StevenGuthmiller

I haven't tried anything like that, but sometimes, depending on the type of tires used, just a quick, careful slice with an X-Acto blade around the bead of the tire, and possibly a little sanding at a bevel around the back of the bead of the wheel can make the wheel set a little deeper into the tire. The 442 project I'm working on now didn't require any wheel changes as the wheels I'm using are very nice Johan wheels, but a tiny amount of material removed from the bead of the tire helped a great deal to deepen the seating of the wheel. Steve

Welcome Jonelle! By all means, post up any photos that you have! It's always interesting to see peoples work and you can never have too many, no matter how old. Steve

I would never put it past "some" folks to fudge things in order to make things appear in their favor. But I highly doubt that Ford would "fake" their own crash tests against themselves. Steve

That one bugs me too. Steve

Just be certain that your clear is compatible with decals. You need a relatively benign clear. A hot clear like Duplicolor will destroy the decals. Something mild like Testors will not. Steve

That's a great tip as well. Even just a light rubbing with a 12000 polishing pad at the end will brighten it up quite a bit. Steve

Maybe we should have a list of who's opinions are valid, and who's are not. These are my opinions and nothing more. You can take them or leave them. Obviously you have opinions of your own, yet I won't be labeling yours as "condescending" or "dogmatic". I'll leave those sentiments to those who like to throw bombs. Steve

I believe we have reached an understanding Leroy! I suppose that you could say that "realism" itself is objective, depending on what you are trying to accomplish. It's just my opinion that utilizing paint that is closer to what you could call "in scale" is not a difficult proposition. Aside from aftermarket providers like Scale Finishes or MCW, if airbrushing is not an option, Duplicolor has "mica" and "pearl" colors available, and nearly all of the Tamiya colors appear to be exceptionally good in the metallic department. I am not pushing any particular product. I don't even use Tamiya paint. It's the finished look of the model that interests me. And as I said in my first post on this subject, it doesn't seem to bother everyone, and what people paint their models with is their business, but since we were discussing "pet peeves", well................ Steve

I don't disagree with anything you say there Leroy. But I believe you're missing my point. And don't worry about me "taking a beating". It's not much of a beating, and I can hold my own. This whole "realism" subject has risen from my contention that if you're building a model CAR, (Sci-fi subjects aside. They are generally not actual "things" and there is no real reference) then the paint should look at least close to something that you would see on an actual car. That's the extent of it. Whether you are building bone stock, custom, rat rods, racing subjects, wrecks, or whatever. If you go back through this thread, you will see that the only "realism" reference that I have made, pertains to paint. The individual style of building, or subject matter, isn't my argument. There is nothing wrong with being creative and building subjects of things that do not exist. Some of the coolest models I have seen have been fantasy vehicles. But if you are building a '69 Road Runner, and you want it to look like the vehicle as it came from the factory, or from someone's customizing or race shop, it shouldn't have paint with quarter sized metal flakes in it unless that was the intention. And let's just face it, in the vast majority of cases, that's not the intention. I think that we can agree that the overwhelming majority of builders on a "automotive magazine's forum" are building automotive subjects, and in general, those builder's goal is to end up with a finished product that is a reasonable facsimile to what they are trying to reproduce. My argument boils down to the fact that "IF" you are trying to build a representation of an automotive subject that is supposed to look like a real "main stream" vehicle, (which is mainly what we do here) then there are more than ample opportunities to find "good" paint. There have been a hundred "pet peeves" offered on this thread including a lot of relatively small items like seams on radiators, incorrectly colored plug wires, ejector pin marks, visible glue joints, "out of scale antennas", etc, etc. All of these pertain to the "realism" of the finished product. I would not have thought that an objection to over sized metallic paint particles would have become a "bridge too far". Steve

Sorry Dann. I am not worthy to bask in your glow. I liked it better when you were ignoring me. Let's go back to that.

That's okay. But I think if we did a poll, we would find that the vast majority of builders are looking for realism in their builds. "Perfection" and realism are not the same thing. You can build a realistic looking model without it being perfect. "Realism" is just trying to depict the subject that you are creating as closely as possible. After all, "scale models" are what we are building. Scale Model.........A small but exact copy. (Merriam Webster) Steve

Agree completely!! I started using BMF probably 30 years ago and never looked back. Sometimes I wonder why some people have so many issues with using it. Even from the first time that I used it, I never really had any problems with applying it. If I had to do without it now, I would probably give up car modeling and start building ships or something. It is an absolutely invaluable tool in my opinion. Steve

You knocked it out of the park Roger! Steve

That's part of the reason why I generally use a hanger rather than a can. It's much easier to get to areas on the inside of the body that might require paint. Steve

