Andrew D Jolly Rogers guy

Trying to figure out which grey to use on a North Central DC-9 for the areas just behind the black radome and around the wing roots (also appears to cover the underside of the fuselage all the way from the wings aft). I'm assuming (perhaps wrongly) that it is different from the corogard on top of the wings? As nearly ALL of my previous aircraft builds over the past 40 years are military aircraft I just don't know.....I was considering 16473 ADC grey but would prefer to hear from the experts. Thank you! http://www.departedflights.com/NCD9S.html

Thanks to both of you! I did end up getting 26 from another source before the reply, but I'm enjoying perusing the airline-hobby link as well. Thank you!

Which 1/144 727-200 Northwest Orient decals would be recommended? I see 26decals and DrawDecals have offerings, is there something else even better, or should I go with one of these?

Final step for now was scratchbuilding the large McPherson struts, a vital item for the Super Beetle. The struts themselves were made from plastic tubing, then the springs made by wrapping metal wire around an appropriately-sized plastic rod then trimmed to shape and installed.

The excellent Revell '68 chassis actually fit the Aoshima body *mostly* well. Only two issues to face. First, it needed widening on both sides with a .040 strip (easy fix). The bigger problem was that the aft wheel wells and engine area didn't fit. So I took a saw and cut partway into the plastic at that area so that the aft area could be bent upward, and then fit quite well, considering.

On to Hazzard County project #10: Hughie Hogg's Volkswagen! The first thing I discovered was that it was NOT a true convertible. Rather, it was a chop-top, as evidenced by the sedan-style windscreen, and the bottoms of the window posts still remaining. The second thing I had to learn was the difference between the classic Beetle and the Super Beetle. I have no doubt this is a "duh" to most of you here in the automotive subforum, but I don't come from a major automotive background. Now that some folks were kind enough to educate me, I see clearly that Hughie's ride was most definitely a Super Beetle with the roof cut off. After much more research and guidance from some auto modeling folks, I realized (after much frustration) that I was going to have to kitbash THREE different kits to do this. 1) Aoshima Beetle 1303S (it's a Super) for most (not all) of the body and the bumpers 2) Revell '68 Beetle for the chassis, engine, windscreen, rear body vents, tail lights and much of the interior 3) Revell VW Cabriolet for some of the interior and some of the body details I should also mention part of my research was to go through every Dukes episode in which this vehicle appeared, pause the DVD whenever a good view appeared from any angle, and photograph the scene. I then had the photos made into prints to use as I build. Maybe low-tech, but it works for me.

Thanks Tony, that was an experiment gone wild! Ah yes, the Naked Baby Ice Cream Truck, that would be a great one!! Actually I'm proud to announce it'll be Hughie Hogg's VW Beetle chop-top (wasn't a true convertible) with the steer horns on the hood to match "Uncle Boss'" Caddy 😎

Hey folks, Had a few requests here and elsewhere to see the entire lineup (so far) of my Hazzard County fleet which has been under construction for the past 6 years. None of these are out-of-the-box, each taking a huge investment of time, research and effort. Greatest challenges were in the tow truck. Next addition is already in the research and materials-gathering stage. Hope you enjoy!

Oh man, I'm in love.....just beautiful!

Wow, that's a winner right there! Absolute beauty! Amazing to think they really used to make cars like that, as I seem to find myself saying more and more....

Terrific vehicle, outstanding suspension work! I know that ain't easy!

Ain't it the truth! Only two weeks ago I cut my hands up pretty nicely just trying to change the tiny headlight bulbs on my current drive.... Thank you folks for the kind words!

Thank you, very kind of y'all!

LOL nice Pete! Okay, she's done, and here's the final gallery: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235095892-daisy-dukes-71-plymouth-satellitedoh/

Just to clarify: YES, they used a '74 Roadrunner which appeared in 5 of the first 9 episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard, then beginning with episode 11 they switched to a '71 Satellite Sebring in a Roadrunner paint scheme, hoping nobody would notice. Some prefer the '74; personally I prefer the '71, finding it much sleeker and meaner looking with the wraparound bumper/grill assembly. Base kit is the Revell/Monogram '71 Plymouth GTX. Modifications include: -Replacement hood -Smaller-block engine (from 71 Duster) -Completely rebuilt & boosted rear suspension -Replacement tires -Wheel hubs from '77 Ford van Additionally, all GTX logos were removed (not easy on the grill); headlights made from sanded/polished acrylic gemstones; engine bay heavily wired and detailed; scratchbuilt steering wheel, CB radio and antenna; paint is Plymouth Yellow Blaze.

I think I forgot to mention the wheel hubs. The kit wheels are totally wrong; the good folks at a purely-automotive forum guided me toward the wheel hubs from the AMT 77 Ford van, and then one of the members was kind enough to send me a set which he was not going to use. Once primed and chromed, they were perfect! They also almost perfectly fit the aftermarket tires which I had ordered (see earlier post June 2). Absolutely perfect! ONE FINAL DETAIL: the CB antenna. In the episode "The Meeting," there is a perfect closeup view of it, which I used as reference to scratch-build mine. Base was carved from two sections of plastic, and the aerial was made from metal guitar string (high "E"). And, God-willing, she's done! Finished pics to be posted shortly

Thank you! Almost there. Just using the Daisy's Car kit decals from the MPC kit for the roof-section of the stripe, although the two end sections need to be removed. Daisy's car was in constant use on the country roads and so needs to have a generous amount of Hazzard county road dust. Just speaking for myself, I don't believe in making showroom-fresh vehicles with immaculate chassis and wheel wells to portray actively used vehicles. The overall dusting is a shade called Armor Sand, with some Military Earth Brown right behind the wheels and on the bottom of the fenders just behind the wheels.

