StevenGuthmiller

That’s not unusual. A lot of threads end up turning into something other than what was intended. Conversations evolve sometimes. Steve

Of course there are a number of pickup kits available, some much simpler and less detailed, but the OP didn’t give any indication that he was new or inexperienced in the hobby, only that he had not built a pickup in quite some time, so my suggestions were geared towards his request of “the best kits”, regardless of the skill that may or may not be required. That said, other nice truck kits in my view would include the AMT 1955/‘57 Cameo and step side pickups, the AMT ‘50 Chevy, and the Monogram/Revell 1950 Ford F1. Others would include the Revell 1964 and ‘41 Chevys. Now if simplicity is the goal, the AMT 1972 Chevy Cheyenne, or the old ‘72 GMC step side kits may also be good candidates. Steve

An iconic voice that will last the ages. Steve

You’re best option for a highly detailed, modern kit is going to be one the Moebius Ford kits. Steve

Not to nit-pick, but I personally could never understand the airbrush “set up” thing. I suppose if you don’t have a particular designated work space that it could be a little bit of an issue, but if you have any sort of semblance of a shop, set up is virtually nonexistent. I have 2 airbrushes. Both of them remain attached to the hoses at all times, except for thorough cleaning sessions. One of the airbrushes is a single action siphon feed that is attached to a small hobby compressor which is plugged into a switched outlet, so set up consists of attaching the filled jar to the brush, and flipping the switch. The other brush is a little more complicated. That one requires me to fill the tank on a pancake compressor in the garage and then carry it down to my shop, (this eliminates the noise of the compressor in the house) attach the hose to the compressor, fill the cup, and spray. I keep both brushes adjusted and ready to spray and can be spraying paint in a matter of minutes. Clean up usually consists of filling the jar or cup with lacquer thinner and running it through, which takes little longer than inverting and cleaning a spray can nozzle. Occasional deeper cleaning is usually a simple tip and needle removal and clean with lacquer thinner, Q-tips and the little dental brushes used for between teeth cleaning. Certainly, it’s a little more involved than a spray can, but I certainly don’t understand why people find it particularly cumbersome. Steve

That is true. It’s one of the very few advantages that they have over an airbrush. But, when it comes to my desire to do the very best with my builds that I possibly can, the main advantages of a spray can, (ie easy, quantity and price) hold very little weight with me. Just my opinion. Steve

In all honesty, an airbrush can be a lot less “intrusive” than spray cans can. Depending on your air delivery system, an airbrush can ultimately pump a lot less fumes into the air than an airbrush. It just requires a little more thought and planning. Steve

Well, if you’re satisfied with what paint you can find in a spray can, I suppose an airbrush isn’t necessary. I just got really sick of having to let a spray paint manufacturer make my decisions for me. One of my favorite parts of a project is combing through paint chip sheets and picking a color that “I” want to use, and now that I know that I can choose any color that I can imagine, the hobby has become a LOT more fun! Steve

So basically you're looking for any dark metallic green, 'cause short of spending $30.00 on a custom filled rattle can at an automotive paint store, you're probably not going to get too close to the actual color anyway. That said, Duplicolor offers a number of dark greens. Other than that, good luck. This is wholly the reason why I bought my first airbrush. I got tired of fumbling around in the dark trying to find something relatively close to the colors that I was looking for, only to have to settle for some stinker that some company decided to put in a spray can. Now it's just a simple operation of choosing whatever color that I can dream of, ordering it, and away we go. Steve

Well, I don’t even use Tamiya paint, so I don’t even have a dog in this hunt, (not much bigger than a chihuahua anyway) but I don’t think you’re going to get very many claims that Rustoleum is a better product, especially for modeling, than Tamiya. Steve

Sure, but Tamiya has probably 5 times that many colors in a much wider variety, and it’s a lot better paint. Steve

Had this crew meandering through the yard this evening to roost in the trees behind the house. Actually, I didn’t get a picture when the first bunch came through. This is about half of them! ? Steve

Is this something new? No. How many times in the past half decade did we have people getting sick from improperly washed produce like bagged spinach or lettuce? Not to mention a multitude of various food recalls, such as the JIF peanut butter recall a while back, (just an example of many) and the food poisoning that you risk EVERY TIME you eat out. I suppose if you want to completely avoid food born illness, you need to do most of your eating at home with food that you've cooked/produced yourself. If you go take a look at the USDA's "Recalls and Public Health Alerts" website, you'll see that there have been about 40 food recalls or alerts since the first of the year, some of them listeria or E-coli contamination. Good luck avoiding it folks. This week it's Boars Head. Next week it'll be Oscar Mayer. Steve

They’re 8oz. cans, but the paint is WAY thicker than what’s in a rattle can. (considerably thicker than what’s in a Testors 1/4 oz. bottle) For spraying, the paint needs to be thinned considerably, probably 2 or 3 parts thinner to one part paint, so when it’s all said and done, an 8oz. can equals probably pretty close to a quart of sprayable paint. Steve

I don’t know. Wrap it in cheesecloth? ? Steve

Or you could just strap it to the hood of your car and take it out on the interstate for a 10 mile spin! Steve

I only buy the colors that I use frequently for chassis, etc. Gloss black, flat black, flat white, etc. I don’t use these paints for bodies. I’m not a masochist! ? But, if it’s your thing, you could certainly buy the basic colors, ie, red, yellow, blue, etc, and mix any color you would like. Steve

I use it all of the time, in conjunction with some other colors for my exhaust manifolds. I usually spray the manifold with Alclad steel or something equivalent, then I use the “Exhaust Manifold” kind of as a mist coat, heavier at the joints between the manifold and block, and manifold and exhaust pipe. Finally, I spray a fine mist from a couple feet away of red primer to simulate rust. Probably not as realistic as you’ll see some others do, but it’s pretty quick and simple, and after some light weathering, they look pretty good. Steve

You can save yourself a bunch of money in some instances by using these instead of the little Testors bottles of enamel. Pretty much exactly the same stuff for a fraction of the price. Steve

Those cars are certainly an acquired taste, but it can't be said that the designers didn't go all out in the styling department! Love 'em or hate 'em, there's no question that it would grab the attention of anyone who saw one coming down the street, car lover or not. I personally love these quirky cars! I love anything that's different and unusual, and this car absolutely fits the bill. Steve

Nothing wrong with a little bit of discussion. Just as interesting, if not more so, than a lot of other threads on the site that have gone on for months or even years. Steve

It would! Does anyone know if Atlantis is re-popping the '56 Lincoln and '56 Chrysler? I've always thought about building one of these but I'm not real big on the scale, and the glass was always an issue. I have one each of the Caddy, Lincoln and Chrysler. Extremely nice kits considering their age! Steve

Must be a secret. Steve

A few of my favorites. Steve

Well, that can't be argued with. Diabetes is prominent in my father's side of the family. My father and at least a couple of his brothers had it, and not one of them weighed more than 160 lbs soaking wet. Steve