Revell '68 Dodge Dart 440

[beeRS]

I've had this kit sitting in my collection for over a decade now, and thought it's about time I did something with it. I'm starting with the Mr Norm's Revell kit and a photo etch set from MCG. I'm not sure if this will be an exact factory stock build or a very mild custom at this stage. A quick bit of googling and I have some inspiration...

I rather like the gold, but we'll see if I can find a good colour match. I've always used automotive spray cans for bodywork, but this time, I'd like to try Zero, Scale Finishes or Tamiya paints. I've never used any of these for a body, so any advice/recommendations would be welcome.

 

First step for me has been to remove the kit hinges and make my own. I do like a precise working hinge on opening panels. I've also reduced the size of the slot in the body where the hinge fits through. According to my reference pic the slot in the kit is too wide. Its still not perfect. I guess the best way to do the hinges in the correct width would have been to make them from brass. This will have to do.

Its just a start. I'll post more progress as I go (but I am the world's slowest builder!). 

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by beeRS

[Lowlife ! !]

 

Nice to see you back building Sonny, looking forward to more progress on this !

[Dann Tier]

I owned the GTS version of this car.....i will be following this beast!!!

[1/24DragAndStreetCars]

I have one of these kits. Still factory sealed after probably close to 6 years. Then again. It does have Mr. Norm's John Hancock on the front of it so I've been keeping it stashed away.

[beeRS]

14 hours ago, Lowlife ! ! said:

 

Nice to see you back building Sonny, looking forward to more progress on this !

Yes - its been far too long buddy! I'm gonna try to make 2020 the year I actually finish something. I've not completed a model in 10 years. I spend too much effort chasing the details, and forget this is supposed to be a fun hobby.

[beeRS]

9 hours ago, Dann Tier said:

I owned the GTS version of this car.....i will be following this beast!!!

Wow Dann. Do you mean a 1:1 car? Is the GTS a 383 V8?

[mustang1989]

I've got the latest drag version of this kit in the stash and it looks like a really good kit. Will be watching this one come together Sonny. 

[Dann Tier]

6 hours ago, beeRS said:

Wow Dann. Do you mean a 1:1 car? Is the GTS a 383 V8?

Yes i do....it was a beast!....had it stored in the Motor pool while fighting over seas, when i came home, found the rearend seized. Didnt have the know-how, or the energy to fix it, so i sold it----REALLY stupid move.

[mustang1989]

23 hours ago, Dann Tier said:

Yes i do....it was a beast!....had it stored in the Motor pool while fighting over seas, when i came home, found the rearend seized. Didnt have the know-how, or the energy to fix it, so i sold it----REALLY stupid move.

You aint the only one who'll spend the rest of their lives kicking themselves in the butt for that kind of thing. 

[beeRS]

A little more progress on this.

Because I'm a nut for details I've cut off the window winders. This will be replaced with either the PE part, or the original ones (if I can straighten them out). I know this is such a small detail, and will probably go un-noticed when the model is finished, but I thought I'd give this idea a try.

The front chassis rails are hollow, so they have been filled in.

I really like this kit, however I do have an issue with the way the floor pan and the interior tub goes together. Its a little strange! I've seen this on other kits too. There is a big hole in the transmission tunnel, which gets filled by the bottom of the interior tub. I know that this will be mostly covered up when the transmission and the shaft are in, but I thought, I'd try to fix this now.

I've glued the interior tub to the floor pan and filled the hole - first with plastic sheet, then with putty. I've had to remove the gearbox crossmember, but this will be refitted later on.

There's a gap inside the front wheel openings above the interior tub area. Again, this is something that may not be seen well when the model is finished, but since I'm on a roll, I've decided to fix this too.

Provided I don't keep on finding things to 'correct' on this kit, I may actually get this in paint soon.

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by beeRS

[Dann Tier]

On 1/5/2020 at 10:01 AM, mustang1989 said:

You aint the only one who'll spend the rest of their lives kicking themselves in the butt for that kind of thing. 

LOL

[Dann Tier]

WOW, Bud!!!!.....there is ALOT of good things happening here!!!!....i'd use the plastic window cranks, and door handles....they are STILL more realistic than the FLAT PE ones, and it WILL show, and be noticed!!.....keep up the Outstanding work!!!

[beeRS]

12 hours ago, Dann Tier said:

WOW, Bud!!!!.....there is ALOT of good things happening here!!!!....i'd use the plastic window cranks, and door handles....they are STILL more realistic than the FLAT PE ones, and it WILL show, and be noticed!!.....keep up the Outstanding work!!!

