AMT ‘69 Oldsmobile 442

[radiohd10]

In my limited experience, I’ve had nothing but trouble with AMT/MPC kits. While I liked blaming the kits for the poor final product, the truth was I just wasn’t good enough to handle the challenges they posed.  This one was a different animal though. It lacked a bit of detail, but overall the kit was exceptional.

 

The interior needed some attention but it gave me a chance to try some new tricks…I scratch built the armrests, door handles, gauge bezels, indicator lever, stick shift, rear view and side mirrors, sun visors, dome light and window cranks, etc. I also scratched some new air filter hoses because the ones in the kit were a bit skimpy compared to all the reference photos I saw.

 

I added trim and foil to the seats, doors, and dash, and wired/detailed the engine and engine bay. I also used some photo etch badges from MCG, rims and engine bits from a 68 charger kit, gauge decals from an old mustang, and dog dish hubcaps from Parts by Parks. The chrome trim is hasegawa mirror finish, because my BMF is completely useless at this point. The paint is all tamiya cans - black, pure red, gloss clear.  And that’s all she wrote!

 

This was probably my favorite build to date ??

[TarheelRick]

Beautiful black paint job and that interior detail is outstanding. Really like the build.

[Mike C.]

Nice. ?

[Cool Hand]

Excellent build, all the extra work you put in certainly shows and paid of big time.

And of course I really like the colour combo.

Well done.

[Bainford]

That is one fine looking Oldsmobile. It looks mean and purposeful in black. Nice detailing all around, and the interior improvements really bring it to life. Very cool! Great build!

[baycolony]

I love everything about your efforts on this one.  Great representation.

[echo]

Magnificent build all around, so many nice details that jump out the longer one looks. Excellent workmanship and photography.

[Jim B]

Really great looking 442.  Superb detailing.

[Hi-Po]

Simply beautiful!  Your attention to detail is spot on and the black paint is outstanding.  Great job.

[Metalmad]

Over all everything was beautifully done,

[happy grumpy]

I will join the chorus and say that you raised the bar quite high on this model. Although MPC and AMT can be challenging at times, they can build into nice model if one puts time and efforts. You certainly nailed this one. Outstanding model all around.

[radiohd10]

3 hours ago, TarheelRick said:

Beautiful black paint job and that interior detail is outstanding. Really like the build.

 

2 hours ago, Mike C. said:

Nice. ?

 

2 hours ago, Cool Hand said:

Excellent build, all the extra work you put in certainly shows and paid of big time.

And of course I really like the colour combo.

Well done.

 

2 hours ago, Bainford said:

That is one fine looking Oldsmobile. It looks mean and purposeful in black. Nice detailing all around, and the interior improvements really bring it to life. Very cool! Great build!

 

1 hour ago, baycolony said:

I love everything about your efforts on this one.  Great representation.

 

1 hour ago, echo said:

Magnificent build all around, so many nice details that jump out the longer one looks. Excellent workmanship and photography.

 

1 hour ago, Jim B said:

Really great looking 442.  Superb detailing.

 

1 hour ago, Hi-Po said:

Simply beautiful!  Your attention to detail is spot on and the black paint is outstanding.  Great job.

 

1 hour ago, Metalmad said:

Over all everything was beautifully done,

 

54 minutes ago, happy grumpy said:

I will join the chorus and say that you raised the bar quite high on this model. Although MPC and AMT can be challenging at times, they can build into nice model if one puts time and efforts. You certainly nailed this one. Outstanding model all around.

Thanks guys - super happy with how it came out. Will definitely be building more of these in the future...also on the hunt for more quality AMT kits!

[Chuckyg1]

Really, really nice. has a Plain look to it. The details are awesome, especially that interior.

[grodudulle77]

Awesome details, very neat job !! ??

[Rusty92]

Looks great, could get lost in that black paint job! 

[TransAmMike]

Whoa, thats a great looking 4-4-2 Ryan, love it in black with the red interior!!  And the dog dishes are cool too.

[Bills72sj]

I too am very impressed. Very well done.

[Classicgas]

Beautiful!  How did you do the arm rests? 

[Tom99]

Excellent!!

[espo]

Great looking paint finish and I like the contrasting red interior, Lots of extra detailing on the engine and the interior both. 

[radiohd10]

9 minutes ago, Classicgas said:

Beautiful!  How did you do the arm rests? 

Thanks! Good old styrene and foil under paint. Here are some pics…

[AMT68]

Excellent work as always and having built one I agree that overall it is a great kit right down to the posable wheels. Didn't dress up my interior nearly as much as this build and the scratch built armrests would be a great addition to many of the older promo style kits in my collection. 

[1972coronet]

8 hours ago, radiohd10 said:

The chrome trim is Hasegawa mirror finish

I love your 'velvet hammer' Olds !  This kit came along during the late 1980's Renaissance of the hobby; an all-new creation under the MPC banner. 

Now, where are you buying that Hasegawa Mirror Finish foil ? I've only seen Gunze-Sangyo Mr. Foil , but that was eons ago; not even on their website anymore.

[radiohd10]

32 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

Now, where are you buying that Hasegawa Mirror Finish foil ? I've only seen Gunze-Sangyo Mr. Foil , but that was eons ago; not even on their website anymore.

Thanks! I bought a few packs on Amazon a while back - I can never find it at any hobby shops near me.  You should be able to find it on there - it’s like 15 bucks and seems like a small sheet but you don’t end up using nearly as much as bare metal foil.  It’s kind of like a Mylar sticker that stretches and conforms to shape. Two tricks with it, as it can be a bit finicky:

1. Make sure the surface you’re putting it on is super smooth. It shows even more surface texture than bmf because it’s so thin and shiny 

2. Cut the strips out to size and shape before putting it on the model.  Cutting the edges once it’s laid down can be very tough. 

It’s not a perfect product but it’s a suitable replacement for bmf and in some cases it looks even better. Once they sort their product line out though I’ll be back on the bare metal.   

[radiohd10]

54 minutes ago, AMT68 said:

the scratch built armrests would be a great addition to many of the older promo style kits

Thanks! They were so easy to do and make such a big difference!