StevenGuthmiller

I agree! Bring 'em on! Steve

Yes, they can do whatever they want with them. But the OP asked whether or not it would bother us. Steve

Well Richard, I'm sorry that I misunderstood. This post was originally about "finished" models being sold & entered in contests. That was where my focus was. Steve

Sounds like a pretty ambitious project. I hate to rub salt in the wound, but I just traded off a pretty nice '60 Desoto body about a month ago that I would have been more than happy to send to you. Sorry! Steve

Tonight was "Mushroom Marsala Chicken". Steve

That's completely different than what the OP describes. I other words, you sold "a kit". In that case, I would have zero issues with whether or not an individual builds it and enters it in a contest. No different than any other kit. Steve

Ok. I guess I was/am confused. So the individual you sold it to had to paint & assemble the model himself? I guess that could be a little different. In that case, he basically bought a modified kit from you. What did you do to it before sending it to him? I have no doubt that the kit manufacturers take pride in what they do, but when the kits go out the door, they are destined for what they were intended for.......to be built. The manufacturers have no expectation of any notoriety for the finished product. But, in that vein, they do receive some of the spotlight at shows. The shows that I have attended have a slot in the placard placed with every model that states the manufacturer of the kit. But there are no spaces asking for the entrants name plus the "actual" builder! Steve

Does it really matter how much work went into it? It's still your work, not his. Revell & Modelhaus sell kits to be built by it's consumers. They are merely products to them. I guess if you would consider your work as just another product, then it wouldn't be an issue. I think of my work as a little more personal than that. At some point I may decide to sell some builds. Who knows. And I would not begrudge anybody making a few bucks on a model. But I shudder to think that at some point it might be considered okay for some rich snot to buy up a dozen Paul Hettick models, or some other professional builder, for thousands of dollars and start entering them in contests. I like to think that I am associating with and competing against my "peers" and not the guy with the most money. Steve

The cowl vent detail on this kit is rather faint, so I decided that I should get it foiled & detailed before I pile on anymore clear coat! Steve

I would feel pretty good too! If the swine that entered it gave me full credit for doing all of the work & sent me the trophy. Let's look at it this way. In my opinion, competition should not be for sale. If I felt that I would like to be an all star quarter back in the NFL, would it be acceptable for me to give Tom Brady 100 million bucks, have him put my name on the back of his jersey & win me a Super Bowl ring? Endowments should never be offered to the highest bidder. That's a whole great big can-o-worms we don't want to open. Steve

I'll agree with that. I wish that I had bought a '57 Buick & '61 Cadillac at least! Steve

Perfect! Now I can stop wasting my time looking for an original '68 annual! I know that the annual is nearly non-existent, but I can't help wondering how it will affect the value of them. Steve

I regret not cleaning my modeling stuff out of my parent's basement after I had moved out. My father cleaned out the basement sometime later & threw away a number of old kits. Included were several old Johan kits like a '69 Road Runner & a '58 Oldsmobile to name a couple. I also regret not pulling the trigger on a complete AMT 1967 Barracuda kit that I stumbled across in an antique store a few years back. Steve

When you enter a judged model contest, the judges look at individual aspects of the model to determine whether it is worthy of an award. They look at things like the finish of the paint, level of detail, etc. This in itself should be an indication that they are judging the skills of the builder and not so much the model itself. With that in mind, I don't think it's kosher to even farm out one of those aspects to another individual, let alone the whole model. Someone had mentioned that they might have someone else paint their model for them. Personally, I don't even think that's right unless you are giving full credit for that aspect to the person who did it. In my opinion, offering a build at a judged contest that was not entirely created by the builder can only be described as plagiarism! I agree, once you sell a model, it is the new owner's property to do with what he wants, but entering it into a contest with the intent of winning a trophy for it is pure profanity! Steve

I will just say that model building is an art form. Any self respecting artist is not going to go to a local gallery, buy a piece of art & then enter it into another gallery as his own. And let's face it, regardless of whether or not this person officially "claimed" it as his own work or not, at any show that I have ever been to, it would be assumed. So unless he is a complete fool and does not understand anything about how a model contest is supposed to work, then he could only be the alternative......a deceitful individual! Let's be real guys, nobody with any dignity buys a model & then enters it into a contest when he knows that every other entry there was built by the entrant. It would be completely disrespectful to every other "real" craftsman. How many guys here who have ever entered your work in a contest would continue to do so if they knew that this sort of deception was acceptable. Count me out! Steve

Regardless of whether he tried to pass it off as his own work, it's still pretty boorish if you ask me. You don't enter anything into a contest unless it's "truly" yours, whether it's a model or if you're entering any other competition. A race is won by the driver. You would hardly enter a race and then have someone else run it for you. Yes! That's the general idea. Awards are given for the skill of the craftsman, not for an object that's pleasing to the eye. If that were the case, we could all just buy Paul Hettick models and compete against each other with them. There would be absolutely no point in that. Steve

Just what I've heard. I've heard the same thing about brake fluid. I try not to take any chances, especially with irreplaceable vintage bodies. Steve

Lacquer paint doesn't dissolve in it. It just loosens & comes off on sheets. These sheets can be strained out. That being said, it does dissolve primer, chrome & enamel, so yes, it needs to be treated with some care. I still treat it as toxic when I dispose of it, but if you let it set undisturbed for a couple of days, probably 99% of those particles of primer & enamel paint settle to the bottom of the container. At that point it would be relatively easy to pour off the clear Super Clean leaving only the dirty product on the bottom to be dealt with. Granted, it will never be 100% clean again once it's been used, but I would still prefer to have this dumped in my back yard rather than brake fluid. Steve

Absolutely it would anger me! Someone trying to pass off someone else's work as their own is very shady IMO. Unless he added a note to the display giving the correct "artist" the credit, I would be offended. It's a little like these guys that buy a Kindig or Foose design & then stand beside it with their chest puffed out at the shows. It's not your design, you just happen to have enough money to be able to pay for it. In the biker world, they call people like that "posers"! You know, the guy that buys the $60,000.00 custom bike & all of the clothes & gear & then just drags it around the country in a trailer to show off at places like Sturgis! The guy that spends more money on soft cotton rags & polish than he does on gas! Steve

I do use alcohol sparingly, but I've heard horror stories about it making the plastic brittle. You can soak styrene plastic in Super Clean for a month & it will not harm the plastic at all. Easy Off oven cleaner is a good alternative, but the fumes are very caustic & it's not re-usable. Super Clean can be used over & over again. Some guys swear by brake fluid but it's difficult to dispose of when it's used up. Super Clean is biodegradable and relatively easy to dispose of. You will need to use gloves when working with Super Clean as it is very hard on your skin, but so are most of the others. Steve

I had no issues with this can either. As a matter of fact, it gave me the smoothest paint job I've had in a while! Steve

I think I will go with a sort of Chrysler 300 theme. Light tan with very dark charcoal gray dash, steering wheel & rear package shelf with black carpet. Steve

I have one of these kits that I have never built & I guess I didn't realize that there were no turn signal lenses for the front bumper. You're right, the red is a little strange for those vents. I never really understood why they were like that. But, all that aside, I really like this model! I'm thinking now that if or when I build mine, white is a very strong possibility! Steve

A couple more recent meals. "Chicken Paillard". "New England Style Fish Cakes". Steve

I should mention though Jim that the "scoops" below the headlights are not turn signals. They were a vent that was painted red. The turn signals were located in the lower bumper & had clear lenses. Steve