Thanks Dann. You're right about the PE cranks - they just look wrong!

[beeRS]

A little more progress here. The hinges work nicely now and the hole in the underside is all smoothed out.

I've just used grey automotive primer from an aerosol can here.

 

 

Edited January 15, 2020 by beeRS

[Dann Tier]

Looking EXCEPTIONAL, Bud!!!!

[beeRS]

Finally... an update on this one.

So much has happened since I last posted back in January. After priming, the front bumper brackets snapped off the chassis. Then I realised I was missing the strip that fits between the rear bumper and the trunk lid. This part is supposed to be body colour, so I needed it before I could progress. Then I found I was missing the hood latch panel that fits behind the front grill. I've had this kit in my stash for over 10 years. It must have been one of my many ebay 'used' bargains!

So, feeling a bit cheesed off, I put this back in the box, till recently. I've fabricated the missing parts, and replaced the front bumper brackets with in-scale brass strips. Finally got round to painting it this at the weekend. The colour is Honey Gold from Zero paints. This is my first use of Zero, and the first time I ever tried airbrushing a full body. So far, so good.

Overall I'm pleased, but I think the colour came out a bit too gold (if that makes sense). This is not a perfect match for the Mopar gold, so I will probably build this as a resto-mod, GTS modified with a 440.

My next challenge will be to add the black stripe decals and then attempt Zeros 2K clear.

Edited May 25, 2020 by beeRS

[E.J.]

Looks really good so far.  I look forward to seeing your progression. 

[beeRS]

Applying the kit supplied decals has done nothing to cure my decal-fobia!

From this angles it looks ok, but...

from the side the stripe is wonky. The stripe on a '68 Dart should be vertical, but the kit decal is angled. I tried both ways. Has anyone else had this issue? I stared at it for a couple of days, wondering if I can live with it, then decided - no! I soaked the shell in water over-night, fully expecting the decal to lift off, but that did not work. I thought I might be able to gently sand off the decal, but went through to the primer. What is the best way of removing decals?

There's nothing for it. I've got to repaint the body. I don't want to add more coats and built up the paint film thickness, so as of this morning, the bodyshell is sitting in a tub of Castrol brake fluid! 

[Lowlife ! !]

 

Hey Sonny !

Shame about the bad luck with the decals,  I had a similar issue with my hemi cuda decals they look perfect horizontally, but were out of line vertically ??  Luckily I could scrape them off pretty quick !

The gold looked great, maybe a darker base next time will get you a better match ?

Look forward to more on this mate ! !

[espo]

Shame about the decals and having to strip the paint. The color may not be stock but it sure looks good. Are you putting a Vinyl Roof on this ? 

[mustang1989]

8 hours ago, beeRS said:

There's nothing for it. I've got to repaint the body. I don't want to add more coats and built up the paint film thickness, so as of this morning, the bodyshell is sitting in a tub of Castrol brake fluid! 

Dude!!! Sorry to hear about that. Really. Looking forward to the recovery efforts. That was a nice friggin' paint job too.

[Dann Tier]

Sorry to hear about the troubles you are having, Bud....it was looking SOOOO GOOD too!!!!.....when i have to remove decals, i burnish down regular masking tape over it, and it always takes it right off for me.....Tamiyas isnt sticky enough.

[beeRS]

19 hours ago, Lowlife ! ! said:

 

Hey Sonny !

Shame about the bad luck with the decals,  I had a similar issue with my hemi cuda decals they look perfect horizontally, but were out of line vertically ??  Luckily I could scrape them off pretty quick !

The gold looked great, maybe a darker base next time will get you a better match ?

Look forward to more on this mate ! !

Hi Martin!

Yes - I think a darker primer would work well. The Zero paints primer is a very light grey. Starting again will give me the chance to maybe use a different colour altogether. Now I only have the white and red decal options left, so gold may not work. I'm thinking of saving the gold on my '65 Galaxie project now.

 

13 hours ago, mustang1989 said:

Dude!!! Sorry to hear about that. Really. Looking forward to the recovery efforts. That was a nice friggin' paint job too.

Thanks!

 

11 hours ago, Dann Tier said:

Sorry to hear about the troubles you are having, Bud....it was looking SOOOO GOOD too!!!!.....when i have to remove decals, i burnish down regular masking tape over it, and it always takes it right off for me.....Tamiyas isnt sticky enough.

Nice idea with the masking tape. I'm going to remember that one for the future.