# Ertl Street Machines '70 Challenger R/T



## tolenmar (Dec 5, 2011)

I always try to have one or two projects in the works at a time, regardless of what is happening. So today, with most of my important stuff taken care of, I wasn't feeling too badly. I took my fun money for the month to a resell shop in town that recently changed owners, and grabbed these two "vintage" kits:








About ten dollars a piece, which isn't bad when you consider how I would have added shipping on top if I had ebay'ed them.

I started the Challenger. Getting to see the old style of instructions was a nice and refreshing little treat. The reason I started this kit first is because a while back, I bought two identical Maisto 1:25 scale diecast Challengers because I had dreams of converting one of them into a convertible. The convertible would have been painted Panther Pink. So instead, the diecast will be re-assembled and painted in a stealth black scheme. This means I have less cutting and scultping to do. 

This kit when finished, will be Panther Pink. Because real men drive pink cars. Besides, these days pink means cancer, so...

The other kit will wait. But I have a plan for it. Several months ago, I built a Shelby Cobra kit, and I painted it orange and black in tiger stripes. The Superbird will be painted black and white, and will be a zebra for the tiger to chase. I don't know why, that's just the scheme that came to mind when I saw it.

I will say that it's almost a shame that I have plans for these cars, because the colors of the plastics they are moulded in are so pretty, it almost makes me want to leave them unpainted.


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## scottnkat (May 11, 2006)

Look like a couple of fun projects, tolenmar


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## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

This belongs to a friend of mine:










Marty
Marysville, OH


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## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

I forgot to mention, he also owns the Suprbird next to it.

Marty
Marysville, OH


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## tolenmar (Dec 5, 2011)

Those are beautiful. Wish I had one parked next to my house.


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## CorvairJim (Dec 16, 2011)

tolenmar said:


> Those are beautiful. Wish I had one parked next to my house.


I don't know if Panther Pink would be my first choice for a Challenger convertible, but this Chevy guy would still take either or both of these Mopars! Those Keystone Klassic mags are perfect on the car. I'll take the yellow SuperBird as-is...


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## chevyguy97 (Sep 4, 2012)

_Can't wait to see what ya come up with, i just finished a 70 challenger myself, it's a good kit and pretty easy. good luck on them both. _


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## tolenmar (Dec 5, 2011)

Well, things are moving slowly. Due to weather, I had to move things inside, and my paints don't dry as fast now as they did when it was warm out (gee, I wonder why?). So it's back to paint a little, maybe glue a little, wait...


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## tolenmar (Dec 5, 2011)

As I said, work goes slowly on this one. Just finished the engine:
























The last pic is irritating. To paint the engine, I put it on a peg. Business as usual. Except apparently there was still wet glue in there, and when I tried to remove the peg, the end of the transmission snapped off. Only half the piece came off the peg, the rest is stuck firm. Don't quite know what to do. It isn't exactly as if this kit is new enough for me to write the company for replacement parts. I'll end up kludging something together.


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## tolenmar (Dec 5, 2011)

A bit of progress to show off. Front suspension is together, and the engine is mounted. The rear suspension and driveshaft is assembled and primed. One thing that surprises me is how fragile this old kit is. One of the front torsion bars (I think that's what they are called, I only pretend to be a car guy) was already broken off when I opened the kit, and in trying to test-mount one of the exhaust lines so I could see where the ends of the headers came out, it snapped. Nothing I can't fix, but my ham-handed approach might need a bit of adjustment...









And I'm nearly finished with the body shell. I still need to go around the windshield frame. Soon I'll go ahead and put on the decals, then dip the whole thing in future. Afterwards, a good wax and polish before I move forward.

















O/T, I'm really digging the fact that my close-ups look so much better than before. I finally figured out my (wife's) camera settings!


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## scottnkat (May 11, 2006)

It's coming along - BTW, my daughter loves building models and she is really digging your Challenger! keep it up


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## tolenmar (Dec 5, 2011)

Well that's cool. Maybe she'll get a kick out of the Superbird when I get around to it.


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## tolenmar (Dec 5, 2011)

The little details are really starting to add up to something beautiful!


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## dge467 (Jul 6, 2012)

It is coming along nicely!


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## tolenmar (Dec 5, 2011)

I intended today to bring you some WIP's, but then got bored and went ahead and finished... Good thing I have another project waiting for me.

First: the interior, with and without the dashboard in place.

















































The seats were originally going to be done in white, but instead of masking and spraying, I decided to brush the white on. That didn't work too well. I eventually decided my white was too thin and switched to grey. I think it works really well. Especially when you see the finished project. (Oops, looks like I need to touch up one of the seats. Good thing it a convertible!)

Speaking of which, see you after the break!


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## tolenmar (Dec 5, 2011)

Ok, so I fibbed, I'm waiting on a decal to dry so I can put the license plate on it.


































Like usual for me, there are a couple of minor problems. The rear valance didn't want to fit in (of course, after everything else is glued in place), so it was modified. And the engine/shaker scoop don't sit in the engine bay very well, causing the hood to slip a little bit out of position.

And of course, there are the occasional mistakes in the paint where I rushed here and there. (What can I say? I'm not exactly known for my patience!)

But, I now have a Panther Pink 1970 Dodge Challenger. I showed some of the WIP's to a buddy of mine, who really dug it. But then he asked "What's with the pink?" :thumbsup:


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## tolenmar (Dec 5, 2011)

I'll say it: That thing looks fast just sitting there!


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## scottnkat (May 11, 2006)

I like it, tolenmar - good job on it


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## tolenmar (Dec 5, 2011)

Thank you. I didn't really expect it to turn out quite so good. The whole time I worked on it, I felt like I was dancing on the edge of disaster.


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## dge467 (Jul 6, 2012)

Came out nice! One of the few cars you can get away with pink paint!


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