Marc @ MPC Motorsports

I would use the .010. I have had no problems with wavy edges whatsoever.

I like the Spaz Stix chrome because you can use it over Tamiya TS Gloss Black spray. Handlibility is a little better than Alclad, but like ANY chrome parts, plated or otherwise, I try to keep handling to a bare minimum. Even vacplated chrome will wear if handled too much. I try to paint my chrome parts at the very end of a build if possible and install them last as well to minimize the amount of handling.

I've been using .010 clear PVC from Midwest Products for almost 4 years. It is crystal clear and conforms well to contours and you can attach it with thin CA with no fogging. You can get it at www.towerhobbies.com. Here's the glass I just installed in my '73 Trans Am. This stuff also comes in a clear brown which is a great copy of window film covered glass on 1:1 cars. I used the clear brown PVC on the side and rear glass on my '72 Nova build back in 2004.

The Trans Am is up on all fours for the first time with the new rims. These are resin copies of the Aoshima rims that have been on this build since Day One. The centers are painted with Tamiya TS Matt Black and the rims with Spaz Stix Mirror Chrome over Tamiya TS Gloss Black spray. The brakes are resin cast Brembos that I painstakingly drilled by hand with a pin vise. Euro tuner shops are doing lots of builds with black rims and I think it really adds a muscular look to my Trans Am. The matt black also provides a striking contrast against the searing bright red finish of the body. Enjoy!!!

Things are progressing nicely on the Trans Am. I made and installed .010 clear PVC "glass" Sunday evening. I spent the better part of two hours on this job. The compound curves of the F-Body glass were a real challenge and definitely the most difficult that I have done to date. You can also see the functional front fender air extractors in this pic. Tonight, I spent some time on the final details of the cockpit. I made some pedals with wire and Model Car Garage photoetch race car pedals. The shifter is a ball headed straight pin. I finished the scratchbuilt "tilt" steering column too. Here's a shot from the front of the bucket that shows the old school Recaro seats with real mesh in the headrests. I still need to install the head unit for the sound system before I can call this component finished. Enjoy!!!

That's nice!!! Looks just like the 1:1 my Dad bought new in 1965.

Haven't found any pics of the Belevedere online, but I watched the unveiling live on local TV. It is a TOTAL loss. Nothing but rust and dirt everywhere. Boyd got the hood and trunk open. The gasoline and motor oil were still in the trunk. They had been placed in glass bottles before being placed inside metal cans. The seats were gone too. One bright spot was on the front bumper. A worker removed some of the years of grime to find nice shiny chrome underneath. A time capsule that was also placed inside the vault survived intact.

The pics and video that show the car out of the hole was from a test to see if they could actually lift the car out of the hole. The original steel beams were supplemented with new ones just in case the rusted originals could not support the weight of the car. The car was placed back into the hole with the actual removal happening today at 12:30pm. It is my understanding that the car will be placed on the back of a truck and transported to the Tulsa Convention Center for the live unveiling tonight at 7:00 pm CDT. www.kotv.com and follow the links.

http://www.kotv.com/special/buried-car/ The local CBS affiliate will be broadcasting the unveiling live this Friday evening at 7pm CST. The broadcast will stream worldwide at the above link.

BC is supposedly already here in Tulsa. They were to begin filming today.

That's not good, but probably not totally unexpected either. My office is about 6 blocks south of the site. Weather permitting, might make a trek down there on Friday.

Hey Jon, I got this compressor at Harbor Freight earlier this year and it's worked well for me so far. Got a two year, in-store replacement warranty for $20 too. I use mine indoors. It's quiet and has an auto on/off feature so it only runs while you have the trigger pressed on the airbrush. They have Harbor Freight in Colorado Springs...go check it out. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=93657

I have two sets of the new Centerlines, one each in 19" and 23" sizes. I have not seen the two piece rims, but they look real nice.

