Modlbldr

Jairus- Thanks for posting the drawing of your 60 Starliner. I know that I keep saying I'll send a photo of the build....and I will. I also noticed the other day that another of my "In Progress" builds is one of your sketches. It is the 70 1/2 Camaro convertible. Both builds are about 85% completed. Thanks again for sharing your ideas. Later-

Beautiful work Greg, I've got to get this kit. Does it come with the connie kit or is that from the Impala? Later-

Prostreeter69- I recognize your truck. A friend of mine from CO sent me photos of it that he took at a show. He said that it looked a lot like a 55 Ford that I have been working on for years. I chopped and sectioned the cab, pancaked the hood, rolled the pans, shortened the bed, widened the rear fenders and moved the front fenderwells forward. Lately I have been working on the chassis (when I work on it). Yours looks great. Many nice builds on here Fellas. Keep it up. Later-

RacerX- That is a fine job in both incarnations. You do nice clean work. It must have been heartbreaking to see that damaged after putting so much work into it. I know. I don't think that I have ever had one survive more than a year without some damage from something. Very aggravating. Again, though, Nice job both times. Later-

John- A simply (although I doubt it was) BEAUTIFUL paint job. It must have been fun taping around the spare tire hump. Sure looks like you've got that scallop thing down pat! I can't wait to try my hand at such a thing. Nice job. Later-

I unofficially finished the build last night. I say unofficially because as I was finishing it up I got a drop of Superglue on the paint. Also the coat of clear that I put on yesterday morning wasn't completely dry. As I was working on it last night the clear coat on the roof got marred. Neither one is highly noticeable, but I'll have to fix them before I'll be happy. So now the plan is to take photos of it tomorrow and put them on here. Then I can fix it while I have time. The body was a real bear to get on the chassis. That has been the only difficult part of this build. Pictures tomorrow. Later-

Cranky- I appreciate the advice about how to do this technique. I've really admired the work you've done on your last few builds and I want to try this myself. Your build is looking fantastic. Keep it up. Later-

Get a nice sized bowl full of warm soapy water and use that to wet your model and sandpaper with. This is what they refer to as wetsanding. The important thing is to periodically dry the body off to check your progress. Later-

Jairus- This is looking good. I like the alterations you are doing. This makes me want to dig out my 62 Bel Air wagon that is languishing in a box in my hobby room. This style is what I have been looking for since the style that was "IN" when I started it is now long gone.(Thankfully) I'll be keeping an eye on your build to see how it turns out. Lastly, I still need to send you a photo of my 60 Starliner. Later-

I took a 2400 grit sanding pad to the scratch this afternoon and, although I could still see the scratch once I called it good, I was afraid that I would sand through the paint. Then I resprayed the whole thing with another coat of clear. I'm not sure if the scratch is gone because I was afraid to touch it until it dries. Either way, I'm calling it good. Next I painted the sun visors on the glass and glued the rear view mirror on. Right now I am waiting for the clear coat to dry so that I can do my final assembly and photos. Hopefully I will be ably to do these tonight. Later-

Cranky- OK, I have to ask again because last time you sent me a link that I couldn't get to open. How do you get the salt to stay on while you spray the paint? Is it just held there with dullcote? And, when do you brush it off, if so? I like what you have done and want to try it. Thanks. Later-

Juergen- Nice clean build. The interior looks great and spotless! I can't wait to see this one finished. The 65 is just about my favorite Impala. I sure wish that I would have picked up a couple of those kits when they were out. I am just about finished with the 68 Firebird. I should be done either tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for the reference photos of yours. Later-

I spent most of Oct working away from home and I finally got back to the bench the other night and finished up the BMF job on the kit. It turned out pretty good and I am satisfied. I did manage to put a big scratch in the passenger front fender with an XActo blade while trimming the wheelwell chrome. So I have been soliciting suggestions in how to repair it and I think that I have finally settled on a way. I hope to get it repaired this week and perhaps get it finished too. Keep looking in and I promise to have some photos within the next few days. Later-

Roland- Nice job of weathering on that ol Ford. That 60 Starliner is a nice kit, but sure has a lot of chrome. If I'm not mistaken, that paint color looks like Testors Racing Blue? That is the color that I painted my Starliner in. Great job on your second build. Let us see it when it is finished. Later-

