StevenGuthmiller

You can occasionally still find a '68 Impala kit on ebay. But be prepared to pay dearly for it! It's one of those rare & highly sought after kits. Steve

Uuh, no you didn't. Johan never made a '60 Polara kit! The '60 Dodge was a Dart Phoenix. I really wish they would have done the Polara. It was a much nicer looking car in my opinion. Steve

To answer your original question, yes, it is a fairly nicely detailed kit........for it's day. Of course, it's not going to measure up to today's kit standards, but for 1970 it was very nice! Steve

I don't know Bill, I've always done them that way. I guess just because it adds a little visual interest. I have no love for chassis anyway, so I have to find some way to keep them interesting. I figure, if I'm going to just prime, shoot a little over spray & call it good, I just as well shoot the whole thing flat black & call it "under coated". Steve

Thanks a ton guys!! Steve

There you go Bill! Even better! That would save the "shock" of tapping with a hammer & possibly cracking something. Steve

Speaking of Ramblers, there was a band called "Diesel" back in the 80s that had a semi hit called "Sausalito Summer Night" That had a large portion of the song devoted to traveling across country in a Rambler. Steve

Yeah, I have the one from this kit too. Very unlikely I'll ever use it, but here are the instructions. Steve

One trick I have had good luck with is simply laying the wheel face down on some sort of "block" system that just contacts the tire & not the wheel & holds it about an inch from a hard surface like a concrete floor. Then I just give the back of the wheels "light taps" with a hammer checking constantly to see if the wheel is working it's way out. Eventually, it should pop out. I've done this many times & have not broken a wheel yet. But, I will add a disclaimer! Use this technique at your own risk! Steve

If at all possible, I would contact the seller. I don't know where you would ever find a tail light lens. Steve

That's a tough one to find Tommy! Great Find. Just be mindful of the "brittle" plastic when you build it. The color that was added to the plastic obviously affected the properties of the styrene. I'm in the process of building this one right now, & you have to be careful not to break anything. The body seems pretty solid, I had no problems with that, & the chrome parts are molded in white under the chrome, but everything else can be very fragile. Steve

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If you're looking on ebay, send the seller a message. I ask questions all of the time when I'm concerned about a particular issue. Specifically ask him if both tail lights are present. And if you have any other questions, ask. That way you'll have the upper hand if it arrives & there's anything wrong. Steve

Just a couple more pics to prove that I haven't given up on this project. Of course the chassis on these old annuals are pretty rudimentary, but in comparison to others from the same period, the MPC ones weren't too bad. The engine is painted & is in the assembly process right now. It's all coming together.......very slowly! Steve

Well, I have no idea what the 409 would have looked like in the Beach Boys song, but I always assumed it was a '62 Chevy, most likely a Belair. I'm sure we all have one of those. & I do have an old build "Pink Cadillac". Steve

Excellent work Stefan! Steve

Very cool Harry! You don't see many of these built anymore! You did a fine job on it! Steve

That question is going to get you at least a half a dozen different answers, but I'll give you my input on my experiences. Testors "Wet Look" clear will most likely give you the best "initial" shine & a lot of guys will swear by it. Most of my experiences were positive with it but I did have a few negative experiences so I no longer use it. It's probably the slowest curing of the several I've used & also goes on heavier than others, so multiple coats are a little sketchy. My go to clear is now Duplicolor "Perfect Match" clear. It goes on much thinner so multiple coats are possible. I use as many as 5 coats without hiding any detail. I doesn't shine as well right off the bat requiring a good polishing to bring out the shine. It's also much hotter than Testors, so you have to be careful about what you're spraying it over. A new one that's showing some promise for me is Duplicolor "Paint Shop" clear. The nice thing about this is, it comes in a quart can already thinned for spraying so it's very economical. It shines nicely right out of the can & doesn't smell too bad, but it is a little thicker so detail hiding could be an issue again with multiple coats, although it's still better than Testors. So far I've only used it on a couple of builds, but so far I've had pretty good luck with it, but the jury is still out on that one. I've also used Testors enamel clear in the past. It will give you a great shine, but plan on no more than a single coat & be cognoscente of the "yellowing" issue. It will yellow over time, so I would use it only on very dark colors. Plus, it's enamel so I would not plan on doing any polishing on it for at least a couple of months! Over all, I would not recommend enamel Anyway, just a little something for you to contemplate until the stronger opinions start flooding in. Steve

