Round 2 tooled an entirely new body shell plus other parts to restore the AMT 1964 Oldsmobile annual kit, making it available once again for the first time in 57 years.
Minor vertical sink marks on front fenders ahead of the doors can be mostly addressed by sanding the adjacent surfaces with a 2400-grit sanding pad.
A primer guide coat prior to sanding will help identify the mold parting lines along the front fender edges. They are located in a somewhat unusual position, but easily cleaned up.
The rear end parting lines traverse the trunk lid but are easily removed. Two sink marks along the top of the trunk lid may be deep enough to need a filler like Mr. Surfacer 500.
Prior to painting, use a razor saw to gently cut door opening cutlines into the horizontal moldings that run below the body belt line.
Testors Lacquers are out of production and getting hard to find, but if you have them available, silver blue metallic is an exact match for the Wedgwood blue metallic shown on this 1964 Oldsmobile paint chip chart at the top left. Other close (but not exact) matches include the Testors artesian turquoise metallic, flame red, and Phoenician yellow lacquers.
Several mist coats, followed by a couple of wet coats, delivers a uniform base-coat color. With metallics like this, you must paint the hood together with the body for a consistent result. Note the crisp appearance and accurate body proportions.
The resulting paint surface has a semigloss finish that requires a gloss clear coat, such as this Mr. Super Clear aerosol. (Due to serious health risks and unrealistic paint thickness, I do not recommend using automotive 2-part clears.)
As it dries, the clear coat will shrink and leave a fine orange-peel surface. Use Tamiya Rubbing and Polishing Compounds (or automotive counterparts) to remove the orange peel and leave a uniform, gloss surface.
This comparison with the 1964 Oldsmobile Code F Wedgewood blue metallic paint chip shows the exact match of the Testors silver blue metallic. Precisely accurate airbrush paint matches for the other 1964 Olds colors are available from MCW Automotive Finishes.
The kit reflects its 1960s origin with undesirable holes in the engine block to accommodate the metal axle. Apply masking tape over holes in the engine block and oil pan from the outside, and then fill the gaps from behind with 5-minute epoxy. Remove the tape after the glue dries.
This is the only Oldsmobile small-block V8 (330 and 350 cubic inches) ever produced in 1/25 scale. These small-blocks were painted a gold/bronze color; Tamiya metallic gold (No. TS-84) is a close hobby-paint equivalent.
The engine is surprisingly well detailed given its 1960s origins. As seen here, the air cleaner is painted bright red; the fan-belt pulleys are gloss black, the plated Delcotron is coated with Tamiya flat clear (No. XF-86) for an aluminum color, and exhaust manifolds show a cast-iron like metallic gray color.
While the single piece, promo-style chassis is a simplified representation of the underbody, the deeply engraved configuration responds well to detail painting. Begin with a coat of gray primer, then mist your selected exterior paint color along the outside edges of the chassis plate to replicate overspray that landed on the underbody in the factory paint booth.
Using a high-quality paint brush, I applied Tamiya bottle paints to the various chassis surfaces. GM A-Body chassis frames, suspensions, and drivelines from the ‘60s variously used gloss, semigloss, and flat black. Silver, metallic gray, and gunmetal gray, respectively, add realism to the molded-in mufflers, exhaust pipes, and gas tank.
Online full-size Oldsmobile parts-restoration sources list black, white (with black), blue, green, red, and brown (really a dark tan) as 1964 Cutlass interior colors. These 1964-specific colors are highlighted here with small pieces of masking tape marked with an asterisk.
The 1964 Oldsmobile white interior color is actually a slightly off-white shade. Testors Ford Wimbledon white lacquer is an acceptable match, so that’s what I went with for interior shell and seats.
I masked the door top panels (painted metal on the real car) along with the carpeted floor and door bottoms, and then finished the remaining surfaces with Tamiya semigloss clear (No. X-35) to replicate the real car’s slightly less glossy vinyl upholstery.
I went over the carpeted areas with Tamiya flat black (No. XF-1) and a paintbrush. The door and quarter panels were accented with thin strips of Bare-Metal Foil to replicate the trim on the real car. The console layout and engraving does not match either of the real car’s manual or automatic transmission console designs, so I just went with it.
