StevenGuthmiller

Yeah, but it's a great one!! Steve

Isn't that the truth! If I dumped every AMT kit that I own, my stash would shrink by probably more than 70% ! Steve

That is a good one! There have been quite a few great AMT kits produced in recent years. The newer tool AMT '57 Belair was a pretty nice kit. Some minor engine placement issues, but if something like that is an insurmountable problem, a different hobby is probably in order. Steve

Steve

In the past couple of years, I've adopted this philosophy more and more. In the past, I was a little frightened to do too much messing around with modifying anything on a vintage kit because I was afraid that I might irreversibly damage difficult or impossible to find parts. Now, because I have come to realize that it's all just plastic, I've really begun to feel free and am no longer afraid to throw caution to the wind and really dig into these old kits. As an example, I felt that my most recent project could benefit a great deal from some modifications to the interior, as well as many other aspects of the kit. Rather than let the provided parts dictate to me what could be done, I went all out and basically built all new door cards from scratch using only a very small portion of the original panels. This is a perfect example of how a freeing attitude, (and the realization that I'm smarter than what I'm working on) can greatly enhance the model building experience. I can't imagine anything more satisfying than knowing that you have full control over what you would really like to do, in contrast to the model itself dictating those decisions. "No AMT or MPC, you can't tell me what to do!" Steve

That's because there are few options if you want a '72 Impala. With this kit, there is already prior information that there will be a detailed kit to follow, so I see no point in purchasing a curbside version, unless that's your thing. Steve

Just a few of my favorite AMT models. Without AMT, none of these would ever have been kitted, and quite possibly never will be again. Steve

I suppose I'm just getting too old, but it's always been my opinion that subject matter is the most important factor in choosing a model. Granted, my skills have improved as I've progressed in the hobby and I suppose that I might be in the minority in my view that if it's a subject that I want to build, I can deal with a kit's inadequacies. The absolutely most rewarding work I do is to take a sub-par kit, (by today's standards) and re-engineer and re-build it to meet the standards of today. Model building has become more to me than just following the instructions and gluing part A to part B. It's more of an exercise in creativity, and I really care little about pins or tabs or how well the parts fit. I take great pride in the fact that my models stand out on the show table because I know that the educated modeler knows what went into re-engineering a simple, "poorly fitting" vintage kit to make it as good, or better, than all of the "perfectly" engineered kits that share the table with it. Personally, I have nothing but affection for all of my old AMT kits because, A; they offer many alternatives of subjects that nobody else offers, and B; because I'm not afraid of them. I demand that the kit bends to my will, not the other way around. Steve

Possibly. But I don't think that would have been much of a factor in how well the kit sold initially. The '58 Edsel was requested repeatedly for a number of years before it was finally released by AMT. The point is that even a kit that seems as if it should do very well doesn't always perform as expected. Steve

Sometimes certain kits require actual modeling skills because of their age. There are newer kits that are no picnic either. It's just part of the hobby that either you deal with, or you give up. It's been said a thousand times before, but if we were all just "model assemblers" instead of "model builders", the hobby would be as dull as white toast. Steve

A couple of days ago, but I had some pork cutlets that I pounded paper thin and fried them up to make Pork Tender sandwiches, and accompanied them with some garlic Yukon Gold potatoes and steamed broccoli with sharp Cheddar and bacon. Steve

I sincerely hope that I'm wrong and this kit is a roaring success.......I really do. I'm just not convinced and will wait to see what actually takes place. In the mean time, I truly hope that Round 2 will continue with this idea of bringing back some of the long lost kits that so many of us would like to see again. As for me building a '63 Nova wagon?......you may have to wait for a considerable amount of time on that. It's pretty likely that I won't even buy one, and if I do, I have far too many projects that I have real interest in that will take precedence. It will probably never happen. Steve

Not trying to be negative, just realistic. Everybody gets excited about these new kits, and that's a good thing, but it doesn't necessarily translate into huge sales numbers. One of the most requested kits in recent history was the '58 Edsel. If we're to believe some of what we've heard on this and other boards, the AMT Edsel was not exactly a raucous success. I'm just a little concerned that starting out a campaign of completely refurbishing long lusted after old kits could possibly end with a giant thud if this first offering winds up being a bad choice. By the way, a couple of dozen guys posting back forth multiple times on a 337 post thread is not going to make much of a dent in the thousands of units that Round 2 is going to have to sell to make this venture a success. It "could" be an indication of interest, but it might not mean much of anything. I hope everyone is right! I hope they sell a million of them! I just hope that they didn't make a mistake by starting the ball rolling with a Nova wagon, that's all. Steve

