StevenGuthmiller

“Assembler”. Opposite of a “Rivet Counter”. Steve

I have a line on a lot of 16 built up annual kits and promos. Some quite restorable, others pretty rough. The entire collection needs to be liquidated as a single lot. If anyone is interested, PM me. Here’s a list of the models included. SMP 1958 Pontiac Bonneville convertible. Johan 1960 Desoto Adventurer hardtop. Hubley 1961 Ford Wagon. AMT 1959 Buick Invicta Hardtop. AMT 1960 Chevrolet El Camino. AMT 1961 Ford Sunliner. AMT 1961 Buick Invicta convertible. Johan 1961 Buick Wagon. AMT 1960 Ford Falcon hardtop. (Promo) AMT 1957 Ford Thunderbird. Johan 1961 Dodge Dart Phoenix hardtop. AMT 1959 Chrysler Imperial convertible. AMT 1959 Ford Galaxie convertible. Hubley 1960 Ford 4 door sedan. AMT 1961 Mercury Monterey convertible. Johan 1957 Desoto 4 door hardtop. (Promo) Steve

I get all of the posts about particular or specific Thunderbird issues, but in my estimation, that has nothing to do with the value of the cars. Every car from that era has it’s own unique, or brand specific issues. My ‘69 Grand Prix has various foibles specific to Pontiac’s, as well as specific Grand Prix problems, much as many modern cars often have. So I don’t believe that values are low just because of mechanical or electrical issues, all of which are ultimately addressed throughout the course of a full restoration anyway. What keeps prices low, is just the perception of the car itself. My ‘69 Pontiac Grand Prix has fallen into basically the same “value” category as the Thunderbirds for a long time, and it’s only in very recent years that they have begun to become more popular, and by extension, more valuable. Granted, I can understand how the “unavailability” of parts for restorations might enter into the equation for people possibly not wanting to get involved, and therefore holding values low, but popularity drives the aftermarket and prompts production of the parts needed to aid a restoration, but I still feel it’s more about the current appeal of the car itself than it is about how crappy the car is, or how difficult it is to restore. Steve

I do that all the time, and have for decades. Unfortunately, it has never stopped Rustoleum cans from clogging up. I have probably a half dozen cans of Rustoleum in my shop at the moment. All are more than half full, and all are plugged up. Steve

You can do nearly anything with styrene stock. I replicated the door cards for my '68 Coronet entirely from various Evergreen stock. The only portion remaining of the original kit's door cards was a thin portion of the upper door panel, and the kick panel. Everything else was scratch built with Evergreen plastic sheets and strips. Steve

It’s just a simple matter of what’s popular or desirable at a particular moment in time. That’s pretty much it. Nobody is ever going to convince me that it’s because T-Birds were junkier than anything else from the same era. I doubt that the T-birds were any worse than any other Ford of the period. They all shared a large portion of mechanical and electrical components. Now, you might be able to convince me that Fords are junk in general, but that’s irrelevant to this discussion. 😁 Steve

I used the Lindberg ‘64 Plymouth chassis some years ago as a replacement for the slab chassis of my Johan ‘65 Plymouth Fury lll. I seem to recall having to make some minor adjustments for wheel base, but I definitely remember having to basically scratch build the entire engine bay!! 😛 Steve

That’s a pretty fine looking turkey! 😁 Plus all the trimmings. Sausage apple stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked sweet potatoes, and creamed peas and carrots. lo Steve

Love mussels! One of my absolute favorites! I do some pretty mean Thai Curry Mussels, if I do say so myself! 😊 Steve

I copied this sauce from “The Godfather” movie. ”Clemenza’s sauce”. Everybody seems to love it, and it’s very simple to make. Olive oil, garlic, tomato paste, crushed and diced tomatoes, red wine, and “a pinch of sugar”! 😁 I add fresh basil just because I love the fresh, sweet flavor that it adds. Nothing spicy. My wife thinks mild taco sauce is too spicy. 🙄 My meatballs are half ground beef, half mild Italian sausage, crushed saltines, eggs, onion powder, garlic powder, dried basil and oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, Parmigiano Reggiano, salt and pepper. Steve

