StevenGuthmiller

There's nothing really "different" about any of them. They're all forums dedicated to automotive modeling in one form or another. Some of the Pro Boards are focused on particular niches of the hobby, which can be nice. I belong to "Mopars in Scale" which is primarily a Mopar site. This new one is dedicated to cars only, focused primarily on the 60s and 70s, (nothing after 1979) so you know exactly what to expect when you log on. No Lamborghini's or Peterbuilts to wade through if they're not your thing. The forum is only a few days old, but there are people beginning to sign up. About a dozen members so far as of my last count. I figure the traffic really can't be any worse than the SA mag site! Steve

I'm so glad to see that the GP went to someone who would appreciate it, and had the skills to resurrect it . Steve

Beautiful color!! Would the mirrors in the MPC '69 Olds 442 kit be the same as the Buick? Appears that the Olds mirror might be a little more "rounded", but it looks like it could be close enough. Steve

I don't really understand why anyone would get upset about promoting other forums, especially a Pro Board forum. They are in no way, shape or form in "competition" for a magazine board such as this one. They will not take away anything from this forum, or the magazine. Seems to me more forums will only promote the hobby more, which in the long run, helps boards such as this. I belong to this, as well as another magazine board, and at least 3 Pro Boards, as well as an old Yahoo Group. Doesn't interfere one iota with how much time I spend here. Steve

She's really shaped up nicely Steve! And I see that the '64 GP is sitting patiently in the background waiting for some love! Steve

Sure, why not. I'm game. Did you start this one Steve? Steve

As I finish the interior modifications, I've also found some time for some body work. The vinyl top texture has been removed, as have the door handles and door locks. All of the body trim is being re-scribed for better definition as well as the panel lines, I have also began adding missing panel lines, most notably, the cowl lines, as well as the panels around the head and tail lights. Steve

To be honest, it will take a pretty "hefty" trade to pry the '66 Bonneville out of my hands David. The kit is pristine for all intensive purposes and has even had the head lights drilled out and all of the chrome parts re-plated. There are only a very few that I would even consider as a trade, and they are all quite rare. Off of the top of my head I can only think of a couple of possibilities at the moment. An MPC 1971 Dodge Demon, and possibly an AMT 1966 Buick Skylark GS. Th Demon would just need to be restorable, but the Skylark would have to be in comparable condition to the Bonneville. These might sound like unfair trades, but there's really little else that I can think of that I would consider. As I'm sure you are aware, the MPC '66 kit is not getting any easier to find. Steve

Dazzle me! Steve

Yes it is. Steve

I've never even tried. Steve

That's quite a stack of stuff! I'm sure that this was in no way a complete catalog of what MPC has produced over the years, but I did notice a few notable omissions that I happen to have in my collection. Steve

You could use the back of a blade if that's what you're comfortable with, but I have a hard time with control with that operation. I have much better control with the scriber. You might be able to bypass the scriber altogether and go straight into the files as well. You can also use whatever you prefer for sand paper, but you're really not doing much for sanding anyway. You don't want to grind down the definition that you just created by scribing. This is really no more than a different technique for basic scribing and you could modify it in any way that you feel comfortable with it. I use the same technique for body panels and re-scribing trim. I just find that using these steps helps me slow down the process and helps keep me from trying to get too much done too quickly, which usually results in slips and mistakes for me. Something you really want to avoid, especially with a rare old kit. Steve

I've got a whole room full of them! One that I have thought about which is out of my norm is taking a Johan 1955 Pontiac Catalina, chopping the top off and doing a full detail custom convertible with it. Will that probably happen? Not very likely. Steve

Getting closer on the interior parts. I have the door panels and seats pretty much finished up. The console is close. Now working on rear arm rests and making certain that everything fits together as it should. Steve

Exactly. The first thing I do when I get into a vehicle today is buckle up. But that's not what we're talking about here. Most of the models we are seeing on the board are older vehicles, and let's face it, like it or not, most people back in the 50s, 60s and 70s were not using their seat belts. If they weren't going to wear them, they surely were not going to lay them neatly across the seat when they exited the vehicle. stuffed right into the seat crack they would go! Steve

I just posted a tutorial in the "tips and Tutorials" section describing how I've been re-vamping interior door panels. I use that same basic technique as a rule on the body trim and panel lines. Takes some time and effort, but the results are generally well worth it. Steve

