StevenGuthmiller

Thanks so much guys! So far in the past few years, I've built Fords from '58-'62. Very soon I hope to do a '67 Galaxie, & I keep getting glimpses out of the corner of my eye of a '56 & '57. Then all I'll have left to do is '63-'66 & '68-'70! Not at all a daunting task! Steve

Looks nice Ron! I just did a quick look around last night & came across a couple of '64 GP kits. You're looking at a couple hundred bucks for an unbuilt kit. Even a good builtup will probably run close to $100.00. Treat it well Al! Steve

Color looks great to me! Steve

Same here. Testors tail light red. Steve

Thank you Cliff! Steve

Thanks Sam! I had a friend who's dad had a '62 Galaxie XL hardtop with the skirts. They kind of stuck in my memory because I remember thinking at the time how unique a stainless skirt looked. I had never seen one up until that point. So, naturally I had to recreate one of those childhood memories at some point. I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to build another '62 Ford. Steve

They will mount your parts for you, they'll even strip them if you'd like, but it can get quite expensive to do it that way. Just the 3 sets of hubcaps I had redone last time would have cost as much as a full rack. The 20 bumpers & grilles on the 2 racks pictured would have cost $80.00 alone. If you're in need of the service for a few parts, that would be a viable option, but for the 12 kits that bill has mentioned, I would say doing the work up front yourself would be much more economical. Steve

John, I used Testors "clear parts cement" for the rear window, although there are probably better solutions. The Testors cement doesn't adhere very well to the plastic bag. I had to be very careful not to punch it out while in the assembly stages.. I really wasn't trying to keep it too wrinkle free. We all know that these plastic rear windows wrinkled like crazy very quickly, & I didn't want any plastic that was too clear, I thought a little cloudy was probably more realistic. That's the way I remember them anyway. I just threw out a clear comforter bag yesterday! maybe I should have checked it out first! Steve

Thanks everyone! I wish it was real Andy! Then it would be in my garage instead of on a shelf! It's one of my favorites too Bill! The whole package turned out better than I thought it would. I wasn't sure about the skirts either, which is why they're just taped on. But now that it's finished, I like the look. Black does look good on a lot of cars, but I can only manage the aggravation maybe once a year! Steve

This is a pretty rare & expensive kit that I still haven't been able to find! It ought to be a nice one Al! Steve

I've used "Chrome Tech" many times, so I'll give you what information I can Bill. I start by making a 6x8 inch frame out of a coat hanger wired together at the ends, per the website instructions. The runners can be made of many things, but I've been using square plastic tubing for small parts & hubcaps, & either plastic or aluminum tubing for the bumpers. Most of these old annuals have the screw mounting holes which work well as mounting points to unsure plating coverage on the exposed surfaces. I just drill holes in the tubing at the mounting points & slip the coat hanger through them before closing the frame. Then a dab of silicone will hold them in place. Of course, in this application, I slipped the bumpers onto the round tubing before installing the tubes onto the frame, & then spaced them accordingly & glued them after the frame was closed. Then you just adhere the bumpers to the tubing & your small parts to the square tubing with silicone. There are probably 100 ways to reach the same goal, but this is what I settled on after some trial & error. You want to make sure everything is as secure as possible! You don't want any lost parts! I've had parts fall off during the process, & luckily they were not lost, but you don't want to take that chance. I can usually fit parts for as many as 4 or 5 annual kits on one frame, not really difficult when you're only dealing with bumpers, hubcaps, & maybe a couple other small parts. At $23.95 per rack, that's not a bad deal. Last time I prepped an order, I got parts for 8 kits replated for about $50.00, a little over $6.00 a kit. Well worth it IMO. If you're doing any work to your parts before sending them out, such as removing mold lines, which I always do, just make sure everything is sanded as smooth as possible. Any little blemish will show through. & be careful not to get any silicone on any exposed surfaces. Even a tiny speck can ruin the finish on a part. I've found the best silicone to be DAP 100% silicone, but I'm sure there are others that will work as well, although, I've had some that did not adhere well to the plastic, hence the parts falling off. I also used some wire to help secure parts of the frame. The stronger the better. As far as shipping, just make sure your parts are clean, drop them into a gallon storage bag, wrap them with a little bubble wrap & place into a shipping box. They will be returned to you pretty much the same way. Expect to wait at least 6 weeks for your parts to return. He sends parts out for plating periodically when he has enough to chrome a batch. I've always been pretty happy with Chrome Tech, but it might be worthwhile to check out the alternatives mentioned above. Good luck! I think you'll like the results better than resin parts. Steve

Thanks Alan! Steve

Just came today, a "Limo Studio" portable photo studio. Got a chance to play around with it a little tonight. It'll take some getting used to, but I'm already producing better indoor pics than I've ever done before! Steve

Just got my portable "Photo Studio" today, so I had to try it out. It may take a little messing around to figure out the best technique, but the photos sure look better than any indoor shots I've ever taken before. Just a couple of pics using the different lights with the kit. Steve

Terrific! That will make things much easier! Steve

Thanks Ludwig, I appreciate that! Aside from having to deal with my nemesis, black paint, I had fun building it! I have to say, it's one of my favorite color combos in my collection, & I'm not particularly big on black. Steve

Yeah, they never really have been the cheapest place around, but I will never go back to any other kind of paint. I love the product! Steve

I had heard that they were bought & it's good to hear that they are excepting Paypal. I never really cared for their antiquated ordering system. Aside from email, do you still need to print & fill out an order form as before, or are they finally going to an online system? I haven't checked it out lately. Steve

Pretty sure it was released in white @ some point, but not 100% on that. The one I have is blue. Steve

Duplicolor Metallics are much the same as the Testors, except as Bill stated. I use only standard colors like red, white & black from duplicolor. All of my metallic colors are ordered from MCW or other "model paint" supplier. If you happen to have a very well stocked hobby shop in your area, you might be able to find MCW paints in a rattle can. That's how I was introduced to MCW paints many years ago when we used to have a local hobby shop. If not, you might want to look into ordering spray cans from MCW. They're a little spendy, $15.00 for a 4 1/2 oz. can, but they offer almost 100 different factory colors. The cans are nice too. A taller thin can that fits nicely in your hand with the same adjustable "Fan Spray" nozzle as the Duplicolor paints. Same can that Duplicolor used to use. I think you would find the metallic paints from them more than agreeable. Steve

Ditto. Even the regular Testors metallics are too big. It's funny, you'd think a company that makes paint for 1/25th scale cars would get the metal flake size a little closer to scale. This is one of several reasons I bought an airbrush & started using MCW paints. Steve

Michael, I really don't use a lot of Alclad. Mostly just for small parts like mirrors, antennas, etc. I prefer to have all of my larger parts like bumpers & wheel covers replated. But when I do use it, I pretty much do it as you stated. Gloss black & then 1 or 2 very light coats of Alclad. A very light coat gives me better results than several coats or a heavy one. The only parts I sprayed with Alclad on this build were the interior mirror, the antenna & the interior door handles, as well as a few engine parts shot with Alclad "Polished Aluminum" & "Dark Aluminum". Everything else is either original kit chrome, (wheel covers & fender ornaments) rechromed, (bumpers) or foiled. Steve

Thanks guys! I really appreciate it!! Steve

Makes sense. Steve

A good rule of thumb is to stay away from polishing metallic paint without clear coating first. Solid colors should be fine. Steve