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.

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!

I got a Gift in the Mail!

The camaro is in the stripe mode, and as you can see it is still wet. I will try and get some pics of it without all the masking and run another post later today.

A friend of mine sent me some of her sons old models, and a bunch of loose parts.

It looks like I'll have projects for quite a while now. They will take a lot of TLC to clean up enough to be usable, but they will work.

There is only one model that is nearly all there so I think some imagination is in order....

This is just a few of what I received in the mail and I am still going through the box and sorting things out. Most of the parts were loose in shopping bags so it is going to take awhile.

Well I am going to get on with the camaro and see what I can accomplish with it today!

Camaro Progress!

The interior tub is almost done now, lacking a bit of detail painting and touch up. I had to decant (spray some paint into a jar) some of the tan paint for touch up, and fixed the yellow paint that managed to get on the seats and door panels.

The seats, dash and shifter are now glued into place, as is the steering wheel. I wound up cutting the top rim of the steering wheel away as it had a some warp to it.

The hood is repainted so with a bit of luck the striping can begin in a couple of days! Now I need to decide if I want a single wide stripe or two narrower stripes from the nose to the back of the trunk.

I even found time to test fit a few parts to the engine while I was at it. So he water pump and starter need painted and holes need drilled into the fan and pulley assembly, and the engine will be a little farther along.

The demon has some putty in it now and soon I can begin to shape and smooth it up as well.

I had originally hoped to keep this blog up every day, but it has come to my attention that that is a lot harder than it would seem. My days are pretty full already for now and building time is getting precious. So, I am going to blog every other day unless I happen to luck out and find some extra time somewhere.

Hopefully that will work, and I will try to post at least every other day as much as possible.

The Camaro

I finally did manage to get a little bit done on that poor neglected ol' camaro tonight. Not a lot though. I went over the two tone on the seats by hand with a brush since the spray paint was not behaving.

I have come to the conclusion that that yellow spray paint has been the problem all along. I had not moved the hood since the last coat I gave it and it had some bubbling in it too.

Now I don't mind painting at all, but doing the same car over, and over is getting old....
I'll try sanding out the bubbles and re-spraying the hood one more time.

I started some of the detail on the dash while I was at it, and the console too. I will try and get them far enough along to get some pics up today sometime (since it is after midnight here.)

I was going to shoot the black stripe, but the hood is going to stop that progress in it's tracks for now. I can always work on the chassis and motor now I guess while the hood is getting ready for new paint.

There is also the rear end and tire clearance to work out as well. I need to drop the rear of the car a bit to get the stance right. There is also the headers to be built from solder still.

I want to finish the camaro and the 54 Chevy before I try getting to involved with another project.

GTO Review Continued

Sorry for the delay in getting the blog out today! Things got a lil' hectic today.

Continuing on with the kit reviews, we are looking at the difference between a 66 Revell GTO and a 67 AMT GTO.

Though the AMT had the better tires, I think that Revell won out in the wheel department. The Revell wheels are a much cleaner casting and as an added plus they threw in a set of stock wheels to boot! The AMT wheels are a rough cast with excess flashing and the wheels are not cut completely out, leaving a backing that will need cut out if you are into detailing and realism.

The AMT grille/front bumper has the headlights and turn signals cast into it. The AMT also a solid piece, where the Revell has an open slot in the bumper like the real cars.

The AMT kit has a few extra parts like headers and two sets of side pipes on the chrome tree, which is nice. The Revell kit has a chromed steering wheel, and windshield wipers for a nice touch.

AMT has quite a few extra parts in colored plastic and they are not as nice a molding as the Revell kit, because of all the extra mold flashing. There were extra inner wheels, an extra dash board (although it may not even be for this car...), racing bucket seats with head rests, and a roll bar.

The AMT kit will make a nice model with work, but the Revell is the winner in molding and detail.

I can't tell you about fit yet, but I will get around to it eventually.

Keep on building!

Painting problems

This weekend was a lost cause from the start. Sometimes painting is simply a matter of stripping it all off and starting over...

The body is done, except polishing, but the hood is not cooperating and needs more work. The interior was masked for a two tone look and it went south quickly. I applied the same paint as what I used on the body, but it bubbled and got under the masking in places even though the tape was burnished down with a dental pick.

The colors used for the two tone were not bad, but I really was not thrilled by them either. Good thing the yellow came out badly, because it needs stripped again. It is beginning to feel like this camaro is fighting me every step of the way!

There are days like that, which is why I usually work on more than one model at a time. If one is giving you problems, switch to another until you can think the first through and work with a clear head.

