1968 Dodge Dart

[Simo5555]

Time for another Mopar  This time, the Charger's little brother - Dart

Thinking of doing a vinyl roof (havent done this before) or maybe a two tone painjob? Dont know yet. I have an idea for the bodypaint - again, pretty unusal color for this car, but maybe it will look good. We'll see. 

[LennyB]

Always loved this body style even better then the Demon later on. Never built this version so I'll be watching. Back in the day turned one of the MPC drag kits into a stock version.

[Big_John]

I have one of those kits and I've been thinking of building it so it looks like the LO23 Darts that just came off the car carrier. Gray primer(?) with black gel coated fenders.  

This is Bill Bagshaw's Red Light Bandit before paint. 

[deuces wild]

10 hours ago, Simo5555 said:

Time for another Mopar  This time, the Charger's little brother - Dart

Thinking of doing a vinyl roof (havent done this before) or maybe a two tone painjob? Dont know yet. I have an idea for the bodypaint - again, pretty unusal color for this car, but maybe it will look good. We'll see. 

There's another version of this kit that already has the vinyl top treatment... I have a few of those...

[SpeedShift]

21 hours ago, Big_John said:

I have one of those kits and I've been thinking of building it so it looks like the LO23 Darts that just came off the car carrier. Gray primer(?) with black gel coated fenders.  

This is Bill Bagshaw's Red Light Bandit before paint. 

Very cool build idea John, was thinking about doing one like that, .....a "factory delivery"  Dodge Hemi Dart with the black fiberglass hood and front fenders.

There was one of those 68 Dodge "factory delivery" Darts with the black front end on the Barret Jackson auction the other night...the commentator implied it was the inspiration for the "Little Old Lady from Pasadena" but given the song came out in '64 I think it had to be a Dodge of that year, not the '68.

Very cool car any way.

 

Edited April 20, 2024 by SpeedShift

[Big_John]

2 hours ago, SpeedShift said:

Very cool build idea John, was thinking about doing one like that, .....a "factory delivery"  Dodge Hemi Dart with the black fiberglass hood and front fenders.

There was one of those 68 Dodge "factory delivery" Darts with the black front end on the Barret Jackson auction the other night...the commentator implied it was the inspiration for the "Little Old Lady from Pasadena" but given the song came out in '64 I think it had to be a Dodge of that year, not the '68.

Very cool car any way.

 

That "Super Stock Dodge" would have been a '64 330 Dodge with the A864 package. 

They were just about as trick as the LO23 Dart. Race Hemi engine with aluminum fenders and hood,  no back seat, no heater etc., A100 van seats and special lightweight windows made by Corning glass.  Note only 2 headlights! 

BTW, Jan and Dean did the song first... and there really was a "Little Old Lady".   https://www.motorcities.org/story-of-the-week/2022/the-little-old-lady-from-pasadena-1960s-dodge-advertising

 

Edited April 20, 2024 by Big_John

[Simo5555]

On 4/20/2024 at 1:45 AM, Big_John said:

I have one of those kits and I've been thinking of building it so it looks like the LO23 Darts that just came off the car carrier. Gray primer(?) with black gel coated fenders.  

This is Bill Bagshaw's Red Light Bandit before paint. 

 

Theres something special about vintage drag cars. They just look so cool! 

Anyhow, back to my model. Did a bit of thinking and decided to go for a two tone paintjob. Not really sure about vinyl roof yet - i havent done this before and i'm a bit scared to try it. If someone has any tips or tricks then im all ears (Dont want to do the painters tape version).

So, i wanted to add the roof trim strip to the model. Unfortunately i couldnt find small enough plastic from my local hobby store. So i decided to be a bit creative. I took a scrap spruce from my old Charger kit, heated it up with blowtorch and stretched it out until i had a thin wire. After that i glued it in place with some cement. Came out pretty good for a first try.

 

[Nicholas]

seems like you are doing a fine job of a vinyl roof start,I use .015-.025 size plastruct rods,then I spray It with MCW textured finishes,they have black,white colors,its lacquer and goes on easy and dries super quick and looks great!

[NOBLNG]

6 hours ago, Simo5555 said:

Not really sure about vinyl roof yet - i havent done this before and i'm a bit scared to try it. If someone has any tips or tricks then im all ears (Dont want to do the painters tape version).

 

Great job on stretching that sprue.? Don’t be scared, it’s only plastic.? The hardest part of a vinyl roof is the trim and seams. These two are just Tamiya XF-86 flat clear over a gloss black. Spray from a bit of a distance so that you get a slightly textured finish.

 

Edited April 21, 2024 by NOBLNG

[Simo5555]

Did some work on the interior ?This time, its the classic black leather again. Also painted the underside too, but not going to show yet. Its a bit unusual color. I'll show it when i get around to painting the body.

[Bainford]

Looking good. The '68 was my favourite Dart. It will be cool with the vinyl roof.

[Dragonhawk1066]

On 4/21/2024 at 3:15 AM, Simo5555 said:

If someone has any tips or tricks then im all ears (Dont want to do the painters tape version).

I have a tutorial video on Youtube on vinyl tops using only craft paint. In my opinion, using any kind of masking tape is way out of scale. at 1/25 the size, the vinyl top texture from a 1:1 would be almost non-existent. Here's the link to my vid.  

 

[Simo5555]

I've been busy doing some stuff around my house so havent really got around to build my model. But i'm still here - havent gone anywhere  

Did some work on the engine:

[Simo5555]

You'd think that getting the 010 x 030 styrene strips would be easy, but no. I've searched high and low, but nothing. It seems these are common in US, but really rare in EU. I was finally able to order a set from Poland, but its been 10 days and they're still in mail somewhere. So bodywork is on hold for now. But, i did some work on the undercarriage. Heres a first hint of the paint too - Alfa Romeo Ocra Gold ?
    

Also did some work on the engine. Making the ignition wires is still something that i struggle. 

[Simo5555]

Got the body painted

[espo]

Like the color and it should look good against the vinyl roof. 

[Simo5555]

Summer is the worst time to build models Theres always something else going on and dont really have enough time to build. But i've made some progress:



  

[Moparman18064]

That gold looks great on that body.

[thebavarian]

Graet color and a nice roof.

[DJMar]

That color combo is spot on, I dig it! ?

[slusher]

Nice color combo and your engine and chassis look ver nice also!

[Musclecarbuilder]

The gold with black looks great!

[Speedpro]

Nice looking paint and the top turned out perfect!

[Straightliner59]

On 4/19/2024 at 4:45 PM, Big_John said:

I have one of those kits and I've been thinking of building it so it looks like the LO23 Darts that just came off the car carrier. Gray primer(?) with black gel coated fenders.  

Same, here!

[STU111]

That’s looking great. The vinyl roof looks spot on. I’ve built this kit before as the Hemi version and it’s a great little kit. I’ve got another one that I want to build as the standard road option, so I’m keen to watch your build to see how it goes.

Cheers, Stu.