StevenGuthmiller

I haven't posted here in a while, but I have taken a few photos. "Pear & Blue Cheese Pizzas". A little too "foo foo" for my taste, but I will admit, it wasn't bad. Pears, mozzarella & blue cheese, caramelized onions and smoked almonds. "Rigatoni with Tomato Cream". This one looks a little bland, but it was really rich! Rigatoni, mushrooms, garlic and red bell pepper in a cream sauce made basically from tomato paste, cream & vegetable base. Croutons are ciabatta bread cubed & toasted with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Steve

Jimmy Flintstone casts several resin El Camino style bodies including the '59 Buick in Greg Myers' post, as well as a '53 Hudson and '62 Pontiac. And, of course, the '57 Ford Ranchero in stock & custom trim. Steve

Do you have anything to trade for one Rich? I have a spare. PM me if you're interested. Steve

Nothing to be nervous about Paul. Their work is generally okay. I've just found the quality of the plating from Kustom Khrome to be better & the turn around time to be faster. The last time I had Chrome Tech do parts for me, I had some minor quality issues, mostly involving the fact that they have a tendency to spray their base coat too heavily which can obscure some fine details. Plus the fact that I have waited as long as 8 weeks to get my parts back. But they are reliable & if you rack your own parts, they are the cheapest alternative. Steve

Luckily, they are not too difficult to find. There's a complete, pristine kit on ebay right now with a "buy it now" price of less than $50.00. I just have to decide how badly I want one. Steve

No doubt. Steve

Since the Molotow pens came along, I no longer have any use for the Testors Chrome silver. A little Molotow ink on a brush works the same & looks better. I only use Sharpies on the very rare occasion that I need some gold trim or something. Then I "might" use a gold Sharpie. Steve

It is an original AMT '58 Buick Roadmaster annual kit. Found it on ebay as a built-up & restored it. Steve

Beautiful Hans! I really need to get my hands on a couple of these Johan snappers. This one and the '72 Torino are a couple I would love to find. Steve

Most of the posts That I'm seeing here depict items which are not molded to the body. I agree, the Molowtow pens work terrific for separate parts, whether air brushed or applied directly from the pen. I use them all of the time for mirrors, antennas, interior parts & details, touch ups, etc. But You will notice that you are not seeing many photos of molded on body trim being done with these pens. I don't want to step on anybody's toes, but the vast majority of photos that I see of body trim being done with the pens show obvious flaws upon close inspection. I see no way possible to get clean, sharp, straight lines on body trim short of masking, which in my view, ultimately defeats the purpose of not using foil. Let's not forget, The OP's question was "How well do the pens work with trim & scripts", not with separate parts. I find the pens extremely useful for the types of loose parts that most of the posters here are showcasing, but I don't think that they are all that useful for something as fine and intricate as body moldings & scripts. I agree Mike. There are things that would be very difficult or nearly impossible to do with foil. I don't want to be a pain in the "you know what" but I have enough experience with foil to where I would have been able to foil this part. Compound curves like this are difficult, but not impossible. That being said, I would have used the same method that you did! The tail light bezels on this '60 Dodge & '60 Plymouth have more compound curves than you can shake a stick at, & while they were not easy to foil, it was entirely possible. No you are not Tom! I'm not certain that I would call it "relaxing" but if you take your time & do it right, there are few things that will "transform" a model like a good foil job. Steve

Many auto parts stores carry it. I buy mine at "O-Reilly Auto Parts". Steve

That might be the most feasible way of using the Molotow ink, but when I think of all of the masking that would be involved to do the trim on, say a '58 Impala, you would be way ahead of the game just using foil. And then there is still the question about the durability of the ink. For all we know, the stuff could disintegrate after a year or two. There are a lot of unknowns. Steve

I picked one of these up about a year ago. So far, I love it! Steve

I used to love Testors enamel clear, but the yellowing that tends to take place scares the hell out of me! I learned years ago to never use it over light colors. Maybe things have changed since then, but here is an old example. The color on this '37 Chevy was originally a very pale cream color. After clear coating with Testors clear enamel, it is now a wonderful bright yellow! Steve