I will eventually get the hood finished and then I can add the stripes to the top of the car (gloss black), the hood, the trunk, and the nose. I want to be able to tape the hood to the body for that, so the hood has to be done first. That way all the paint lines match up as well as the color of the stripes by painting it all at once.

I need to order a few things to finish the car, gauge decals and carpet flocking are still needed.

The engine still needs work and a few parts to finish it, like the starter, and water pump, belts and pulleys, and a fan.

Then I will move on to wiring and plumbing.

Pictures from the 54 Chevy.

This picture was taken quite a while ago, but it shows the pieces I had to add to fill in the holes that are left when making a tilt front end.

I had to fill in the front across the firewall as well as the sides of the firewall so you could not see inside the passengers compartment with the front end lifted.

You can also see, in the top picture, the hinge for the tilt at the very front of the frame.

Since these pictures were taken, the frame has been channeled, or recessed into the floor pan to lower the car more, and the front end has been radically lowered to improve the stance of the model.

There are some pictures I posted on an earlier post showing the difference between then and now. The frame is about a couple of sheets of paper's thickness off the ground now. I also had to narrow the front end to get it under the fenders by taking a slice out of the k frame and the tie rod ends as well.

Reviews to Come- GTO's

My son received two models for his birthday, and sooner or later they will be reviewed here. A 1966 GTO by Revell, and a 1967 GTO by AMT. I started looking them over and there is a difference.

The cars look nearly the same body wise (shape and style), but the two kits are a long way apart. I will dig into these in more detail in the future and give a more detailed review.

I was unable to post yesterday, and for that I apologise. I intend to post as often as possible and keep this blog up to date.

It is a beautiful day here today, and the temperature is supposed to get into the 70's. Maybe today will be the magic day that some paint descends on that poor neglected camaro....

I not only failed to post yesterday, but I never found time to work on the models either. A bad day all around. Today will be a better day!

If you have any questions or if you just want to speak your mind, please leave a comment!

Keep on building.

A Short Post

I didn't get much done last night on the camaro. I did manage to work on the engine a while and do some detail painting on it.

It is still pretty cold here, so painting the body may not be an option yet, but there are other things I can work on until the weather cooperates.

The challenger has the hood, front valance panel, headlights and grille missing as well as the rear valance and tail light panel... I'll have to think about that one.

Here is a link to an article I wrote for a beginner. A how to article to help them improve. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1453738/building_a_model_car_a_guide_to_get.html

And another article: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1444500/model_car_building_a_scale_model_of.html


The Dodge Demon is still in the stripping bucket and will hopefully be done soon. As soon as it is cleaned up I'll take a picture of it and post it.

That is all for today, keep building!

Another Picture

I found two more, neither is finished, but at least they are both pretty much in the same condition that I last saw them in.

The figure in the half track is actually a tank commander. I wish I had found the figures when I took the picture of the tanks to give an idea of how huge they are by comparison.

I try to keep my modeling to the same scales as much as possible, using 1/35th for armor and 1/24 and 1/25 for automotive. That way they are all scaled to each other if I want to build a diorama. It also helps when displaying them if they appear to be in the same scale.

I spent some time cleaning up the Challenger yesterday, but it is going to take a while. There are pieces to the model that are missing which I have not found yet... maybe it will get rebuilt, we will have to see.

I put a 71 Dodge Demon body in the paint stripper yesterday. It is a model I have been playing with for years and will be a drag car with a tilt front end when done. I have been hoarding parts for this one for some time and may actually have enough to finish it.

I hope to finish the paint on the camaro today, the body is sanded and waiting for a calm day still. The camaro is first on the list to complete so I will be doing something to it today if all else fails.

Old Builds

I dug through my

"collection", only to find that these four are the only ones fit to show here.

A long move from Colorado to Florida, caused some pretty serious damage to all of the others.

The Tiger tanks shown are unfinished as you can see (Porshe Tiger on the left and Sturm Tiger on the right.) But are in the best shape of other (once) more complete models.

A 1969 and a 1970 Barracuda are shown in the other photo. You can click either one to enlarge it like any other picture on the blog. All four models are damaged, but it is hard to see in the picture.

The rest of the models that I brought with me are going to need some serious TLC or a complete overhaul... lots of parts for future builds and rebuilds.

Oh well, it will keep me busy for a year or ten.

Also, it doesn't hurt to get enclosed cases to show off your models in, if you can afford it. Inserting a finished model into one of the small clear display cases widely available is far better than seeing a build you worked so hard on covered in nearly impossible to remove dust! Of course a display case is better still, but far more expensive.

The Nomad

You can see the camaro in the background, patiently waiting for more paint. It has been windy and cooler here the last couple of days and that is not conductive to outdoor painting.

