StevenGuthmiller

I will just refrain from comment as a rule if the subject does not interest me, or if the build itself does not really stand out in my mind. But if I do comment, I am not afraid to make a respectful recommendation if I see something that may be able to be improved & for the builder to think about on his next build. This is part of the reason that I like to do "work in progress" threads for my builds. It gives others the opportunity to make suggestions for improvements so that If it's something that I would like to use, I can catch it before it's too late. I don't always use all of the suggestions for whatever reason, but it's extremely helpful to have as many opinions as possible. Steve

Just as an example, one of the things that had just not registered in my mind throughout all of my years of building until rather recently was scribing panel lines in cowl areas & rocker panels. I didn't pick that tidbit up because of people who were afraid that they might be politically incorrect for pointing it out. I learned that because I read it somewhere on this forum. It makes no difference to me where I read it, just as long as it was offered somewhere. This is just one of hundreds of little things that I have learned in the short time that I have been frequenting model forums, whether here or elsewhere. Keeping things to yourself is absolutely not helpful to anyone who participates in a forum for not just the camaraderie, but because they want to learn something. Steve

I find it interesting how some feel that a thread like this is hurtful or mean I believe that it is absolutely a learning tool. If even one person reads this & realizes that sanding the seam from the top of the radiator is something that they had not thought of, than it has done what it was intended to do. We all have different focuses when we build & we may not always catch particular details during the process & a thread like this can serve to point out some of those short comings without singling out individuals. It is infinitely more useful than a multitude of "atta-boy's" & "great build's" that are sometimes automatically dished out on every "Under Glass" post. In my opinion, that is a much bigger insult than pointing out areas that could have been improved upon, as long as it is done tactfully. I have learned more here than I ever imagined & it didn't come from accolades that I may have received for my builds. It comes from threads like this where people bring up items that I might not have thought of on my own. Steve

No worries Kevin! I'm a firm believer in "what goes around, comes around". I get little gems bestowed upon me all of the time from other members, & most of the parts trading that I do with them is on a "get me next time" basis. I prefer to work it this way, and so far it has always worked out for me. Steve

I saw that. But you might have to consider that possibly "she" is the one with the money in the family. My wife has been the main bread winner in our relationship for the bulk of our marriage. Therefore, I feel that she should have more say in how that money is spent We share everything equally, & she is content with that, but I show her a lot of deference in the finances department, as I believe that I should. Steve

No problem Tom, I thought that it was worth a shot. By the way, my intention was to swap the complete '64 Lemans kit for the Desoto. But, I guess that I'll just have to settle for the '55 Desoto if I decide that I want one bad enough. Steve

Now that's the way this car is supposed to look!! I have yet to see a nicer one! Steve

Try "www.resinrealm.net". They have a complete '55 Desoto convertible kit with a full interior. I'll bet that if you contact them, you might be able to wrestle an interior from them. The '55 & '56 appear to very close to one and other. Steve 1955 1956

That sort of thing makes me lose it as well! Why can't people master the basics before they start trying to pretend that they're a master builder? Please people, learn how to apply a nice paint job & become successful building a "simple" model before you waste your time and money on all of the nonsense. This is a perfect example of all of the arguments we see about how much detail to throw into a build. If the paint & other basic things look like a booger, all of the fancy aftermarket goodies in the world are not going to make it look like anything other than a booger! Steve

Well, if you can't find an interior for it, I happen to know a guy who has some '64 LeMans parts that I believe that you were looking for! Seriously, if you think you might like to make some sort of deal, PM me. Steve

It appears that the Belvedere's were painted, but I'm finding it difficult to find a suitable non-Sport Fury shot from the right angle, but it looks like chrome to me. Belvedere Fury Steve

Has anybody here ever tried "Home Chef"? It's one of those mail order recipe companies where they send you recipes & ingredients for quick meals that you cook yourself. The wife & I have started ordering a few of their meals every month for those nights when we want a quick but nice home cooked meal. So far we have prepared somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen of them & we have been quite surprised at how good they are. Tonight it was "Sweet Chili Garlic Shrimp with Rice". Outside of the fact that my wife over cooked the rice, it was very delicious! In her defense, the rice was over cooked because she was trying to keep it warm while waiting for me to return home from work. Steve

Looks like chrome for '63. Steve

yes, I knew that. I'll just have to research it and see if it is supposed to be painted, or chrome. Steve

Thanks Bill. I was basically going to leave the front area of the roof with the space that's there and fill it for the most part with sun visors. I need to leave a little bit of space, front & rear, to allow for glass installation anyway. I've pretty much come to the same conclusion on the finish. Most likely flat paint. Steve

