StevenGuthmiller

Thank you Keith, for saving me from having to go back to find that article! I'm not changing it again! Steve

Tamiya yellow tape is just the ticket. I buy mine all of the time at Hobby Lobby. The stripe on my current '68 Olds project was sprayed using Tamiya tape. No bleed under or other issues whatsoever. Steve

One option, although it might not be viable for you as it requires an airbrush, is to mix your own colors using Testors jar enamels. I have used Testors flat enamel in the past and clear coated them with either Testors enamel or lacquer clear coats. Flat enamels are nice for spraying because they are less prone to running or sagging, don't hide detail, and dry very quickly. Be wary of spraying enamel clear over light colors though as it is very likely to yellow in very short order. I'm sure that you could use flat sprays just as effectively as an air brush. Just some thoughts on a technique to try. This '53 Ford was sprayed with custom mixed flat enamel and clear coated with Testors lacquer and polished. Steve

I have dealt with Kevin, and have met him personally, and I will tell you that you will not find a more stand up guy anywhere! Steve

Thanks so much folks! It's time to start on detailing the interior, so what better place to start than the dash. I realized after doing some research, that there is supposed to be a thin strip of chrome around the perimeter of a portion of the dash. Unfortunately, I didn't catch this until after the dash was painted. This meant that I needed to replicate this trim without any damage to the painted dash. My original thought was a thin piece of plastic, but after several people suggested wire, I decided on that. It wasn't particularly easy to apply this trim without damaging the finish, but I managed to get it done with some 5 minute epoxy. Now I just need to add a glove box door button, and the dash will be finished. Steve

Thanks guys. I decided to follow TJ's initial advice and use the wire instead of plastic. It added a little more time to the effort, but I think it turned out well and was the correct decision. The dash is now finished except for the addition of a glove box button. Steve

Possibly. But I would want to glue it somehow regardless. I wouldn't want to rely on tension holding it in place indefinitely. I've been thinking about it, and my thought is to mix some 5 minute clear epoxy, spread a thin amount on the back of each trim piece, and then let it set up until just barely tacky. That way I should be able to position the pieces without any glue slop. I do like the idea of wire though. It would give a more chrome-like finish and might hold it's shape a little better than the plastic. I thought that plastic might be easier to adhere into place than wire, so I thought that I would give this a shot first. Anyway, I'm foiling and detailing this portion of the dash before I try to install the trim pieces so that I don't take the risk of jostling anything loose afterwards. Steve

Okay, you tell me if this is a little overly ambitious. I got to looking at the dash on my '68 442 project in comparison to some reference photos, and realized that there is a thin piece of trim running around the circumference of a portion of the dashboard that is not present on the kit part. Being as the dash is already painted, it makes it much more difficult to add anything at this point, but I thought if I could bend some very thin sprue to the correct shape, spray it with some Alclad, and then figure out a way to get it glued in without marring any surfaces, I could remedy this. Any suggestions on the best way to try to glue this in place without damaging either the finish on the dash, or the trim? I suppose if it all goes south, I can re-shoot the dash and foil the trim. What do you think? Steve

After more than 7 months of searching, this set of Modelhaus resin pieces popped up on ebay. Steve

You're right! It's been a while since I had seen either skit, and they were so young back then, Palin and Jones kind of looked alike. Then I amend my picks. Terry as "Mr. Creosote" in The Meaning of life, was "a real belly buster", if you catch my drift! Steve

Well, I will throw out this warning about Testors enamel clear. Don't use it over any lighter colors. It will yellow horribly over time. This '37 Chevy was a pale beige.....until it turned this glorious yellow after a couple of months under Testors clear enamel. Steve

Two of my favorite skits with Terry were "The Cheese Shop", and "The Dead Parrot" skits. Hilarious!! Steve

First Neil Peart, and now Terry Jones? It's finally happening. The world is ending! Soon all we will be left with is Justin Bieber and the Kardashians. ? Steve

Me neither. I use this Ceramcoat acrylic craft paint for a lot of different applications, including panel lines and grille washes. It's extremely forgiving. If you don't like the results, you just wash it off with a little warm water. Steve

Thanks Mike! This wash was nothing more than a combination of brown and black acrylic craft paint thinned by about half, or a little more. I used the same wash for all of the parts, regardless of the paint color, and then went over the high spots with a damp Q-tip after the wash had dried a while. Anyone can do it.......even me! Steve

As long as it's your stove and not mine! Steve

To be honest Keith, since I started this project, I never even took the time to research the displacement of this particular engine! I assume it is a 400. Steve

From the shape of the front fender around the grille, I'm guessing it is a '63. The police car in the movie was a '61. Just so you know what you are dealing with. The AMT '61 "Club Coupe" would make a nice starting point for the movie car. I think an "after" build would be pretty cool! Steve

It appears to be very easy, depending on the type of tire you're dealing with. I just ran into my shop, grabbed my X-Acto knife and a little sand paper and completed this experiment in about 30 seconds. This is an old AMT Firestone tire from a '49 Ford kit. Harder and much easier to cut than a soft hollow tire. I can understand how a soft tire would be more difficult. Steve

I nearly finished the engine for my '68 442 W-30 today. Just a few minor details to work out before the engine goes into the chassis. Steve

I went outside of my normal procedure on this project and finished the engine first. Normally, engines bore the hell out of me, but when they are an unusual configuration like the Olds W-30, I become a lot more excited about them. I believe that the engine is all but finished. I realized that I still need to touch up the edge of the air cleaner lid with a little Molotow, and I'm still searching for a good idea for an air cleaner element. Anybody have any ideas on that? It needs to have detail on the outside, and the inside. I'm still searching for some ideas short of buying some PE detail to wrap around the element, inside and out. Anyway, Now I'm ready to move on to other elements of the project! Steve

All I have is time........NOT! Steve

Finally got a set of grille halves for my AMT '64 Bonneville! Now I have all that I need to build it!! Steve

One of my most successful restorations was probably a Johan '62 Chrysler 300 that I received on a trade from Al Rich, (thatz4u) It was in relatively nice condition, but still required a good amount of modification to look right, especially in regards to the convertible up top. Steve

That's a nice one Brian! And a lot harder to find than a lot of people realize. I got a '62 300 glue bomb in a trade with another member of the board and restored it immediately after I got it. It is now one of my most highly prized models. Have fun with it! It's a great model! Steve