StevenGuthmiller

Stop it guys! You're beginning to make me really want a nice '57/'58 Caddy kit!! Steve

While the NNL shows are not a competition, Some of the curbside models that I have shown at the NNL North show have garnered quite a bit of attention. While the object is not awards, I have done very well with those curbside kits, even up against some extremely nice full detail builds. Steve

Excellent work!! Steve

Agreed on all counts. If I were judging I would do it in steps. First, paint. It needs to be smooth & blemish free. Shiny is not necessarily the be all end all. I've seen some models that look almost too shiny giving them that unrealistic "candy" like appearance. As you said, it needs to look realistic & in scale. Next would be the body details. Foiling, washes, badge & emblem detailing, glass, etc. Then I would move on to how well the interior was executed. The last & least important, to me at least, would be engine & chassis detailing. They can be important, but I don't believe that every wire, hose, nut & bolt needs to be represented in order to place in a contest. Steve

I haven't had any done for a while, but I used to use Chrome Tech. I've had less than stellar results from them as of late, so the last time I had a batch done, it was with Kustom Khrome & I was extremely pleased with the results! It has since changed hands, but if the same chromer is involved I would not hesitate to use them again. They did very nice work! Steve

That is the first thing that will grab the attention of a judge, or anyone else for that matter. If the paint is not nearly perfect, there's no need to investigate further. I've always said that the paint is the most important part of a build. Without a good paint job, all of the details in the world are a complete waste of time. Steve

No engine is required. At least that's my understanding. I'm not much for contests. My only question would be that if there is an engine in the build, would it be eligible as a curbside? If it is, nearly every model could be entered in the curbside category by simply closing the hood. Steve

Nothing wrong with it. I've just gotten used to uploading my pics to Fotki for posting. I could do it either way, but as long as I'm doing it this way now, I figured that I just as well continue. I occasionally post on some other forums also, so I just as well do it all from one source. Steve

That's who I use. I love it, & it makes Photobucket look like a booger! Steve

That's beautiful! I love seeing these early Fords done in a stock configuration & done so well! Nice work! Steve

My guess would be that Don & Carol started with a straight promo. They are difficult to find, but do exist. Steve

I was a little confused as well. Steve

Love the Falcon! Someday, when I finish all of the full sized cars I have in my stash, I'll need to branch out to a few compacts & this will be at the top of the list along with a few Comets, Corvairs, Tempests & maybe a Valiant or two. Steve

That's where a coat or two of a hobby primer comes in. I've found that a couple of coats of Testors lacquer primer before a few light coats of Duplicolor primer works well. Why not just stick with the Testors primer you might ask? I've found that the Testors primer affords better initial coverage than some of the automotive primers, but it doesn't level as well & is not a particularly good barrier for hot paints. But it does offer enough of a barrier for Duplicolor primer as long as you start with a light coat or two & then a couple of heavier coats. The Duplicolor primer levels much better & will give a stronger barrier for automotive paints. So in short, I start with a couple of coats of Testors lacquer primer, followed by several coats of one of the Duplicolor sandable primers. I rarely have any crazing issues as long as I am careful about not applying any really heavy coats. Steve

I would do 100 snow storms before I would do one category 4 hurricane. Besides, I'm a Minnesotan. I'm used to it. Steve

Above all, make sure that all of your modeling stuff is moved to a higher location! Seriously, good luck to everyone in the sunshine state. North Dakota does have it's perks. Steve

I use stands, paint cans & jars, tooth picks, wooden skewers with alligator clips, nearly anything that seems necessary to hold the part, but I still hold whatever device I'm using in my hand & some over spray is almost always inevitable. I still wear a glove on the holding hand. Steve

A dark metallic gray is what you really want for the background color. A medium metallic silver will work for the spokes. The colors are metallic on my '69 Grand Prix. Steve

I re-use mine all of the time. After a few sessions, the paint will begin to crack & flake off, but it doesn't need to be tossed if it only has a little primer over spray on it. Just a little common sense will tell you if it's ready to be discarded. Steve

I recognized the Imperial grille but wasn't entirely confident of the year. I know that I can special order the correct Sunfire Red from MCW, but to save myself some money I'm thinking that I will just order a bottle of '61 Pontiac/Olds "Dawnfire Mist" / "Autumn Mist". Looks pretty close to the same color to me. Steve

Looks like we have some nice projects coming in the future! I see parts for a '59 Dodge, & a '60 & '68 Bonneville! The Le Mans looks fantastic!! I really love the color! Where did you get the "Sunfire Red"? That's the same color I'll be using on my '64 Grand Prix. Steve

Personally, I would go with the Molotow pen. No sense in stripping perfectly good chrome unless it's necessary. Steve

Same here. So that box of 50 latex gloves for $3.00 will last me for 100 uses. Probably actually 5 or 6 times that many uses because I don't throw them away after each paint session. I can get probably 5 or 6 sessions out of one glove. Well worth the money. Steve

The only one that I have done lately is swapping the original MPC '69 Coronet chassis for the modern AMT '68 Roadrunner/'70 Super Bee chassis. That's pretty much a no-brainer. It gets a little more difficult when you need a newer chassis for a Johan '66 Chrysler 300 or an MPC '67 Bonneville. With this type of build being my main focus, I usually just opt to use the original rather than try to swap it for something that would be just as incorrect, or even more so, than the original. Steve

A couple more pictures. The color shows better in natural light. Steve