Enamels dry & cure extremely slowly which is the reason why the do dry smooth & shiny with minimal coats. I used to use a lot of enamels as well years ago, & while they do have some advantages, I feel the disadvantages far out weigh them. Enamels spray much thicker hiding detail very easily. A couple of coats of enamel will obscure a lot of detail very quickly. They also have a much greater tendency to run & sag versus lacquer. The main reason I stopped using them was because of the extremely slow curing. Enamel can take months to fully cure. I wouldn't go near an enamel paint job with polishing supplies for any less than 2 months! Another reason I prefer automotive lacquer is availability of colors. Particularly with model car paint suppliers such as "Model Car World". Not only do they carry a huge range of colors, but the metallics are closer to scale for 1/25th kits. Steve

I have no problem with the Model Master paints Gene, & they're just as durable as any other paint when they're cured. My only point was that they seem to cure much more slowly than other lacquers & you need to be careful when you have parts that will be touching one and other during that curing time. On at least a couple of occasions, I had builds with relatively tight fitting hoods that were finished within a couple of weeks of the last coat of paint going on. A month or 2 later when I removed the hood, the paint had stuck together & a chip was pulled from either the hood or fender telling me that the paint was not fully cured when the assembly was done. I should clarify & address this as an issue with the clear coat rather than the color as I've always used one of the Testors clears over the color coats, but the paint came up right down to the primer regardless. I wouldn't shy away from using the MM paints, but I will be aware of this in the future should I use them. Steve

I think I agree. I've used some of the Testors lacquers in the past & they worked fine right from the can. I don't think I'd waste the time decanting & airbrushing them. I only use my airbrush for jobs where it's necessary to use it. Like when I'm using colors only available for airbrush or when custom mixing colors. Steve

I just wouldn't chance it Mike. Some polishes may contain ingredients that may cause the clear to not adhere properly causing fish eyes or other problems. Some waxes can be tough to remove even with a good washing. You would be much safer saving the liquid polishes until after all of the paint & clear coats have been applied. There's really no need to get a "finish shine" on the body before clear coating anyway, unless you plan on leaving it & not clear coating. You'll just be wasting polish & it will have to be repeated at the end regardless. Use some polishing pads or even very fine sand paper to remove the texture, give it a thorough wash & then either shoot another color coat, or if it looks acceptable, your clear coats, & then polish after it's fully cured. Steve

There's nothing wrong with that Mike, as long as it's not a metallic paint, give it a try. It won't hurt. If need be you can always give it another coat of color before you clear coat. Just make sure you don't use any liquid polishes before you clear it. Steve

Brad, the # is "T428". They also have the same tires with narrower & wider white walls. Steve

Actually Mike, it's much easier to get that "sand paper" finish with an airbrush than a spray can. Rattle cans will generally spray a larger volume of paint than an airbrush diminishing the tendency to get that grainy texture. I've had the same problem on occasion & the remedy for me was just to open the paint flow a little bit & get the brush a little closer to the body when spraying. Remember, the clear is just a colorless lacquer. It will do the same thing as the color if you spray it the same way. I have found that the clear will shrink up & level out a little better than the paint, but it can still do the same sort of thing. Just to put your mind at ease, I have had paint jobs start with a little of that "graininess" that still turned out well with clear coats & polishing. I remember having some of that happen on the hood & trunk lid of my '60 Fury, but in the end, it turned out fine. Steve