StevenGuthmiller

Depends on the year. If they were using factory colors, there were two grays available in '77 & four in '78. My guess would be "Silver Cloud" in '77 or either "Dove Gray" or "Pewter Gray" in '78' Steve

Very nice Wayne! I hope this finished project lights a renewed fire under you & gets you back to a more regular building schedule! Now I just need to rekindle my fire, get my shop up to speed & get back to it. I can hardly wait to get back to the bench! Nice work! Steve

I usually start with the lightest color also. But, on occasion, it is easier to mask for the lighter color last. If that is the case, just careful & strategic masking will work just fine doing the darker color first. As an example, I painted the darker color on my '59 Dodge Custom Royal first because it was much easier to mask the darker sections after painting than it would have been to mask the entire light pink area before shooting the coral. Steve

There's no accounting for taste & everybody has their own likes, dislikes & reasons for building what they build. I grew up in a small town in the upper midwest & the cars that I saw on a daily basis were stock or nearly stock. So to this day, that's still where my interests lie. Just the opposite of what "Jantrix" said, I'll knock people down at a car show who are looking at the tricked out '32 Ford to get to the bone stock '55 Plymouth Belvedere behind it. But, that's just me. I have no problem with people building, eating, wearing or driving whatever they choose & I think it only stokes unnecessary flames to suggest that one approach is wrong, and the other right. There is no "wrong or right" when it comes to building. That being said, I do agree that it makes me a little queasy inside when I see someone cut up a rare vintage kit that's in fine condition. I think of owning my vintage kits as merely "borrowing" them for a time. I won't be around forever & it sure would be nice to leave some restorable kits for the next generation of enthusiasts. Once a model is chopped up beyond recognition, it's gone forever in my opinion. Just my thoughts. Steve

Or you could save a bunch of steps & just "copy & paste". Steve

I'm with you Bill. "Click on this, then click on that, move this here & move that there". To heck with all of that! Show me something easier than "copy & paste"! Steve

I would shed a tear for Photo Bucket.......if I felt sorry for them! They brought this on themselves & it's obvious now to all that they are circling the drain. Every photo that I have on Photo Bucket, I still have on my hard drive & a good number of them I have stored with Fotki, so if they think they're holding me hostage, they've got another thing coming! Adios Photo Bucket, & good riddance!! Steve

Same here. I use them dry for this reason. They don't last very long when using them dry, but I've had worse luck using them wet. I only use the 4 or 5 finest grits & the finest 2 seem to last me much longer than the coarser grits. I just plan on replacing individual pads as I need to, usually after 2 or 3 builds. Steve

Corn starch works well for flattening gloss paints as well. Steve

Looks like you & I are in exactly the same boat Rob. I've been using the same shelving for my unbuilt kits for several years & have just picked up a couple more for my shop in the new house. I still have a ways to go until I'm ready to get back to the bench as well. Steve

I've been using Fotki for the past few months ever since Photobucket started giving me major problems. I posted a few photos over the past few days from PB & I spent the majority of my time there dodging a myriad of pop up adds. I've really been enjoying the relative peace & quiet using Fotki. Steve

Isn't that the truth! It's amazing how many of these '60 Mercs you see built completely stock except for those stupid "balloon" tail light lenses! Steve

Now we're talkin'! I have never been a big Merc fan, especially the ones from the late 50s & early 60s, but this is one that I really like. It was such a radical departure from the overly embellished '59. Much cleaner. I built one of the convertibles a couple of years ago, & have a hard top to build some day. Really nice work Tom! Just in case you weren't aware, those are '59 wheel covers that you used. Steve

I had forgotten that Hasegawa had even done this kit. Come to think of it, I don't think that I've ever owned anything from this series. I've come to the point of not trusting the Japanese companies with their interpretations of American cars. I've been burned one too many times & these kits can get quite expensive, so I'm a little gun shy. That being said, you did a nice job on it Bo. I have one of the MPC '66s that I plan on building very soon. Steve

Yes, everyone has their own interests, but I personally find them anything but boring. Just the opposite, I find most of what's on the market now boring. If your interests are mainly Corvettes & muscle cars, pre-fifties rods & "tri-five" Chevies, you're set. If you're like me & your interests are full sized cars from the 50s & 60s, your main option is the Johan, AMT & MPC annuals. If you're looking for a full sized Mopar, Oldsmobile or Cadillac, Johan is basically your only avenue. Steve

That is the sad fact. We can dream i guess, but it's time for all of us to realize that these kits are not coming back......period! At this point, you either bite the bullet & pay for an original, or forget about it and move on. Short of a resin caster resurrecting it, there's about as much possibility of anyone producing a '66 Caddy hearse or ambulance as there is the chance of a orangutan flying out of my behind. Steve

Probably had a lot to do with the '60 Plymouth wagon kit. Glad I picked one up when I did! Steve

I could list a hundred kits that I would like to see again. This would likely not appear on that list. Steve

Nice work Al! Looks a little different than the last time I saw it. Glad that I could help out. Steve

Looks like they would be relatively easy to make with some stiff wire. I would probably use stretched sprue a little like how I make antennas. Steve

Yeah, that's the first thing that I noticed. The paint looks pretty good, but it really makes no sense to put a lot of effort into the paint with all of those mold lines. Kind of defeats the purpose. Steve

That's no mistake. That is the 1:1. Nice work Gene! The 1960 GM cars were some of my all time favorite designs. Steve

If you want to be really impressed, you need to check out some of the builds by Yuri Andryushenko, (Yuri1961) or Harry Pristovnik, (Harry P.) Some of the best stuff that you will ever see! Steve

White & black interior combos were very popular back in the 60s. While most of the "colored" interiors in the Eldorados appear to have like colored dash boards, all of the pictures that I'm finding with white seats have black dash boards. Steve

They will usually recommend a particular product or two for removing mold release agents. Usually this will be Super Clean or Wesley's Bleche White. Both work well as paint strippers in most cases. I've never had problems with resin & Super Clean, but I'm sure it has a lot to do with the composition of the resin. I've used it on Modelhaus & Flintstone stuff & have never had issues. Steve