StevenGuthmiller

Unless you're from Wisconsin! Steve

It doesn't have to be a promo. The older kits prior to about 1960 or '61 were basically exact copies of the promos, but they had the added bonus of being made from styrene plastic. I've restored quite a few of these simple "screw chassis" kits, and they can be quite fun to tinker with. As an example, this 1958 Ford convertible "kit" is no different from the promo in the aspect of the parts count and manner of assembly. It basically started as a 24 part kit. The break down is, a body, front bumper, rear bumper, a set of head light lenses, tail lights, a hood ornament, glass, a top boot, interior tub, dash, steering wheel, chassis plate, a set of wheels and a set of tires. That's it. Very typical of these early kits/promos. They can be a lot of fun, but remember that these early "annual" kits can be quite hard to find and very expensive. This one had a few extra parts added, most notably a Modelhaus convertible up top and continental kit. Steve

Thank you Dave! Well said. Steve

I'm not saying anyone is wrong either. This is just my experience with the stuff. I did everything possible to correct the situation, but nothing worked. I've given up on Molotow. It's not worth the aggravation to me. I've done well with BMF for decades. I don't see any reason to change anything at this point. I've been much happier with the performance and durability of Alclad chrome over Molotow anyway. Steve

I really don't think it has anything to do with the tips. I believe it's the ink itself. As I said, I rarely used the tips in favor of a brush, and mine did the exact same thing. Steve

Yes. Keith Buckner was so kind as to send me the engine from a Johan '62 Olds F-85 that I then proceeded to butcher. Steve

I've tried both approaches with my 1mm and 2mm pens. Neither produced any better results. Actually, I rarely used the tips anyway. I usually preferred to apply it with a brush. I also tried thinning the ink as suggested by several members, also to no avail. I just chalk it up to another inferior product that I really don't need anyway. If I can't do it with foil, (which is very rare), I'll use a dab of Testors chrome silver or a shot of silver Sharpie as Snake suggests. Steve

Right now mine are being stored in the circular file! Steve

I didn't find one, but I did my best to try and recreate one. It's not perfect, but it's as close as I'm going to get. Steve

Yeah, it's been around for a while. Guess it's just a case of "if it still works, why throw it out". Steve

These pens have a shelf life and it doesn't appear to be very long. I bought a couple of them some time ago and they worked fine at first. After a while, I got the same finish as you. I've come to the conclusion that they are not worth the time and money. I got by just fine without them for decades. I think I can do without them now. Steve

I met my primary goal for the day and managed to get the main engine parts painted. The color is Scale Finishes "Pontiac Engine Blue" enamel. Turned out great! Steve

Thanks guys! I find that I really enjoy monkeying around with some of these little detail parts. There will come a day where the eyes and hands will no longer cooperate with this small stuff, so I just as well enjoy it now while I can. Been spending my afternoon getting everything engine related done so that I can get some paint on things. Drilling holes for hoses, wires, linkages, etc, as well as fabricating a few more details that I wanted in place before paint. I separated the carbs, thinned the belts the best that I could without them becoming too fragile, added a dip stick tube to the block, as well as the beginnings of some carb linkage and a linkage bracket to the intake. It should be a fun challenge to get all of the linkage and fuel lines run for this tri-carb set up. But I think it will add considerable interest to the top of the engine over what is included in the kits. I believe that the majority of engine parts are now ready for paint. Steve

Let's just be happy that there are members here who actually participate. I see boards all over the place, (this one included, I'm sure) where a large percentage of their members just hang around in the shadows and never contribute a thought, or post a word. Conversation, no matter how trivial, is what keeps these boards alive. Steve

I'm honored to be in such great company! Steve

All I can say is that with this much hype, it better be a goody! I pray it's not some NASCAR kit or something like that. Steve

I must be a hell of a blabber mouth! Been here just over 6 years and already have nearly 10,500 posts! Steve

There we go. All finished and ready for paint. Steve

Possibly, but I can't imagine anything more obscure than a '53 Hudson, and they rode that pony 'till the very end. My thought is that being as the 300 kits already exist, it would be a fairly short leap to the Desoto. New body, front and rear chrome, dash, seats and door panels and you're done. The Desoto would use all of the existing chassis and engine parts, as well as glass, wheels and tires, interior floor pan, firewall, etc. They went from the '52/'53 Hudsons on to the '54, and I can't imagine anything more obscure than a '54 Hudson. Steve

Had to throw together a quick power steering pump for my '64 Pontiac. Steve

Thank you fellas! This morning I began rummaging through my stash to try and locate a power steering pump to no avail, so I quickly threw one together. Not very difficult and it looks like it should do the trick. Just need to fill the hole in the tubing and fashion a mounting bracket and it should be good to go. Steve

By the way, it appears that "F&F Resin" was the caster of the '56 Desoto, but it was a convertible. I can't say anything about the quality of these kits, as I have never even seen one in person, but just from this photo alone, I can tell that there is at least one issue. It's evident that there is no body "hooded" portion above the tail light assembly as there should be. It's just flat all of the way up. I also have no indication of whether this entity remains in business, or how difficult this model would be to find. If Moebius were to be so kind as to consider a '56 Desoto, they could maximize the potential for profit by giving us a '56 FireFlite hardtop, and then follow it up with a FireFlite convertible pace car edition. They could do something similar with the '55. Come on Moebius, we're waiting! Steve

Luckily, the '56 Desoto has a fairly simple tail light configuration. If you're going to do the conversion, the tail lights should be relatively easy to replicate. I would use sheet and strip styrene to replicate the bezel, (the textured back ground might be difficult, so I would just leave that alone) The lenses themselves are simple cylinders, so parts box custom tail lights, or making them yourself from clear or clear red sprue shouldn't be terribly difficult. Steve

Has anybody tried to fit the rear chrome from the Revell kit to the AMT kit? Just curious. Steve

I believe R&R Resins cast a '56 at some point, as well as Modelhaus? In any event, good luck finding one! I still can't believe that Moebius has not taken this obvious leap with their '55/'56 Chrysler 300 kits! I would think it would be an obvious and fairly simple conversion requiring only a new body, chrome parts, and a few interior parts. Chassis, engine, glass, etc, could remain unchanged. A no-brainer if you ask me. Steve