Someday maybe I will get around to building an indoor paint booth, but until then, mother nature picks my painting schedule.

The nomad got its first coat of primer and surprised me, looking much better than I had expected it to considering the number of scratches that it had. Wet sanding, gotta love it...

The first primer coat is very important, especially on a model you are trying to restore. It will make defects show up that are very hard to see before you primer, and make some disappear as well. There are some defects where the side molding used to be on the nomad that I could not see until after I had primed it.

The first coat of primer is a starting point, one from which you can find small defects and perfect your body work on. Once you get the body close to how you want it switch to a lighter colored primer and re-wet sand it. High spots will show up when you sand through to the darker colored primer below, and you can find the low spots to fill and repair when most of the body has returned to the darker color, but light spots remain.

The use of foam sanding blocks is recommended to keep from creating low spots while sanding. Foam blocks can be trimmed to nearly any shape and conform to contours that a flat block will not. Foam sanding blocks can be found at nearly any hardware store.

All these tips take practice, so if you don't get the results you really want you can try again by either applying them to your next model, or stripping the one you are working on down and starting over. One nice thing about stripping paint, the newer it is , the easier it comes off.

Good luck, and keep building!

Wet Sanding

Any model can be improved with a little effort. Wet sanding the body takes some time, but it is one area that will improve your paint quality and make the model shine.

The trick is to sand with a good quality wet or dry paper of film. Your local hardware store will have it, and most will sell it by the sheet so that you don't have to buy a huge amount to get you started.

Get a variety of grits, from 220 all the way to 1,000 or more if you can find it. Be sure it is the black wet or dry variety as wood sand paper is water soluble and will fall apart on you.

On a new model start with 600 grit and under running water (just enough to wet the paper and wash off the residue)lightly sand the entire body. Be very careful around emblems and small raised detail you want to keep, because they will sand off.

You can hear and feel the sanding working, it will make less noise as it smooths out and the surface will be far slicker than when you started.

Rinse the model thoroughly after each sanding to remove and debris.

Spray each coat and re sand it once dry.the paint needs to be very dry or it will stick to the paper or your fingers and cause you to pull out your hair and start over.

Stick with 600 grit until you near the last few coats and then switch to finer and finer grit as you progress until the last coat you apply. The only reason to go back to courser paper is if you get a defect the finer grit will not remove.

After the last coat of paint STOP! What type of paint are you using? If it is enamel do not re sand it. If it is Lacquer paint you may want to hit it again with the finest grit you have, or, You can let it dry completely and polish it.

Any paint can be polished to shine it up, but it has to be completely dry first. We will talk more about polishing another day!

Remember, every time you sand it paint will be removed, so don't get carried away. Try to avoid over sanding high spots or you can sand right through the paint and ruin your progress. Only sand enough to smooth the paint out.

I began sanding the nomad last night,and it is ready for the first primer coat so I can begin the body work.

The camaro got some serious sanding to remove the defects in the last coat of paint, and is nearly ready for another coat.

Practice wet sanding and painting! It will be worth it.

Build updates

The camaro: I am letting the paint dry on the body before proceeding any farther. There is some bubbling near the bottom of the door on one side. The rear end is cut and the wheel wells opened up for tire clearance. The interior needs flocking, gauge decals and detail painted.

The nomad: The paint is now stripped as far as I can get it, and body work can commence. The frame needs repairing as it broke in dis-assembly, but it is ready to start anytime.

The 54 Cevy street racer: needs some interior work, flocking for carpet (maybe), body work and paint. The frame is nearly done, and the engine needs a little detail work. I also have to figure out how to install the radiator.

The Doge Challenger: is still soaking to remove the paint, and the frame and interior is still in the freezer.

I have a new article out for beginners that can be seen:here

I wasn't able to get much done last night, but I do hope for progress tonight.

The camaro

Work is progressing on the camaro slowly but surely. I managed to dig a blower set up out of the parts box and adapt it to fit the engine. A little filing one the bevels and the intake slipped right in place, and now I need to touch up the paint before I go much further with it.

The engine in front is for the camaro, the others are projects I am working on. None are finished. On the right is a 409 for the 54 Chevy, The left a Hemi for the 50 Ford pickup, and in the rear and old Hemi that is yet to be designated a home.

I added the final coat to the paint on the body, and did that ever go wrong... it is beginning to feel like this car really does not want to be painted, but I will keep at it after some more sanding. Paint jobs are like that, one will go on with no trouble and come out perfect, and the next one will fight you every step of the way.

I did manage to cut down a rear axle for the car as the old one disappeared over the years, and may very well reside on another model, or in the trash.

