StevenGuthmiller

Okay. Well, I had thought about attending your show at some point in the future, as I'm not really all that far away, but it appears that there would be no point in it. I pretty much build nothing but factory stock, and almost none of my stuff would fit into any of the categories. C'est la vie. Steve

One week from today!! Get your s--- together! Steve

Apparently my mice were relatively courteous tenants. No apparent damage that I’ve been able to find in the wiring, and it appears as if the majority of the nest building material stuffed into the hood latch area of the hood, and behind the headliner has come from the headliner backing/insulation. The only real damage from the mice is the holes chewed in the headliner itself, giving it the appearance of a nice Swiss cheese, and the steady rain of chewed up headliner backing material and mouse turds falling from the roof! ? Steve

Pulled out the '69 Grand Prix this afternoon to clean a little of the dust off of it. It still amazes me how well the original interior on this car has survived after 12 years of use prior to me, 7 or 8 years of abuse by a hard living teenager, (that would be me ) and then 28 years of sitting in a dirty, damp, farm outbuilding, where it was subject to pillaging and damage after the meth heads moved into the farm house for the last few years of storage! This interior will be remaining original, except for a new headliner, (which the mice have eaten and turned into a condominium) new rear package shelf, (which the meth heads destroyed trying to get into the trunk through the interior) and probably sun visors, carpet, and possibly a few other little pieces here and there. I could never bring myself to re-upholster these "survivor" seats, even though there has been some discoloration. Steve

Dry is dry. doesn’t make a difference how, or how fast it gets there. Steve

I was only disagreeing with your statement that "handling did no harm". I suppose it may have looked that way from the beginning, but as the seat back exhibits no "chrome" characteristics whatsoever, as the photo appears to me, I assumed that the handling was the reason for that. In any event, yes, it appears that we agree on the overall performance of Molotow. In my estimation, almost any other chrome substitute will do an equal, or better job. Steve

I’m not trying to be difficult Bill. It was just a simple statement of fact. The photo you posted was a ‘60. My assumption was that you meant to post a photo of a ‘61. I just thought that you might like to have the opportunity to make that correction in lieu of the fact that the ‘60 does in fact have a molded in top. Steve

That’s a ‘60. I would certainly think that the promo would have been molded from the same molds as the kit with a stationary top. Steve

But that does little to explain the differences in the roof construction. My ‘60 Imperial was produced by SMP, as you say the ‘61 was, yet the SMP ‘60 shares the same construction as the AMT ‘62. Steve

I disagree. Looks pretty dull on my screen, and very little like chrome to me, especially the seat back. I’ll repeat what I’ve said before. In order for a chrome substitute to mimic actual chrome, it has to come as close as possible to exhibiting the main property of chrome......reflectivity. By that I mean that the finish should be absolutely smooth and mirror like. You should be able to see your reflection in the finish, and not just some blurry facsimile of your face, but every pimple and errant nose hair should be apparent. If not, it’s just another shiny silver paint. In all honesty, I often see more mirror like properties in well painted bodies than I do in most Molotow finishes. Of course, this is just my opinion. Likewise, I have used Molotow, and nobody is ever going to convince that it will be anything approaching “durable” over the long run. Steve

That was what confused me. After 1959, I don't understand why they would produce separate convertible and hard top kits in 1960, then go back to producing a combined convertible/hard top kit again in '61, and then return again to the separate hard top and convertible kits in '62, especially being as all 3 years shared the same roof design. Usually there's some sort of pattern that you can follow with these old annuals, but apparently not in this case. Steve

Just an old fashioned "Dust Buster", or as in my case, a "Dirt Devil" power sweeper works perfect. Everything goes into a small receptacle smaller than your fist, making finding tiny parts simple. Steve

Just a couple of things that might possibly help you in your search Rich. First, there are several kits that you listed parts wants for that will do just as well with parts taken from more modern kits, especially things such as wheel covers. For instance, the '58 Chevy, '59 Edsel, and '60 Impala all have modern counterparts that you can take wheel covers from. (The '58 Edsel "spinner" wheel cover was an available option in 1959) A few of the other parts, such as the '61 Impala chassis, (should be interchangeable with several other annual style Chevrolet chassis from '61-'64) and the '61 Galaxie fender ornaments can be found in the AMT '61 "Club Coupe" reissued in recent years. Another one to scratch off of your list is the '62 Pontiac Bonneville "stock wheel covers". The AMT '62 Bonneville kit never contained stock wheel covers. Only "8-Lug" wheels, which can be found in numerous other kits. I'll scrounge through some of my stuff to see if I can help you with any of the other stuff Rich. Good luck! Steve

Tried something new tonight. Moroccan Harissa-Garlic shrimp with grilled bread. Steve

Well, in retrospect, I suppose it’s possible that the ‘61 may have been offered with the separate top. I may have been too hasty in my observation, as I don’t have a ‘61. But I do have 60 and a ‘62 Imperial hard tops, and they’re molded to the body. I guess I just assumed that they wouldn’t produce a dedicated hard top in ‘60, revert to the separate top in ‘61, and then back to the molded in top in ‘62, but I suppose it’s possible. Steve

The ‘60 and ‘61 Imperial kits had separately tooled bodies for the hard tops and convertibles. There were no separate tops. Steve

Calling it “Molotov” is a very common screw up that I see on Facebook all of the time. Apparently for a lot of guys, Molotov is the correct spelling. ? I’m no “spelling Karen” but I do find it amusing how so many people that swear by the stuff still think it’s called Molotov. That would be like if after using BMF for years, I were calling it “Bright Metal Foil”. ? Steve

Correct. A Molotov is a bottle filled with gasoline with a rag stuffed in it. ? Steve

It’s not that the ink transfers to your fingers. It’s that the finish dulls if it’s handled too much. Steve

You absolutely can use Testors “Wet Look Clear”, or standard Testors “Clear Top Coat” lacquer over enamel. I do it often for chassis and engine parts. My understanding is that “Extreme Lacquer” is hotter, so I would pass on that, but the others should not cause an issue, as long as the enamel is completely cured. Steve

I was thinking about it last night and some names came to mind. Many of them are members of this board. Bill Geary, Dominick Filbotte, Rod Maskew, Bob Jernigan, "Yura1961", just to name a few. They don't all build factory stock exclusively, but they're some of the best builders I've ever seen! (Sorry if I messed up any of your names!) Steve

Strange. Some of the best models I've ever seen, and some of the best modelers I know, build factory stock. I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing. Steve

Well, there you go. Steve

He probably would have gotten a chuckle out of it. Being an “old guy” like most of us, and an observant student of the human condition, he most likely would have thought to himself, “sure, now that I’m gone, they all love me”, but what he might have missed is the fact that many of us honored and respected him while he was here, even though we may not have expressed it. I think that we could all agree that the same sort of reverence could be applied to other past members of the board. Roger Hayes and Richard Manson come to mind. (I hope I got those names right. My name recollection skills are pretty horrendous!) Steve

Chalk it up to experience and move on, right? This is part of the reason why I like to do extensive build threads with my projects. I haven’t built a model in the past 10 years where I didn’t learn something that I wasn’t aware of, and in most cases, in time to correct it on this forum. Build threads have proven to be an invaluable tool for me. Steve