StevenGuthmiller

No. The only '58 Cadillacs ever offered were the IMEX 1958 Eldorado convertible and hard top, and the Johan/X-EL 1958 Fleetwood 4 door hard top. I actually owned a '58, 62 series hard top 1:1 years ago. It was coral with a black top and a tri-tone rose, pink and black interior. I would love to have a kit of a '58, 62 series or Deville, but none exist. I believe that R&R resin may have offered one years ago, but that's history. Steve

Yeah, it's a completely different windshield frame configuration. You might have better luck trying a '59 Ford windshield, though I think that's an unlikely match as well. The Mercs had a unique windshield design in '60 from all of the other Ford products. Steve

Using a small conical swab, and/or tooth pick, you only wipe over the surface of the script itself, not the surrounding area. Likewise, the amount of thinner you will be using is minuscule. I dip the swab in thinner and then roll it over a cloth to absorb the excess. The swab is just damp. But with so little paint over the script, it's more than enough to remove the paint. Here's another trick. get the swab damp with thinner and lightly go over the script. Then leave it alone for a few seconds. The thinner will loosen the paint and make it extremely easy to remove. Then I take my sharpened tooth pick, dip it in thinner and use it to carefully scrape and remove the paint. Works like a charm. You don't get much smaller script size than the "H" on the Chrysler 300 H above. Steve

I don't hang them upside down, I just figure that my money can be better spent on other more urgent hobby needs, and my modeling time is too valuable to me to spend it building a paint stand. Why fix it if it ain't broke. Steve

My last order was the '56 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer kit. I sit sometimes and wish that I would have ordered more kits from Modelhaus. But then it occurred to me that I have bought several kits from Modelhaus over the past 25 years, and have not built a single one of them. It's probably best that I didn't spend another $1,000.00 on stuff that I will probably never finish. I mostly miss them for the occasional hard to find vintage replacement part, and the items that I ordered from them more than any other thing are still available..........the tires! Steve

Absolutely! My biggest piece of advise is that even though you are painting over the foil, it is still highly recommended that you cut your foil as close to the script or badge as possible. Edges of the foil can be visible under the paint if you leave it too far away from the script you are finishing, especially when it only has a coat or 2 of paint over it. You might not need to worry about this as much if you apply the foil earlier in the paint process, but the less paint that you need to remove from the script, the better. The paint can then be removed from the script with very minimal effort with just a dab of lacquer thinner on a conical swab, and possibly a sharpened tooth pick dipped in lacquer thinner for the finer points. I have done it many different ways. Before and after primer, polishing or cleaning the script with thinner, and in my experience, this is by far the easiest way. Steve

Here's my 2 cents. I agree with Tom for the most part. 1: I wash all of my parts before painting. Oils from the molding process aside, you will undoubtedly have oil from you fingers, dust and other contaminates on the surface just from normal handling and prep. 2: Yes, water slide decals do require submersion in water. I don't use a lot of decals, but when I do, a quick couple of dips in water and then setting them aside for a couple of minutes will usually suffice in allowing the decal to loosen from the backing paper. 3: I prime everything as well!! Priming will allow for much better paint coverage and adhesion over painting directly over the plastic. Like Tom, I use Duplicolor sandable primers as well as a combination of Testors lacquer primer and Duplicolor "primer sealer". But then again, I also use a lot of hotter automotive type lacquer paints like Duplicolor, MCW and Scale Finishes. 4: I use clear coats all of the time on bodies, as well as all sorts of other parts. Some clear on the body will allow for easier polishing, lessening the possibility of burning through the paint during the process. In my experience, clear, followed by polishing with polishing pads and liquid polishes will give you a very correct looking shine without the "candy like" appearance that very high gloss paints and clears can give you if left unpolished. Clear is also very advantageous for creating many different effects. For instance, a shot of clear gloss over a flat finish can give you a very convincing matte finish for interior or chassis parts. 5: I too use mainly automotive type lacquers for body colors. It drys and cures very quickly with superior coverage, and the color pallet that is available through aftermarket air brush paint providers like Scale Finishes and MCW is virtually infinite! I use few acrylics, but I do use a lot of enamels. Mainly flat enamels for engine, chassis and interior parts, whether air brushed or brush painted. A good array of flat colors is all that is needed as sheens can be adjusted to whatever you desire with subsequent clear coats. Welcome to the forum Blake! It's always nice to see new blood coming aboard! Steve

That will work depending on how many coats of primer and paint you use. I use as many as 5 primer, and 5 color coats. That's way too much paint to remove in the end. I wait until right before my last coat or 2 of color. Steve

I have been using this exact same coat hanger for at least 10 years now. You can tell by the paint build up! Personally, I've never seen the need for anything else. Steve

Nice Jim! Is that engine straight out of the '66 kit? I'm gonna want one of those for my '63 Riv build!! Steve

I guess that makes sense. If that's the case Chris, you might want to change your topic heading. If you're looking for the up top, I got nothing. The boot I might have. Steve

AMT '60 Merc parts are not particularly rare, so if you take a little time and keep checking ebay, I have no doubt that you will be able to find these parts. My guess is that the glass from the AMT 1959 Mercury should be the same as well. I had a derelict '60 Merc kit with glass and top boot some months ago, but I traded them off. Steve

The convertible hood is the same as the hard top hood. The Johan '62 hard top is not a rare kit and there are always kits and parts on ebay. I might even have a spare hood somewhere in the parts box if you can figure a way for me to get it to you in South Africa without it costing a fortune to ship. Put an add in the wanted section for a Johan '62 Chrysler hood. You might find plenty of options. Steve

Of course. But a rear collision at 31 MPH is not going to cause a fuel rupture, and possibly fire and explosion on 8 out of 11 cars tested in the vast majority of cars, past or present. That's just a little too bad to try to make excuses for. Steve

That's the way that I do nearly every model. It is often referred to as the "foil under paint" or "foil before paint" technique. As a matter of fact, I think this technique is about due for it's own "initialism".......FUB. Steve