Boss JD Hogg

It's been a while since my last update. Here are a few pictures. I applied Bare Metal Foil to the molding around the windows and the tail lights and installed the CB radio under the dash board. IMG_7322 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7325 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7326 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7336 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7446 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7465 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7470 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr

Happy Birthday Daisy(Catherine)!

Thanks for the compliment! The front end of the ERTL one is too short. Th Autoworld one seems to be accurately sized. I looked at pictures of Chargers and compared the MPC to a Revell Charger and they are mostly the same size. The Revell Charger is an incredible kit and is much nicer than the MPC. However the Revell's front end is a bit larger and more boxy than it should be and the rear bumper is larger. The front end and rear bumper of the MPC is more accurate. I decided to modify the MPC Charger with Revell parts too see what I can make of it. I'm using the Revell suspension and exhaust which is making it nicer and I re-shaped the rear window which was too small and not shaped right.

The Autoworld one is a very nice model. You're asking about your 2 models above? I've matched up the MPC Charger with a Revell 69 Charger and they are the same length. Both are accurately scaled.

Thanks Roger for the nice compliment! Here's another picture. IMG_7299 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr

That's a cool early picture. You have to take a second look to notice the open door the missing 01. Here's an update. I painted the black on the tail light panel and sprayed the clear lacquer on the body. In a week or so I'll polish the clear. Today I made a couple of adjustments to the stance(ride height) and took some pictures with the wheels and tires on one side. It's propped up on the other side. IMG_7265 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7269 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7297 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7295 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7288 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7291 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr

There's an episode(possible in one one of the later seasons) with Uncle Jesse in the back seat of Rosco's car with Flash on his lap during a chase scene. The funny this is every time the car hits something another body part falls off. At the end even the roof is torn off the patrol car. All that's left is the frame, wheels and interior. I think Rosco is in the car and maybe Boss Hogg. Does anyone know off hand which episode this is?

Thanks Roger! The early Georgia episodes are my favorite and this is my favorite look for the General Lee. I like the earlier darker tan interior more than the later light colored interior. Here is some more work I did on the interior. I painted the interior seats and door panels in Tamiya acrylic XF-59 Desert Yellow which is actually a dark tan color that's a good match to the saddle tan interiors in the 69 Chargers. The dash board, rear speaker deck and the kick panels in front of the doors panels are painted a darker color. It's a mix of Testors acrylic leather and dark tan. These areas were a darker color than the seats and door panels in 69 Chargers. The carpeting is made with Champagne colored embossing powder I got from Michael craft store. I painted on some Testors acrylic clear and poured the powder on top. It gives the look of carpeting. The center console is painted to look like wood grain although it isn't showing up to well in the pictures. I painted the inset in the dash Testors acrylic silver and then painted Tamiya acrylic flat black on top. The Tamiya acrylic paint is easily removed with Windex where as the Testors acrylic paint will not be removed with Windex. I used a toothpick slightly moistened with Windex to remove the black paint around the gauges and to pick out the details of the radio and some buttons. The red button on the left was painted after this was done. It was sealed with Testors acrylic clear. The trim around the center console, door handles and the straight molding towards the top of the door panels is done with Bare Metal Foil. The window roller handles, round Charger emblem(in the top of the door panels), and trim around the shifter area are done with Testors acrylic silver paint. I also added some Bare Metal Foil trim on the head rests but haven't taken any pictures yet. IMG_7239 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7253 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7259 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr

Thanks Roger!

Hey Thanks!

Welcome Justin! I've been a fan of the Dukes since it first aired and still love it. It'll never go away for me. I'm sure you will feel the same about the show years from now.

Welcome! It's great to have another fan of Boss Hogg! I'm a big fan of One Armed Bandits too! In fact it's my favorite episode.

Thanks guys! The decals were given to me by a friend. They are more accurate than the set that comes with the kit.

