StevenGuthmiller

You surely haven't lost your touch Yuri! Nothing you post surprises me at all any more! I'll be thoroughly surprised if you ever post a build that isn't perfect! I'm confident that will never happen! Absolutely superb, as always sir! Steve

If the Apple Barrel paints are anything like the the Delta Ceramcoat craft acrylics, I use them quite often. But only for fine detailing with a brush. I've never tried them through an airbrush, but I have used other acrylics, also with limited success. I've never had any luck with acrylics for painting bodies. The Delta acrylics work great for things like grille back grounds & panel lines. Steve

Not when you have as many kits as I'm sure most of us have in our stash. I probably have enough scrap clear sprue to mold 10,000 lenses! Steve

There's no pouring or injecting the way that I've been experimenting with it. It's more like pressing & reheating. The clear plastic melts to a viscous consistency at around 400+ degrees, soft enough to be molded into a simple one piece mold. This is a basic overview of what I've come up with so far. I've experimented in the past with making an Alumilite "Mold Putty" mold of a given lens & them melting clear sprue with a lighter or candle & pressing it into the mold. This worked fairly well except for the fact that the back of the lens then needed some degree of polishing to create a clear lens. Way too much work. This method is much the same except that after the lens is pressed & cut, the lens is dropped back into the mold & the mold & all is reheated in the oven, re-melting the plastic at which point it turns crystal clear. I also will try just dropping small pieces of clear sprue into the mold & see what transpires by just letting a 450-500 degree oven do it's work. If the plastic liquifies enough at that temp I'm hoping that they will "self level" As I said, it's a work in progress, but I'm hoping with a little refinement it will be a workable option to either robbing lenses from other kits, paying a small fortune for after market lenses, or trying to work with clear resins, which I've had zero luck with to date. Steve

Looks pretty nice in the photo to me Bill! I use Micro Mesh polishing pads, usually starting with 3600 to 4000 grit and working my way up. Followed by Novus liquid polish & finishing with a good buffing with Turtle Wax "Scratch & Swirl Remover". Steve

I do both, depending on the color. With a basic non-metallic color like this, I usually default to spray cans, & this was no exception. It's Duplicolor "Universal Black" & Duplicolor clear. Steve

That's usually my "MO" too. Steve

I was originally thinking about yellow for mine, but then graduated to bronze. But for some reason, white with a red bumble bee stripe keeps jumping into my mind. Steve

Welcome Ron! I've been looking forward to retirement myself someday in the not too distant future. I'm excited about having more time to build, but I too fear that the "honey do list" will greatly interfere with that. Time will tell I guess. Steve

Just got back from a week's vacation in Mexico & I've been itching all week to get back on this project. Started some foiling this afternoon & I have to say, these are some of the worst wheel wells I've ever had to foil! Steve

I think you have a real winner on your hands John! I'm not much for customs, but I've always liked these "period" customs with the paneled paint jobs & minimal alterations to the original body lines. To me it's an acknowledgement that the guys in Detroit knew what they were doing in the design department & the customizers were merely enhancing those designs without butchering them. Very classy look! Steve

Sorry Bill! It's been taken care of. Steve

I'm currently working on a new technique using "Alumilite Mold Putty", scrap clear sprue & my oven for making lenses. My first trial showed great promise. I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes. If it works as I hope, I'll be able to cast all of the lenses that I want, in any shape or size, including tail lights or amber parking lights, pretty much free. Steve

I agree with that one! Basically, the entire movie is a chase scene! Steve

The last that I heard, the old Johan '59 Dodge promo tooling was showing up on the Moebius table at some shows. Seems that there may be a possibility that Moebius may try to do something with it. But they'll have their work cut out for them. This is a very rudimentary "curbside" kit with no opening hood or engine, no chassis detail & no interior. The last issue came from X-EL many years ago & the interior from the original Johan kit had long since disappeared. Modelhaus had offered a resin copy of the original interior, but with them gone, Moebius will be left to do a new tool of the interior. I just hope that if Moebius gets the green light on this kit, that maybe they'll go the extra mile & add a detailed engine bay & chassis along with a fresh interior. Although the old curbside version can still produce a decent shelf piece. Steve

Try one of the UV setting glues like "Laser Bond". Not only is it easy to remove from bare plastic with just a flick of a finger nail, but it sets in seconds with UV light. You really need to try it for mock up. Nothing works better in my opinion. Steve

Watch this one carefully. It's quite humorous how the car repeatedly changes throughout the chase from a '58 Plymouth 2 door coupe to a '60 Dodge 4 door sedan! Steve

While I would probably say the scene in Bullit or one of several scenes in Mad Max as being my favorites, the chase scene between the '58 Plymouth & the Camaro in Christine is one that sticks in my mind. steve

What he said! I usually try to keep a can of "Aluminum Plate" & a can of "Stainless Steel" on hand. They work very well for things like exhaust pipes & mufflers. Steve

Leslie &Mark both summed it up well. Most of the members here get along well mostly because we all share a common passion, at least that's my opinion. If everyone else that I knew were as crazy about model cars as I am, I would probably interact better with them as well. Steve

Yes, there is LMK as well. I rarely mention them as I've never tried them, so I feel like I should refrain from endorsing a product that I have not tried. Depending on the type of wheel that you are using Steve, you may be better off without a true chrome finish anyway. If. You're using a "magnesium" type wheel, one of the Testors "Metalizer" spray paints will give you a very nice result. Steve

Or, if you want a "true" chrome finish, you can always send your wheels out to one of the companies that rechrome kit parts like "Kustom Khrome" or "Chrome Tech". But if it's just wheels, one of the other suggestions, such as "Spaz Stix" will be less time consuming & more economical. Steve

Looks really nice Rich! But I'm confused, I thought that the glass that we had batted back & forth was from the '56 Caddy. I know that you had built a powder blue '56 a while back & I was under the impression that was the glass that you needed. Regardless, the glass that I sent you was from the '56. I don't own the '50. So either way it turned out well! Anyway, it looks terrific! Steve

I agree! Chances are very high that my '63 Dodge will be getting "the treatment" at some point as well! Steve

Nice stuff Tommy! The '62 Chrysler is tough one to find in convertible form. As you know, I just built one. I have a nearly carbon copy example of your '63 Dodge. Same color on the outside with a gold interior. It's one of those that's so well done that I'm debating whether or not to restore it. Yours looks to be in the same kind of condition. Steve