I'm happy that everyone is so confident that it will be a smash hit. I'm sure that every other disaster produced by the model companies was destined to be a barn burner too. Nobody produces a kit that they "know" is going to flop, especially these days. Whether or not this particular model will be a success is a complete cr*p shoot, and I think we all know that. Anyone who says that they "know" that this will be successful is talking out of their backside. Round 2 is "hoping" that this offering will be successful, and that's about the best that can be said. Again, I'm hoping that it sells extremely well, because it bodes well for future releases of other models, but not a single one of us can say exactly where this is headed. Steve

That's the question. If this one winds up being a flop, what are the odds that they will make more attempts? Steve

I don't doubt that there are people that will buy it. But will it be enough to justify all of the new tooling? Takes a lot of units to make a profit. Time will tell. Steve

I guess I never really doubted anyone's assertions that this was an all new, freshly tooled kit. It just seemed odd to me that their first attempt at resurrecting this "annual-ish" type of subject matter would start with something like a '63 Nova wagon. Of all of the cars that they could have re-engineered in this manner, this first offering seems to me as if it would be the most likely to fail. Personally, I'm still not sure that I will buy one. Just not something that's awfully high on my "want to build" list. I would have thought that a re-engineered '66 Skylark, '71 Mercury Cyclone or Dodge Demon, '68 Coronet R/T, or any number of other subjects, would have been much more likely to succeed, creating excitement for others to come. The '63 Nova wagon doesn't stir a lot of excitement for me, and if there is a more detailed version coming in the future, I absolutely will not be spending the money on a curbside offering. Steve

You would be more than welcome Bill! Dinner time has not arrived yet, so I decided to try my hand at making a batch of date filled cookies. My mother made these every Christmas season, and I waited for them with great anticipation every year. Now she has reached the age where she does little in the kitchen any more, so it falls upon me to continue the tradition. These are not the exact recipe that my mother used, but they turned out pretty well. Steve

I'm pretty sure I know where I'll be. Steve

Wow! I thought we might have to wait a while, but I never expected to wait 100 years!! Steve

Exactly. Steve

I use white primer pretty much only when I'm using a very light finish color. As Daniel stated, primer color can affect the final color to some degree if the finish paint color you are using has some transparency, but as a rule, paints like Duplicolor Perfect Match touch up paints are very opaque, especially if you are using several coats, and the primer color has little affect on the final finish. I use white primer primarily because it's much easier to get good coverage with a color such as white over white primer, rather than over gray or red. Steve

I won't pretend to know all of the science behind it, because I don't. All that I can tell you is that it works. If you follow the method that I presented, you won't have any issues with chipping or crazing using Duplicolor products, and it shouldn't make any difference what type, or how old the plastic is. Just one of a million different suggestions that you might get on this subject. It's your decision to make. Steve

I agree that it might be a tight rope to walk in some circumstances. I will disclose, and I'm sure that some of you know, that I build mostly vintage kits. Apparently the plastic is more stable. But I have used the exact same method described on new kits with equal results. A single coat of a hobby primer, (I use Testors because it's readily available) gives coverage and a slight barrier to the hotter Duplicolor primer to follow. The subsequent coats of Duplicolor will still make it's way through the Testors to the plastic and help with adhesion, but the trick is to monitor the heaviness of the coats. Very light coats to begin, with heavier coats in the end. Anyway, I will call this a theory, but it has come with many years of experimentation and it never fails me. My 3 main issues with using Tamiya primers are of course cost, the fact that I really don't like the nozzles, and the fact that it's never been readily available to me locally, and I refuse to order paint in spray cans on line. If I need primer, I can pop down to my local auto parts store and pick up all of the Duplicolor that I need. No messing with ordering, shipping and waiting for product to arrive. I guess that you could say that I prefer to keep something like primer low on my list of priorities to worry about since I have arrived at a virtually fool proof system for using the Duplicolor. Steve

It is definitely an adhesion problem, but I would question whether it has much to do with sanding the body first. I very rarely sand the entire body of a model, and never have this sort of issue. This appears to me to be an adhesion problem between the plastic and primer and has nothing to do with the paint itself. If you want to continue to use the same painting regimen, sanding might help to contain it, but a good primer should not flake off with a finger nail under any circumstance. This is where the idea of a mildly "hot" primer might actually be beneficial. It will etch into the plastic to some degree instead of just floating on top. Steve