got a DoH Charger that I want to use the kit wheels on, but not sure the best way to achieve this effect. How did you do it here?

 

 

 

 

 

[Snake45]

I just paint it in there using Model Master Black Chrome Trim and a small brush. I keep a toothpick handy to wipe excess off the spoke tops and rims as I go. If you miss some, after it dries, a toothpick can be used to scrape the black paint off the chrome without damaging the chrome. 

I do a LOT of this kind of detailing on wheels. Really adds a lot to the look of a model IMHO, WELL worth the time and tedium spent. Good luck and model on! 

[Tom99]

Some nice saves.