I dug an old T/A Challenger out of the parts boxes for another project to play with and have the body in the Purple Power to strip the paint. The interior and frame are in a zip lock baggie in the freezer to "pop" the glue and allow it to come apart. Freezing takes a few day to get the glue to pop, so have some patience and give it time.

The challenger will be an all out drag car (I think, unless I end up changing my mind...) nothing like getting a few projects going all at once, eh?

I am trying to get some of my older builds out and cleaned up, so that I can add them to my Photo Bucket. Once I get them there I'll add the link for that here on the blog.

Have a great day!

Nearly had a disaster with the camaro...

I was beginning the color coat of paint last night, when the car flipped off the box and landed in the rain wet weeds at my feet, barely missing a concrete bloc wall, and came to rest on its side on top of the weeds.

No broken parts, no major scratches, but I did have to sand it down and try again....

Here are a couple of tips if you ever find yourself in a similar situation. (First, be sure the body can't pop off and you won't find yourself needing these tips for the same reason.)

Let the model cure until tacky, then wash it in purple power. don't let it soak! Just wash it and then rinse it. The tackiness will be gone and you can wet sand to start over again. In my case it did not take alot of sanding since it landed on the weeds and had no major dents or scratches, just messed up paint.

The next tip is a general tip: Put a plastic bag on your hand while painting. Throwing out an old plastic grocery bag is much easier than trying to get paint off your skin....

The car is mocked up, so that you can see what it will look like when it is finished, more or less. The scoop and spoiler are sitting on it, and the tires and wheels are sitting under it.... If you click on the picture it should enlarge. You can see the passenger seat feel over when I moved it, nothing is glued on yet.

Comments and questions

I got a comment on an article, one I posted on here yesterday, asking for a place to get pro street tires. If anyone else has a question, feel free to leave it in the comment section here (found at the bottom of each post) and I will do my best to get back to you with an answer.

Tires and wheels can be found in several ways. One way is to buy a pro street kit and use parts from it for your current project. Not only do you get the tires and wheels you need, but you get an entire kits worth of other parts for other projects.

Another way to get what you are looking for is a hobby shop. Either online or locally if you are lucky enough to have a decent on close by. Pegasus makes a large variety of wheels and tires to choose from and there may be others as well. Ask your local or online dealer for more information as most are more than willing to help.

Keep in mind that if you are converting a factory stock vehicle to a pro street you will need to make room for those tires and wheels and may need the chassis out of your donor model kit as much as the tires and wheels, or have some serious scratch building skills. Also you may need the rear end and other components to put your project together with, so sometimes a donor kit works better than a set of aftermarket tires ands wheels. I intend to write another article on donor kits soon, and add it to the article library for reference.

I have not made much progress on the camaro yet. I will wet sand it and try to give it another coat of paint today if I can. I want to work on the engine as well and try to find an induction for it from the parts box, so hopefully I will get a picture up soon.

Have a great day, and build something!

Camaro

Sadly the car is not ready for paint today. It was the primer I was using as the hood cracked again with no bondo on it at all and the body had the same problem in the final primer coat. I will try and save it, but it may have to be stripped and start over... time will tell.

I painted the transmission with Testor's Model Master aluminum paint, and finished up the tail panel repair. the body was looking pretty good until the primer problem. Nothing like finding a problem several coats in all filled and wet sanded....

I detailed the wheels further with flat black and got the grille set up to dry brush some aluminum on the high points to bring out the ridges and z badge in it. Hopefully I can get some pictures to post for tomorrow.

I also put a second coat of putty (squadron putty) on the hood scoop and let it dry over night. With any luck it will be ready to go when the hood is.

When brush painting the engine, make sure your paint is thin enough to flow well and use a # 1 brush with soft bristles. It is possible to paint these type of parts without leaving brush marks with practice. A good selection of brushes from 000 to # 1 will take care of most of your needs.

I also have three more modeling articles coming out on Associated Content, as soon as they are published I will link them here on the blog.

The Camaro is nearly ready for color, needing a bit more TLC to the body and a bit more on the tail light panel.

The grille and wheels were treated to a black ink wash and will need one or more added coats to complete them. The marker lights were coated with Tamiya clear amber over the chrome for effect. The tires are sanded and still need the lettering done in white.

The hood scoop you see is a three piece from the parts box that I am thinking of adding to the car, but that is not set in stone as of yet.

Chevrolet orange was used to color the engine (Testors, Model Master) and the valve covers are sprayed flat black. The transmission will be aluminum.

Are there any photographers out there with suggestions on how to get a white background to stop showing up tan? Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated... There are two lights shining right on the model and the white glare is almost painful!