ModelcarJR Posted August 29 Share Posted August 29 My next WIP is this re-tooled MPC 1968 Dodge Coronet. I thought this would be a good one to add a vinyl top using the 2" masking tape method. The top came out great and now I am just waiting for two things: I have to buy some big flat head pins so that I can drill out the marker lamps and replace them with flathead pins (its easier than foiling and painting the plastic circle on the body) and I am also waiting on the weather to improve. It rained today and is suppose to rain for the next week. I am hoping for a low humidity window so that I can paint the body. The color will be Tamiya Light Blue Metallic with a black and white interior. Thanks for looking! 😎 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordairgtar Posted August 29 Share Posted August 29 Cool so far. Nice vinyl top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickfzr61 Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Looking good. I’ve been wanting to try and do a vinyl top. Yours looks real nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted August 30 Author Share Posted August 30 Thanks, Gregory and Nick! I appreciate your comments! Its not that hard to do a vinyl top. Get a roll of 2" masking tape, measure so that there is a 1/2" on each side of the top and 1 inch in the middle. Press the tape down so that there are no wrinkles, especially around the edges of the trim and, cut it with a new #11 X-acto bladed knife. Cut the middle section about 1 1/8" wide so that 1/16" can be overlaped on each side. Cover the body and paint it flat black or satin black, as you prefer. Done! I forgot to mention before that the body was in really good shape right out of the box. No mold lines at the base of the B pillar. Very little, if any flash. I just gave the body a once over with 3000 grit sandpaper to eliminate mold marks, sharp edges, and some minor surface scratches. Then I washed it with soap and water and it was ready to go after drying. I have drilled out the marker lamps and remembered that I have some Jewelry Shoppe 2" head pins in one of my supply drawers. I have inserted one in the hole that I drilled in the front fender. Once I have painted, I can shorten the pin, glue it in and then dot it with some amber or stop light red paint. I also built a index card "hat" for the vinyl top so as not to have tape on tape that might pull off paint or worse, tape. Finally, the parts tree for the engine pieces are all on one tree, except for the injection engine pieces that are on the chrome tree. But there are no engine pieces that need to be dechromed before paint, if building a stock 440. So I'll put it the block together and paint it orange (I don't have any Hemi Orange) for a high performance or Magnum 440. Thanks for looking! 😎 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopar - D Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Nice progress John, I know what you’re up against with the Rainey weather for painting. Your vinyl top looks great and will look good with the light blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted August 30 Author Share Posted August 30 Thanks, Dan! I appreciate your comment! I painted the body today and I was pushing it as the humidity never got below 55%. Its not too shiny but the finish is even so I hope it will rub out tomorrow. Two coats of Tamiya Light Blue Metallic and two coats of Krylon Clear Lacquer. Looks more like a medium blue over the gray primer than light blue but hopefully it will rub out and shine up. I also painted all the other parts except for the interior parts that will have to wait until tomorrow depending on the weather. Thanks for looking! 😎 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moparman18064 Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 I like the color John. It sort of looks like B5 Blue in the screen I am seeing it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill-e-boy Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 I think the wedge for 68 is Turquoise - or at least to the reference in the Q&A section here. The hemi is Orange though. Only if you are building as a factory stock. If the theme is restored/updated the world is your oyster for colour choices I am building the same model so am reasonably fresh from researching all the different colour finishes for all of the various bits and bobs. There are a lot of different colours for factory stock build 440 Wedge 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moparman18064 Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 (edited) 1 hour ago, bill-e-boy said: I think the wedge for 68 is Turquoise - or at least to the reference in the Q&A section here. The hemi is Orange though. Only if you are building as a factory stock. If the theme is restored/updated the world is your oyster for colour choices I am building the same model so am reasonably fresh from researching all the different colour finishes for all of the various bits and bobs. There are a lot of different colours for factory stock build 440 Wedge I agree, 68 Magnum engines were turquoise to be correct. Many people did not like and painted them orange. Edited August 31 by Moparman18064 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1972coronet Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 1 hour ago, bill-e-boy said: I think the wedge for 68 is Turquoise - or at least to the reference in the Q&A section here. The hemi is Orange though. Only if you are building as a factory stock. If the theme is restored/updated the world is your oyster for colour choices I am building the same model so am reasonably fresh from researching all the different colour finishes for all of the various bits and bobs. There are a lot of different colours for factory stock build 440 Wedge Looks like someone doesn't like vacuum advance ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill-e-boy Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 38 minutes ago, 1972coronet said: Looks like someone doesn't like vacuum advance ! Or too much cam and just doesn't work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted September 1 Author Share Posted September 1 Thanks, Rich, Bill and John! I appreciate your comments! The engine color list that I have from another model website from years ago indicates that the standard 440 was