StevenGuthmiller

Playing in the kitchen, and it paid off! Pan Roasted Tilapia with Moroccan Tomato Sauce and Crispy Fried Shallots, Golden Potato Gratin with Farmhouse Cheddar and Parmigiano Reggiano, Sautéed Green Beans with Sweet, Sticky Sesame Glaze, and Olive Fougasse Bread, washed down with a cold Miller Highlife. ? Steve

So, I guess my question would be, if you've had good luck with so many other alternatives, why switch now? My guess would be that MCW has the exact same color in their line. If you're familiar with their product, why mess with a good thing? I guess the way that I see it is that it took me decades to find a reliable painting process that can net good results for me every time, virtually eliminating the "fun" of having to strip and repaint bodies. If I can find the color that I desire through one of the providers that I have experience with, I can't think of a good reason to deviate away from that. No offense to you personally Tom, but sometimes it appears that people are just looking for trouble. By the way, just looking at the photos, my guess is that the areas where the paint stayed wet for a longer time, somehow and for some unknown reason to me, the pigment drew away from the wet reducer before it could gas out properly and set. No science to back that up, but it certainly appears to have only happened where the paint would have a tendency to "pool". Steve

Unfortunately, if your work isn’t protected in any way, it’s going to be fair game. I don’t know why anybody would be surprised. There have been thieves and pirates since the dawn of humanity. You can complain, but it unfortunately isn’t going to get you anywhere. Steve

Tomorrow!!! Steve

Neither of them have been produced for many years, and my guess would be that they are relatively rare. The closest to recently produced kits from this series is the ‘56 Cadillac, ‘56 Chrysler, and the ‘56 Lincoln Continental. In spite of the fact that they are small scale, multi piece bodies, and don’t include glass, they’re actually very well detailed and really quite nice kits. The bodies are quite accurate, (except for some badge and script size issues) and fit together pretty well, the interiors are quite detailed, and there is a full engine and opening hood. I’ve often thought about building one of mine. Don’t be fooled, these 1/32 scale kits are in actuality much nicer and better detailed than the Revell ‘57 Eldorado Brougham kit. Steve

There are a couple of built ups available on eBay right now in the $50.00 range. not too terrible for a pretty clean rebuilder. Steve

This ‘63 body is available on eBay right now. $40.00 plus shipping. Too high if you ask me, but you could certainly contact him to see if he’ll bargain. Steve

I believe that they usually adhered pretty closely to at least the names of the colors, although I couldn’t tell you how closely the colors actually matched. As far as finding information on promo colors, I suppose there’s a possibility that there could be a Facebook group or some other forum or board dedicated to such subjects, but I couldn’t direct you to them. I suppose some Google searching might shed some light on that. Steve

Well, even a “goof” that slaps paint or drywall compound on walls, occasionally has some wisdom to offer. Luckily, I’m one step ahead of you. I haven’t done any drywall, (at least not for money) for close to 18 years. Don’t miss it one bit either! ? Steve

You’re probably correct. I just have noticed from time to time that some of the primers that I’ve used seem to have more of a sheen than others. Steve

No, I meant no disrespect at all! I was sincerely interested! After all, you certainly have more experience than any of us participating in this discussion so far. ? Steve

I’ve had some exhibit a glossier finish than dead flat. Steve

By all means, give us your take. This is just how I see it, and as I said, there my very well be deeper differences between an eggshell and a satin paint, but of course, I’m not a chemist and don’t know all of the ins and outs. I just said what I said based on what I see. By the way, I was a drywall subcontractor for 30 years as well, and while that doesn’t make me an expert on paint as much as it would drywall materials, we did do quite a bit of interior painting. That said, whenever I’ve bought interior paint for my personal projects, it’s generally been eggshell, and my reasoning was always the finish, (whether you’d call it a satin or semi gloss) and durability. Steve