Making progress on the Trans Am this week. Here's a couple of pics of the powerplant. It is a Canadian Super Duty, aka aluminum Big Block Chevy with Big Chief heads. It's been painted with Testors Pontiac Engine Blue. Pontiac valve covers, intake and headers are painted with Alclad Chrome. Notice the EFI setup and giant throttle body fabbed from a resin Dominator carb. HEI distributor is scratchbuilt. Transmission is a resin cast 6 speed manual. Here's the front end with Modelhaus chrome grille, MV Lens headlights, Reliable Resin clear amber turn signals, and Detail Master honeycomb pattern PE grille material. Added the same honeycomb grille material to the functional T/A fender vents too. Enjoy the pics with more to come as I near completion on this long term project.

Yes, the Testors Acryl will work with lacquer, enamel or acrylic (Tamiya or Testors) paints. That's one of the beauties of this paint.

I would get the color of the floor as close to the same color as the flocking if you can.

Interiors are one of my favorite things on a model to build and detail. Flocking is one of the details that really make an interior come to life. It is also one of those details that many of you ask for help with. The following tutorial is how flocking gets done at MPC Motorsports. Here are the main ingredients neeeded for a flock job. Flocking, a device to dispense the flocking, and a medium to adhere the flocking to the interior floor. The dispenser is a 35mm film canister and my medium of choice is Testors Acryl Flat Clear. I've used white glue and other paints but I've had the best luck with the Acryl Flat Clear. An added benefit of using clear paint is that you can use it with any color interior and flocking. The dispenser has to be modified like so. Drill the BOTTOM of the canister with a 1/16" drill bit until it looks like this. Once you drill it out, cover it with masking tape, turn it upside down and fill with flocking and snap the lid on the canister. The film canister, when modified like this, serves as a sifter for the flocking material. Next, using a wide tipped brush, apply the Flat Clear Acryl to a small section of the floor. Before the paint dries, shake the film canister over the interior like you do with parmesian cheese over a pepperoni pizza. Cover the area with flocking and let sit for a few minutes. It should look something like this. Some model builders will use their finger and press down the flocking. Do NOT touch the flocking at anytime during this process!!! If you touch the flocking and press it down, you will flatten it down and destroy the "nap" of the carpet. After a few minutes, turn the interior tub upside down and tap to remove excess flocking material. Then, repeat the above steps until you cover the entire floor area. Once you work your way around, your floor should look like this. It looks pretty good at this point, but the coverage is quite thin and you can see the floor thru the flocking. Now, it's time to apply a SECOND coat of flocking. Repeat the same steps above, beginning with the application of the Flat Clear Acryl. You will get a little bit of flocking material in the paint. I don't worry about it because this bottle is used exclusively for flocking. Notice how the paint soaks into the first coat of flocking. This allows the second coat of flocking to cover much better than the first coat. Here's a pic of the floor area under the drivers seat with a second coat of flocking. Notice how much better the coverage is. Once you get a second coat on the entire floor, it should look like this. This is how I do it. I cannot take full credit for the technique. Don Theune of Reliable Resin told me about using the film canister back in 2003 and my flock jobs have been marvelous ever since. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask. And before you tell me "Hey, you forgot the rear of the driveline tunnel", I haven't done it yet. I'll do it when I flock the rear deck area.

Hey Jeryd, What specifically are you looking for? If you can't find it on Ebay, you might not be able to find it period. Really, if it is an extremely rare model, they rarely turn up on Ebay. But I would say that most models do turn up on Ebay from time to time. You just have to keep looking daily as new stuff gets listed.

The '73 Century, if it was an R&R piece, is not in their current inventory per Star Models listing on The Resin Realm. One could possibly mate the roof from a Revell '77 Monte Carlo to a Johan '75 Cutlass...

Nice and no apparent bleed of the red plastic. What primer did you use?

It's not in the MPC kits.

It's Will-iss.

I was thinking that Car Craft saw my build and contacted DSE to do the T/A minitub article :wink: :!:

Still using the same Aoshima 19" rims, just thinking about a little less "bling". Shot one with some Tamiya TS-29 Semigloss black for something different and modern. Seems most of the eurotuners these days are doing the black wheel look. And no, I did not deface a rare aftermarket chrome rim. I made resin copies.

Nice work Ray. What Tamiya Tan? Bottle Acrylic? TS Spray? What part number?