StevenGuthmiller

I wouldn't spray anything over it unless you have a lot of filler on the part. If it's all plastic and as smooth as you can get it, there's no need to spray anything over it. The first thing the chromer will do is shoot it with a base coat before the plating process. Steve

The build is well executed Bill, and it is surely no fault of yours that the kit is flawed. I'm just curious as to why I have not heard the criticisms that one normally hears about this sort of shortcoming when a kit comes out. That criticism may have very well taken place and I just missed it, due to the fact that this particular model does not interest me & I have not followed many builds of it. But, when I saw your model, it just leapt out at me. That being said, I don't think that I will bother ever purchasing one of these kits. Thank God we have more accurate Johan '64 Dodges still out there. I have an original Johan '64 Dodge Polara "flat top" kit that I look forward to building, & while it's not the sedan version, the proportions are much more accurate. Steve

I didn't mean to hijack your thread with proportion critiques Bill, but it just jumped out at me. I was just curious if this was another in a long line of inaccurate kits in the past couple of decades. Steve

Nice work, but does anyone else think that this kit looks odd? Something about the front fenders & the front quarter trim. It doesn't look like if flows correctly. The trim looks like it starts lower at the door line & swoops upwards towards the front bumper. Looks out of proportion to me. Steve

I believe that the scripts that you would try doing with a Molotow pen would need to be quite prominent and well defined. Many of the scripts on newer kits are very faint. Doing scripts on a 1/32nd scale body with these pens would likely be doubly difficult. Steve

I wouldn't mind doing some YouTube postings on occasion, but unfortunately, I don't have a digital camera or even a smart phone to record a video to post. Living "old school" poses some limitations. Steve

All I can say is good luck getting a crisp clean, script with a Molotow pen. Personally, I could get much more control from a paint brush. If you're going to use the pens, I would suggest using the ink from them with a fine brush. Does anyone have any clear photos of the results that they have achieved using the pens on scripts? I would be interested to see them. Steve

Thanks guys. I have a couple of other very early AMT kits that could use similar modification. The slab chassis on these old AMT kits were never very accurate for ride height or wheel track. After seeing your avatar Dave, I thought that you might be interested to see one of the other builds that I will be taking to the NNL North show this year. Steve

They're not too difficult once you get a system down for them. I can do them in my sleep now! Steve

The Modelhaus made a good living off of it! The huge majority of the kits & parts that they sold were direct copies of old AMT, SMP, MPC and Johan kits. The ones that weren't direct copies were mostly modified versions of existing kits. Steve

Nothing new to see here folks. I was just going through a few builds to consider taking to the NNL North show next month, and this '58 Fairlane convertible came to mind. I had gotten a pretty good reaction to it on the forums back when I built it, so I thought maybe I should take it to the show. The only issue was the ride height. I knew back when I built it that it looked considerably too low, so I decided that it should be corrected before I took it out in public. Nothing difficult, just a little shimming. But I think it looks much better now. The first 2 pics are the "after" pics. The last is the before shot. Steve

Never seen those before. I know Chief Joseph makes some great ones too. But I only use the door handles as an example. Rarely do I build a kit, (short of something light on chrome trim like a late 60s muscle car) that doesn't have at least one section or another that gives me fits to foil with BMF, let alone kitchen foil. Steve

That could be part of your problem. If the place that you're buying it doesn't sell a lot of it, it might be old stock. In the past 5 or 6 years, I've bought at least 6 or 8 sheets of BMF from Model Roundup with each one being perfect. The last sheet that I bought that I had the cracking issue with was bought at a LHS. I'm not sure what to make of that, but I am very comfortable buying foil from Model Roundup. And knowing their track record, returning & replacing a bad sheet would be a simple transaction if ever needed. I understand Snake. I just want to make certain that a potential layman understands that something as simple as a door handle is going to be a real PITA with kitchen foil. Steve

Where did you buy your BMF? I keep seeing people talking about these terrible issues with BMF, and I just can't relate. I've been using BMF for possibly 30+ years, (and a lot of it) and I can't remember one time where there were adhesive problems with it unless it had been laying around my shop for a decade! On occasion, I will get a sheet that begins to crack, but that can usually be worked around. I guess kitchen foil could be used for straight flat stretches of trim, but good luck using it for anything with any compound curves in it. Steve

You can do it either way. I have done it both ways. Just wanted to give you an option to make cleaning the scripts much easier. By the way, the '62 Ford & the '61 Buick that I have posted in this thread were both shot with rattle cans. This technique can be used exactly the same way no matter how the pant is applied. Steve

The only thing that really irritates me is when someone digs up a half finished build thread that someone had started 12 years ago and asks them "how the project is coming"!! Seriously, if nothing has happened in the past decade, chances are it's over! Who knows if the builder is even alive anymore! Steve

It's the only way that you can keep a Harley running at an idle! Seriously, some of these guys are the worst posers on the planet. They want everyone to think that they're big tough bikers on a mean machine, but they come off more like a 6 year old looking for attention. Steve

What they don't understand is that nobody is impressed! All I hear when one of these pulls up is every loose nut, bolt & clip that's rattling loose on the turd that they're driving. Steve

If I could make a suggestion Snake, I would save the foil until right before the last coat or two of color. The less paint that you have to remove from the foil, the easier it will be. Not only that, but if you foil before primer, there is the possibility that you can get a thin line of primer "peeking" out around the script after paint removal. I've had that happen which prompted me to start doing it this way. I always lay down my primer & initial color coats, followed by foil & then one or two more light coats of color. Then clean your scripts off before spraying your clear coats. Easy as can be. Steve

Exactly! I neglected to mention that. Thank you for bringing that up Tom. I've seen too many attempts at this technique where the modeler did exactly as you mentioned and threw down a big rectangle of foil expecting the paint to cover the edges. It does not. Steve

You can hone this technique to do some pretty remarkable things. One of my most successful attempts was on this extremely faint '61 Buick trunk badge. Steve

That figures! Just when I started using their bolts & washers for antenna bases! Seems that every time I start using a vendors wares frequently, they disappear. First it's Modelhaus, now Grandt Line. What's next? Steve

The Duplicolor primer will work just fine. I use the white primer for color coat often. Mostly for tops. Steve

the OP was looking for an "automotive" paint. This is a hobby enamel. Steve

If you want a dark non-metallic gray, how about trying some Duplicolor sandable gray primer for your color. It's very dark gray. A few coats of clear & you're done. Steve