I'm not trying to disparage anybodies methods Gary. I'm a firm believer in everybody using what works for them. I'm just trying to offer my opinion on the Molotow pens. I personally think that they are greatly over rated. I have seen & tried nearly every method including silver paint, Sharpies, Molotow & have yet to see a better result than foil. My experience with the pens has been that in order to get a reflective "chrome" finish, the paint/ink needs to be applied quite heavily. When applied heavily, it has a tendency to pool & run & go places where you do not want it to go. Even the 1mm tip is too cumbersome for many applications and it's very easy to make a single error & wind up with ink flowing all over the place. My suggestion for anyone proficient with a brush who wants to use the Molotow ink is to avoid the pen itself & apply the ink with a brush. You will achieve much better control with a brush. I have not tried the eraser trick. I believe that I would not be as satisfied with the result compared to the "foil under paint" technique. It's very hard to beat. Steve

I stopped using Testors clear lacquers some time ago. Nothing having to do with orange peel. I always had pretty good luck with the leveling & shine. My issue was cracking. The '60 Imperial pictured above was originally painted a different color. After finishing the paint & clear coats, (which was Testors Wet Look Clear) I noticed some mild cracking in the clear coat. As time went on, the cracking became more and more pronounced. After several weeks of curing & several attempts to polish out the cracks, it became obvious that it was not repairable. The more time that passed, the worse the cracks became. I had this same issue with at least one other build. Since abandoning Testors clear in favor of Duplicolor clear, I have had zero issues. I will never look back. Steve

Personally, I don't trust using these pens for body trim at all. Aside from the obvious durability question, even with masking, one small spot where the tape is not perfectly sealed & you have bleed under, potentially ruining a perfect paint job. It is virtually impossible to make a mistake with foil. If a piece doesn't meet your standards, you simply pull it off and apply a new piece. Fool proof, and it will last essentially forever. Steve

I find this whole argument absolutely pointless. Who is convincing who? It's on the same level as a disagreement on religion or politics. One side will never convince the other, so just do what you do. If you want to fix any imperfections in a kit, be my guest. If you find them acceptable, build them as is. All of this pontificating about a kit that hasn't even exited the womb yet is asinine! Steve

True. If you airbrushed it and thinned with lacquer thinner, it will shorten cure time dramatically. Steve

I guess this is one more excuse for me to get involved in Facebook & Twitter. I never really had any interest in all that nonsense anyway, so why start now. Steve

If it's Testors enamel that you're working with, I wouldn't touch it for a minimum of a month! Enamels take forever to cure completely. Steve

Yeah, it's a inclination of mine. Steve

I think too many people are looking for some sort of "miracle" or "silver bullet" with these pens. I agree with most of the sentiments here. The pens have their place, but if you think you're going to whip out a perfect trim job in a few minutes by just pulling out your magic pen & drawing on some trim, I believe you are mistaken. Model building is supposed to be an intricate & time consuming operation. People need to learn to take the time to do it right if you want the finished model to look great. In my opinion, there are no short cuts. Steve

Understandable. What I have heard is that he has taken on some rather large contracts with some resin casters which has made things extremely busy for him. He also does the lions share of his business on Facebook which might explain why he has not been answering his emails. I agree that it would make things much easier for us "non-facebook" people if he was more accessible by other means, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. The gentleman from whom he took over was Bob from Bob's Paints, and he is an exemplary guy. If he and others are vouching for George, I have little reason to doubt that he will be dependable. There are people on the forum who can help you get in touch with him if you're having difficulty & need to contact him. You can always PM "Eshaver". She evidently has a "direct line" to George. Steve

Most of these model parts platers farm out their parts for plating Dwayne. I think that the exception might be Little Motor Kar Co. Kustom Khrome & Chrome Tech do not plate their own parts. Very expensive equipment is required for "vacuum metalizing". I have looked into sending parts directly to a plating facility, and believe me, it is absolutely cost prohibitive. These model plating outfits like GT KK & ChromeTech keep their prices low by working on a bulk rate basis. They send out racks of parts from many modelers at the same time to keep rates reasonable. This is also the reason why they require a detailed parts list. Your parts may be on a rack with a half dozen other customers parts. Even with an outfit like Little Motor Kar, you can never be guaranteed that there will not be lost parts. None of these businesses are ever going to be able to guarantee you that there will not be the possibility of loss or damage, so it only makes good business sense on Georges part to let you know of that possibility in advance. Granted, if the parts are plated in house, there may be less of a chance that parts may be lost, but you cannot be sure. In the end, if you are adamant that your parts only travel to one facility, you are limited to either Little Motor Kar Co. or a full fledged vacuum metalizer, in which case your half dozen bumpers & a dozen wheels might run you $250.00. Steve