1978 Petty Magnum

[Jim N]

I had this one for quite some time and just completed it. It is a Starter 1/43 scale Dodge Magnum. I painted it AMC Big Bad Blue since it seemed to be a close match to Petty Blue. The neon decals were a big challenge as they cracked and tore when either pulling the decal out of the water or putting them on the body. I had to use a lot of decal setting solution as well. It was a fun quick build. Thanks for looking.

[bbowser]

Nice. Did Petty ever run the Magnum?

[vypurr59]

In 1978 both Petty and Bonnet ran Dodge Magnums

[shafer]

petty only ran the magnum half the season in 78 before converting to a chevy montecarlo.

any idea where i may fine this kit i would love to add it to my petty collection, btw gr8 build

[Jim N]

Thanks for the comments. This may be a difficult kit to find because I think Starter is no longer in business. They were or are a French company that specialized in 1/43 scale resin kits. They made a number of NASCAR kits as well. I did an internet search prior to typing this and had a very difficult time finding any information about them. I had this one for well over 10 years before I finally built it.

[MAGNUM4342]

There's actually a quite extensive collection of these cars. Aside from the MAGNUM, There's a '64 Petty Plymouth, 1970 Hamilton and Petty Superbirds, I think they did a 1971 Roadrunner, there's a 1972 and '73 Charger. There's also the Buick Regal and a few different Pontiacs in Petty colors.

I have a Superbird, the MAGNUM and both Chargers. When Jacen gets home in the next week or so i'll ask him if he wants to cast any of them. I wouldn't expect them to get done real fast though as he's going to be recuperating from an accident. I think he also has a '71 Cyclone.

They are cool little kits but quite simplistic. Thier major shortcoming (as Jim mentioned) is thier decals. They were worth using for about the first five years they were available then degraded badly. Don't expect any of them to be spot on body wise either. Don't get me wrong, they are nice little kits but the overall accuracy in the body department is like 85%.

I do believe Starter of France is defunct. Most of thier kits can be easily found...unless you want the Petty kits. Then...well as they say...go big or stay home.

Edited September 18, 2012 by MAGNUM4342

[bbowser]

When Jacen gets home in the next week or so i'll ask him if he wants to cast any of them. I wouldn't expect them to get done real fast though as he's going to be recuperating from an accident. I think he also has a '71 Cyclone.

I hope nothing serious? We wish him a speedy recovery.

[MAGNUM4342]

Unfortunately he was hit in an intersection by a teenager...texting of course! He actually asked me not to say anything on the board because he's just an anti-sympathy type of person and doesn't want anyone thinking he's looking for some. Oh well, he'll just have to be mad at me I guess!

[bbowser]

Call it empathy, not sympathy. I can relate to an idiot behind the wheel texting, I see it every day. It's an epidemic more dangerous than many!

[MAGNUM4342]

I know. This is why I say "The smarter our phones get, the dumber people get!" UPDATE: Jacen will be going home on monday. Since he is my mentor in resin casting, he has given me the go ahead to cast the MAGNUM. If I do it would be a curbside with just the body, four wheels and a bottom plate. It would need blacked out windows.

Edited September 22, 2012 by MAGNUM4342

[shafer]

I know. This is why I say "The smarter our phones get, the dumber people get!" UPDATE: Jacen will be going home on monday. Since he is my mentor in resin casting, he has given me the go ahead to cast the MAGNUM. If I do it would be a curbside with just the body, four wheels and a bottom plate. It would need blacked out windows.

what will i have to do to get one of these resins, would it have decals?

[MAGNUM4342]

Hang tight on the resin. I'm trying to figure out a way to do decals for them now.

[shafer]

I am hanging tight keep me posted

[Tony T]

Wow, nice...would love to see a full detail Magnum done as a street stock and NASCAR racer...they were a great body style!