StevenGuthmiller

I usually wait at least several hours between coats of paint, sometimes overnight. This is mainly because as Pete stated, if you spray another coat before the previous coat is at least mostly cured, you bare the risk of the solvents penetrating the first coat into the plastic causing crazing, especially with a hot automotive lacquer. I have had this happen when I "rush it". I find that each cured layer of paint acts as an additional barrier to subsequent coats of a hot paint. I have never had any sort of paint adhesion problems with waiting longer to re-coat, but have had crazing issues with re-coating too soon, so as with most processes, you're better off taking your time. Steve

Good to hear Tom. It looks nice! Steve

I made the "flower pot" center cap. There will be 5 separate pieces going into the steering wheel assembly. The wheel itself, the horn ring, center cap, turn signal switch and a flasher button. Not sure why I thought a flasher button was necessary, but why not. Steve

I think I finally have all of the interior parts finished and ready for assembly. The 2nd door panel is complete, seats are foiled, steering wheel is detailed and the window cranks, turn signal lever, horn ring & door lock buttons have been chromed with Molotow ink. I have also fabricated a shifter and scrounged up a set of brake & clutch pedals. The only thing that I have left to do before assembly is to carpet the floor with embossing powder. I think that this may be the first time in...........forever, that I will finish an interior before the body is ready! This interior just grabbed my attention for some weird reason. Steve

It was actually very good. Roasted red peppers, shallots, garlic, tomato paste, cream & Parmesan cheese. Pretty rich, but tasty. Steve

I dump the paint out of the cup if it's a gravity feed, and remove the jar if it's siphon feed, and then run some lacquer thinner through the brush. It only takes a few seconds and it will assure a clean brush when you're ready to paint again. If nothing else, I do this just to be sure that my paint gets a good shake again before the next coat. Metallic particles will settle to the bottom in a matter of minutes. After 15 to 30 minutes, the majority of those particles will be sitting in the bottom of your paint jar, or in the throat of the air brush. Giving the paint a swirl as Peter stated may work with a siphon jar, but it will not get all of that metallic out of the throat in a gravity feed. You can shoot the heavy metallics out before you begin again, but now your paint has lost a lot of the particles and will not be uniform with the previous coat. Steve

I have not tried alcohol, but have heard the same thing. I have soaked resin in Super Clean and have never experienced any damage, but all resins are not created equal. Steve

Spaghetti with roasted red pepper cream sauce. Steve

That's purdy! The color is what really grabs me. I'm a sucker for this sort of "oddball" color. Steve

It's good to see that someone does. This is one service that I really can't contemplate losing. Building almost nothing but vintage kits like I do, parts plating is one of my absolute "must haves". Nothing against Alclad & Molotow, but they're no substitute for the real thing. Steve

Even though the forum allows unlimited photos now, I still use Fotki for the majority of my posts. Mine is also a paid account, but if I remember correctly, it's about $2.00 a month. Not enough to break the bank. Steve

Still working on detailing the interior. Managed to get one of the door panels & the console as well as the arm rests detailed today. Steve

I think that anybody who has the equipment to Vacuum metalize plastic will plate parts for you. The issue arises with volume. I had inquired with a company in California some years ago about the cost of plating a couple of 6x8 racks of parts. I forget the actual price tag, but it would have been well over $100.00 per rack! Much more than the average modeler will stomach. The reason that guys like GT Kustom Khrome & Chrome Tech were able to keep the prices reasonable was because they send out their parts in bulk. I've toyed with the thought of possibly starting a plating "middle man" business such as these, but the first task is to find a company with the equipment who will work with you & cut you a decent deal so that you can make it worth your time. Steve

Shrimp Creole and rice. Steve

The breakfast of champions? Steve

I don't think that had anything to do with it. LMK and GT Kustom Khrome are to the point that they are so swamped that they can barely keep up. My understanding is that Bob at Chrome Tech simply retired. Steve

That's always the same story whenever they use an older kit to tool a new kit, and they do it all of the time. It's a lot cheaper to tool up a new body, a few chrome pieces and possibly a few interior pieces and re-use the entire chassis and drive train than to tool an all new kit. Revell/Monogram have done it numerous times with the tri-five Chevies, the '59 & '60 Impalas, and the '65 & '66 Impalas, just as examples. AMT crafted new bodies and such frequently as well. Moebius has also used this formula with kits like the '52-'54 Hudsons & the '55 & '56 Chrysler 300s. I understand that depending on the circumstances the companies might have felt that the market was not large enough to justify the changes, but in other circumstances it just seems like someone just plain dropped the ball. Does anybody think that the AMT '67 Impala was not a successful kit? I can't imagine that every classic car modeler would not have snapped up a bunch of '68 Impalas as well. Seems like a big lost opportunity. The '60 Cadillac is another one in this category, and I've been lobbying for further kits rooted in the Moebius Chrysler 300 line since the '56 came out. There are probably a minimum of a half dozen other subjects that could come from those kits as well. Steve

Unfortunately, you're probably correct. There is a vast sea of opportunities that never took place with AMT, Monogram & Revell. There were a couple that took the next obvious step like the Monogram '65 Impala morphing into the '66, but when I think of the ones that got away, it saddens me a bit. Things like The '60 Eldorado, a '59 Edsel from the AMT '58, a '58 and '59 Chrysler 300 from the '57, and a '68 Impala from the '67, just to name a few. Steve

I guess I've been hoarding my food pics for a while. I have three new dishes to add to the thread from the past couple of weeks. Chicken Piccata. Orange Chicken. Sirloin Steak with Blue Cheese Compound Butter. Steve

You might want to have that checked out. Steve

A better looking car than the '59 IMO. Steve

There are tons of them on ebay. Many for "buy it now" prices under $20.00. Then of course there is shipping. I saw an opened kit selling for $9.99 plus $9.99 shipping. Even with the shipping, that's less than $20.00. Steve

Welcome Jeffery. I was really saddened to read your introduction. I don't know what I would do without my wonderful wife of 30+ years. I'm not certain that I could continue building. But I'm glad that you are among us. It's good to have you. Steve

Probably a couple hundred. But my guess is that I only have about 40 in my collection right now. Steve

Nice! I would love to get my hands on one of these! Or better yet, Revell could do a little re-tooling on the Monogram '59. I'm a little surprised that they never did that considering the popularity of the '59. Steve