I did some hanging out at Moon's Hobby Shop in Rochester Minnesota years ago. I got to know the guys that worked there & many times we would just sit and talk cars & models. I will confess that I rarely left without a small souvenir of my visit. Steve

I have also had some adhesion problems with the aluminum BMF, as well as the black chrome. This seems to be pretty common with the other variants of BMF, but the regular, (New Improved) is generally good, at least it always has been for me. Steve

I am still making a little progress & doing a little experimenting. The body is pretty close to ready for paint, but I had become very distracted by the big "holes" in the headliner of the body, so I gave myself two options. either just fill the holes & sand the smooth, or fashion some sort of palatable headliner. I chose the more time consuming path & opted for a head liner, which is being constructed with alternating strips of shaped sheet styrene & very thin plastic beading in between. I will either paint this when it's finished, or give it the embossing powder treatment. About half done now, but I will also do the C-pillar "sail panels" and I will possibly fashion a pair of A-pillar panels to be installed after the glass. I know, I might be getting a little into the weeds, but it's a fun learning experience. One of the most annoying parts of this kit has for me become the "parking light" question. I decided that I might like to try to do something about the "amber bulb under a clear lens" situation, and try to come up with a solution. I made casts of the parking lights in mold material, then did a reverse cast in 2 part epoxy & then cast some lenses from them. They have actually come out pretty well & now I think a simple drilling of a small hole in the center of the original chrome lens, placing an amber bulb and covering with the cast lens should give a much more realistic appearance. The yellow pieces in this photo are the molds & the clear parts are the cast lenses. I may try a couple more pieces just to be sure that I can get the best lens possible. Steve

Sounds great! PM coming! Steve

I absolutely do!!! I've been looking for a set of stock caps for this one for quite a while! One set came up on ebay about a month ago, but if I recall correctly, they sold for quite a tidy sum. I really wasn't planning on spending $20.00 or more on a set, so I've been just keeping my eyes open. So far, no luck. Steve

I have the same one. When I got it from my wife for my birthday a couple of years ago, I never thought that I would use it much. I use it constantly! Not only for modeling, but a lot of other things. It recently proved invaluable for cutting small glass tiles for a kitchen back splash! Steve

Looks workable! My opinion is that as long as the necessary parts are there, & the body is in good condition, it's a keeper! Steve

What's in the box, as they say? The '61-'63 Fords are a little easier to find at a half way decent price than the '60, but they are by no means plentiful. I picked up a pretty nice built '63 several years ago for I believe somewhere in the $50.00 range, but the built '60 that I bought in 2016 cost me nearly twice that! It is a very nice restorable example though. Steve

It did work fine & looks correct for a more aged look as on a car like this, but if you're shooting for something closer to what the car would have originally looked like, the stainless trim, (I'm assuming that the '56 Chevy was mostly stainless) it would have been nearly indistinguishable from chrome plating. Furthermore, the masking technique you speak of would work well for a build like this where you're only shooting a very limited amount of paint over your mask. If you were going to paint the trim, mask it and then spray several coats of color and clear over the top, I don't think you would end up with a very clean looking edge on the trim. But, as I said, whatever floats your boat is good with me. Personally, I would rather have a system that I can use on every build that I do. Changing things up as I go from project to project has never worked for me. I feel that when you find a regime that works under every circumstance, you should stick with it. Just my personal observation. Steve This is more along the lines of how the trim should have looked originally.

There is nothing that I can disagree with in this post. Everything you said is spot on! The only thing that I might add is, it's not as complicated as it sounds. It's not rocket science. Common sense will take you a long way, as well as a little practice. It also puzzles me a bit when people talk about the expense of BMF as if it's made of platinum or something! Yet people seem to have few issues with spending loads of money on all sorts of detail items from custom wheels & tires, to PE parts, but for some reason, for some people, that $8.00 is just a bridge too far for a product that is going to make a large difference on whether your build looks like a model, or something closer to 1:1, which I was under the impression is what we strive for. So if I have to throw away a half of a sheet of BMF because of whatever issue, that $3.00 or $4.00, (barely enough to buy a bottle of beer in a restaurant by the way) is not really going to break the bank! And as a side note, I can usually manage at least 3 or 4 pretty heavily chrome laden kits out of one sheet. So, at a couple of dollars per build, it hardly registers as an expense at all to me. I spend a lot more than that on primer, paint and clear coat! Steve