StevenGuthmiller

And we look back on 8-tracks as being a PITA! Steve

I believe they only offered the "La Femme" for a couple of years, (1955 and '56) and they were only available in a couple of different feminine pastel color combinations. If memory serves me, they also had a dash mounted tissue dispenser. This is a '56 version. Steve

The only objection that I have with any Youtube channels promoting these highly simplified building techniques is that they are watched by so many these days, and they become the "norm" of building, and that's pretty much where a lot of people's curiosity ends. If they didn't see it on one of these channels, it doesn't exist. Let's face it, people are lazy, and will most often follow the path of least resistance, which I suppose is normal human nature, but it also doesn't allow for much opportunity to expand. This is not to say that everyone who begins with following videos on these channels won't spread their wings eventually and develop, but I gotta tell you, spend a little while looking around on the Facebook modeling groups and you'll understand why the concern. Not that I really give a rip about how people want to spend their time, or how much or how little effort that they want to put forth, but for a hobby that's already on the skids, I have to think that one if the main factors that entices people into our hobby is "inspiration", and in all honesty, while yes, there are inspirational builders still among us, they're a dying breed, and what's going to be left to inspire down the road but a lot of people who have been Youtube trained to accept mediocre, or even poor, as good enough. Steve

Don't know how rare or unusual it actually is, but my '69 Pontiac Grand Prix had a "Reverb" unit for the radio mounted in the trunk. I took it out at some point, and I'm guessing it was disposed of by my dad in one of his garage cleaning tirades. Also, not so much an unusual option, but there are some strange combinations of options. I remember that my 1958 Cadillac 62 series coupe had power seats, a "Wonderbar" radio and an "Auto-tronic eye" automatic headlight dimmer as standard equipment, but heat was optional. Steve

I just use the back of a #11 blade. Steve

They were both acquired some years ago. The Grand Prix on eBay, and the 442 through a trade on the forum. Steve

That's the whole point, right? Diecasts are a lot easier if you just want something to plop on the shelf. Thanks Mr. Gibbs! Steve

Thank you David! Steve

It hasn't been my MO for the last number of years to produce more than one, or for that matter, even one model throughout the course of a year, and 2024 was no exception. While I didn't finish anything between the months of January and December in 2024, my 2023 project began to make it's debut, and the rounds of the local shows in 2024, so in a way, I suppose I could consider it a 2022-2024 build. It took me approximately 16 months to finish this project, and at the current rate, my next project may not be finished prior to 2026! Steve

Quite nicely "slapped together"! Steve

I don't watch any YouTube videos pertaining to modeling at all, precisely due to the opinions expressed by the OP. If you're truly unaware of what's contained in the box, or if you're pretty much brand new to the hobby, these rudimentary videos could be helpful I suppose, but I would think that if one is predisposed to looking for video assistance, individual depictions of particular procedures would certainly be more helpful in advancing ones development in the hobby. By that I mean, an in depth tutorial for say, how to apply BMF, or maybe illustrating basic, or even advanced weathering , detailing, or scratch building techniques for example, would certainly be more instructive to anyone looking to further develop their craft than just watching someone build simplified, straight out of the box models over and over again. I have learned a lot more by just perusing the pages of forums such as this, absorbing approaches and procedures from talented modelers by attending shows, and yes, even the occasional nugget gleaned from the Facebook modeling groups, than I ever will from watching videos on Youtube. I would assume that more in depth tutorials such as this exist on Youtube, but I find it much more efficient just to ask questions. To each his own I suppose. Steve

It’s under the cat! 😉 Sorry, I missed Jason’s post. Steve

I was never much of a Grateful Dead fan either. It is interesting getting old. I find myself enjoying listening to a number of bands now that I don't remember being big into in my younger days. Badfinger, Little River Band, Supertramp, Atlanta Rhythm Section, etc. Steve

Yeah, ‘77 was quite a few years beyond my interest. Partially because of the “power” question, but mostly styling. I pretty much lost interest at exactly the time when rectangular headlights came into favor. Just my opinion, but they pretty much destroyed the appeal of everything. Steve

I agree. I was never a Led Zeppelin or Rush fan when I was younger, but as I got older, I learned to appreciate them a lot more. I think some of that might have had to do with discovering over time what kind of unmatched talent there was in those bands. Was there ever a better drummer than Neil Peart or a better guitar player than Jimmy Page? On the flip side of that coin, I have really become disillusioned with other bands that I may have at least somewhat enjoyed in the past, that I literally can’t stand to listen too anymore. Bruce Springsteen is probably number one on that list. Steve

I’ve always had a soft spot for big cars, especially Mopar land barges. Some of the earliest that I remember from when I was a kid were a series of early ‘70s Mopar wagons that my mother drove, a ‘59 Plymouth Savoy that my dad had when I was around 6 or 7, a ‘61 Plymouth that my dad bought for my brother to drive when he turned 16, and a ‘72 Fury for me when I got my license. I remember being basically “gifted” a ‘68 Newport by my brother when I was a junior in high school, and shortly thereafter, I bought my own first car, a 1967 Chrysler 300 sport coupe. Loved that car! Had several other makes of big cars over the years as well. A few that come to mind were a ‘73 Buick Century, a ‘64 Dodge 880 Custom, and a ‘58 Cadillac 62 series coupe. Steve

Steve

My goal is to at least get back into the shop sometime soon and finish my ‘64 Pontiac Lemans convertible project, and hopefully at least get a start on a much anticipated full detail ‘61 Dodge Dart Phoenix D-500 build. Steve

Okay fellas, this offer has expired. Thanks for your interest. Steve

Hi Nathan. I found the paint that I had used on the ‘62 that is in question. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Duplicolor, but Tempo touch up paint, which I doubt is any longer available. Steve

Well, I doubt that the color on the Mustang would be any easier to find in a spray can than correct “Chestnut”. That said, there’s no doubt that either color would be available From MCW or Scale Finishes in air brush lacquer. As a matter of fact, I know that Chestnut is available from MCW, because I made an attempt at using that color on a project some years ago. Steve

That’s the actual Ford “Chestnut” color. I’ll check my paint stash and see if I happen to still have a can of the Duplicolor color that I used on my friend’s ‘62. Steve

I don't remember the color, but I do remember that it was a Duplicolor paint. It was the only thing that I could find at the time that kind of came close to replicating '62 Ford "Chestnut". Of course, if I had it to do over, I would get the correct color from MCW or Scale Finishes. Steve

I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t require a panel liner anymore, as I just deeply scribe the panel lines, which eliminates the need for darkening panel lines. But when I did darken them, just plain old acrylic craft paint thinned to a wash consistency is all that you need. I have never found any need for a specific panel line paint. Just another expense, and more clutter for the shop in my opinion. You may want to keep in mind that black panel line accents generally look out of place on a very light color, such as white, so I would usually use a darker version of the body color for the panel lines to cut back on the “stark” appearance of black. This Bonneville used no accent. Just deeply scribed panels. This ‘58 Buick was done with acrylic craft paint. Steve

I had an original derelict hard top that a friend had given me with the intention of returning it to him at some point if I was able to restore it for him. I returned it to him a few years ago, and while it certainly wasn't one of my best attempts, he was extremely excited about seeing it in one piece again. It was supposed to represent a car that his father owned even though his was an XL. Since then, I was able to acquire a very nice example of a '62 Sunliner convertible, which I built some years back. Although I'm really not a huge fan of the '62 Fords, it remains one of my favorites in my collection of models that I've built. Steve