turquoise but the high performance 440 was Hemi Orange. So I used that color for high performance. I suppose that list could be incorrect but its the list I always use. I don't know if high performance means only police cars but I thought it meant any high performance 440 engine. I have had an interesting day. I started by rubbing out the paint on the body. I remembered a video I had watched about rubbing out paint using a Dremel Stylo and a wool tool. I remembered having a Dremel years ago but couldn't use it on plastic as it was too fast and burned paint and in my hands gave plastic an irregular shape when sanding. But I thought maybe these newer ones with variable speeds might work. So I went out and bought one. I started on the lowest speed with the felt wheel on the trunk with some Scratch=X for polish. Things went pretty well on the flat surface until I hit the right rear fender with the little dart on it and the wheel dug into the paint and took it off! So I turned it off and quickly returned the Dremel to Lowe's. Next, I sanded out the damaged spot, taped off the trunk area, returned the index card hat to the vinyl top, and re-primered the trunk area. After that had dried, I re-painted the trunk area. I had just enough paint left to cover (started with half a 3 oz. can). There's a little damage that didn't quite sand out on the right side of the trunk but its hard to see. Other than that I think I will be good to rub out again tomorrow. I am once again without a Dremel and will not miss it! Oh, And I did paint the interior, and put the wheels and tires together. The red lines look a little tight on the wheels but I will have to live with it. So, it has been a long and trying day. Thanks for looking! 😎 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 The 68 RT is coming along nicely. Nice looking vinyl top using the tape and the blue is looking really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted September 1 Author Share Posted September 1 Thanks, Bob! I appreciate your comment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 Great looking color combination and finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransAmMike Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 That's looking great John...very nice color and excellent tape work on the top. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rv1963 Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 Nice work on the vinyl roof very realistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 Thanks, David, Mike, and Robert! I appreciate your comments! Finished rubbing out the body and have my first pieces of foil on the windshield. And by the end of the day the foil is complete on the body. Still have to rub out the hood, as you can see. Thanks for looking! 😎 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Beautiful paint and I like your color choice for the interior! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 Thanks, Carl! I appreciate your comment! Tackled the engine and chassis today. Although they did a good job with the body and interior, not much has been done to improve the engine. There are no radiator hoses, no fuel pump or coil, flying alternator and power brake unit, and the carb is basically just a block of plastic pedestal for the air cleaner. I am going to improve the engine by adding plug wires with boots and looms, heater hoses and top radiator hose that will be installed on final assembly (I already have drilled holes) and my own hand-crafted flying coil! ☺️ Once everything is buttoned down it tucks in nicely to the chassis and I now have rolling rolling chassis. Next is the interior. Thanks for looking! 😎 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted September 4 Author Share Posted September 4 Not much done today. Finished detailing the interior, rubbed out the hood and foiled it and painted the black in between the two taillights. The front seats in the interior seem to be too short to me, the shifter is too long and the molded in seat belts are too skinny. But I am just going to live with it and leave everything box stock. Thanks for looking! 😎 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray wes Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 This is looking great. Love the color and top. Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelson Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 Looking really nice!!👌 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted September 5 Author Share Posted September 5 Thanks, Wes and Curtis! I appreciate your comments! I had a little issue with the interior being too small for the body and there was a space on both sides. So I used two clamps and some glue to fix that. The rest went together pretty well with positive glue joints with pins for the grill and bumpers. So this one is pretty much done except for decals, mirrors and dotting the marker lamps. Stance looks pretty good on wheels. I'll finish that tomorrow! Thanks for looking! 😎 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted September 5 Author Share Posted September 5 This one is done! I also stand corrected on the seats. Another modeler tells me that the 69 and 70 Coronets have the taller seats with headrests but these seats are the right height for this year. I did shorten the shifter a bit since though. Overall, Round2 did a very nice job with this one. The body is in great shape and the parts that attach, such as, the grill and bumpers have positive pin attachments. The exterior mirrors also have a pin on them so I was able to drill two holes to attach the them. The interior also has well molded separate door panels with arm rests that look good. The seats, dash, and console all have positive pin placements, No interior mirror though. The engine could use a bit of work but by adding plug wires, a coil, heater hoses and a top radiator hose it looks respectable. The chassis with the metal axle in the rear and plastic pins in the front could use some work. The tires and wheels look a bit small to me, the red lines are too close to the wheel, IMO and the wheel backs don't fit the tire very well. Overall, builds nicely! Here are a few photos, more photos in the "Under Glass" section. Thanks for looking! 😎 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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