In the paint world, "eggshell" refers to the sheen. "Orange Peel" refers to texture. Just as with interior house paint, an "egg shell" paint has a a very light gloss sheen to it, which for all intents and purposes, is pretty much the same as a "satin" finish. So, I suppose that you could say that a satin finish primer is roughly the same thing as an egg shell finish. It's basically just a variation of terminology, Although I suppose that there might be technical differences between the two, for our purposes, they're basically one and the same. Steve

I'm no Riviera expert, but there does appear to be subtle differences between the '63 and '64. There could quite possibly be interior differences that I'm not aware of, but as far as the body goes, there appears to be no differences in the front end or profile appearance that I can tell. The only details that I can see are in the rear of the car. The '63 has BUICK in block letters on the center of the trunk lid, as well as a Buick "tri-shield" emblem in the center of the tail light lens. For '64, the Buick lettering was replaced with a small "Riviera" script on the passengers side corner of the trunk lid, and the Buick shield in the tail light lens was replaced with the Riviera "R". 1963. 1964. 1963. 1964. Steve

I have no first hand knowledge of what's happening at this moment in the promo market, but vintage kits have virtually exploded within the past decade. I don't have any indication that that will continue, but it also shows no signs of slowing at the moment. Models that could be had 6 or 8 years ago for $100.00 or less, now routinely sell for 2 to 3 times that much, depending on subject, rarity and producer. But how that translates to the promo market, which is more geared toward the collector's market rather than the model builder's, is anyone's guess I suppose. Steve

That might very well be the case, but the fact still remains that 4 door models were produced at a much higher rate in the beginning of the annual era, especially by Johan. They pretty much disappeared by around 1963. Steve

Maybe that's why we also have so many snakes! Steve

I used to ride, but haven't for some years. Problem is that I have no interest in just tooling around the the countryside close to home for an afternoon, or hopping from bar to bar on a Saturday as many of my colleagues used to do. Never have had much desire for that. My idea of "riding" was taking a week or two and actually hitting the road, often times traveling through as many as 7 or 8 states and covering several thousand miles on a ten or twelve day trip. Got to see a lot of the country that way. Unfortunately, age has begun creeping up on me and my body protests considerably when I punish it that much, so I've traded my open air travel experience from a motorcycle to a much more comfortable roadster. In any case, my 1996 Yamaha Royal Star used to serve me quite well in my travels when my back didn't dictate my actions quite so much. It still sits in my garage just in case I ever decide to relive my youth, but it has sat for a number of years, so if it ever sees the road again, it's going to require some "going through". Haven't checked in some time as the battery is dead and it has a digital odometer, but I believe I put around 70,000 miles on it since I bought it new in '97. I don't think it's been ridden since around 2012. Now I travel by 4 wheeled "crotch rocket"! Steve

Value of a promo, (for a collector) is going to be dependent on a number factors, the most important of which is going to be condition. Promos are generally rated on a scale, (I believe this being a scale of one to ten, ten being the absolute pinnacle, to one, being damaged pieces) A ten will generally be a pristine example, exhibiting a perfect finish throughout with no visible damage of any kind, and the rating goes down from there. There are also a number of other factors that come into play. Original boxes are a big plus, rarity of the model itself, and in some cases, rarity of color can all determine value. Just my opinion, but if the model car kit market is indicative in any way with the promo market, now is a good time to consider selling if they have no particular personal interest to you. That said, I see no indication that prices of promos or kits will not continue to increase exponentially in the years to come. Steve

That was your high school intro to drag racing? I just thought that every red blooded American boy got his introduction by taking his own, or his father’s car, out to the local “quarter mile”, (every tiny little town had their designated quarter mile stretch of country black top) and lining up against someone else in town who thought his dad’s car was faster. That’s how I did it. ? My entire drag racing career played out on a stretch of county road 32 on the outskirts of Wells Minnesota. Steve

It’s always been all about profit. Nothing is different except for people’s tastes and expectations. Steve

There’s been a dragon fly orgy taking place in my yard over the past few days. Hundreds of dragon flys all hooked together in pairs flying everywhere. I have to make my wife divert her eyes! ? Steve

Yup, it is the AMT ‘59 Edsel. Steve

Correct. I was mistaken. Steve