The kit provides an accurate single-piece instrument panel decal; I cut it into two pieces (upper and lower) and applied each with decal setting solution to help them settle. The steering wheel received the correct paint detailing, and I added vertical trim pieces to the bucket-seat backrest sides to match the real car’s appearance.
Shown here in its completed state, a little extra effort on the interior pays dividends in appearance, especially when considering the open passenger compartment with a top-down convertible.
Unlike modern kits that feature clear headlight lenses, 1960s annual kits typically engraved headlamp detail on the plated grille assembly. Applying a mix of decanted Tamiya pearl clear (No. TS.65) and semigloss clear (No. TS-79) yields a more accurate appearance to the plated lens areas.
Study photos of the real car, then proceed with the following: The grille assembly wears thinned flat black flowed into the recessed areas. Follow with flat silver accents on the receding horizontal surfaces of the center grille bar. Silver paint replicates the factory finish of the repeating boxes in the rear trim panel, and thin strips of Bare-Metal Foil add the missing vertical partitions of the taillight lenses. Flat silver, thinned flat black, and thinned flat red all replicate the real car’s wheel-cover finishes.
Bare-Metal Foil is your friend when it comes to replicating the chrome strips on the body, rocker panel moldings, windshield trim, and hood wind split. Make sure to use a brand-new hobby blade when cutting Bare-Metal Foil.
The real car had bright wheel lip moldings, which are not engraved on the model’s body. Fortunately, a few strokes with a Molotow Liquid Chrome pen perfectly highlights the raised surfaces on the body, yielding a factory-correct final appearance.
Check back next time when we piece together all the subassemblies shown here to show you the final, completed kit and provide some final observations about Round 2’s new 1964 Oldsmobile Cutlass Convertible kit.
For final assembly, I used both plastic cement and 5-minute epoxy.
Once assembled, Round 2’s re-creation of the AMT 1964 Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible kit seals the deal with a very convincing replica of the real car. Many 1960s annual kits are revered for their accurate body proportions and crisply engraved parts; that’s certainly the case here. Note the precise fit of the hood from the original annual kit tooling with the hood opening from the newly tooled main body.
This kit is simple enough that it could be assembled in one evening if you forego painting and detailing. However, even with the simplified nature of 1960s annual kits, a week or two of enjoyable evenings spent detailing the kit parts pays big dividends in the final appearance, such as the interior and rear taillight panel.
Many kits tooled in the 1960s for both pre-assembled dealer promotional use and assembly kits used a one-piece chassis pan. You can just paint it flat black and be done but replicating a factory-fresh appearance adds a nice surprise when flipping over the model. I painted the Phillips-head assembly screws to match the surrounding surfaces. Ambitious kitbashers may want to investigate substituting the chassis/suspension/engine compartment of AMT/Ertl’s 1966 Oldsmobile 442 kits for added detail.
Even though the interior is also simplified, like many other 1960s kits, detail painting and the new decal for the instrument panel result in a convincing appearance. Consider adding embossing powder or flocking to the engraved carpeted areas for even more realism. The relatively shallow toe box area could also be deepened for even more accuracy.
The finished engine compartment looks a little on the spare side, just like many real cars of the 1960s. The surprisingly accurate 330 V8 is a great start for additional detail including radiator and heater hoses and spark-plug wires.
No kit is ever 100% perfect. As with the original AMT 1964 annual kit, the top of the front wheel well openings trail off while the real car’s openings are more rectangular. Also, not shown here, but the panel beneath the rear taillights appears too tall compared to the real car. The convertible boot requires some undersurface tweaking to fit the body better. And the slightly undersized wheels fit loosely in the newly tooled tires.
While I built the factory-stock version, the kit includes over 60 customizing parts from the original annual kit. These yield a surprisingly tasteful mild custom version, and even more intriguing, an all-out topless exhibition racecar version with a wraparound windscreen and a wild dual-Judson supercharger. Overall, this very desirable model kit foreshadows what could be an exciting future for scale automotive modelers!