Another hit by Ertl! They missed a few details but I think I've addressed them. Up front you can see I've added the short horizontal chrome bars that tie the turn signal lights to the headlight bezels. The Ertl 442's look so good with chrome added. The fender peak trim really pops off the car even on lighter colored cars like this one. It really doesn't show here but I also black washed the recesses between chrome bars of the hood louvers.
The antenna on these models add a nice touch but I think I'm incapable of working on a car with one without breaking it off! At least they are easy to reattach with some super glue. The '68 442 stripes are rather subdued compared to many cars of the era but they do look good. Some musclecars look good with bright shocking colors but I think these Olds' look great with understated colors like this light yellow.
Here you can see many small details I've added. You can see the chrome of course but you can also see the chrome on the side marker light, the chrome lug nuts and the black detailing added to the hood louvers.
Lots of detailing here! Of course the spark plug wires have been added and it really looks great. Also detailed are the master cylinder, battery caps, wires on the red inner fender and the radiator to grill filler panel. The underside of the hood has also been painted black. Another item which may not exactly catch your attention but really adds something is the firewall to windshield filler panel. Originally it was body color. I pulled it out, painted it black and it looked better until I recalled these cars had a wide band of stainless steel upon which the wiper rested. I used some matte aluminum foil and it got the wiper arms in the process. I trimmed the foil off the wiper blade areas to finish the overall look in this area. It really worked out great.
The interior is pretty nicely done as they come but I did add some paint to the dash vents to finish off the overall look. Ertl is really putting more effort into interior details and it is really paying off. I rarely have to spend much time on the interiors making them come alive.
Again, nicely done by Ertl out of the box. I added paint to the gas tank, drive shaft, steering links, anti-sway bar and rear shocks. I also dabbed a touch of black to the inside of the exhaust tips.
