StevenGuthmiller

Looking good to this point, but I did want to let you know that the “foil under paint”, (applying foil before paint) is generally reserved for small items, such as scripts, badges, door and trunk locks, etc. There are a couple of reasons why it’s not generally used for larger pieces of trim such as this. First, it makes for a fairly large section of paint to remove. Second, if you’re going to “sand” the paint off, it’s going to be a virtual impossibility to remove the paint from any recesses on anything other than completely smooth, flat trim. Third, body trim should reach all the way to the body surface. Sanding is only going to remove paint from the top portions of the molding and not all of the way to the body surface, at least not without adding a great deal of difficulty and the very real possibility of damaging the paint. If the paint is not cleaned down to the body surface, it will give you the undesirable effect of the paint “crawling” up the outside edges of the trim. These are just a few issues that I thought that you should be aware of. Foiling the trim exactly as you have over the primer, but performed over the paint instead will give you a much nicer looking job with a heck of a lot less work. Steve

Agreed. I used Molotow for a short period of time for some small parts and minor touch up, but after discovering that both of my pens had gone south after using very little of the ink from either of them, I concluded that the stuff was way too expensive to throw 2/3 of it away. That coupled with the fact that it’s way too delicate and no easier to use than any other paint, I pretty much gave up on it. Never looked back either. There are better alternatives. Steve

In my opinion, even “bad” BMF is still better than Molotow. Personally, I’ll never be able to make myself put something on my models that I’ll never be able to touch again. Steve

Seems as if the “silver bullet” Molotow pens aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be. I knew that a long time ago. Sometimes there’s no substitute for the tried and true methods of doing things. Not everything improves with modern materials. Steve

Finished and added the scratch made under dash 8-track tape player. Steve

Thanks Keith! Dash and steering wheel are finished. Just for a recap, modified dash pad, added gauge and dash face trim, and scratch made steering wheel, steering column, levers and pedals. I guess I'm happy with it. Steve

Thanks much fellas! I'm calling the dash board done! The worst part to detail in any interior in my opinion! The rest of the interior should go much easier. Steve

Thanks guys. It was a little bit of a slog. Things kept wanting to fight me, but I think I've gotten the dash panel to the point where I can accept it. A couple more details to pick out and gauge faces to add and I think I'm calling it done. Steve

Looking good Al! Steve

Nice work Steve! I don't really remember the '71 Chevy looking that good back when they came out in '71. Probably because most of them that I remember seeing were in some of the most God awful, earth tone colors imaginable. Steve

Something about the dash just wasn't sitting right with me, so I stripped it and decided to try a different approach. I decided to try the "wire ring" trick for the gauge bezels, and I think I'll be happier with that. I also glued some thin stretched sprue around the perimeter of the dash panel so that I can foil it to represent the trim that surrounds it. I think that might be the biggest thing that seemed to be missing. Next I'll mask the gauge panel and then spray the surrounding pad with a coat of clear like I did previously. Steve

Thanks guys, but I decided that I could do better on the dash panel, so into the soup it went. Back to the drawing board. ? Steve

Spent some time today working on some dash details. Not sure that I'm entirely happy with the results, but I may just call it good. If not, I'll have to start over. Steve

Never used the clear, but the base coat goes on like a dream! Hard to screw it up. Just like any other metallic paint, an air brush with a wide pattern will give you the best results. Steve

Actually the entire dash was first shot with flat black primer and then portions were masked off and a fairly heavy coat of Testors gloss lacquer was applied. The nice thing about spraying gloss clear over a flat base is that you can control the sheen with the number of coats that are applied. One normal, even coat of clear gloss over a flat base will give you a pretty nice matte or semi gloss finish. Additional coats will add more gloss. Steve

This is part of what I love about working with lacquers. Basically got all of the interior parts painted this afternoon. Several different coats of primer, color and clear all within a few hours. The dash was just primed with Duplicolor black primer and then the upper dash and lower gauge area were masked and the dash pad shot with a coat of Testors clear lacquer to give it a bit more of a matte finish. The door panels were shot with several coats of Duplicolor "Sand Beige Pearl" and then the gold was masked, shot with black primer, Duplicolor "Universal Black" and then unmasked and clear coated. I might do a little "toning down" on the lower black portion of the door panels. Too shiny for my taste. All of the rest of the parts were shot with gold, black primer or universal black and clear coated accordingly. The rest of the parts that are not pictured have been painted black, shot with Testors clear enamel for a good gloss, and will be finished with Alclad chrome. Steve

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