StevenGuthmiller

Bottom line is, without masking, it is no easier to get a good straight line with the pens than it was to brush paint trim with the old Testors chrome silver paint. If your hands are not very steady, it's no different. Foil is still the best way to go in my opinion, leaving the pens for particular touch up and small detail jobs. Steve

Moving on to engine detailing at the moment, including some washes. Couple of "before and after" shots. Before After Steve

Spent a couple of hours this afternoon working on some engine details, including washes. Makes quite a difference! Before After Steve

Thanks guys!! As "Loverboy" said........."Lovin' every minute of it"! Steve

Thanks so much guys! You don't know how much I appreciate your kind comments! Steve

Yes, I've seen those. It appears that it would make operation much more comfortable. Steve

Thanks Tom! The engine is beginning to look a little better than the photos that you re-posted above. Still a lot of little stuff to do, but it's taking shape. Steve

I agree. My first, and only airbrush for close to 30 years was a Badger 200NH single action, siphon feed. I still have it and use it for pretty much everything that I airbrush, except bodies. I like something that shoots a little more paint in a wider pattern for that, which is where the Creos PS290 came in. Steve

Thanks Daniel, but I've already got the air cleaner covered, so to speak. I saved the original chrome cover. Steve

Finished up some chassis and engine parts painting. Steve

Finished up painting some engine and chassis parts. Steve

The pancake compressor that I have came equipped with a pair of pressure gauges. One for the tank pressure, and another for the pressure through the hose. Most of this type of compressor come equipped this way. I do have a moisture trap that I keep attached to the air brush hose with a chuck that I can just snap into the compressor and go. It's a pretty nice and simple set up that works great! Steve

I am required to get a flu shot as a condition of my employment in a medical facility. I am 57 years old and I can't say definitively that I have ever had the flu. If I did, I didn't know it. Steve

The tank is just the "air storage" part of the compressor. You run the compressor until the tank is full, at which time it will stop. When the pressure begins to become too low, the compressor will automatically start again to refill the tank. Steve

I use a DeWalt 6 gallon pancake compressor for the majority of my painting. You can carry the compressor outside or into the garage, fill the tank, and then bring it into your shop for painting. This will eliminate the noise, and the tank will hold enough air to do a lot of painting! Plus, unlike many of the small hobby compressors, you can set the pressure to whatever you're comfortable with. I usually run about 40 psi for painting bodies, which is more than many of the little airbrush compressors will produce. I also have a small compressor paired with a badger 200 NH for small stuff. For bodies, I use a "Creos PS290" trigger type airbrush......which I absolutely love! Steve

No such thing as "no painting season" at my place! I got all of my chassis, and most of my remaining engine parts primed last night. This afternoon, the paint can start flying! Steve

He didn't say what condition the body was in originally, and I agree with the sentiments that it's his kit to do whatever he wants with. I was just conveying the feelings of someone who's entire modeling world revolves around these old annual kits. It is also correct that the Johan '69 Road Runner kit is not terribly rare.........yet. There will never be any more produced, so every one that is irreversibly modified now, is one less that will be available to someone in the future to be resurrected in it's original form . I sort of look at myself as some what of a care taker for a lot of these old kits. They won't be mine forever, and I like to think that someone else in the future might be able to re-build them to their liking, and so on, and so on. I apologize to Brad. I won't opine on this subject on your thread any longer. Carry on my friend! Steve

This is very more than likely one of those circumstances where if you want it, you're going to have to make it yourself. It probably wouldn't be terribly difficult to modify the existing interior yourself with some parts swapping and creative scratch building with some Evergreen stock. I have actually come to enjoy these sorts of modifications. If I had the time, the interest in the subject, and the casting know how, I might just do it for the fun of it! Steve

For those of you that have Amazon Prime streaming, you will love this show! It's called Tales of the Rat Fink. A quirky program about Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's life and career, with lots of old clips, cool cars, fun animation, and yes......models! It was originally released back in 2006 so many of you may have already seen it, if not, check it out. It's made for oddballs like us! Steve

I don't believe any of us are saying "don't build it". We are all modelers here. It's just a little disconcerting to some of us when a relatively rare kit like this one is cut up to the point that the modifications are not reversible. Once it's done in some cases, there is no going back, and there is no replacing it. Especially in a case like this when the desired outcome could be achieved with new and plentiful bodies. Some of us just look at these kits as a little piece of history, that especially in the case of Johan, will never return. Steve

Degreasers like Super Clean have little affect on lacquer paint itself. It works well with lacquer if the body has been primed first. It will get under the paint and dissolve the primer making the lacquer slough off in sheets. With no primer underneath, it loses it's effectiveness. The guys above are correct. Isopropyl alcohol should take it right off. I use 91%. Steve

Agreed. I always do individual body panels separately when foiling. It's much easier to handle a 3 inch piece of foil than an 8 inch one. Steve

You might have to try another approach with the purple Chevelle. Obviously the body was never primed from looking at the photo, and depending on the sort of paint used, the purple stuff may not be able to penetrate. Which "purple stuff" did you use? I can tell you from experience that Purple Power works no where near as well as Super Clean. If you don't have Super Clean, try some Easy Off oven cleaner or alcohol. The paint looks very thin. It should not be difficult to remove. Also, in some circumstances, Super Clean may take longer to work than one day. Drop it in and walk away for a week. Chances are good that it will work with a little time. Steve

True, but it might be good enough if you're just looking for something close without getting into a whole bunch of modification. Steve

So which engine is in the '66 kit? I don't have one.......yet. When the time comes to build the '63, I'll be looking for one to raid for parts. I'll be using the original '63 wheels, but I will be looking for modern kit options for the engine and chassis. Steve