Tom- Thanks for the reply. I feel a bit more confident in trying this repair now. I took a closer look at the scratch yesterday and it doesn't appear to have gone through to the paint. I think that it is only in the clear coat. I think that I will do a light wetsand like you suggest and hit it with another shot of clear. Either way, I need to get on with it so that I can wrap this one up. Thanks for the help. Later-

Brian- Nice build. That is one of my favorite 68 Mustangs. It is the cover car on one of my reference books and I have had plans for quite a while to do a build of it myself. Nice to see that you've done such a fine job. Later-

Jairus- Yes, an illustration is imperative. We NEED to see it. (OK.... maybe just me). I'd love to see the whole photo of the 63 too. I'll definitely be watching this one. I still need to send you a photo of the 60 Starliner that is "languishing in a box" in my hobby room. I'll try to get on that this week. Keep us posted on the progress on this one. Later-

David- Another beautiful paint job and what an unusual subject for a lowrider. I love it. Later-

I've used plain ole white Elmer's glue before. It doesn't have a lot of strength, but was fine for the mock ups I was doing. Plus, it washes right off with warm water. I've also used some stuff that I call "Elephant Snot", which is similar to a tacky Silly Putty that they use for temporarily posting photos or such to a wall. I suppose, too, that rubber cement would work. Later-

Tom- Thanks for the info. Is the Novus and Tamiya polishes similar? The reason I ask is because I already have the Tamiya Finish polish (and I can easily get the Fine polish at the hobby store) but I haven't used it yet and the instructions are in Japanese. I will get the Novus, if I have to, but I was wanting to use what I have on hand. The scratch isn't deep and I have three coats of paint with two coats of clear. I had planned to use the Finish polish over the entire car after washing it with clean water and a chamois. Perhaps the scratch is only in the clear and not the paint and I can try to reclear the body first to fill in the scratch? Then polish it out. I'm just nervous to do the wrong thing first and not have the scratch go away. Any further ideas? Later-

Bruce- The Impala looks as good here as it does on the SA site. Welcome to the site. Keep up the good work. Later-

Last night, while BMFing my model, I put a long shallow scratch in the front fender with my XActo knife. I am looking for a way to fix or cover over it. It has been painted with Testors One coat Lacquer and their Wet Look clear. I have some of the Tamiya Finish compound and was wondering if: 1. It would be a good idea to try to polish it out. Should I try it right on the scratch or 2. Should I brush a light bit of the paint on the scratch first, then try the polish over it, hoping that the polish would level out the extra paint. OR 3. Any other ideas??? Please help. I like the paint job and I don't want to lose it or have the scratch, or repair, show. Thanks. Later-

It looks beautiful, Bob. What a great idea. I think though that I, too, would remove that "Aero" piece on the bottom of the Mustang bumper. It doesn't seem to fit. However, I would leave the exhaust cutouts because they seem to match the running lights/turn signals of the Challenger front. It would sort of tie the front and back together. I can't wait to see this one finished. Later-

Jay- That build is looking great. I think your foil work looks fine from the photos. I have yet to see a perfectly smooth BMF job. I just finished the foil on my 68 Firebird last night. I, too, use cheap foil and BMF adhesive. I just started using it last month and I prefer it to the name brand stuff. It is too expensive and I find that after a while it doesn't stick like it used to. I know that some people keep theirs in the freezer, etc. I have a package of industrial cooking foil (for lack of a better name) that has close to 2000 sheets that are about 11 inches by 15 inches. Each sheet is separated with a sheet of tissue paper (That just gave me an idea that I now have a lifetime supply of tissue paper to mix with white glue to make tarps, convertible boots, etc. with.) that a fellow modeler gave me. I turn the sheet over to the dull side, brush on the BMF adhesive with a wide brush. I brush it on in one direction and then brush it in the other direction until the adhesive is clear of brush strokes. I then let it dry for a few minutes and then lay the backing paper on top and rub it down. Then I turn it over and it is ready to use. I have not had any of the troubles of it not sticking so far and it has made BMFing much easier for me. I hope this helps. Again, your build is coming along great and I can't wait to see the progress on it. Later-

Like most these days I am short on funds and can't justify spending much for modeling lately. Today I stopped at my LHS to browse and found that they were selling some paints at clearance. I got 21 1/4 oz and 1/2 oz bottles of Testors enamels for 10 cents a bottle. Some colors were Sublime green, Alumacoupe yellow, Chezoom teal, rubber, steel, Plum Crazy purple, Kandy Scarlet and some others. My score wasn't as spectacular as some of the others here, but I was excited. Now if I could just come up with the money for some of the kits they had. Later-