StevenGuthmiller

Is Round 2 even doing any new tools? I was under the assumption that their sole mission was to re-pop old kits, thus the "Round 2" name. Steve

The glass from the '70 Super Bee was borrowed from the AMT Roadrunner/ GTX kits, so it's not the same as the original annual glass. The annual glass is a one piece affair with the "runners" between the front & rear glass. The Super Bee has separate pieces. I was going to use the Super Bee glass for my recent '69 R/T build, but it didn't fit all that well. I opted to polish the original glass & use that. The Super Bee glass was close & might be a feasible substitute for the original if it's not obtainable, but it may take a little messing around with to get it to fit well. I don't remember the particulars of why it didn't fit right. I'll have to pull out my '68 annual & test fit the '70's glass again. Steve

That's why I bought it Scott. It will be an easy restoration. I'm not the type of guy to buy a model for historic reasons. I'm a builder, not so much a collector. I do have a few built-ups that I have on my shelf that are pretty nice that I haven't touched, but even those will hopefully get re-done at some point. Steve

The Edsel truck might not be a bad idea if I could come up with a good set of decals. I'll probably just keep my eyes peeled for a set of hubcaps on ebay, but I thank you for the offer Chris. There was a set of hubcaps, wheels & tires on ebay last week, but I missed out on the bidding! As far as the wheels go, if I can find the caps, I'll probably just strip the chrome on these & use them. Steve

Well, you probably already know what I think about the subject of old annuals. They're not always the easiest thing to build, but if subject matter is important to you, there are no alternatives, & with a little skill & a lot of love, they can build into exceptionally nice models. I've said it a million times before, but I'll say it again, A guy can only build so many '57 Chevies, '32 Fords & Corvettes before he gets real tired of them. If it wasn't for annuals, I most likely would have given up the hobby by now. You did a very nice job on this '65 & it will make a great addition to your collection. Steve

Delete.

Doesn't bother me. As a matter of fact, I wish that I could get most of the kits that I've been buying for the past few years for 25 or 30 bucks! I'm getting quite close to filling in my "annual" collection with everything that I really want, so when I go back to buying current kits at $30.00 a pop, it will be a refreshing change! Steve

Very cool Al! I've looked around for one of these. They're tough to find. Steve

Very nice Al! This is the exact kit that's next up on my bench. Steve

Yes Bill, I found it on ebay. It was one of those auctions that ended in the middle of the week, so the price didn't go off the charts. You probably know how tough these '60s are to find in nice shape, so it still wasn't cheap, but for me it was manageable. I paid a little under $100.00 for it. You know me, I won't leave it like it is. It will go back to completely stock at some point, probably sporting a light turquoise & white 2-tone paint job. I'm wondering at this point if a period correct 6 cylinder engine could be found for it. The task at hand at the moment will be to find a set of stock wheel covers, & if I can find one, the passengers side hood emblem. It has minor repairable damage, but if I can find a new one, I'll go that route. Steve

Just came today. In very good condition! Should make a great project! Steve

Hold on there Ron! It's not finished yet! Don't curse it! Steve

Sorry John, I really don't remember where the blister pack came from. I cut the "bubble" probably a month ago! I believe it may have come from a tube of glue or something. Steve

Well Bill, it's kind of a long explanation, but here goes! I'll admit, the gold that I used is a little brighter than what I was looking for. I was going for something a little less "blingy" but I had it on hand & thought I'd give it a try. The paint is actually Alclad "Pale Gold". I'm getting the feeling one of a couple of things are going on with interior colors for the '62 300 H. Either there were 2 different tans used for the interior, or some restorers are missing the mark with colors. I'm thinking the photo you posted above may be the latter. The steering wheel is obviously the original as evidenced by the cracks & yet it's gold color looks very out of place with the browner, more "copper" toned interior. My guess would be the rest of the interior was redone, either badly, or just to the owners taste. The leather on the seats, the dash pad & the paint on the dash all look very fresh compared to the steering wheel. This is more of the scheme I was shooting for, & while I agree that I missed the colors a bit, I think this is probably closer to the original color. The dash pad was painted to match the rest of the interior, which I think I got pretty close on. It's a little darker, but that's what I was actually looking for. My biggest mistake was the gold being too bright, & it was probably accentuated a bit by painting the top of the dash the same color as the lower. But that was by design as I'm always looking for ways to add contrast, especially on these monotone interiors. Oh, by the way, the trim is all foiled on this dash. Steve

The Paint Shop clear works as well or better than any other clear I've used. However, I don't use a lot of it merely because of the fact that I usually use 4 or 5 coats of clear & I don't want to mess with the airbrush that much. I didn't use it at all on this build. This one has 4 coats of Duplicolor "Perfect Match" clear. Steve

Lots of great info here guys! I appreciate all of it. I guess at this point it's safe to say that black was most likely the color for the grille, at least at some point. By the way Scott, the Johan kit does depict the H letter car. Steve

The interior is finally nearing completion on this project. I still have a few parts to make for the tub, but I believe the dashboard is done. This one was fun! I of course added the transparent section to the top of the steering wheel & I added a collar to the base of the steering column. I also fashioned a horn ring from a piece of wire which did not exist on this steering wheel. I'd be interested t hear if anyone has noticed if their "USA Oldies" '62 Chryslers had a horn ring or not. The toughest part was the clear "bubble" over the instrument cluster! I happened across a blister pack that had the correct basic shape & with some careful fitting, cutting & refitting, I managed to get a fair fit. Then the "Laser Bond" did it's magic again & I got it glued into place without creating a giant mess! Not sure how well you can see it in these photos, but it's there. Steve

I'm impressed by the "cleanliness" of your Cuda build Tony. It's not always easy to keep things looking as tidy as this. Nice work! Steve

I built a '58 Buick kit a few years ago that came with both front screw posts twisted off. I repaired them by simply gluing them back in place at final assembly & "pinning" them to the chassis. worked just fine. The nice thing about using pins is the fact that you don't have to worry about twisting off or breaking the posts, & if your pins fit tight enough, you don't have to glue them in either. Just as a side note, as of the past year or so, one of my first tasks with any old annual with an engine, is to remove the front screw posts anyway. They're just completely unsightly in the finished engine bay, so I get rid of them. There are other ways to attach the chassis plate without screws. Steve

You can always just "nix" the screws & do some pins too Bill. I don't worry much about the screws. If I have them, I use them. Otherwise a plastic pin, or whatever, will work just as well. That is unless you're planning on disassembling later on. I don't do much of that. Steve

Thanks guys. I only ask because after getting the mesh cut & in place I thought it looked pretty nice without painting it black. But I do want to keep it accurate if possible, so I'll most likely go with black. Steve

I have a piece of stainless steel wire mesh cut for the background of my '62 Chrysler 300 grille & now I'm confused as to what color it should be. I've looked at several pictures on line & I'm getting mixed results. Some look like aluminum, and others look like their painted black. Does anyone know what color it should be? Steve

"floyd426rt" has a lot of 80+ chassis screws, axles & hood clips for sale on ebay right now. Should take care of you for a while if you want originals. Probably quite a bit more expensive than a modern replacement if you can find a good one, but he has them anyway. Steve

Just keep your eyes on Ebay. The glass from any of the AMT 1959 or 1960 GM annual kits should fit. Chevrolet Impala, Pontiac Bonneville or Buick Invicta. Steve

Some of my favorites have always been the AMT BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires. I'm not 100% sure which kits they were all included in, but I do remember them being in the AMT '51 Belair hard top kit. Steve