Hi folks. I don't know if any of you will find this partial tutorial useful or not, but in case you ever decide that you want to upgrade an interior on an old annual interior tub, this might help a little. Inevitably, the door panels on most annual interiors were either very faint, or nearly completely devoid of any detail whatsoever. Likewise, the widow cranks and arm rests were very lacking in almost all circumstances. In recent months, I have began addressing these short comings and have found it satisfactory in making the door panels look much better than the original. In most cases, details like arm rests, trim, window cranks and door handles can either be replaced with parts pirated from other kits, scratch built, cast, or replaced with after market items. But certain details are not easily replicated from scratch and must be retained and modified in order to retain the original stock look. In most cases, these are such things as door badges and most notably, pleated upholstery. This tutorial shows how I deal with those not so easily replaced details. Very often, the first step will have to be the removal of the old window cranks, trim and arm rests. This is a relatively simple operation of carefully cutting and scraping off the detail with various X-Acto blades. But invariably, you will need to remove some of these items from pleated areas of the upholstery which will then require that you re-scribe that area of the upholstery at the very least. I have found that all though it's quite tedious at times, it's best to re-scribe the entire pleated area to insure that the entire panel appears even throughout. This is how I do it. These are the tools that I have found that seem to give me the best results. An Xacto knife with a #11 blade. A sharp dental pick. A panel scriber. (this particular scriber is a Bare Metal Foil product) A triangular file. A pointed round file. Sand paper The first step is to mask an area on either side to work on. Especially with pleating as tight as this, masking an area of about six or eight pleats to work on at a time will make it much easier to keep track of where you are, and where you have already been. I start with a few light passes down each crease with a # 11 blade. This will help keep the next tool "in the groove" as they say. Next comes the dental pick. This tool will begin to widen the X-Acto cuts slightly and will start to remove a small amount of material. This just helps keep the groove as straight as possible. 2 or 3 passes down each groove should suffice. Each of these steps is designed to help keep things as straight as you can as you progress. Once you slip out of a groove and mar the top of the pleat, you have another issue to deal with so I designed this method to very slowly cut a deeper groove as you go. Now that the groove has some sharper edges that can help guide the scriber straight, that is the tool that I use next. This will begin to remove more material to add more depth and definition to the pleats. As with the other tools so far, a few passes will do. The scriber has now added depth to the pleat, but it will inevitably leave sharp edges on either side of the cut, and it can also "wander" slightly from side to side occasionally making the cuts not completely straight. This is where the files come in. The triangular file will make a perfect groove and will help a great deal in straightening any less than straight pleats. I use the tip more so than the body of the file. We don't want the grooves to get too wide. Again, just a few passes. The round file lightly passed a couple of times over the grooves will help remove any "burrs" on the edges of the cut and begin to help round the transition between the cut and the surface of the pleat. Finally, I "brush" over the surface lightly with some fairly fine sand paper. This helps continue that "rounding" process and just generally finishes off any wayward crumbs. In the case of this '64 Grand Prix door panel, there was also a "pressed" area and a Grand Prix badge in the upper center part of the panel. This detail was scribed in the same fashion to give it definition. Once this is done, trim, arm rests and window cranks can be added back to the panel to give it a much more detailed appearance than what was originally offered in the kit. I hope some of you might find this technique useful. I realize that it is quite involved and can be a little tedious, but if you're looking to really boost the appearance of your poorly detailed annual interiors, this might help you into the right direction. Personally, I've become addicted to doing this on nearly every annual I build now. Steve

Nothing worth posting photos of, but I've been spending a considerable amount of time working on re-building the interior on my '64 Pontiac Grand Prix project. And when I get tired of that, I spend time re-scribing virtually every piece of faintly molded trim on the body! Very monotonous, but it will help a great deal when it comes time to foil. Steve

Unfortunately, a good percentage of the side view mirrors from those kits were pretty horrible reproductions of anything that was ever seen on an actual car. Most were these ugly ass square things in the AMT annual kits. These are from the AMT '62 Pontiac Bonneville kit. You never have, and never will see these mirrors on a real '62 Bonneville! AMT put these exact same mirrors in every annual kit for many years. Fortunately, the bases are usable, so I will occasionally separate the square mirror from the base, throw the mirror in the trash and replace it with a cast round mirror. Steve

Ain't that the truth! You pretty much have to glue the block, heads and intake all together in one shot if you want them aligned properly. Steve

That's hilarious!! Steve

I'm an addict too. I carry one with me at all times. I have one stashed in my wife's car, one on my dresser, and another on a table by my chair in the family room. Fortunately for me, my wife was a nurse manager for many years and she was sent to conferences every year where medical company vendors would hand out lip balm and ink pens like they were candy. She would come home every year with a big bag full of everything from lip balm to chip clips. I still have a box with probably 30 sticks of lip balm left from all of those trips. Steve

I couldn't beg, borrow or steal a can of anchovies last week! Figure that one out! Steve

I guess the corn left standing in the fields all winter around here was a blessing in disguise. Just in case! Steve