StevenGuthmiller

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

I use JB Weld "Clear Weld". Steve

Looking terrific Geoff!! Steve

There's no doubt that model cement will create a good bond. That's not in question. The question is whether the pros of using it out way the cons. If you like it, and it's what you're used to, knock yourself out. My only argument is that there are other products on the market today that are just as good, or better than the old tube cement. Granted, models are not designed to be taken apart, but inevitably, many will be, especially as the hobby declines and companies are producing fewer and fewer kits I have basically made a career out of restoring old vintage kits, and I have to tell you, if you have never seen horrible "glue rash", "sink marks" or just generally parts that no longer resemble what they originally looked like, you have not seen this side of the hobby. I have kits in my possession with warped body panels and roofs from heavy glue use, body trim that is no longer repairable, and glass that can never be removed without shredding the body. These are all very common issues with old built kits, all attributable to model cement. Glues such as 2 part epoxy will give you a very strong bond that in the end might also be difficult to remove should the necessity arise, but at least it will not melt the plastic. I too have kits that are decades old in my collection that have been moved around often, most assembled using CA glue, and they are still in one piece. The particular glue that you use is not the silver bullet to longevity. How the model is handled will determine that, no matter what glue you use. Steve

When someone proves to me that there is a "durable" alternative to BMF that is as easy to work with and looks this good, then I'll convert. In my nearly 50 years of building, there has yet to be anything else that even comes close. It still baffles me why people continue to search for alternatives for a material that works as well as this tried and true product. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Steve

2 part epoxy will give you just as strong of a bond, (or better) than plastic cement without the hassle of scraping parts. Steve

All you need to do is look at a large portion of old built kits built years ago with tube cement. I can't count how many times I've encountered parts and bodies that have been completely destroyed due to the use of solvent cements. If you have ever rebuilt a vintage kit that has had glass glued in with tube cement too heavily, you'll understand exactly why I don't use it. Steve

I never remove paint or chrome from areas of parts to be cemented together. If you're using the old model "tube" cement, or a liquid cement to join parts during final assemblies, I suppose you should, but there are a lot of better glues available today that don't require it. If your parts are properly primed and painted to ensure good paint adhesion, there's really no reason to remove paint from joints if you're using a glue such as CA or epoxy for assembly. I haven't used tube cement for models since the 80s. Never liked the stuff anyway. It takes too long to set, parts slide around, the stuff gets on everything except where it's intended, and I never liked the idea of a glue that bonds by melting the plastic, especially on exposed parts. I paint every part independently, (except parts where seam filling is required) and glue everything together as needed with various types of glues that don't dissolve plastic. Steve