Pro Shop or any Pre Painted kit.

[Mr. E]

So I picked this one up on the cheap with the thought of doing a quick shelf model and for some more practice sticking parts together.



Then I opened the kit and was somewhat unhappy with what I found. In my distant past, I built a '57 Chrysler 300 C Pro Shop kit and was actually impressed with the quality of the prep and paintwork. I honestly thought they'd done a pretty decent job on the green beast.

Now I have this Duster, I can see seems in the body especially on the C pillars. Many of the parts are the wrong color, including the entire engine bay. The black painted area of the body does not go up above the rain gutter. The transmission, a 4-Speed, is painted aluminum instead of cast iron, and on and on...

Perhaps the most disappointing part is that the wheels have no detail paint what so ever. I remember that the hub caps were nicely and correctly detail painted on the Chrysler 300.

I guess it's just a sign of the times, less product at greater cost.

Anyway, this leaves me in the uncomfortable position of having to decide what to do with this thing. Do I just build it as is? Should I try and correct some or all of the incorrectly painted parts? Should I just throw the whole mess into the stripping goo? The problem with that one is that I'll need to find some new decals, this one comes with all the body decals in place.

I guess I'll wait till I calm down some and decide what to do. You guys are more than welcome to chime in with any helpful advice.

[dge467]

Well if it was mine, I would probably build as is and just add or paint my own details and chrome foil the trim. I have had one of these sitting on the shelf unbuilt for years along with the Road Runner and Charger. If I wanted to build it my way I would just build the regular kit instead of going through all the work of stripping the paint and finding decals. That is just me though! I'm sorta lazy like that!

[68383]

Just build it as-is. They’re meant to be quick, shelf builds, IMO, rather than award winners.

[BUCKY]

I tend to agree. I built the Edsel Pro Shop, and it turned out to be a decent shelf-sitter.(Careful how ya say that!)
I have the full blown custom kits in the stash for when I feel like going all out on one.
Also, there are plenty Duster kits available to take in any direction you wish, so stripping this one back and starting over might be just spending time that could be spent on a full-on project.

[68383]

Yeah, the AMT ‘71 Duster is a good, detailed kit to build. And things go together well.

... and it’s a good donor for a Demon!

[Mr. E]

Thanks, guys, I guess I'll do as suggested although I will be doing at least some detail painting. I like the look of this one despite the inaccuracies.

[BUCKY]

Detail painting will enhance the model. I did that on the Edsel, and it helped.

[BUCKY]

Pre-painted kits can be used as a slumpbuster, if you're at a stalemate with the stuff on yer bench.

[DusterEd]

If it was mine I would just detail it out. You know correct what's wrong with it. Try to match paint the inner fenders body color and add black to the sides of the body near the drip rails. It's not a bad kit. With exception of the 72 inner door panels and wrong body lines around the rear and front wheel lips. Personally it's body details are not near the original 71. But it does have a nice 340.