Absence

I have to apologize for my lack of posting in the last month. Life had me firmly in its grip and refused to let me go....

I have been overly busy lately, installing a central air system in our house, working on the mother in laws property and wishing I had more hours in the day.

Unfortunately it looks like it is about to get worse instead of better. I hate to close this blog, but I haven't had time to keep it up or build lately. I am afraid that having to work on a project just to write about it has gotten beyond my abilities at the moment.

I would far rather work on a model for enjoyment than try to plan it around the writing to make it more than it is.

I don't know if this blog will be taken down or left up, but I hope it has helped someone who needed an idea to finish a build.

Thank you for reading while it lasted!

Camaro Pics!

I guess I am about to find out how weirdly the blog will post these pics, usually I pic a spot and post them and then it moves them anywhere it pleases....

The Camaro is nearly finished finally! As you can see the engine compartment is not done, but I ran out of ignition wire....

Also one of the front bumpers ran off, so unless I find it , or a replacement the car may not get finished completely.

I dropped the hood and chipped the paint in the back corner as you can see... bummer!

The car actually doesn't look to bad for all the hacking and problems I had on it. So until I get some wire or a few other parts this one is done at least temporarily.

Until next time when we see what else I am up to... keep building.

The Camaro is Coming Along

I extended the axle housing slightly. (I cut it to short...) and attached the rear end to the frame. I have also glued in the front tires and wheels.

The mold lines are removed from the headers, and the headlights, grille, and tail lights are in place. The rear spoiler is glued in place and the broken hood support has been repaired. I like the new stance of the car much better than the way it was before.

The hood scoop will be donated to the Dodge Demon model (I think) as I find I rather like the looks of the model without it.

Maybe I will get far enough in the next several days to get some pics that show the difference. I would like to post some before and after pics as well once it is all finished up.

Camaro Pics!

It still is not finished, but it is closer... The body is waxed, I tried Carnubba wax, but it has left a few streaks. I will try something else next time. I think the paint might not have cured enough yet.

I am considering not using the scoop, but the wing will go on the model. There is still quite a bit of work to be done even though the model looks nearly done.

I narrowed the rear end and opened up the rear fender wells to fit the slicks under the car. The engine is still needing some work before it is set in place, and I want to lower the front a bit.

The Camaro Continues

I did manage to cut out the rear fender wells today to get the rear tires under the fenders and lower the rear of the model. I am also in the process of polishing out the paint.

The paint has been wet sanded with 1500 grit wet or dry paper, and all the little defects are gone. All that is left is to polish the paint back to a shine and wax it.

The rear axle was cut down again to fit the new narrower theme. I probably will not tub it since I am wanting it to look more like a bracket racer.

I still need to make a set of leaf springs to support the rear end, but that is pretty easy.

I am hoping to get the time to work on it this weekend and finish it or at least get it some what closer.

It is starting to come together now and I am looking forward to finishing it up.

Polishing Clear Plastic

I had the need to polish some scratches out of the windows of a couple of the old models I am rebuilding.

I thought this would be a good tip to pass on to newer builders out there.

You need to sand out the scratches with 600 to 800 grit wet or dry paper to start. This should be done under running warm water to carry away the sanded off particles. once a uniform surface is attained move on to 1500 grit paper and repeat the process.

There are several products that I was told about: Novus polish and cleaner, Kit clear plastic polish and a few others as well. What I found at the local Walmart was Meguiar's PlastX, clear plastic cleaner and polish so I decided to try it instead of driving all over town....

Rub it in with a soft cloth (like an old cotton t-shirt) and buff the part. Switch to a dry soft cloth and buff it dry. You may have to repeat this process a few times to get the whole part clear again, but it does work!

New Projects

I received a box full of models and parts from a Friend of mine that her sons no longer had a use for. I finally got the chance to go through them and separate the usable items out and thinned the herd....

I ended up with a model box 3/4 full of parts and about ten usable bodies for future projects! There was also an incomplete kit of a USS Enterprise aircraft carrier as well.

The nicest part about the bodies is all of them are models that I don't have.

There were a lot of broken parts and parts of things I had no use for, but it was a great gift bag and a lot of fun to dig through!

One word of caution, do not store glue or paint in your parts boxes! It can really make a mess of some decent pieces and ruin them for future use. There were several items like that in the box, including what could have been some very nice pro street tires.

I ended up with wheels and tires, engine parts, frames, bodies, seats, and many other usable items.

Thank you Cyndee!