Hi guys, Got another 5 days or so before I can start a couple of aircraft campaign builds so I thought I'd knock out a quick AAR Cuda' kit. Here is a pic of the engine (340-six pack) I did last night. Greased her up a little with some Promodeler black wash. Will post more pics as she progresses.



Hermon

....................and a few hours later we have a slightly dirty chasis. A little black wash on the underside, some rust on the exhaust system and a bit of aluminum powder here and there makes a big difference.


I'll get on the interior tomorrow and start getting the body shaped up and ready for primer. With any luck she may be done by Monday and all 6 of you guys here can have a look.

Hermon

Hey Hermon,
Love the engine, love how it looks like it should...greasy. I think it has more character when scale auto are a bit ruffed. Great work and looking forward to your next posting.

Joe

I'll look over the weekend to find my Cuda pics...both prime and destroyed

I really like what I'm seeing here Hermon. Excellent work.

Thanks guys, glad you like her so far. I layed down the 1st coat of paint a while ago. Won't tell what color it is until it's ready for pic's. Tell ya this much though, it's enamel and I freakin' hate working with enamel. It's gonna take years before I can apply the 2nd coat.

Joe, get them pic's up. I'm still hunting for mine. Any pic of a Cuda' is a good pic.

Hermon

Great work Hermon i like the lite weathering you have done, will you do any engine wiring.

Thanks Robert.
I have some wires that I could use but right now I'm not planning on it. This is just a quicky build while I'm waiting on a couple of aircraft campaigns to start on Jan 1st.
The second coat of paint went on a few minutes ago...............note to self, never, NEVER use enamel paint for a "quicky" build.

Hermon

So here are some pics of the Cuda' with paint and flat black hood/fender tops.
WHAT??!!!................where is all the bright red/silver/black/white/hot pink/sublime paint, you ask? Well actually the AAR did come in non high impact colors and this is one of them. This color was EF8 or Ivy Green Metallic. Not as popular as the other bright "in your face" colors but still pretty cool. Besides, there are millions of AAR models out there but not many people will have one in their display case thats EF8.




And a picture of the real thing. The car that inspired this build.



Ain't she purdy? I'll buff out the shell a bit and got some decals on maybe tonight or tomorrow after work. The enamel paint has slowed this build down but I think it's gonna be worth it in the end.

Thanks for lookin'
Hermon

I feel your pain regarding the enamel paint. I topcoated my '71 Duster with one thin layer of Testor's Model Master enamel three weeks ago, and the paint was finally dry enough to safely rub out yesterday.

I like the color, and I'm sure there are very few EF8 AAR models around. I've never built an AAR with the "new" Revell kit, so I'm curious to see how this turns out.

-YL

Very nice so far...is that the revell kit? I have the 340 duster kit and a can of panther pink, but I can't yet figure out how to do the flower power option to the top and interior. That and I need to find the seafoam green for my 71' GTX and convert that one to a sattilite sebring plus and 72' side markers and tail lights to match my old real one.

Bob,

I'm not sure the '71 Dusters came with the Mod Top option. I believe it was only available on 'Cudas, Coronets/SuperBees and Darts in '69 and '70. I'll have to check the references on this one when I get the chance.

-YL

Yup, this is the Revell kit and so far it's not a bad kit for $13.50.

The references I have for mod tops is as follows:

1969 Model Year VIN Model Mod Tops Produced
RH23 Satellite 1,637
BH23 Barracuda 937
LL23 Swinger hardtop 48
LM23 Swinger 340 50
LH23 Dart Custom 25
LP23 Dart GT hardtop 14
LS23 Dart GTS hardtop 16
WM21 Super Bee coupe 8
WM23 Super Bee hardtop 18
WH23 Coronet 440 hardtop 39

1970 model year BH23 Barracuda Blue 26
BS23 'Cuda Blue 17
BH23 Barracuda Yellow 26
BS23 'Cuda Yellow

Ok, so I missed the Satellites, which were also available with the Mod Top in '69. Seems that my memory isn't as bad as I thought.

Like I said, I've never built the Revell kit. I believe it's based on the old Monogram '71 Cuda kit rather than being a new tooling. The body shape looks pretty good, although your pic of the engine reminds me of some of the shortcomings of those 80's Monogram muscle car models. I can't quite tell from the photos, but are the hood vents molded open?