Thank you! Now for the really scary part: the pinstriping around the main stripe. In my research, I took special notice of how they did the real one around the door handle and at the very front. I've got plenty of straight-line fine decal striping, but the curves are a problem. Trying to paint those fine curves right alongside the large stripe AND make them look good is an awfully tall order. My experience (both successes and failures) tells me to go another route. I decided an ususual approach: cut away the pinstriping from the decals of MPC's Daisy's car, the very-different '74 Roadrunner, and cut the curves into pieces to match each little bit of the Satellite's stripe. Wasn't easy, nor was it fun at first, but it actually worked!

And now the last daunting challenge, the stripe. To my knowledge no decals exist for this body type. I do have the decals from the MPC kit of Daisy's 74 Roadrunner, but this is a different body type with different contours, and the subtleties of the strip were very different between the two vehicles. I also noticed the first '71s they painted for this had stripes that didn't quite fit the countours of the new type, but by partway into the second season the paint crews seem to have mastered the marriage of '71 body style and stripe style. My solution: use the roof decals, the paint the thick stripe center along the sides, then use fine striping for the pinstriping. I used a photocopy of the roof decals from the MPC kit as reference to set up the masking for the side striping. Through this I saw the side square from each end would have to be cut off. The rest would work fine.

Okay, back to business. Earlier I had gone to the trouble of cutting away the GTX emblem from the grill (since all such emblems were removed from all cars in the show), then priming/painting and re-chroming the bumper with Alclad. Next the chrome bumper was masked, and the grill and its surround was sprayed with enamel Steel, and a wash used for the grill's recesses. Then to make the headlights. I use acrylic gemstones because they're soft enough to have the facets sanded away to make it rounded, then polished. When finished with Future/Clear acrylic floor polish, they make very convincing light lenses, better than what comes with any kit. In this case I used 5mm gemstones for the headlights, and 3mm for the signal lights.

Wow...well, first thing I learned when I did Daisy's Jeep was that the show-issued kit was totally wrong. I followed advice and went with the Monogram Mork/Mindy Jeep, but even so I had to completely redo the roll bar, as the kit has it mounted on the wheel wells while it should go all the way to the floor.

Well, the replacement engine was finished (AMT '71 Duster), a small-block to replace the kit's big-block which apparently any smooth-hooded Satellite would never have had. HOWEVER, many problems arose: 1) Drive shaft too short for the new engine (was lengthened, see previous) 2) Once installed, found it sat 'WAY too low. Had to redo the already-redone engine mounts to raise it several mm. 3) Once totally installed, found it was still much too far back. By this time I was far more committed....I would have had to lengthen the drive shaft AGAIN, and redo all three points the engine mounted to. VERY disappointing to see the distributor almost touching the firewall. Sadly, I gave in and went with it. Remaining wiring was connected between the engine and the engine compartment. Hopefully it looks busy enough to divert attention from the 2-3 mm the engine sits too far back. Learn from this setback, kids.... Now the rear body skirt. The kit's has two half-circle openings for the high-performance exhausts, which the actual car(s) did not have (see reference). Easier to plug a square-shaped opening in this case; so it was done with plastic, then sanded and blended to shape. Then once installed, it was blended into the body, then primed and painted to make it look like it's all part of the body, totally connected. Couldn't do it before the chassis was installed; it wouldn't have fit and it would have been torn apart in the process (only have to make that mistake once to know).

Thanks for all the kind comments! Most folks know that auto glass has a slight tint to it, a sort of bluish-green. I prepare a solution of clear acrylic floor polish (formerly Future), tinted with a few drops of blue and green food coloring. Clean and polish the windscreen and rear window, and dip them into the solution. Position them upside-down so the color settles slightly to the top of the glass as it dries and cures. I never leave the tires looking unused/showroom-new, especially for a car that spends its days speeding up and down country roads. I sand all over each tire with fine grade sandpaper, then with heavier grit on the tread. Once done I take them outside and grind the tread surfaces through the dirt/dust in my front yard. Wipe off the excess and voila, country-used tires. Bigger problem is removing the GTX emblem from the grill. All logos/emblems were removed for the vehicles in the show, apparently making Hazzard County Detroit-brand-free. It was easy enough to remove most of the emblems from the body, but the grill was tougher. First the emblem was ground down to grill level with a moto-drill. Then, each rectangle in the grill was carefully cut out of the emblem....actually ended up easier than I thought. The result isn't quite 100% perfect, but not bad. Finally, take both cleaned-up bumpers along with the rear-view mirrors and the donated wheel hubs and prepare for Alclad chrome. First, primer. Second, gloss black. Third, allow 24 hours for the black to cure. Finally spray the Alclad chrome.

Great episode, called "Granny Annie"! One of my favorites. The entire broken-up sequence of Enos arresting her and her driving them to jail (yes, she drove while under arrest) is just hysterical. I really wished she could have returned for more episodes as regular supporting cast, she was so funny and perfect for the part.

Thank you! Okay, once the paint cures, it's time to fully detail the engine bay. I use as many photos of the real thing as possible and try to copy what I see in them. Since every one of them seems to be different, I end up just using the best possible features to scratchbuild and copy. I keep a supply of 4-5 different sizes of rubber-coated wire in varying colors, plus fine metal wire. Several details on the firewall as well as the water reservoir and horn were scratchbuilt. Master cylinder & servo housing were painted with Alclad lacquers (Stainless Steel & Titanium)