The Revell '64 Thunderbolt might be a good place to start. Or you could check out the Moebius '65 Comet or one of the Trumpeter '64 Falcons. Steve

Oops. I never claimed that I could spell! Corrected! Steve

I tape the body to the hanger from the inside. Haven't lost one in 50 years. Steve

Just looked back in the "archives" and it appears that R&R did a '57 Coupe Deville, but no '58 as far as I can tell. Either way, good luck finding one! Steve

No. The only '58 Cadillacs ever offered were the IMEX 1958 Eldorado convertible and hard top, and the Johan/X-EL 1958 Fleetwood 4 door hard top. I actually owned a '58, 62 series hard top 1:1 years ago. It was coral with a black top and a tri-tone rose, pink and black interior. I would love to have a kit of a '58, 62 series or Deville, but none exist. I believe that R&R resin may have offered one years ago, but that's history. Steve

Using a small conical swab, and/or tooth pick, you only wipe over the surface of the script itself, not the surrounding area. Likewise, the amount of thinner you will be using is minuscule. I dip the swab in thinner and then roll it over a cloth to absorb the excess. The swab is just damp. But with so little paint over the script, it's more than enough to remove the paint. Here's another trick. get the swab damp with thinner and lightly go over the script. Then leave it alone for a few seconds. The thinner will loosen the paint and make it extremely easy to remove. Then I take my sharpened tooth pick, dip it in thinner and use it to carefully scrape and remove the paint. Works like a charm. You don't get much smaller script size than the "H" on the Chrysler 300 H above. Steve

I don't hang them upside down, I just figure that my money can be better spent on other more urgent hobby needs, and my modeling time is too valuable to me to spend it building a paint stand. Why fix it if it ain't broke. Steve

My last order was the '56 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer kit. I sit sometimes and wish that I would have ordered more kits from Modelhaus. But then it occurred to me that I have bought several kits from Modelhaus over the past 25 years, and have not built a single one of them. It's probably best that I didn't spend another $1,000.00 on stuff that I will probably never finish. I mostly miss them for the occasional hard to find vintage replacement part, and the items that I ordered from them more than any other thing are still available..........the tires! Steve

Absolutely! My biggest piece of advise is that even though you are painting over the foil, it is still highly recommended that you cut your foil as close to the script or badge as possible. Edges of the foil can be visible under the paint if you leave it too far away from the script you are finishing, especially when it only has a coat or 2 of paint over it. You might not need to worry about this as much if you apply the foil earlier in the paint process, but the less paint that you need to remove from the script, the better. The paint can then be removed from the script with very minimal effort with just a dab of lacquer thinner on a conical swab, and possibly a sharpened tooth pick dipped in lacquer thinner for the finer points. I have done it many different ways. Before and after primer, polishing or cleaning the script with thinner, and in my experience, this is by far the easiest way. Steve

Here's my 2 cents. I agree with Tom for the most part. 1: I wash all of my parts before painting. Oils from the molding process aside, you will undoubtedly have oil from you fingers, dust and other contaminates on the surface just from normal handling and prep. 2: Yes, water slide decals do require submersion in water. I don't use a lot of decals, but when I do, a quick couple of dips in water and then setting them aside for a couple of minutes will usually suffice in allowing the decal to loosen from the backing paper. 3: I prime everything as well!! Priming will allow for much better paint coverage and adhesion over painting directly over the plastic. Like Tom, I use Duplicolor sandable primers as well as a combination of Testors lacquer primer and Duplicolor "primer sealer". But then again, I also use a lot of hotter automotive type lacquer paints like Duplicolor, MCW and Scale Finishes. 4: I use clear coats all of the time on bodies, as well as all sorts of other parts. Some clear on the body will allow for easier polishing, lessening the possibility of burning through the paint during the process. In my experience, clear, followed by polishing with polishing pads and liquid polishes will give you a very correct looking shine without the "candy like" appearance that very high gloss paints and clears can give you if left unpolished. Clear is also very advantageous for creating many different effects. For instance, a shot of clear gloss over a flat finish can give you a very convincing matte finish for interior or chassis parts. 5: I too use mainly automotive type lacquers for body colors. It drys and cures very quickly with superior coverage, and the color pallet that is available through aftermarket air brush paint providers like Scale Finishes and MCW is virtually infinite! I use few acrylics, but I do use a lot of enamels. Mainly flat enamels for engine, chassis and interior parts, whether air brushed or brush painted. A good array of flat colors is all that is needed as sheens can be adjusted to whatever you desire with subsequent clear coats. Welcome to the forum Blake! It's always nice to see new blood coming aboard! Steve

That will work depending on how many coats of primer and paint you use. I use as many as 5 primer, and 5 color coats. That's way too much paint to remove in the end. I wait until right before my last coat or 2 of color. Steve