-YL

Great choice of color, something you don’t see often. Seeing yours and Yoni’s Duster has me itching to do a car build. I have both but which one. As for the Cuda photos…yes I found them and will post them here tomorrow.

Great work,
Joe

Yoni, I haven't measured this kit out but if I had to bet money I'd say you're right about this kit being the old Monogram kit. The decals are my only real complaint with this kit so far. There is very little flash anywhere straight out of the box and only an hours worth of clean up to do on the shell before it's ready to prime. Yes, the hood vents are molded open.



Joe, please......PLEASE build the Duster.
It ain't fair for me to kill myself building this Cuda' and have people say how good it looks just so you can build one that will blow mine away.
Build the Duster and save the Cuda' for the racecar campaign...............that it looks like we won't be doing.

Hermon

Looking nice dad
I especially love the engine.

Hunter

I can't wait to see the strobes on it....I was at the hobby shop the other day, had your kit in my hand, but set it down when I saw the special edition '68 charger kit....440 RB and a 426 engines...I had to do it.


Hey, if there's not enough folks for an official build, why not just group build?!

Bob, a group build would be fine with me. I just thought a campaign would give us a chance to have at least a car ribbon on our profiles....no big deal. As for the charger kit, you stayed in the Mopar neighborhood so it ain't like you commited a mortal sin.

Ok, enamel paint on the Cuda' finally dried enough to polish up a little. The decals are on and I just shot a couple lite coats of Floquil gloss clear. Right now the body is under my wifes tupper ware cake thingy drying. Wheels are painted, interior is done, windshield and back glass are Futured, and tires are trimed up and ready. I also experimented with some Bare-Metal chrome around the trim pieces for the windshield and windows. Looks great but MAAAAAAAN is that stuff hard to work with.

More pics soon, and thanks for all the great responses so far.
Hermon

Hermon:

Metal foil can be a pain to apply.

I've found that the original Bare Metal foil is a lot easier to work with than Testors Ultra Thin Krome Foil. The Testor's product is indeed very thin and registers small details very well, but it tears far too easily, making application difficult, especially around corners. The adhesive is also quite strong, so removal of the excess foil is also an issue, especially if you rubbed it down enthusiastically. I used the Testors Krome on my Duster, and probably won't use it again. I bought it at the LHS because they were out of Bare Metal, and now I'm regretting it.

Bare Metal foil, while not perfect, has a better balance of thickness and adhesion IMHO. Personally, I find it much easier to work with, and much more forgiving of my lack of fine motor skills.

I'm looking forward to seeing that 'Cuda in all it's green glory.

-YL

I like the color. I just posted a photo of my only muscle car build a '71 'cuda. But if you're thinking of a campaign I may consider doing another

She's gettin' there. Gloss coat is on and still wet. Tomorrow if she's dry enough I'll add the nose, tail, mirrors, finish the Bare-Metal on the trim and button everything up.



I love this color but if I had to do this particular kit again I'd go with something lighter. Can't hardly see the strobe strips on the rear quarters because of the dark green paint. Updates to come and thanks for hanging in there everyone.

Hermon

Looking very good Hermon, i have never built a cuda a may have to give one a try.

Car looks great Hermon. I wasn't all that excited by the color but looking at it now great choice. I think once it's all finished with all the chrome trimmings and such it's going to "Rock, Shock and Roll" which by the way was a name for one of my old racecars.

Anyhow did you find your Cuda' pics yet, here's mine.

Quick story…it was a hot day at a local drag strip; I was running DOT soft compound slicks. The track was sticky which I knew from prior runs earlier in the day. Once I entered the burnout box I did like a 7 second burnout, staged and hit the gas hard. About 100 feet out the passenger side rear rim exploded hooking the car hard left into the wall. The whole front end was wiped out as was the rear quarter panel. As for me my pride was hurt more.















Looking forward to your next posting and Cuda' pics.
Joe

Joe was that a cragar or a keystone there?

Hermon, the car looks great...the strobes look stealth, dark bodies never showed black strobes well and white ones woulda stood out like a sore thumb.