WOW Jason, you are doing a fantastic job on this restoration! I really like seeing do-it-yourself restorations, like this one, as opposed to someone just sending a car out to a professional shop to have restored. Everything is turning out very nice! BTW, what color are you planning on painting it? 1975 Corvette Flame Red?

I noticed that there is no space between the word 'Location' and the actual location under the avatar. Maybe have a colon between the two as well. I also liked when the members' 'Birthdays' section was on the right side and not at the bottom as it is now.

It's been a while but here is an update. I started painting the wheels. I made pedals and an automatic shifter for the interior. I'll be using a heater under the dash board from a Revell 69 Charger. The engine is a 440 with an automatic like used on the show cars. This model comes with a Hemi engine that was never used on the show. The head rest on the front seat is a set from a Revell 69 Charger. I started painting the chassis. I painted it mostly like it would be painted at the factory with gray primer in the middle and the body color overspray. I painted the engine compartment and inner front wheel wells as if the car was painted with the front end off. I painted the body with Testors Custom Lacquer System Hugger Orange and applied the decals. The decals represent how the car looked in the early Georgia episodes. I also painted the headliner inside the body. IMG_6206 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6195 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6238 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6225 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6244 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6174 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7191 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7218 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7212 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7214 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7216 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7215 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr

Happy Birthday Boss Hogg(Sorrell)! It's great to share my birthday(January 4th) with such a fine actor.

Happy Belated birthday Rick(Cletus)!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

This build is loosely based on the Georgia cars. LEE 3 had padding on the roll bar which made it look thicker. Mine will be painted tan to match the interior as if it has padding. Since it's white plastic it is looking slightly thicker than it does in person. This picture below shows the roll bar with the padding. doh by Michael Scarola, on Flickr

I spoke with Jon Holland about the CB radio. He told me the Cobra 78x was seen one time. All the other times a sharp 40 channel was seen. Below is a picture of the Sharp 40 channel CB which looks a lot like the one in the screen grab Roth Potter posted above.

Here's a small update. The MPC kit comes with a full roll cage. In the pilot episode and at other times the General Lee was seen with a full roll cage but for the most part in the series a single loop roll bar was mainly used so I scratch built the roll bar. The interior is very crude and only indicates the location of most of the details such as the arm rests so I scratch built them. I think the interior looks a bit better with the arm rests. The seats in the kit have molded in seat belts which don't have very sharp detail. I removed the seat belts and scribed in the appropriate seams in the seats. I forgot to take a picture with the molded in seat belts but the picture below shows how they look now. The mounting hole in the dash board for the steering wheel was too far to the right so I filled it in and re-drilled it a bit to the left. I did get some more work and details done but have to take some more pictures. I'll post some more soon. IMG_6111 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6112 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6134 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6131 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6124 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr

Is the CB radio in the General Lee in the old TV series a Cobra 77x or 78x? I seem to remember reading that the Cobra 78x was used in the TV series but want to be sure.

Here's some more progress on the General Lee. I filled in the space behind the license plate below the rear bumper. It's strange how this part of the body is split. I put some sheet styrene behind as well to close it all off and strengthen this area of the body. I also sanded the putty in the engine compartment. The hood that comes with this MPC kit is actually a 1970 Charger hood. MPC did put out a Charger 500 kit that was based on the Dukes kit that had a correct 1969 hood. I was able to get my hands on one for this build. The picture with the two hoods shows the correct (yellow)1969 hood on the left and the (white) 1970 hood that came with this kit on the right. I'm using the exhaust system from the Revell Charger which is more accurate than what came with the MPC Charger. I had to make the area that goes over the rear axle shorter to fit the MPC chassis by cutting out a small section. The last picture has the chassis with the exhaust system and rear end axle and springs in place. These are parts from the Revell Charger kit. IMG_6056 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6080 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6094 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6066 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6100 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_6105 Small by Michael Scarola, on Flickr