StevenGuthmiller

Thanks Bill. I knew the console cars had that funky bend in them. That was part of the reason I was thinking about changing it. As far as the color of the knob goes, the one in this photo was kind of what I was going for. Most of the photos I've seen of them were pretty much "tan" like this with very little wood look. Same with the steering wheels. Steve

I agree. The only place that I use foil under the paint is the scripts & very small parts like door & trunk locks, or those little Chrysler emblems on the lower front fender of 60s Mopars. The rest gets it over the paint. I've had very good luck with this technique. Pretty much 100%. I'm sure a lot depends on how your doing it & what sort of paint your using. I've only been using this technique for a few years & it works extremely well for me. Keep trying. You'll get the hang of it. And when you do, you'll never go back to doing it any other way! Steve

I think it looks great! Although I'm not real keen on those bright yellows. Something a little more subdued would have probably been more appropriate for a cruiser like this. But, if brightening it up was your goal, you surely accomplished that! I have this same kit that I plan to do in the future. Mine will be a pale metallic purple called "Light Mauve". Steve

Thanks Lloyd! I'm still seriously considering dumping that shifter for something a little more in scale looking. Every time I look at that "chunky" thing, I think it's gotta go! Steve

I see by the list Bill, that the bumble bee stripe was also standard. Now, if I'm doing this as a stripe delete, my question would be, if you could get it without the stripe, do you think you could get it without the wheel trim? Because that's my story, & I'm stickin' to it. Steve

Is that a promo Tommy? Just thought with everything painted the same color, it looked like a promo. Steve

That's kind of what I was thinking. Which is why I was a little baffled to see pictures like this. Steve

I knew you built other things Tulio. I've seen them on the forum & you do fantastic work! I was just pulling your leg a little because I know how much you love Fords. Steve

Another beauty Tulio! But, don't you ever get tired of building Fords? I love Mopars, but I build tons of GM & Ford vehicles too! If it was made prior to about 1972, they're all fantastic in my eyes. Steve

I use Squadron Green because I agree with you about Testors. If you're going to use Testors, you just as well use drywall compound! The Squadron Green is not the best stuff on the planet, but I use so little of it, that it really doesn't warrant going out & buying a quart of something, or messing with 2 part fillers. The occasional gouge or sink mark is pretty much all that I use putty for. Steve

I will agree wholeheartedly with that. If I would have come across this kit for $5.00, I would have snarfed it up in a second. But having zero interest in funny cars, I would either sell it or trade it for something I really wanted. Steve

Just in case anyone is wondering, I have to confess something. You'll notice that there are no "directional lights" on the top of the fenders & no chrome fender well trim. For some reason, my kit did not have the fender well trim when I got it. I'm assuming that the previous owner trimmed it off for some reason. The directional lights were there, but were chipped up & I thought it would look better without them rather than trying to fix or replace them. I kind of like the look without those extra chrome pieces anyway. Gives it a little more of a "utilitarian" look, which was kind of what I was shooting for with this build. No bells & whistles, hence the omission of the bumble bee stripe. Now, that said, I don't know how accurate these 2 omissions make the car. Anyone know if the 1:1 could be had without these 2 features in '69? Most factory stock cars that I've seen have the fender trim, but the turn signals are sporadic. I have seen a few cars without the fender well trim, but don't know how accurate they were. Steve

If the Charger isn't MIB or at least un-built, there's absolutely no reason not to build it. If anything has been started or glued together, the "mint" kit value is gone & it's just a "builder". It can still be worth some good money, but not a whole lot more than a built kit. A very good professionally built kit would possibly bring more than the state it's in now. Build it! Steve

You won't be disappointed Tulio! I built one many years ago. It was a great kit! I'd really like to build another some day. Steve

It's MCW #6858 "Avocado Green Metallic". Steve

Sweet Bo!! The color looks great! The brighter the red the better!! Steve

The clear I used was Testors #1261 Glosscote. It's virtually the same thing as Testors "Wet Look Clear". Neither are really lacquers, but labeled as such. If I were to do it over, I would use Duplicolor clear lacquer. I doubt I would have had any issues with it. Steve

Along with getting all of the chassis & engine parts painted & ready for detailing for assembly, the body is pretty much done. I will be adding a set of PE door locks & the R/T emblems on the rear fenders in the final assembly stages. I have decided on a "stripe delete" with recall wheels for this build. Things seem to be moving along now, although still a little slow for my taste. Steve

Good looking Pontiac Paul! Steve

I would, at the very least, keep it in the back of my mind. Steve

I pretty much do exactly the same thing, but occasionally I have a momentary lapse of reason! Steve

In this situation, the tape had almost zero paint over the top of it. I was only spraying a small amount of Alclad. So the large area in the photo where the clear coat is missing had absolutely no paint on it. Yet it still pulled it off. The situation that Mike reminded me of also had very little paint over the top of it. I used it across the trunk lid when painting the blacked out area around the tail lights. It left impressions in the trunk lid. Very minor stuff that was easily polished out, but it had nothing to do with wet paint over the tape. Steve

I don't know, but I was watching very carefully under magnification while I removed the blue tape, Tamiya tape & foil. The Tamiya tape, while adhering very well, has no real "pull" when removing it. I could see while removing the painters tape, much longer & tougher "strings" of adhesive as I slowly pulled on the tape. The Tamiya tape had almost none of that. The painters tape was also much more prone to leaving little "balls" of adhesive behind. The foil will of course leave a little adhesive behind as well, but as long as it's not burnished too heavily, there is not a lot of "pull" when removing that either. Regular masking tape sticks even harder than the blue tape, which is why it never touches paint on any of my projects & hasn't for years. I thought that I could trust the painters tape to not give me these sort of problems, but I've come to the conclusion that it can't be trusted either. I've had the same type of situation happen to me mike. I had a bit of an issue in a couple of spots on my current project, but just chalked it up to the paint not being completely cured. I just don't think this stuff is worth the risk anymore given the issues that I've experienced, especially given the fact that there are other options. I will use all garden variety masking tapes sparingly & with extreme caution in the future. Steve

I was reminded "again" today of why I need to stop using regular masking tape, and/or Testors clear. I sprayed all of the black chassis & engine parts of my '69 Coronet with Duplicolor black primer, just because I like the nice smooth finish it gives, plus I can spray all of the parts with one color & then either leave them flat or clear coat them for glossy parts. So, I sprayed the shiny parts with a couple of coats of Testors clear lacquer over the primer. I decided to use some Alclad on some of the metal parts for a little more realism, so I needed to do some masking. I used some BMF, Tamiya tape & blue painters tape for the job. Well, you can guess what happened. every place I used foil or Tamiya tape I had no issues. The painters tape, on the other hand, pulled patches of clear off all over the place. I really don't know why I torture myself with this garbage! Probably because it's cheap. Well, no more! I've had my fill of the regular masking tape. From now on it's Tamiya tape, especially in critical circumstances. As for the Testors clear? I really don't know how much of the blame it shares in this instance, but I've had enough problems with it to warrant ditching it as well. Steve

I'll take my chances in the good old USA. Steve