StevenGuthmiller

If I ran Revell, it would probably go bankrupt, because I know absolutely nothing about running a model company...........just like everyone else here. Steve

Interior is all primed and mocked up. Everything seems to be in order, so on to more body prep. Steve

All of the above! There is no answer to this question. Everything is fair game. I've used pretty much everything from automotive lacquer, to acrylic craft paint. It's not so much the material you use, but what you do with it. Case in point, this single interior was painted with Testors acrylic, Testors lacquer, Duplicolor touch up paint and MCW paint. Steve

PM sent! Steve

I needed to add a little detail to the console. I scribed in all of the trim and glove box panel lines, removed a section at the rear of the "skirt" to replicate the 1:1, cut a hole for the shift boot and added some floor "courtesy lights". I also did a little scribing on the seats to improve definition in a few areas and add a separation line for where the carpet should be on the seat backs. Steve Console before. Console After.

I just love this color combination..........as you can tell! Steve

I just miss the "good old days" not too many years ago, when it wasn't about "all muscle cars, all of the time". You know, back when we got newly tooled kits from the big kit makers like the '53 Ford, '59 Cadillacs, '55 Belairs, '56 Nomad, '59, '60, '61, '62, '64, '65, '66 and '67 Impalas, the '58 Edsel, '58 Belvedere, '60 Ford Starliner, etc. Back then I was excited to see what was coming next. Now it's not too difficult to predict. Steve

Actually, I don't have any problem with these repeated issues of cars that have been done over and over again, except for the impression in my mind that the effort could have been spent on a kit of a car that has never been done before instead of another variation on an old theme. I just don't buy them. It's all just another lost opportunity in my opinion. Steve

If we're going to wish for all new tools for 60s and 70s muscle cars, why not wish for something that hasn't been done yet? There are a lot of them, including pretty much every Buick Grand Sport ever produced except for 1970. Or maybe a pre-1966 Olds 442. Bill's suggestions of a '69 Cyclone, (or nearly any post-'67 Cyclone for that matter) the '69 or '70 Chrysler 300, and just about any Pontiac Grand Prix, would be welcome as well. If I have to endure one more Cuda, Charger or Challenger kit, I'm pretty certain that I might have a stroke! Steve

Good question. But in this case, a 1/25th scale wheel would probably work better. 1/24th would probably look too big with the small hub caps. Steve

It all seems to be a little beyond me, and has become too complicated for my extremely limited computer abilities. I will likely just go with the old standby.......paint. Steve

I believe that the door panel and rear seat modifications are nearly finished. Adding some thin stock to the sides of the floor to bring the door panels out to the correct position was required due to material removal when cutting apart the tub. A little more tweaking and I should be able to move on to the dash board and console. Steve

Agreed. According to the box, it is 1/24th scale. The tires look under sized even for 1/25th scale large cars to me. This would likely be a great circumstance to use the AMT parts pack "Firestone Deluxe Champion" wide white wall tires. They seem to be a little over sized for most 1/25th cars. They look spot on for this one to me. (sorry, I'm all out of the wide whites) The wheel covers are far too small to fit into the correct sized tires. My solution would be to grind the backs of the wheel covers flat, essentially turning them into a true hub cap to fit onto a correct sized steel wheel. This would not only allow for the re-use of the original hub caps, but would add the exposed outer wheel detail. Steve

My guess would be that this is not the first time that this model has been built. Chances are pretty high that it was originally built with the chrome ribbed panels, and then somewhere along the line, those pieces were lost and the next owner painted the entire body and over the glue left by the missing panels. Often times, these old vintage kits have multiple lives. Steve

Sorry Tom. I should have been more clear by saying that I believe that all of these vintage kits deserve a restoration, IF POSSIBLE. Your wagon has obviously gone beyond the POSSIBLE designation. Steve

Personally, I would just cut them from styrene sheet and paint them. For as often as a guy would need a special material for this sort of thing, I don't see much point in spending the extra money on materials that you will rarely use. My shop is full to the gills with too many materials as is. Steve

I'm with you Jim. I really don't think that it's worth the substantial effort to turn this model into a full detail build. When I do mine, it will be a simple curbside build with a few possible interior and exterior upgrades. I can tell you definitively that the damage to the bright work panel behind the wheels is in fact from a separate "finned panel" that was offered as an option in the kit. There were no skirts in the kit, and while the panel is molded into the body, there were also separate chrome pieces. While they don't fit particularly well, with a little modification by either thinning the panels themselves, or modifying the body for a better fit, I think that I'll be using them on my wagon. I'm even considering possibly saving the wood grain "stickers" to see if they could be cut and reapplied. Steve

Not really. Once the plastic is "melted" together, there is really no consistent way to disassemble. This is one reason why I don't use any solvent type glues on my builds. Anything that can be done with plastic cement can be done with CA glues, epoxies, or a myriad of other adhesives. Some people say that you can drop the parts into water, seal them in a plastic bag, and throw it in the freezer. The theory is that the water gets into the joints and forces them apart as the water freezes and expands. I have never had any luck with this technique myself. Steve

It's my opinion that ALL of these old vintage kits deserve a total restoration. As a general rule, they were rarely built very well, and it can be a real sense of accomplishment to see what can be done with these old kits with modern tools and techniques. I soak kit glass in Super Clean all of the time with very good results and have never had any detrimental effects. If the glass in Hubley kits is any different than any other kit it would be news to me, but regardless, the glass in yours appears to be beyond repair anyway. At least the rear glass is so full of cracks and checking that I would not use it. The windshield doesn't look a whole lot better. Personally, I would replace it all with some thin clear plastic. I use .007 "clear lay film" with good results. The glass in this kit should not be too difficult to reproduce. If this is truly the 4 in 1 Hubley kit, the bright work behind the rear wheel would be a separate chrome piece. If the panels are beyond repair, you may be able to remove them and improvise with modified replacements from another kit, or you may be able to scratch build them with styrene strip. If done correctly, the type of paint that you use will have no affect on a future restorers ability to strip and repaint without any damage to the plastic. I do it all of the time with automotive lacquers. My current 1965 Plymouth Fury project has been painted with multiple coats of automotive lacquer twice, stripped twice, and is currently awaiting round 3. Steve

I really didn't have any problems with the resizing part of the situation, it's the printing part that is not working. This is the exact size that I need. It looks pretty good on the screen, but my printer will not co-operate. I'll try again with a couple of different things, but I don't have a lot of confidence that I will be able to get it to work. I appreciate all of your suggestions guys. Steve

Sirloins with creole butter, roasted fingerling potatoes and spinach with garlic. Steve

Okay, and where do I find that? You're talking to a computer illiterate here. I had enough problems finding the image that I did. Steve

I did that, but it automatically reset to color because of a conflicting setting. Probably because I had it set for "best photo". Steve

I set it to print on "Ultra Premium Glossy Photo Paper" and was using clear decal paper. The printer only gave me 2 quality options for the image. "Text and Image" and "Best Photo". I chose best photo. Steve

My printer is an Epson XP-400 and as far as I know, there is no "scaling feature". Steve