StevenGuthmiller

Thanks Keith. Yeah, If I tried to count all of the individual pieces that went into the entire interior, my head would explode! ? Steve

Thanks guys! After a count, it appears that there will be a total of 33 individual parts going into this interior........as of right now. Steve

I cheated and used some Evergreen ribbed stock. ? Steve

Haven't had much time to spend in the shop lately, but I think I've finally finished up all of the interior parts, which means that the interior should be ready for paint!! The last parts to scratch build were the gas, brake and emergency brake pedals and the brake release handle. Steve

I think a common mistake is to make models sit too low. I’ve been guilty of that myself many times. My opinion is that it looks just about perfect! ?

Man, is that looking nice! Sits just right! Sure would look nice with an engine under the hood. ? Steve

The wheels are my own creation comprised of parts from several different kits. The tires are straight off of the rack from one of the AMT “parts pack” sets. Steve

I did the same with my '65 Fury. Steve

Most Johan kits are pretty simple. They are all toolings produced before the 80s and are therefore generally pretty basic, as most kits from that era were. They usually consist of a slab chassis with all of the chassis components molded in, and depending on how old the kit is, the interiors are often 3 part affairs, (tub, dash and steering wheel) with some later kits having separate seats, console, etc, but with the exception of the '63 Turbine car kit, you won't find any highly detailed Johan kits. They will generally go together very easily as you would expect any simplified kit from that era if you're using all of the original parts, but being as Johan bodies were so beautifully crafted, they're a prime candidates for kit bashing in my opinion. A modern kit chassis and engine will transform a Johan kit into something that can rival the newest modern kit from any of the other manufacturers. As Les stated above, the huge appeal for these kits for me is the fantastic subject matter produced exclusively by Johan. You will find little else available if you're interested in 60s Caddy's, Oldsmobiles, Plymouths, Dodges and Chryslers, and most of the AMC cars available are almost entirely exclusive to Johan. Steve

More pictures, or more models? I have plenty of photos and can always take more, but this is the only early 60s Ford truck that I have outside of a 1960. Steve

Steve

On this Ford, I painted the body first, masked around the letters using BMF and then shot a light coat of color, followed by clear coats. Not the easiest solution, but it worked well for me. Steve

Testors clear enamel isn’t much good for anything else, but it works great for this purpose. ? Steve

Absolutely! But that's another issue that the "collector" wouldn't care about. Steve

if I can make a suggestion, a shot of Testors clear enamel gives you the perfect yellowing affect on the transparent steering wheel. Steve

That's fabulous Bob!! I found myself doing something similar for the gear indicator on the column of my '68 Coronet. A little smaller, and I don't think a decal would be feasible, but I did it pretty much in the same fashion. I don't know about you Bob, but working out these sorts of issues are what really makes the hobby a lot of fun for me! The danger of destroying a rare part in the process makes it even more exciting! Steve

That may be the case, but Trumpeter themselves carry the brunt of the responsibility for the sales issues. If the models are goofed up and inaccurate, that’s on them, not the buyer. Who among us wouldn’t return a defective product. And furthermore, who among us wouldn’t warn his friends if they happened upon a product that was consistently defective, and tell them to steer clear. Steve

As they say, "all good things must come to an end" and while I was honored to have participated for the past couple of years, I really hope that the DSC will be able to continue their normal "in person" show next year. But it was great being able to participate in a show that I likely would never have been able to attend under normal circumstances, so thanks so much for the opportunity fellas!! Steve

I agree. But then again, I plan on building them, so I wanna see what's in the box. I guess if you're a collector, you'll never be the wiser if there's an AMT '49 Mercury inside. Steve

Just don’t use Testors clear enamel, unless you want your decals to be yellow. ? Steve

You can spray a lacquer gloss coat like Testors over them while they’re still on the sheet. Steve

Some of us are just amused by the whole thing. If it’s just a 1,000 kit collection that we want to see that nobody will have access to except for a few privileged individuals, there’s probably 50 guys that belong to this board that could make a video or two of themselves going through their own stashes. If it’s the history lesson we’re seeking, I’m all for it, but this was just looking a little too much like an exercise in “look what I have that none of you will ever get”. Steve

I’ve not built any of the Trumpeter kits myself, but I do have a couple of them, and I’ve only built a couple Moebius kits, but here’s my opinion on what I do know of both manufacturers kits. I’ve seen multiple builds from both manufacturers over the years, and although some say that there are inaccuracies with some of Moebius’s kits, they usually look pretty nice built up. Someone said the Moebius Ford truck kits have many accuracy issues, but the always appear to finish pretty nicely in my view. On the other hand, the Trumpeter kits usually look “out of whack” when finished. The ‘60 Bonneville convertible is pretty nice, but there is no debating the fact that the hardtop roof is way wonky! The ‘63 Nova always looked fairly good to me, although it too appears a little “off” in areas. The worst always seems to be the Falcon kits. I don’t know what it is about them, but they just look way too boxy and weird to me. Steve

I don’t know all of the scientific reasons why plastic becomes brittle, but my assumption with styrene model kits is that time itself is the biggest factor. Steve

That sums up a lot of attitudes, doesn’t it. my attitude has mellowed over the years to much more of a, “I’m really glad they make this model” attitude. But that’s a minority attitude, no doubt! Steve