I just have a couple of glass fronted antique cabinets that I display my finished projects in. One is “desk top” book case. The other is a book case with doors that flip up. At some point, I would like to modify them with more shelving to display more models. Steve

As it appears that the ‘60 Desoto used a “Uni-body” chassis, you should be able to substitute nearly any later Mopar Uni-body style chassis, with the possibility of some minor alterations. That might include some of the more recent B-body kits such as the Revell Chargers or AMT Roadrunners/GTXs should you want something much more detailed than a vintage kit chassis. Here are a number of ‘60 Desoto chassis photos to give you an indication of what to strive for. Here are a couple of engine bay photos that may help you along your journey as well. Steve

Yup, it’s my guess that what the OP is experiencing is the tape’s impression in the paint, and not actual adhesive residue. Adhesive is actually quite easy to remove in a variety of ways. Letting the paint cure completely, (with enamel, that could be quite some time) and using good tapes will eliminate any issues such as this in the future. You can do some amazing things with good masking tape! Steve

Occasionally. Steve

And it doesn't even work very good for that! I learned a long time ago to stay away from materials like "all purpose" tapes. Do I still use them for occasional things? Absolutely! But I never let regular hardware store masking tape touch a painted surface on any of my projects, and pretty much the same with blue painter's tape. Just as all one has to do is spend 2 minutes on any model car related Facebook group to see botched paint jobs achieved by using paints designed for painting lawn furniture, spend another 2 minutes, and you'll inevitably find screwed up messes from various masking tapes as well. I do all of my masking with Tamiya tape, masking paper, and yes, some blue painters and regular masking tape. But I am extremely diligent about how I mask, and I never allow these hardware store tapes to touch the painted surfaces of the model, and it's because of reasons such as this. I've seen it all in my 50+ years of building. Tape imprints, adhesive residue, tape pulling off paint, you name it, and I don't care to ever see any of it again, and I won't have to now that I have the experience and knowledge to know better. Steve

I don't know, because it's my birthday, and I'm not cooking!!! Steve

Yeah, meatball subs were pretty high on my priority list, but the wife is a pasta freak. 😊 Steve

I did, but I made a double batch, so I can use it for all sorts of stuff. Steve

Well, if it’s any consolation, I never have any problems with chipping or anything like that when I use Duplicolor primer under MCW paint. But then again, I also use multiple coats of Duplicolor clear over the color as well. Makes whatever paint I’m using as tough as nails in the end. Steve

Nope, me neither. I never have a problem deciding whether I’ll build it factory stock, or factory stock. 😁 Steve

Just a wild guess. Ford vs. Ferrari? Steve

Big pot of red sauce and homemade meatballs. Steve

I don’t have to do it often, but when I do have to remove MCW paint, Super Clean does the job quite well. Mind you, it’s a lacquer, and is absolutely more difficult to remove than an enamel, but the same can be said for any other automotive type lacquer. Now I will say that I use Duplicolor primers under MCW and Scale Finishes paints, which greatly facilitates the paint’s removal due to the fact that Duplicolor primer is fairly quickly and easily dissolved by Super Clean, which in turn causes the lacquer to slough off in sheets. The use of different primers will determine how effective Super Clean will be for stripping lacquer paints. Should I need to strip a paint job, (which is extremely rare using the painting procedure and materials that I use) I will use the edge of a flat screw driver, or something similar, to scratch the surface of the paint down to the primer in various areas. This will allow the stripping solution to seep under the paint, dissolving the primer and allowing the paint to lift. The scratching step isn’t necessary should you have areas inside of the body with exposed primer as the Super Clean will work it’s way under the paint from those points and work it’s way around the body. In conclusion, you’re choices of primers will greatly affect the ease of which the removal of lacquer paints can be achieved using a number of different products which rely on lye as their active ingredient. This example shows how Super Clean will work on even as many as 5 coats of MCW lacquer and an additional 5 coats of Duplicolor clear lacquer with Duplicolor primers as a base. Steve

I made sure that I did that with the last chili recipe that I came up with. Mine has coffee and cocoa powder in it. 😊 Steve

My favorite quote from that movie: Evelle Snoats....."Balloons.....Hey, these blow up into funny shapes at all?" Shop keeper......"Well no, unless round is funny." 🤣 Steve